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2018/09/27	443	2,012	<issue_start>username_0: Question might be a bit strange. I am looking at a series of activities that we run every year. These activities have some intended learning outcomes (ILOs), but these outcomes are stated in terms of what students will know or be able to do at the end. I'm trying to explain not just the ILOs but rather the intended experience that the students will have. For example: "Students will keep up with their homework and review course material throughout the semester, rather than cramming during exam times" This isn't really an ILO, but it is an intended thing that students will do this due to the nature of the activity. Is there a term for this type of thing in pedagogy? "Intended Student Experience", perhaps?<issue_comment>username_1: Presumably the distinction is between those intended outcomes that can be measured in some reasonable way at or soon after the end of the course and other intended consequences that can't be measured effectively. Any distinction will probably do the job, even "Other intended outcomes" or "Unmeasured intended/potential outcomes" or "Hoped-for behavioral changes". Just make the distinction clear both in how you intend to both have students arrive at the outcomes (perhaps not the same for the two categories) and how you distinguish between the categories. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Your example seems more like a rule or expectation rather than an objective or learning outcome. It would be difficult to measure this directly as you can only surmise that students don't study and are cramming instead. If you want them to study you need to embed study activities into the curriculum. For example, reviewing material in class, study guides, quizzes, chapter summaries, presentations by students, etc.are all ideas. The general point is that constant assessment compels constant studying while giant mega exams such as midterms and final exams encourage cramming because they aren't seen as imminent for many students Upvotes: 1
2018/09/27	304	1,290	<issue_start>username_0: I have a BA in philosophy and I'm working on an MS in computer science specializing in "Interactive Intelligence" (a blend of HCI, AI, ML). My end goal is a PhD in philosophy but specializing in AI. A quick Google search hasn't revealed much that fits this. Would cognitive science be a better fit? There's Stanford's "Symbolic Systems" major but not much else. Anyone aware of a program like this?<issue_comment>username_1: I suggest that you don't need a "program" but rather a school and a professor who is willing to be flexible and let you take the lead in large part. Maybe a couple of advisors in different fields. I think there are a lot of top institutions that can afford such flexibility and Stanford is likely one of them. But you should probably pursue this individually and in person. I'll note that doctoral programs are normally pretty individualized in any case, and often a student needs to take a lead if the topic is not completely within the expertise of the advisor. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Your plan would certainly fit into cognitive science. You would have to learn a significant amount of psychology and possibly other topics, in addition to philosophy and computer science, which may or may not appeal to you. Upvotes: 1
2018/09/28	500	1,960	<issue_start>username_0: Thus far in my postgraduate academic career I have leaned towards addressing my (US MD) medical school professors who are MDs, MD/PhDs, or PhDs as "Professor", since we are not in a clinical setting. Today two of my classmates addressed one such MD as "Dr." in an email chain following my reply, as if to correct me (though maybe it was out of habit). Was I less respectful than I could have been by addressing the professor as "Professor"? The latter title seems more prestigious in the context, but maybe I am mistaken.<issue_comment>username_1: The answer strongly depends on local culture. For example, for Germany there has been a similar question some time ago ([Do german professors like to be called "Herr X"?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/71078/do-german-professors-like-to-be-called-herr-x)). To make things worse, the culture might vary even between institutions. I learned that in Mexico the "professor" is just the job description, while "Dr." is the valuable academic degree. In the US, some professors in my field (medical computer science) are very relaxed regarding titles, others are not (but this is an outsiders view). The easiest way is to ask a professor you can trust in your institution. Most will happily explain the common habbits and I assume you'll her some interesting anecdotes ;-). In general, the most respectful way to adress a professor is "Prof. Dr. XXX". Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In Europe and US, Professor is more prestigious. In my experience, they won't care much in the US (it is quite usual to use first names once you get in confidence), while in Europe there is a sligtly higher probability that someone can feel "offended" if you use Dr. instead of Prof. (and calling by name is not as common as in the US, definitely something to avoid unless the setting is very informal). If you are in doubt, Professor will work both in Europe and USA. Upvotes: 1
2018/09/28	1,225	5,333	<issue_start>username_0: I find it hard to find a comprehensive overview about what kind of citation styles there are, and what should be taken into consideration to choose one. It seems to me that the most important factor is when the journal/conference requires a specific citation style. Another factor is that it might be better to use what the people in the field are used to. But what advantages are there for different citation styles, apart from the fact that some are more established? E.g. I see that numbered citations sorted by occurrence make it easy to find the citation listed in the bibliography while reading the paper from front to end. (Author,Year) citation styles allow the reader to recognize names but could possibly be ambiguous when an author published two papers in the same year. Why aren't both approaches combined to keep the advantages of each, and cite in-line with `(Name Year [1])`?<issue_comment>username_1: This is essentially personal opinion, I'd be very surprised if there is a measurable difference. That said, areas have their traditional citation styles, most journals have templates and suggested citation styles. Uniformity makes it (a tiny bit) easier to get the information across, and that is the central goal here. It also makes the journal (or book, for that matter) look more orderly, thus professional. Also a goal. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: There exist strong differences in humanities vs. STEM how literature is read, written and therefore cited. For example, in humanities it is much more important due to e.g. schools of thought who has written something than in STEM. Even in STEM some journals ask you to give the page of a book when citing those, some don't. There is likely no good overview, because in the end the editor should know best, what citation style is the most efficient and useful one for the content, format, author- and readership of that journal. In STEM many journals don't want all author names in the reference list, rather due to shortness than usefulness imho. To me, personally, it's often much more important to see which last author/group leader conceived an experiment rather than which first author PhD student did most of the experimental work with >5 other co-authors which becomes more and more common. For review articles with >100 references it's often simply not practical to show all co-author names. For letter articles, representing often high importance of the results, the first author et al. often publishes several papers focusing on a distinct research question/method/object and deserves more highlighting and fame. Even within a single scientific branch like physics you will therefore find very different citation styles serving different purposes for different publishing formats. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: As you note, the most important factor when deciding is what the publication venue requires. But sometimes (e.g. a thesis) you may have a choice. There are lots of variations in detail, but ultimately (at least in STEM) it comes down to "Author/year or numbered". There are advantages to both, IMHO (and this does come down to opinion in the end): Advantages of Author-year * It's often easy to see at a glance what paper is being referred to. Sometimes you've never heard of the author, and have to look at the reference list to see which group it is... but sometimes it's a famous paper, and you don't have to check the end of the document to identify it. Numbered papers provoke much more front-to-back flipping for me than author/year ones. * Sentences can sometimes flow more naturally : "<NAME> (1903) showed that..." is nicer than "[1] showed that". Note, though, that there's nothing to stop you including a name from time to time with a numbered scheme ("<NAME> [1] showed that...") * Some people feel that because it's more up-front about the contribution of others, it's more "collegiate". (er, OK. By "some people", I mean "somebody said to me once"). Advantages of numbered * Brevity. * It can make it easier to let one's eye skim over the citations and concentrate on the content, without being distracted by lots of names and years. Some fields are wedded to one approach, some use both. I gather that some in the humanities have methods that fall into neither of these categories! Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Advantages and disadvantages of the different citation styles have been listed already in the other responses. However, for myself as a reader of many papers, thesises etc. the citation style for the reference in the text has become more and more irrelevant with time because I know what I am interested in. Acordingly I adjust my way of reading and I assume many other people do so. What is more relevant to me is the entry in the bibliography and how many pieces of information are included. For example I prefer a complete author lists and also the title. And this is - I think - not really opinion based because such information is always helpful and never unnecessary. Therefore my advice, if you have a choice: include as many relevant pieces of information as possible in your bibliography and choose the representation in the text (numbered, author/year etc.) according to your personal taste. Upvotes: 1
2018/09/28	1,219	5,238	<issue_start>username_0: Say I received a paper for review. Afterwards I discover that there are cited references that are not related to the discussed subject, or there are elements in the bibliography that are not referenced in the manuscript. As a referee, is it ok to ask for the removal of such references? I ask because I have never heard of someone suggesting the removal of references, but on the contrary, I have many times heard of researchers self citing or citing friends just to enhance their numbers.<issue_comment>username_1: I think that you should get erroneous references removed, the ones listed should be the ones used in the paper, no more, no less. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, the spurious references should be removed, [as stated by @username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/117597/as-a-referee-is-it-okay-to-ask-for-references-to-be-removed/117599#117599). There is a diplomatic way to accomplish this without making any assumptions or accusing anyone of anything. Write something along the lines of > > The current bibliography contains a number of references which are not explicitly cited in the main text. They are: (insert complete list of numbers). The main text should either be extended to include a discussion of these references or the references should be deleted. > > > You compile the list by ticking of all explicitly cited references as you read through the main text. Any entries left are spurious. A tool like LaTeX typically has a command which is used to print the entire bibliography. Spurious references are often generated by forgetting to disable this command when the final draft is compiled. If you can identify the tool, then you can insert a helpful statement to that effect, i.e. > > As you are using LaTeX, please check if manuscript contains a \nocite{\} command. > > > --- EDIT: I just realized that my original text does not cover the case where the manuscript contains references which are cited in the main text, but appear to be irrelevant. A diplomatic approach can proceed along the lines of: > > The author(s) should extend the discussion of the following references: (insert complete list of dubious references). Currently, it is not clear to the reader how these references relate to the subject under discussion. > > > This allows the authors to either explain why the references are relevant or remove them if they are irrelevant. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Let me suggest, more generally, that as a reviewer you have two tasks. One is to help the editor make a decision about acceptance. But the other is to help the author(s) improve the work. As such, you can suggest anything* to the author that you believe will result in an improvement. Authors don't have to take your advice, necessarily, though they are advised to consider it. Neither do editors have to take your advice. Be professional and do your best job. In the current instance, as in many, it would be good to state to the author why you believe the references should be removed. Both the editor and the author can take that advice and act on it or not. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: When it comes to suggesting changes, it is true that most reviewers will suggest where to add material. As the general purpose of these suggestions for changes is, however, to make the paper "better" (whatever that means in the concrete case), removing information can be fully compliant with that goal. Now, you list two very different situations: > > there are cited references that are not related to the discussed subject > > > These references do, by their mere presence, reduce the quality of the paper (if we assume a paper should be as concise as possible when it comes to providing information unrelated to the subject of the paper). You cannot truly tell whether such references were added with malicious intentions (for example, to increase someone's citation count) or simply by mistake, so you probably should not make any direct accusations, but a request to remove the respective references is well appropriate. > > or there are elements in the bibliography that are not referenced in the manuscript. > > > This case, on the other hand, depends entirely on the guidelines of the venue you are reviewing for (provided that the references are indeed on topic for the paper): * If these guidelines require references to all bibliography items within the paper body, go ahead and suggest either their removal or adding a mention in the paper body. * If, on the other hand, the guidelines do not contain this requirement, keeping these references improves the paper, as it helps readers who browse bibliographies for related work in the subject area by pointing out additional resources. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I myself have sometimes included a refernce in an article if it provided me with substantial background information related to the subject even though it didn’t apply to the precise subject or title content. Some articles are limited in length and the amount of introductory discussion must be kept short, but I would like to know where to look years later. Upvotes: 0
2018/09/28	1,801	7,608	<issue_start>username_0: It was only recently that I heard about the academic "chalk talk" at job interviews (from biologist friends). As I understand, this is a closed-doors talk the applicant must give to the existing faculty. I was shocked that even through I am preparing to apply for faculty positions, I never heard of this practice before. So my questions are: * What is this "chalk talk", and how common is it at job interviews? * Is it specific to biology, or at to least experimental fields? Almost all the information I can find about it online is focused on biomedical sciences (and the few articles that don't, still assume an experimental field). Perhaps the concept exists in other fields too but people use a different term than "chalk talk" to describe it? * My work is in one of the hard sciences and is purely theoretical. What are the main differences between experimental and theoretical (mathematically oriented) fields in how this chalk talk is given? Since most of the online advice I found concerned biology, I need to decide how much of it is relevant to me. Update: Many of the comments (and one answer) show that several people have completely misunderstood my question. I would like to emphasize once again that the question is about the specific part of faculty position job interviews referred to as "chalk talks". In the meantime, I found [a hint](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WqvH6.png) that this concept might be specific to life sciences. My question is not about lecturing techniques with white- or blackboards, nor about why this part of the interview is called a "chalk talk" (i.e. etymology). It's about what this part of the interview is about, which fields have this as part of the job interview protocol, and what differences are there between biology and theoretical (math/physics) fields (i.e. what part of advice given by/for biologists should I take or ignore). Here is an example of [a blog post](https://drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/chalk-talk-cha-cha-cha/) discussing interview chalk talks.<issue_comment>username_1: The hiring process in different countries vary quite a lot. However, once you get an invitation to a job-interview, you can expect that institution will tell you what you should prepare. In case you are unsure, just ask your contact person the institution. And there are many things that are not standardized and it should be clear that an applicant can have quite a lot of questions (Who is going to attend the scientific talk? Will there be a demonstration of your teaching skills? Will there be students? Will there be a meeting with the dean/students/…? Do you have to prepare any additional documents in advance?) Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Another aspect of "chalk talk", in mathematics, in the U.S., is in contrast to pre-prepared talks with overheads/slides/powerpoint/whatever. That is, a "chalk talk" is much more "live", than a pre-recorded powerpoint talk, and, therefore, can show much more of the speaker's grip on the material. This sort of talk can also be expected to accommodate audience questions, which is another sort of "test". Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I can't comment on how common this is outside of biomedical sciences (my field), but it's becoming quite common in this field. In terms of what it is, the "Chalk Talk" is a chance for you to talk about your research (past, current, and future directions) without hiding behind Powerpoint slides. You'll typically be given up to an hour to do this, in front of the hiring committee and/or faculty. You'll have a whiteboard/blackboard/flip-chart so you can draw down a key figure or two, or write an outline of what you're speaking about. It's less formal than a normal talk at a job interview - if you are asked to do one, expect to be interrupted and questioned throughout. There are many reasons these are becoming popular. It's easy for candidates to talk through a deck of slides they've had weeks to prepare, and the hiring committee doesn't necessarily learn that much about them as people or scientists. This is more dynamic - it lets you see how people think on their feet - and gives a real opportunity for people to display their passion. It's daunting to speak for an hour with no props or prompts, but a good academic who knows their field, has a clear research plan, and cares about their work should be able to do this. Source - personal experience (I have been on training courses specifically about giving chalk talks in faculty interviews, albeit in a different field). Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Chalk talks are pervasive in the biomedical sciences in the US since the tenure requirements, at an R1, is to obtain an NIH R01 grant. Since the target funding source is known (unlike a lot of fields) and the applications are fairly formulaic, the chalk talk is really helpful. They allow the candidates to present a high level overview of a problem in the field, tell the committee about the 2 or 3 aims of their future grant proposal and discuss how the aims address the problem. The candidate can then use the board to draw up the results of the pilot studies that they will be conducting over the next 3 years in preparation of the grant application. Since the pilot data don't exist yet and the committee is going to ask a lot of worse case scenario questions premade slides don't work well. A typical chalk talk might involve a candidate drawing a set of axis and a hypothetical line representing the pilot data that goes up. The first question from the committee might then be what happens if the data go down. Then a discussion about how the literature says it won't go down, but it might be a U shape and the line gets redrawn. I don't think chalk talks work as well when there are a variety of funding sources. Industry money requires a different approach than an NSF application. It would be hard for the committee to judge whether the applicant is on the right track for funding. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: A formal talk is where you show your work. A chalk talk is much more about how you plan to lay out the first few years of your career, which can be quite different. You should go into a chalk talk with a clear vision of how you plan to establish funding -- who will you apply for grants with, what will the specific aims of your first application be, who do you need to collaborate with, etc. It will go over better if you can actually present your specific aims as the testing of very clear hypotheses. You may also need to know your teaching aims, depending on the position. You should show a plan of how you plan to bring your research up to speed during your start up phase, during which you might be low resourced (even if you come in with a generous start up package, purchases and renovations can take more time than you expect). I often hear the question "If you need to do a project with just you and a single tech, what will you do?" The discussion of the committees/faculty following a chalk talk (i.e., without the candidate) often center around if the candidate is ready for a faculty position, how well the faculty candidate "fits in" with the rest of the community in terms of the body of work. If there's a feeling that the candidate has a flaw or two, the conversation may well turn to "is the candidate mentorable?" Thus, if at a chalk talk you're feeling a bit pressed on by faculty at large, it's probably a good idea to listen to what they have to say, instead of feeling cornered and reacting defensively. Upvotes: 1
2018/09/28	760	3,278	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a recent PhD graduate looking to work in academia. I have applied for an assistant position (let's call it position A) that I think I have good chances of getting, that starts really soon. However, there is a postdoc position advertised (let's call it position B) in a different institution, which I think would be more beneficial to my career, and which starts a few months later. Trouble is, if I apply for position B now I won't hear back from them until after position A has already started. Also, position B seems to be far less certain. So I need to gauge the relative risk involved in refusing position A if I get an offer. I was thinking of emailing the contact for position B beforehand, saying something like "I have such-and-such qualifications, do I stand a chance?" but then again I don't want to put them on the spot or make a bad impression. I mean, I know that they can't guarantee I'll get position B, and I don't expect that, but there's the danger that they may interpret my e-mail in this way. I'd like to explain to them that there is another position that I have very good chances of getting, so I need to calculate the risk (again, I know that I may end up not getting position B anyway, I just want to know if getting it is a serious possibility). Should I send such an e-mail, and if so, how should I word it so that it is received well? I should also mention that I have personally met the contact in question and discussed my work with them in the past, and they will remember me in that respect. At the very least, I'd like to not ruin this relationship. I really don't know what the right thing is, and I hope you'll understand my anxiety. Any advice will be appreciated... thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: You seem to answer the question yourself that there would be no problem of interpretation. It is just an inquiry. However, you are not likely to learn very much absent a formal application giving the new institution to compare your credentials with those of others. But I see no particular reason not to ask. However, there are other avenues you might want to consider, depending on how flexible institution "A" is. You haven't been offered anything there, nor certainly accepted it, so you are free to apply to the other place. If you then hear encouraging words you can try to explore at least a delay with "A", informing them that you are undecided about another offer or opportunity. There is risk in that, of course, but if you don't apply for the second position you don't have any chance at all. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I understand your quandary but I question the validity of the hypothetical reactions you anticipate. My personal life paradigm is to move forward and make the most of wherever I land; in other words go with your personal desires without concern of the consequences since this is what real life is all about. Very little of life can be scripted for our personal desires; this what makes a person resilient, which by definition is the ability to adapt to and conquer any and every situation that comes your way. Another way of viewing the potential quandary you describe is to apply the mantra: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Upvotes: 0
2018/09/28	800	3,448	<issue_start>username_0: I am a Ph.D. student in applied math (graduating) with the following difficulty. I have recently completed a work by myself where I think it has decent potential impact. But the work is in a niche in applied math, and though interesting to anyone, much more likely to be meaningful to people in my field. I am playing the game of deciding between general prestige and finding a niche. Say I pick a general, prestigious applied math journal X. Hiring committees might actually recognize the name and instantly light up. However, a better fit (but less known) journal Y exists. In journal Y, the editorial board is loaded with people I recognize (who are well-cited). If I submit here, I am throwing myself in with the dogs in my field. If well-liked, there are many upsides: the possibility of conference invitations, networking, better chance of more citations, etc. If rejected, I gave a bad impression early on in my career to many big names. Note that journal Y is also open-access (a legit one). On the other hand, journal X has less risk/reward within my field and more of a name for hiring committees. In your experience (especially considering my career stage), what would you pick between these two? For what it's worth, I think acceptance in Y is more likely than X. This could help me get a job, but would it hurt me for tenure later on? In applied math, I see conflicting ideas. Some people want desperately for connections to applications to be made while others want profound generalizable claims with some regard for application. My work is right in the middle of this tug-of-war. I realize anonymous people cannot decide my life for me, but I am wondering if the answer is obvious for some reasons I don't know yet. Based on the mentors (and my advisor) I have spoken to, they seem to think it's somewhat of a personal preference, as long as both journals are decent.<issue_comment>username_1: You seem to answer the question yourself that there would be no problem of interpretation. It is just an inquiry. However, you are not likely to learn very much absent a formal application giving the new institution to compare your credentials with those of others. But I see no particular reason not to ask. However, there are other avenues you might want to consider, depending on how flexible institution "A" is. You haven't been offered anything there, nor certainly accepted it, so you are free to apply to the other place. If you then hear encouraging words you can try to explore at least a delay with "A", informing them that you are undecided about another offer or opportunity. There is risk in that, of course, but if you don't apply for the second position you don't have any chance at all. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I understand your quandary but I question the validity of the hypothetical reactions you anticipate. My personal life paradigm is to move forward and make the most of wherever I land; in other words go with your personal desires without concern of the consequences since this is what real life is all about. Very little of life can be scripted for our personal desires; this what makes a person resilient, which by definition is the ability to adapt to and conquer any and every situation that comes your way. Another way of viewing the potential quandary you describe is to apply the mantra: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Upvotes: 0
2018/09/29	2,872	12,613	<issue_start>username_0: One college lecturer often does not care about failing his students, another does. Say we are talking about a Calculus I class. A. One fails students because they simply do not achieve the minimum grade set by him and/or the university. B. One fails students because they cheat or break rules or something. However, for point A, there are reasons that can be talked about. 1. He might not be a good teacher. For this, either he improves his teaching, which more often than not means he needs more experience as he has minimum capability of teaching (he is not a school teacher any way), or the faculty just need to find replacement as this lecturer cannot deliver. 2. The materials are just too much for some students. How do we handle this? a. Should the materials be reduced, which then it will not make this class a Calculus class, since some materials are omitted? b. Should the faculty accept the fact that these students fail? What if for ALL students, this Calculus class is too hard? c. These students passed the admission tests for the university entry, and they came to learn. Should they blame or change the admission process to get a better group of students? This can be done in the future, but what if this fail of students is happening now? d. Should the lecturer raise the average grade of the class so that some, if not all, students pass the course? Or, just by lowering the minimum grade at the end of the semester? Won't this affect them in future subjects? e. Should he just let them learn as much as they can without setting any expectation or minimum requirements and grade them based on how much they have improved? f. In conclusion, in which part does he adjust? The materials (future), teaching method (future), grading system (future), the minimum grade, or just let them fail as there is nothing he can do without changing the grades, even after giving them second chance exam and still fail, even after also giving them more tutorial classes? EDIT: To add more consideration, let's say the class attendance is really good. Practice quizzes are given more than once. In my department however, almost all lecturers agree that our students are just weak compared to other universities, since the good ones are usually going to those universities. I wish not to agree with this, since I believe there is something a lecturer can do to help improving his students. However, students rarely come to a given tutorial class. Also, based on the admission data, accepted students were based on ranked list, not passing grade. I have tried making more detailed syllabus. Some students (very few) succeed, but others pass courses with very low grades, and this happens to every lecturer including me. I'm relatively new to this department and it looks like other lecturers just raise grades eventually (it would be bad for the department otherwise) and mind their own business later, such as doing research etc, without even giving tutorial classes. I am refusing to follow it but it looks like it'll be easier for me to follow this culture..but nah!<issue_comment>username_1: This is a very philosophical question involving the overall education system, the area you are living in, the selection process of your students, the culture in your university, and, and, and. Therefore I assume the question will be closed, soon, even though this is a common problem which needs to be discussed. Sometimes I feel we are in a similar situation at our university since we are accepting candidates with lower grades as incoming students. Some of them are not really qualified for studying at all, and it is just helpful for them to reflect this as early as possible, e.g. by early tests etc. Last year I had two students which quit after three weeks "because they did not expect they have to invest so much time in studying". The only thing you can do is to decide to work with the students you have. Changing the selection process is difficult, the application behaviour can not be influenced too much, and sometimes the students with bad grades in school can show a great performance in their studies! So don't invest too much time in improving the incoming student's quality. The next important step is: You are having a curriculum (and later on job profile) whcih requires certain pre-requisites in later courses. As a faculty, you should discuss which is the minimum level the students should have after your course - and this should set the level for passing the exam. It could lead to a reduction of the material, or you can classify some material as "advanced" and other material as "must have". Do not go below this level - the students will like it in the beginning, but they will have trouble in their later studies and in their working place. It's better to force them to do the course again. Be clear about this from the beginning, and if possible tell everyone in advance your expectations and - more importantly - whatfor the material is needed afterwards. Regarding material and teaching methods I would like to reference to the field of didactics - many universities are having courses for improving the teaching style - take as many of them as you need! It helps a lot, and you are meeting local peers which are in a similar situation. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I can only add a bit to the excellent answer of username_1. While the question is largely philosophical there are a few things that can be done. First, it must be possible for a student to fail. Otherwise they have little incentive to engage with the material. They are busy and have a lot of requirements to balance, so it isn't good, even (especially) for them, to make it too easy. Second, it must be possible for every accepted student to excel. If that isn't true at your university, you need to try to find a way to change the system. You can change it by adjusting admission requirements or by changing the educational system itself. As a professor, you probably have more influence over the latter and you have complete authority in your own courses. If you don't, then you have a deeper problem. For example, if your Dean requires you to fail a certain number of students then there are ethical issues around your participation. However, not every student can be expected to succeed with the same amount of effort. Some things are hard and and they are harder for some than for others. You may need to find a way to support and require that harder effort from some who would otherwise fall behind. Mentoring helps, but so does something as simple as making additional work possible. However, in the modern world, you may have to do more than teach your subject effectively. I learned that students come to university unprepared to learn. No one taught them how to learn and so they were very ineffective at it. So my job became, for a subset of students, not only to teach them CS, but to teach them how to learn CS. For example, they were initially ineffective note takers, if they bothered at all. So I wound up teaching them how to take notes (by hand) and to summarize them. It doesn't need to take up a lot of time in class, but a couple of minutes at the end, asking individuals to tell me the most important lesson of the day can work wonders. Also, it turns out that group/team work is a big win, both for the strugglers and for the superstars. But you need to organize it in a way that the superstars don't do all the work while the others watch, or even avoid participation. This may require using a flipped classroom in which you can participate in the interactions. If lecture isn't reaching every student, then you can de-emphasize lecture for more effective teaching (and learning) strategies. If you are given an impossible situation, say 200 students, then your job becomes managing your (hopefully large) set of TAs, so that students can get the individual help that you can give. If your research load is so big that you can't do that, then don't take on such courses, as hard as that can be to arrange. But don't participate in a situation that you know guarantees failure. Every student should be able to succeed through their own efforts. But you can't ignore the realities of the students you have in front of you. I once had a pair of students who, I think, had never had a positive educational experience. The faculty thought them pretty dull. The course was advanced and both had previously failed it. But they decided that they would pass this time and worked as a team to do so, studying a lot on their own and formulating a ridiculous number of questions for me. Most of my office hours that term were with these two. Neither of them was a quick learner so I got the same questions over and over. However, one incident toward the end of the course stands out. The three of us were in my office and one of them asked a question. I had just opened my mouth to start explaining, when one of them said, "No, let us try to explain it to you." They did and did so correctly. They wound up with the two highest grades in the course that term though the competition was pretty much loaded with superstars. I was accused by a couple of the superstars of bringing in a ringer to make them look bad. But hard work and desire on their part and patience on mine made the difference. Let me give, also, a grading technique that can work effectively, though in some environments it would be forbidden, as it permits everyone to get the highest marks if they are willing to do the work. It is called Cumulative Grading. The idea is to have a total number of points for a course, say 1000. There are a lot of tasks required in the course and each is pre-assigned a point total for contribution to their personal goal. Each task is graded in the usual way and a point total is assigned to it. If the points available for a task is, say, 20, then they might get 17, for example. When their total reaches a certain level, they get a certain grade, say 900 points is an A level. The other feature of this is that exams counted for relatively little (around 300 total of 1000) and projects counted for more, including team projects. Finally, I let students resubmit work for regrading and the student could make up part, but not all, of the deficit they had on the first round, provided that the first round was submitted in a timely fashion. Sloppy first versions were discouraged from the fact that you could only earn back a certain percentage of the points lost in the first version. Each version submitted was returned with a point total as well as comments for improvement. The scheme above gives the struggling student the opportunity to improve by doing additional work (on the original assignment), improving it at my direction. The superstars didn't participate in this as they did fine originally, but if they had a oopsie on an assignment, they could still fix it. A caveat, of course, is that I taught small classes (30 or less), though I had a wide range of "abilities" among the students. Note also, that for a student who found the course fairly easy and who had other commitments, he or she could simply stop trying hard once they had achieved their desired number of points for the grade they wanted. Usually those students are going to learn no matter what you do, so I never thought of that as a problem. But for some students, simply passing is their goal, and it allowed them to know when they had done so in a fairly risk free manner. You can balance this out. For what it is worth, even though using a "permissive" grading structure, my reputation among the students was that I was "very demanding". Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Grades are a teaching tool yes, but they are also a statement to the world, by the school, evaluating the student's performance. You certainly wouldn't want surgery from a "doctor" who's professor reduced the material as needed such that the worst students could pass. As for the question of what level of effort/ability the class should target, this is also a practical matter. Cut every syllabus in half (or whatever) such that 90 percent of the students can retain 90 percent of the material, and you have to teach twice as many courses to cover the material, and will waste productive years of the lives of students well above this cutoff. Somewhere in between catering to the star pupils and slowing everything down for the stragglers, there is an optimal that most decent teachers and programs are shooting for already. Upvotes: 1
2018/09/29	2,007	8,850	<issue_start>username_0: In short, I am a Ph.D. student computer science ( theory ) currently in the mid-stage. I have one serious doubt about the research process. I have worked on just two problems in the past and from that experience, I have felt that the research problem in the initial phase of research will be vague ( means research problem will be broader and somewhat less clear ) and as we start working on the problem, it will become clear and many times we will change the even original research problem. In the end, we will think about what results, we have and on the basis of those results, we will again change the research problem ( if needed ). There are a few problems with the above research process 1. Takes More time 2. More frustrations etc Is the research process will be the same even after my PhD, I mean or I will become more careful with time which may lead to giving me a better way to do research. Question : Is it okay if research problem is vague in the initial phase of research?<issue_comment>username_1: In my opinion this is the definition of "research" everything else is "development". Of course, from "devlopment", serious research questions may be derived. In my personal opinion, a PhD work whose proposed result is known from the beginning is worthless. It's a different story if the problem is too large for one person or maybe not solvable at all - then it needs to be re-adjusted based on the experience made so far. But this process can / shall be part of the PhD! Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: From my humble experience, and for you question: > > Is the research process will be the same even after my PhD > > > My answer is No. In my case, there is no comparison between my first research and even the second one. The more I acquire knowledge, the more I become experienced in identifying research gaps and asking the right questions from the first place. I also become able to think of what it takes to implement/do the work needed. The reviews I got from the first two papers taught me a lot on how to present my results and what are the key points that are needed to make my results presentation (in the papers) sound. I confirm again that in my case, things get easier and clearer with time. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: For a PhD candidate, a vague research topic has an additional risk. It is possible that nothing sufficient for a thesis will come out of it. Or that anything that might have been sufficient has already been done, published, and mined out. For a researcher with a significant academic career already established, this is less of a problem. If a prof starts to work on a topic and finds it a dead end, they can usually get over it. Especially since a prof doing active research usually has more than one line of research on the go. Especially when they have several grad students, maybe a post-doc or a research associate. If topic-x fails, then topic-y and topic-z are likely to produce some publishable results. For a PhD candidate, a dead end research topic could be very much more of a problem. Especially when universities have schedules for how long you are supposed to be working on the thesis. If you spend 2 years and decide the topic is a waste, you have dug rather a deep hole. Possibly you can recover. Maybe not. Also, it does not need to be a dead end to be a problem for a PhD candidate. If it turns out that there is interesting research there, but that it will take much too long for a PhD, that could be a killer also. Imagine you were exploring the idea of 3-D virtual reality programs, but it was 1970 when computing power was not available to accomplish it at anything like a reasonable cost. It is a balancing act, and not an easy one. A narrowly defined research subject is likely to be boring, and possibly not publishable either. And even if it is publishable, maybe nobody cares and you wind up with not much of a thesis. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: > > Is it okay if research problem is vague in the initial phase of research? > > > Ultimately, the research you produce in your candidature should add some original work to the discipline, and it will need to be sufficiently specific that you can subject it to peer review and publish it in a scholarly journal. It is not unusual for research investigations to begin at a "vague" level, and then progress to the point where specific research questions of interest emerge and are solidified. In a PhD program, there is a rule-of-thumb that the first year is often spent finding a broad research field and formulating ideas, and then by mid-stage you should have progressed to the point where you have specific research questions and you are now able to make progress towards publishable work. If you are mid-stage, but are still at a "vague" level of analysis, you might be a bit behind schedule, but there are plenty of PhD candidates in that boat. You should check your progress with your supervisor and formulate a plan for progression. In order to progress your research, sit down with your supervisor and hash out some ideas for possible research topics/questions within the broad field of interest to you, and make some proposals for specific research questions you could study within this broad research problem. If the broader question is too large and complex for a single project, see if you can formulate some narrower questions to start an analysis in that field, so that you can formulate a specific PhD research project. Try to come up with an idea for a preliminary paper, and this research paper will naturally lead you to ideas for extensions. Since you have not described your research problem, there is no basis to speculate on whether your "vague" research idea is likely to crystallise into publishable work that is suitable as output from a PhD candidature. As with any other research problem, you should seek guidance from you supervisor on this. Although I cannot speculate on the value of your "vague" research problem, it might be helpful here to mention an analogy to this issue that arises in my own research field (statistics). In statistical work, there is a distinction drawn between 'exploratory analysis' and 'confirmatory analysis'. In the former, we use data to explore and describe general patterns that give rise to broad hypotheses of interest, for future testing. In the latter, we formulate specific hypotheses that are ready for statistical testing, and we use data to test those hypotheses and report the results. Both of these activities are legitimate avenues of research, and both can lead to published work. (It is more common to see published statistical work that performs confirmatory tests, but a good exploratory analysis is also valuable.) Depending on your specific project, there may be analogous research projects that you can pursue in your field ---i.e., projects that explore a problem, present some exploratory analysis, and offer hypotheses and theories (without necessarily testing them), and projects that formulate a specific testable problem and make progress on that problem. > > Is the research process will be the same even after my PhD, I mean or I will become more careful with time which may lead to giving me a better way to do research. > > > The more you practice something the better you get at it. If you complete your PhD and become a researcher then you will find that you gradually get better at assessing a potential project for possible research outputs, formulating research questions, and producing publishable research. Everyone starts off bad at this, and even the best PhD candidates are nowhere near as proficient at these things as professional researchers. Like any profession, you start off with few skills, and you gradually get better with practice. The PhD candidature is like an apprenticeship; it takes in novices and tries to get them to the point where they can conduct independent research. Seek assistance and advice from your supervisor as often as needed, and assess your progress relative to your status as a novice researcher. In regard to this issue, it is worth noting that it is extremely common for PhD candidates to overestimate the amount that can be accomplished in their candidature, and assess their abilities and progress pessimistically, relative to unrealistic expectations. Your goal as a PhD candidate should be to produce some publishable research, while noting that it is usual for research published at this stage to give some modest gains in the field. If you can publish a few papers that make initial in-roads into a research problem then you will have done well. If you later complete your PhD and become a researcher then you will have plenty of opportunities to research your field more deeply. Upvotes: 0
2018/09/29	1,213	5,164	<issue_start>username_0: I submitted a double columned paper to a journal and the editor returned my email with requests such as: 1. Several formatting changes including making the paper single column, no automatic features such as paragraph, figure or reference numbering. 2. Two referees to review the paper. I assumed the referees would be selected by the editor for the peer review process. * Is it my responsibility to provide referees? * Since the editor is asking for big changes to the formatting, is it reasonable to ask for a template? * I am not sure what this means: > > no automatic features such as paragraph, figure or reference numbering > > > Does it mean that I shouldn't be using a template? Since IIRC a template does these things automatically. ~~I already used a template for the paper but it doesn't seem like it can be adapted to suit the editors requests~~.The request for single columns is also a bit problematic as I would need to sink time into resizing and re-organising the images and paragraphs to fit a whole page (i.e. single column), which is undesirable due to time constraints.<issue_comment>username_1: The editor knows the requirements of the layout system they use. Apparently you are giving them something that they will have to try to undo without completely understanding the consequences. You are, by far, the best person to do this. They want to do their own flow, etc. So do that if you want to deal with them. Don't use a template at all, if that is what they prefer. As to the referees, it may be a bit unusual, especially for a reputable journal (is it reputable?) but it may be that your paper is outside their normal expertise. It may also just be that they want more options for reviewing your paper (and maybe other papers as well). Some editors might just look at your citations to find reviewers, of course, but perhaps they can't do this in your case. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I got curious and visited the journal website ([JIBS](http://www.jbis.org.uk/)) you linked in a comment. I won't comment on the [reputability](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/101/17254) of the journal in question, but two things stand out 1. The publication process seems rather outdated, and 2. The journal appears to be a small operation, possibly run as a passion project. (Note that individual issues are sold for a reasonable £10, and that the website doesn't appear to be up to date.) To me this raises the question of whether the journal has sufficient readership to provide visibility for your work. If it doesn't do that, why go through with the arcane submission requirements? This is something you might want to discuss with others in the field, which also helps gauge the journal's reputation. --- If you want to go through with publishing in the journal, then you likely will have to work on their terms. The [submission guidelines](http://www.jbis.org.uk/guidelines.php) seem clear on how they want things (not) formatted: > > d. JBIS requires papers to be submitted in an electronic form compatible with PC formats. We can handle Microsoft Word for Windows up to version Word 2010. A PDF version of the paper would also be helpful to aid formatting. Authors are asked not to use auto-formatting, footnotes, headers, footers and other advanced features and keep the manuscript as close to a pure text file as possible. The exception to this is that it is helpful if mathematical equations are formatted in an equation editor. Please note that any formatting you introduce will have to be removed by the Editorial team for our own formatting process, so using your own formatting does not assist the process. > > > Suffice to say, the highlighted parts are not the hallmarks of a modern, somewhat automated publication process. Then again, if it is a small operation it's hard to judge them for not spending frivolously on software licenses and updating their processes. As for suggesting referees, this is common in [some fields](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/10474/17254), uncommon in others. Generally they shouldn't be from the same organization, or a direct collaborator. Avoid suggesting referees that, if acting ethically, might have to disclose a conflict of interest. Again, there is some discussion of this in the journal's submission guidelines. There is no guarantee that the editor will use either/both of the suggested referees. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: This kind of request is normal especially at engineering journals. Providing names and addresses of two reviewrs would help the associated editor to find a reviewer for your manuscript. However..the editor may not choose them. With respect to editing of manuscript...i think..but not very sure...you have to use single col...and put figures and tables at the end of paper so that one figure per page. Captions should be texted before figures. If your paper will be accepted, the production office of journal will re edit the manusctipt according to their templete. This what i know is science direct. However..you can send email to editor asking for more calrifications. Upvotes: 0
2018/09/29	1,232	5,170	<issue_start>username_0: I'm studying for a postgraduate degree and my courses with a certain professor will start in some time. I have been meaning to speak to him since a very long time but I'm scared to go over to his office. I want to develop off-class relations as well for multiple purposes - opportunity to have good relations with a well-established professor, have access to his way of thinking by speaking to him and last but not the least, I do want a recommendation letter from him as well in a few months. I have no idea how to approach him, introduce myself or begin talking about a topic for a conversation. More importantly, I don't want to sound like I'm posturing or faking interest. So, how do I begin?<issue_comment>username_1: You might wait a bit until the course has started and you have a legitimate question. You can then introduce yourself and a word or two about your background. If this course is of particular interest to you, you can mention that. Perhaps a conversation will develop or not. You can simply end with the statement that you are looking forward to learning from him in the future. Keep it natural and short. You will have several opportunities to reinforce any interest. I'm assuming that "intimidating" means something like "renowned" not "has a reputation as a harsh person". If he is particularly rushed, as some are, keep it especially short. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is always easier to talk about things rather than shooting the breeze. The more difficult the professor, the more concrete you want the things to be. You could: 1. Wait until class has started and have a legitimate question (as username_1 mentioned above). 2. Read some of his/her research. Figure what they're interested in. Talk to his/her grad students and ask them what they do. Find something they are really interested in. This is riskier since you might be truly ignorant about it, but asking a smart question about something the professor is truly interested in (i.e., not just the class) can score you major kudos. I had one such (world-renowned) prof who taught one of my classes. I thought he might be interesting as an advisor. My dutch courage was to drink an entire pot of coffee before going in to talk to him about problems he brought up in class which I thought interesting. (Note he was both a smoker and coffee drinker so he appreciated zippy conversations). We spoke about topics in class (on Riemann Surfaces) and it was clear that because he brought them up, he was interested in most of them. At the same time he was known as not taking many students at all, and being both quick and gruff. We did not ultimately pair up, but he seemed genuinely entertained by our encounter (smiling and sitting sideways in his chair) and we spoke for at least an hour about topics related to his class and areas for futher research. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: This is coming from someone who worked and still works with the most intimidating professor in our lab. This professor was my teacher when I was a bachelor student and he was also my supervisor project for my Master degree (And that's when I developed my fear). Now he is one of my co-supervisors for my PhD. I never approached him until this year (5 years to overcome my fear). So all this just to tell you that "I know :)". The year I approached him, I discovered the following information (and the mistakes I made): * The professor was just professional: strict when it comes to deadlines and assignments, meetings were heavy and only work-oriented (a lot of information, a lot of tasks to do). This was stressful to a lot of students. * The professor is seriously passionate, so he takes everything to the next level. You really should arrive to class punctually, no small talks, stay focused. You break the rules, you leave. * I kept hearing past stories, or bad experiences, from other students and let those experiences affect our professor-student relationship. * And mostly, I missed many opportunities by not taking the first step in the past. * I made the mistake of mixing "How he does his job" with "Who he is". So here is the only answer I have to your question: Just do it, I am sure that this intimidation is just in your head. I even noticed that I can easily start these off-class relations with other professors, but never with him. So here is something I would do: * I will schedule a meeting by sending an email (my professor was the Head Of our Lab, he is always busy). I will say that I need a recommendation letter for example. * During the meeting, introduce yourself and why you need the recommendation letter and try to start a conversation from there. Tell him your future plans, and ask for his opinion. He is your professor after all, his job is to guide you :). * During class, be active and always be interested. You can not earn his respect if he does not see how passionate you are. * Always take the first step. And if doesn't go your way, it's okay. As username_1 said, take it easy, you have a lot of time and "several opportunities to reinforce any interest" Good luck. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2018/09/29	4,446	18,640	<issue_start>username_0: I am HoD for a department with over 30 members. * The dept is socially inactive with only one or two social gatherings per academic year. * No politics or "serious personal issues" among members. * Just teaching while doing some research. I got a green light from (very) top management to make them happier. But I really don't know how!<issue_comment>username_1: Increase all of their salaries Free donuts on Monday mornings Pizza Fridays Ice cream socials Subsidized housing, if possible Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: First, they won't always be happy, so don't set your expectations at that level. My suggestions will be simple. Listen to them. Always. Assume that they know their own needs. Taking one or two of them out to lunch is a good way to learn things that concern them. Advocate for them with the administration when necessary. This is most important in lean times when they occur and when conflicts arise. Help them find the necessary resources to do their jobs well. This doesn't mean just money. Sometimes it is bringing in guests, for example. It might involve clerical or TA support. Lots of small things that add up. Make it possible for them to visit other institutions to meet colleagues and give talks. Make sure that your faculty evaluation system is sensible and fair. Make it possible for every member to succeed, mostly on their own terms, taking institutional needs into account. Not everyone needs to be the same. Make sure that student complaints against faculty are handled in a sensible and fair (to everyone) manner. If you have a bit of money available, consider setting up a fund to support faculty directed student research. If it goes anywhere, consider releasing faculty from courses to direct such research. That depends on a bit of scale, of course. Find a place for a table and a coffee/tea pot where people can just talk. Best if it has a whiteboard adjacent to it. Make it accessible. Help them stay healthy. Encourage some activity if they are too tied to their desks. Almost anything will do, even just walking. There are probably athletic facilities available to them. Keep necessary meetings short. Distribute needed materials beforehand when possible. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: It might be uncommon, but just ask them. You could use a basic questionaire if you want to do it anonymously, or you could talk to everyone in person. Just showing some activity does not help as long as you are having no idea about the needs and desires of your faculty members. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: Socially inactive does not mean unhappy. If the department has already obtained > > No politics or "serious personal issues" among members. > > > Then you are doing pretty well. If the green light is to spend money on social activities, you do not want to rock the boat. Would your faculty want you to be the ultimate decider or would they want a committee. I would probably suggest handing off the responsibility, but only if you can find one or two faculty members who would take the lead. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: It sounds like you already have a well-functioning department, without interpersonal problems, so be careful that any changes don't make it worse. Thus, I would suggest approaching the problem with caution, being careful that anything you add is not creating unintended consequences. Having said that, here are some suggestions (I am nowhere near HoD level, so take these as the advice of a novice): --- Social occasions are okay, but don't expect them to affect happiness: Having two social occasions per year sounds about right to me. It is nice to have some socialisation at the workplace, during regular work hours, but too much can make it feel like a time-competitor with work you need to do, or you can simply run out of things to talk about. Unless the people in your department are actual friends, the social occasions are likely to consist of the kind of surface-level conversations you get among colleagues. Many employees prefer to allocate their social time to friends that they have had since earlier in their life, whom they are closer to. Regardless of how good the social occasions are, I find that my own happiness in an academic department is barely affected by them. I feel happy when I am successful at work (e.g., good work productivity, outputs, etc.) and I feel unhappy when I am struggling (uncompleted work dragging on, etc.). Having a wine-mixer is not going to help in the latter case. Implement a proper mentoring system: Some answers have suggested salary increases, but that would come with a major financial cost. Also, for researchers like me, who are below full-professor level, I think we mostly want to try to improve our performance and earn salary increases through the standard academic progression (e.g., progressing from assistant-prof to associate-prof, to full-prof). Bonus money is certainly nice, if it is available, but genuine long-term progression in performance, and subsequent promotion and salary increase based on merit, is much more rewarding. In view of this, a helpful thing to do, if you haven't already got something like this, would be to establish a proper mentoring system to really genuinely help all your lower academics (anything below full-professor) with mentoring by the senior professors. Allocate time to have a senior mentor sit down for a sustained period of time with us and learn about our research work, make plans and career goals, help us with how to produce better quality research more productively, get competitive in grant applications, get citations and interest in our work, etc. Even just having a regular pep-talk with a senior colleague, checking on progress, is helpful. Allocate time to skill-sharing (and count this as part of teaching load) Too often in academic departments, I find that you are mostly just in your own office, hacking through the wilderness on your own research projects and teaching. You are surrounded by people with amazing skills, but there is usually no systematic attempt (and no incentive) to spread these skills around. One teacher wins a teaching award while another is having trouble with teaching, but never shall the twain meet! One academic is a wizard on computer software used in discipline research while others find it bewildering, yet they never sit down to transfer this skill. It would be wonderful if there was time allocated for academics to teach each other and spread their skills around. If you have any academics that are great teachers (e.g., teaching awards, etc.), give them a small amount of time-credit on their teaching to allow them to sit down with other academics (either one-on-one or in small groups) and pass on their best skills and advice. If you have any academics that are wizards on computational software used in the discipline, give them some time-credit to teach these skills to three or four other academics. If you have some quality teachers, give them some time-credit to assist other academics in improving their teaching. Impose strict discipline in meetings: Academics are the worst people in the world at meetings. Compared to meetings in the corporate world, academic meetings are excruciating (and even the corporate world is pretty bad). Formal meetings should have an agenda, and should progress through the points in the agenda at a reasonable speed. No bull-sessions of rambling tangential discussion that take an hour (for something that could be done in ten minutes). If someone starts rambling on about a tangential issue, the meeting chair needs to interject and remind participants that people's time is valuable, and get the discussion back on track. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_6: Being a faculty member myself, I feel there are a few things that I would love to see from my HOD. Those things are: 1. Have 1:1 conversation sessions. Ask them about the problems they are facing, discuss the solutions which could be implemented & show compassion. 2. Appreciate them for their achievements. 3. Listen to them and facilitate them as much as possible. Practice these and your faculty will be happy :) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: For a professional, more important than a raise (they won't admit obviously) is the resources/tools to do a good job. Invest in things that will make them more productive, find the chores and try to minimize them. Example of chores that would make people happy if removed/reduced: 1. long chain of approvals for simple requests 2. slow computers 3. too hot or too cold rooms 4. outside noise 5. printers not working / replacement of toner taking too long 6. etc. In short, everything that is not really important should not take time or interfere with what is important, so one of the more important jobs of a HoD is to remove the stones in the path of who is working. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_8: A working definition of happiness is lacking. It could be anything between a child-like thrill and a profound harmony with the universal history and expanse. Further, the experience of happiness might be intermittent, ephemeral, variable, patchy, and still rewarding in the face of its elusiveness. For inspiration, ask the staff what they lack, assess if you can provide them with it within reason; ask them what they have too much of, and assess if you can relieve it. For such assessments you may refer to people having a science-based take on happiness such as <https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/>. This Greater Good Science Center at UC Barkley even offers MOOCs on this topic like [The Science of Happiness at Work](https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/what_we_do/online_courses_tools/the_science_of_happiness_at_work), hosted by edX. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: In psychology, metrics about psychological states like happiness are seldom assessed as a single question. The reason is that people's response to a simple question like "Are you happy?" is greatly influenced by many factors that might be unrelated to the particular goals of the person asking the question. So a survey might ask a variety of questions and then "happiness" is a composite of the answers from eight of the twenty questions. How do you define happiness and how is current department behavior unhappy? How will you measure success, or report success to administration? You can also look at the task as an attempt to correct problems or as an opportunity to augment things that are already good. So why would anyone ever work in your department? Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_10: Have means of recognising (and sharing) good practice, and saying "thank you". This. This. And more this. The basis of this suggestion is outside of academia and is consistently the single thing (well, two things) that come up frequently across a range of work environments. As a specific example of reward and recognition, it can be something simple like small postcards with a department-specific design on one side and space to write a "thank you" or recognition of success/hard-work message on the reverse. If a copy (photo/scan/email) is also CC'd to that person's manager then it is all the more appreciated. Said manager can then (optionally) collate them together and share success/thank-yous more widely. This element comes with the caveat of needing to be extremely careful to NOT turn it into a competition - instead it must truly (and sincerely) be a celebration of success/gratitude. The importance of such notes being hand-written cannot be understated here either. In the age of instant communication to vast audiences at the click of a button, knowing that somebody has taken the time to physically write a note is all the more meaningful and much more likely to be retained - either due to sentimental value, or as CPD/PDR fodder. Other, more involved, examples which require more substantial/permanent working-practice changes can include buddying/mentoring schemes and skill-share workshops and similar forums to share best practice but username_5's answer deals with those effectively enough. Finally, please do not "force" social interactions as a means of "improving happiness". Forced social interactions and particular events are great when they work well and there is significant buy-in, but can easily (accidentally) alienate those who either have no personal interest in or distaste of the activity (e.g. games sessions, meals at the pub, evening activities). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: The most important thing a HoD had do is to stand as a firewall between the faculty/school administration and the academics. Fight their fights for them, preferably without them even knowing you are having to do it. Don't act as the administrations mouth piece in the department. Provide good admin support - everyone moans about how much is spent on bad admin, but good admin is a god-send. Don't be mean with peoples request. You don't need to buy everyone a shiney new computer, but if someone comes to you and says they can't do their work because their PC is too old, get them a new one. It costs very little compared to the budgets of most departments. As for social events: I agree with others - ask people what they want. One idea that I think works well is we have a 20 minute "Cake morning" one a month, where the HoD buys everyone cake, and reads a list of achievements of everyone in the dept. Its quick, cheap and entirely optional, and we get to feel good about what we do. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_12: Buy a really good coffee machine. From my experience, lots of academics run on caffeine. Buying a good machine will help them in their work. Bonus: put it in a "coffee area" with nice chairs and a view, and allocate someone (maybe a rota, maybe someone whose workload is light in the admin office, maybe yourself!) to clean the macj=hine and make a big pot of coffee at 11 every day. Tell everyone this will happen and invite them to come to the coffee area at 11, drink a brew, and chat or read papers, or even have a journal club if people are too shy to chat socially. Meeting peers once a week to discuss new papers helps everyone get to know each other as well as keep abreast of the latest research in other areas. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_13: There are a lot of good answers here, so I won't rehash their points, just add one: Maintaining good mental health is a key factor to people's happiness, and this is best addressed on the day-to-day level. There are a few small everyday things people can do to keep things at a good level, like taking regular breaks, interacting socially, and having a good work-life balance. The sort of social interaction I'm referring to doesn't mean holding social events, it just means giving people the opportunity to interact with others in a non-work context. Humans are naturally social creatures so we need to have regular social contact to maintain good mental health. Something small every day is far better than something big a few times a year. This can be as simple as having a break room where people can eat their lunch or have coffee together in comfort, and just sit and chat with people while doing so. Furnish it with a microwave, fridge, coffee/tea facilities and some couches or similar, and situate it away from work areas if possible, that way noise from one doesn't disturb the other. Perhaps bring in a packet of sweet biscuits or muffins every now and then for afternoon tea, at least until people get into the habit of taking a tea break at that time of day. By encouraging people to regularly use it for their breaks you will increase social interaction, improve workplace relationships, and help ensure people get enough breaks into their day. When people take small but regular breaks it both breaks up the monotony of the day, and also improves concentration. Work smarter, not harder. Academics are notorious for working through lunch breaks, and just eating their lunch at their desk, so encouraging a healthier alternative will be beneficial for everyone. Encourage people to have clearly distinguished work time vs play time. Little things like answering emails outside of work hours blurs the lines and prevents them from 'switching off' in their down time, and leads to elevated levels of stress. Discourage unhealthy workplace attitudes that suggest working unreasonably long hours, or being too busy to take proper breaks, or not getting enough sleep, or working in the evenings or weekends or during holidays, is somehow 'normal', or 'just part of the job', or a mark of success. Encourage people to set realistic goals and timelines, and learn how to say no. That's all I can think of for now. There's probably lots of other good options though, so for further reading I suggest you look into subjects such as mental health and well-being in the workplace, and general tips to improve work-life balance and stress. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_14: A small suggestion picking up on the social activity side: Instead of thinking about whole-group social activities, facilitate gatherings in relevant smaller groups that allow people to spend time with people they need/want to interact with to be more productive in their work. For example, my current (maths) department has a weekly lunch for women-and-non-binary-people; we bring our own lunch, but coffee and cake are provided. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_15: In addition to your approach, adopt the principle: Best Toilets Ever Ensure that it is your staff that have the best bathrooms - comfortably more than fit for a VIP. You will honor them by doing so. Seriously, go all out. Create a shining example, a stark contrast to all others. Ruthlessly pursue an immaculate and luxurious bathroom experience for your staff. At a low level, you will be indicating to them that they are thought of, catered for, their presence is recognized and respected. They are appreciable and desired and you care... Soft classical music coupled with velvety-soft quilted toilet tissue? Aloe vera infused a step too far? Not for your staff. An abundance of sanitary products, vases of fresh flowers, paintings of scenic landscapes awash with warm colors. Plasma screen with NFL at the urinals. Heated toilet seats. A framed photo of Tyrion Lannister holding a crossbow in one of the cubicles. Whatever your actual approach will be towards faculty happiness, pampering them in this one area is sure to enhance results. Upvotes: 1
2018/09/29	542	2,279	<issue_start>username_0: I am concluding my Ph.D. in the UK, and currently I have two postdoc offers one from the US and one from France. I am not a British/EU citizen and would like to take on an academic path preferably in an English speaking institute. Both projects that I managed to get a postdoc offer for are very interesting, and the PI's are well-known academic in the field. Given that becoming an academic in France requires fluency in French, I was wondering what would be a wise choice here? What are the general qualities that are important for a lectureship position? I am under the impression that for STEM fields, USA is a no brainer, but acquiring a visa might be difficult for me! Any advice is really appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: For better or worse, US institutions are usually considered more prestigious, so that argues in favour of the US. Also salary, taxes, language, your future plans all seem to point toward the US. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I would say prestige-wise, the actual supervisor is more important than the location: A well known supervisor in France will be just as good for you as a well known supervisor in the US, there are just more of them in the US. Of course, you'd choose an unknown at Princeton over an unknown in Grenoble, but you said both are well known. And all this only works if you are trying to stay in the same field when you move on, if you want to move on then prestige of institutions counts more. Research in the US is likely to be better funded than in France, and you'll likely have more chance to interact with other top researchers other than people in your own group. There will be far more opportunity for faculty positions, long-term, in the states than in France. On the flip side, employment conditions will be better in France: max working times and compulsory breaks are observed: everyone takes a proper lunch and is home in time for tea, and it would be almost impossible to sack you. For the breaks and work/life balance, its is possible find this in the US, but you have to be selective about the culture of the group you join. Unfortunately no amount of selectivity can mean that the boss can't just sack you if they don't like you in the US. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2018/09/30	1,169	4,853	<issue_start>username_0: For various valid reasons, I was not able to sign up for a certain math course that I need. The professor is amazing, and I really hope to get into her class. I went to her class every day for a week, and hoped to continue doing so until the last day to add, which is two weeks after the term starts. However, she had far too many students sitting in until Thursday of the first week, so she asked people who weren't enrolled to stop coming, otherwise there wouldn't be enough physical seats for the people who actually enrolled in the course. As a plus she is such a sweet lady, and I was hoping to take math in an unintimidating environment, so that I can actually learn (I've had many horrible experiences). I emailed her multiple times, and told her my situation of why I couldn't enroll on time, and simply requested if I could continue coming to the class for the second week, and I would sit in the back of the room, just in case someone happens to drop the class. She kindly denied my requests, but I genuinely want to be in her class. Not to mention, all the other math classes are also waitlisted, so I won't be able to get into other professors' classes either. I even took the quiz for her class on Friday, and got 20/20. I studied hard, so that she can see that I am serious about her course. I showed up on time/early every day. I am so disappointed, 1) because I need this course to graduate on time, since it's in a sequence of math courses 2) because this teacher was so genuinely great! I've never had such an amazing learning experience in a math class, and this was just in 4 days! She even stopped replying to my emails, which I understand because she is busy. Is there anything else I can do? I just want to sit in until next week to see if someone drops. The cap is 40 students, and she let in 43. Please help me out. Sorry for the long message. \By the way, only two extra students including me showed up to the class on Friday, and took the quiz. All the other students who wanted to get in didn't show up.<issue_comment>username_1: Depending on the institution, this may be something that the professor has 0% control over. Most courses at university level have entry requirements. These typically consist of either: pre-requisite topics (to be done before this class) e.g. Calculus 1 before Calculus 2. * post-requisite topics (if you have done A then you cannot do B) e.g. Calculus 2 then doing Calculus 1. * Other requirements (be enrolled in a specific degree, be at a specific campus, have it listed as an approved option topic, etc..) Before continuously going after the teacher of the course perhaps you should consult with the administrative staff to ensure you meet the requirements. If nothing else they will ne able to assist you, maybe set you up with an alternative class or ensure you meet the requirements for the next offering. If the professor was to bend the rules for one student, then they would need to bend the rules for everyone. As aggravating and annoying as the rules can be they always exist for a reason. Be it degree accreditation, making sure students are well equipped to take a class, they always exist for a reason. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Lizzie, After reading the details which I asked you to add earlier, I can only come up to this solution: Go and talk to her in person. Being a teacher myself, I find it difficult to ignore the requests of an 'eager learner'. Which in your case is "you". Tell her how important it is for you to take that course and specifically from her and how you have performed in your first quiz. Ask her very politely if it is possible for her to allow you in that course (Politeness matters A LOT) and that you will continue to work harder. Try this and I hope it'll work. Good luck :) Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: At this point, for this term, I think you are entirely out of options. Pretty much anything you do to squeeze in will only make things worse. You should, of course, have acted in a timely manner. However, you might be able to get credit for the course in a future term through an "independent study" option, either from this professor or another. You might also ask whether you can get credit for the course by passing one or more examinations in the future. Since you need the course for graduation and if it isn't being offered in a timely manner, the department head will have an incentive to make something like this work for you. But for now, if you are being perceived as a pest, stop doing that. However, you might be able to learn quite a bit of the material if you have a friend in the course who would give you access to her/his notes and answer a few questions you might have. You could go a long way toward learning the material without "bothering" the prof. Upvotes: 2
2018/09/30	992	4,344	<issue_start>username_0: It would be nice to make a case for funding pure mathematics projects strictly on their own terms, as good mathematics, but this is increasingly not the world we live in. Legislators and funding agencies want to see "useful" proposals, which puts anyone who does pure mathematics in the position of having to come up with (often tenuous) real-world applications for their work. My question is: How do review panels perceive this practice? Do they really find largely hypothetical connections with applied sciences convincing? At what point does it become shameless BS that damages an application?<issue_comment>username_1: This won't be a direct answer to your query, but I hope will be useful advice. First, if you must do pure math and you must get funding to do it, then you have no option but to apply. If you don't apply, you don't get funded. Next, being devious isn't going to help you and will likely be recognized, as you fear. However, on some time scale, all mathematics is applied. The time scale may be long, of course. In my personal case, it took about thirty years for someone to find an application for my "beautiful" but extremely arcane dissertation to find application. I'd predicted that it would never be done. But thirty years isn't very long, so that doesn't help you directly. You work in some subfield of mathematics, of course. It might be very narrow and it might be a currently popular subfield, or not. But it is likely that others in the same subfield, or a closely related one, have seen applications of their work to some problems. If you can learn what those applications have been, you have the basis for a statement that "Advanced work in X has been known to contribute to Y as evidenced by (citation)". That isn't devious, or phony. But note that "applied" is actually a continuum, not a discrete thing. Pure is pretty far to one end of the continuum, but it isn't disconnected from the other. But it will take some investigation on your part, and I suspect that you are good at that sort of thing. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I'll give you my perspective as an applied mathematician who has read a fair share of pure math proposals. I do, for example, find it amusing that essentially every number theory proposal stresses the importance of the work to cryptography. One can conjecture that it's rather unlikely that that is actually true for even a significant fraction of these proposals, but it is the common approach in that community to address NSF's requirement to explain the "Broader impact" of the work. Now, since that is so and everyone does it, it's likely that a selection panel consisting of people well versed in the field is just going to read over that statement and ignore it -- everyone knows that applicants need to pay lip service to the broader impacts, registers that they do, and moves on. In other words, as long as you stay within the norm of your subfield in conjuring up possible connections to applications, then there is no problem for you. Of course, if you promise completely outrageous connections, then even a panel of people who are in the same situation as you will find that you've gone beyond. Where exactly that line is is of course hard to define -- talk to others in the community and let them comment on what you write. I do want to add one point to this, because I really don't want to come over as a pure-math bashing applied mathematician: The same of course happens in what is generally understood as "applied mathematics". Whether you try to show that the solution of some PDE is in a slightly smaller Sobolov space than was previously known, or whether you show W^{1,\infty} error estimates for finite element discretizations of some obscure equation, the truth is that much of this kind of research is also pure. The only difference is that the equation you are considering might have been motivated by some actual application, but the actual work you do is not motivated by trying to actually solve the problem in the same way as an engineer would want to approach this. In other words, your work may be closer to applications and is often easier to explain to laypeople, but it's not exactly applied in many cases and the "broader" impacts are also quite limited. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2018/09/30	1,133	4,972	<issue_start>username_0: In some undergraduate programs, "Statistics" courses (including probability) are listed under the "Math" department. In others, they are "cross listed" with Math courses. And in some others, they are listed as entirely separate disciplines. Switch over to the admissions department of an American graduate school, with distinctly separate Math and Statistics departments. The informal requirement for admission to the Math graduate program is ten Math courses. But a particular candidate (yours truly, perhaps), has "only" eight math courses, but two statistics courses also. If you treat those as "math" courses, the candidate has ten. The relevant GPA is 3.5; four A's and four B's in Math; one A and one B in Stat. The candidate's GRE score is about 60th percentile for your program; letters of recommendation are solid, but not outstanding. How might various American graduate programs look upon an application where two statistics courses "replaced" two math courses? Suppose it was four statistics courses; two As and two Bs? People in your school believe that Statistics is "soft" Math, but in the latter case, the candidate has two "extra" courses, FWIW, and maybe some extra preparation and demonstration of dedication.<issue_comment>username_1: This won't be a direct answer to your query, but I hope will be useful advice. First, if you must do pure math and you must get funding to do it, then you have no option but to apply. If you don't apply, you don't get funded. Next, being devious isn't going to help you and will likely be recognized, as you fear. However, on some time scale, all mathematics is applied. The time scale may be long, of course. In my personal case, it took about thirty years for someone to find an application for my "beautiful" but extremely arcane dissertation to find application. I'd predicted that it would never be done. But thirty years isn't very long, so that doesn't help you directly. You work in some subfield of mathematics, of course. It might be very narrow and it might be a currently popular subfield, or not. But it is likely that others in the same subfield, or a closely related one, have seen applications of their work to some problems. If you can learn what those applications have been, you have the basis for a statement that "Advanced work in X has been known to contribute to Y as evidenced by (citation)". That isn't devious, or phony. But note that "applied" is actually a continuum, not a discrete thing. Pure is pretty far to one end of the continuum, but it isn't disconnected from the other. But it will take some investigation on your part, and I suspect that you are good at that sort of thing. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I'll give you my perspective as an applied mathematician who has read a fair share of pure math proposals. I do, for example, find it amusing that essentially every number theory proposal stresses the importance of the work to cryptography. One can conjecture that it's rather unlikely that that is actually true for even a significant fraction of these proposals, but it is the common approach in that community to address NSF's requirement to explain the "Broader impact" of the work. Now, since that is so and everyone does it, it's likely that a selection panel consisting of people well versed in the field is just going to read over that statement and ignore it -- everyone knows that applicants need to pay lip service to the broader impacts, registers that they do, and moves on. In other words, as long as you stay within the norm of your subfield in conjuring up possible connections to applications, then there is no problem for you. Of course, if you promise completely outrageous connections, then even a panel of people who are in the same situation as you will find that you've gone beyond. Where exactly that line is is of course hard to define -- talk to others in the community and let them comment on what you write. I do want to add one point to this, because I really don't want to come over as a pure-math bashing applied mathematician: The same of course happens in what is generally understood as "applied mathematics". Whether you try to show that the solution of some PDE is in a slightly smaller Sobolov space than was previously known, or whether you show W^{1,\infty} error estimates for finite element discretizations of some obscure equation, the truth is that much of this kind of research is also pure. The only difference is that the equation you are considering might have been motivated by some actual application, but the actual work you do is not motivated by trying to actually solve the problem in the same way as an engineer would want to approach this. In other words, your work may be closer to applications and is often easier to explain to laypeople, but it's not exactly applied in many cases and the "broader" impacts are also quite limited. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2018/09/30	1,559	6,565	<issue_start>username_0: This may seem like a naive question, but its one I've had on my mind while working through readying my applications for a PhD in the UK. It seems bizarre to me that PhDs here are not funded by default - from my point of view, a PhD is effectively a job. It is a sort of long term graduate program for working in academia. From this point of view, it seems absurd that one could end up being in a situation where they might actually have to pay to pursue one. One possible answer is that universities are simply admitting more students than they are capable of funding. If that is the case, then why is it the case? Surely having fewer, better funded doctoral candidates would not only improve the lot of many "students" (employees, in my view), but it would also have beneficial impacts on the employment prospects in academia for PhD students after they finish, since there will be fewer people competing for the same number of openings. What are the incentives and cultural motivations here that keep the system as it is? How different is it in other countries? (I have heard, but been unable to decisively verify, that many European unis treat PhDs as the jobs they are).<issue_comment>username_1: There are enough people willing to trade off bad payment for, firstly, an extent of self-realization they wouldn't have in most regular jobs, and secondly, future career prospects. This keeps the supply of PhD candidates steady. Thus there is no incentive for universities to introduce better funding, unless these incentives are set by regulation or collective bargaining contract (like in some parts of continental Europe). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: * Why Universities admit students without funding? The Universities will profit from this both directly (tuition fees) and indirectly (research made by student). * Why supervisors supervise non-funded students? Whether student is funded from the University budget, from the grant, or self-funded plays no role in supervision process. The research produced by self-funded students may be not that good as the results produced by highly skilled student who got themselves a prestigious grant funding. However, considering that the number of students supervised to completion plays a major role in promotion process many supervisors will have to take all PhD students almost irrespective of how well they fit. * Why students will do this work without being payed? I don't know exactly. Maybe, because some UK Universities are so well recognised, that students believe having a PhD from such University will pay off later in their career. Maybe they want to live in the UK, because it's a nice place to live. Maybe they want to work with this particular professor in the UK. Reasons vary. What's yours? Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Ok I did earn my PhD in the UK, and I got fully funded position which covered my tuition and living; so I’m eligible to answer this question. Timeframe: Just keep in mind that I was searching for a position in the middle of my master degree, and 12 months passed by till the day I put my foot at the uni as a PhD student. Teachers: I could say based on my experience, some university professors are basically teachers. This means, they teach the slides and have no interest in research. Obviously you can’t get PhD position from them because they have no research funds, and if you do you are a fool because they are just not interested; and your PhD will be a living hell. Cashing machines: some university policies are based on money and only money. They focus on bachelor and master degrees. These entities have no interest in research and if you get the PhD position there, your life will be living hell. Good luck asking for conference trip and so on. High Quality professors: high quality professors are easy to find and hard to get a response from. They have the funds and they give it to you if they will feel you will bring something to the table. Upcoming professors: I did put my bet in this category and you should too. They don’t have the fuss the high quality professors have and they are happy working with you to get the funding. These are individuals in the road to be on the top and you should be part of it. To conclude yes there are not so many fundings, but not everyone should be a PhD student either. If you work hard enough you could still secure a fully funded PhD position. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Universities themselves fund very few students. My faculty (which has 7 departments I can think of off the top of my head, and probably over 250 PhD supervisors) funds 2 students a year. These are used as strategic investments, either in a particular area the faculty wants to expand in, or more often as part of the start up package for a new academic. So in answer "why not fewer, better funded PhDs", the answer is that any fewer would effectively be none. In STEM subjects, a large number of PhDs are funded by external funding bodies, such as the government funded research councils. For example my department get 4 or 5 students a year from a Biology and Biotechnology Reserach Council (BBSRC) Doctoral Training Program (DTP). Importantly, government funded PhD studentships are only open to European (soon to be only British) citizens. Then there are CASE studentships that are financed jointly by government and industry. In both these cases the university has no say in how well resourced the studentship is; but they do earn the tuition fees that are paid by these outside agencies. After our DTP and CASE studentships the most common way for a student to be financed is by a foreign government. These studentships generally are very well resourced because the university can more or less ask for as much as it likes. However payment of the student's stipend is down to that forigen government. Finally if the student REALLY wants to do a PhD (so they can have a career that requires it one supposes), the university doesn't really care where the money comes from, as long as they get their £18k a year, they are happy and will tell supervisors to supervise them. Depending on the institution and the rank of the supervisor, various levels of compulsion might be applied to encouraging the supervisors to supervise a fee paying student. Supervisors are also often happy to take foreign students because the research funds they bring can see the rest of the a research group through a tough patch. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2018/09/30	580	2,017	<issue_start>username_0: I presented a paper at a conference but the conference never got around to publishing their proceedings. They kept saying it was going to happen "soon" but after six months, I have lost hope. Is there any way to submit such a paper to Google Scholar? It's not hosted anywhere and Google is an indexing service, not a paper repository. That makes me think the answer is no. However, I know the minds here will have the answer. The paper is in education so Arvix is not really a solution here.<issue_comment>username_1: See [this link](https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/inclusion.html) for some information: > > Individual Authors > If you're an individual author, it works best to > simple upload your paper to your website, e.g., > www.example.edu/~professor/jpdr2009.pdf; and add a link to it on your > publications page, such as > www.example.edu/~professor/publications.html. Make sure that: > > > a the > full text of your paper is in a PDF file that ends with ".pdf", > > > b the > title of the paper appears in a large font on top of the first page, > > > c the authors of the paper are listed right below the title on a > separate line, and > > > d there's a bibliography section titled, e.g., > "References" or "Bibliography" at the end. > > > That's it! Our search > robots should normally find your paper and include it in Google > Scholar within several weeks. > > > If you’re not at a university, I reckon some place like academia.edu or researchgate.net might also be indexed. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is not to your question, but: You are too impatient. In the publishing industry, 6 months is not an incredibly slow turn-around time. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Copyright permitting, you could always post it to a preprint server that accepts publications from all disciplines. I quite like OSF Preprints: <https://osf.io/preprints/> Google Scholar will then most likely index it soon after. Upvotes: 1
2018/09/30	242	1,071	<issue_start>username_0: I contacted my professor to ask for a recommendation letter and I knew from him that he left my institution and asked me to use another e-mail address for him in the recommendation which is a Gmail. Will this affect the credibility of his recommendation in my application?<issue_comment>username_1: It seems unlikely that it would have any effect. I assume that he knows how to write a letter and explain things appropriately. The fact that he isn't an academic any more is less important than the relationship you once had and what he can still say about your prospects. Of course, it is best if he has left a trail of accomplishments behind in his own work that will reflect on you. But he will likely know to point to that in his letter. Don't depend too much on a single letter, however. You will want several if the institution will accept them. People also retire, of course, and sometimes get asked for letters. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It is better to include , for honesty and reputation. Upvotes: -1
2018/10/01	1,452	6,051	<issue_start>username_0: After long thought, I have decided to quit my master's program. I fully understand the shame and failure that this is. What is the professional way to leave, I do not wish to waste anyone's time but I feel just ducking out with an email would look bad. Should I simply arrange a meeting with my thesis advisor and let them know then, and should I indicate my desire to quit within the email I send? I know whatever happens, I will be viewed as a failure by them and will never get a reference from them.<issue_comment>username_1: First, there shouldn't be any shame involved. For some reason you have learned that what you are now doing isn't right for you. That is perfectly natural, even if you are struggling at the moment. But before you decide finally, make sure it is the right decision. As to how to do it, a face to face meeting is the best way. But before you have the meeting, think about what your future plans are so that you can talk about them as well as about quitting. If you think you may want to return later, you can work that in. The academic life isn't for everyone, and it may be a good thing if that is the case for you and you learn it now. Your advisor may even have options available that you haven't thought of, but face to face is best. If you want to give him/her a heads-up on your intentions, send an email asking for a meeting to discuss your future. --- You don't say why you are considering quitting, and you need not. However, there are at least three common reasons. First, is just external pressures that need to be dealt with. Second is burn-out that is pretty common also, and can lead to health issues. That can be overcome in some cases with help. But the third reason is one to consider. There is a condition called Imposter Syndrome that affects many students at a certain point. It is the deep feeling that you don't belong because you "aren't good enough." That is often a bit related to burn-out but it is also pretty often completely unjustified. One of the reasons for speaking to your advisor in person is that he/she might just reassure you that you are, in fact, good enough. I suggest that you investigate Imposter Syndrome online as a start if you think this resonates. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Quitting is neither shameful nor a failure. On the contrary, it is respectable and a success. You've established that continuing is not appropriate and you've taken action to find an appropriate direction. > > What is the professional way to leave > > > The university should define a withdrawal procedure which you must follow. In addition, you may contact your thesis advisor. It is acceptable to merely send them an email, but you might want to arrange a meeting (which is what I'd recommend). Whether you indicate your intent to quit in an email beforehand depends what you want. If your decision is absolutely final, then the email could make it clear to your advisor that you are quitting, rather than merely contemplating quitting. This is a useful distinction, because your advisor may try to help you make a decision if they think a final decision hasn't been reached. > > I will be viewed as a failure by them and will never get a reference from them. > > > A good supervisor would never take such a view nor would they refuse to provide a reference. (They might -- if they believe it is in your best interests -- discuss the possibility of staying.) Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Something similar happened to me about 30 years ago in the UK. I would suggest setting up a face-to-face meeting with your supervisor. When I did this, email wasn't much of a thing: I think I just caught her in the corridor and asked something like "Can we meet to discuss my research project?". I graduated with a good BSc. in Microcomputer and Electronic Engineering and went on to become a Research Student1 at the same institution working towards an MSc. and then a PhD. The work started well – interesting, challenging-but-achievable – but after a while it was becoming clear that the work was heading in a direction that I was not as interested in, nor as capable at. After about a year – after a certain amount of anguish – I realised that things were unlikely to work out – at least in their current form – and plucked up the courage to confront my supervisor. Yes, I must have had some feelings of shame and failure, but I had also convinced myself that it was in neither of our interests (me or the department) to continue for another two or three years not really making progress and with little or nothing to show at the end of it. Obviously there was some disappointment on my supervisor's part that I felt unable to continue (both for me, and for the department), but there was never any animosity. Like me, I think she was glad that I brought it up sooner rather than later (didn't waste as much of her or the department's time, potentially allowed the funding behind my work to be used for someone else). And far from "never get[ting] a reference from them" we discussed what I was interested in, and I was offered (and took) the chance to become a Research Assistant2 on a new three-year project (later extended to four years) that was due to start shortly. The only "concession" they asked was that I "went through the motions" of submitting for an MSc. (knowing I wouldn't get one) as this helped the "box ticking"... --- 1 In the UK at the time you were first a normal (undergraduate) student studying for a first degree (BA/BSc). Then some would become a Research Student (usually funded) with the primary purpose to get either a Masters (MA/MSc) and/or a doctorate (PhD). 2 A Research Assistant positions was effectively an employee of the university, working on a specific research project. The primary goal was doing the research (which often tended to be more about the application of ideas), but opportunities for higher degrees were still present. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/01	2,174	8,406	<issue_start>username_0: Most people are familiar with the [controversy over citing Nazi medical experimentation](http://theconversation.com/is-it-ethical-to-use-data-from-nazi-medical-experiments-39928) and related unethical findings. I'm not questioning that. Assuming that citing unethical research in order to bolster or support one's own findings is, in fact, unethical, does the situation change if the prior unethical findings may contradict, falsify, or otherwise be potentially detrimental to one's own findings? For example, many feel that publishing this is unethical: > > In this paper, we demonstrate that splines are reticulatable in six-space under the Transhalpine Coordinate System. Evil Nazi Supervillain (1941) demonstrated that a spline can exist in six-space. Assuming this to be true, our model demonstrates how such as spline can be reticulated with respect to the Transhalpine system, to wit.... > > > Assuming that would be, in fact, unethical, would this be any different: > > In this paper, we demonstrate that splines are reticulatable in six-space under the Transhalpine Coordinate System. Goody-Two-Shoes, Angel, Seraphim, Hero, Superhero, and Person-Who-Was-Mostly-Good-Except-That-He-Jaywalked-Once-When-He-Was-Eight-And-Was-Continuously-And-Justly-Punished-Throughout-His-Lifetime-For-Said-Act (1932) demonstrated that a spline can exist in six-space. Evil Nazi Supervillain (1941) obtained a contrary result in which splines cannot exist in six-space, but we only mention this because ethical requirements require that we disclose to you that we are are aware of a prior result that may affect our findings. The result was gained by attempting coordinate transformations on splines that had not granted informed consent for geometric experimentation. In this case the researcher was, like, a super bad guy and you, like, totally should ignore his findings because he was even more evil than Dr. Doom and his paper is probably full of shoddy praxis, negligent notetaking, and even outright fabrications. > > > Assuming that a spline can actually exist in six-space, our model demonstrates how such as spline can be reticulated with respect to the Transhalpine system, to wit.... > > > Generally speaking, is it more ethical to cite or not cite the potentially problematic prior result? I suppose the gist of this question is which ethical duty is paramount: * The duty to honestly account for the current state of research and disclose potential findings that may affect the current paper. * The duty to not acknowledge or use unethical research. Could this one of the "unusual circumstances" mentioned in [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/31122/58912) answer? I suppose that the Don't Cite Unethical Research rule could be clarified as actually meaning that it is unethical to benefit from prior unethical results, so a citation that does not benefit the later researcher (but in fact serves more as a disclaimer) would be allowed. Would that be more along the lines of how this would actually be handled?<issue_comment>username_1: I think it's going to be difficult to answer a complicated question like this with anything besides "it depends..." unless there is a less trivial example given. I also find the trivial example a bit bothersome, because although I understand what you are trying to get at with your arbitrary splines example, the actual real-life work you are weighing it against includes destructive medical experimentation on individuals who died or were permanently harmed for the remainder of their lives, and I don't think making a joke of it about "unethical acts committed against splines" is helpful to the discussion. [The answer you refer to](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/31116/if-someone-conducts-unethical-research-unbeknownst-to-anybody-but-produces-posi/31122#31122) basically says already in citing Baruch Cohen that the answer of when to cite questionable research depends on the circumstances, and I don't think there is anything to add to that: > > In essence, Cohen argues that in certain extreme cases it may be possible to use the data, but only when accompanied by strong condemnation of the methods and only when it concerns information that is both otherwise impossible to obtain and of life-saving importance. > > > In summary, if not citing unethically produced research is likely to cause harm then consideration should be given to citing such research. In a trivial or arbitrary example, like the one you give, it is impossible to evaluate the level of harm so it is impossible to weigh this against the concerns with citing unethically produced research. Note that in some cases it may be possible to refer to unethical research without citing it directly, for example by citing research that specifically critiques that prior work. I would also refer to another Academia.SE question that addresses the less extreme example of citing retracted works: [Is it right to cite a retracted research article?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/104186/is-it-right-to-cite-a-retracted-research-article) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Are you conflating evil people with scientific results that they achieve (by valid means)? They should not be conflated. Condemn the people and the evil acts that they do, but not any valid results obtained by honorable means. Evil monsters don't need to always act in an evil manner. There is, for example, a lot of both computer engineering and mathematics that was done by total racists. This was in the US and in fairly recent years. This doesn't make it invalid to use computers, nor does it invalidate the mathematics itself. It isn't even necessary to state that X was an evil monster otherwise when citing X. However, if you are writing about racism or other evils, then it is perfectly appropriate to point out the flaws. Of course, the spline research would be discredited if to do it evil acts needed to be carried out, but you don't seem to be saying that here. What is true is true, even if uttered by monsters. What is false is false, even if uttered by angels. --- Since the question was changed, I'll add this. If "research" has been discredited for any reason then there is no need to cite it other than as something not to be done. There is no need to cite failures to prove a theorem when you provide a proof, and there is no need to cite research that was done unethically. The results themselves are in question. There are a lot of ways to fail at research. Lack of ethical behavior is only one. Don't cite the failures, except as failures. In the case at hand, the research resulting from unethical behavior doesn't "contradict" the current work. It wasn't valid in the first place. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: (This is a comment expanded into an answer.) There is no "duty to not acknowledge or use unethical research". Science is not a game where a result that was achieved by breaking rules doesn't count. And citation is not endorsement, or else how can you criticize bad studies? "Against Them Who Shall Not Be Named"? (It is true that some career-relevant metrics reward researchers for getting cited often. It is also true that notoriety doubles as a form of fame in this world. None of these are the fault of researchers, and there is no moral duty to adapt to these effects through self-censorship.) The only duty is honesty. If scientific results were obtained unethically, the question is: Can they still be trusted? In the case of Nazi research, for example, the question is complex and depends highly on the domain: In medicine, a lot of the medical research was tainted by bias and outright fabrication (see, e.g., [this appraisal of the Dachau hypothermia experiments](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199005173222006)), while other work has been [generally accepted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Asperger#Asperger_syndrome_diagnosis) despite ethical taint. In either case, the original researcher's ethical standing and even whatever Faustian bargains were involved in the research are not the deciding criterion. In mathematics, the consensus appears to be that, while the general quality of NS-German maths research is low except for a few lone talents, it was better than nothing. You take what you are given. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/01	1,769	7,307	<issue_start>username_0: Today was the first day of my PhD. It's a very prestigious institution and I was extremely excited to start. However, it seems there is a general feeling of discontentment with people in the group and I was told some stories that, quite frankly, shocked me to the point where I was legitimately considering packing up then and there. I was told that the supervisor of this group has extremely suspicious working practises, blocks papers from students to give the credit to 'preferred' students, has insanely unrealistic expectations (I was told that some students were expected to work through the night regularly), blocking people from graduating to get more cheap labor out of them, and many more things. The term "psychopath" was thrown about a lot. I have recently completed my master's in a group where there was an extremely poor PI with an incredibly abusive and parasitic attitude towards the group. I don't really wish to go into it because I want to maintain anonymity, but suffice to say that I do not want the same experience in my PhD. As you may realise, I'm extremely concerned that I've made a truly terrible decision and I would like some advice going forward. I realise that this is only my first day, and I am not going to make any rash decisions without more context and experience, but what should I be looking out for? How do I protect myself from abusive behaviour? And, most importantly, how do I decide when enough is enough and I should cut and run? I would really like to get the PhD as I'm extremely passionate about the subject, so in order keep a science career possible I think if the option to quit is on the table, it would have to be in the first year. I don't however think that a career in science is worth the exchange of the toll on my mental health that an abusive boss will cause.<issue_comment>username_1: Based on my experience because I had the same situation before and regret not doing that right decision since earlier time. I do recommend you first to stay for couple of months and try to figure out how this PI behaves towards you, in the same time try to look for another good lab. I am still burning out as since month ago this what happened to me, you can see my post here: [Forced to Quit PhD although the hard and proved work](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/116799/forced-to-quit-phd-although-the-hard-and-proved-work?noredirect=1#comment308006_116799) So, I dont want you to be in the same situation, I really appreciate that you are passionate about the subject, however, if you have a poor supervisor S(he) is going to ruin every thing. Another advice and really important which I regret not doing it is asking the current students and alumni, don't be lured by citation and their prestige and trust your gut. I hope you can take the right decision and for sure I don't recommend you to leave, however stay, work hard as much as you can and if you have noticed red flags from s(he), you can switch from the lab. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The things you mentioned could've been worth exploring before going to the institution - for example, you could've emailed the supervisor's former students and asked about their experience. But now that you're committed, to pack your bags and leave means a lot of effort has gone to waste. It can't have been easy to relocate & enroll, or if you're an international student, to get a visa. Now is not the time to take action based on hearsay. Keep doing what you're doing, and if there's truth in the things you're hearing you'll find out soon enough. It should be very easy to see if other students are working late into the night for example, or if they are miserable. Don't think about leaving before you confirm the rumors. As for when to cut your losses and run, that's easy: when you no longer wake up looking forward to the day, when going to university becomes a chore, when you find yourself thinking you'd really rather be doing something else, that's the time to quit. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I believe you should step back and reconsider your options. If you gather any solid evidence supporting what you have been told, start focusing on your next step full time. Strategically, you must realise you probably find yourself in an advantageous position. I believe you're being paid or at least supported as a PhD student. From what you said, this is exactly where you wanted to be. You have plenty of institutional resources and time in your hands. Make use of these, to your favour. You have received privileged information about serious issues in your group, right at the beginning. Not many are that lucky. I once found myself in a similar situation. I joined a group far from home, as a PhD student. You know the scene: moving elsewhere, arranging rental, basic furniture, saying goodbye to the world, and there you arrive fresh in the cool morning to start a new life. Within 4 days of work my closest colleague closed our office door during lunchtime, and told me the workplace was absolute crap. That "the boss" clearly only liked having pretty girls as students, and on top of that we were both outsiders from other institutions. So that we would have to live off scraps of whatever is rejected by locals -- funding, data, attention. And I had no salary yet. I seriously considered packing up and leaving. But I didn't. I decided to stay stay and measure myself to "the boss". Long story short: it worked. For four bloody years. It all proved true. Examples: The "boss" didn't make any effort towards securing my salary, but after I cornered and yelled at him at least he signed the necessary papers: I got the funds. He hinted reallocating my funds to lab equipment "for the girls", but I vehemently denied and summarised by an email statement with copy to others. He asked me to keep raw data file records, I gave him incomplete sets. Etc, etc, etc. Towards the end of my PhD I hired a lawyer regarding a conflict with the department (I had exposed plagiarism by a local big-shot) and clearly seeing a lawyer around reaffirmed a safe distance to my "boss". I was usually left alone. Main advice here: being ready to quit makes you ruthless. I wasn't too afraid of dropping my PhD from start so I played all cards. My focus is in getting things done, not degrees. This "ex-boss" is an insecure professional who apparently never had anyone stand up against him before. Also I had full support from a co-advisor who was highly interested in our project, and that guy does have a strong, political personality. I went through my PhD between this delicate balance of power. My "boss" was eerily uncomfortable (I believe scared) in my presence and my co-advisor mediated any significant conflict towards the completion of the collaboration. I finished my PhD fairly easily (from a technical point of view) and today I remain active in the same topic of research. I am not saying you should do the same. I am not saying it was easy or usually comfortable. Perhaps I should have left and gone elsewhere. But it worked nonetheless. Because I was warned and thus made up my mind, and a strategy. This is what I recommend you to do. Good luck. Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
2018/10/01	1,014	4,200	<issue_start>username_0: I realize this question may not have an explicit answer - if so I will remove promptly as per guidelines. I have an upcoming visit to my top-choice program where I will be meeting potential committee members and the grad program director. I am very nervous. Details about the visit itself: * morning breakfast with committee member * lunch with other grad students * several meetings with different professors/grad program director * last meeting is with primary supervisor Suggestions can be more structured around the following considerations: * how can I stop freaking out * do i need to sell myself 100% of the time, or try to be more amicable This isn't an official interview (app isn't due for a couple months) but I've been talking with several profs in the department for a while.<issue_comment>username_1: First, you are probably new at this so freaking out is pretty natural. If you'd done it ten or so times, it would feel pretty natural. Actually, a bit of physical exercise can help you calm your mind. Coffee, not so much. But, more seriously, I think you need to be pretty natural. You will be a colleague and people will want to be able to work with you and so, to be comfortable with you. It needn't be all technical either. "Anyone here play handball?" But you also need to demonstrate that you are suited for the environment. People will look to you for ideas, of course, so you need to be able to answer questions both about yourself and about the field/research that is going on. But, it is also wise not to come on too strong in the beginning. People have their ways of doing things. If you are "too helpful" you may be hurting yourself as in "Who is this guy?". So save any suggestions you might have for "improvement" in the lab for a later time. I once made the mistake of giving too much advice in a new employment situation and it was resented, as I learned later. Whether it was the right advice or not wasn't important. Probably the best thing you can do is express a lot of interest in what is going on. But each meeting will be a bit different. If "selling" is needed it will be more likely useful with the supervisor. Be positive in all things. "How do you see yourself fitting in with these people?" You might also be prepared for surprises. Can you give an impromptu talk on your prior research? Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: SELLING (last bullet): In converse to a job (where this really would be an interview), this is mostly about you learning and I doubt they will file reports and have a decision meeting (as they would for a formal job interview visit). Most of the decision will be based on your application. Of course, it would be good to avoid looking bad and to look good (to benefit yourself), realize that most of the decision will be done based on your written application. Just come across as pleasant and interested in the topics. Treat it like a date. Get the people to talk about themselves. FREAKING (second to last bullet): Enjoy yourself. Don't be completely loosey goosey. But at the same time, realize this is a learning opportunity regardless if you get the gig or not, regardless if you decide to go to the school. The most fun part of the learning curve is the steepest part and that is when you are most ignorant. Any day one onsite visit (job interview, job start, consulting study) has the benefit of a rush of new info. Realize that and enjoy that you are collecting intel and learning. Have some idea what you want to know (make a written list). But also be open to learning new unexpected things good and bad. E.g. "mugging is overemphasized at University of Chicago--it only happened to me once." was a statement that dropped the place for me and I wasn't even aware of the neighborhood issue prior. So any "plant tour" should BOTH involve planning and answering pre-set questions AND be open to new findings where you didn't even know the question to ask. P.s. I am aware that the OP has already succeeded (and maybe was a bit of a superstar but who worried too much) but am responding to all the other people that read from searches. Upvotes: 0
2018/10/01	2,116	8,652	<issue_start>username_0: Recently, I wrote an article, and I'm trying to submit it somewhere, but two journals told me that my article is plagiarized even up to 70%! * I'm 100% sure that it's not plagiarized because I wrote it by myself. * The only thing that I suspect caused this problem is that I posted the pre-print online in ECSarxiv, and I think they found my pre-print and think my paper is plagiarized! My name on the pre-print is exactly the same as in the submitted paper. * I checked the pre-print policy of these journals, and they clearly stated that they don't have a problem with pre-prints. * I checked it with Turnitin, and it says there is no plagiarism in my article. I also searched the Internet for random sentences from my article and it just shows my pre-print. * I complained after I received the rejection, pointed out to my pre-print, and asked them to name the paper I allegedly plagiarized from. However, they did not respond back to me. I now sent an email to editor-in-chief and I'm waiting for response. * I am confident that the journals are reputable (Elsevier and Springer). Any ideas or suggestions?<issue_comment>username_1: Chances are the journal ran your paper through an automated plagiarism checker (the only realistic way to check for plagiarism these days) and this 70% number is what the program found. That you found nothing using Turnitin isn't enough evidence to prove there was no plagiarism: a plagiarism checker is only as good as the data it has, and it's possible Turnitin doesn't have the original paper. Having said that the journal should tell you which paper they think you've plagiarized from, as well as which sentences are plagiarized. If they don't, you should absolutely write back to ask. From your comments you've already done that, so there's nothing to do now except wait. The fact that at least two journals have checked your paper and found plagiarism is a bad sign; on the bright side, you can ask both journals for more details and it's less likely they both don't answer. If they respond you'll be able to fix the plagiarism if it's there, or point out why there's no plagiarism if it isn't there. If they don't respond after a reasonable time, then the only thing left to do is submit the paper elsewhere. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Since data science and text analysis has blown up recently ( this decade ), Plagiraism checkers have been a huge use for it. Problem is, text analysis can range from the very rudimentary (check how many times a word appears in a document and come up with a ratio of it to the all the words in the document) to the very complex (look for sentence structures, topic analysis, etc). You would think that journals would run some high-end plagiraism checker, but you never know. They may be running a rudimentary checker that just racks up all the words in your paper and it seems to pattern-match the ratio of words you use compared to your whole document to seem similar enough to another person's document. But, that wouldn't take into account the order in which the words are used. I would ask them what analysis software they're using. Seeing as it's a journal, and science is all about reproducability, they should be able to direct you to the plagiraism checker to let you run it through yourself and see what it's doing and also provide in-depth knowledge of HOW it's doing it. Because the biggest concern in data science (and all it's applications .. including text analysis, ai, machine learning) .. is you want to know how the inner workings of something work. That way you're not at the mercy of some "black box" spitting out some answer that everyone is taking at face value (when there could be HUGE amounts of bias or overly-simplified stupidity going on INSIDE the black box). I would also worry about anyone you may have shared your work with.. even in confidence. I worked with a group one time where we shared our work internally. But, one guy in the group was friends with some folks in another group. They were having issues with something, so they asked him for help. Like most folks, he was lazy, so instead of walking through everything with them.. he just showed them our work. Later on professor was asking several groups to step forward to figure out who did original work and who plagiaraized. Because what this one group was doing was asking ALL the groups in class if they could "help" them with different parts.. then just stitching everyone's work together and submitting it as their own. The guy in our group did not say he was showing our work to anyone. I operate in a group environment under the unspoken assumption that it's just common courtesy to not show a group's work to any outside parties unless you get the inner-group's permission first. So, I was floored that this guy was sharing our work w/o our knowledge.. and it had vast repercussions. (Because at the school I go to, the honor code states that the folks who got plagiarized are just as responsible for the folks that plagiarized.) So, I would think about who you possibly showed your work to. You may have thought you showed it to them in confidence, but they could be wandering around showing others. And if you did this work for a class.. a professor may have taken your work and turned it in as their own. That's not uncommon. This semester a professor is letting another prof show up and toss a mini data science project onto us. I've had this other prof before, and he's the type that asks students to do in-depth research projects in his field of interest, and there were rumors of him just turning around and publishing their work as his own after he fleshed things out a bit more. Well, the project he's tossing on us is another one of these "I have no clue how to do this, so I task you with dreaming up a way.. oh, and document and detail everything as if it's a research paper." I find it very shady.. and assume he's just going to take everyone's work, condense it down, and publish it under his own name after-the-fact. So... think about who may have had access to your work. There's some underhanded, shady folks out there. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Springer and Elsevier both use cross check (see [Springer's webpage](https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/editors/plagiarism-prevention-with-crosscheck/4238) and [Elsevier's webpage](https://www.elsevier.com/editors/perk/plagiarism-complaints/plagiarism-detection)). In particular, the Springer link has a note under "tips and tricks - how to interpret the results" that states > > iThenticate is a tool detecting text similarities. It does not detect plagiarism. The similarities may be an indication of plagiarism. > > > and > > When you find a very high similarity percentage (for example 80%) for an article that has already been > published it is most likely that the match found is to the paper itself. The source needs to be excluded > from the matches. Unless it was published somewhere else than Springer. > > > It also notes that > > In addition different internet sources including repositories and Wiki’s > such as Wikipedia are indexed. > > > With that in mind, it should be enough to write the editor politely noting that you have made a pre-print available and it appears the similarity detector has found that rather than any actual plagiarism. Since you've taken those steps there's nothing to do but wait and politely follow up in a couple of weeks. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I recently had the same problem with a different publisher. So, I bought credits for the iThenticate (which was the similarity checker they use) and checked the full similarity report myself only to find out nearly all similarities here related to a paper I posted on arXiv and another I had published on a similar topic. So here are some tips I learned through the process: * Avoid including stuff like the header with the journal's name; The report showed tons of matches with papers from the same journal in completely different subjects. * If possible, leave the authors' affiliations and biography for the final version. The text "The authors are with...", university's name/department, funding agency also were reported to match lots of unrelated papers. The whole biography, from me and my coauthors, was also flagged. I wasn't able to reduce down to the journal's threshold, but instead, I wrote to the editor explaining that the paper was an extended version of our previous paper in arXiv and that it had many references in common to our previously published paper. Upvotes: 3
2018/10/02	724	2,847	<issue_start>username_0: How important is it for a professor to direct a thesis? I mean, what can the professor get from it? I know it will help for his/her curriculum, but is it too much? Is the merit equivalent to the publication of an article? or is it not so important? or is it more important than the publication of any article? I am just curious about it. Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: Advising a bachelor or master's thesis is just part of my teaching obligation. Most of the time it is an enjoyable obligation: now I get to accompany someone on their first steps in doing independent research. However, that is pretty much all I get out of it. Advising a PhD thesis is a bit more prestigious, but the added value drops quickly. However, with a PhD project the advisor may get one or two co-authored papers out of it, and in some disciplines the PhD students are an important source of cheap labor. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In some fields, directing a Ph.D. student means you get cheap labor for your lab. But in non-lab subjects, I tend to agree with Maarten. Directing a Ph.D. may enhance your reputation. Within your department it may be taken into account for raises or promotions. Outside your department, you benefit if it becomes known that your former Ph.D.s go on to big things. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Some of the other answers here disturb me. It is as if the academic life is nothing more than building up a big pile of personal chits and deviously inducing others (students) to add more chits to your pile. I reject that view and have never witnessed it in a career that began in the 1970s. As a professor, I was mostly concerned with finding truth in a narrow area. Any publications were a means to spread the knowledge that I learned along with colleagues. For most of my career I wasn't involved in doctoral education. But in the final decade or so I had a few doctoral students. They are my academic children and will, I hope, carry on that search for truth that I participated in. My own teachers, including my dissertation advisor, were, in my view, giants, who helped me grow and become myself. They got nothing out of it but the knowledge that I learned and appreciated their efforts. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go back and personally thank one of my mentors before he died. He noted that such things happen too seldom. In mathematics we have something called the [Mathematics Genealogy Project](https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu) through which PhDs can trace their mathematical ancestry. We are proud to be the intellectual children of our advisors and we are equally proud to be the intellectual parents of our students. It is actually the fulfillment of the profession. No chits needed. Thank you, anyway. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2018/10/02	3,607	15,553	<issue_start>username_0: In my mathematics program, one of the qual prep courses is being taught by a professor who, put bluntly, is not putting in the effort. He is essentially reading from the book (which I don’t particularly like but it’s a standard text so fine), but his notes were clearly made years ago and he doesn’t seem reviewed them before class. There are often mistakes, inconsistent notation, repetition of material, a dearth of examples (read examples x.xx to x.yy in the book), etc. I know part of this is that he has many administrative duties, but still. He seems to be aware he isn’t doing great. Is there a way I can bring this up with him politely but firmly? --- I am aware the above seems harsh. I am perhaps letting my frustration get in the way of asking a good question. I certainly don’t want to give a stern lecture, that’s why I’m posting here. I would say I have built up a rapport with this professor, I’d say we like each other and I know he is capable of teaching well. On the other hand, I feel there aren’t questions I could legitimately ask. When the last thirty minutes of one class are the first thirty minutes of the next, what is there even for me to say? Perhaps related, I am rather confident of my grasp of the material, which I’ve seen before, but many of the students are first years, who are of course also adjusting to graduate school so. I understand that ultimately learning is in the students but this is the first grad course.<issue_comment>username_1: The best approach to a situation such as this is definitely not to bluntly tell him "I think you are doing a poor job teaching this course. You need to try harder." Building rapport with this professor may go a long way to encouraging him to "do better." From the perspective of the professor, I always felt more compelled to help students have a positive experience in my class when I knew them and when they made a good faith effort to engage with me in and out of class. Perhaps you could read the material in advance of class and come prepared with some questions to ask in class. After a few times of doing this, the professor will likely come prepared to engage with students a bit more. From the perspective of a student, I know there are (hopefully rare) times where a professor is overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities, personal issues, burn-out, etc. As a student I had to take it upon myself to learn the material and succeed in the subject. Especially as I matured in my field, I saw that the successful students in my field did not rely on a professor to take them from ground zero to the stratosphere on a subject. The professor ultimately was there to supplement and formalize our learning. As this question is tagged graduate school, I even more emphatically feel that this is the case. When you are in graduate school, you have to be to the point where you can somewhat teach yourself the material as necessary. Once you are out of graduate school, there is no longer a professor to hold your hand and lead you along to the correct solution. You need to be able to find the answers for yourself. I say all of this with the acknowledgement that some professors are stuck in their ways and that just building rapport and supplementing your in class experience with personal study outside of the classroom will not always change how a professor teaches. Note of course that if a professor does not respond at all to his students trying to engage with him, he is extremely unlikely to respond positively to a stern lecture from students or administrators about his sub-par teaching. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you want to bring this up with them, you need to focus on concrete things you want done differently. "Try harder" is going to (a) antagonize them and (b) not change anything for you (except maybe for the worse). The professor, as you say, is aware that they are not putting in much effort, and it is very unlikely that they will change this habit unless forced to. I suggest thinking about what, concretely, would help you most if done differently. If you need more in-class examples, raise the issue as "I feel the class would profit from working through more examples in class". If the inconsistent notation is a problem, ask him if it is possible to unify notation. These are not things that are an incredible effort for the teacher, so they have a realistic chance of getting addressed. Complaining and hoping that the teacher somehow sees the error of their ways isn't. That said, there is a good chance that all complaints and requests coming from you directly to the teacher will be brushed aside. If the teacher is as badly prepared and unmotivated as you say, they are probably not the kind of person who would care deeply about student satisfaction. In that case, going one level higher (i.e., complaining to the programme manager or equivalent) is often more useful. While this will not typically improve things rapidly, it will likely improve the situation of this course over time, especially if complaints are raised from different classes (it's hard to continue to brush off student complaints if the same complaints come again and again for multiple years). Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: In addition to the excellent [answer of username_2](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/117787/75368) here, you could also employ an independent approach. If it isn't forbidden by the rules at your university, you might want to form a study group of your peers who will jointly explore the topics of the class. You could take your joint class notes and try to merge them into something more comprehensible, for example. Law students are famous for this sort of thing, for example. Since things like mathematics are best learned through practice, find ways to solve a lot of problems in the particular field, sharing ideas about them if possible. Take the professor as just one resource for your education. I likewise agree with [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/117785/75368) that a direct approach to the professor will likely be counterproductive. But you can ask for specifics, as in "I'm not getting the definition of limit. Can you say more about that?", or "Can you give some additional exercises to help me get it?" Make it about the subject matter, not the approach of the professor. This will actually serve you well as you go on to higher level studies and need to find ways to dig deeper, even with a great professor. Take the attitude that how he teaches is less important than that you learn. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Fill out the course/teacher review form at the end of the semester. If you don't get one handed out to you, go to your department office and request one. Pros: * Anonymous, so it theoretically won't impact your relationship with the professor and your department. * Will be read by other people who can encourage the professor to do a better job. Cons: * Will not actually be in time to improve your personal experience. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: This does not address the immediate concern, but may be more helpful in the long run than antagonizing the professor. Perhaps consider writing to your department head a quick note whenever some teacher's class is taught very well. Think about it this way: Aside from some promotion or prize award decisions, the teaching evaluations are rarely being looked at. With a quick email, you can nudge the administrators to the fact that somebody teaches well. Next time they need to make a decision regarding this teacher, they will be more positive. You can of course also complain, though your case is likely to be dismissed if you have not directly addressed the teacher yet and there are not sufficiently many students who complain. Simply put, a passive signal (teaching evaluation) is less meaningful than an active signal where you take the initiative. Use that to improve incentives for good teaching at your department in general. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: Before you actually complain to your department head try to use a soft approach with this professor. go to his office and talk to him, express to him the difficulties you have , bring the issue as if you asking for help and you came to him because you know he can help you with more examples , new book other than the one he uses now and any other thoughts you think it can make the learning process better. Don't directly complain about his performance or make it his fault, we know that's a true but this is a certain way to turn off the conversation because people get defensive when someone blame them. also people tend to help when you ask them specially professors so keep the communication going and if that approach fails try again and bring other student with you, do this with your eyes on the calendar if he doesn't response you will have to complain. Old professors are usually stubborn and they can move mountains to just prove that you are wrong. so you need to bring other student to complain with you and aid your complaint with facts. you could see my words as a lame advice but it is a needed step before you take the matter to a higher level. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: This is intended as an adjunct to other answers. You said, "I know he is capable of teaching well". How do you know this? Assuming you can point to a specific reason, a good non-confrontational way to raise the issue would be to say to the professor, "I think classes work really well when you `whatever`, do you think it would be possible to run `other subject` in a similar way?" Do be aware though that if his notes are as out of date as you seem to be saying, then whichever way you put it, you will be asking him to do a lot of work. (On the other hand, why shouldn't you? It's part of his job and he ought to be doing the work.) If he really is capable of teaching well, my guess would be that he's bored with this particular subject. Of course that's not an excuse - I'm sure he's not bored with picking up his paycheck :) Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: I generally agree with [username_2's description of how you should approach your lecturer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/117784/asking-a-professor-to-teach-better/117787#117787). I thought I would write an answer anyway to encourage you to speak up. I have encountered an unusual amount of bad lecturers and in my opinion it is always worth a try. Venting your frustration to your professor is not going to lead to constructive change. As username_2 said, giving concrete examples is the way to go. However, if your professor struggles with too much work load already or has lost their passion for teaching, take into consideration how much additional work this might mean for him. I found that approaches where the students display some initiative and willingness to learn usually work well and might even inspire change. Something like a group of students presenting the results for an exercise instead of the professor reading it off his answer sheet constructed 20 years ago. A student volunteer covering the review of the concepts covered in the last lesson, rather than listening to his repetition. Or his summarizing the last lecture with student input by asking them, that has the benefit of him knowing where the knowledge gaps might be. Talking to some of your classmates might give you some more concrete ideas. I, for example, often made a list of topics people did not fully understand and asked if it might be possible to dedicate part of a lesson to repeat those. Talking to the other students can also directly benefit the class dynamics both in and outside of the lecture. Some of your classmates might have lost their motivation, or think they are stupid and the only ones struggling. A sense of belonging and being in this together could help all of you deal, even if the quality of the lectures won't improve. The inconsistent notation might not be so easy to deal with, it takes a lot of effort on the professor's side, and maybe some unlearning of bad habits. One way of addressing this is being annoying and pointing it out during the lectures, something along the line of: excuse me, is X equivalent to Y mentioned in the textbook. This might antagonize the professor, but it will help the struggling students understand the lecture better. Will there be negative consequences for you? Speaking up will make you more visible than other students which can lead to negative and positive consequences. I found that having the support of an other faculty member helps. I do not mean having a faculty member help deal with the under performing professor. What I mean is that in case your professor takes constructive criticism as an attack on his competence or person and retaliates, being able to rely on the support of another faculty member is incredibly helpful. Having said that, I do not think that this is a very likely outcome in your case as you specifically mention that he is self aware of the problem and capable of teaching much better. You being a good student is also helpful, as no one can accuse you of making a fuss because you are about to fail the class. I personally always found it worthwhile trying to improve the situation and helping the students that are not in a position to speak up for themselves. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_9: Offer to take him out to lunch and for the chance to talk about the class. I always feel that it is best to talk to the person directly and if they refuse to change then you can go above them. It could be that the professor feels that his students don't really care. If you can show him that you do, (and express that others in the course feel the same way) he will be more likely to make a change. The professor needs to feel like he is doing something important in the classroom and not just in his research. Inspire him! Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_10: When I hear complaints about teaching in graduate school at a University, I always wonder why there is any expectation of "good instruction". Ideally, at this point you should be learning nearly on your own with just some hints from the professor. Good instruction is for high school, homework and exams are for undergraduate education, and grad school is for learning. Here's what you should be doing at this point in your academic career: 1. As soon as you find out the topics to learn in the course, read the suggested textbook and other textbooks as you see fit. 2. Develop an understanding of the material on your own. Envision how you would lecture about this material. 3. Identify what you don't understand. Consult with other students about the issue. 4. Meet weekly with the instructor, and ask particular questions about the material that you don't understand. From how you wrote the question, I believe that you may be acting like a freshman in college - showing up without reading the text, and expecting a beautiful, well rounded lecture. In graduate school, this should not be the norm - with only two courses per semester, it should be easy to learn mostly on your own. Furthermore, as you advance, the textbooks and other materials get more and more sparse - that means you are reaching the limits of knowledge in your field. It will be you someday who learns the material, writes the text book, invents homework assignments and exams. The spoon feeding should stop! Upvotes: 2
2018/10/02	1,407	5,721	<issue_start>username_0: On their "guide for authors," they state the following regarding referees: > > (1) Please prepare a list of 8 (eight) proposed reviewers. You MUST > include Full Names, Department, University, Country and Email > Addresses for each proposed reviewer. It should be a globally > geographically diverse list of potential reviewers; there should be no > more than two suggested referees from any particular > area/region/country. If you, or any of your co-authors, have submitted > to our offices previously, please note that should not include > reviewers on lists for your manuscripts in the last 2 years. All > proposed reviewers MUST be fluent in English to ensure the integrity > of each review and the correct processing of all manuscripts. > > > (2) Proposed reviewers MUST BE experienced, well published researchers > who are knowledgeable in your area of research. The editor-in-chief > depends heavily on your suggestions for the choice of reviewers and a > list of weak reviewers can be the basis for rejecting a submission. > (Also minimize the number of leaders in the field who are typically > too busy to be reviewers.) In addition, proposed reviewers MUST NOT BE > former co-authors, instructors, co-workers, advisors, students, nor > have had any other personal/working/professional relationship with you > or any of your co-authors. > > > Part of what drew me to the journal was the short article size and the quick publishing time, however I fail to see (1) how this process can allow for expedient publishing and (2) how to gather said referees. I am supposed to gather a list of referees from around the world that I do not know while also somehow making sure they are "not too busy" to act as a referee. Is there any coherent way to accomplish a process such as this? How should I go about gathering said referees?<issue_comment>username_1: I would do as much as I can do and tell them what I cannot do. If you have no way of ascertaining whether a particular proposed reviewer is too busy, you could just tell them that you don't have the means to do that. The way to find authorities may be to look for those who have published monographs and research papers on the topic of your paper. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: (I'm expanding my comment into an answer.) First of all, I think this journal is asking for too much. Asking for eight recommended reviewers is unusual in itself (I have heard of journals requiring 3-5 names, but in my field it's usually not mandatory), yet this journal is doing just that and making a lot of additional hard-to-meet demands. For example, in a narrow field it's going to be near impossible to find eight researchers that are both knowledgeable in said area, and who haven't had any professional relationship with you or your coauthors... When used well, the practice of suggesting reviewers can help expand the reviewer pool, or clarify to editors what their reviewers are knowledgeable about. When used this way, however, it seems more like a weird test, or maybe a bad sign that the editors don't have any contacts themselves. But hey, I guess if you want to submit your work there, better play ball. > > I fail to see (1) how this process can allow for expedient publishing > > > In theory: The journal has a limited pool of people who have refereed for them in the past, and they might be mostly booked already, so the journal starts asking authors to suggest more potential reviewers. In the best case scenario the author suggests n new, great names and they can ask 1-3 of them to review the paper. The more possible referees, the higher the chance that some of them can write a quick report, which provides the expedient publishing you're after. However, the big downside is that if editors trust the suggested names too much, the peer review process gets ripe for [abuse](https://retractionwatch.com/2014/07/08/sage-publications-busts-peer-review-and-citation-ring-60-papers-retracted/). I think that's what they're trying to address somewhat with the additional requirements. > > (2) how to gather said referees > > > Usually I have a take a more "free form" approach to this, but here's a potential algorithm: 1. Normally there will be a couple of people you just know would be interested, and be good reviewers. Start writing their names down in a list. 2. Go over the bibliography (mostly for the current paper, but possibly similar older ones) and pick out people you think could provide a constructive and in-depth critique. Write their names down in the same list. 3. Check the references highlighted in step 2 again, and ask yourself if you could include a coauthor of the person noticed in step 2. (This mostly is a way to select more early-career academics rather than the more obvious names of the leaders in the field. ) 4. Think outside the box of the current paper. Do you know of any other people who have studied similar problems, or applied the same methods elsewhere? Who wrote books and papers you learned from, but didn't use directly in this work? If they seem suitable, write their names down too. 5. Next, go over the list, and try to come up with a motivation for each name. Remove names if they don't satisfy whatever requirements you might have. Also, in steps 1-4 you might have added authors that collaborate closely with each other. Try to reduce that if possible. 6. Ask your advisor, coauthors, mentors, ... for advice. 7. Repeat as necessary. Now, my impression is that mathematics papers usually have shorter bibliographies than physics papers, and that there are fewer coauthored papers, so... good luck I suppose. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2018/10/02	1,313	5,603	<issue_start>username_0: I just started grad school this year. I met with my advisor over three weeks ago, on the first week of school. We talked about the school, she told me a bit about the department and showed me around the office. She also talked to me a bit about putting together an advisory committee, but that's it. It lasted an hour, but we didn't really talk about my research project. She told me to get settled into grad school over the next couple weeks. She did recommend I watch some videos to help me get more familiar on the nature of the project, which I did. I'm worried I haven't heard from her in so long. She's someone who likes to set up weekly meetings for her students, too. And now I'm worried to email her because she may have been expecting an email like two weeks ago. What do I do? Should I email her? What should I say? I was thinking of mentioning to her that I watched the videos she recommended. I think I'm already making a bad impression in grad school.<issue_comment>username_1: It is very important to have frequent communication with your advisor, even if you think you have nothing new to say. And it is NEVER too late to email her. Just tell her the truth, just like you described above. Advisors want students who are honest and can make adjustments as needed. I am well aware of how awkward it can feel to meet with your advisor when you haven't accomplished everything you think you should have or when you think you're running behind schedule, but that's what weekly meetings with advisors are especially good for - evaluating what the next steps should be and how to change things around to get things done. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Every advisor is a bit different. Some may want you to take the initiative. Of course, she is also busy. If she has regular office hours you can go visit again. It is especially valuable if you want some specific guidance on your project or have some initial ideas that you want feedback on. You can also ask, directly, how often you should meet and how to arrange it. If the meetings she has are group meetings, you probably want to be included in that also. Ask. Face time is best. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: > > What do I do? Should I email her? > > > Absolutely. If you don't contact your advisor now, the 2 week delay will quickly grow into a 3 week delay, then a month of no communication. Then your advisor may decide to reach out to the department to check up on you. Contacting your advisor ASAP is the only reasonable action in your situation. If you are very nervious about writing an email, here are a few things that may help (as someone who used to suffer from severe social anxiety I was in your shoes a few times, too). * Put aside all your other assignments and entertainment until you finish and send the email. * Don't try to guess what your advisor thinks of you or how she will respond, just find your strength in realization that what you're doing now is the right and responsible thing. * Show that you are willing to learn from this communication mishap and make sure it does not repeat again. * If you are still too anxious, try [mindful breathing](https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mindful_breathing), it may help to focus and reduce the anxiety. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: She told you to get settled into grad school; presumably, you've done that, at least to a reasonable extent. She told you to watch certain videos, and you did that. And presumably your schedule of classes and other recurring obligations is reasonably fixed by now. So write an email telling her that and asking to set up a regular meeting time. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: In addition to what everyone else has said, another reason it's very important to contact your advisor, is that you are responsible for your education and for the pace at which you learn and proceed. This was one of the hardest aspects for me to get used to when pursuing my graduate degree. I kept waiting for my advisor to make corrections, give regular feedback, and guide both my project and my education while at school. I learned quickly, and repeatedly, that this expectation was both unreal and my invention. If you need something, you have to ask for it, clearly, and sometimes repeatedly. Your education is not your advisor's responsibility. It is yours and will succeed, or not, by your actions more than any other factor. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: From username_2's answer: "Every advisor is a bit different. Some may want you to take the initiative..." Now for the bit from personal experience: you want to make sure that you set up a relationship with your supervisor that works well for you. If you don't get in touch often early on, your supervisor might assume that you just like to work more independently and leave you to it, figuring that you'll report back when you need help/have published a paper etc. It is difficult to change that dynamic later on. It's definitely worth setting up regular meetings from the start. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: You were instructed to do a thing. You have done that thing. Now you go forth and inform your supervisor that you have done that thing and ask what you should do next. Simply initiate that communication. You're not at high school any more: you're an adult and are expected to be proactive with social interactions. Sometimes that means starting a conversation, rather than waiting for the other person to go out of their way to do it for you! tl;dr you're overthinking it just reach out Upvotes: 2
2018/10/02	824	3,287	<issue_start>username_0: I found [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17379/what-are-fake-shady-and-or-predatory-journals) regarding [a list of predatory journals](https://web.archive.org/web/20170111172309/https://scholarlyoa.com/individual-journals/). This list is said to record many fake or shady publishers. I am under special circumstances where I would benefit from "speedy" publication, but by no means want to avoid peer editing and submit to falsifiable journals. I have found many shady sites such as <http://gssrr.org>, which I assume are scams (they look really scammy to me) but are not on the aforementioned list. I want to avoid things like this at all cost. My question is how/where to search for reputable journals that have a fast publication time (maybe journals which publish short articles?).<issue_comment>username_1: Since you mentioned mathematics in the comments: The Notices of the AMS publishes data from participating journals on this every year. The most recent seems to be [here.](https://www.ams.org/publications/journals/notices/201710/rnoti-p1184.pdf) Obviously not all journals are listed but this should give you a rough idea of the timeframe. But in my opinion the best option, if possible, is to ask your colleagues (or your professors, if you're a student) where they had the best experience publishing. You'll get better advice from someone who knows a little about your work. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: You could post a pre-print to arxiv while your paper is in submission. That offers a compromise. Your paper appears publicly with a time stamp within a few days and in due course you will get a “proper” peer-reviewed publication. Unfortunately peer review is hard to accelerate, since the reviewers are unpaid and busy. (Some economics journals offer money as an incentive, but even that doesn’t always work.) All the journals are going to ask more or less the same people to review, so they are all going to be equally slow. Any journal offering rapid peer review is making a promise they can’t keep. One other thing you can try is to submit to a peer-reviewed conference. (This is standard in computer science, but rare elsewhere.) Conferences have a fixed turnaround time (usually 2-4 months), since there is a physical conference that needs to be arranged. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Any journal that promises a fast turnaround time isn't being completely truthful because it's just not something the journal has firm control over. Even if the editors drop everything to handle the paper immediately every time the status progresses, they have no direct control the reviewers. Reviewers can decline. Reviewers can agree to review but fail to actually submit a review. Reviewers can submit reviews late. Reviewers can write bad reviews. A journal can say something like "our average time to first decision is 34.6 days", but to say "we will definitely make a first decision in [timeframe]" is dishonest unless the timeframe is so long (say, two years) that the statement is useless. Therefore, pick a suitable non-predatory journal and submit your manuscript. Don't worry too much about the turnaround time - it's not something that you (or they) can realistically control. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/02	841	3,499	<issue_start>username_0: I asked this question a few months ago about addressing in-group bullying during my PhD. [How to address in-group bullying without compromising PhD/career?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/113841/how-to-address-in-group-bullying-without-compromising-phd-career) Things have not improved over the past few months - in fact I think they have gotten worse. I'm three years into my PhD and at least a year of handing in. I'm still very much in the experimental phase, so unfortunately 'writing at home' is not an option now or anytime in the near future. I've been pretty scarred by this environment so I highly doubt I will end up in academia. While I am currently on funding, it will run out a year before I hand in, so I will need to self-fund. My current question is this: How much is it actually worth to have a PhD if I do not have any publications or references by the time I submit?<issue_comment>username_1: It's worth quite a bit, especially if you're going into industry. Even if you have no publications, you still have the PhD title. I know of quite a few employers where simply having a PhD means you are awarded a higher starting salary even if your job scope and title are the same as others. As for the things themselves: publications is less important but references still matter. Publications: if you look at a typical job advertisement in industry, they don't say "you must have published 45 papers" or anything like that - these kind of criteria can determine promotion from assistant professor to associate professor for example, but are simply irrelevant when it comes to finding a job in industry. As long as you can demonstrate you have the skills to do the job, you have a chance at landing it. Nonetheless, a savvy HR person might notice that you have no publications, which will be unusual (people with PhDs have generally published at least something). Before going to a job interview, I'd prepare a response to this question if asked. References: there aren't many jobs that require references, but they exist. These are typically very important jobs where the company can't afford to make a mistake in the hiring process. The process might involve multiple interviews, aptitude tests, and references, before you are hired. The good news is this kind of job is rare. It might happen for example if a company is replacing its CEO, which is not the kind of job you'll be ready for fresh out of grad school in any case. You can also get references from people other than your supervisor. The bad news is, if you are asked to provide a reference, you have to provide one. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Academically the thing that matters most is publications. PhD is a mean to do research, this is, to publish papers. The degree is meaningless by itself. If a person is able to perform proficient research after their undergrad, they would never need a PhD (some of them don't bother to get it at all (example: Kripke). Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: From personal experience, many years ago... In industry, you will still be just a new graduate - albeit one with a better degree. If your PhD is relevant to them, it may increase your chance of getting the job. You might also get a higher starting salary. Academic reputation is irrelevant. So far, nobody has ever asked what papers I published\. \None. Though my supervisor subsequently listed me as a co-author on a paper he published. Upvotes: 0
2018/10/03	410	1,797	<issue_start>username_0: During my master thesis I implemented a software in c programming language. My thesis is in the Earth Science (Geodesy) field and this software is just GNSS data processing software. Is a [Call graph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_graph) suitable for explaining different parts of my software within my thesis document?<issue_comment>username_1: I assume this question might be regarded as off-topic for this SE, but here are some thoughts: First of all, ask your advisor. There might be local preferences which should be followed. Take a look at the different UML diagrams. Some are helpful even if you are not using an object oriented language. I would check Activity Diagrams. For some crucial parts of the software it might even be appropriate to include the code as is - but this should be done only if the specific C implementation is relevant. If it's more then a half page, I would think about moving it to an appendix. Often, pseudocode is helpful because implementation details can be hidden. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: What might be more useful than a call graph is to present one or more of the important algorithms in pseudocode. I don't know much about Earth Science, but I would guess that your readers won't be interested in how you wrote the user interface, or how you parsed the inputs, or how you formatted the output. But if, for example, you came up with a refinement to make GPS more accurate, or used an interesting method for partitioning geographical regions, those are probably worth explaining in more detail, perhaps with pseudocode. Also, if there is something you think might be useful to some readers but you don't want to disrupt the flow of your thesis, you could put it in an appendix. Upvotes: 0
2018/10/03	2,897	11,577	<issue_start>username_0: Google scholar suggested a paper for me to read, I opened it and boom it was my master thesis work. My work was based on Arabic language but they claim their work is based on Telugu language. Even they did not bother to change the title. they just switched the Arabic to Telugu. Not only that, they even did not bother to change the experiment results numbers or the figures. They copy/pasted everything with small minor noticeable changes. I tried to contact the journal but I could not find any contact details for the editor. What should I do now? Link to my master thesis:<https://dspace.aus.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11073/7503/35.232-2014.09%20Soha%20Galalaldin%20Ahmed.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y> Link to the journal paper:<http://www.j-asc.com/gallery/18-august-2018.pdf> Any guidance would be highly appreciated. Update I have contacted the journal's editor and as expected, no reply. I have also contacted Google via the link provided by <NAME> and they have thankfully removed the links to the papers from Google search results after asking me to identify the exact content that I claim infringe upon my copyright. Update 2 When I contacted the journal editor, I have sent a carbon-copy to the papers' authors to let them know I am aware of their plagiarisms. Nobody replied until Google removed their papers from the search result and put the following statement instead. > > In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital > Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. > If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the > removal(s) at LumenDatabase.org. > > > Then, one author contacted me claiming that his student stole my work without his knowledge and that he would take the right measure to ensure pulling the two papers from the journal. I hope this gives hope to anyone who has been a victim of plagiarism. You should not give up and you should stand up for your self and your work and God will assist you. Thank you for all your comments, pieces of advice, and direction. I would not have been able to protect my right without the StackExchange community guidance.<issue_comment>username_1: Contact the journal editor with complete details. If at all possible, have your advisor do the same thing, making a complaint on your behalf. An official from your university could also make a complaint. Sometimes very similar things can occur from parallel research, but that seems to not be the case here. But having someone else in authority back you up can help. If the affiliation of the other person is listed, perhaps a complaint from your institution to theirs would be appropriate also. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: First, find an established academic who can help you make the complaint. Your masters thesis advisor would be the most obvious person to ask; but if there’s someone else you’ve worked with who you know better or trust more or who is better-known, they could also be a good choice. You want someone who (a) is an established academic in the field, and (b) can support your claim that you did this work in 2014. Get as much proof of priority together as you can. If the department where you did the thesis already publishes its masters theses online, then that is ideal. If not, look for any public information corroborating the date and title and as much more information as possible — e.g. an announcement of the thesis defense/presentation, or similar — and perhaps also ask someone senior at the department (e.g. the head of department at the time) for a signed letter confirming that this is your thesis, given in 2014. These people may also offer you further advice and assistance with making the complaint — if so, great, and take their direct knowledge over the rest of this suggestion! With those prepared, make your complaint, and escalate it as necessary. Each time you make the complaint: state the facts, and mention and cc the established academics who can back up your assertions. The journal editors are the first people to write to: email addresses are given at <http://www.j-asc.com/EDITORIAL-BOARD/>. However, the journal looks low-quality at best and probably outright predatory, so I would not be very hopeful of getting results there. Next, I would try writing a formal complaint to senior figures in the department(s) of the authors of the plagiarising “authors”. It may also be worth writing to the authorities that have certified/recognised the journal as legitimate — or at least telling the journal editor you intend to do this. I would not suggest contacting the authors. That would be the polite thing to do if there was any chance that they might have made an honest mistake somehow; but their paper is such egregious plagiarism that there’s no question they’re acting in good faith. This is like finding video proof that someone has burgled your house: you don’t need to politely warn them, you take it straight to the authorities. Overall: there is a large ecosystem of dishonest research and publication, parasitic on legitimate scientific institutions and funding structures. While you are writing to people within that, they are unlikely to help you for your own sake. But if you escalate far enough, you will reach a legitimate institution who should hear your concerns; and more practically, if you say that you intend to do this, then people in the sketchy part of the system may be willing to help you for the sake of protecting their own credibility (and you will help push them to be a little bit more honest in the process). (In all this, I’m assuming that you’re not working anywhere closely connected to the plagiarising authors, and so that you’re not in danger of any kind of retaliation. If you feel they have power/influence that might allow them to retaliate against you, then I don’t know what best to suggest, beyond getting advice from academics you do trust and who know the field themselves.) Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I have this one paper that has already gotten copied and submitted to some spam journals 5+ times. It literally happens multiple times per year (it has a catchy title that seems to appeal to a certain class of plagiarizers). I also usually learn about this through a Google Scholar alert. The first two times it happened, I tried exactly the steps recommended by other answers. I contacted the authors (no reply ever), raised a stink with the journals (no reply ever), and contacted IEEE (the copyright holder of my original paper). IEEE indeed did react that they will look into it after quite some time, but nothing ever came out of it. My lesson learned was that these things are basically impossible to fight. The authors or journals could not care less about ethical integrity, and for IEEE the measurable damage of one of their papers being "reprinted" in a different title and with slightly different words in an obscure scam journal that nobody ever reads is not large enough so that they would make an effort hunting down who is legally behind these shopfront journals. The good news is that it is also completely irrelevant to you. I can assure you that your scientific contribution will not in any way be lessened by this paper existing, nobody will read the other paper (because nobody reads these "journals", period). For future promotions etc., the existence of this paper will not be in any way an issue for you. Science as a whole suffers (to a degree that we could argue about), but the fact that it happened to be your paper that they copied (as opposed to a paper by me, or somebody else) makes no difference at all. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: I suspect that [@username_3 is correct](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/117848/1610) that fighting this is futile, but would like to suggest another strategy if you want to try: Google Scholar -------------- The reason you saw this article was that Google Scholar picked it up. Other people will also get the same notification and some of them might be fooled. I am worried that somebody actually interested in Telugu might get misinformed. My suggestion is telling Google about this. They want Google Scholar to be as accurate as possible and might at least stop giving references to this journal. Anybody can publish anything on the Web, but if Google doesn't link it, nobody will read it. I was unable to find a contact address for Google Scholar directly, but Google has a general contact page for stopping copyright violations which should be close enough. [Here is a link to a page about that](https://support.google.com/legal/answer/3110420) Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_5: I think this became very normal nowadays. I heard, that the number of publications doubles every 12 years. I just found data for certain fields where it's actually much worse. Consequently, the quality goes down by more than the increase modifier. Journals do not care if you send them a mail that experiments are not reproducible and why. People start to publish old PhD or master thesis works by using scripts. Peer-Review became more and more useless to the point were the reviewers often do not understand real issues and mis-interpret pro-arguments because they are maybe just inexperienced students. Scientists startet to send work to fake journals. This is all fueled by three things. 1) There are thousands of PhDs entering their own publication phase every year. 2) They have pressure to publish anything within 3 years to get out of this phase. 3) At least in my country, there are no not-time-limited PostDoc positions in my age class. So the pressure is forwarded to the next hierarchy level. Solution to your problem: The whole system is broken and needs an update. I expect that the publication rates will further increase, review process will become worse. One day, it will be close to impossible to find any valuable information in any recent paper. Number of publications in some fields: > > Number of publications per year containing the term "PTR-MS" > [![https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Number-of-publications-per-year-containing-the-term-PTR-MS-4_fig1_273029606](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Q0UQX.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Q0UQX.png) > > > Number of publications per year with keywords “cancer pain” > [![https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/P2X-receptors%3A-New-players-in-cancer-pain.-Franceschini-Adinolfi/43d871799dd1c5671d6582a2eac9f043fa8169ae/figure/0](https://i.stack.imgur.com/L7Uuz.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/L7Uuz.png) > > > Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The WORST thing you can possibly do is contact the so-called author, the plagiarist himself. Don't do that, regardless of what Alone Programmer suggests you do. By so doing, you will spur him into adverse reaction and he will swiftly file false complaints against you before you ever file yours. He will have your online works removed, if you ever approach him. That actually happened to one honest academican whom I avidly follow for his works. His plagiarist was ruthless in removing his victim's works online and so made the wrongful accusations and succeeded. Nowadays, most serial plagiarists are experienced with strings of past complaints against them. They are ruthless, sophisicated and cunning and they are always steps ahead of their victims. Avoid contacting the plagiarist and play safe. Take your complaints somewhere else. Try Google Scholar's complaint board. Upvotes: 4
2018/10/03	600	2,651	<issue_start>username_0: One of my friends has a lot of research works, but he is kinda of lazy in the publishing process. As a result, he has a lot of unpublished research materials. Right now, he is realized that he needs citation count to be able to get some benefits which I don't want to disclose here but I could just tell it's not academic benefit but it is heavily related to only citation count and not even the number of publications (ridiculous yeah? but sadly true!). Also, if he publishes those research materials under his own name and cite himself it will be counted as self-citation and again it is worthless to be qualified for that benefit. This matter leads him to publish his research works under the name of his other friends and in those papers he cite himself just for sake of citation count. The research materials are not questionable and in my opinion even they're remarkable. But he is reluctant to publish it under his own name because he thinks he will miss that benefit and he does not have such a long time to publish his researches under his own name and wait at least a couple of years to accumulate citation counts. This is a really complicated problem and I'm wondering is it a real research misconduct or not? More generally, it really hurts me that some good researchers will be judged solely based on some numbers like citation count, which leads people to these kind of activities. Any idea or suggestion is appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: This does not sound ethical at all. I would say that both your friend and the people who are willing to take credit for his work are lying and misrepresenting their accomplishments. Furthermore, what your friend is doing is extremely short-sighted. If the material in his publications is remarkable as you state, then he will gain far more citations in the long term by having his name on all of them, rather than trying to artificially inflate his citation count for short-term gains. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If I understand your post correctly, "Bob" writes a paper but names "Alice" as the author - with her permission. This is a clear misconduct, because Alice did not do the work attributed to her. Alice might get in serious trouble when anyone figures out, for example if * someone contacts her to ask more details or * someone realizes that these papers do not fit to Alice's other publications (or even her education, if she is from a different field) * etc In the aftermath of these troubles, she will be in need to admit that she the actual work was done by Bob, thus, he will be in trouble as well. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/03	567	1,928	<issue_start>username_0: Sometimes you need to refer readers to a reference for more details about a subject. I wonder what is the best way to accomplish this. Or if there is a specific way to do it for scientific papers that target journals in the field of computer science and engineering. I use something similar to this "For more details about flying monkeys see [1,2,3].", but I feel there's something wrong about it (other than the flying monkeys).<issue_comment>username_1: What I like to is to use [1,2] if I cite something and if I want the reader to check a article for more details I would write the name of the first author et al. [5]. So as example: For a more detailed analysis on the algorithm behind deep learning, I would recommend Smith et al. [x] detailed analysis on this topic... Something like this. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I would try to work the references into your text and include why you're referring the reader to them. I might write something like: > > Smith et al. [1] provides additional background on flying monkeys and their use in underwater basket making. > > > Or > > Several recent articles review flying monkey [1, 2, 3]. > > > Or > > Recent tutorials and overviews of flying moneys exist for readers unfamiliar with the their background and use [1, 2, 3]. > > > As a style note, I would not simply refer to the number inline (e.g. see [1, 2, 3])). For more inspiration, I would skim and read recent articles in your target journals. I find reading to be a one method for improving my own writing style. Here's an example from my own [publication](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.09.006): > > For readers who are unfamiliar with IPMs, recent overviews, introductions, and tutorials of integral projection models exist (e.g., Ellner and Rees, 2006, Ramula et al., 2009, Ellner et al., 2010, Merow et al., 2014). > > > Upvotes: 3
2018/10/03	1,431	6,175	<issue_start>username_0: There was a highly cited paper published earlier this year in my field which introduced a highly theoretical, non trivial, algorithm that relied on extremely heavy theory. The algorithm was exact (Gave the correct solution) but 3 papers were published later on criticizing that it was highly non practical (Its implementation was a nightmare) and proposed approximation algorithms that were simple to implement. So over the past year, me and 2 of my friends have been trying to implement the exact algorithm and finally we were able to implement it. The algorithm spans 14 files and is implemented in Python. The running time is acceptable for the input size in my field (takes 3-4 minutes on a modern computer to terminate). We also verified its correctness on a data set and it really did predict the exact solution. We would love to publish the code, but one of our advisors said that it is unlikely that Code only would be publishable in a reputable journal/conference. One option is that we can just put it on Github but that doesn't really count as a publication. Are there conferences/journals which would take a 1-2 page paper that just describes a hard implementation? The only novel thing we did was that we've had to make very minor changes to the algorithm to make it practical but proved that these minor changes don't change the correctness (just makes implementation a lot easier!). Any ideas?<issue_comment>username_1: This is a judgement call and will be for editors and reviewers. But the main question they will want answered is what is new/novel in your paper? If you can give them that, then they will be more likely to accept it. The other question is, whether exactness is worth the effort. If the approximation methods give good enough answers then the expense of an exact solution may not be worth it in practice. Can you address that issue in your paper? You don't describe anything here about scaling if that is an issue with the algorithm. A few minutes on a modern system may be good or bad, depending. If the algorithm needs to be executed once for each Google query, then it is pretty bad. If it has to be executed once per "noticed supernova" then probably fine. There are a lot of questions your paper could address that might push the editor toward acceptance if you can handle them well. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is hard to say without the details if it is useful for anyone to read such a paper but if the code itself can be beneficial to other researchers in the field, I would encourage you to send it to a proper journal. Several open-source codes in my field have been published already. Assuming that the novelty of the code is sufficiently high, you can try to submit to journals at least partially specialized to code publishing such as [Computer Physics Communications](https://www.journals.elsevier.com/computer-physics-communications) or [SoftwareX](https://www.journals.elsevier.com/softwarex). However, they have a relatively high reputation and prestige, so I would recommend them only if your work is interesting enough. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Well, there seems to be novelty: All experts in your field regarded the original algorithm as correct but unusable / inpractical. You demonstrated, that it can be used, and that approximative solutions are not needed. You should elaborate on this and show, how the "small differences" improved the algorithm's run time. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Yes. However, rather than looking in a computer science journal, look for journals the users of your software read (unless, of course, your end users are computer scientists). For example, if astronomers would use your software, browse and search astronomy journals. After browse the journals and finding example articles, write your software and manuscript so end users can easily use it. Your results will also need to be polished enough in order to be publishable as software. For example, many R packages get published in journals that either target statistical computing or domain specific journals. To build upon [another answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/117870/33210) that lists two journals, other ideas might include: * [JSS](https://www.jstatsoft.org/index) if you're writing statistical software; * [JOSS](https://joss.theoj.org/) for general open source software; * [EMS](https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-modelling-and-software) for environmental software; * [PLOS Computational Biology](https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/) for biology; and * [SCFBM](https://scfbm.biomedcentral.com/) also for biology or medicine. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: In fact, you should not underestimate your effort that you put to make a pure theoretical approach into some practical application. I may not be an export in your field of expertise, but I know sometimes implementation of an algorithm worth more than its theory behind it these days from computational science point of view. If you are working in a pure theoretical department that may be the cause of the underestimation of your adviser. But there are a lot of research paper out there, which are published in reputable journals/conferences just based on their remarkable implementation which made life easier for computational science research community. I would recommend first of all find a good benchmark dataset, which could show both the correctness of your code and also the power of its accuracy in comparison to approximation approaches. If you choose a benchmark dataset, which has a practical value itself (e.g. a biological dataset to find a relation between some genes of bacteries which may be a hot topic in biology) it could add quite a more value to the novelty of your work. At the end, I believe it depends on you or your collaborator that how think about your research and how you could make good story out of it. Besides some few other example of journals that are addressed in other answers, you could consider this one: <https://joss.theoj.org/>, which their editorial board members are quite reputable. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/03	973	4,183	<issue_start>username_0: I am in a professional evening program, it is full of students like myself that have full time jobs. Recently we had a professor give us a take home exam that said "no collaboration, no internet usage" (this is because the program is very compressed and doesn't have time for in class exams). When I talked to people about the exam, the first thing out of their mouth was "I'm going to use the internet, that requirement is ridiculous". In my personally opinion no one is going to take the time to exclude themselves from a tool that they use every day because a professor says so. The professor is quite experienced, but spend a lot of his recent career in administration instead of teaching and is just getting back to being a lecturer. All courses in this program are curved, so it is disadvantageous to not do what all other students are doing. I would like to let the professor know that his teaching style is very out of date and that saying "no internet" on a take home is guaranteed to be ignored, and frankly doesn't make sense given how modern people learn. (I'm a programmer by trade so if they told me "no internet" at work they might as well fire me)<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think that giving a takehome where one asks for no internet is at all unreasonable. At the same time, such an exam should have some precautions against internet use. When I've given takehomes I've generally made sure that the problems didn't turn up with 5-10 minutes of Googling. That said, if this is enough of a problem that students are discussing this, the best thing to do maybe to drop the professor a note and let them know what other students are doig. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I think that you are correct that in most cases a no-internet rule today is unrealistic. I have given take home exams that permit mostly unlimited searching for things, but no cooperation with or feedback from other people. But the questions you ask on such an exam are a bit different from those you would ask in a monitored environment. It isn't worth the effort of asking about "facts" when the facts are now available to all. You have to ask for demonstration of skills. It may be that the prof has already constructed such an exam in which searching won't be effective in changing the grade. (Asking others for help is a different situation, I realize.) You are responsible for your own ethical behavior, of course, in all situations, not just academic ones. This remains true even when others behave unethically. So it is a dilemma. You don't really want ethical behavior to disadvantage you, even though studying so that you don't need to break the rules will be a long term benefit. But the correct way to address it is to talk to the professor in person, pointing out your dilemma and the fact that you have heard that others will "cheat". Point out that an uncheckable restriction is highly likely to be violated by many and that only the honest will suffer. I wouldn't use email for such a thing, but it might be enough. Even better is to have a group of students all of whom want to be ethical to visit the prof as a group to raise these concerns. Strength and safety in numbers. The message would be harder to ignore. I can't guess what the prof will do with your comments. However, I he "winks" at you and says, explicitly or implicitly, "I know and expect that." then you know it is just a game with hidden rules. But the hidden rules are still rules, so play the game as it is. But you ethically need that sort of feedback from the prof so that you can be honest with yourself. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: In theory, the internet is just like books and notes: if these are allowed then it makes sense that internet is allowed too. But of course these days, due to the sheer volume of stuff, it is very difficult to make sure as a Professor that the problem you thought of giving on the exam does not appear somewhere, for example here on SE. I say give your Professor the respect he/she deserves and use your internet to only look up books and lecture notes, and not SE, quora, or other Q&A and homework sites. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/03	2,794	11,547	<issue_start>username_0: My coworkers are pursuing a generalization of one of my (recent) results. Is it wrong of me to frown a little on this? I would prefer it if they had an original idea of their own, or that if that they had to generalize a result, it would either be one of their own or one of someone they do not know. The way I see it, a paper has a certain lifespan in terms of being read and cited. Once it has been generalized, that lifespan is in most cases over. If someone wanted to understand a theorem, they would probably look for the most general version. Of course, this does not always apply, for example if the work represents a milestone of some kind. One consequence of obsolescence is the stream of citations to my paper is short circuited. This will, in a sense, benefit them at my expense. Of course, I realize that my paper will eventually (hopefully) be generalized and become obsolete (i.e. no longer state-of-the-art). I just rather prefer that it wasn't my coworkers who are working towards that goal (they even started while I was still drafting my paper). Please note: I do not mean for this to be read as a rant or a complaint. I do understand how science works by expanding on previous knowledge. I just want to know how others feel about the prospect of their research becoming obsolete, and how to approach that from the perspective of someone in the beginning (and at the same time, possibly the end) of their academic career. I imagine that for a professor such a thing would not be a big deal, for a number of different reasons.<issue_comment>username_1: Short answer, two possible approaches: * collaborate with your coworkers. From what you write, it sounds like they may have already suggested and you may have been hesitant because you wanted unique ownership. Science is collaborative and you will both benefit from this collaboration * keep being original, create new streams of research. Some academics enjoy new challenges, then get quickly bored and prefer breadth (variety of research areas one contributes to) to depth (being leading expert in a very specific subfield). There is nothing wrong with enjoying breadth in research areas. My feeling is that you are stuck in the middle. Just pick one of two routes and you will be happy again in no time Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: While I sympathize with you, I find it hard to answer your question. On the one hand, as phrased you are asking whether an emotional response is valid. Well, it is not really for anyone other than you to determine the validity of your emotional responses, and in all of my experience, "That is not a valid emotional response" is rarely a useful piece of advice. On the other hand, your question is pitched in a certain level of generality, but understanding why you feel the way you do seems to require knowing more particulars of your situation than you have disclosed. But let me say what I can and what might be helpful: > > The way I see it, a paper has a certain lifespan in terms of being read and cited. Once it has been generalized, that lifespan is in most cases over. If someone wanted to understand a theorem, they would probably look for the most general version. Of course, this does not always apply, for example if the work represents a milestone of some kind. One consequence of obsolescence is the stream of citations to my paper is short circuited. This will, in a sense, benefit them at my expense. Of course, I realize that my paper will eventually (hopefully) be generalized and become obsolete (i.e. no longer state-of-the-art). > > > Since you speak of "theorems," I gather you are working in mathematics. (This is corroborated by one of your other questions, where you identify yourself as working in applied mathematics.) I am also a (pure) mathematician, and the way you describe "obsolescence" is neither the way I think about mathematical results nor how I have heard other mathematicians talking about them. Maybe it is quite different in applied mathematics, but in pure mathematics there is not any prescribed lifespan on papers being read and cited. To try to quantify this, I just looked back over my last 10 accepted papers, and for each one identified the earliest cited paper. Of these ten papers, the latest one was published in 1976. (Moreover the 1976 paper came from a five page note with only a few citations.) In other words, in all of my recent papers I have cited papers that are more than 40 years old, and in fact usually older than that. In my department I have many colleagues who are 10-20 years older than I but who have a similar number of publications to me (publication pressures have risen in recent years). Most of these colleagues have higher total citation numbers than I do -- I think because their papers from 10, 20, 30...years ago continue to be cited. My most highly cited works were published in 2013, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2003, respectively. [Moreover, in mathematics, citation numbers are not (yet!) the ultimate metric of academic worth. Papers written on finite graphs tend to get more citations than papers written on admissible representations of p-adic groups because there are more people working on the former and many more people who know what the former are. I think most mathematicians realize this.] So I have to wonder about the specific situation you are describing. In a different question, you mention a colleague of yours who worked on the same problem as you and came up with a result that was in some but not all ways more general, and then you published at least two papers together. I don't understand why this would "short circuit" your citations. Now you describe a situation in which your colleagues are working on generalizing one of your results, apparently without any new ideas. In this latter situation especially, I would expect that if they publish an improvement of your results using ideas essentially due to you, then that should augment your results in every way (including citations), not detract from it. (You are aware that senior mathematicians do this all the time, and the work of their students is usually viewed as an extension of their own work, I trust?) Then you say: > > I just rather prefer that it wasn't my coworkers who are working towards that goal (they even started while I was still drafting my paper). > > > If it gets to the point of an independently published generalization of your work, then I don't see how it makes any difference whatsoever if your coworkers were involved. However, before that happens the fact that it is your coworkers puts you in a much better situation: namely, in the worst case you have much more advance knowledge of what they are working on and can plan accordingly. In the best case you can pursue a collaboration with them in whatever way seems best to you. If I may take a guess -- are you perhaps most upset by the fact that your coworkers have chosen to pursue these generalizations of your work without your involvement, so that they seem to be competing with you right under your nose? I could understand why that would be upsetting. If you feel that way, I think you should be much more proactive about collaborating with them. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: > > One consequence of obsolescence is the stream of citations to my paper is short circuited. This will, in a sense, benefit them at my expense. > > > Possibly the opposite. Citations, IMO, tend to quote the base paper as well as the generalization. > > This will, in a sense, benefit them at my expense. Of course, I realize that my paper will eventually (hopefully) be generalized and become obsolete (i.e. no longer state-of-the-art). I just rather prefer that it wasn't my coworkers who are working towards that goal (they even started while I was still drafting my paper). > > > You should look upon it as having been granted the privilege of having found some knowledge to humanity and having your work rewarded by inspiring others to extend it. The vast majority of people will never experience discovering something like this and all too many people never have the luck to inspire others by their labors. Historically (centuries past) it was not uncommon for scientists to deliberately keep discoveries to themselves to profit from them in some way. For example [the dispute between Cardano and Tartaglia over the solution of a type of cubic equation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Fontana_Tartaglia#Solution_to_cubic_equations). These days are (hopefully) gone and it's now a slightly better system of publishing as fast as possible and chasing citations (as they are a kind of bizarre currency). However ultimately you should try and look at the personal reward of discovery and sharing as your only rewards. Those are the only rewards you can be reasonably certain to get. You have a small (?) place in the written history of the world. Be happy, most do not through no fault of their own. You don't want to be part of the new project (I'd at least keep in touch with them if possible), so there's no gain in thinking about it. Let this go and move on. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Ask yourself what goal you want to achieve. Do you want your colleagues to publicly apologize to you? Postpone their publications until yours gets enough citations? Abandon their work on the topic altogether? Include you in their paper as a co-author? Unless you can define a specific goal which you deem achievable and are ethically OK with, the best advice I can give is to get yourself comforted by close friends over a beer, then get over it and move on. If you feel that including you as a co-author could make sense, think about what you could contribute to colleagues' research (other than the paper you've already published), then speak with them about this possible collaboration as soon as possible. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: > > One consequence of obsolescence is the stream of citations to my paper is short circuited. This will, in a sense, benefit them at my expense. > > > Increasing the amount of knowledge not only benefits them but also the scientific community and humankind as a whole. This is very positive effect of obsolescence of scientific results. > > Of course, I realize that my paper will eventually (hopefully) be generalized and become obsolete (i.e. no longer state-of-the-art). I just rather prefer that it wasn't my coworkers who are working towards that goal (they even started while I was still drafting my paper). > > > This sounds a bit like a missed chance for more cooperation between you and your coworkers and because of that possibly some waste of resources. Did they contact you and ask you for your further plans, maybe suggesting a further cooperation? Were they open about what they are working on? If not, your coworkers might simply have decided to leave you out of future developments. You could then try to compete with them and be faster or leave this particular field to them and do something else. I did not experience direct competition from coworkers, but in cases of competition from other groups I always tried to be as fast as possible. One lesson for the future could be that collaborations have a social dimension and that trust about future arrangements matters. Collaborations can be very long term and fruitful. It's probably a good idea to stick with those that worked well for you. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/04	539	2,265	<issue_start>username_0: Planning to do PhD research about to find the link between 2 things. What if there was no link between these 2 things? does that mean all years of research is worthless? and no PhD degree? is the PhD more about the results of the research or about the research itself?<issue_comment>username_1: This is one where the voyage is more important than the destination. You might still be able to produce a thesis if you can organize in a systematic manner the various ways which proved to be unsuccessful. It could also be extremely useful to identify further avenues which have not been explored due to lack of time. If you can somehow prove there is no link that would be actually a positive result. Finally, it takes skill to publish a negative result but this is far from unprecedented. Again, explaining in a systematic way how you proceed and where you reached a cul-de-sac is actually quite valuable as it will prevent others from following the same path. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It is useful to think of a thesis as answering a question. In your case that question would be: Are thing A and thing B related? The setup of your thesis would then be: * You introduce the question * You than theorize why they might be related, and why they might not be related. * You summarize previous research on thing A and thing B, and their relationship * You describe the design of your approach (or approaches) to answer that question, and what the advantages and disadvantages are compared to what has been done before. * You describe the results. * You conclude by answering the question, in this case thing A and thing B are not related. * You discuss some implications of that finding * You discuss some weaknesses of your approach and potential other designs that might mitigate those weakness (but have other weaknesses of their own). It is definitely easier to write up, and especially publish, research with a positive finding. But the research is not a failure: You started with a question, and you ended up with an answer. It was not the answer you expected, but if you knew the answer before starting the research, then why do the research? So, this is not the end of your PhD. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2018/10/04	900	3,598	<issue_start>username_0: I am writing a paper in mathematics. It relies heavily on a result from a different topic that I phrased, felt that it should be true, but I did not know how to prove that result. I asked someone who works on this different topic to help me with the proof, and he has found a proof for the desired result. Let’s call him Bob. I would like to thank this person and ask him if he wants to: 1. be a co-author in the paper, 2. just be acknowledged in the paper: > > The author wishes to thank Bob for generously allowing him to use his proof of [result]. > > > At the beginning of the proof of the result it will be mentioned that: > > The proof is due to Bob. > > > Bob says that he would be happy to be acknowledged and does not think that he should be a co-author (unless he can further contribute to the paper). He also mentions that he is not working on my topic and hence not enough familiar with what the paper deals with. My question is: Which of the two options (1 or 2) should be chosen? It should be emphasized that the result I have been helped with is critical for the existence of the paper. Moreover, is it okay to submit the paper to a journal as a single author, and ask the editor to have the opinion of the referees on whether Bob should be a co-author or not? I read [Should all authors on a paper be comfortable explaining every aspect of the paper?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/85489/17254), I guess that there are differences between mathematics and other topics, aren't they? For example, in brain research people from different topics collaborate and we do not expect that one will understand what exactly the other did, but in a math paper I would expect that every author will understand what his friend did. Or perhaps I am wrong?<issue_comment>username_1: No. Indeed a co-author could have provided invaluable input with a single insight/subresult to the paper or a part of the paper. I don’t think an editor can evaluate the contribution of any co-author. If both of you feel the contribution is enough (and novel) then your other party should be a co-author. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The answer depends on how firmly Y has declined authorship. I don't think it's appropriate to ask the referees to decide on authorship. * You cannot list Y as an author without his consent. If he has firmly refused to be an author, that is the end of it. * If Y has simply indicated that acknowledgment is a sufficient form of credit, but left the door open to being an author then it's up to you. I have responded in this way sometimes when I felt my contribution was sufficient for authorship but I didn't want to step on anybody's toes. I try to err on the side of being generous with credit, so I would say to him > > "I feel that your contribution warrants authorship. Are you willing to be listed as an author?" > > > If he still says no, then just acknowledge him. You can include the statement of how critical his part was in the acknowledgment. In the comments, there is a suggestion to state in the paper that Y has declined authorship. I don't think this is wise; it needlessly draws attention and may make people speculate as to why. If I were Y I would not want that statement in the paper. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: It really depends on the relationship of the two people. If its student prof the person may want his student to have the recognition. He may just be humble. It wouldn't be too disrespectful to add him as either but definitely add him as one. Upvotes: -1
2018/10/04	579	2,357	<issue_start>username_0: I will be conducting exams, and I need a tool that can let me shuffle and select random , small questions from a pre-defined question pool. My questions are typically matched and complete. It would be ideal if I can export to word after that. Any idea or suggestion is appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: I would recommend to use [ClassMarker](https://www.classmarker.com/), which is a great tool for creating a quiz with random questions. You can choose questions you select and randomize the order of the selected questions, randomize answer options or [add randomly selected questions](https://www.classmarker.com/online-testing/manual/#autoquestions), so each time the quiz is taken, different questions will be pulled from your question pool. Also, the option of exporting the tests to word is available. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Perhaps a bit orthogonal, but you could ask a colleague in Computer Science to have students build you such a tool as a class project. If you have the time to spend to specify exactly what you want, you could get the perfect tool. In addition, the students involved will get valuable programming experience as well as experience in working to the specifications of a client. This isn't a massive undertaking, actually. The downside is that you need to wait for it to be built, but in the meantime you can also think about what features you most desire. It may be possible for a group of students to build the core functionality quite quickly. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: Here is a [solution in java script](https://codepen.io/southface/pen/mExOGA) that runs in the browser or wherever you like. Here is a "[random choice generator](https://www.textfixer.com/tools/random-choice.php)". And here is a "[random name picker](https://www.classtools.net/random-name-picker/)". You could give your questions short names and draw them according to where the wheel stops. In Emacs, you could also write each question on a line and use this [elisp function to randomize the order of lines](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6172054/how-can-i-random-sort-lines-in-a-buffer). Then export it to word, LaTeX, whatever, with [pandoc](https://pandoc.org/). That's my favorite. Finally, here is my [google search](https://www.google.at/search?q=random%20picker). Upvotes: 0
2018/10/04	2,388	9,169	<issue_start>username_0: I was a PhD student and forced to quit as my PI doubted the new work I did and this PI did not mention any constructive feedback or comments. I signed a resignation letter. Then, I submitted my work to a conference and it was accepted to be published, despite the fact that the supervisor did not help me at all in any step of this proposed methodology that I proved. The PI found out that I am going to present my work and threatened that (s)he is going to block me from the research field unless I put their name on my work, even though I resigned and they doubt the work. It is clear that (s)he is very appreciated in the field and no lab could accept me if (s)he blocks me. (S)he suggested that it does not help me to present my work alone. Another question is from where does one get the money to attend a conference without the support of a supervisor. I am really shattered and see this as clear bullying and retaliation. By the way, this PI has forced another student who also did great work and published in top tier conferences and journals to leave after four years of hard work. I don't know what to do. I did this work on my own, and he has no right to be a co-author.<issue_comment>username_1: Don't be panic. If everything you said is true, your PI does not deserve to be a co-author, and I would suggest you not to put his/her name in your poster. > > It is clear that (s)he is very appreciated in the field and no lab > could accept me if (s)he blocks me. > > > This is not true. As you already resigned, the worst they can do to you is not writing a letter of reference. Nothing else. Just think about it, would they ask/email other research groups "Hey, I just want to check if you-never-heard-of Monica is applying to your group, (s)he is very bad blah blah"? If that really happens, it is them to be questioned. Note that they do not gain anything by badmouthing you. People can question their ability to select students. And if this behaviour is consistent with different students, they will make a bad reputation for themselves. --- Updated: -------- From @CaptainEmacs: > > Sorry, but this is not realising how blacklisting works. If the PI is > indeed that powerful, they can do a lot of damage. While OP tries to > continue in the field, the PI can basically make a side dismissive > comment or explain how difficult a person OP was or - outright false - > statements about what OP did, including making underhanded claims > about sabotage or thefts, out of knowledge of OP. The best chance for > OP is to switch fields where PI doesn't have a reach or name or go to > some other big shot who is not influenced by PI and try to convince > them about their qualities, but this is hard. > > > I've never heard of such things. Do you have a source for it? or is this a rumor that you hear? "Powerful" in academia just means that somebody does a lot of good research, and has a lot of collaborations. It doesn't mean they can affect the decision of anybody outside their department. And if somebody is trying to tell me about their bad former student, the first questions come to mind will be: why this guy needs to spend so much effort going after a random student? why does he think I will care? why can't he just move on? Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You do need to be very careful with authorship rules. According to many funding agencies in the US, the student doesn't own the data if you are in funded in the lab. It is the university who accepts the funds owns all of the data and the PI is the steward of the data. Your professor may be justified in requiring authorship given some of these rules. I would dig into this and find out the specifics before making a big claim about what you want to do. If you're not in the US, or even if you're in the US, I would check with your university's research or ethics offices. They will likely know the legality of data ownership that is implied by the granting agencies and help you know what you can and cannot do. I would suspect this data ownership rule is more similar than different when looking around the world. But my advice is to just not fight it. Some battles are not worth it. This can be messy, and putting a name on a paper is a cheap fix. That's the safe and courteous way to handle what could possibly be legal issues due to data ownership. ### Edit There were some questions in comments, so here's more details. The [primary resource](https://grants.nih.gov/policy/nihgps/index.htm) is very dense, but most university research departments are pretty explicit about data ownership. At least the [NIH](https://www.usnh.edu/policy/unh/viii-research-policies/c-unh-policy-ownership-management-and-sharing-research-data) and the [NSF](https://data.library.virginia.edu/files/Data-Rights-and-Responsibilities-Guidance.pdf) has this rule. A [Good overview](http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/rcr/rcr_data/foundation/index.html) and [quick summary of what counts](https://research.umd.edu/rcr-data-acquisition) are provided here. There was a pretty big case awhile ago [where postdocs published without the data owner's consent, and it had to be retracted](https://retractionwatch.com/2012/05/17/journal-retracts-protein-paper-from-serial-data-thief-who-used-deceased-mentors-name/) (this one is a very interesting data ownership case!). As you can see, ask your university research department, and if you don't know the specifics, assume you do not own any of the data. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: What you report is unfortunately fairly common. I have been in similar situation, which I will detail further down. My first advice is: Whenever you're being stalked by an unprofessional individual you must gather evidence of the harassment. There's no excuse for not doing that in modern times. You know your abuser, so have a recorder (e.g. your smartphone) ready and turn it on as soon as contact begins. Keep records of threats, insults, abuse. Had you recorded what you just described, you'd now be in the advantageous position. If you haven't documented them yet, induce the threats to be made again so you can record them somehow. Second advice: Usually PIs are way less "powerful" than they have their students believe. The typical professor barely knows any faces outside of his/her own department. Exaggerating a couple of cold emails exchanged with "being friends with" other more influential professors is common practice. Anyone who's truly influential needs not to make any threats. Bullies are usually just weaklings, acting. So, stop believing this person, completely. Third advice: Keep your distance from this person. You're psychologically affected, and the abuser can see it. Only come any closer if you want to gather incriminating evidence (feel free to act), otherwise just completely shun from any interaction. This includes your professional sphere. You must move away from this person also professionally. As mentioned in advice 2, you'll be surprised to find out that nobody knows this person in so many other circles just around the corner. Attending this specific conference was a mistake on this (surely there are so many others where you'd be way more comfortable), but alas, now you're there just do your best and avoid the maggot. Fourth and final advice: Stay awesome! Present your work, don't give undue credit to anyone, nor keep any collaborator in the dark. Enjoy your conference, make contacts, reinforce ties, meet new peers, smile, dress well, keep your head up. You're an independent scholar, you believe you have great ideas to share, so do it with great style. Your confidence will naturally attract good colleagues and keep the fake ones and vampires away. Some of my experience: (i) feel free to read my [fairly recent question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/114805/meeting-dishonest-ex-supervisors-at-large-international-conference-should-one) where I had to deal with toxic ex-colleagues in a large conference. Everything worked out just fine. (ii) also as a PhD student [I had a bad supervisor](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/117755/what-to-do-when-you-hear-many-bad-stories-about-your-supervisor-on-the-first-day/117782#117782) (though probably not as bad as yours) who wanted to either sabotage and take credit over my projects. Once I was set to attend a large international conference, and I submitted a work completely of my own without adding his name. He heard about it from another professor, so I vaguely apologised having made some confusion and just pretended to correct it. I knew how the conference proceedings worked, he wouldn't be there, and saw he'd never really check (fuzzy to find, foreign language, online-only, too many pdfs, etc). I then just handed him pdf files with his name showing, for the text and poster. In reality it, it didn't. Nowadays I feel is childish and risky and I don't recommend you do exactly the same (I was outraged), but the main message is: you don't play fair on bad guys. Have a good conference! Upvotes: -1 [selected_answer]
2018/10/04	1,408	5,830	<issue_start>username_0: I sent my paper to one journal, which took about 3 months to respond to me. They decided to reject my paper, and gave me some comments and reasons why my paper was rejected. The first reviewer said a little about my paper and he/she wants to reject my paper because I do not have co-authors with me. I did the paper by myself. The comments of the second reviewer seemed disrespectful and misinformed. His/her comments were written in a way that suggests that I am stupid and what I did is just rubbish. He/she gave me some comments (the reasons why he/she wants to reject my paper). When I read the comments, I found that all the comments are useless and wrong. For example, at two simple points (very known in the area of my topic), she/he said these points are wrong. All researchers in this field know that what I wrote is completely correct. All other comments were just written with very low respect. What can I do? I did this hard job alone, so why do I need to find someone to be a co-author? I feel that they rejected my paper because my name is not known in this area (I am a student).<issue_comment>username_1: Whether they are right or wrong, the editors are in control of what they will publish and you don't have any control over that. You aren't likely to be successful with an argument with them. You have two options, at least. One is to change the paper so that they are satisfied with it. The other is to try to publish elsewhere. However, I will guess that the comments of reviewers aren't as invalid as you think they are. Even if you decide to publish elsewhere, you should go carefully through your paper with the views of the reviewers in mind and see what you can do to make it better. No one is required to take all of the advice of reviewers, but generally, they are expert in the field and so have valuable things to say. You don't need to respond to every advice, but you should, at least, consider every advice. Among other things, I wonder why they suggest a co-author. Is there something in the paper that suggests that it would be appropriate, or are you in a field in which sole authorship (especially by students) is rare? And don't take the comments personally. They aren't criticizing you when they have doubts about the paper. They are focused only on the work itself. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: > > The first reviewer said a little about my paper and he/she wants to reject my paper because I do not have co-authors with me. > > > Are you sure that's why they want to reject your paper? It seems much more likely that they rejected your paper because of deficiencies in it, and suggested that bringing in co-authors could help you rectify those deficiencies. > > His/her comments were written in a way that suggests that I am stupid and what I did is just rubbish. He/she gave me some comments (the reasons why he/she wants to reject my paper). When I read the comments, I found that all the comments are useless and wrong. For example, at two simple points (very known in the area of my topic), she/he said these points are wrong. All researchers in this field know that what I wrote is completely correct. All other comments were just written with very low respect. > > > I would say taht your response to the referee is written in a way that suggests that they are stupid and what they did is just rubbish. Your response seems to have been written with very low respect. A little hypocritical, no? > > I feel that they rejected my paper because my name is not known in this area > > > While there is some bias towards accepting the work of well-known researchers as being interesting and worthy, mostly they rejected your paper because it wasn't good enough and, it seems, because they felt it was technically flawed (at least in places). You have a paper that has now been rejected by two journals: this should be a huge wake-up call but you seem completely unwilling to accept any criticism of it and insist on blaming everybody but yourself. If you just had one referee who wanted to reject your paper then, sure, maybe you were unlucky and got a bad referee. But it sounds like both referees at the current journal rejected, plus however many at the first one. Can you see a pattern here? Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: > > I did this hard job alone, so why do I need to find someone to be a > co-author? I feel that they rejected my paper because my name is not > known in this area > > > If you believe that this is a major reason for rejection, you could try submitting to a journal that uses blind reviewing, i.e. identity of the author/s is concealed from the reviewers. > > When I read the comments, I found that all the comments are useless > and wrong. For example, at two simple points (very known in the area > of my topic), she/he said these points are wrong. All researchers in > this field know that what I wrote is completely correct > > > In that case, the simplest option is to provide a cite to where some of those other researchers have made these points. It's frustrating having to cite what seems obvious, but not everybody has the same idea of what's "obvious". You might also check how you have explained those points. On my most recent paper, I got several reviewer comments that were incorrect. The reviewers had misunderstood my paper. But even though their suggested changes were wrong, the feedback was still useful because it helped me identify areas where my explanation wasn't clear. By improving the explanation, I was able to satisfy my reviewers. Beyond that, as username_1 and David have suggested, consider your reviewers' comments very carefully. It's not impossible to get two clueless reviewers, but it's unlikely. Upvotes: 3
2018/10/04	416	1,779	<issue_start>username_0: What would be the most appropriate place for someone to upload their Master thesis in Education? (Their institution does not upload electronic versions of theses.) The thesis is original research and a paper version has already been accepted to a conference; the author just wants to share their thesis with the community independently of the paper. I have come across [this list](https://researchpreprints.com/preprintlist/) but I don't know the culture of the field, so I cannot advise them on which one to use, if any. I also note that the thesis is not in English. Thanks in advance.<issue_comment>username_1: As it seems unlikely at this point that this question will receive an appropriate answer soon, I'll answer my own question and give the best answer I came across. Someone who is in Education research has told me that he and his colleagues use Academia.edu and ResearchGate. So, while there are certainly repositories out there, it would appear that they are not widely used. In the end, I recommended to the author of the thesis that they use these two sites. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: > > ...most appropriate place...to upload...Master thesis in Education? (Their institution does not upload electronic versions of theses.) > > > The technical report archive of the school or institute, a website you have via the school/institute, your personal website, or your supervisor's website. > > a paper version has already been > accepted to a conference > > > Given that it is published in some form, is there a need for the thesis itself? (Perhaps, because it probably contains additional material, but worth considering.) As an alternative, maybe extend the conference version into a journal version. Upvotes: 0
2018/10/04	1,784	7,827	<issue_start>username_0: In academia, researchers live by the mantra of "publish or perish". This is because the contribution to society that academia gives is the expansion of human knowledge. However, given the importance of software to conduct research, I don't understand why implementing many algorithms or building API's for research purposes is not equally relevant when trying to get funding. See, for example, how few papers in math, computer science and software engineering provide source code, despite the entire focus of the paper being on the implementation of an algorithm and its performance in real hardware. Moreover, see how much research relies on API's. We have linear algebra API's, calculus, computer visions, physics simulations, etc. Many of which are paid software (e.g., Matlab). If someone is willing to spend time developing an API for a given subject (a computer vision library, a rendering algorithm, quantum physics / computing simulations) and that software provides new and useful tools in open software and for free so that researchers can conduct their research more efficiently, I don't see how this is not equivalent in usefulness as making a paper.<issue_comment>username_1: There are different kinds of value. And different people measure it differently. Scientific research resulting in traditional publications is about extending knowledge. The value is in the knowledge. Implementation is normally about building a product of some sort, whether commercial or not. But to implement something for which the knowledge is already present, doesn't extend knowledge, so isn't the same sort of value as research resulting is new ideas. It isn't less valuable, just differently valuable. An implementation may enable something else to be done, without extending knowledge. Building out scientific libraries feels like this sort of thing. But you are wrong in some ways in your assumptions. Some people get at least a local reputation boost by building stuff. That is certainly true in IP based businesses such as Google, but also in some universities. It isn't either-or. I've been given props for some of the stuff I've built whether it was, strictly speaking, research or not. My stuff mostly enables students to learn something, rather than knowledge extension per se. But also, a lot of doctoral research in CS is, in fact, based on implementation. One famous doctoral thesis explains how to build a compiler based on the semantics of a language rather than (the usual thing) it syntax. It was a big deal. But <NAME>, had to build it to demonstrate that the idea was sound. The implementation wasn't the dissertation, but the research and the extension of knowledge that the implementation proved sound was. Also in the compiler field, if you have an idea to make a garbage collector for a new language run 3% faster and use 3% less memory than the best known solution you can get a doctorate. But you have to build it and measure it (extensively) to prove the idea. So, the implementation may not be, in itself, the valuable thing, but it enables the verification of a new idea - knowledge extension. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I am not sure what field you are in, but to me, this question almost doesn't make sense. Nothing is equivalent to a paper ... except a paper. You may as well ask why doing research without publishing it isn't equivalent to a paper. That's just not the model we have. In my fields, if you publish a library/toolbox, you write a paper on it. If you put up an open dataset, you write a paper on it. If you do research, you write a paper on it. There are many people who focus on developing toolboxes, and many people who might never touch development at all and will only ever publish "actual" science. In other words, it's not validated and "counts" until it's been at least somewhat peer-reviewed. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: You are mistaken in your assumptions. Scientific software is valued and there are now in fact a number of journals dedicated to exactly this -- I know this among other reasons because I happen to be the Editor-in-Chief of the ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software (ACM TOMS). There is (actually: was) also the Computational Science and Discovery journal, and then there is Computing in Science and Engineering (CiSE). All of these publish articles that describe computational software. More generally, there are substantial efforts at making sure that the authors of scientific software get credit that is comparable to other kinds of publications such as journal papers. I would encourage you to take a look at the WSSSPE series of workshops, the Force11 task force, and a number of other efforts to ensure that software can be cited in much the same way as papers can (e.g., via the Zenodo service). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Software is a research product has value and is seen as valuable, but you as a researcher need to ensure that you extract the value out of it. Extracting value out of any research product requires doing some kind of formal write up and distributing the ideas among the relevant audience. For software, this is many times in the form of a software publication. Many traditional scientific computing journals take a software paper and these papers can do quite well in terms of citations. For example, [Shampine's "The MATLAB ODE Suite"](https://epubs.siam.org/doi/10.1137/S1064827594276424) is one of the [most read and cited articles in SIAM Journal of Scientific Computing](https://epubs.siam.org/action/showMostReadArticles?journalCode=sjoce3). Taking that paper as a reference, notice that it identifies the problem it's solving, explains how it had to modify the algorithms to achieve its goals, and the kind of results it can achieve. This then gives a citable resource and many of the people who use the paper will then cite this source. Software tends to be under cited, but since it can get so widely used you will find that successful software has some of the most cited publications. Another classic journal like this is [ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software (ACM TOMS)](https://toms.acm.org/). More recent software journals are the [Journal of Open Research Software](https://openresearchsoftware.metajnl.com/) and [SoftwareX](https://www.journals.elsevier.com/softwarex). In a slightly different direction, the [Journal for Open Source Software](http://joss.theoj.org/about) reduces the importance of the paper by making the software and its documentation part of the peer review. As an example, [Optim.jl](https://github.com/JuliaNLSolvers/Optim.jl) has a [JOSS paper](https://www.theoj.org/joss-papers/joss.00615/10.21105.joss.00615.pdf) which you can see is much shorter than traditional academic papers, but at least summarizes the value of the software in a citable form. When applying for jobs, you'll notice that people naturally assign a different value to software papers. While it is definitely changing, some professors I know take hardline stance that software is just implementation and doesn't extend knowledge and will value it less than other papers (which is why these exact points should be refuted in a publication about said software). In contrast, some individuals care more about impact or citations, and so a widely used software will have a very large effect on them. Generally in my experience, the value of software seems to be increasing over time, with senior professors more likely to take the former stance and newer professors more likely to take the latter. But my advice would be to just do whatever you think has a high impact to the research community. If it does have a big impact, people will notice, and sometimes just being noticed is what you need. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2018/10/04	352	1,485	<issue_start>username_0: Foe example the following image in Wikipedia article. <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2014.06.23._Charles_Aznavour_Fot_Mariusz_Kubik_01.jpg> To best of my understanding it has creative common license. Can I use it in my scientific paper without obtaining copyright permission? Many thanks<issue_comment>username_1: On the same page, under the picture you link to, it literally states > > The copyright holder of this file allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed. > > > In other words, yes, you can use it without obtaining further permission. Note that other pictures on Wikipedia might have other licenses, but the terms are generally stated quite clearly. However, you should also do your due diligence and try to see if the picture might have been published elsewhere before. After all, it might have been uploaded against the real copyright-holder's wishes, in which case the statement of license terms wouldn't hold water. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The page clearly states the CC-BY license for this image. That means that the creator of the image has given permission for any use as long as you properly credit the source. Whether this will be acceptable to your journal publisher is another question- they might require you to ask the owner of the image to sign some other agreement. You'll need to contact the journal to get an authoritative answer. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/04	419	1,898	<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently in the process of applying to grad schools, and I'm emailing profs whose work I find interesting. I always read a bit of their work, and then customize both, the email I send them, and the CV I attach. I discuss their work in my email, and slightly change the listed research interests in my CV to match their interests. Often, I'll find multiple profs in the same school and department whose work I find interesting. I was wondering it its acceptable to email them all at once. Are there any potential consequences to sending out multiple emails + CVs at once to the same department, all containing slightly different research interests and repeatedly claiming I find the profs' work "fascinating"?<issue_comment>username_1: On the same page, under the picture you link to, it literally states > > The copyright holder of this file allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed. > > > In other words, yes, you can use it without obtaining further permission. Note that other pictures on Wikipedia might have other licenses, but the terms are generally stated quite clearly. However, you should also do your due diligence and try to see if the picture might have been published elsewhere before. After all, it might have been uploaded against the real copyright-holder's wishes, in which case the statement of license terms wouldn't hold water. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The page clearly states the CC-BY license for this image. That means that the creator of the image has given permission for any use as long as you properly credit the source. Whether this will be acceptable to your journal publisher is another question- they might require you to ask the owner of the image to sign some other agreement. You'll need to contact the journal to get an authoritative answer. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/05	2,582	11,448	<issue_start>username_0: I started a PhD program recently. I never had any doubts about the fact that I want to do a PhD and I still don't doubt it for a moment. I love working in the area of my interest, but it seems like the department I'm in isn't what I expected. Things are going very poorly for me. I'm losing my confidence, my passion, my self-esteem, my "good reputation", and I think my CV could be destroyed soon. I'm thinking about quitting the program, but I don't know how, and I don't know what the consequences could be. I very much appreciate any help or advice. First, about the department: It's a small department at a top institution, with excellent faculty, but their approach to research and even the topics in the courses is vastly different from what I imagined. This is in the US, so the program starts without an assigned advisor and with course requirements. The courses are on the topics that my undergrad background is the weakest in, and before starting them, I was kind of happy about it, because I always knew I eventually need to learn them for my research as they are very useful tools, even though not even remotely my area of interest. But now, I can see the approach is very different from what I expected. It also seems to me that this approach represents how the professors in the department approach research problems in general. I'm also extremely overwhelmed by the expectations. Everyone else in our very small cohort (we're only a handful of PhD student), seems to have a very strong background on the topics. They find the courses to be boring reviews, while I struggle to catch up. I was a very strong undergrad at a top institution, but my plan was to complement my undergraduate education with my graduate education, not to do the same thing again. And given the courses we have now, my strengths don't show themselves at all before I start working on my thesis (where I think I'm going to rely heavily on my undergrad background). This has shattered my confidence into pieces. I'm by far the weakest student of the cohort in the courses, and I need to work so hard to barely catch up with what others find easy and boring. On the other hand, soon we should choose advisors. The competition for working with the advisor I came here for seems to be unexpectedly tough this year. An unusually high number of us want to work with him, and I think I have the lowest chance for that. All of these combined, makes me think I chose a wrong program for my PhD. I'm starting to think about a way out, but I'm afraid of talking to the professors here about that, because our financial contract is renewed every year for a year, so I'm afraid I might get into trouble or at least, they may become overly sensitive about my performance and review my exams and assess my academic performance more strictly if I tell them about my struggles, my issues, how their expectations about my background are false, and how my expectation about the program was false. I'm also worried about my alternatives after quitting the program. How can I explain to other schools that I just chose a wrong program?! I just misunderstood what the department expects and what they do! Everyone told me since a a very long time ago, that PhD is flexible, and that a lot of people switch fields even without a proper background for their PhD. Now I entered a program that has very little flexibility, and it seems like everyone has done exactly the same topics for their undergrad!! How can I justify that I just want to start over in a different environment?!<issue_comment>username_1: This sounds like a classic case of [Imposter Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome). Someone thinks you are just right for a position and you now have it, but you don't think yourself good enough. I'm going to just guess that about half of your cohort feels the same way. Yes there is a lot of hard work in a doctoral program and everyone around you is very smart. Like you, they went through a rigorous selection process and like you they were accepted. Objectively speaking, on some measure, you are probably not as "good" as some others but also better than some. On a different measure it would be different. But others, who have seen a lot of students, think you can be a success here, so I'd suggest you just put your head down and work as hard as you are able. It is hard work that will make you a success. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I am so sorry that graduate school is taking such a toll on your psyche. Please believe me when I say that you are not at all alone in feeling this way, and I agree with username_1 that this largely sounds like imposter syndrome -- something that even the top academics fall trap to. In regards to your cohort, here is my advice, regardless of whether or not you change programs: remember that there will never be an even playing field. All of you have different backgrounds, strengths, areas that need growth, goals, and research interests. There is absolutely no way that any of your cohort members check every single box. With small cohorts like yours, it is difficult not to compare (especially if your program has set up a culture of competition). However, these comparisons can be detrimental to your psyche because you are only seeing part of the picture: what your cohort members publicly present. It could very well be that you are the strongest of your cohort in areas like grant writing, interacting with certain groups of people, or even a personality that others like to be around (a major factor that might sometimes get overlooked), but you are so early in your program that only time can reveal this. Wanting to succeed in academia is half the battle; if you have this, no matter how much or how little you are bringing with you into the program, you will find your fit. There is a reason you have been selected that might not be particularly clear to you, but it was clear to the graduate admissions committee, and it helps to shift your focus from what you think you lack, onto what your strengths are/what you offer that your cohort cannot. In my own cohort, each of us offers something different. I highly respect the intellect of all of my colleagues, and when I publicly state this, some seem surprised and have even admitted that they had not recognized x as a strength of theirs until they heard it pointed out to them. Though I cannot guarantee you will get your a-ha moment, I can guarantee that early academia makes it very easy to forget the qualities you possess that have gotten you to where you are now. There have been occasions that your cohort members have lauded you or even felt jealousy, but since this knowledge is not explicitly expressed, you are understandably feeling as if you are not "enough." Another thing to remember - your required classes are only one small part of your PhD. You will need to learn interpersonal, research, professional, administrative, and teaching skills, many of which can be learned but the extent to which you succeed cannot. These are skills you will need no matter the school that you choose, and it is often expected that you will accumulate them on your own (with some help from your program, however it is not necessarily your program's responsibility to walk you through them). It is so very likely that despite not coming in with the same knowledge or strengths as your colleagues, you will be stronger in certain aspects of the PhD track than others, and hopefully, you will be provided an adviser who can help you assess these strengths and weaknesses with you. For me, creating an [Individual Development Plan (IDP)](http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/) helped tremendously. In regards to changing programs, are there programs that allow you to enter with an adviser? If you are not provided with this adviser, is it still possible for them to be on your committee? In my program (based in the U.S.), admission is heavily contingent on the adviser you choose and committee members are just as important. At your current institution, is it the norm to meet with professors you are interested in working with, to get a better sense of what they are about? Despite the program seeming to be restrictive on academics, perhaps there are faculty members that do not feel this way and can become allies to you. Find allies within the department, let them know the surmounting stress you feel, and gain their advice. Assess whether or not you feel comfortable talking with your graduate chair (if applicable). How accessible is the person you wanted to become your advisor, and how much time do they have for their students? How many students do they have? What are they even looking for in students - is it more based on research interests, or is it on grades? I believe that no matter the discipline, it is often the prior; since you are in a PhD program, you will be there a while, and your position in the department can change for better or worse at any moment and thus should not feel set in stone. If all else fails, know that people do change programs to find a place with a better "fit." Finding an institution that fits your needs might take time and visiting many different institutions you had not previously considered when applying. It sounds like you have learned a lot about yourself in this process, and if you are adamant in choosing a new program, there are people in your institution that will support you and help you with this; hopefully, in your department, but at the very least, within the graduate school, academic advising, career advising, and graduate success initiatives. Your questions regarding how to approach the situation when reaching out to schools is not easy, but it sounds like the problems you are having can be voiced in a manner that speaks about department "fit," which the right school will understand. I am unsure how you chose your current program, but speaking in person or on the phone with prospective schools and advisors is really what solidified both mine and my adviser's choice to work together. Perhaps explaining your problems with your particular program to other program's graduate coordinators might put things into perspective and allow you to see how other programs stack up on the idea of PhD flexibility. On your qualms about speaking up affecting your funding - is your funding contingent upon your timely progress in the program? If so, keep focusing on that while sifting out your personal feelings about the program in the background. Focus on passing those exams. Take extra initiative to get to know your department, so they can get to know you personally and your POTENTIAL rather than your current knowledge. People in your department may talk, but the extent to which they have control over your ability to stay in the program funding-wise may be minimal, and letting them to get to know you outside of hearsay will be instrumental in making a good impression - a REAL impression of you. Changing programs or not, you got this. I cannot emphasize enough that programs care more about your potential than how well you are doing in these classes, because academics can be taught but your willingness to learn cannot. It sounds as if you are more than willing to learn and more than capable of showing your value to your program (or to a different program that might fit your needs better). Best of luck! Upvotes: 2
2018/10/05	2,743	11,293	<issue_start>username_0: I do this often because this is when I wrap up the stuff for my day. But I wonder if it is considered intrusive. I imagine a scenario where a phone that is linked to gmail rings due to my email, and that wakes up the person I intend to email. Can people chime in whether it is out of the norm to email around midnight? Should I try to refrain from doing this?<issue_comment>username_1: No, you do not have to refrain from doing this. What is midnight to you? Is it now? Because if it's midnight for you now, halfway across the world, it's noon. It's completely logical that someone halfway around the world will be active right now. If this person wants to email you, should he or she wait 12 hours until it's noon for you? If anything, I'd say you (or the person you're emailing) should turn off your phone when going to sleep. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I would say it somewhat depends on the nature of the message and overall context. I am not troubled if a message from a colleague working in another country comes overnight, there are obvious reasons for it. However, when I see a couple of emails sent by the Head of Department to the whole Department in the middle of the night, it's slightly concerning. In addition to the things explicitly requested in the email, it also implies that these requests are particularly urgent and important and keep the HoD working overnight. This in turn creates an expectation that such email has to be acted upon immediately, particularly if some colleague responds to it and triggers a discussion. A few repetitions like this solidify a culture, when colleagues are expected to take work home and are falling behind if they don't. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The good thing (maybe the only good thing) about email is that it's by nature asynchronous. A phone call in the middle of the night is intrusive, because there is an explicit expectation that the receiver does something about the call right there and then. An email is not like that - if you send an email, it will happily sit in the inbox of the recipient until they explicitly take an action to react upon it. Consequently, it does not matter when you send the email. > > I imagine a scenario where a phone that is linked to gmail rings due to my email, and that wakes up the person I intend to email. > > > This is, in my opinion, not a valid concern. First of all, the kind of person who is annoyed by getting disturbed by email outside of work hours has a very easy fix to the problem - turn off notifications. In my opinion, if you explicitly have notifications enabled you can't at the same time be annoyed that you get notified. Second, you'll need to understand an almost universal basic truth - starting from a certain seniority, most people in academia get a lot of email. Hundreds per day, in some cases. Many of these emails will come in during the night. If you wake up every time you get an email from one of your collaborators on a different continent, you won't get much sleep at all. So your email is highly unlikely to wake anybody up, because it will drown in the flood of other emails people get over the night. That said, as discussed in a somewhat related [recent question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/111923/how-to-deal-with-unnecessary-stress-introduced-by-the-supervisor), if you are a supervisor or manager, it may pay to be somewhat careful about what "message" you transport with when you send emails. In this question, a student was stressed because their supervisor kept sending them mails in the night, and the student interpreted these as work items that needed to be done by the next morning. Also, if you as a supervisor are clearly working until midnight, it may implicitly communicate certain expectations and standards that you don't really want in your team. Upvotes: 9 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: People have different wake/sleep and work/relax rhythms, and with flexible working hours and home office, it's hard to guess when people do work and when not (especially in academics). Therefore I think the responsibility shifted from the sender to the receiver of the message: Most (all?) smartphones nowadays have a "do not disturb" modus which automatically turns off the sound and vibration at night or during personally defined times. Send me e-mails whenever you want or call me whenever you want, because if I don't want to be disturbed, I take care I won't. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: If this is something you are concerned about, there are some email clients (ie. Outlook) that allow you to delay sending emails until a specified time. I often do this to avoid the problem you describe. I disagree with the notion in most of these responses that it is solely the responsibility of the receiver to turn off their notifications. I think very few people can resist the urge to check their emails when they 'shouldn't', particularly since they are so accessible. With delayed message sending it is not necessary for someone to receive an email outside office hours unless it is urgent. This solves both your problem of wanting to wrap things up for the day and avoids interrupting others during the times they are not at work. EDIT: To clarify my point, if you are concerned about disturbing people because you know you work different hours to them, you can use email delay to avoid this problem. I think it is generally good practice to use this if your email isn't urgent because a) if they do have notifications on it won't bother them and 2) you are helping you colleagues by not allowing them to work when they shouldn't be. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: The word from Singapore is NO-Problem. We are on the opposite clock from your clock so my night is your day. If I send a message to America in the afternoon it's most likely after midnight in America. If the user hasn't disabled their mobile and you get a flame message back it's most likely that they forgot to enable their go-fish (ie. gmail out-office) responder. AI was invented years ago to handle this. Your more likely to get flamed if you tweet or instagram someone or send an IM to them after midnight. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: > > Can people chime in whether it is out of the norm to email around midnight? > > > It is not out of the norm > > Should I try to refrain from doing this? > > > Yes. Despite other answers, I think your worry is justified and you should not send emails at midnight. I agree with others that the receiver is in control of turning notifications on/off. With or without reason, some people will still get annoyed by your email and you don't want that. They might have notifications on by mistake or because they are waiting for another more important email. More important than this, if they receive your email at midnight, they might read it! It's very likely that they won't spend much time doing so and are more likely to misunderstand, overlook or forget about it next morning when it's marked as read in their inbox. Or they might reply to it! You have finished your day and want to take that email from your head and go to bed but, if they reply, I would feel obliged to clarify any questions that they have before going to bed as they are doing you the "favour" of working late for you. I believe the best time to send an email is when you want the other person to read it, even if this is not guaranteed. I like between 9-10 a.m. when they have had their breakfast and read their inbox but probably not started seriously focusing in any task yet. It gives you the time to sleep on it and maybe modify it before sending it. Furthermore, some people will flag those who are working at midnight as people with poor time management. I would try to appear to others like you work office hours, even if you don't. Depends on the environment but I think that it makes it easier for other people and more people will think of you as reliable, consistent and professional. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: I don't think I would worry about disturbing people - that is the point of email and what makes it different from instant messaging. It is more of a worry that you may give people in the impression you want their attention outside their working hours. Particularly if you are emailing people junior to you they might think you are suggesting that since you work all hours, so should they. We are encouraged to use the following email signature here: > > Due to my own family/work balance, you may get emails from me outside of normal working hours. I don't expect you to respond to my email outside your working hours. > > > At the University of X we value and encourage flexible working patterns, so please be assured that I respect your working pattern and I am looking forward to your response when you are next working. > " > > > Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: In addition to @username_7's answer, which I like, you can... ### Just schedule a delayed send and avoid the problem Most mail clients (including webmail IIANM) allow for some sort of mechanism for scheduling messages to be sent at a later time. For example: ["Send Later" add-on for Mozilla Thunderbird](https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/send-later-3/) and: [MS Outlook \| Email \| Delay or schedule sending email messages](https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Delay-or-schedule-sending-email-messages-026af69f-c287-490a-a72f-6c65793744ba) or you can just Google "delayed send message" and the name of your mail client / webmail solution. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: I firmly believe that someone who replies to a mail at midnight will always know that this reply is not mandatory and will have been happy to get this out of the way quickly instead of during the next morning. So I do not suggest to intentionally delay such an email. That is unless you don't want the other person to know that you were awake at that time. I have witnessed a discussion where two people decided to fire someone who sent a message at 3 am telling his boss that he cannot come to work in one and a half days because of being sick. The reason given to that guy was another one, but the true reason really was, that someone being sick should not be awake at 3 am according to the persons in charge. Although I think this is a bit unfair, because the sickness might be precisely the reason why that person was awake, you should still think about the impression you leave when sending an email late in the night. Most people will not mind at all if you work at midnight, but some will. Even if you are the lecturer and you teach in the morning, you will leave a bad impression if your listeners find out that you were sending (an) email(s) less than 8 hours before that lecture. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_11: Simply put, It will not matter what time you send the email :). The timestamp of being sent is taken from your computer, and may be delayed by the SMTP server. Email works like this: ``` You send Email => Server Receives Email => Server places email in users mail box. User Checks Email => Server returns contents of user email box ``` Upvotes: 1
2018/10/05	1,357	5,936	<issue_start>username_0: I am working on a special topic in applied math. We are trying to explore a new and largely unexplored area in our line of research. Our hope is to be the first researchers to have solid results in this new line of research. Couple days ago, my co-author and I have stumbled upon a paper that is titled almost exactly as the topic that we wish to explore and publish. However, upon further reading, we realized that the paper (despite being published in a journal) is actually very low quality. Not only that the theoretical guarantees does not support any of the applications in the paper, the theories themselves are also very poorly explained, definitions are missing, handwavy at times, and we suspect that the proofs are wrong, but cannot be verified due to author's lengthy and unconventional proof style, which involves some vague interpretation of results contained in other references, one of which is written in a language that is completely foreign to us and couldn't be found online after a quick Google search. This isn't to say that the authors are cranks (even though the paper reads like one). The paper is roughly 10 pages. Properly formatted in the style of the journal. With ample (albeit, strange) diagrams. It is just that the results are confounding, suspicious, and paper is lacking in rigor, despite being peer reviewed and published in a journal. For what it is worth, the authors are not working at a top-tier research institute and the journal is not the highest quality of this field. What should we do when we start our writing process? * Should we painstakingly go through the process of providing a critique of a paper that is written in such a way that it is difficult to critique (without dismissing it as poor writing)? * Or should we ignore the paper and pretend that we didn't see it? (Despite the fact we wish to work on the same, very specific, topic?) * Ultimately, what should you do when you see bad research papers like these?<issue_comment>username_1: If you can find a counterexample to one of the paper's proofs without too much work, then this would be critique enough, I think. You are lucky to be working in mathematics, where the falseness of a claim can be clearly shown. I would not spend too much time on providing a critique. Ignoring the paper is what most people would do in this situation, but is unethical. Some journals' Guidelines for Authors explicitly require citing all relevant literature. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The paper must be acknowledged as proper research is based on published literature. You don’t really need to provide some passionate negative critique of the paper like you’ve done here. You can merely point out main reasons why it could not be included in your analysis directly. However I am sure many of the points you raised here should be fairly straightforward to be clarified by the first author (e.g. some relevant passage in seemingly alien language). It would be better to state you’ve tried to clarify key points you couldn’t understand on your own. You never know: perhaps not everyone agrees in that the previous paper is that unclear. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Yes you should cite it because: 1. You know about that paper 2. You read it in the context of preparing your work. Finding gaps and flaws in previous works is a major part of designing and refining your own research 3. By your own judgement it’s highly relevant. Explain your rebuttal of their claims or method using proper scientific arguments. If I were you I would refrain from using words like “hand waving” or “cranks” in a scientific context. Whether or not you are the first to discover something isn’t really something you can control. It’s possible that they actually did find something of value but were bad at communicating it. From what you say there seem to be still time for you to be the first to get it right but you won’t achieve that by ignoring previous work. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: You have stated that you "wish to explore and publish" on this narrow topic. This suggests that you have not yet achieved the result you want to publish. Understanding this paper, and determining whether it is correct or not, may benefit you in your own exploration. If that is not likely, then perhaps an understanding of its failings or virtues will become clear as your own (correct) work evolves, and citing it will not be as problematic as it currently seems. If you do reach results that conflict with those in the published work, then citing the prior publication is as simple as a sentence stating that that is the case, and your own clear proofs are sufficient explanation. If your result is essentially in agreement with theirs, in order to claim to be the first with "solid results", you'll have to give readers at least an assertion that the prior paper did not beat you to it. If the paper is really unreadable, you can do as username_1 suggested and find one proof you can refute. If the field is interesting enough that someone will find your paper, it seems unlikely they will permanently miss the other one. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: It is well worth a reference. Firstly because it illustrates that your specific field is not just yourselves but that there is some general interest. Secondly in your introduction you might point out how your framework makes it much clearer to grapple with "this poorly understood" realm. Thirdly you can be explicit and say your results are independent and not based-on or rely-on theirs. This means that if their paper is later shown to be based on fairy-dust then yours won't fall like a domino. Fourthly, can your results be shown to be more specific, more general or more stable etc. than theirs? Do they conjecture and you prove? This of course illustrates the value of your approach over theirs. Upvotes: 3
2018/10/05	375	1,637	<issue_start>username_0: I am submitting a paper and the submission requires a taxonomy or topics . I am not sure about this requirement. Taxonomy with respect to a research paper<issue_comment>username_1: The need you to classify your subject using predefined codes specific to your general field. In mathematics we often use the AMS subject classification codes give [here.](https://mathscinet.ams.org/msc/pdfs/classifications2010.pdf) I imagine that your field has its own organisations and one of those have published a catalog of codes. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: A taxonomy or topics will help the editor to find proper referees. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: In addition to helping the editor, the author's classification aids future potential readers in finding papers of interest. It is a lot like the tags that we apply here to questions. Arguably this was more useful in the past when full text search was less available, but it is, even now, a quick way to narrow down a search for relevant topics. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: This helps the journal find an editor. Example: submitting a paper on the formation of the Solar System to a general physics journal. It's obvious the paper is in astrophysics, but that's it. Do you give the paper to someone who's an expert in planetary science? General relativity? Exoplanets? Stellar physics? This can be really hard to answer for someone who's not in astrophysics. If the authors give subject tags, it's very helpful, since you can just look up the relevant section in the editorial board's research interest and invite someone there. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/05	564	2,478	<issue_start>username_0: I recently started (last week) a post-doc position and I have a submitted paper which got an R&R before finishing my Ph.D and having this post-doc position. I will resubmit the paper this week and my current director says that I should change the affiliation on the revised version of the paper and mention that the paper is financially supported by the institution where I am a post-doctoral fellow. I wonder if it is correct and ethical to change the affiliation because 99,9% of the work has been done under the financial support of the institution where I have done my Ph.D.<issue_comment>username_1: Affiliation is mostly for identification. There is no formal definition requiring it to be linked to the institution in which most of the work was done. I'd suggest that you follow the advice of your director, for political reasons if no other. It may be important to the current institution to connect itself to your work. But there is no reason that you can't also acknowledge your former institution within the paper if they also gave you support. Add a footnote mentioning the institutions that supported the work. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Change in Affiliation: I would suggest that a researcher write his/her current affiliation/s. It also I think is the responsibility of a researcher to update the publishers about any changes in affiliation and contact details. Regarding Financial Support: In this case, a part of the researcher's funding/finance came from the first institution and now s/he is being financially supported by the current institution. Thus s/he can mention the scenario in his/her own words briefly so due credit could be given to both the institutions. You could also be contacting the publisher (if you have sent the paper to a publisher) to seek their advice. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Was there, done that. In my case, I wrote my new affiliation on the paper (because it was the place, where I was at that moment). I mentioned both old and new grants in the acknowledgement section. I also wrote there that most of the work has been done at the place of old affiliation. You need to be especially careful with conferences. I've personally seen cases where the new institution was not willing to pay for travel, because the paper appeared with the old affiliation. (Basically, I got another job after submitting the camera version, but before the conference date.) Upvotes: 1
2018/10/05	627	2,387	<issue_start>username_0: The Lancet, one of the top medical journals in the world, requires 'Type decimal points midline (ie, 23·4, not 23.4)'. Does anyone know why this is? As a mathematician, I'll always read 23·4 as 92. Seems odd to me that such a high profile paper would insist on such a strange formatting choice, which goes against the SI standard, so I'm guessing there's a good reason for it.<issue_comment>username_1: This notation was more common [historically](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_separator), particularly in the British empire. My guess would be that the Lancet, being an old journal founded in England in 1823, is sticking with it because of tradition rather than a really good reason. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: To expand on [@username_1's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/117983/53) more generally, mathematical notation is not universal between countries. Where the decimal symbol appears—and what the decimal symbol even is—varies significantly. For instance, in most of continental Europe, the period and comma are switched so that what in the US would be "24,321.12" would be "24.321,12" in Germany or the Netherlands. Similarly, the "dot product" is sometimes written on the baseline rather than on the center line. So this is just an expression of a stylistic preference or tradition. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: The unspaced centred dot, as in 23·4 (= 234 ÷ 10), means the decimal point. To denote multiplication, spacing is necessary: 23 · 4 = 92. As long as one sticks to this convention, no confusion arises. From some people's point of view, it is nice to distinguish thus the marker for decimal point from those for multiplication and the end of a sentence. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: All mathematical text-books published in the UK used the interpunct for the decimal indicator. It was not only pupils in school! (I am old enough to remember pupils being reprimanded for failing to place the decimal point accurately.) I wonder why and exactly when we made the change to the decimal point on the line. Was it in the 1980s, when people started to use computer keyboards? Specialist knowledge is required (and a numeric keypad) to produce an interpunct · and this could well be the explanation. This change is at least something for which we cannot blame the EU! Upvotes: 2
2018/10/05	424	1,953	<issue_start>username_0: When the editor of a paper I recently reviewed circulated the final decision letter to myself and the other reviewer, I was surprised to see that the other reviewer had apparently had access to my peer review before submitting hers. This was clear because her review explicitly referred to comments made "by the other reviewer". Note that this was definitely another peer reviewer, not the editor. I've never been given access to another reviewer's comments before submitting my own, and I'm curious as to why an editor might choose to do this. Don't editors typically want the reviewers to be independent of one another?<issue_comment>username_1: This depends a bit on the journal but is not that uncommon. If a paper is resubmitted after a first round of reviews, then the reviewers at the second round can sometimes access the comments from the original submission. In particular, this allows the reviewers of the updated version to check how the authors have accommodated the comments of the original reviewers. It can also happens that a second referee report was never submitted, or that some glitch has delayed the refereeing process; as a result the editor has to find a trusted referee to quickly submit a second report, and this trusted referee can be given access to earlier reviews to speed up her/his decision. It may also happen that the original reports of two referees disagree in their recommendation, and that the editor sends all the relevant material, including referee reports, to an adjudicating referee. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: As an editor I've occasionally done this if I had conflicting reviews that I couldn't make sense of. In a case like this, you send these reviews to a trusted friend who knows the area better and say "Look, I don't know what to do here, but you are familiar with the area, can you give me some feedback which of these two reviewers got it right?" Upvotes: 2
2018/10/06	1,164	4,679	<issue_start>username_0: I've had one full time job in my life. It was a teaching job and I got about 2.5 weeks of annual vacation. I had a great time my first year, learned a lot, and I think I improved quite a bit as a teacher. I really liked my students as well. But going from the second year into the third, I found the meagre amount of annual leave I got to be more and more insufficient. As a student, I had always been able to feel refreshed at the start of each school year because I got a 8 week break in the summer. I'm good at saving money, and so I desperately wanted to be able to choose to take unpaid vacation time without losing my job. My understanding is that it's easier to get a job with said schedule flexibility at the K-12 level than at the university level. However, I'd rather teach university undergrads. The class I really liked teaching at my old school was the research class where the students had just started developing more advanced critical thinking and academic research skills. I know a lot of university professors/lecturers must do a lot of research over all the semester breaks to keep their jobs for the next academic year, and that's not really what I want. So I'm wondering if anyone has a uni job (FT, with some kind of health insurance) where you can choose to take a "summer vacation" (or winter one, whatever), and if so, what country you're in and how you got the job...? I have a M.A. in Media Research/Cultural Studies and I'm getting another M.A. in Linguistics/TESL. I'm questioning the received wisdom of "get as high a salary as you can so you can be comfortable when you retire or maybe retire early" because I'm only 30 and my health is already not great, so sometimes I wonder if I'll even make it to 65. (I know some people will think I'm a lazy, horrible teacher for caring about vacation as much as I do, but I've done that self-flagellation for the previous two years and life is too short for any more of that.)<issue_comment>username_1: The research over any free time (weekends etc) does not really determine the job for the next academic year, but in the longer term (getting tenure in 5-7 years). So if you wanted to, you could take the summer (and other) breaks as long vacations, understanding the consequences in say a 5-year perspective. Academic administrators (or most support staff in a university) effectively have long vacations, because when there are no students on campus, there is little for them to do. Administration may not have the "variety and academic rigour" that the title of your question asks for, but it has job security, health insurance, family-friendliness, etc. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: There are some universities and colleges in the US that require very little research of faculty and stress teaching above all else. In such a place, you have no research commitment, of course, but you probably still need to find the time to develop new courses and gather and create material for them. If, in your field, "taking time off" means things like creating new courses by visiting museums, and such then you can combine work and leisure. But it is rare in education at any level in the US to have no expectations for 2-3 months per year. There is more to "teaching" than teaching, even when there is no formal research requirement. But, most places, even those with quite modest reputations do require research and some publication, even if not at the level of R1 universities. Think of an academic position as full time. Actually, think of it as 24/7/52. Even when you aren't actively engaged in teaching/creating you need to be thinking about what comes next. Even something as seemingly simple as "keeping up with your field" can be a fairly major undertaking in some disciplines. Also, you may have a bit of a misunderstanding. Most academics (other than adjuncts) don't work on yearly contracts. The commitment is usually a bit longer. A person on the tenure track can usually expect a three or four year contract initially with a review at the end of it and a final review in the seventh year. The "annual contract" isn't about continuation, in most places, but about salary and, when necessary, changing expectations. Of course, you can be fired for egregious misbehavior, even with a contract. --- Finally, I'll note that some top universities in the US (Duke, Stanford, ...) have a special category of Teaching Faculty, whose expectations are more in teaching with somewhat lower research expectations. But lower doesn't mean less, it means, in some cases, more pedagogically focused than strict theory of the discipline. 24/7/52. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/06	2,048	7,577	<issue_start>username_0: A few months ago an Elsevier representative contacted me asking for permission to reproduce one of my thesis figures in one of their books. Since this figure is only in my thesis (introduction section) and is not published elsewhere, I retain full copyright. Because I am truly concerned about the negative effect of Elsevier policies on science at large, I am boycotting Elsevier. I considered not granting them permission, however I thought that this would mostly affect the authors of the book and have very little effect on Elsevier. I asked my Facebook contacts what I should do, and one of them proposed a very nice solution. Basically, he suggested that I publish the work under some terms so that everyone, and not only Elsevier, can be directed to the specific conditions under which this work can be reused. So I posted my figure on [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/record/1247978#.W7hZXxShRf8) (this actually makes sense because I have been asked many times for permission to reproduce this figure - mind you, that's the only reason why my thesis gets cited at all). I replied to the Elsevier representative referring him to the Zenodo entry, and specifically letting him know that the modified version of the figure that they want to use does not comply with my terms (since it removes the text stating I own the copyright). Last week, I noticed that a preview of the book is available in Google Books. To my surprise, I noticed that the [version of the figure (fig. 11.1)](https://books.google.fi/books?hl=en&lr=&id=U0JvDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA351&ots=GGENABkYai&sig=1HnVtY755whGO-sdAN1zClPOQnU&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false) that they ended up using does not comply with the terms I communicated to the Elsevier representative. What can/should I do about this? Edit I contacted the Elsevier representative who apologized and corrected the image. The Google Books link above now shows the copyright notice as it should (hopefully this settles the nonsensical debate initiated by @user71659 depicting increasingly weird scenarios in which Elsevier had recompiled the figure from scratch).<issue_comment>username_1: You attempted to use a [crayon license](https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/1445/how-can-a-crayon-license-be-a-problem), that is, modify the terms of an existing well-established license to better suit your needs. This is frowned upon, because it can cause legal complications. In particular, the license CC-BY-NC 4.0 license that you attached to your work states > > The Licensor shall not be bound by any additional or different terms or conditions communicated by You unless expressly agreed. > > > or, in other words (human-readable version on their website) > > No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. > > > The CC folks [officially forbid](https://creativecommons.org/faq/#can-i-change-the-license-terms-or-conditions) you from using that name and logo if you do modify their terms: > > Can I change the license terms or conditions? > > > Yes—but if you change the terms and conditions of any Creative Commons license, you must no longer call, label, or describe the license as a “Creative Commons” or “CC” license, nor can you use the Creative Commons logos, buttons, or other trademarks in connection with the modified license or your materials. > > > So it is going to be difficult to argue for your additional restrictions in court. They are likely to be void. For legal purposes, we can assume that your work is licensed under an unmodified [CC-BY-NC 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Notice 1 still stands, because the CC license allows you to specify your preferred name and wording for the attribution (and it seems to me that they complied with it in the book). Notice 2 is void. Notice 3 still stands, because the license only covers non-commercial use. So Elsevier is infringing it because they are using it in a commercial work, right? In principle yes, but you wrote that you had an exchange with them and essentially authorized them to use it in the book under the terms listed in Zenodo. We would have to review your full conversation with Elsevier to see what you really wrote to them. Disclaimer: [IANAL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IANAL). Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you think Elsevier is infringing your copyright, then you are infringing on others ([1](https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/semitech_en/kap_2/backbone/r2_3_1.html), [2](http://www-opto.e-technik.uni-ulm.de/lehre/cs/), [3](http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~jones/ap216/images/bandgap_engineering/rosette_global.jpg), [4](http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~jones/ap216/images/bandgap_engineering/rosette_gan.jpg)) That chart is [very standard](https://www.google.com/search?q=bandgap+vs+lattice+constant). The information itself is uncopyrightable. The only thing that stands out is the rainbow spectrum, but even then you weren't the first to draw it like that, see this [book](https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511790546) published 2006: [5](https://www.ecse.rpi.edu/~schubert/Light-Emitting-Diodes-dot-org/chap21/F21-04%20Semiconduct%20converter.jpg). I'm sure the people working in the copyright clearance department of Elsevier have far more experience than you, or nearly everybody here, in these matters, who like me, isn't a lawyer. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Up-front: I am not a lawyer. This is all complicated somewhat by both the "addon" clauses that you've tried to include, and the conversations with Elsevier in which it sounds as though you may have given them permission. Every CC license requires users to, > > attribute the creator of licensed material, unless the creator has > waived that requirement, not supplied a name, or asked that her name > be removed. Additionally, you must retain a copyright notice, a link > to the license (or to the deed), a license notice, a notice about the > disclaimer of warranties, and a URI if reasonable. > (from <https://creativecommons.org/faq/>) > > > Elsevier have attributed the creator, but they have not shown any copyright notice, have not shown that the figure is CC-licensed, or provided any link. A casual reader of this book would assume that Elsevier owned the copyright on this figure, which is not correct. On this basis, then, they are in breach of the license and hence have no right to use it. However, if this were simply the CC-BY-NC license that you applied to the work, they'd be in breach anyway because they're a commercial organisation. So the question is whether they are using the figure incorrectly under that CC license, or whether they are using it under another license or permission that you have (deliberately or otherwise) granted them in email. Or whether they are breaching copyright. That, I fear, may be one for the lawyers. [1] They've recreated it, not reproduced it, with some differences - but I'm fairly sure that that makes no difference. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I know you wanted to avoid this but you really should consult a lawyer. Aren't there any free or cheap consultations available where you live? From the back and forth here with others it is obvious that we can't help you properly. Copyright law is a giant, complex minefield best dealt with by professionals. (expecially if you want it resolved legally binding and hopefully to your advantage if possible) Upvotes: 2
2018/10/06	952	4,144	<issue_start>username_0: I have a friend who's doing a STEM PhD at one of the top programs - think e.g. Harvard / Princeton / MIT - and they are getting ready to drop out after the faculty there have told them that they don't have a real chance at academia since their published papers have been "too applied", and that strong work in theory was crucial. (They're trying to see whether the papers can somehow form a thesis, but they have mentally checked out and are looking forward to having a nice payday in industry.) I wanted to know whether that is sort of the norm in STEM academia, that to have a real chance at becoming a professor, one should stay away from work that's "too applied", during their PhD years, and try to work on theory. Is this generally true?<issue_comment>username_1: At the level of the institutions you name it may be at least partly true. Theory is valued and research is pretty much all. But there are a lot of other institutions, not quite so high in the stratosphere, for which it would be much less true. If you go down "closer to earth" a bit there are a lot of fine institutions for which research is a bit less important and teaching is very important. It is a big world with a lot of variables. Of course your friend has to complete the doctorate and for that needs a valid thesis. But the only way to know if you can get an academic job is to apply for one (or preferably more). Only the hiring committee will get to decide whether a person is "theoretical enough." Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I agree with username_1's answer, but also want to expand on what knzhou alludes to in a comment: STEM has many sub-fields, some of which are more theoretical or applied than others. As it turns out, the walls separating these different fields are far from impermeable. Perhaps your friend's PhD really is too applied for his current department, making a tenure case difficult in that field? Perhaps their research would be a more natural fit for another department, or a national laboratory? For example, there are plenty of people with physics PhDs that have ended up as tenured professors in various engineering departments. Now, if the research best fits departments with the current name, then your friend might just have to go down the status ladder a little bit to have a realistic chance of tenure. For example, an expert in a field-specific numerical method can be seen as too much of a one-trick pony for the absolute top institutions. The bottom line is this: if your friend enjoys their research there are a lot of possibilities to explore before giving up on it completely. They really should talk to their mentor(s) to get personal career advice. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: The answer is complex, because the job market values both theory and application and generally speaking, you should be as strong as possible in both. Focusing too little or too much on one component is a headache and perhaps not the best approach. Consultation of your adviser and committee, attending job talks to assess how much job candidates talked about theory vs. application, and asking specific universities their stance is your best option to finding the answer you are looking for. Most will likely tell you that they want a balance, rather than one or the other because both are necessary within STEM fields. Finding the balance between theory and application/praxis is very dependent upon the discipline. I have colleagues that have been told they are "too theoretical" and others who need to grow in application so that their "theory meets praxis." In either scenario, it is highly contingent upon the discipline as well as specific research skills and interests. Also, your thesis talk and job talk are very different and figuring out the extent to which theory and application should be deployed is a discussion that those within your department should be able to answer honestly; this means that the extent to which theory and application "matters" could be very different in your PhD years that you are inquiring about and when it's time to hit the job market. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/06	1,064	4,670	<issue_start>username_0: Background: 25 years old, I have a BA in Anthropology, graduated in 2016, but currently working in a field unrelated to my degree. I have been involved within a scientific organization for the past 3 years doing anthropology related projects. The whole involvement was completely voluntary, though I also got to travel two times to different countries because of it. But overrall, it was money loss + missed chances to start my current job earlier. During the past 2 years, the organization started to publish a journal with collected papers from other people in this field (most of the authors are known only locally in my country). The director (senior colleague of mine) of the organization started to push me to publish in it to which I, naively, accepted without realizing how actually difficult is to write a good paper. The reason he did this is because I had an experience with few methods which are rare in my country, but then no-one could review them to check if they are done correctly. I have a draft version of the paper, however, the final results are not quite what I was hoping for. Because of the lack of good quality data, the results are obviously flawed and knowingly publishing bad quality results might hurt me in the long term if I decide to pursue academic career later down the road. But currently, I'm quite satisfied with my job (which is unrelated to anthropology) and I will never put this paper in my CV. Furthermore, I doubt that I will continue working in anthropology in the future. The only thing that's killing me is that I already promised to deliver a paper, and this would be the second time that I would not send a paper for publishing. The first one that I did not send was when I was 22 (two years ago, because of the same reasons). During that time, the director got a bit offended and told me that some one could benefit from the methods (even though they were never actually reviewed by some professional experienced in applying them, so they could've been flawed). What would be the best thing to do in a scenario such as this? I really do not like to publish bad quality results. Should I talk with the senior colleague and risk to burn bridges?<issue_comment>username_1: My first guess is that you think your work is worse than it really is. This is a variation on [Imposter Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) of course. The director, however, knows your work and presumably something about the field. His faith is stronger than yours. But to ease your fears, I'd suggest that you try to work with the director to refine your paper. Along the way you can bring up your reservations naturally and, probably, address them. If you can arrange this, then you might include the director as co-author, depending on the degree of collaboration. Even if your paper isn't perfect (few are), you probably have something valuable to contribute as the director indicates. Indeed, the methodology of the paper might be much more important to the community than the immediate results. Also, I hope that the publication system of the journal includes good reviewers. By submitting it you will get additional feedback from knowledgeable people that will help you improve the paper before final publication. Even without the director's direct help, the review should be valuable. Publishing just seems like a big win to me. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: If you know the quality of the data is not good enough, state it clearly. Then it won't hurt your career. Some papers state explicitly what their contribution is. You could add this and explain that you primarily want to introduce the method and show some preliminary results which are not good enough for themselves. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: As the other two answers have mentioned, write your paper and the data-collection mechanisms and the shortcomings you had with that mechanism. You can add a section titled 'discussion' (just an example) where you can spend a paragraph or two to explain the nature of the data, the degree of errors (i.e. what, how, and why) in the results etc. Then, in the end, you can mention that refining your results is part of your future work. As you said nobody has worked in your method (in your country), it might be helpful for future researchers to build upon. They can remove those flaws. This is how research work. During my MS, I developed a scanning system which was miles away from being called an ideal system. But it provided a testing ground for use and later-on future researchers in my lab build on it and now it is being used commercially. Upvotes: 3
2018/10/06	932	3,728	<issue_start>username_0: Let's say I write a paper and use a result from someone that is rarely cited. Would it be polite/acceptable/unacceptable to email them and let them know of my application of their result before publishing my paper? This would be primarily self-serving on my part, as I'd want to know if they see any other applications of their work to mine. But I don't want to come across as someone who's trying to leach ideas off of them. I'm open to collaboration. What would be your reaction if you received an email saying something to the effect of: > > Hey, I used result X from your paper from 10 years ago to show Y. Do you think other applications of your related work could apply to mine? Here are some of my questions, etc... > > ><issue_comment>username_1: Citing another is in no way "leaching". It is the natural course of scholarship. It took a long time for my dissertation to be extended, but I was very happy when it occurred. I was, in a small way, an inspiration for another. That is what we do in academia. Send the email. Moreover, wait and hope for a similar email to come to you in the future. Too seldom do we get to actually thank the people on whose work we build. And if the person is still working in that field, asking for collaboration is completely proper. In my own example, I'd left the field and had nothing to contribute going forward, but it was still a nice feeling that someone, somewhere, still cared. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Seeking input for further research is in general a good idea. It could be beneficial for the other group, too. If in doubt, wait with your email after your paper is accepted or even published. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I have scientific publications. I'm always happy to hear someone is reading my work and am willing to discuss it further. That said, I, in no way, expect to be contacted before hand (just properly cited). With this, I would be unlikely to offer much insight into how my work may apply to yours. Researchers are busy, rattling off an email takes time and it simply isn't worth the energy unless there is the potential for collaboration. In short, sure flick off an email but don't feel obligated to. Then don't worry about getting a reply, it may never come. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: As per the other answers, yes, send the email, but I suggest that you don't jump in with a list of questions. You could, if you are not sure, ask if they are still active / interested in the field then, if they come back positively, that might lead to collaboration... Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: ### Write the author - but not the way you've suggested! It sounds like you've written him: > > Hello Prof XYZ. I'm citing your work so now you owe me. Please do some free work for me! Figure out what I'm working on, see whether any of your work applies, and summarize your findings for me so I could publish more. > > > No no no no no, don't send that kind of a message. I suggest that: * You greet them * You mention how them work on ABC has been inspirational for you, or how it attracted you to study ABC further etc. * Tell them that you've been able to show whatever you've shown, and that X from their paper was key to achieving Y / helped lay the foundations for Z / gave you the idea to establish Y. * If you want to ask him whether they explored a specific research direction X' following their work on X, ask. * Don't ask them to do something for you. That might be relevant once you've established a rapport - and probably not even then. You can ask them for a suggestion regarding something to read; or for documents they have access to and you don't. Upvotes: 3
2018/10/07	430	1,969	<issue_start>username_0: Does the ability to perform mental maths calculations predict ability to do research in mathematics?<issue_comment>username_1: This is a ridiculous idea. Ability to do mental arithmetic is just that. Ability to do mental arithmetic. It measures nothing else. Research isn't about performing "stupid" calculations quickly. Are you more interested in people who can check twice as fast if there is a mistake in a computation, or are you interested in people who have amazing ideas and the tenacity to follow through on them? Now for the personal anecdote. I know many top mathematicians who have trouble with mental arithmetic. In fact, it has happened several times that I sat at a restaurant with several mathematicians (during a conference) and splitting an itemized bill turned into a nightmare. And I'm talking about successful researchers. I also don't see why you would insist on mental computations. Different people think differently. For example, if I don't write down what I'm thinking, it doesn't work; I suspect I'm not alone on this planet of 7 billion people. Other people need to speak, etc. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: All other things being equal, skills at mental arithmetic are likely to give a small in edge in some fields of mathematics. They could find a mistake faster, or perform parts of an involved calculation faster. I would guess that skills at mental arithmetic also correlate with general numeracy, which correlates with the ability to get university mathematics studies done, so a connection to ability as a researcher is possible. However, by the time you are hiring someone, or even taking someone as a student, they already have research output or at least grades and completed courses. These include the information about how much their skills at mental arithmetic benefits or hampers them. As such, I suggest disregarding the person's ability at mental arithmetic when hiring them. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/07	7,783	33,289	<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student, working as a Homework marking TA in a school where cheating is extremely blatant. The university has an extremely strict policy against cheating. Hundreds of students in math courses alone are reported each year, and suspensions are given to severe/repeat offenders. I have personally reported cheating many times. Based on this environment, most courses have shifted away from Homework grades, and more toward Quiz/Test grades. My course is a low-bar mid-level math course, very likely to be the last math course ever taken by the students who enrolled in the course. The marking distribution of my course is done in a way where the homework mark weight is so absurdly high that cheating on homework would almost guarantee a pass. I had realized this at the beginning of September, and discussed with (confronted) the instructor. The short summary of the response is that the instructor doesn't care about cheating. The professor doesn't want to put in the effort to deal with cheaters. The professor thinks the students cheating would not be overly unfair to other students who don't cheat. The professor also does not want me to try to catch cheaters. I have made clear that cheating on homework almost guarantees a pass, and he/she agrees, and is ok with this. The homework are all questions from the textbook, and a solution manual is readily available on google. In this week's homework, I have found more than 100 students who have copied from the solution manual, where at least 50 students copied word for word (if reported, the cheating done can be easily proved by the school.) I suspect I only caught a portion of all cheaters, as buying solutions at this university is too blatant. I would like to ask the community of my next steps. If I were to report the cheating to him/her: Would I anger the professor, since this is against his/her wishes? Would I build a tense relationship with him following this? (There is still a whole semester ahead, and possibly years in the same university.) What would be done in the end? What if he ignores the report, what should my next steps be? If I were to report to the undergrad chair: Would it be inappropriate to skip reporting to instructor first? Would I also build a tense relationship with the instructor by this move? I am almost positive that there would be action by the undergrad chair on the cheating behavior. I could also report to both simultaneously. I could also do nothing at all, in which case the cheating would without a doubt continue for the whole term, with the vast majority of students taking part. I personally disagree with the professor, as I believe that it is unfair for the minority of students who don't cheat. Due to the high homework marks, a mark curve is highly unlikely, so the students who don't cheat are truly getting lower marks because of the cheaters. The instructor is in the beginning of his/her career, and not retiring. The university is in North America, very large (more than 50,000 undergrad) Edit3: As I continue to grade, I have found more and more cheaters, in the hundreds, approaching 50% of the class. Thanks for all the suggestions asking me to "let it go". After much consideration, I can not take such advice. Thanks for all the suggestions of asking me to "not skip the chain of command". I have since realized this may have severe consequences, and have decided against it. I have contacted only the instructor with minimal details of the situation. Thanks for all the support and best wishes from the community, I sincerely appreciate it.<issue_comment>username_1: This is an issue that the professor can't be bothered with: either retirement is soon or they know they are "safe" for another reason. You could try raising the issue hypothetically with the department head and see how that goes... If they are "best buddies" then BE CAREFUL... If you can't change this then move on : focus on other courses and ask not to be on this course next time round. A more challenging course of action is to move to another institution, but that has its own issues... Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In light of the professor being against your reporting this matter: You could try reporting the matter to the undergraduate chair using a proxy or anonymously. You are justified in reporting to the undergraduate chair because the professor seems too reluctant on the issue to help you. I'd advise you to seek alternatives; maybe move to another course or institution but you cure no illness by dying but by treating it. It is best you find a permanent solution without going to such extremes. All the best. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: My suggestion is to report this as an anonymous student to the undergraduate chair, as if you were taking that class and found out about a whole bunch of people in the class cheating. Provide as much evidence as you can find that could plausibly be found out by a student of that class. Keep reporting it until something gets done. Make sure this is done through email, and CC it to at least one other relevant party in the department. This sets up a black and white paper trail and some pressure of accountability. Do not approach the professor anymore, and pretend that you know nothing about this reporting. Sometimes, you need to protect yourself, because there are far more wolves than sheep who are willing to stand up for you. (You may even have to consider doing nothing if this professor is your direct supervisor.) Another approach is to be extremely strict in your grading. Then if any cheaters complain, they would have to either go to the professor, whence you hope that he will get annoyed by the cheating compounded by grade-grubbing, or they would have to come to you, in which case you say that you have reviewed but found nothing wrong with your grading, forcing them to go to the professor. The above approaches are based on your confidence that the undergraduate chair will take proper action against cheating. If the undergraduate chair is lackadaisical about curbing cheating, then there is a much lower likelihood of a good outcome. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I realize that the following advice may be very unsatisfying. But you may need to hear it, just to save yourself from grief. I hope it helps. It may be that you have done all that you can do without harming your own future. You need to judge that, of course, but getting between a new professor and the administration can be uncomfortable at best and career ending at worst. But you can, of course, vow to be a better actor than this professor when it comes your turn to be in the driver's seat. --- There are a lot of possible "reasons" for the situation you are in, none of them especially valid, but still possibly determinant. Perhaps the department doesn't care a lot about these students or this course, as it doesn't sound like they are in the major. Perhaps the professor is so tied up in research that he just doesn't care about (or have time for) teaching. This is true, in fact, for some untenured professors. Perhaps the professor is seen as a future superstar who is immune from all criticism. --- If you weren't alone, and had other TAs with similar concerns then you would be in a better position to bring the situation to the attention of higher-ups. If you are friendly with another professor who sees the problem and also objects to it, you could work through him/her. If your duties included more than grading, such as leading small breakout sections, you could, perhaps, work with your smaller group to get some local change. But, if it is the professor's job to teach them and he refuses to do it effectively then there isn't a lot you can do. But as a sole TA with only grading responsibilities you don't have a lot of options that won't come back to your own disadvantage. --- Certainly you can bring it to the attention of the undergrad coordinator, with evidence. Whether to do it without the knowledge of the prof or not is a (risky) judgement call. But if a solution is to be found, you probably won't be part of creating it. It would be a faculty committee that would have authority and be able to effect change. But you would likely be in the center of any controversy that was generated. As a doctoral student, it feels pretty unsafe to me. Look to the future, and learn from the past. Do your best but don't put yourself at risk unnecessarily. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_5: You state that the uni "has an extremely strict policy". So there is someone and some official way to enforce it. (Probably the Undergraduate Chair, but I am not familiar with your system, and you do not state this explicitly) Now: Can't you write a report on the matter that the professor just passes on to the one(s) in charge? I guess he just refuses to waste his time on the issue, rather than not caring. This way you stick to the official channels. If he decides to throw it in the trash... well, so be it. In no variant would I override the chain of command, (as/if) it exists. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: It seems as if the professor is not as concerned with this type of cheating as you are. Perhaps he is lazy. Perhaps he thinks that the homework grade is really a “give me” grade and wants most students to pass the class. You are probably not going to be able to change his mind on this. However, you could suggest a couple of things to make things a bit more fair/make students a bit less likely to cheat: 1) You as grader make an announcement in class stating that you have observed this behavior and it is not acceptable. 2) Perhaps you could also convince the instructor that those answers should be given 0s if you see them again after this announcement. 3) You could offer to create/assign one or two non-book problems each homework and weight those more heavily. 4) Ask to grade the homework on effort rather than/in addition to correctness and give less effort points to copied answers. Whatever you do, I would try to solve this with the professor rather than going over his head. I would also lean toward solutions that are easy for the professor. Good luck! Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Others have given good answers here. A further possibility is to talk to a more senior colleague who seems sensible, and ask them why is this OK? Their answer might be ‘what?! this is not OK!’, at which point it becomes their problem; or it might be ‘ah, sit down, Padawan,...' and you are initiated into some academic practicalities (you may or may not be asked to roll up one trouser-leg first). In either case, though, you have raised the issue as an earnest seeker after knowledge, rather than as a complainant. The worst you can be accused of, after that, is naivety. The answer from @username_4 included a couple of possibilities, of which ‘the department...doesn't care about this course’ sounds most plausible to me. For example a good fraction of ‘statistics for biologists and psychologists’ courses are terrible, and are hated by those studying them, by those teaching them, and by the departments who are strong-armed into providing them – they only exist so that a professional validation exercise can attest that (say) the psychologists in question have seen the word ‘ANOVA’ at least once in their education. I'm not saying this is good (in fact it's Bad), but this explains why a department might not want to invest significant academic, social or moral resources in a course which they already believe is academically meagre, and a battle over which they have possibly already lost. That is, the department is prepared to grit its teeth and try to smile sweetly, and might implicitly expect that you do so too (as a colleague in the same hole). This is the sort of course that one can imagine being dumped (improperly and unfairly) on a junior academic at the beginning of their career, and which they look keenly towards passing on to the next departmental hire – pass the parcel! ...or something like that. This is the sort of broad shape of advice that I'd give to a junior colleague at a different institution (in the UK, to the extent that matters; and at a different institution so it's not my problem either – pass the parcel!), with the proviso that they should follow their nose, and their good sense, in what they do in fact. If the above analysis matches your situation, then I suggest (with some diffidence) that the most professional thing you can do is to quietly identify the students who actually want to learn something, rather than merely get a pass, and support them in their learning as much as possible – you'd be helping those students beyond the triviality of grading, and be servicing your vocation. (I should mention that in my department, in my university, we happen not to have any of this type of course; which is good; other departments may not have been so nimble-footed as we have clearly been) Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_8: YOU ARE THE RED PEN OF DEATH, TA. USE YOUR POWERS. > > Summary: While a student's solution may be correct, it doesn't necessarily warrant full credit. Give students the benefit of the doubt when you can, but use your judgment when doling out points: If the solution bears too close a resemblance to a known published solution, then do not give full credit. Perhaps give zero credit. > > > The idea is to train your students into turning in quality work and also to uphold a fair grading distribution. Essentially, tackle the problem internally without raising the issue to administration. You'll abide by the professor's rules, be fair to students, and push back against cheaters. Your grading will send the signal that a) they're caught and b) you expect better. You have a lot of power here. * Be consistent in your penalties and apply them on a per problem basis. Be severe for flagrant offenses such as direct copying, as opposed to cheaters who have studied the solution and recast it in their own words. Again, give students the benefit of the doubt. * When you do penalize, leave a short note. For example, write "correct but full credit for original work only" or "answer must be in own words". Also consider phrases like "first offense documented; next time zero credit." And, of course, follow up with a zero for repeat offenders who have been warned. The point of a note is not only a signal to the student but to leave an indelible mark on the graded work for anyone else who surveys it. * Take a photo of the offending works. Make notes on your grading spreadsheet, too, since after you pass back the work, there is no record left in your hands beside the grade. Keep statistics of the number of direct copies, suspected cheaters, and authentic assignments. Supply the statistics to the professor. * Remind the class about your grading policy and about your record taking. Be friendly but firm. Don't threaten; inform. * Post the solution from the solution manual after grading. By revealing your hand, you declare your expectations. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_9: I would report it to the professor. It is not clear to me what exactly was said in the conversation you two had on the topic of cheating, but I suspect that you might have misunderstood something there. In particular, I presume that what the professor meant was that they do not care enough to make great efforts / invest a lot of time to prevent people from cheating. It might still bother them that lots of students could pass their course by buying a book and copying parts of it verbatim. Keep in mind that it is the professor's responsibility to teach and test the students taking his class in a proper way. If you go behind the professor's back and hand in a report to another member of the faculty that shows that they have failed to do that, the professor might resent you for it. I believe it's important to realize that the professor might feel that the report makes them look bad, so showing it to someone else without showing them first might anger them. I suggest you show your report to the professor, openly telling them that you believe these students cheated and that you find that troubling, and ask them what to do about it. If they tell you to forward it to the undergraduate chair, fine. If they tell you to let it go, let it go. You have done your part of the job, and the responsibility lies with the professor. If you do not like their decision, you'll just have to deal with that. It's not worth jeopardizing your future at the department and your relationship with the professor. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_10: This answer does not guarantee a solution to the problem of cheating or help bad students to learn what they are doing, but it will allow for a situation where: dishonest students don't gain an unfair advantage; honest students lose nothing; and you are not exposed to any risk of upsetting the professor; and increase the chances that the honest students will complain on their own accord. Fight fire with fire ==================== When I was a TA I had access to all the students email addresses. So pretend to be a fellow student and proceed to BLIND-carbon-copy ALL the students ALL the correct answers regardless of if they want it or not. The honest students will not lose out because of their honesty. Perhaps a student will complain and solve the problem for you simply because you are being so blatant. Note there is the risk that your actions could be discovered if only you had access to the emails of other students. So make it sound like your not emailing all the students, but that you "happend" to know the email address from a "friend" and wanted to include her in the cheating ring for the sake of fairness and ask her to forward the emails of any other students she is aware of, just to throw off any investigator (since you OBVIOUSLY couldn't be the one doing it since you already have ALL the email addresses >:) ). You don't want ALL the students talking to each other and realizing that they were all already on the email list... so only email three of the students who got wrong answers and then only use the emails they inform you of. for each assignment add one student who got wrong answers to the email list, that way people who are socially isolated won't be left out and it will seem like the email list is growing "organically". Also be certain to email the professor that you don't think it is fair so the professor can't latter place the blame on "your corrupt and fraudulent behavior". Email it from your own personal email account such as gmail so that in the event that you take it to court you can subpoena your email provider to provide evidence that you protested such a policy. DO NOT use your university email as depending on the level of corruption they could simply delete the email and claim you never sent such an email. However, DO use your professors university email as that way the university can quickly verify that the professor did receive a complaint from you. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_11: Just let it go. If the professor doesn't care, neither should you. Trying to control the situation will be a nightmare for you. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_12: Universities tend to have a chain of command and systems in place to handle these kind of things. As a PhD student and/or TA you are the very bottom of this chain. You have, as you should, reported the issue to somebody higher up than you - in this case your professor - who in turn should have handled the situation very differently than he/she did. Cheating at university is of course not acceptable. What I would do is contact the Director of studies at your department, and ask what the formal procedures are for handling cheaters. State that you have reasons to believe that cheating has occured and ask what to do. That way you have reported the issue to somebody further up in the organisation. Then you have done your duty and the ball is no longer in your court. That's at least how these kind of issues would have been handled at my former department. This could lead to the professor in question and you not getting along as well, but at the end of the day it's about the integrity of your department, your subject and your university. So I would bring the cheating to the attention of the Director of studies. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_13: Check your university policy. When I worked as a TA, the [requirement](https://uwaterloo.ca/engineering/teaching-and-learning/teaching-assistants/roles-and-responsibilities) was: > > As a front-line observer, any teaching assistant who has reason to believe that an academic offence has been committed must report it to both the course instructor and the appropriate associate dean. > > > I am a strong believer in such policies, as simultaneous reporting to two authorities (one of whom, the associate dean, has dealing with academic offences as a substantial part of their job) helps guarantee that the report will be properly followed up. Indeed, reporting to only an instructor is sometimes met with indifference. Most instructors are sensible enough to follow the written policy of their employer when the associate dean (or department chair, etc.) is now effectively looking over their shoulder. I also learned to avoid bringing up specific cases with the instructor, at all, until after making a report. This way if there's backlash (which I have encountered on occasion), I could fall back on applying policy as written to justify my actions, and appeal to the associate dean in case of real trouble. (This does become more delicate if the instructor is also the thesis advisor of the TA, or in some other position of authority beyond the course instructor-TA relationship.) Unfortunately it seems like TAs are often overlooked in this sort of policy. If a similar instruction does not appear in your University policy, consider asking whether something could be added (I suggest asking those who handle making the policy directly). Explain why you think it's important and you may find that they're more than happy to discuss it and potentially make prompt changes. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_14: Here's an answer that will add slightly more work for you but will make it very easy to fail cheaters. Ask the professor if you can modify the numbers in the HW assignment very slightly. This way people who copy the homework word for word from the manual will get the problems wrong and you can give them a zero for that problem. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_15: First: Make sure it is clearly established there really is cheating taking place. Perhaps there was an honest mistake. If there is really cheating, inform the professor that the cheating was verified and happened. Then, if no action is taken, consult your organization's manual or code-of-conduct, and do what it says. Try not to go beyond what the situation calls for however. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_16: Universities have an anonymous whistle-blowing mechanism for exactly this reason. For example <https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/administration-and-support-services/hr/public/procedures/raising-concerns/raisingconcerns.pdf> This will allow you to report what you know, and if nothing else, it's likely the professor will be informed that an investigation will be started. The professor might have a change of attitude just from the investigation; even if they don't find anything. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_17: This is a tough situation to be in, and you are to be commended for caring about this and for wanting to do something ethically correct about it. The remainder of this answer is predicated on the following analysis of the situation. Your professor has knowingly chosen a course of action that will minimize hassles for her, that will maximize her scores on student evaluations, and that will be extremely corrosive to the moral fabric of your school. There is no real possibility of your having a positive effect on the world here if you restrict your attention to this particular course, i.e., if you view your choices "through a keyhole," looking only at your immediate situation. The professor has 100% of the authority, and you have none. The professor has set policies for this course that encourage dishonesty, and you cannot change those policies. Your best path forward is to address this collegially with your department, as a concerned member of your campus community. Collegiality is not the same as submissiveness or surrender to unethical behavior. Collegiality simply means that you initiate this discussion using facts and reason, using the philosophy that "the pen is mightier than the sword." Collegiality does not not set any bounds on how hard you can push or on how persistent you can be. It merely sets bounds on what methods you can use: -- no name-calling, no screaming, etc. I would start by expressing your concerns clearly, in writing, to the professor. Make it clear that you believe that serious ethical concerns are involved. If your professor tries to resolve this with some kind of informal or oral response, or in a nonresponsive way, you don't have to accept that as a response. If you get no meaningful response through these actions, then go ahead and widen the dialog to include other members of your department. You do not need to be strident in order to get attention. Given your low status on the totem pole as a grad student, any earnest attempt on your part to initiate discussion of this issue, addressed to your department as a whole, will be seen as daring and provocative. Academics love to engage in discussion and debate, so you will start hearing from people who share your concerns, who disagree with you, or who have suggestions. Good luck! Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_18: I can't possibly imagine how you can have all the evidence of cheating beyond reasonable doubt, without requesting additional information from students, who are not under any obligation to provide any additional information. The fact that the homework is identical to an answer that can be easily found online is not enough evidence to prove misconduct. Extensively and intensively studying online resources in order to complete homework is part of the normal and acceptable academic conduct. To show misconduct you should prove that the student did not study the resource but copied it without reading it even once. Also, you'd have to prove this without expecting any additional information from the student, as the burden of proof is on you, not on the student. Perhaps in your opinion, someone who just reads some online resource once and follows the provided online instructions too closely, in order to complete the homework, is cheating. But studying online resources, even superficially, IS NOT CHEATING, unless if, perhaps, there is a very clear rule at class level that the homework must be completed without studying any online resource. I would personally find such a rule to be silly, since generally speaking I would encourage studying of any kind of resources. Based on the information you provided, it is clear that the professor did not set such a rule, but quite the opposite, he is encouraging students to use any materials available to complete their homework. Even though what the students are doing is not cheating, perhaps you feel that the homework can be completed successfully both by studying thoroughly or superficially, while the grading does not reflect these levels of effort nor the different levels of understanding among students. If so, you are very likely correct in this assessment. Still, it is the professor's job and prerogative, and not yours, to assess what level of understanding is required for a 100% grade. He is setting up a bar to pass his class, so he is doing his job. You just happen to consider that this bar is set too low, which is your problem, that you can fix for yourself, in your class, when you will be a professor. Still, I can understand the frustration of having different views on academic matters, like the level of understanding required for this class. Again, this is your problem, which you might want to discuss with the professor, with the hope that he will give you some insights about his method which will put your mind at ease. If this discussion does not end satisfactory for you, you should quit and find another position with another professor who aligns better with your views. I am not a professor, but if I would be in your professor's position and you would report unfounded cheating accusations about my students, even if you would honestly believe they are cheating, while also accusing me of academic misconduct, I would not continue to work with you. Whether this would mean you getting fired or reassigned, it is a matter that the university needs to figure out. To conclude, first of all, there is no academic misconduct to report, based on what you presented in the question. Secondly, you should try to understand, with an open mind, where the professor is coming from, and you might be pleasantly surprised. If you feel you made enough effort and you do understand where the professor is coming from, but you still disagree with his methods, you should quit. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_19: In Short... =========== It comes down to whether you should do what your instructor tells you to do, disobey the instructor and "catch" the cheaters anyway, and/or get the department/institution involved. You probably want to get somebody else involved, but there are a few things to note.... In the meantime.... =================== Inform cheaters that they've been caught, but don't tell them what you'll do about it. You can still give them a perfect score (due to your instructor's command) but still point out that what they're doing is not helpful to themselves or anyone else. You could even type up a brief paragraph linking them to your institution's policy on cheating and staple it to their paper. Keep track of which students are cheating. If it's feasible, make photocopies (or take pictures with your camera?) of their work and keep them for later. Later, if the instructor changes their mind, you'll have a record of who was cheating and can change their grades. If the department wants to know how rampant the cheating was or is, you'll be able to provide them with data. Department/Institution's Stance on Cheating =========================================== Does your department or institution have a policy about cheating or academic integrity? If so, how does it apply to your situation? You're usually bound to this over your instructor. If the instructor appears to be violating policy, you should present the instructor with the policy and clearly say that they're violating it, and ask if they still don't want you to catch the cheaters. If your instructor is willfully violating this, then they aren't doing their job! In that case, you should definitely talk to a trusted grad rep, faculty member, or even the department head about this. (See "Protect Yourself", below.) I find it difficult to imagine that the department would be okay with the new faculty member being too lazy to deal with cheaters. Even if they were, it's equally difficult to imagine your institution being okay with this, as it directly undermines their reputation. Your Role ========= It may help to determine what your role as TA is. Are you supposed to merely be an assistant to the professor? If so, then you pretty much have to do what they say -- all the blame is on them, not you. In many institutions, however, the TAs are answerable to the Department -- not the instructor. In that case, you can talk to your supervisor (usually a faculty member in charge of TAs or the department head) about the instructor's questionable practices. Protect Yourself ================ If you do discuss your instructor with other grads, faculty members, or the department head, you may you might want to ask for anonymity to protect you from repercussions if the instructor got upset. Because your instructor is new, they may be trying to get tenure, and are being watched by the department. If you were responsible for getting them in trouble, it could have big consequences for them, and they might be upset at you. Realize that they would have very little retaliatory power over you, however, unless they were your advisor. If all else fails, check whether your institution has something like an ombuds program. You might consider contacting them as soon as possible. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_20: A fish rots from the head down. Once upon a time your professor was exactly like you. But the professor's boss gets judged by their own boss based on attaining certain statistics, and these have to be met by hook or by crook. Thus a nastiness of proportions you may not yet quite fathom trickles down from high above. Really. Finally, your professor was bullied enough to say "Oh FFS I will just give them what they want." Upvotes: 0
2018/10/07	580	2,222	<issue_start>username_0: I would like to ask whether it is possible to add a presentation and data in google scholar. I am asking that because during conference there were people interested in using my data and presentation, however, these data hasn't been published yet. So, my question is: could the presentations and data be cited as published articles or not?<issue_comment>username_1: [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/inclusion.html) usually (not always) just crawl the contents which are organized like a research article. If it's just a presentation (e.g. powerpoint, LaTeX beamer, poster, etc.) you could upload it in [F1000Research](https://f1000research.com/) or [Figshare](http://figshare.com) which could give you a DOI and will be fully citable. But it does not guarantee that it will be indexed by Google Scholar. Also I like [Figshare](http://figshare.com) cause you could share your data with presentation/paper/pre-print under Common Creative license (it's not the only license available in the [Figshare](http://figshare.com)). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If I understand you correctly, you'd like to publish content in a way that shows from your Google Scholar profile. Luckily there are many ways of getting that done nowadays, and quickly. I suggest you upload and curate all of your datasets and raw annotations to a stable, reputable data repository, such as Figshare, Zenodo, or Mendeley Datasets. As suggested in another answer here. Once you have your dataset ready and understandable, I recommend you write a manuscript about it for publication. You can easily publish a draft version on a preprint server, such as arXiv.org and/or related websites. There you're done: as soon as indexed Google Scholar should be able to find your manuscript. From this point the situation is akin to [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/79801/how-to-associate-an-arxiv-paper-on-google-scholar-with-the-rest-of-my-account) and related questions, in case of any doubts. Welcome to Open Science. As some peers say, ["open science is merely science done right"](https://zenodo.org/record/1285575#.W7tRPsaZOiI). Good luck! Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]
2018/10/07	925	3,896	<issue_start>username_0: I haven't started preparing for the GRE and I have my exam in a week's time (15th Oct.). I know I'll get a low score which is why I don't want to report the score to any university. So, I have two options: 1. Reschedule the exam to something like 10th Nov. 2. Take the exam on 15th Oct. and take it again after 21 days. I will go with option two if reporting the scores is optional after taking the exams since reporting the score is my only fear in regard to my question. Do I have to report my score when I take the GRE? Do I know my scores before I choose?<issue_comment>username_1: When you finish the GRE, at least a computer-delivered GRE, you will be asked if you want to report or cancel your scores. If you choose "cancel," you don't get to see them or report them. If you choose "report," you get your unofficial scores, then are asked to report them. According to [ETS](https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/scores/send/) (emphasis added): > > On test day, after completing the test and viewing your unofficial Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores, you will be asked to designate which score recipients you want to receive your General Test scores. > > > At this point, reporting is optional, you don't have to report to anyone at this point. --- As for whether you personally should reschedule or retake it after 21 days, that's a question we can't answer, but hopefully this information helps you decide. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Regarding your first question - yes, you will be prompted after you have finished your GRE to decide whether or not you wish to see your score. If you select "yes," you are provided scores on your verbal and quantitative reasoning, but not the analytical writing section (which must be graded). The full score sheet becomes available to you within a few weeks of taking the test. If you decide to take the test twice, it is possible that your first test's scores will come in by the time you are eligible to take the GRE again, which would allow you to reflect on the areas you need to work on the hardest. Regarding your two options - this is completely up to you and a personal decision since you know your own academic capabilities and strengths far better than we do, but something to consider - depending on your field and program, taking it twice (despite the pain to your wallet) doesn't hurt. I have found that many people, like myself, performed far better the second time taking the test, whether they studied more or less. Taking it this first time could allow you to get comfortable with the testing facility and test structure/format, and then you could take it a second time with more preparation. I studied extremely hard for a year prior to taking my first GRE. The second time, I did not have much time to review, but I felt far more comfortable because I had nothing to lose (especially thanks to Score Select). I ended up scoring several quartiles higher in the verbal reasoning category and even exceeding the recommended score that institutions had suggested for my program. Others might say to hold off, which is also valid because the GRE is testing you on your ability to work methodologically through their questions in a manner that, realistically, requires some practice, even for the best and brightest test takers. The free Kaplan practice test helped me assess my strengths and weaknesses, but despite how much my study resources helped in the long run, neither practice tests nor all of my studying could have prepared me for how the test was structured in the actual testing facility, except for just going ahead and taking it. Regardless of your choice, keep graduate coordinators or any other relevant parties in the loop, if the timing of your tests is something that they need to be told about. Best of luck! Upvotes: 1
2018/10/08	411	1,768	<issue_start>username_0: I have a submitted a paper to a IEEE letter. Unfortunately, at a later stage I noticed that letter is still in process to have an impact factor. I already received reviews from reviewers and the journal is willing to accept the paper after minor revision. Is it ethical to withdraw the paper at this stage?<issue_comment>username_1: There is nothing to do with ethics as question asks. This is simple professionalism. The journal has devoted enough time for reviewing the manuscript. The reviewers have put in their efforts. If you are really fixed about not go ahead with submission of revised manuscript, then do the following: * Don't submit the revised manuscript to the journal. * If the journal editor asks about the revision, then say that you are extending the article in various ways and would not submit the manuscript. But, thank them for their efforts. But, I would suggest that you had made a mistake not looking at the journal statistics, you should go ahead with this journal with the publication. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It is fine (and ethical) to retract your paper at any stage. Also, you have no obligation to justify the retraction (but the editor will be curious, of course). The reviewers have put in work so it may not be NICE, but that is another story. In the end it is YOUR work and your paper, and you can decide what to do with it. If it deserves to be published in a (much) better journal: go for it. On the other hand, if the journal is not a "predatory journal", your paper is close to being accepted, and the possible increase in impact factor is minor, it may not be worth the extra work to change the formatting and go through the whole review process again. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2018/10/08	2,061	8,973	<issue_start>username_0: As far as I know, nowadays most of the mathematical literature is written and published in English and mathematicians communicate with each other in English. Although there are certain number of books written in other languages (like EGA), but at the same time their counterparts also appear in English (like Stacks Project). However, many graduate programs still require their students to pass a language translation test in French, German or Russian (which a paper dictionary, not a dictionary app in cellphones, which seems even more ridiculous to me...). I wonder what makes it still necessary to have foreign language requirement as of 2010s. I believe my question has different focus than this one [Mathematics Ph.D program foreign language requirement](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/87221/mathematics-ph-d-program-foreign-language-requirement) Where the questioner specifically asked for advice for the most useful language among French, German and Russian: I personally have no preference on which to learn, but I was wondering if there were other reasons that would make one language more advantageous over the others in terms of a general mathematical career. while I am asking why we ever need a second language for mathematical study in 2010s:<issue_comment>username_1: (Remark: This answer was written while it was not clear that the question referred to graduate programs in the US only.) Some graduate programs may come with additional requirements, e.g. teaching duties in the local language or come with a working contract and this may require a certain visa and the visa requirements are not controlled by the graduate programs. Also, living in a foreign country is much easier if you have basic knowledge of the local language, e.g. for communicating with landlords, offices, or the university administration. And no, English is not always enough (e.g. in France or Germany, you will encounter situations where English is not very helpful). Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Part of it is just inertia. But it is a small part, I think. When I studied maths in the previous century there was a two language requirement. Initially it was French and German. Russian was added as a third option when it was realized that a lot of great math was being created in the USSR that wasn't available in English (or French or German). Later, one could substitute a Programming Language for one of your two languages. However, even today, not everything that a working mathematician wants to know is available in English, so for a practical reason it is useful, still, to have language skills beyond English. Machine Translation has made great strides in the past decades, but mathematics is probably still very difficult to translate correctly. This is partly due to the smaller sample size of available texts on which to train translators. But, I would, myself, be hesitant to drop a language requirement from a modern mathematics graduate program for a completely different reason. Consider, as I do, that language skill is a help in mathematics itself. Among other things, mathematics is a language, and it requires a certain training of the mind in order to speak it well. Mathematics uses vocabulary and structure to express deep ideas - language. So, language training of any sort, trains the brain in a certain way that may actually assist in the mathematical way of thinking. I'm not sure I'd be adamant with my colleagues who wanted to replace the last language requirement in a program with something else, but I'd want to hear arguments about how that would make for better thinking. Another math course or two might be useful, but would it be better? Hard to say. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Just an anecdotal answer: My mathematics PhD program (at UC Berkeley) had a requirement to pass a language exam. This involved translating to English 1-2 pages excerpted from a mathematics paper written in French, German, or Russian (student's choice). We were given several hours to do this, and the use of a paper dictionary. I did not, and still do not, speak a word of any of these three languages (unfortunately). But I took the exam in French and passed easily thanks to the high number of cognates between mathematical French and English, context clues (being somewhat familiar with the subfield of math helps), and the fact that I had plenty of time to look up any words I didn't know in the dictionary. The main thing I gained from this experience was confidence that with a little extra effort, I could actually read math written in French. Since then, I have at times had reason to use this skill that I didn't know I had. I believe Berkeley math did away with its language exam requirement the year I graduated (2016), and I think this was an entirely sensible thing to do. But I would encourage all grad students to get some experience reading papers written in a language they don't speak! Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: As a thought experiment, let us assume a hypothetical scenario in which there was a tradition for mathematics graduate programs to require their graduate students to take a cooking class. Someone would then come to academia.se and ask: why do they have this requirement? Several well-meaning, well-intentioned, extremely intelligent people would then post answers offering quite rational explanations, which might go along the following lines: > > Why do mathematics graduate programs require students to take cooking classes? > > > 1. Mathematics is an intense activity that requires a lot of energy. Food provides energy. Hence, a mathematician who can cook well and efficiently will be more productive than one who can’t. Moreover, a mathematician who can make tasty food will be happier and free from the distraction of constantly thinking where to find tasty food. Again, they will end up being more productive and producing more and better mathematics. 2. Mathematics is a social activity. If you can cook well, guess what? Lots of really good mathematicians will want to be your friends and collaborate with you. You’ll produce more and better research. 3. Mathematics is a language, and cooking is also like a language. Learning how to read and execute a recipe, which is really an algorithm written in a kind of pseudocode with a particular grammar and syntax, is a skill that will carry over well to many areas of mathematics (combinatorics, logic, theoretical computer science, and much more). 4. Cooking develops your brain. Cooking requires a substantially greater intellectual effort than ordering food at a restaurant. Naturally, having a better developed brain will make you a better mathematician. 5. Cooking teaches you to care about the order of operations. Ever tried making a recipe and added a vital ingredient at the wrong stage, with disastrous results? I bet you’ll never put your operators in the wrong order in your next algebra paper! Etc etc. To summarize, the tradition of cooking classes in graduate programs is 100% logical, and should continue. It is not at all due to inertia. I’m sure graduate programs evaluate their requirements all the time, and are constantly considering the benefit provided by any requirement against the opportunity cost of not replacing that requirement by something else. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Not all math papers were written in the 21st century, and not all have been translated into English. When I did a Math research paper in college, I found that all the books and papers I needed were written in the late 1800's, in French. Many were not translated into English, and most of the ones that had been were lent out. My professor was mildly amused to see that my bibliography contained only French original sources. (I finally got some mileage out of AP French.) The era in which the work you're interested in was done will dictate whether it was most likely written in French, German, Russian, or English. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: To answer the literal question at the end of the post: yes, I think the optimal second language after English is French, ... and my own students in number theory, automorphic forms, representation theory, etc, would be disadvantaged at not being able to read Sem Bourb and many other things. Yes, the "classic" number theory stuff (Hecke, especially, but also to some degree Siegel) has been rewritten in English... but not everything, and as expected with some "lossiness". So, sure, one can seemingly "survive" English-only, but I'd feel awfully claustrophobic if I had no idea what those dang not-English-writing French people were doing these days, ... not to mention Germans. Perhaps ironically, it appears that most Russian writing has an immediate English equivalent. (Not at all the case some decades ago.) It's a question of how to best spend one's time, sure. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/08	1,022	4,239	<issue_start>username_0: Basically, I have two questions. First question: Anyone knows EnPress publisher is just a scam/predatory publisher or not? Cause they sent an email to me to invite me to join editorial board of a journal, which is related to my field. But I'm wondering is this a predatory journal, which is called [OA-Coating Journal](http://oa.enpress-publisher.com/index.php/coa), cause their website looks unprofessional to me besides that there is no any published article in their journal! Second question: They (EnPress publisher) sent an "Editorial Board Membership Agreement" to me and somewhere in this document they mentioned: "By this agreement, you acknowledge and agree that all ideas and improvements conceived by you in performance of your service shall be the property of the publisher". I don't understand what they're pointing to exactly! Can any describe what's the meaning of this sentence? Which service that would be provided by me will be their property? Any idea or suggestion is appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: On whether EnPress is predatory: See also [How to identify predatory publishers/journals](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2158/how-to-identify-predatory-publishers-journals). I looked briefly around the publisher's website and didn't see anything glaring. The website doesn't look terrible to me, and the fact that the journal hasn't published anything isn't necessarily bad either since it just means it's a new journal (which is not the same as predatory journal). The publisher has also published some papers before - see the bottom of [its home page](http://enpress-publisher.com/) - and the ones I looked at seem legitimate. Further, the fact that they reached you in a field you're an expert in is a good sign. What is somewhat unusual to me is that the publisher is inviting you to join the editorial board. With new journals, more common is for the publisher to find an editor-in-chief, who then invites you to join the editorial board. I would ask for clarification on how the editorial board is going to be structured. Are you going to be the editor-in-chief? If not, who is? If there is no editor-in-chief, how is each submission going to be handled? PS: If they are asking you to be editor-in-chief, be sure to ask them for an honorarium. On the membership agreement: I interpret this that any ideas you might have regarding the journal are the property of the publisher. For example if you come up with the idea of having a special issue on \_\_\_ topic, that becomes the property of the publisher, and you can't decide that you'll resign from the board, start a competing journal, and host the special issue in the competing journal. Similarly, if you rewrite the aims & scope of the journal, you can't claim copyright on it because it's now the property of the publisher. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This publisher [appears on the updated Beall list](https://beallslist.weebly.com/). <NAME> (a famous mathematical physicist) [reported that he got what looks like automatic spam from this publisher](https://plus.google.com/+johncbaez999/posts/KFvCd3p2QBe): an invitation to get on the editorial board of an architecture(!) journal. It's my understanding that it's very rare to be surprised by an invitation to an editorial board. It's also written in your bio that you are a PhD student; don't get me wrong, but PhD students are not qualified to be on an editorial board, and the fact that they invited you is a red flag. These facts combined would not make me want to touch this publisher with a ten-foot pole. (There are further questions that you can ask yourself: do you know the current editors of the journals? Are they recognized researchers in their field? Do the publisher's other journals look legitimate to you? Etc.) As for the legalese they have written - it looks terrible to me. It says that "ideas and improvements conceived by you in performance of your service shall be the property of the publisher". But ideas don't belong to anyone! So this text is just meaningless junk. Even if the publisher is legitimate (which I doubt), they should seriously consider hiring actual lawyers. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2018/10/08	703	3,047	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a recent college graduate, and I'm currently four months into a research internship. My original plan was to take a year off before applying to graduate school (in physics) and use this internship as an interim job. The full story is complicated, and I don't want to go into especially much detail, but I've been dealing with mental health issues for several years now, and I've realized that I really need to take some more time and get professional help and actually put effort into dealing with this rather than going to grad school next year. I don't think that staying at this internship, in a city/state where I don't know anyone, and which it turns out isn't that related to my interests, is the most productive way to do that. So, what I would like to do is to quit at the end of this year, when my funding is up for review. I'm not really doing important work for the team, so I don't think my leaving early would actually be a significant hardship for anyone, and furthermore I am saving them the trouble of trying to find new funding to keep me here. But, I don't want to sound ungrateful to them for taking me on as an intern to begin with, or for the effort my mentor has put into helping me out with my projects so far, and I'd really like it if I could still get a rec letter from him when I do apply for grad school (my mentor has told me on several occasions that he is pleased with my work so far, so I'm pretty sure he would write me a good one). So: how should I frame my conversation with my supervisor about leaving before the initially agreed upon end date? Should I talk about my interests not lining up with the group's work? Should I talk about my doubts about wanting to go to grad school immediately? This is not the sort of thing I've ever done before (quitting) and I wouldn't do it if I didn't feel like I had very compelling reasons to do so, but I don't necessarily think that it would be professional to share my actual reasons given general stigma against mental health problems, hence my need for advice.<issue_comment>username_1: My advise would be to be honest. In fact the text describing your situation would be a very very good start for such a conversation: It values the support you had at the institution, it is honest towards your group, and it is clear that the reasons are personal and you are not just quitting because you are lazy. I would rerecommend to make an appointment with your supervisor not later than beginning of november and explain the situation as above. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: You haven't said where you are, but from your reference to living in an unfamiliar state, I'm going to assume you're in the US. I honestly think your best course of action is to say you need to quit for medical reasons requiring treatment. You can stop there, any US employer should know better than to pry at that point. This has the upsides of a) being entirely true; and b) doesn't leave your employer wondering if they did something wrong. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/08	1,737	7,613	<issue_start>username_0: Background: I have done my masters in computer science/artificial intelligence. I want to do my PhD related to data science, applied machine learning. I do not have degree from world's top ranked universities nor I have top quality research publications. I have had some domestic issues since my completion of degree education so I have not been able to fully focus on my career. Nevertheless, I am very much willing to learn and upgrade myself is to meet the research labs requirement. With curious mind and life-long learning attitude, I have been doing various online courses (after my work hours)and have worked on different tutorial projects related to data science and machine learning i.e. from text mining, image processing, process mining, genomic data science to blockchain development. More background Since, I want to become a really good researcher and for that Phd is the first step. After my masters, (more than 2 years) I had time to reflect and I take notes about what I am going to do during my PhD. I am going to be a dedicated Phd student where I can work hard, learn, collaborate and produce good quality research publications and build a strong research profile. I am very much willing to learn whatever it takes to complete my Phd project. With my qualifications and the skills, I have been applying for PhD positions whose qualification and skills are very much in match with mine. I apply only after I feel confident that I shall be able to handle such project. However, after applying for more than a year, I have not even got reply from most. I have been interviewed 3 times and I have been told that they have found better candidate for the position. One Prof. wrote that he liked my profile and wants to interview but after interview he told me he got better candidate for the position. After one week, I noticed same phd position being advertised again :(. I was interviewed again lately by the same professor, but rejected again. No clue what they really want from a PhD candidate. My Question(s) I am really confused about what professor look in a phd candidate? If its the skills and qualification or is it the certain level of interest and passion to go for research degree. I believe, I have both. What should I do now? Keep looking for PhD positions? Or improve myself (in I do not know what way). I have been keeping up with my interest for research career even through the tough times. I have applied to more than 50 positions. The only prof. who found my profile interesting rejected me twice in interview. I do not want to give up but do you think I should give up and rather look for other career. Thank you for your attention and precious time. Your feedback is highly appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: Every advisor is different and each wants something different in students they advise. At one extreme is a person with a well established, ongoing, probably funded, large scale project who needs students to do a lot of the research work, leading, one hopes to a lot of papers and doctorates for the students. Their needs are very specific. If you have the skills they need and they judge that you will probably work hard enough (pretty hard) you may find a place in their lab. Unfortunately, the advisor is also likely well known and prominent and so the competition to join the lab can be fierce. If you get in, the work will also be very intense. However, if you can handle it, you will probably wind up at the end with a good, if very intense career for yourself. At the other extreme is someone like myself who only ever had a few students and only one or two at a time. I didn't need help on the kinds of research I was doing, other than from colleagues elsewhere, so all I really required in a student was interests similar to mine and the drive to complete the degree with only my advice on their plan and progress. I wanted people with similar interests so that I would be able to give them good advice and so that it wouldn't be impossible for me to judge their progress and completion. Anything in between these two extremes is possible. My own doctoral advisor was more like myself than the hard-driven lab master, but he was full of ideas and ran a weekly seminar attended by a few students and also a few other faculty members. He was admired by students and faculty, though he was a bit aloof and very professional. If a student could get over the fear of meeting him, he probably had a problem or two for you to work on and if it went nowhere was able to help you change direction. This seems to me to be the ideal. I had an earlier advisor who wasn't nearly as helpful. Part of that was that he was untenured and so spent most of his time on his own research and publications and wasn't able (or skilled enough) to give me much help and direction. My advice would be to avoid advisors who are too busy to really advise, either because they have that extremely high powered lab or because they are too new to academia to know what and how to properly guide a student. Of course, if the high powered option appeals to you, then the superstar prof with the giga-lab may be what you want and need. If you arrive for graduate study without already having an advisor, possible in some places but not others, I suggest that you look and ask around for suggestions about who does a good job with students in your field and who does things that interest you. Choosing a compatible advisor may be the most important thing you do as a beginning grad student. --- I should note, I guess, that in some fields you don't really have an option. If you require the Large Hadron Collider for your work, then giga is probably your only option. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The honest truth is that in fashionable fields, such as machine learning, there are thousands of students every year that are motivated and well qualified and that want to do a Ph.D. One issue that a professor has is: how to recognise those students among the even larger cohort of all Ph.D. applicants? Good results from very good universities tend to be a very safe marker. Since you don't have that, you are already up against it, and have to hope for a supervisor who is willing to take risks. With that in mind, you have to amass as much hard evidence for your claims about your own qualification and ambition as you can. Taking courses and learning in your spare time is an excellent first step, but you could, for example, also try to set yourself a concrete goal of implementing a complete project, do it, and put it on some open repository, where the professors you are applying to can see it. In other words, think of yourself like an arts students who is building a portfolio, anything that will prove that you are as qualified and hard working as you say you are. At the end of the day, once the professor interviews you, they also have to feel that you are a good personal match, i.e. they have to want to work with you and have you around for several years. This comes down to personal chemistry, and thus there is no recipe, and it is certainly possible to overdo attempts to impress the professor. I have seen applicants, for example, that were so keen to show how keen they were, that I could not finish a sentence without being interrupted by the student trying to complete it (almost never in the way I was going to complete it). Apart from being annoying, I could not see how I would ever teach such a student anything if they think that they already know everything I might have to say. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/08	1,084	4,692	<issue_start>username_0: If a student is cheating, he can be caught or not caught. If he is caught, it's not obvious what to do. There are options with different strategies: 1. The students are themselves responsible for not cheating. 2. The teacher is responsible for preventing cheating. 3. The organisation is responsible for not cheating. Options 2. and 3. are obviously acceptable and in use. Option 1. is the one that is interesting. If that is used, it often leads to cheating in very high percentages, significantly more than in cases 2. and 3. is cheated. The most interesting point is that in case 1., cheating is irrelevant for the teacher and the organisation. The teacher should explain the strategy, and the reasoning to do it in the course notes. And that is all for him. The reasoning is that it is to the detriment of the student, and nobody else if the student cheats. Is this strategy somewhere in use? Should it be? (I do not limit the question to the level of education, but there are levels - like before high school, where one can not obviously assign the responsibility to the children. But it is still possible to work. In the case of PhD students, it is possible.)<issue_comment>username_1: If you mean to ask, are there places where the teacher and the institution can ignore the possibility/responsibility for preventing cheating, relying entirely on the honor/integrity/ethics of the students, the answer is a qualified yes. There are places with formal honor codes that the student signs. The penalties for breaking it can be severe, hence the qualification. But it is mostly honored at those places and students are treated as honorable people, not as criminals in waiting. However, even in such places, a professor would probably not want to dangle bait in front of students, reusing old exams without change, nor would the institution not want to have a system in place for handling student misconduct. But even beyond that, some people teach in such a way that it is very difficult to do anything that would be considered cheating. You can, for example, deemphasize formal high pressure examinations. You can also encourage, even require, student collaboration. There are ways to determine student performance for which these practices don't interfere. The job of education is to promote student learning, not grading. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I disagree with much of your premise. 1. It is the students responsibility not to cheat 2. It is the responsibility of the professor to detect cheating when possible 3. It is the responsibility of the institution to levy consequences for cheating All of this is done to uphold the quality of the degree sought and the reputation of the institution. Finally, cheating is not irrelevant even when undetected, because it erodes the reputation of both the degree and the institution. In the limit, you have unqualified students entering the workforce touting a ‘degree’ in nothing other than success in cheating. Meanwhile students that did not cheat suffer the consequences of a degree from a school with declining reputation. Edit: OP’s premise may be sound in a ‘game theory’ context, wherein the purpose of the game is to earn maximal points, but such an exercise dismisses the broader implications. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: As Heitz points out, it's a fallacy to think these are mutually exclusive. The student unquestionably has the responsibility not to cheat. Also, the teacher and institution have the responsibility to create policies that discourage and deter cheating. It is definitely a detriment to honest students, and to the reputation of the institution overall, if many students manage to graduate without actually fulfilling the educational objectives they claim. However, this must be balanced with the responsibility to provide an appropriate educational program. The precise way of striking this balance may vary depending on educational philosophy, local culture, and many other factors, and different teachers / institutions may decide to handle it differently. There isn't a single right answer. At some institutions, experience may show that very few specific anti-cheating measures are needed (e.g. take-home exams are successful) and that a general culture of honesty can be cultivated. At others, there may be more restrictive measures (proctored exams, ID checks, etc). In some cases, it may also happen that a particular assessment method which is vulnerable to cheating (graded homework, etc) may still be used because it provides a useful incentive to honest students, and encourages learning overall. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/09	1,394	5,737	<issue_start>username_0: Over the summer I visited a research station at a different university to collect data for my PhD work. I received an invoice (nearly two months after the fact) for bench fees related to my stay in the amount of $100/day. I used a few square feet of floor space in one of the labs and some outdoor space as well, but brought all my own equipment and materials. This is my first time visiting a different university, so this is new to me. The communication from the research station before my visit was exceptionally poor, not a single one of my emails (over the span of months) was replied to when I tried to communicate with my sponsor, but since they accepted my payment for lodging I showed up. I guess I should have assumed there would be fees on top of what I already paid associated with my stay, but as I mentioned I am new to this, and working in an interdisciplinary field so my advisor is not familiar with the customs of this other field. My specific questions are: 1) What is a typical day rate for bench fees, considering the visiting student has provided all their own equipment and materials? (is there a typical rate?) 2) Is it normal to have no communication of any fees beforehand (or during the stay) only to be sent an invoice after the fact? Perhaps I am being unreasonable to expect that this be communicated up front. My qualm is not with paying the fees, I understand that it costs money to run a research station, but since none of this was communicated ahead of time I did not budget it into my grant for this fieldwork. Also, $100/day seems excessive for floor space, but perhaps that is the going rate.<issue_comment>username_1: If somebody is going to charge me money for a service when I'm visiting an off-campus site (or even something on-campus), I want to know about it in advance. The first thing they should have mentioned in any sort of response—or post on a website—is that it's not a free service. Without such information, people can't make an informed decision whether or not the service is worth the cost. So I would certainly question this invoice and its fairness. (As for the cost, that also seems a bit high, but I can't really comment on a "going rate" for such a service.) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/118123/22768) already comments on the ludicracy and I agree with those words, so I'll comment on the $100/day ~ $3000/month ~ $15000/team (of five)/month, which seems rather a lot when compared to typical city rents (to accommodate five people). Now, that's an incredibly crude way to estimate (especially as I've ignored the lab aspect), but costs vary considerably between cities, so it's difficult to get a better figure without more details (and factoring lab overheads is more work). Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: I completely agree with other replies here saying that such charges have to be discussed before the actual visit. I also agree that $100 per day seems quite excessive. However, it should be noted, that Universities do successfully charge such fees for the privilege of using the space on a regular basis. At least in the UK, every grant application has to budget for direct costs (such as researchers' salary and consumables) and indirect costs, included so-called overheads charged by the University. Overheads are the payments covering the costs incurred by the University for maintaining it's operation (such as cleaning, heating, etc). It may or may not include the use of special equipment — the access to the lab is sometimes charged on top of other overheads. In the UK a typical overhead fee is ~100-110% of the gross salary, amounting to ~£50000 p.a. or ~£140 per day. I have not seen any justification/break-down of the overheads fees in the public domain. Afaik, most researchers working at the UK have to simply agree with such payment and include it in the grant budget. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I'm not in this field, so I can't comment on whether the amount is reasonable. But at something like a marine biology research station, where the site itself is uniquely suited for researchers coming to do their own work there, it doesn't seem surprising that some sort of charge would be imposed. In response to other posters, it doesn't seem analogous to when you go to another university to collaborate and are given a desk. It seems to me more like renting time on a telescope: it's a specialized facility which the university will allow visitors to use, if they pay. If this is standard in the field, it might suggest that you ought to have suspected that there would be a fee, and you could have asked specifically how much it would cost. But they really should have proactively disclosed it. Anyhow, I would offer the following general advice: * Since you say you're a PhD student, get your advisor involved. A professor will be more likely to be taken seriously in trying to negotiate the fee. * I would suggest that you (or your advisor) should play up the argument "since we didn't know about the fee, we couldn't include it in our grant funding request". The research station will be used to people paying the bench fees from grant funds. If you don't have grant funds available to pay the fee, and the reason you don't have any funds is because of their poor communication, then this is more likely to encourage them to give you a reduction or waiver. * Don't agree to pay the fee out of your own pocket, except as a very last resort. It's a research expense, and one way or another, your university and/or funding agency ought to pay. Talk to your advisor about possible ways to get it paid. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2018/10/09	1,175	4,176	<issue_start>username_0: [QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2019](https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/employability-rankings/2019) [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/S2AWG.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/S2AWG.png) Why do Australian universities have higher employability (rank) than that of British ones in QS Graduate Employability Ranking?<issue_comment>username_1: > > Why do Australian universities have higher employability than that of British ones? > > > The cited QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2019 don't prove that graduates from Australian universities have higher employability than graduates from British ones. [username_3](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/118127/22768)'s answer elaborates upon this (I thought it was straightforward and didn't mention any details). Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I don’t know how is that computed, but ALL the countries and regions where those universities are based have practically zero unenployment rate. Plus without knowing the algorithm I am ready to bet that the difference in score between first and 10th are so small that you would expect next year many institutions to change position in the list, possibly vanishing the point of your question. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Know what's being ranked. Read the [methodology](https://www.topuniversities.com/employability-rankings/methodology). The QS graduate employability ranking uses: Employer/Student Connections (10%). How many employers go to campus for presentations etc? Alumni outcomes (25%). They take a list of the most influential people and sort them by the institutions they graduated from. Employer ranking (30%). It's sourced from a survey sent by QS to employers asking them where their best employees graduate from. Partnerships with Employers per Faculty (25%). They find out which institutions are collaborating with employers to do research. Graduate employment rate (10%). How many graduates are employed after one year? Then go to the employability rankings again and sort by indicator. We're comparing the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney to the Cambridge University and Oxford University (the two highest-rated British universities). * Sydney's scores are: 99.3 / 93.3 / 94.4 / 98.4 / 97.9 * Melbourne's scores are: 78.5 / 92.6 / 97.9 / 95.4 / 98.1 * Cambridge's scores are: 89.6 / 99.9 / 100 / 88.9 / 75 * Oxford's scores are: 81 / 100 / 100 / 89.6 / 69.5 Note that these numbers are very likely expressed as a fraction of the top performer. In other words 69.5 employment rate doesn't mean that 30.5% of Oxford's graduates are still looking for a job after a year; 94.4 employer ranking doesn't mean that 94.4% of all employers think Sydney's graduates are good. The British universities handily lead in the alumni outcomes & employer ranking categories, and do (relatively) poorly in the partnerships with employers per faculty & graduate employment rate categories, while the employer/student connections category is more mixed. Draw your own conclusions. Some factors to think about: * Taken at face value, this implies that employers value Cambridge & Oxford degrees very highly, but they still find it hard to get a job (an evident contradiction). * Further, if they actually do get a job, they are more likely go on to do really well (of course, this only applies to the very peak of the distribution). * Do you care about which institutions are collaborating with employers to do research? This will vary by student. Presumably if you're looking to do research in industry, this will be very important to you, while if you don't care about that then it doesn't matter. * Are you seeking a local job? If so, then campus presentations are a great opportunity to network. If you're not looking to get a job in the city/country then they probably aren't really relevant to you. * The UK recently went through and is still going through some political upheaval. That could've had an impact on its university graduates getting a job, especially if they're international students. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2018/10/09	512	2,312	<issue_start>username_0: I'm writing my thesis and I added a glossary at the start with the more complex terms and their definitions. The definitions usually come from scientific papers. My question is: should I cite those papers if I use their definition? (Even though I'd say a definition is something that is global.)<issue_comment>username_1: No, it is very uncommon to cite papers for copying a definition. Why? Because a definition is (by definition) accepted as a word for daily use (albeit possibly in a small field). Secondly, it is usually difficult to know whether the paper you are citing is actually the source of the definition or if they copied it from another paper or conference (possibly partly or using different words). Citations in your glossary would be comparable to citing old English literature for every uncommon word you use in your thesis. This is no different for "scientific" words that happen to end up in your glossary. Of course, if the definition is controversial, particularly important for the subject of your thesis, or requires further explanation, you can give details elsewhere in your thesis and cite the relevant papers there. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: If you use something from another paper, then you should cite it. Make that a general rule. There are a number of reasons for it, only one of which is to avoid a charge of plagiarism when someone notices that they have "seen that before." The other, perhaps primary, reason is that scholars want to know how a paper is situated within the scientific/mathematical literature and if previous work isn't cited it is difficult or impossible to do so. A future reader of your work may want to know where else this definition appears and what its history is. Citations make this possible. However, for things that have become common knowledge, such as the definition of the derivative (math) or ph (chemistry) you don't need to give definitions as you can expect that they are known to every scholar in the field. But you probably wouldn't repeat those definitions in the first place unless you were doing a comparative history study of some kind, in which case you would cite the original sources. Don't quote or paraphrase the work of others without citation. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2018/10/09	772	3,263	<issue_start>username_0: I'm almost finished at my PhD, and I am currently looking for postdoc opportunities. My current field is quite a small one (a rare disease), and consequently all the postdoc positions I've found so far are in other fields - but still within biological/biomedical sciences. At this stage I am strongly considering a move, but I also want to maximise my career potential. I have interests - and have previously worked - in other fields, but don't feel tied to any one field. My question is, what are the pros and cons of switching fields at this stage? How much weight should I put on my subject knowledge and publication record in the current field vs. transferrable skills? And how much weight would a potential employer put on these aspects?<issue_comment>username_1: The time between PhD and Postdoc is the perfect time to change fields. Many, many people in biomedical sciences will change fields between PhD and Postdoc, particularly if your old field is as narrow as a single rare disease - I don't believe anyone would expect you to get a postdoc in that field. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: My background for context: BSc Mathematics, MSc Applied Mathematics, PhD Mathematical Modelling in Electrophysiology, Postdoc Biomedical statistician in gastroenterology but I avoided statistics like the plague right up to the end of my PhD. I found switching fields overall a hugely beneficial experience, although not without its drawbacks. Pros: * You learn a LOT. I've found it really interesting to see how other fields work, and I feel like I'm more competent in a wider range of scientific techniques than I was when I finished my PhD. I was nervous about starting in a second field. Now, I would not be nervous about starting in a third field. * That said, I prefer this field to my old field. I want to stay in this field beyond the duration of my postdoc. And if you decide you want to go back to your old field, you can. * You can contribute in ways that no one else in your group can because you can suggest methods that no-one else knew existed. Things that are common in your field might be unheard of in your new field, which is a very fertile ground for novel science (this applies in reverse if afterwards you go back to your old field). * Your naivety about the field just means that you approach things with fresh eyes. You ask "stupid questions" and it turns out no one had ever asked them and they are actually really interesting. Cons: * The imposter syndrome is real. You start off and the 2nd year PhD students know more than you. It feels like you're a student, but you're a postdoc. People mistake you for a student because of your lack of knowledge of some fundamental principles. But from a PhD, the thing you will have learned the most is how to learn, which is a transferable skill, so you'll catch up fast * Everyone I worked with has been very patient and understanding that this isn't my field, but I can imagine situations in which this isn't the case and people see you as incompetent If you're willing to spend a while feeling like a first-year PhD student again for the benefits on the other side of that hurdle once you settle a bit, I would recommend it Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2018/10/09	1,106	4,931	<issue_start>username_0: I have almost finished my PhD, and I'm looking for postdoc positions. I have found many of the job specifications mention having a good publication record, and some explicitly say the applicant should have impactful first author papers. I currently have a first author review article and middle authorship on many original research papers (including several published during my PhD). My own original research paper(s) are 'in preparation' and most likely won't be published for another few months, i.e. after I hope to have secured the postdoc position. I have also presented my work at prestigious national and international conferences. My question is, as a potential employer, how much weight would you actually put on publication record for a recent PhD? In particular, would you specifically be looking for first author papers, high impact journals etc? And if so, would this be a factor used to throw out applications at the initial stage, or would you consider such an applicant based on other merits? Edited to add: The field I'm in is biomedical science.<issue_comment>username_1: I doubt that very many employers treat hiring post-docs as an accounting problem, counting up the chits. Instead, I would ask, how do your skills meet our needs? Some places with great reputations and heavy competition for positions want a way to encourage only the top candidates to apply, but even there, they have needs for skills that you may have, or not. As in any application, stress your positives, your skills, and interests. If you get rejected then keep looking. The competition may be at a high level, but the evaluation is much more varied than just counting publications. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I agree with the other answer by username_1 in that post-doc positions will be looking for particular skills, although publication record is important too, and different post-doc positions are different. Some will be taking you on to do a particular project, others will expect you to be more independent. Particularly for a more independent project, not having first-author papers might suggest you haven't quite gotten all the skills of the research process down (at least compared to the other candidates you will compete with). For other positions, though, it may simply be hard enough to find someone with your skills and it won't matter. This is one situation where I would suggest including your in-progress work on your CV in some way. If you have presented it at conferences, include that with a note that the manuscript is in preparation. However, you should also have a realistic view of publishing after you leave your PhD. If you are being hired as a post-doc, you are going to be expected to do work in your new lab. Post-docs are typically for short terms, and I wouldn't want to hire someone who plans to work on publishing three separate papers on the side during their first (and maybe only) year in my lab. I think this is a bigger potential problem than not having first-author papers on your CV. I'm not sure what the reasons are for needing a few more months to get that work polished up, but I'd strongly suggest you put a huge emphasis on getting that work at least to a submittable form. It's one thing to work on some minor corrections once you've moved on, but having manuscripts not yet ready to submit could be a bit of a problem on both ends. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I think it depends a lot on what you did to get co-authorship on the papers. There are many reasons not to get to be first author on a paper. One type of reason is that you are not given the chance, either because of unhealthy lab environment, or because of competition, etc. Or you never were first author because you weren't able to take initiative. Whatever the reason, if you interview for a serious research position, your supervisor will ask you and look over your recommendations to understand why you didn't get to be the main author. As it happens, my best papers don't have me as lead author and I had no first author paper when I applied for my postdoc. Nonetheless, after the interviews, it became clear to the interviewers what was my part in the papers I co-authored, and I still got job offers. I think what mattered more was the set of skills I possessed at graduation, rather than the bibliometrics. I'm sure they were suspicious of my ability to write papers, but somehow, they needed my skills more. Sadly, my small number of first author papers was the reason of an unsuccessful grant application a few years ago. Someone looking for a good postdoc, might spend some time trying find out what are the real qualifications of an applicant by corroborating the interview answers, recommendation letter and track record. But, if you get to be evaluated by semi-qualified people, be certain they will count your first author papers. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/09	4,539	18,816	<issue_start>username_0: Setting is math in the US. It's quite common for a student who is not doing super well or is worried that they might not be to approach me and ask how they should be studying/what they should be doing do succeed in the class. I never know what to say. I just don't see it as part of my job to give "study skills" advice and probably won't be able to say anything particularly apposite (especially because I was educated in a completely different system in Europe, so I have no first-hand experience of taking the kinds of classes they are taking). Also, I think developing your own study skills that work for you it literally part of the challenge of being an undergraduate. But they still feel like, as the professor for the class, I ought to be able to tell them something extra and useful about studying. What is a good way to deal with these sorts of requests for advice?<issue_comment>username_1: Actually, in the US, in modern times, it really is your job to help them develop study skills. Many students arrive at college with hardly any skills at all, having coasted through their previous education, often with few learning burdens put on them. Many don't know how to take notes, or summarize them, or separate the important points from the rest. More important, in math, they may not have an attitude that it may take more than the minimum to get by and that memorization isn't going to carry them very far. I've discussed the teaching of learning skills here in other answers, so won't repeat it (search: Hipster PDA, for example). But there are two things that might work. The first is to require more practice and make sure that students have some way to get feedback on that practice. A text book usually has more exercises than you want to require, but you can suggest that more (even all) be done. You can even hand out supplementary problems that are graded or not. The second thing is to have a daily quiz, taking up the first 5 minutes of your class. Ask questions based on the previous few lectures (2 or 3, say). The quizzes don't need to count much toward the grade, but should count for something. Students can swap papers and grade each other for a short quiz, so your load doesn't need to increase. But an additional advantage of this, other than the goad, is that you get feedback every day on how they are doing. I can't say that the students will love you for this, of course. They will likely grumble. But you will learn who most needs your help and it won't be much of a burden on those who don't need additional work to succeed. I once became something of an expert on rational functions and could look at a definition and pretty much know what the shape of the graph would be. I learned this by graphing hundreds of them, by hand (1960s) using derivative information. --- Two specific links you might want to examine for Hipster PDA are [one here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/115787/do-you-have-any-paper-academic-calendars-or-planners-to-recommend/115795#115795) and [one at CSEducators](https://cseducators.stackexchange.com/questions/327/note-taking-policy-laptops-or-by-hand/1168#1168) Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: It is certainly part of your job. You say: > > developing your own study skills that work for you is literally part of the challenge of being an undergraduate > > > This may be true, but the point is that some students need help doing that. If a student came to you with a math question, you couldn't very well say "learning math is part of the challenge of being a math student" and send them on their way. I'm not saying you need to hold their hand through mundane organizational details, but broadly speaking, how to spend one's time effectively is both a crucial component of success and a common point of confusion for undergraduate math students. Anyway, when students come to your office worried about their grade, the first step is to diagnose the problem. Look at their graded work and talk to them about where they are getting confused. You may find there are specific gaps in their background knowledge. (If the gaps are large enough, you may determine that this student shouldn't be in your class at all.) Or you may find that the student isn't working through enough problems on their own. Or they are blindly working through problems without trying to understand the underlying concepts or what the questions are asking. Or some particular key concepts aren't clicking. Or they understand things well, but they have testing anxiety. Tailor your advice accordingly. Of course, this all requires the student to meet you halfway. In my experience, the problem is often gaps in background knowledge and unwillingness to put in enough time. Then, the right advice boils down to "put more time in on the course material and put in extra time brushing up on prerequisites," which goes unheeded most of the time, but at least you've tried. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: The students who are asking you this probably already know the general study skills advice. What they're trying to find out is what you think is important, how you're going to assess them, and how much time (realistically) it should take to prepare for class. Many professors tend to be rather opaque about all of this, which students find frustrating. It's particularly frustrating if the student has many other demands on their time, such as a job or family responsibilities, which is much less frequently the case at European schools. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: This is an important question to answer for a bunch of reasons, most of which have been discussed in other answers (all of which I like). One aspect that’s been neglected is that you have more info than your students. Many of them have never taken a course with you before. Many of them may have never taken a course in this subfield before. None of them have access to historical information about course performance, such as average homework grades or test medians and standard deviations. This information would be a huge help to students who are trying do figure out how to study for your course, and you should absolutely share some of it with them. There are two ways you can think about this question: academically and administratively. Both involve thinking about the design of the course and how it interacts with student performance, and especially what sets apart the students who end up getting As. Thinking about this academically involves focusing on the content. What do students tend to find hard? Is there a particular subject or collection of ideas that students tend to do poorly with? Even just warning students “many people struggle with dynamic programming but find A\* algorithms much more intuitive” can be hugely helpful. The next step would be to recommend additional resources or ways for students to check their understanding. Information like “if you can do the two-star problems in the book you should be confident in your exam scores” or “khan academy has a video sequence on adjacency matrices that many students find helpful” can help students help themselves succeed far more than they would be able to do on their own. Do students regularly get dinged for not being rigorous enough in their arguments? Warn them explicitly that this tends to be an issue, especially for weaker students. Thinking about this question administratively means focusing on the design of the course, especially how students tend to preform on particular aspects. Do most students get 95%+ on the homeworks, and get differentiated by their exam scores? Are the homeworks very time consuming, so that students who work in groups have a significant advantage? Is the median on Exam 2 a 45-50% and students who get a 60%+ on that exam largely shoe-ins for an A/B+? Telling students things like that can help them schedule their lives around your course. Of course, the best possible response tends to be a mix of both approaches. Here are two comments that I would consider to be extremely helpful responses to this question. Answer 1: > > This course is a lot of work. Homework tends to be a large time-commitment, and most students don’t end up answering every question. Since homework is worth 40% of your grade, answering one or two additional questions per week really adds up. Many students rely on study groups to get through the homework efficiently. I don’t reuse homework problems on the exams, but checking out the problems I don’t assign in the textbook is a good way to make sure you’re not missing key concepts that don’t get tested in homework and often times I will draw on them for inspiration to write exam questions. The course is a lot of work, but graded leniently and most students who put in the time get grades that they are satisfied with. > > > Answer 2: > > In this course I tend to focus on higher level concepts than computation and detailed analysis. Many of the homework questions are designed to be thought-provoking but not necessarily time-consuming. It’s important that you put time into the homeworks, but the exams are designed to challenge you beyond what the homeworks contain and so it’s also important to go beyond them. They are short, but the problems are very deep. > > > I will often spend my office hours talking about extensions and applications of the things we cover to other areas. For example, on next Tuesday I will talk about how the Compactness Theorem is a well-known result in topology in disguise, and will show how to translate proofs typically done with Tyconoff’s Theorem into the framework of this course. This is emblematic if the kind of work I will expect you to do on the exams. > > > Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: > > What to tell students who want to know how to succeed in your class > > > A few concrete suggestions In addition to other fine answers: * Pay attention to what students tell you about their experience towards the end of the semester. You will often hear people say "X was hard for me because of Y", "I really liked Z", "W was confusing to me, I couldn't follow what you were trying to do". Based on that, you might develop advice you could give students earlier on. * Encourage students to come to your office hours if they feel they're falling behind, have missed something, or are having trouble. Make it clear that the office hours are intended exactly for help in these situations (on this point I disagree with @StellaBiderman). * If your course is generally considered difficult or challenging, acknowledge this fact at the beginning of the semester, don't just start teaching. Recite some platitude about the importance of applying willpower and patience in tackling a significant challenge; and that the course staff is there to help the students learn and get through it, rather than just handing out homework and exams. You might be surprised, but this rhetoric, despite being supposedly obvious, does often help. Say it like you mean it though... * If the students are organized in a student council with official representation, be in touch with the relevant representative to see if there are difficulties that get reported through them but not to you - especially if it has to do with your demeanor, attitude or personality. --- But I also have to share an anecdote about a teacher of mine, Prof. [<NAME>](http://www.cs.technion.ac.il/people/kaminski/). He taught me "Logic for Computer Science 2" about 15 years ago, including Goedel's incompleteness theorem, temporal logic etc. Starting his first class he told us - in his slow Hebrew with a think Russian accent, and kind of an apologetic but all-knowing half-smile: > > Well, the material in this course... it is very difficult. You... no, you are not able to understand it. But that is fine. It is fine. You will learn it, you will memorize, and you will remember it for the exam, and that will be good enough. What can you do, this is how it is. > > > Now, that guy - people were so scared of his advanced classes that nobody would take them. Only 5 people were taking that class, and the exam grades were (on a scale of 0 to 100, and when you can accrue up to 125 points on the final exam): 9, 11, 31, 59 and 68. But the scariest thing is, that he gives the same exam every time he gives the course! And the guy who got 68 was taking the course a second time! Anyway, he's a great teacher and had a quirky set of humor. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: > > What to tell students who want to know how to succeed in your class > > > I usually get these types of "weaker" students to come out of the woodwork around the middle of the semester (this is in engineering, in the US); they've been copying off of their friends for the first 8 weeks, and now their friends are struggling a little bit more than they were at first, so (some of) the weaker ones are in a state of panic. So, what to tell them? I tell these students that I'm here to help, but emphasize that the student needs to take advantage of that assistance and follow through; it is not my job to stay on top of whether the students understand the material or not. Also, I try to be straight with them: they may have already gotten themselves into too deep of a hole, so it may not be possible to salvage the semester with a passing grade. In these cases, I emphasize that they should not focus on the grade and just try to get caught up on the "old" material as efficiently as possible, while trying to keep up with the new material. Finally, as mentioned in other answers, some schools offer some type of tutoring services/center -- past experience suggests that this doesn't seem to be helpful for my students as much because the tutoring center can't really help my upper-level engineering students with their studies. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Back in my day - when we bought and studied out of books because the WWW didn't exist until about '93, and wasn't useful until about '95 - the professors would put books on hold in the restricted section of the library. You could look at the book in that section, but not take it out of that section (it was guarded; backpacks were searched). I learned... not in my freshman/sophomore years... that this was where a lot of test questions came from. There was never any homework from those books. Maybe there is a way to make resources available in the same way - for those that want to 'do extra'. The students seeking advice could be pointed to those resources as additional work for them to do. If they want to do it, great. You're available during office hours to help them. If they just want a leg-up without learning the material then they're no worse off with that advice. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: I am not an academic, but as a former college student (good but not great) I am completely baffled by the answers in this thread. I never would have thought to ask this question to a professor while in college. Not once did I ever consider it the professors responsibility to teach me how to succeed in a particular class. If a fellow student would have confided in me that they did this, it would have led to a severe loss of respect for them. These are adults we are talking about. If they made it that far without learning how to study, a failing grade would be the single best life lesson you could give to them, worth far more than whatever the course was about. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: To contribute a bit on things that have already been said, I want to mention an actual anecdote that I always mention when this topics arises. I was teaching a (basic) group theory class, so at the very least the students has already passed three university math classes. One day this student comes to see me to ask the same question the OP got: "I'm working hard studying for this class, but it's not working for me; what should I do?". So, without thinking much, I told the student: > > "look, just reading math is never enough. You have to grab the book and the class notes and read them, with pen and paper, writing the ideas and the math as you go through. When you get to the exercises, try them and you will (probably) not be able to do them. Then go back to the text, trying to find the notions that you might need to do the exercise, read again, try the exercise again." > > > His face changed completely, he was in shock. He said "wow, that's awesome! That's a super idea! I gotta try that!" and he left happy. Remember, this student had already passed (probably with decent grades) three university math classes, and yet he had no idea what "study" meant. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: You don't say what level of students you are teaching or whether they are primarily math majors. If you are teaching first year students you are playing a crucial role in teaching them how to be college students; if you are teaching first year math students (or maybe even math students in their first course above calculus) then you are teaching them how to be math majors and ultimately mathematicians. This continues over the years, but the skills get more sophisticated. I think it is great that you are seriously thinking about how to answer this question. I don't teach math but I often do include a section on my syllabus that discusses "How to succeed in this class" or "How to get a good grade." Some common things to include (that are surprisingly not obvious to American undergraduates especially first year)(of course only include items if they are really true for your class): * Attend every class unless you are infectious. * Do the reading (including working your way through examples if it is that kind of reading). * Do the homework yourself even if you ask for advice from other students. (Especially important if this is the kind of class where homework is not collected.) (I point out "Data analysis shows that homework completion is strongly predictive of final project grade.", but that's just my course.) * If you get homework wrong or points taken off, make sure you understand what you got wrong and make corrections. Same thing for quizzes and the midterm. * Take notes during class. This includes taking notes on what other students ask (if it's that kind of class) or contribute to discussions (if it's that kind of class). * Get help if you need it, by asking questions, coming to my office hours, and/or using the tutoring (or writing) center. * Everyone can be successful in this class if they put in solid effort on the work and persist when they find the work challenging. (Of course don't say this if you don't really believe it.) Upvotes: 0
2018/10/09	3,107	14,216	<issue_start>username_0: For a long time, I have been confused about the purpose of having (roughly the same) qualifying requirements and breadth (course) requirements for every mathematics PhD student (in many, if not most, mathematics departments in the United States). I have heard that European math gradaute programs do not have such rigid requirements. In U.S., although many math PhD students only start with an undergraduate degree and they do need a lot of training in graduate math, there are still a lot of students who come with a master's degree and that is the reason I add the qualification "everyone". I am just asking why we need (roughly) the same requirements for everybody in a program instead of having tailored requirements for individual PhD students, especially for those who have already taken graduate level classes, had their confirmed interests, and even written a Master level thesis in mathematics. --- In response to the comments below, I will add some parts that I deleted earlier back. An example: many programs, such as [Stanford](https://mathematics.stanford.edu/academics/graduate/phd-program/phd-qualifying-exams/) and [Ohio State](https://math.osu.edu/grad/current/phd/quals), require students to take qualifying examinations in real analysis and algebra. (Some programs require exams only in real analysis and algebra, despite having strong research groups in other fields like topology.) Why are real analysis and algebra both necessary for everybody? Does an algebraic geometer have to be so familar with abstract measure theory? Does a topologist have to be so skilled in using the "Big Three" theorems of Banach spaces? Does an applied mathematician have to know Galois theory so well? Moreover, the real research is quite different from exams. The statements of problems are usually not well formulated, there is no specific time limits, the techniques can be convoluted, etc. Taking courses are not the only way of learning things in a PhD program. PhD students can learn a subject on their own or through student reading seminars. I am not denying the necessity of taking classes for certain students (especially those who come with undergraduate degrees)---that is why I added the qualification "everyone".<issue_comment>username_1: So far as I've seen, in the U.S., the "required" aspects of most graduate programs are really very minimalistic and elementary. So it misrepresents the situation to refer to them as "rigid", since they're so minimal. And it misrepresents the situation as well to refer to those minimal bits as somehow clearly un-necessary for ... "non-specialists"? I'd claim that these basic requirements are just to inculcate awareness of the various basics. Again, minimalist. Further, some places have choices or other requirements. E.g., many require some complex analysis. We in MN do, as well as some algebraic topology and differential geometry... although students who want to style themselves as "applied" can manage to avoid quite a bit of this, by doing some "math modelling" and "numerical analysis" coursework. True, in principle people can mostly learn whatever they want outside of formal courses, and I myself prefer that, because the artificial schedule of MWF classes, etc., does not fit my personal rhythms. But for some people, manifestly, this is easier than self-study. Also, I've been told by many grad students that it's easier to avoid self-deception/delusion in a more formal classroom setting. Ok. And, of course, some people arrive in grad school being vastly over-confident of their own scholarship, as well as the significance of their "prior research experience". To make decisions based on very-incomplete information would be unfortunate. And, of course, classes and exams are a very artificial, caricatured version of mathematics... which I think is best appreciated as not being really a "school subject" at all. Nevertheless, it is not easy to construct viable alternatives. Here in MN, anyone who really has already picked up a bit of competence in the basic subjects can "test out", by exam, and not have to take those courses. Many do. We do not try to test "mastery", but only "(at least) minimal competence". Yes, having been involved in grad studies throughout my 35+ years here, I have often seen students complain about the alleged burdens of our "requirements". Mostly, that convinces me that they're sufficiently unaware so that they appreciate neither the minimality of our requirements, nor the universal utility of the ideas. :) But I understand that "requirements" are often viewed as "obstacles to getting on with research". I do claim that this represents a substantive misunderstanding of what's going on... EDIT: as for a further question implied by, or suggested by, comments... although of course inertia plays some role, faculty in every grad program "require" things of grad students (regardless of eventual "specialty") after substantial consideration. Not whimsically. Indeed, exercise of such judgement is very important. The possible fact that entering grad students (arguably in possession of very little information about what they'll need later, etc.) may disagree or resent "requirements" will not deter faculty from requiring what they consider wise, based on decades of experience. A related question, that of requiring reading competence in French and/or German, etc., has a substantially different answer. E.g., while I do still encourage my own students to learn at least French (to read Sem. Bourb. at least), and maybe German (Hecke, Siegel, ...), our program as a whole is ever-reducing these requirements, since, indeed, a greater and greater fraction of contemporary mathematics is written in English. Not all!!! I have always regretted that I didn't learn enough Russian to be able to read mathematics in it... Sure, one can "get by" being substantially illiterate, but it is quite often useful to be less illiterate! :) This applies also to awareness of the rest of mathematics, outside one's tiny bailiwick ... however large it may seem in a myopic view! :) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Speaking too broadly, the US and Europe have different models for PhD programs in mathematics. This reflects partly that they have different models for undergraduate programs in mathematics, and so students entering PhD programs do so with different backgrounds. It also reflects partly a difference in philosophy. (Speaking of "Europe" as a unified whole is obviously ridiculous, but for this discussion it is probably not as ridiculous as it would be in some contexts, provided one's notion of Europe does not include Britain where the educational system possibly has more elements in common with the US.) In Europe an undergraduate studying mathematics typically takes only courses in mathematics, perhaps with some complementary courses in physics, computer science or statistics (closely related fields). In the US an undergraduate studying mathematics might take well less than half her courses in mathematics (My case is a bit extreme, but it makes the point - I got an undergraduate math degree from a US university taking 14 of 38 courses in mathematics, and 2 or 3 more in related fields, depending what one considers related; this is simply incomprehensible in most European systems). One consequence of this is that when a student finishes a European undergraduate program in math that student has typically seen a lot more math than a student who finishes a US undergraduate program in math (the situation is really far more complicated - the far greater flexibility of US undergraduate programs means that it is possible for a student to take a great deal of math, even at the graduate level, as an undergraduate, and so the distributions of courses realized are very different for US and European students - (again speaking too broady) in any given European system every student takes essentially the same classes, whereas in the US two students with math degrees can have taken radically different sets of classes). The content that the typical US student hasn't seen as an undergraduate is frontloaded onto the doctoral program in the form of the classical year long first year doctoral sequences in analysis, algebra, and something else - note that many US doctoral programs allow an incoming student with more preparation to take qualifying exams early and skip some or all of the required courses - such contingent mechanisms handle the better prepared entering students coming from Europe or Asia or from a US program that allowed the student to advance rapidly. In practice the administrative flexibility of US doctoral programs means that "requirements" are adjusted or waved as is necessary to accomodate individual circumstances (I know a successful researcher who never passed one of his qualifying exams). In Europe, "requirements" usually really are requirements in the absolutist sense of the word, and the only way to endow a doctoral program with a similar flexibility is to minimize the formal requirements. The preceding should all be qualified by the observation that roughly half the PhDs in the mathematical sciences awarded in the US are awarded to students who hail from outside the US, probably a greater percentage at research oriented institutions. So in fact the typical student entering a US graduate program in math comes from Asia or Europe, and was prepared in a non-US system. Although this is less true in Europe, it is increasingly true in Europe as well. Nonetheless, the institutional expectations implicit in how graduate programs are structured are typically based more on the corresponding expectations implicit in how local undergraduate programs are structured than they are on the nature and origin of the students entering such programs (the latter takes longer to assimilate administratively). (Institutional expectations need not be set by mathematicians, nor even by academics; often they are imposed politically or administratively by people with little understanding of what they entail except in a formal, procedural sense.) The other reason is philosophical. This is a personal impression, probably quite debatable, but my impression is that European doctoral programs tend to be more focused, the idea being that students immediately start research, and develop deeply in one particular area, while US doctoral programs tend to be less rushed, and have as an explicit goal that the student acquire a certain breadth, the idea being that really novel ideas often come at the interfaces between well established research areas, or by applying ideas from one context in another. For example, in Europe a student typically chooses an advisor before entering a program (i.e. enters to work with a specific person), whereas in the US the choice is typically made in the first year or two of the doctoral program. The US structure allows the student to explore her interests for a while before focusing; the European model obligates focus before the interests are developed. In Europe a student is formally expected to finish a doctorate in 3 or 4 years. In the US, 5 years is normal and 6 is fine. (If we are talking about star students at "top" places all the expectations change, but I am focusing on the "typical" students who will mostly become ordinary mediocre researchers.) To some extent the differences in the structure of doctoral programs also reflect differences in the expectations for the postdoctoral phase. A "postdoc" in mathematics in the US means a temporary teaching position during which the person is expected to develop an autonomous research program. A recent graduate needs to be prepared for that level of autonomy. In Europe a "postdoc" in mathematics typically means a position directly connected to a particular research group, in which the student is expected to participate, sometimes in a still directed manner. A student entering such a position needs less autonomy a priori than a student entering a US style postdoctoral position, but may need considerable area specific knowledge to function usefully in an established research group. Surely some of the characterizations in the preceding are wrong in the details, or when compared with any specific context (particularly vis-a-vis Europe), but what I think is valid is the claim that the structure of doctoral programs reflects ideas about the preparation of students entering such programs and the needs of students exiting such programs, and that such expectations are different in the US and Europe, even if it is hard to articulate exactly how without oversimplifying (the discussion includes dozens of national systems ...) Also the intellectual traditions in the US and Europe are different, and this effects the structure of doctoral programs. Again, a properly nuanced examination of what the differences are would require a book, but the general feature that seems most salient is the relative importance of breadth versus depth. Maybe also the differences reflect different ideas about the importance of developing exceptional talent and training/forming ordinary talent. To me the US seems more oriented towards the former, Europe more oriented towards the latter (this does not claim that one is more succesful than the other in either regard; intention does not imply results). Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In the US tradition, a PhD does not simply indicate research ability; it also indicates a basic ability to teach all undergraduate courses (except perhaps upper-level electives) in the field. There are many colleges in the US with only 2 or 3 math professors (in fact collectively these places hire more math PhDs into permanent positions than research universities), and a small department relies on all its members being able to teach all its courses. (If the algebraist in the department has a heart attack, the applied mathematician will have to cover the undergraduate algebra course.) In particular, this is why algebra and analysis are almost always part of the requirements; these courses are central to the undergraduate curriculum almost everywhere. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/09	598	2,605	<issue_start>username_0: About two years ago, I did a review for a journal (Engineering Failure Analysis, which is published by Elsevier). At that time my affiliation was different from today and I used my institutional email at that time to register as a reviewer in the Elsevier website. But right now that email is deleted and I don't have access to that email. I need to show somewhere that I did a review for this journal and they need some evidence. Despite, I have access to my account in Elsevier (The email is deleted but the account in Elsevier website remained unchanged and I have access to it), I can't find their acknowledgment email for my review. I asked their editorial office and their editor-in-chief 3 times and still after about 1 month I didn't get any answer yet. So, basically I want to know is it enough to take screen capture and show that I did the review to proof or not? Cause in some websites like [Publons](https://publons.com/home/), it needs to send the confirmation email to their email server to be able to put it in your webpage and count it as a review, but I don't have that confirmation email and I don't think I could get that due to they're ignoring my emails. Any idea, suggestion, and recommendation is appreciated. Also if somebody knows some sort of customer service or front desk information for Elsevier, I will appreciate if he/she could give it to me cause maybe it could be helpful to contact them directly. I searched a lot in their website but I didn't find anything about how to contact them.<issue_comment>username_1: Much like during a background check, you can't provide more evidence than you have access to. (Well, you could, but it's generally frowned upon.) So send in what you have and let them judge it. Perhaps they don't consider it proof enough, which I assume means that you don't get credit for that one review, but no worse consequences than that. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Ask the editorial office. You write that you've already asked them, but send them a reminder. Tell explicitly what you're looking for. In my experience for example, a letter saying you performed a review, on official Elsevier letterhead paper & with the desk editor's signature, suffices. This really should be something the journal office can do quickly. If they haven't responded my guess is that they're waiting for the editor-in-chief to respond, which is unnecessary. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Check whether an issue of the journal lists you as a reviewer and if it does, then use that issue as evidence. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/10	410	1,773	<issue_start>username_0: Earlier this year I started writing my first article with a former professor of mine. The article is almost done, but until now he hasn't written a single sentence or provided any data. It has been all my work. We have met about 10 times where each meeting lasted about 90 minutes to discuss the progress of the article, and I have to recognize that during these meetings his advice shaped some of my ideas , especially regarding the research question. I know he has spent his time in this work, but I don't think that qualifies as authorship on the article, and I'm not sure what to do about this. I appreciate any advice you can give me on how to act on this issue. So in general: If a professor meets with you a few times to assist you in writing a paper but does not do any actual writing, is this sufficient to justify him being an author?<issue_comment>username_1: The content of those meetings is largely going to be the answer to your question, and we can't really know the content of those meetings. There's a case to be made that those discussions helped form things, and he doesn't sound otherwise problematic, so I think it's likely worth just making him an author and moving on. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Actually, you should ask him what are his expectations and follow his advice. Certainly he has contributed, probably substantially, to the work. The writing isn't everything. The ideas that it embodies are. If he wants to be your co-author, do that. You didn't say anything in your question about his expectations. But also, think of the future. If his continued guidance is helpful to you then you should be happy to co-author papers with him. But if you can carry on alone, you can do that too. Upvotes: 3
2018/10/11	1,336	5,797	<issue_start>username_0: During the past years of my PhD program in biology, my advisor has developed a habit of lending my service to other labs/groups for potential collaborating opportunities. In addition to helping fellow students in the lab with their projects, I've helped a handful of other labs/groups with various data analysis and statistical testing tasks that were totally unrelated to my PhD project; I rarely got anything in return other than practicing my relevant skills. There is a lab in our department that I helped with data analysis in June. I've submitted my PhD thesis in August. This lab now came back to my advisor asking for a further work involving testing the correlation between the expressions of 200ish genes and different phenotype in 20ish RNA-seq datasets. My advisor has handed the job to me again. It is not a small task to me, and since the submission of my PhD thesis my scholarship has stopped so I have to work to pay the bills. Also, I feel unappreciated because the other lab doesn't even know I am the person doing the job, and they will probably list my advisor as a co-author should there be a paper. I'd like to know if I should turn down the request, even if it will potentially result in my advisor rejecting a recommendation letter? My advisor once jokingly mentioned that they are holding their recommendation letters hostage so I have to continue working for them (for free). I've done tons of unrelated and unpaid works for them and this project feels like the last straw.<issue_comment>username_1: Just to clarify, when you say "holding their recommendation letters hostage", do you mean that that other group would refuse to provide you a recommendation letter, or that your advisor would refuse to write you one, if you didn't do the required work? My first advice would be to talk to your advisor, especially since your scholarship has run its course. No reasonable person would insist under the circumstances, but you should also consider that there might a misunderstanding, e.g. that your advisor feels that you benefit from such an arrangement, so an honest conversation might clear everything up. However, if the latter part of my question is the case, that goes beyond unethical and I wouldn't be surprised if your problems wouldn't matter to a person like this. There are a few options you have. First, is to unconditionally refuse to do the assigned work and take the consequences, whatever they might be. Second, to conditionally refuse to work, i.e. you won't do it unless they compensate you for it (pay, authorship, etc.). Third, to suck it up, as you are about to graduate soon and hopefully leave that institution, it might be worth considering that this is the last time you have to do something like that. Now, what worries me the most is the possibility that your graduation could be sidelined or delayed in order to force you to work more for them (you didn't comment whether or not that was a possibility). If that is the case, all the other options are rather useless and in comes the fourth option, that I deliberately avoided above as being the most destructive: escalate the whole thing to the higher-ups (the department level, the university level, maybe even an attorney) and hope that in some future your case will be resolved. Based on the question, I can't gauge the scope of the corruption, i.e. is only the advisor corrupted, does the other group know that you are essentially forced to work for them, for free, does the department condone such behavior? That and the location your based at, should help you define the impact of the fourth option. Bottom line, my advice is: get out of there as soon as you can. Make a cost-benefit analysis of your next actions. Ask yourself questions like: What would it take just to graduate? What would it take to graduate and ensure reasonable recommendations? Can I afford it (and here I don't mean just the financial part, but also the price in time, mental health, opportunities, etc.)? Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Very politely notify them your scholarship and RA position (or whatever it is called that requires you to do work in return for money) has ended, and offer a consulting rate to continue. Make sure there's an agreed-upon number of hours for each task, so they aren't thinking they can give you one hour of work at a time, when the emails alone take longer than that. Research in most fields doesn't happen unless there is a fountain of money behind it, so this is not as beyond the pale as it may seem from your perspective. Just be careful to make clear it is simply the economic situation of the real world (which apparently they forgot they live in) that is the issue, not that you are making these demands to be unhelpful and make them go away. If they can't pay you, then you can offer to help someone else take over the work, for example by giving them a list of steps and answering their questions via email. Or you can offer to help in exchange for co-authorship, but then make sure you get into the loop so it is clear to all that they are violating journal terms by not including you as a co-author. If they are dependent on your analysis for their paper at this point, they may put in a position where you are compelled by professionalism to help them finish, but of course this needs to be out in the open with a promise of at least co-authorship in return. Everyone with valuable skills has to deal with this kind of thing. People will push until you push back. The overwhelming majority aren't necessarily as cutthroat as the occasional bad joke might imply; they just convinced themselves your time is near-worthless while theirs is precious. Clarify to them this is not the case anymore. Upvotes: 5
2018/10/11	405	1,608	<issue_start>username_0: I am going to apply math grad schools this year. But, the problem is now I'm 30 years old. Do you know anyone who is 30 or over 30, but got admission from top math grad school?<issue_comment>username_1: I can't give you any well-known examples from the top of my head, but for postgraduate programs (and many undergraduate programs fwiw) the age of the applicant does not matter that much. Career gaps are not uncommon. Having a proper job after undergraduate program and coming back to postgraduate 10-20 years later is not uncommon. I personally know a few academic who started and successfully completed their MSc/PhD studies when they were 60+. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Knowing an answer to this question won't help you. What will help you is making a good application to a school you'd like to attend showing your skills and potential. No one will say, "Well, this is the greatest mathematician since Riemann, but, alas, he's 30". Age won't play any part at all in an application, not even competitively. Your suitability will be evaluated on what you have done and what can be expected of you. But in any top school, the competition for a position is fierce and you will have a lot of other applicants that show near perfect records on most criteria. Make sure that you can stand up to the competition, not only in what you write on the application, but what you can say in an interview. But if you don't apply, you don't get accepted. That rule is almost universal. If there are gaps in your record, be sure you have an acceptable explanation. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/11	959	3,970	<issue_start>username_0: Suppose I'm writing an article about topic X. During research I come across a related article in which the author has made statement Y and referenced publication Z. For one reason or another, I haven't read Z. Perhaps it is an expensive textbook or I'm just lazy. Can I in my article also make statement Y and reference Z, bypassing the middle author, or is that wrong?<issue_comment>username_1: It is wrong as you state it. If you found Y in a publication and want to use it, you need to cite Y. Whether you cite Z or not is another issue. It is a mistake, and likely wrong, to cite Z directly as if you know what it's complete statement and context is when you haven't actually read it. Perhaps, if you read Z you will find that it doesn't say what you think it "ought" to say based on your reading of Y. If you want to cite something, you should be directly familiar with it, just for your own safety. If you cite something it is so that your readers can get context for what you say. Therefore, you should know that context yourself. Lazy isn't absolving, and money is just money. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Under some circumstances, citing a source inside another source is acceptable. For example, perhaps the original source is not in a language you can read or not readily available. This [page](https://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/cite-another-source) describes the APA method for citing using this style. Here is an example that demonstrates how to do this. > > For example, if Allport's work is cited in Nicholson and you did not read Allport's work, list the Nicholson reference in the reference list. In the text, use the following citation: > > > Allport's diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003). > > > I would add the caveat one should always try to view the original document whenever possible. I knew a professor in grad school who was added to a manuscript late in the publication process and his name did not appear in the yearly abstract book, but was only included as an author on the original article. He could tell who did not read his article, but only read the abstract book or cited other people because he was not listed as a coauthor in the work cited. For perspective, I was told this story in 2007 and the article was likely published in the 1980s. This example was possible because prior to online journals and widespread use of search engines, annual abstract and indexes were published (for this professor's field, the practice continued until the mid-to-late 1990s). As noted in a comment, this would be more difficult with the advent of Google Scholar and other online search tools and their corresponding reference manager tools. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Whether or not you should cite Y I think depends on what the thing you're citing is. If it is the main topic of that work and they came up with it or developed it, you should cite them. If they just mentioned it in passing, maybe in their introduction, I would cite Z as they are the originator of the information you want to quote, Y is just how you found the citation of that information. Now to tackle the elephant in the room: citing without reading! Let's be honest, we all do it. I'm not saying you should take what is in Y as gospel and cite Z without any other knowledge of it, but if the information is well known in your field and everyone regularly says it and cites Z, and you are in a hurry, I'm sure people do just cite Z. I'm not saying you should, but it happens. I would say that you should probably read all those "often cited" background papers in your area at some point, and read them critically. Just because everyone cites it and takes that knowledge as given, doesn't mean you shouldn't assess it carefully and draw your own conclusions. If you think everyone cites it wrong you could write a paper or letter correcting it and then get loads of citations yourself! Upvotes: 2
2018/10/11	407	1,655	<issue_start>username_0: I've heard of people taking a break for getting work experience or internships and jobs and so on ... is this the norm ?<issue_comment>username_1: I can't say if it's the norm, but I don't expect that working for a year or two after undergrad would be frowned upon by graduate admissions committees. So long as your job is related to your field of study, you'll be augmenting your academic studies with real-world experience, which can indeed be valuable in preparation for a graduate curriculum. Personally, I applied for grad school straight out of undergrad, but didn't find the funding I was hoping for, so I worked for a year and then tried again. I received more and better offers the second time around. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think the answer depends upon the field. Personally, I've known many people who work for a few years as technicians or other jobs before they decide they want to go to graduate school in the life sciences. I've also known people who could not get into the programs they wanted to they worked in research labs to build up their skill set. This [post](https://career.berkeley.edu/Grad/TheGapYear) on UC-Berkeley's also demonstrates that people often take some time between undergrad and grad school. Also, some programs such as MBAs either require or strongly prefer applicants to have professional experience outside. This [US News article](https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/articles/2018-06-19/what-kind-of-work-experience-helps-mba-applicants) talks about work experience expectations for MBA programs. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/11	1,382	5,694	<issue_start>username_0: I am in a difficult situation and I am looking for some guidance. I have done my research and I have come to the conclusion that it is best for my mental health to take master and leave. Unfortunately, I already have a master's degree (in another field) and I am a 4th year PhD student and have only one year left to complete my PhD. Also, I am the first PhD student of my adviser. I realize that, I am extremely close to finishing and will probably be encouraged to continue. However, my mental health has been declining over the past several years. Earlier this year my dog (who was everything to me) passed away from cancer and I never really had a chance to grieve and have been continuously working since then. His passing caused me to spiral into a much deeper depression than I was in before and in the past several weeks, I have been had episodes of de-personalization, where I have a memory of something that I have done in the past but I was proud of that. But, then that memory is not mine anymore. It seems it's a different person. I know this is related to the stress that I have been accumulating over the past few months and it is getting worse now. The only thing that alleviates my depression is that the thought of leaving academia and this town to move on with my life. I can honestly say that after finally deciding that getting master degree and leave out, is what I want to do now and I haven't been happier in years. Even though, it isn't finalized I think this is a good indication that I am making the right decision. I have also realized that I don't want or need a PhD to get a job that I want. I really just want to go into forestry or be a greenhouse manager. I am burnt out, unhappy, unmotivated, and uninterested with my research because I can't get anything to work and don't expect to be able to complete my research in the next year. The main reason I feel I'm in grad school at this point is that I feel like I would disappoint my adviser. I know that's not a good reason to stay, especially since staying might be more detrimental for her chances for tenure than just finding another student to replace me on my project. I have decided to tell her that I am thinking about getting master degree and leave tomorrow to gauge her reaction. I need to have her approval before I do leave because I have been her student for 6 years now and need her reference. So if she is not on board with my plan to getting master degree and leave out, then I think I have to stay, but I know my work will suffer a lot in the next year and I doubt my ability to finish my research on time. What I am wondering is whether or not I am justified in wanting to getting master degree and leave out, if it is bad to have two masters degrees? Will I still be able to find a job if I leave with a second masters?<issue_comment>username_1: Your own health is more important than any degree. You should attend to that. If you can do both, perhaps working with a therapist while deemphasizing your degree work for a while, then that might be an option. Stress and depression are very serious. Your advisor seems to be invested in you, so you may have an option of a pause or a slower rate of progress. But a second masters won't impede your current goals so it doesn't sound (from here - which is far away) as a poor option. However, if you can find a therapist who can help you with the health issues, he or she would be a better source of advice on your future plans than anything you will get here. In fact you may get advice of a complete different sort that neither you, your advisor, nor the community here could think of. But for the direct question, I can't think of any downside to having more than one master's degree. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: My close friend had some sort of similar situation like you. Except, that she wanted to continue the academia and get a PhD but she decided to take a master and leave and even change her field cause her adviser was awful. But she had a master degree in another country and get another one in the US. And right now, she's studying a new PhD again in the US with much much better adviser and I expect that she will get a really good job after her graduation. So it's not bad even it could be good for you to have two master degrees due to your mental issues and depression that you want to leave academia. Also, based on your desired job after graduation, I think a master degree will be fitted well to desired job's qualifications. So, do the right thing to make yourself happier cause taking PhD will not make you happy right now. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: The answer is yes. I have two MS degrees. Take care of yourself and your health first. Good luck with everything. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: 1. My sister has two master's. 2. I advise finishing since you are so close. At least have a negotiation with the advisor. Phrase it as a request for help to make it seem less adversarial...but it is really a negotiation. He has some interest in you passing the goal. Since you will bail anyways, might as well see what is absolute minimum needed to get you out with the sticker. You can still go off and be a firewatcher in New Mexico or whatever, WITH the degree. But keep your options open. Push that ball over the goal. 3. I know academia can be a bummer trip, but I don't think crying for your dog is a reasonable reason to bail. My Dad died when I was 19 and away in the military. And I did my job. Life comes at us all. You will see plenty more deaths as you age. It's part of life and part of growing up. People expect you to keep on keeping on. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/11	513	2,103	<issue_start>username_0: Is it OK to use bullet points in the statement of purpose for graduate school applications? I'm applying for a PhD program in physical science. I want to organize some information in a bullet points form. However, I didn't see this done in any of the statements that I have seen online.<issue_comment>username_1: I would guess that a narrative form serves you better for most of your statement. However, some bullet points, if explained well, are probably fine. However, if the whole thing looks like a naive Powerpoint slide deck it would likely be damaging. One of the things that a few, at least, of the reviewers will be looking for in your statement is you basic writing ability. Don't make it so sparse as to require interpretation, but don't make it pedantic. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I literally just had a conversation a few people on this subject although it was for Post-Docs and similar positions rather than for graduate school. The reaction seemed to be all over the place. One person thought bullet points stood out and were great. Another considered it to be unprofessional. I can't speak to your specific field, but I suspect that the same reaction will occur here with it being either very good or very bad depending on the exact makeup of the committee reading the letters. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Both [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/118255/22768) and [username_2](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/118285/22768) raise valid points: * One of the things that [some] reviewers will be looking for...is your basic writing ability. * The reaction [to bullet points] seemed to be all over the place. One person thought bullet points stood out and were great. Another considered it to be unprofessional. I'll add: Used well, bullet points can convey your message succinctly, which is a skill reviews are looking for. Used badly, they suggest a poor writing style. You, yourself, can perhaps determine whether bullet points are working. Give it a try. You can also ask people what they think. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/11	1,158	4,684	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a named researcher (but basically a Postdoc) on a funded project in the UK which pays my salary. I've got a good CV and currently do 4 hours of teaching per year. The principal investigator (PI) has asked if I would take over their teaching, marking and project students in exchange for renaming my contract to 80% research and 20% teaching. The increased estimated total workload would be 140h, mostly before Christmas. Seems like a raw deal as I get nothing apart from CV experience, in return. What would you do? The PI said they would use the money saved on my contract to pay for someone else to do something unrelated to my work (but still on the project). It's not clear to me what 20% of the project I wouldn't be involved in anymore and I think I would be expected to do it all anyway. I asked for a salary increase: No. I asked for a lectureship: No. My choices: 1. I'm thinking about asking for a funded PhD student if I get a fellowship in return for doing the teaching. 2. Do the teaching as a "favour" but don't change the contract. What's my leverage and what are the pros and cons?<issue_comment>username_1: As I understand it, after you've been hired, the person who hired you wants to change your contract in a way that would be more advantageous for them. Well, they can ask, but...the whole point of a contract is so that you (and your employer) can be held to the parameters you agreed upon. I must say that although I've been in academia for my entire adult life, I still find myself baffled by some people's academic cultural expectations. You are considering taking on what you view as 140 hours of additional work in the remainder of the calendar year. That's almost a month of full-time work. It is absolutely absurd to me to do that amount (or anywhere near that amount) of work "as a favour." Are you not a highly trained professional? Don't highly trained professionals (in particular!) get paid for their work? Again, even as a lifelong academic, I've always thought so. On the other hand, most academics I know are at a lot less than 100% research. It sounds like you currently have a temporary, "soft money" academic job. Do you want a permanent academic job? If so, that will probably involve some teaching. (Right? This is probably field dependent.) In that case, getting teaching experience is not just a CV-stuffer: it is actually valuable for your future. Getting used to a balance of research and teaching is of some value, at least in my neck of the academic woods, where most tenure track faculty eventually teach at least 1-2 courses per semester while maintaining their research activities. But back on the first hand: if you are currently at 100% research and are happy with that, then I understand how you are viewing this as time away from your research and are not thrilled. If that's how you feel, then that's how you feel, and I think you should just say no, explaining that you are really excited about doing what you are doing and would like to continue with it. You gave your PI some chances to come up with something in exchange, so it's not as though you will come off as completely unwilling to help. Being unwilling to take over someone else's work in exchange for nothing is really not a character flaw. Finally, I don't quite understand the financial aspects of the situation. Why would you teaching the class generate funds that are not generated by the PI teaching the class? Maybe I'm missing something here. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: The first thing to realize is that this is not additional workload, or at least should not be. It is a change in allocation of 20% of your time (about 400 hours). Now one issue with that change is your estimate that 140 of those hours will be before the end of the year. Given limited marking and project student supervision during that period, that could translate into 100 hours of teaching over 10 weeks which is something like a 3-0 teaching load in the US. It is not fair to dump that on anyone, especially a new teacher, the week before teaching starts. It is unreasonable to think you would get any research done during that period. If the 140 hours is only 10 hours of teaching, 30 hours of prep, and a bunch of low prep student supervision and marking, that is very different. I asked about contracts once when I was in a similar, but different, situation. [Does a contract matter](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5462/does-a-contract-matter) As for leverage and pros and cons, it depends what you want. Maybe it will lead to a back door faculty position. Maybe it will get your contract renewed. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/11	5,601	22,896	<issue_start>username_0: I'm an undergraduate student, rising senior. I've been immersed in academia now since freshmen year, and I'd like to pursue a PhD in Computer Science in the future. I'm posting here because I just feel hopeless right now. I've had research experiences at top schools, like MIT, and now, at a top research company (where I've been for a couple of months). I know to the readers these sound impressive, but with every experience, I feel like I let my mentors and advisors down. I feel like they all had really high expectations for me -- and I just disappointed them. With every opportunity -- and in every scenario, whether it was in school or some other aspect of my life -- I noticed a common pattern in myself : I just didn't want to learn. I did very well in high school. I do very well in college. But I just don't have the motivation to learn ... anything. I want good grades. I want to build the projects I have in mind. I want to finish my research project and get that publication. But I don't want to put the work in. Everything I achieved through academics was done under some combination of procrastination, stress, fatigue, and luck. I never really cared about what I was learning. I often did things just the day before, or late. I only learned just enough to do the assignment or get the grade I want. I always thought -- I can learn it the way I'm supposed to later. I just wanted the results. I wanted to look good on paper. I didn't want to feel ashamed in front of my mentors and co-workers, so I always did just enough to look like I was doing something. These couple of months that I've gotten the opportunity to work as a research intern at a top research company (I didn't even get an interview to get there, I think I just got lucky), I've felt like shit. I knew nothing about NLP when I got here, and now it's the focus of my project. I've been working with neural nets for 2 years now, but I still don't fully understand the basics. I just feel like I should know this by now. And with every meeting, I feel like I'm doing the bare minimum -- just enough to look like I was doing something. I feel too slow. Whenever I have to learn about a new topic or read a new paper, I get overwhelmed. I think I will never understand it enough to be able to contribute anything meaningful. And when I see how knowledgeable, motivated, and quick people are about their work, I get discouraged. I feel like time is quickly passing me by, and I am crumbling under every passing day. Now I'm contemplating whether I will even have potential for an academic career in computation, or an academic career in anything, or a career at all. I know I love solving problems. I know I am creative and have good ideas when I really understand something. But that's what I'm worried about. What if I never attain that level of understanding? I just don't know -- is this normal and must I just learn to deal with it? Am I experiencing this just because I'm at a different level than my co-workers here, who are PhD's and research scientists? Have academics gone through this phase where they feel like they just can't do it? Or is there some underlying issue? What have been people's experiences?<issue_comment>username_1: This sounds like a classic case of burn-out. You've been working hard, maybe too hard, and it isn't fun anymore. I think a lot of academics do that at some point and you need to find a way past it to be successful. Some of the solutions can be fairly simple and others not. Getting advice from a counsellor or therapist may be needed. Probably useful in any case. Some people can just find a non-academic activity to spend time and effort on. I usually recommend something physical, but that will also engage your brain in a different way. My own go-to activity is Tai Chi, a mind-body fusion. In the past, I also used bicycling and skiing to get away from the academy. Such things can even be beneficial in solving academic problems, such as mathematics. When you get stuck on a problem, often letting it go for a bit will let your subconscious mind work on the problem and get you past the block. This too is a common experience. On a larger scale, a year away, doing things that aren't so academic or that use your mind in a different way can be helpful. Students who had the means, often spent a year "bumming around Europe" after graduation. A museum tour of the great cities. But if you just keep pressing and increasing the pressure, you probably won't improve. You might also want to look at some other answers here that discuss [Imposter Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) (search for the phrase here to get some idea of what it is and how to deal with it.) I'm not reading clear signs in your question that you are "suffering" from that, but take a look. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: > > I want to build the projects I have in mind. ... I just wanted the results. > > > Wanting practical results on projects that are interesting to you is a great place to start when looking for lost motivation. Find a simple project you are interested in, that is not too large or abstract, and have a play with it. Learn only what you need to learn to get it working, on an as-needed basis, and see if you enjoy this. If that works out, think about extending your project to make it bigger, and learn more as needed to expand on it, until it is how you want it to be. You might find that this gives you an interest in the underlying abstract subject material, since it is now connected to a practical problem of interest to you. Most of my own training is in statistics and economics, and like you, I muddled through classes with decent grades and often minimal effort. I have always found that learning something I'm forced to learn is laborious, but learning something I need to understand to do a project I am interested in is a lot more fun. For example, a few years ago I was playing [Guess-Who](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_Who%3F) with my (then) two-year-old daughter, and I wondered what the optimal subgame-perfect strategy in the game would be. That led me to muck around with the problem for a couple of weeks, and teach myself a whole bunch of game theory, and a bit of discrete math to boot. I had done classes on game theory before, but I was never really motivated to learn it properly until I needed to apply it to a problem of my own. From your description of your education and career, it sounds to me like you are not motivated to learn because the learning has little to no connection to any project outcome that you are actually interested in. Working in a field as esoteric as neural nets, where the end product is removed from the underlying theory by many levels of abstraction, is likely to exacerbate this feeling. Since you are in computer science, you will have different interests to me. But regardless, forget about what they want you to do at work, and think about some of the fun projects you'd like to build on your own. Maybe you have an idea for a small computing project you could try in your spare time. Start by making something small and don't worry if it has any broader significance or value to others; treat it as a toy problem, solely for your own recreation. Most likely you won't know how to do every aspect of the project ab initio, so that will necessitate learning the bits you don't know how to do yet. If the project is fun and motivating, then you will probably find that learning those bits will not be a chore. You might even find that the project gives you a renewed interest in a more general field. If you have not already done so, make sure to read the ["plate story"](https://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~kilcup/262/feynman.html) about the physicist <NAME> (see his excellent book, "[Surely you're Joking Mr Feynman!](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0393316041)"). Feynman talks of having suffered career burnout, where he was not accomplishing anything. He decided to avoid trying anything important, and just work on toy problems that were interesting to him (e.g., figuring out the physics of why a plate wobbles when you throw it up in the air). As he puts it, "So I got this new attitude. Now that I am burned out and I'll never accomplish anything, I've got this nice position at the university teaching classes which I rather enjoy, and just like I read the Arabian Nights for pleasure, I'm going to play with physics, whenever I want to, without worrying about any importance whatsoever." Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Welcome to the high ability/high achievers club, or ‘HAHA’. We’re happy to have you! But in seriousness you make two errors. The first is thinking you are letting your advisors down, which while you don’t specify, is often a reaction to advisors constant commentary on what to change. Advisors don’t push inept students. They critique and challenge the good ones. Second, you believe your lack of motivation is a personality flaw, when it is actually a characteristic of most successful academics. Once you find the topic that flames your fire you’ll be relentless. Topics outside of your interest just isnt worth your time, right? Join the club. Lastly, you are falling prey to imposter syndrome - you’re too slow/not smart enough/not productive, etc. 75% of us feel that way but lie about it. The other 25% of people work 23 hour days and sacrifice the rest of their life. Unfortunately, you likely won’t believe all of what I’ve just said...I didn’t until much later. But your feelings are the rule, not the exception. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: The first thing I would recommend is asking yourself the question: "what are you trying to achieve?" Is it I want good marks/prestige or is it I want to do X? If its the first one then that might help to explain your lack of motivation, in a sense you are lacking any real goal. If it's the second one then try to remember and focus on why X excited you and try to make sure the research you do is somehow related to that. From what you wrote I suspect the answer is "I want to do X", though you may be using "I want good marks/prestige" as a proxy and therefore are starting to burn out. Given that you did very well at high school and undergrad work so far, one possibility is that you aren't use to doing difficult things, which could be as bad as you don't really know how to learn. If you tended to just absorb things in high school then you may have missed out on learning how to learn, if that's the case (and even if it isn't) you could take a look at the online course "Learning how to learn" or the book its based on "Make it stick". At a research level this will be much worst, most research material is written by people at least a few years into their PhDs, and each paper is on a small topic. Therefore just having a goal "I want to understand Neural networks" is too broad a goal and too undirected. You may have an ultimate goal "I want to understand why and how neural networks work" (which I believe is a research goal, i.e. nobody could answer that, though I don't know the field), but the subgoal you are working towards may be "I want to understand when I should use a convoluted Neural net" (though that may be too broad as well at the moment), or even just "What did the authors do in paper Y". As you learn more and more reading and understanding papers becomes easier. In part because you can skip to whatever part of the paper has useful details and in part because you know where this fits into the field of research. Once this happens you can start returning to setting yourself broader goals (but if you move into a different field you tend to start again at just trying to understand a paper). Finally with respect to your supervisors, I agree with the others with looking into the imposter syndrome (and the Dunning–Kruger effect). I think often a supervisor will try to push students if they are excited in their work or if they see potential in the student (in order to try to help them be their best). Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: > > is this normal and must I just learn to deal with it? > > > Yes, this is perfectly normal. You also need very much to learn to deal with it, or unhappy times will be coming your way. You need to reframe this until you get it into a non-self-destructive perspective. For example: you say you are "only" interested in the results of your work, not in doing it "right". You are feeling bad about this. But... convince yourself that the rest of the world is also primarily interested in results; few care about how you arrived there. There are very many archetypes of how to get work done, and all of them are as valid as the next one. Then, you are afraid that you don't really understand things that you work with. Let me assure you, you are by far not alone. I'm working in an IT company as a team lead with a lot of contact to colleagues, customers and management of all levels, and the amount of people that really understand what's going on is, on all levels, much smaller than one would expect. Things get along just fine, anyways. What you really need to worry about is to get into a "flowy" state concerning your life. If that means that you find a few hobbies that really interest you, or get into Meditation, or go hiking a lot, or straighten up personal issues that you didn't mention, is obviously up to you (and you may need to get a bit creative there). Too much work, too little play leads easily to your current state. Also, if you really don't understand what you are doing, and this leads to internal stress all the time, you indeed may want to look into shifting your work around so it maps better. My experience is that people automatically and effortlessly learn those topics that really interest them; and vice versa, if someone has to do something that does not interest them, they usually never really get it. So see if what you are doing is really what interests you - if you find that you don't actually care about the topic, then accept that and hunt for another. How you do that you should find out yourself - either look on the side, or make a hard cut, you should know yourself best in that regard. Good luck! Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: There are a lot of good answers, but one topic I want to also address this: > > And when I see how knowledgeable, motivated, and quick people are about their work, I get discouraged. > > > One aspect of it is the fact that in (young) academia, there is 1 thing people are terrified of, which is to be considered "not smart". Peers around me showcased their intellect in any single way possible. Every discussion was one to be won, mainly by technicalities. Nobody admitted not fully understanding a talk (however complex it might have been). Not (yet) knowing about an important topic was taboo. Don't get bedazzled by your colleagues' displays of intellect. A lot of it is an act, and even when it isn't, it doesn't mean you're inferior. Even in academia, not everyone has a 150+ IQ, or needs it for that matter. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Note that the question seems mainly related to psychology. So StackExchange Academia might not contain the most qualified people. I will provide my opinion which did help me, I hope it can help you (and others who stumble across this question) as well. As a computer science student who felt 'down' pretty much all the time I have done some reading. Generally I think reading some self-help material would be beneficial for many academics. Note that self-help books do not describe formal logic. Please read material of multiple authors and don't take it too literally. What helped me in these self-help materials was to define a clearer goal for myself based on a better life-goal. Life-goals like 'high grades' or 'get rich' are considered not good. Self-help books helped me in understanding why these goals will let one down in the long run and how one could pick them better. For me the goals also helped me in taking some difficult decisions which I now think were the right ones since I feel happier. Edit: Easy accessible starters material can be found on YouTube. In my opinion <NAME> and <NAME> are good. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_8: Yes, in theory it could be burnout or impostor syndrome and what not and it's not bad to ask yourself whether those things could fit. Were you in the past more motivated and did everything become too much to handle? Did you get any negative feedback from third parties or is it just you who thinks you aren't doing well enough? Anyway, an option that's not brought up in other answers and sounds like it could fit with what you are experiencing: Is it possible you were too smart to need to learn in the past, and now that you need to learn you realize you don't really know how to motivate yourself to do so? It's something I have seen a lot of people struggle with (including myself) and some of the more extreme cases literally end up with young people hitting a complete stone wall they aren't able to get past. This is a quite well known problem gifted people have and tends to show during the end of high school or early during their university career (although I know of people who only hit this wall during or after their PhD), but only in recent years has there been a bit more attention to this problem. Anyway, if you think that this might be the case for you: You will have to ask yourself what you want in life. Either you can use that intelligence to allow yourself to be lazy for the rest of your life - at a not too hard and not too easy job - and focus your energy on different pursuits. Or you can go down the path of trying to learn how to study. The latter will be a long process where you will need to find small stuff that motivate you and start binding that into the things you wish to achieve. Some of the other answers touch upon how to achieve this, but the approach will be slightly different if you don't take it as "regaining past motivation", but rather as a way to teach yourself how to study. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: You mentioned that you wanted the end product, the goal, but were less interested in the steps to achieve it. This reminded me of the end of my academic pursuit of the "Next" degree. I wanted the letters after my name and it was the next step in school, which I had enjoyed up to that point. But after moving around the variety of math and computer science subjects I figured out (took a while) that the only thing I was truly interested in was the final achievement. I was not actually interested in the courses/subjects needed to get there. The path should be your passion or at least parts of it. Side note; I know now that a skill I developed in school was "Finding the Path". This means given a goal getting all the steps in place to achieve it. I rush to do this when I hear of any result/goal/degree; make the path and get going. Then I look around and see that this is not really a goal I woke up this morning looking for. Answers here are quite correct in that students, gifted and otherwise, will hit the wall at some point and often have a crisis when they do. Your counselors are there to pull you along and not let you get discouraged. They already believe that you have decided on the path. If you have doubts then you must let them know or else they will not be able to give you the best advice. I'm familiar with the Imposter idea and do not, myself, see it applying in your case. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: The problem isn't you, it's the system. Globalism (one-world fascist government) leaks far down to all aspects of society designed to retard progress and reward corruption, dishonesty and stealth. Schools and colleges are particularly targeted since it is easier to dominate people whose lives have been made pointlessly convoluted; in your case you're likely being "required" to learn tons of unrelated stuff that you will never use, which also creates debt that you'll be enslaved to for decades unless you got very lucky. I'm not saying all colleges are "colleges" in name only though the less on-topic your classes are the more red flags should be flying in the wind...besides those red flags. I left a for-profit "college" in the 2000s after I realized it was a pointless waste of time and money. I had learned nothing useful and had accrued lots of pointless debt. So, in combination with not encountering people willing to carry their own weight I spent ten years working on creating my business. Granted, mine is exceptionally ambitious, though you could learn if you knew that your efforts had purpose and build something that would help people to the extent that they would be willing to pay you. You will need to learn about the secret political corruption going on in the world - if you do not know the politics that are involved then you do not know what is involved. Disregard the tools calling "conspiracy theory", that's one of their dead terms that only effects those who can't think for themselves. You are smart to get through everything thus far and you can and will learn tons though it will be much healthier when you break away and find your real purpose. Mine? Making money while genuinely helping people far beyond what anyone else on the planet can in my line of work Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_11: Everybody here is giving you an essay. I don't have my motivational essay handy, but here's a list: * You Can Do It. Say it 1000 times a day. Repeat until you die. * Motivation is a lie. Embrace the cold hard truth of Discipline. Do the thing anyway. * Learning is like a hammer. * Hammer nails one at a time. * Make a list of other nails that you want/need to hammer. * Throw it away, make a newer smaller list of things you will actually practice on daily. * Hammering for the sake of hammering is masturbation. Hammer new stuff anyway. * When you have a hammer, everything is a nail. Always be on the look out for a bigger, better hammer. Get better at spotting nails. * An end goal where you are fully self-actualized, surrounded by loved ones, academic accolades, personal and professional success is vanity. Talk to friends, get the academic merit badges, and try your best anyway. * Unplug, unwind, tune in, and drop out. But don't run away. Run towards something. Childhood dreams lead to adult aspirations. When the dream dies, all that's left is to adapt. Grab a little piece of sanity, some concrete thing to stand on, and you hold on to that thing with both hands. There is no magic bullet, no secret sauce, and no quick easy path to anywhere from where you are right now. Just hammer the bloody nail. Upvotes: 0
2018/10/11	1,166	4,999	<issue_start>username_0: I have all the respect for students of sciences who go to a university to fully divulge themselves into a certain topic and understand it in and out. But the truth is, that description simply doesn't fit most students. Most students go to university because they want a degree so they can get a job, and a lot of the stuff you'll learn simply isn't useful. The obvious example is computer-science (but it applies to many other fields too, like engineering, economics, etc). If you study computer science at a university, and then choose to enter the field of software engineering, 95 % of your degree will be useless. In software engineering, it's mostly just knowing your tech and being able to code efficiently in it. So why are students being forced to spend years and years studying to obtain a degree to get a job when that degree simply isn't necessary for that job? Obviously you don't NEED to get a degree, but in today's environment, most employers expect it, so your hands are forced. This seems like a gigantic waste for all of society.<issue_comment>username_1: > > Because nobody has a crystal ball to see the future. > > > By having a reasonably broad curriculum, a university can prepare the students for a good deal of possible scenarios, which gives them flexibility. No more jobs in your specific subfield? With the adequate background, provided by a good university, you can pivot fields to keep earning your pay. Been there, done that, it's quite handy :) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The universities don't have much of a choice in this matter. Whenever the university issues a degree in [topic], it's staking its name and reputation that the recipient of the degree is competent in [topic]. If the degree holder turns out to be unable to answer basic questions on [topic], then the university's degree is worthless and its reputation in tatters. For example, I would genuinely wonder what a university is doing if its physics graduates don't understand classical electromagnetism. In other words, the real crux of your question is: > > Obviously you don't NEED to get a degree, but in today's environment, most employers expect it, so your hands are forced. > > > If most of the things that are taught in degrees aren't needed, why are most employers expecting a degree? That is a question for another Stack Exchange. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: University education is about education, not training. The university wants to contribute to an educated citizenry, not just industrial drones. You can, as you know, turn yourself into a drone, but don't try to make university education so impoverished, please. I studied mathematics. My daughter studied philosophy. Neither of those is training for anything specific. But we both learned how to think and to evaluate and to learn. But even in CS you are very wrong about what is useful and what is useless. The most important skill isn't your use of existing technology to do something that someone wants done. The most important skill is to understand what should be built. Only then can you participate in the future without damaging the world and civilization. There was a news article in the past couple of days that discusses the fact that at some large and important companies, Google in this case, are asking why are we building this. It is a very important question that you will get answered if you study history, philosophy, ethics, psychology, literature, etc. You won't get a sufficient answer by studying Java and DotNet and SQL. European education is a bit different and the necessary education in what makes us human is normally taught to students before they enter the university. In the US, it is a continuous process, but secondary education often falls short, so, traditionally in the US it has been an important aspect of an undergraduate education. Graduate education is for specialization, but even there, it isn't just the technology to build todays tchotchkes. What seems useless to you is what makes the future of the planet and its people viable. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I must admit that your question reads like a bit of a rant but the basic question still deserves an answer. You are right that most of the "factual content" of the college education is not used by most employees after their university education. However, "learning facts" should not be the primary goal of a college education. Ultimately, the goal of higher education is (or at least I strongly believe should be) to teach students three main abilities: critical thinking, independent learning, and communication. These are tools that are universally applicable and allow graduates to be adaptable to an ever-changing environment. The issue is that you can't teach those abilities in the abstract—you need to have something to build that around and that's where the formal content of the college curriculum comes into play. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/12	4,028	17,070	<issue_start>username_0: I just started my 2-yr postdoc, but things have gone sour really fast. So, I really need some career advice as to what to do. Over several months, I did the interviews with the supervisor and the lab and things seems to be really great (although I got a strange feeling that the lab members were trying to deter me from joining, see below). I joined the lab last week, and the condition of the lab and the equipment was really poor (but the supervisor said it was great...), but I got along with the supervisor and the lab great. However, this week took a turn for the worse. My supervisor has been vicious with me for several days and we have had a major conflict almost everyday this week, which I believe is a bad sign when something like this happens when starting a position. The other members of the lab said that the supervisor is frequently is overbearing, micromanages, and has "lost it" on them for reasons as asking for vacation. As I said, I met with these lab members via Skype over the summer and I felt that there were trying to warn me not to join the lab, and today they confessed that this was true. One of the lab members did file a complaint against the supervisor. The situation was that the supervisor typically makes numerous phone calls during weekends and the one time the lab member did not answer, the supervisor was furious with her. She then made a complaint to the appropriate person in the department. I am concerned about the supervisor and more concerned that this is not going to help my career at all since the mentoring by this supervisor is poor quality (this is how the other lab members feel after being there for almost 2 years. They are leaving immediately after that). She has promised a good work environment, additional pay to the NIH base pay, flexible time off and great equipment, but all of this is not true. The other lab members confirmed that this happened to them too. Basically, this supervisor promises a lot of things and does not deliver. So with all of that being said, is it wise for me to leave ASAP and look for a better opportunity OR is it best to stay put and complete the 2-year postdoc (or most of it). I don't favor leaving a job this soon and would rather give things a chance, but this place has been extremely BAD. Furthermore, the lab members feel that this is not a good workplace and confirm that the behavior of the supervisor will continue (they have their reasons for staying, but really regret joining). For these reasons, I don't feel staying is beneficial to be perfectly honest. I would rather not have to ask for advice about this, but I am in an uncomfortable situation and any advice is extremely appreciated. Hopefully I expressed this clearly... I'm kind of a mess right now. EDIT: I have resigned from the position. But, I have obtained a new position with someone I know well and has helped the careers of people I know. Aside from the conflict with the supervisor and the experiences of other people in the lab, the position I'm resigning from just does not offer any development for my career as per my impression prior to arriving in the lab. Unfortunately, what attracted me to this position was not the reality. Even giving this position more time would not change the condition of the equipment I have to work with (and the lack of equipment), the lack of safety practices in the lab, nor would it change the supervisor's lack of organization, leadership and the control of her emotions. Also, I discovered that all of the current lab members plan on leaving within the next few months. Past/current postdocs typically do not last more than 2 years.<issue_comment>username_1: With all else the same, given an choice between staying in a bad situation that cannot be resolved or leaving it, the decision is easy. Of course, all is never exactly the same. When the balance is uneven, I hold at the point where you are that following your passions and desire for healthy growth is the most important factor. You can and will end up in situations where leaving has worse consequences than staying and you must therefore resolve the issues at hand or let go (and stay where you are). Is this case really to that point for you? I sense not. As you weigh the various concerns, realize that you owe the lab only the respect that you will never be dishonest. The promptly, professionally delivered statement that "I am leaving because this is not the fit that I really wanted" is all that is required at the end of the day. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: The quicker you leave the easier it will be for everyone. A postdoc position is usually a transitional stage which isn’t good, overall. Thus, don’t waste your time on one which is already gone bad. There are professors looking for postdocs by the dozens. Spend all resources and time you can muster in networking , and try to avoid your predatory supervisor. You don’t owe this person anything. When you got all contacts you need for the best, take your time at home packing, and then let them know you’re leaving. Probably your supervisor will be taken aback (usually postdocs are desperate and will just accept any abuse) and show nicer faces. Don’t fall for apologetic rhetoric, and just move on. Make sure you make good friends with your labmates, ad they’re probably good fellas. Good luck! Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: You, and only you, are responsible for your own happiness. If you don't leave, you'll be miserable for 2 years. A poor postdoc now might also damage your future career, although probably not fatally. Are you OK with that? If so, by all means stay; otherwise, nobody is going to intervene to improve the equipment in the lab, make your supervisor less abusive, make you happy, etc. In the end it's your decision to make, but I would strongly incline towards leaving. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Having left early once won't impact your career. Everyone who's worth working with will understand. It can even get you some extra respect in an interview. So if you don't have a record of leaving fast already: Start job hunting. Leave when you have something new or it is getting to bad there. Meanwhile: know you don't be there for long and put on your (professional) whatever face and enjoy the show. Or at least don't let it get to you. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: 1. Start looking for new positions immediately and make this your primary occupation. 2. If you can cope with the working conditions, consider staying until you find a new position. Set a high bar for this. Your mental health matters more than having the job, presumably. Workplace bullying might very well be illegal where you are; consider gathering evidence and submitting it to the local police or relevant university services, if those are reasonable options. 3. If you can not cope with the position, leave. In any case, tell your former advisors and other senior people whom you know that the person is abusive. You should have been explicitly warned before going there. Spread the word among all the people you know well, and who trust your judgment. Spread the word of their abusiveness by telling what happened, with evidence where possible. You can also tell how you reacted to the events. Either do not describe your guesses about the motivations and other unverifiable factors, or at least be very explicit about what they are. Stick to the truth, because you might be challenged, and then you will rather defend your version of what happened, rather than your guesses about what someone else was thinking and feeling. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: Your supervisor has a department manager. Escalate this. There is no reason that this should be treated any differently to abuse from a manager in any other place of work. Before you do though, make sure you have evidence to show. If you were promised a top notch lab, make sure you have evidence of how the current state of the lab and equipment is not up to standard. If you were promised extra money, get your pay slip out. If you were promised flexible time off, make sure you have all the emails from when you have requested time off and been refused. And most of all, make sure your meetings with her are never just one-to-one, so that there are always witnesses to her behaviour. You may find that her boss doesn't like her either, and they'd like a reason to get rid of her. Worst case, the department manager does nothing. In that case you're no worse off than you are now. From what your describing, it's already about as bad as it gets. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I had a similar experience during my PhD, not a postdoc position. I sucked all up and stayed. Had my share of supervisor-bullying and made my days really bad. However, I managed to finish my PhD and got my degree. I can now say to my ex-supervisor: F U without any remorse or mind conscience. I thought of finding another supervisor, but no one can guarantee you a fair supervisor! You might end up with even worse supervisor (that is the truth). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Simply submitting to the abusive manager does nothing to break the cycle of abuse. If you are convinced that the manager is wrong, then you must do something. Escalating the issue in the organization is a good thing, something that has low downside for you and which you can do right now. If the organization defends the supervisor, then you don't just have an abusive boss: you also have an abusive boss's boss. Submitting to an abusive boss's boss does nothing to break the cycle of abuse. If you are convinced that the boss's boss is wrong, then you must do something. If you have exhausted your options for escalation, then you have another choice: To get THE LAW involved or to leave quietly. In any case, *begin documenting your interactions with your supervisor very carefully right now!* Make a log of what the supervisor says using direct quotes. Explain the context. Write the time and place, and name each person who would serve as a witness. If the abuse is not by words, then write exactly what it is the supervisor is doing. Again, note context, time, location, and any other persons who may serve as a witness. It is not necessary to get their consent, but it would be helpful if you knew which of them would probably help you. Document this crap as long as you are willing to. Then, if you are in the US or the UK (or Canada, Western Europe, or another liberal country) get a consultation with a lawyer. This should not cost more than a hundred dollars / hundred pounds / dozen lunches / whatever. Even if you decide not to speak with a lawyer, retain your paperwork; don't give it away; keep a copy at home. Let somebody you trust at the institution know that you are doing this. The paperwork will help you emotionally later when you begin to doubt your own rationale for leaving, and it may help the lawsuit that another employee does file. Good luck! Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: Clearly, you don't want to be there anymore. But I do understand your hesitation to just leave. Inevitably, you'll have to tell the people you're applying to and possibly future employers why you left. Then they'll have the option to trust you, or worry that you're just the kind of person who complains and doesn't play well with others. Unfortunately, due to the power dynamic, and the fact that other post docs choose to stay, you may not be framed in the best light. I have two recommendations to overcome that: 1. As someone else said, file a complaint, or at least talk to the person above your supervisor. Preferably something in writing, but do whatever you're most comfortable with. That way you can tell any incredulous interviewer that at least attempted to make the situation better - and who knows, you might actually make the situation better, if not for you, maybe for the other postdocs. 2. The other thing I would recommend is reaching out to your own Ph.D. advisor if you had a good relationship (or any Ph.D. mentor you had along the way). Scientific communities are pretty small overall. So it's possible your advisor could reach out to any potential NEW employers and explain your situation, so when you have to explain why you left after such a short time, they've already heard it from a PEER. That way the power dynamic of that specific conversation is shifted. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Lots of good advice in the answers already, but one additional factor to consider: the next time you apply for a position, you will quite possibly be asked for a reference from your most recent supervisor. If you leave this situation ASAP, you will have the option of saying "I was only there for two weeks, I suggest talking to my previous supervisor instead." OTOH, if you tough it out for two years - or even a few months - this abusive supervisor will almost certainly be writing the reference that you take to your next job application. This might not be a good thing. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_11: I am sorry to say, but I think the "leave now" answers are false. You don't know enough from this position yet: your description clearly shows that you are under the influence of a bad first impression. You don't know your other opportunities yet: if you would know, you would know, what to do, and this question wouldn't exist. The other people saying that the supervisor is... bad, are still here, why? So: 1. Don't do anything before you don't learn this place a little bit better. 2. Don't do anything before your other opportunities aren't enough clear for you. Learn and watch. And look for the alternatives, silently. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: KEEP A RECORD OF EVERYTHING. Keep a record of: * every email; * every meeting; * every conversation, even casual, in the corridor, that you have had with: * your supervisor; * the other lab members. In the future, you want to be sure that you remain objective and remember facts, not impressions. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_13: I'd focus on your goal and weigh if this environment is the best option among any other options/opportunities you may have for the current circumstances and your goal. To share my experience and a learnt lesson, it's not wise to escalate emotionally (such as making intense fight- often becoming a prolonged bad relationship), but also not good to stay long in an unhappy environment being silent and isolated. If you can address and resolve it without hurting the relationship it would be great, but if the behavior is repeating to others as well, maybe the chance isn't that high. Like someone mentioned above, try to be objective and observe the person, interactions and most importantly yourself (how you perceive and feel and why, and what you really want to do about it for the best of your interest). You can be clear of what to do if you know what you want. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_14: As someone who is in the same situation (i'm currently moving from a bad postdoc lab), just find a new position. Don't wait until things get worse. If the PI is not as everyone says, there's a high probability that they will sabotage you if you don't follow on their steps. This in itself counts as a signal of a bad lab. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_15: I have to commend the OP for making the decision to leave, which is the right one, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, I only know this now where it's too late. When I was in the exact same situation, I felt like I had to suffer through and I did. I just went through a 2-years Post-doc under the direction of what fits the description of a narcissistic PI with all it entails from exploitation, unreasonable demands, public shaming, aggression, rudeness, threats, and all that without any real underlying cause or justification. I have fulfilled all my duties and more and always at highest standards. Though, in the end, I'm not sure I will be an author on a fraction of the publications from the work I was involved in. Right now, I'm being bullied into stepping down from a first-author article I prepared. I was made all these promises in the beginning and I thought I found paradise. Though, other lab members had been oddly quiet when I mentioned such promises and so I realised quickly that something wasn't right. What I know now is that loosing a couple of months by leaving a just started position is not a loss at all, it's a win. It frees up time and opportunities to find a better place and be productive, because abuse and exploitation are not beneficial to one's career or well-being. I just finished Post-doc and am looking at almost zero research output and I'm receiving immensely rude and aggressive e-mails almost on a daily basis. My advice now is, as soon as you realise that something isn't right, trust your instincts and what people in the lab tell you. Most likely, you are not an exception and leaving is the best choice. Upvotes: 0
2018/10/12	512	2,092	<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for a foreign research internship/ scholarship that requires the applicants to first approach their potential adviser over email. I had sent my first email around the end of August and then a follow up email around September 18. I heard back from the professor the next day, who said that my application will go through a pipeline and then he will let me know if there is a further possibility for me. It has already been a month since that. Now here's the thing, the deadline for application is approaching fast and there is a need for a number of documents to be prepared and processed both by me and my potential supervisor before that. Also, my institute has declared an official holiday of about two weeks, so it won't be possible to get the signatures and stamps from my home institute before that (nearly October 25 and the deadline is November 1). Should I send a second email? If I should, then how can I structure such an email without sounding impatient and unprofessional?<issue_comment>username_1: Too late to be useful, but I'm on an "unanswered questions" kick, so... Yes, I would contact him again. The worst that can happen is that he is annoyed; the best that can happen is that you get your internship. How to structure it? Concisely. Like this: > > Dear Professor, Sorry to pester you, but if we move ahead with this, I will need to get the signatures/stamps from my home institute this week. Is there any update about my status? I am still highly interested in this opportunity. Thank you, -Name. > > > Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: A phone call may work better in this case. Obtain the professor's desk phone number and call with Skype credit. Try finding out the best time to reach them by calling theirs admins first. Before the phone call, memorize and rehearse the first few sentences that you want to say, and let the rest flow based on the tone of the talk. This allows you to manage the situation smoothly. About your email, try saying something like "would you like me to send it again?" Upvotes: 0
2018/10/12	1,262	5,390	<issue_start>username_0: My paper is rejected based on a wrong (I am almost certain that it is wrong) comment of a single reviewer and the content is as below > > The manuscript focuses on the problem of "Some Technical Things". This problem has been solved in several papers of "Mr. X" : See, for example "This Article". > > > But "This Article" of "Mr. X" is totally different from what we have done, and addresses a completely different problem. I don't know how I can show my objection to this unfair review that has wasted my time for two months! I sent an e-mail to the journal's editor but he did not respond. Do you have any suggestions that one can do in such situations?<issue_comment>username_1: 1. Wait. The editor has to assess if your claim is correct. People are busy. In addition, they may need to ask a more expert colleague for a quick opinion; this is not a full round of review, but still it will take several days. I would give them at least two weeks, personally (but publication times are heavily discipline-dependent). 2. If the editor agrees with the reviewer, consider seriously the possibility that they are correct and you are wrong. Ask privately for another opinion to a collaborator/colleague you are in good terms with, just to understand where the truth lies. 3. If you conclude that the referee is completely bonkers and their claim is ridiculously wrong, ignore their remark, submit somewhere else, and make a note for the future that this is not a good journal. 4. If you conclude that the referee is wrong, but their one is a reasonable mis-interpretation and someone else may get it wrong, too, then revise your introduction: mention mr. X's papers and explain in your manuscript why they don't solve your problem. Then, submit somewhere else. (Note that case 4 is much more common than case 3.) Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You know what the referee said in the part of the review meant to be seen by the authors, and you know that the paper was rejected. You don't have necessarily have access to all the communication between the editor and the referee. In particular, there are often check boxes for the referee indicating how she or he ranks the importance of the topic of the paper, the relevance of the topic with respect to the journal and the readership, and the priority for publication. You also don't necessarily know what's already in the hopper for this journal. They might have a backlog of extremely high quality papers, and are only accepting the best of the best. There are certainly enough papers that receive good reviews that don't get published -- just like there are tons of good grants that don't get funded. So, there's a chance that your paper was an excellent paper, and just not a high priority for that particular journal at this particular time. There's also the possibility that the referee is right about how applicable the work of Mr. X is, and you just don't see it. (No offense meant -- all we know about you are your initials, and that you say you've had a paper rejected). Maybe what the referee is trying to say is that Mr. X's work is solid enough, and even though you have a new approach, the conclusions drawn are similar enough that a revisit isn't high enough priority for publication in that journal. We have no way of knowing. If you feel this isn't on the mark, when you resubmit elsewhere, be sure to include the work of Mr. X in your discussion, and show the reader why your work is different from that work, and why your current efforts are important to consider. The best advice I can offer is to depersonalize the process. You'll hear a lot of stuff during peer review, and it's real easy to let it get to you. Don't let it get to you. With experience, you'll learn what your referee pool wants to see, and you'll give it to them, and have an easier time pushing your papers through. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The dumb reviewer is a common problem, and fits Occam's razor much better than the dangerous conspiracy that would destroy a prestigious journal's treasured reputation if the truth got out. The dumb reviewer is especially problematic because not only are they not qualified to provide a helpful review of your paper's technical content, the fact that they got themselves in over their head by accepting it means they are doubly motivated to find a way out. Besides of course actually putting in the (especially hard for them) effort of comprehending the paper. The easiest and most frustrating response one gets from such reviewers is to seize upon a "fatal flaw" which would make the paper completely unsuitable for the journal and not worth trying to fix... or finish reading, fortunately for them. Sending an email to the editor may make you feel better (I've done it) but won't accomplish anything. You certainly shouldn't rant at them. What you can do that actually matters is write a better paper. If the dumb reviewer hadn't gone for the easy out, they instead could have demanded you to explain far better what your novel results are and how they fit into prior research. This needs to be something even a dumb reviewer can immediately understand when they read your abstract and intro. If they are guessing, wrongly or not, you didn't do your job well enough. Two months is nothing, by the way. Upvotes: 3
2018/10/12	903	3,634	<issue_start>username_0: A little background first, as this is maybe not familiar to people outside Germany: In Germany there are universities that can not award PhDs. So called "Hochschulen/Fachhochschulen". This means they have to cooperate with a university that can award PhDs at which the student is then enrolled as PhD student and also has an official PhD supervisor. But the work (and in practice most of the supervision) is done at the "Hochschule". Also notice that in Germany getting a PhD is normally "thesis only", so no course work. Also in this setting the student already has a Masters, which is a requirement in Germany for starting a PhD. If someone wants to partner with universities in the US to get a PhD, will the student have to pay regular fees / tuition even if it is "thesis only"? Or do you even need to be officially enrolled at the US university if you have a professor there who agrees the supervise you?<issue_comment>username_1: Even when cooperating with a German university, the candidate will be subject to any terms or requirements given by the "Promotionsordnung" of the university. (It is true that many of those do not require any additional coursework, but there are formal criteria to meet nonetheless). Therefore I assume that, also in your envisioned scenario, the student would have to meet any formal requirements that the US university usually imposes on their PhD candidates. This may include not only paying for, but actually taking the coursework for example. The fact that the German "Hochschule" may be satisfied with "thesis only" work will not be relevant then if the US university is the one awarding their degree. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In the situation you describe, you're not really having an external supervisor. You're a PhD candidate in a university and your research happens to be conducted in a Fachhochschule. The central issue as you said is that the Fachhochschule isn't accredited to deliver doctoral degrees. So what you are asking is: can I join a graduate program in a US university and conduct research in a German Fachhochschule. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's seems like a very long shot. * First you will need to be accepted in a graduate program with (presumably) a Bachelor from a Fachhochschule. I think just that is going to be a major obstacle, especially if you're aiming at a prestigious institution (see: [Is it realistic to apply to a Master at MIT, Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Stanford with a Bachelor of a German Fachhochschule?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/34457/10643)) * Then IF that works out the Fachhochschule’s requirements will be irrelevant. You will in many cases have courses requirements, have to pass quals exams, and all other requirements from the US graduate program. Hardly compatible with you living on another continent. * The research typically conducted in Fachhoschulen can be very different (typically more applied or translational) than what is done in universities. It might be hard to meet the university's standards for a PhD thesis. Specifically to your question "will the student have to pay regular fees / tuition even if it is "thesis only"?" the answer is quite probably yes. Usually graduate students and their supervisors seek funding to cover all costs including tuition and stipend. Maybe you should re-think your strategy and possible try to do a Masters in a German University first. Then applying to a US graduate program might be more plausible. Alternatively you could look at having co-supervision with a professor in a local university. Upvotes: 3
2018/10/12	916	3,753	<issue_start>username_0: Today, I had a PhD interview and the interviewing professor asked me about my plans after completion of PhD. I clearly stated that I wanted to fund my own startup and setup my own venture, to which he cross-questioned that why do I need a PhD for founding a company. Even though, I tried to to clarify that my venture would be based more on the research that I'm going to do, he seemed a bit unsatisfied with the answer. Finally, he told me that if I had any queries or had to say anything, then I'm free to mail him regarding this. My real answer to his question "why do I need a PhD for founding a company" was that "I didn't want my years worth of research work to end up in some corner of an archiving website, where no one is going to take a second glance later. So, I wanted my research to bloom into a company for the public benefit." But I was extremely hesitant to give this answer to him back then since it could have implied that his work is also in "some corner of an archiving website, where no one is going to take a second glance later" which would be extremely demeaning. But, now that I think about it, I feel that I should clarify this stating this proper reason in an email which I gave above. Would it be a wise idea to do this? And if it isn't, is there any other way of putting it to express my idea to him? All inputs are appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: He is asking you why you need a PhD, he is not asking you why you want to sell your research. So, I think the focus of your response is misplaced; why does it have to be presented in a way that if you're not a CEO + PhD then you're a loser who will spend the life publishing shelf fillers? Instead of comparing to (you + PhD + company) versus (other + PhD + no company), think (you + No PhD + company) versus (you + PhD + company.) There are dozens of way you can cast this decision positively without dissing the interviewers: * The vigorous training in scientific thinking will enhance my credentials as a CEO. * I would love to work more closely with the R&D so that I can better tailor my company's strategy. * I love to challenge myself, PhD is a great milestone, a trial for me to hone my grit. * I would love to see my research idea turned into a product that people would love, it's always been my dream. * There is a lack of research perspective in the current industry, I wish to change that. Generally, try to project the difference between the normal you and a better you, not a better you and the inferior you. Some of the negative comments, as you said, may be hurtful even it's not targeted at anyone but yourself. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: First, a direct answer, but watch for caveats afterward. Yes, you can certainly respond to clarify. He has actually invited you to do this. So, there is no problem. However, from the question and a comment, you seem to have a bit of a misunderstanding about a couple of things. Least important is that you think your reply will insult him. Under those circumstances you would be unwise to say that, whether it turns out to be accurate or not. But the most important thing is that you seem to have a misunderstanding about the difference between research and development. You seem, to me at least, to be focused on development, and if that is really the case, it might turn out that the faculty of the institution won't consider the work to be appropriate for a doctorate. That isn't necessarily true, however, but research is about extending knowledge, not about building a product. It would be good if you can clarify that in your own mind before you reply to the professor. Maybe you don't need a PhD, just a development team. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/12	886	3,460	<issue_start>username_0: I am about to submit a paper to <https://www.siam.org/Conferences/CM/Main/sdm19> (deadline is today) and I have supplementary material contains further evidence, proofs, examples and the like. I want to reference my supplementary material, like this: > > ... however, we found that the runtime is polynomial [24] and that ... > > > and then in the references: > > [24] <NAME>, This One Paper - Supplementary material. www.github.com/asdf/wer > > > I found no guideline regarding this. Can I simply put my reference material on a website (e.g. github), put the link into the References section and cite the reference in the text? I have not seen this in any other paper, but I want to cite the supplementary material several times and using a footnote might be confusing: If I put the footnote at the first page I need to cite (e.g. page 3) and I need to cite it at page 9 the last time, people will be confused where to find this footnote. Note: The conference is NOT double-blind, but only single-blind. (I don't know their names, but they know my name.)<issue_comment>username_1: He is asking you why you need a PhD, he is not asking you why you want to sell your research. So, I think the focus of your response is misplaced; why does it have to be presented in a way that if you're not a CEO + PhD then you're a loser who will spend the life publishing shelf fillers? Instead of comparing to (you + PhD + company) versus (other + PhD + no company), think (you + No PhD + company) versus (you + PhD + company.) There are dozens of way you can cast this decision positively without dissing the interviewers: * The vigorous training in scientific thinking will enhance my credentials as a CEO. * I would love to work more closely with the R&D so that I can better tailor my company's strategy. * I love to challenge myself, PhD is a great milestone, a trial for me to hone my grit. * I would love to see my research idea turned into a product that people would love, it's always been my dream. * There is a lack of research perspective in the current industry, I wish to change that. Generally, try to project the difference between the normal you and a better you, not a better you and the inferior you. Some of the negative comments, as you said, may be hurtful even it's not targeted at anyone but yourself. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: First, a direct answer, but watch for caveats afterward. Yes, you can certainly respond to clarify. He has actually invited you to do this. So, there is no problem. However, from the question and a comment, you seem to have a bit of a misunderstanding about a couple of things. Least important is that you think your reply will insult him. Under those circumstances you would be unwise to say that, whether it turns out to be accurate or not. But the most important thing is that you seem to have a misunderstanding about the difference between research and development. You seem, to me at least, to be focused on development, and if that is really the case, it might turn out that the faculty of the institution won't consider the work to be appropriate for a doctorate. That isn't necessarily true, however, but research is about extending knowledge, not about building a product. It would be good if you can clarify that in your own mind before you reply to the professor. Maybe you don't need a PhD, just a development team. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/12	1,171	4,891	<issue_start>username_0: Let's say you had a doctoral student who you were main supervisor for {~advisor) throughout their data collection and most of their write-up, but just before they finished they changed to another main supervisor and you became deputy supervisor (you moved to a new institution in another country and they wanted someone close at hand). Let's say you then counted this student on your CV as supervised to completion as main supervisor because this is 90% true and because these CV points are important for things like promotion. The plan if anyone ever called you out on this would be to just explain the situation as it is and say that 90% of the work felt like it justified the claim. The student is in Sweden (where the regulations say students have the right to supervisor change without even having to make a case) and the supervisor is a Lecturer (~associate prof) at a UK university who wants to make Reader (~full prof) some day. Is this a bad idea? What is likely to go wrong?<issue_comment>username_1: The fact that you ask, makes me think that you believe it would be at least a bit wrong. Anything that looks like dishonesty in an academic's statements or record can be very serious. I suggest two things. One is to be completely honest about it as you have been here. But the other is to talk to the student in question and perhaps get a statement/recommendation from him/her about your helpfulness. A recommendation from a student for a professor might be a very powerful statement to a hiring committee. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: What could go wrong: 1. You might not be given a chance to explain it. 2. Once someone realizes you fudged this detail a little, it might call all of the other details in your cv into question. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: On a generic CV, I would simply make a section of "Graduate students supervised and co-supervised", and include this student. In this context it wouldn't be necessary to go into detail about whether the supervision was "to completion". But for something like a promotion dossier, where you're asked to tick boxes, I would go to whoever is responsible for overseeing the evaluation process (department head, promotion committee chair, etc), explain the situation, and ask what you should do. If at all possible, get an answer in writing. Then, when you fill out the form, attach a note saying something like: > > One student was supervised by me for about 90% of their thesis work (stages X, Y, Z), and then changed supervisors for the last 10%; I am officially listed as their deputy supervisor. I spoke with Department Head Smith on October 24, 2018, and she advised that it was appropriate to include this student as "supervised to completion". > > > If Smith says "no, don't count it", then you attach a similar note saying "Smith said not to include this student, but I believe that this is a similar accomplishment to supervising a student to completion". Since academic achievement is generally self-reported and "honor system", this means that any attempt to "cheat" is seen as a serious ethical offense. If someone on the evaluation committee is hostile to you, they could use something like this as ammunition to wreck your entire promotion case. ("Candidate says supervised to completion, but student's dissertation shows someone else as supervisor. Clear-cut fraud.") So that's what could go wrong. But if you disclose the situation, and get someone else to pre-approve the way you're filling the form, you eliminate the possibility; maybe it won't be counted in your favor, but at least you can't be accused of fraud. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: ### tl;dr: Just check the binding regulations. You're asking the wrong people. Some of us think it's bad, some of us don't. In some universities the criteria are this way, in some - that way. So just open the administrative/academic/promotion-related regulations for your university or department, and see what it says: What exactly is supposed to count for promotions? If the wording is not entirely clear, consult the head of your department. Now, you might be wondering "Ah, but what if he tells me to change my CV, while in fact the promotion committee would have never looked into it?" Well, maybe. But: 1. It's unethical to do so. 2. The expectation of benefit/damage over both cases is not high enough for this to be appealing even if you have no ethical scruples (or if you think the promotion process is otherwise unfair). having said all of the above I must also tell you that: Look, you didn't supervise that PhD to completion. What can I say? You just didn't. You had planned to do it; you would have done it, had the circumstances allowed it; you put in most of the effort towards it - sure. But at the end of the day, that's not what happened. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/12	2,293	9,786	<issue_start>username_0: Tl;dr: ------ I have serious issues with self-confidence and indecision that have already negatively affected my academic career and that persist despite significant improvement. What strategies can I use to prevent these issues from impairing my decision-making when applying to grad school? Background ---------- I graduated last year from a top-tier college with a major in physics. Speaking only about performance in my classes, I was probably somewhere near the top of my class, and I had a lot of advanced math/physics coursework with a 3.9 (cumulative and in-major). Unfortunately, "great at coursework" might be the only thing I have going for me. I took 5 years to graduate, due in roughly equal parts to a Junior year change of major and burnout. More seriously, the sum total of work I did in my five years and four summers was a single summer job in my school's administrative department. I think this would look very strange to outside observers, since my school is known undergraduate participation in research. It's difficult to understand how I could think this way saying out loud, but: I had a really paranoid expectation that, not only would no one be interested in taking me on as a student, but that they would chew me out for even bringing up the subject, and confirm my suspicions that I wasn't smart/diligent/disciplined enough to succeed at research. I am also a pretty disorganized person (and I could be pretty lazy as an undergraduate), so the mere thought of this possibility was frightening enough for me not to even try to formulate summer plans. After I graduated, as you might expect, I did nothing for a while, but eventually applied to a DOE internship program and got in. I approached this with more or less the same attitude that I had toward summer research - "If I don't try to figure out what/who I want to work with ahead of time, I can't fail to live up to my expectations" - with the result that I ended up being chosen to do something I didn't have any interest in. I did well enough that I got offered the chance to stay, which I did, having no other way to make money. It looks like I can get my name on a couple of publications (possibly one as sole first-author), but it's not stuff that I think will be relevant to my future interests, and frankly I'm not proud of it. It's not shoddy work or anything, I just haven't felt challenged. I have been working here for 10 months. Now --- Although it's not my calling, this DOE job has given me confidence that I would enjoy research (and given me some universally-applicable skills). I have done well at finding ways to make my work more interesting, and slogging through it when there's just no other way. Most of the careers I am interested in either require a PhD or seem easier to break into with some graduate education. Also, I'm just genuinely excited about the opportunity to do some cool research for a few/several years. So I think grad school might be for me. But there are some problems: * I only came to this realization very recently (previously I thought I just wasn't prepared enough), and I am way behind on applications, having not seriously started. I'm taking the subject GRE in a couple of weeks, but that's the extent of my preparation. I doubt that I'll be able to build a solid application in the next couple of months. But if I don't apply this cycle, there will be more than three years between my graduation date and the earliest possible start date. * I am really unsure about what I want to study. There are at least 5 or 6 fields I'm seriously interested in, not all of which are part of a typical physics department, and I don't know how to narrow it down to just a couple, let alone to a manageable number of schools or research groups. * My self-confidence and social problems have improved a lot, but they're still pretty bad. I have a hard time imagining that I'd be accepted by a program in which I'd be happy to work. I definitely don't feel like I deserve it. * Probably the worst: I have no one in my life to talk to about this. I have no friends who live within 1000 miles of me, and few who live further away. I feel uncomfortable bringing it up with my mentors/more senior coworkers, mostly due to pure social anxiety. I recognize that it's a little crazy and very stupid, but this has all amounted to a gigantic mental block that makes it really hard for me to think clearly about some tough decisions. Does it make sense to wait another year to apply, or is it now or never? How do I narrow my application focus? Who can I talk to for general advice? I have no idea to answer these questions, and it's challenging for me to even ask them. What can I do to make them more approachable?<issue_comment>username_1: This doesn't sound like typical [burnout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_burnout) or [Imposter Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome). Maybe a bit of anti-climax and a let down. But, I think you have more resources than you think you do. I'm guessing that the people you work with at DOE have a lot of ideas, suggestions, and, more important, contacts in the academic world. Talk to them. See what they think of as options for a young scholar. See if you can leverage their contacts. But, as to the indecision about which field to study within, say, Physics, many US universities won't require you to choose a specialization instantly to join a program. If you choose a university with a large program/faculty where there is a lot of things going on, you could start out and spend some time looking around for an advisor and a specialization. Most US universities will require some coursework for a person entering with a BS degree so you can use those to evaluate both faculty and interests. You might have to initially rule out a few of the possibilities when you apply, but you will probably also have lots of options when you arrive. Look for a university with a large and diverse faculty who support a lot of different sub-fields. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: As a current doctoral student, I agree with username_1's comments - particularly about connecting with your DOE colleagues, tapping their academic knowledge/networks, and getting perspective on graduate school, timing, etc. Many of these colleagues would likely be flattered that you're asking their advice on graduate school. If I were in your shoes (and actually, I was in pretty much the same boat 3 years ago) I'd be less concerned about waiting a year to apply to programs than about wasting a lot of time/money/effort/psychic energy on producing a lot of poor applications right now that might only net an offer at a low-quality program or a program that isn't really going to give you the opportunities to do what you want later. My own grad school application process was a learning experience in itself... I was able to take 6 months to really learn about the culture, resources, structure and focus of various programs even as I was trying to figure out exactly what it was I was looking for. I cold-called/emailed many current students at various programs who listened to me talk about my somewhat-unfocused interests and were able to interpret them into areas/fields that meshed with specific scholars/programs/institutions so I started to see patterns both in my own interests and in the institutions that would be a good fit for me. Long term, it is much better to be a year older and in a good program that supports students well and places students into good jobs. Racking up another year of relevant research experience while being surrounded by people who can help you compile a really strong application package sounds like a win-win to me. Rushing to submit a half-baked package because of some self-imposed, imagined life-timeline is definitely a path to less optimal outcomes. On a separate, but equally important note, it might be extremely helpful for you to consider talking with a therapist (in person, online, whatever works for you) to better understand the source of your challenges with social anxiety and self-confidence. As someone who struggles with both these issues, I can say with certainty that graduate school will only compound your pre-existing challenges, which could lead to burnout, low performance or failure. Even the most successful graduate students question their abilities and performance at some point; emotional/social challenges make the experience even more difficult [gut-wrenching, soul-crushing] by an order of magnitude. Impostor syndrome is real and it's deadly for grad students. You mentioned several instances in which your coping skills caused you to act (or avoid action) in ways that hurt you academically and professionally. Take this year to understand the roots of your behavior and learn new ways of perceiving/responding to situations so that when you do get into that awesome program, you'll have the emotional strength and coping skills to help you be successful. If you don't have experience with therapy, I'd suggest a good place to start is by looking for practitioners who offer DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy). DBT is similar to CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) in that it is solution-focused (you'll spend some time understanding the roots of your current cognitive thought patterns, but more emphasis on developing & practicing new skills/techniques to help you going forward). However, DBT differs in that it also helps you address the emotions attached to your current thought patterns that often keep you from actually adopting those new behaviors. Grad school is a marathon, not a sprint, so take the time (and action) to prepare well. I wish you the best of luck in your journey. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/13	1,049	4,499	<issue_start>username_0: I'm teaching a course on computer-science paper writing, and I aim to turn my notes into a book for publication. It's designed specifically for Chinese postgraduate students who are writing their first paper. In my course (and thus in the book), I use examples from real publications by Chinese authors. Moreover, I use LaTeX's `\includegraphics{...}` so my quote is visually identical to what's in the paper. I then critique the writing: explaining what I feel is poor, and how I would improve it. My feeling is that doing this for a paragraph or two with attribution is unproblematic, but: * I'm using a large number of snippets, totaling maybe hundreds from different papers. * I'm aiming to include a section along the lines of "how to proofread and optimize writing", where I take a single (short) paper, and painstakingly revise a large portion of it. I'm tempted to go through the entire paper, because it contains many examples of writing issues I see repeatedly, and because it's not possible to write one part of a paper in isolation from the other parts. So... Question: How can I write a book about paper writing which contains real examples without violating copyright? I'm not sure what I need to know about this---it'd be my first book. --- Update: Thanks for the responses! Virtually all the papers come from the ACM, and each paper lists the copyright; maybe 90% have an ACM copyright. The ACM's [policies](https://libraries.acm.org/digital-library/policies) page says: > > Course Material - Permission granted without fee if the course material is produced without charge to the student. (See Commercially produced Course Packs below) > > > So I'm confident I haven't done anything wrong so far; there's no concerns about me handing out ACM-copyrighted papers. And our university has institutional access, so the students have access anyway. Also, at this point, I'm only just starting to put a book together, and I need to do this for the course whether or not a book eventualizes. I can simply keep copyright in mind as the book develops. Asking permission from the ACM seems to be a matter of sending an email; I don't know what they will say. (The authors might not be happy about me criticizing their writing.)<issue_comment>username_1: The best solution would be to get permission from each copyright holder for each paper/snippet you use. This is often seen in books ie a list of figures and a statement of permission from each author X and Y and Z. Using the material may be ok at the moment because it is for an educational purpose, but to put that into a book is probably going to be more a business/profit purpose which is different for copyright... But I get the impression that you don’t want to do this as you mention “I have hundreds....” You will need to check this properly with a copyright lawyer / legal team... Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Unfortunately, the best time to address such concerns would have been before collecting hundreds of examples, but there's no point in crying over spilled milk. username_1 is correct in that it's best to get express permission from each copyright holder. Yes, you are probably allowed quoting a certain amount, but as far as I know there's no international standard as to how much. If you publish a book and want it distributed worldwide, it's probably significantly more straightforward to get permission than to ensure compliance with different countries' copyright laws. I would certainly consult with a copyright lawyer or publisher before attempting the latter. A second option would be to stick to materials available under public licenses, such as (some of the) [Creative Commons licenses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_license#Types_of_licenses). These [explicitly allow](https://creativecommons.org/faq/#when-is-my-use-considered-an-adaptation) you to adapt the source material. Specifically, the CC-BY license that is commonly used in open access publishing should work for your purposes, as there is no clause stopping commercial use. I think this option is particularly useful for your plan of revising a large portion of a single paper. While I don't have any examples specific to academic writing, this approach has been used to great effect in R. Martin's book [Clean Code](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0132350882), where long examples of real-life open-source code are iteratively improved and refined. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/13	2,715	11,173	<issue_start>username_0: I have been an invigilator for several exams for large classes. I am not formally affiliated with the classes. One thing I routinely notice is that, despite warnings, there will always be some students who will very quickly and brazenly flip through the entire exam (booklet) and look at the questions before the exam starts. Some will do this very quickly to get a sense of the type of questions (no more than 10 seconds). What should be the appropriate response to this type of behaviour? The dilemma for me is, I don't want to expel a student for a less than 10 second glance at an exam, but I have been very annoyed by this type of brazen behaviour (even when I was an undergrad), which clearly constitutes cheating. Can someone please provide advice as to what to do for this minor type of cheating behaviour?<issue_comment>username_1: Simply give them a score penalty. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't know what an "invigilator" is exactly, but I presume that you merely watch the students to make sure they don't cheat, distribute exams and paper, and take the filled exams at the end, more or less. As such it isn't your role to decide on any kind of punishment for cheating. There are probably procedures in place to report cheating. Do it. What happens next isn't up to you. If there are no formal procedures, take the name of the student and inform whoever is in charge (the professor in charge of the course for example). Unless you have explicitly been told that it is okay, I would recommend being extra careful about expelling students. Students are afforded due process. If it is ever found out that peeking at the exam isn't something worth getting a zero on the exam or if the student is not found guilty, then having expelled them is something that will be terribly hard to correct. In my university the rule is to expel students only if their behavior causes trouble for the other students or in cases of person substitution (someone is taking the exam in the student's place). And even then, it's not the role of the proctor to decide this -- you have to get approval from the university president's office. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Penalize those that do it with the consequences for cheating - once you actually DO something then the rest will tend to stop... At the moment while you let it go or "condone it" through your inaction then they will continue... Expulsion is not the only punishment, a later exam with a “replacement fee” or an exam in the following semester are all valid sanctions used in different institutions. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: [As <NAME> says](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/118344/what-is-the-appropriate-response-to-students-who-peek-at-the-exam-questions-befo/118346#118346), since you are "not formally affiliated" with the course, you presumably don't have the authority on your own to decide what happens to these students. But you can discuss it with those who do have the authority - either the course instructors, or whatever person or committee handles exam cheating - point out that this occurs regularly, and ask for guidance on how it should be handled. You can offer suggestions for punishments or other countermeasures. As one possibility, the punishment for opening the exam early could be for the student to lose five minutes (or some other appropriate length of time) at the end of the exam - their exam would be collected early. This would more than negate any benefit of the cheating, while not being excessively punitive. After a punishment has been agreed, then when you pass out the exams, give a warning: "Do not pick up or open the exam until I give the word. If you do, you will [whatever punishment has been agreed]." Also make sure the cover of the booklet bears a similar written warning. If there are cameras in the exam room, you can mention this as well. Another thought is to create some sort of physical barrier. Put the exam inside a large sealed envelope, or put sticky seals around the edges to keep the booklet closed, or even paperclips. Innocent students will be reminded not to accidentally open the exam early; students who are tempted will have an additional psychological barrier; and students who insist on cheating will be more conspicuous. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I worry about some of the "solutions" suggested here. Do they make the problem worse? If you have a punishment process in place, but can only catch a few of the perpetrators, have you gained or lost something in fairness. I seriously doubt that ten seconds jump start is going to be significant unless the quiz only takes three minutes to complete. But the larger question is why would such a "strategy" benefit the student in the first place? Is the exam so long that it is nearly impossible for everyone other than slackers to complete it in time? If that is the case, just shortening it a bit will solve the problem without issue. On the other hand, an exam that long will also disadvantage some of your best students if they are more methodical. At the level of discrimination of most grading systems, it isn't necessary to test every idea in the class to learn who knows everything and who is in trouble generally. If you test the most important ideas then students who do well can be expected to know the less important things. Similarly for students who can't respond to the big ideas. Make it reasonable and the problem basically goes away. My advice to the professor, not the OP here, is to be a teacher, not a grader. Too many folks confuse the two. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: If it really makes a difference, you could put each exam in a sealed manila envelope. When you announce that the students can begin, then they can tear open the envelope and remove the exam. Lots of standardized tests use this approach. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_7: You could adopt the system used in Cambridge (UK) when I was an undergrad there. Candidates waited outside the exam room before the exam. The "time allowed" started from when the doors to the room were unlocked. The seating plan was pre-arranged and alphabetical, so only dumb students wasted a long time finding their own seat! These were "old-school" three-hour end-of-year exams, not short tests, so the small time penalty for being assigned the desk furthest from the door was not important anyway. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: This shouldn't be a problem as good exams are designed such that a student who has mastered the topic well, can finish it well within the deadline. A rule of thumb I try to stick to when making exams is that a 3 hour exam should be doable in less than 90 minutes if the subject is straightforward to you. This means that the 3 hour deadline is only relevant for students who lack proper preparation for the exam, but they are unlikely to do well anyway. So, any unfairness caused by some students peeking at the exam questions a few seconds before the exam starts, should be totally irrelevant. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: A minor infraction that gives the cheater a small advantage over an hour exam should receive an appropriate reduction in grading, along with a warning that any further infractions will not be tolerated. Reducing their overall score by something like 10% seems appropriate. Equipping each invigilator with a self-inked rubber stamp makes the process quiet, quick and clear: ![10% off - final chance](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ap4tP.png) Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: Are you also the one who enforces when they need to put their pencils down and turn in the exam after the time is up? If so I would suggest just mentally taking a note of which students looked at the exam first and make sure that they are the ones you go "visit" first to ask them to finish and turn in their exams – assuming that they take the entire duration, because if they don't and finish 10 minutes early, then I fail to see how "starting" 10 seconds early would give them any advantage, in which case I wouldn't try to do anything about it. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_11: You are the invigilator, not the exam board, so should not be taking major action without backing from the department. Your department should have a policy on this; if not ask them to clarify. I suggest two things: * Take a note of all transgressions and report them to the exam board. * Tell the candidates that you will be doing exactly that. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_12: Another strategy which could be used to prevent peeking is to let the students begin as soon as they get the booklet. You would distribute the booklets and collect the answers in the same order, to make sure the actual time each student spends on the exam is roughly the same. You would have to clearly explain the rules before you start distributing the questions, so that students don't lose time waiting when they are allowed to begin, or don't stop early when they still have time. The effect is roughly the same as when the exam is distributed in sealed envelopes, only without the hassle of preparing the envelopes. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_13: In my opinion, you are overthinking the issue. It is normal that the students want to look at the exam as soon as they have it in their hands. They spent weeks or months preparing it, they are anxious. Penalizing them for a peek is excessive. My advice is to save your energy to counter more serious forms of cheating. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_14: This is similar to the guy who won't yield his paper at the end of the exam. He's taking 1 or 4 minutes more time scratching out an answer than everyone else. Even if the advantage is slight, it's still unfair and angers other students. I dealt with this as follows: 1. Very clearly announce at the beginning that writing after time is called is cheating. 2. Very clearly announce that after I leave the room, no exam will be accepted. (When I was younger, I had a couple cases of students who, after 5 minutes still refused to hand me the paper. So I left and they chased me across campus, claiming that they hadn't heard me. Pah.) 3. When time is called, it's "You have 60 seconds to have the exam in my hand, and then I'm leaving." I think if you're clear up front, and rigidly enforce your rules, the students will learn very quickly not to monkey with you. So I'm suggesting that you: 1. Make it clear before handing out the booklets that peeking is cheating. 2. Make it clear that if you see someone peeking, you will take their booklet away and re-seat them in the front because they can't be trusted not to cheat and you want to be able to watch them. (The time taken to re-seat makes up for the extra time they stole at the beginning.) 3. Execute without fail. In small classes, one can afford to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. But this large lecture sections, there have to be clear rules absolutely enforced. If there are any cracks whatsoever, the most dishonest students will find them and run through them. Upvotes: 2
2018/10/13	823	3,591	<issue_start>username_0: More often I am approached by some of my students asking for my take in matters that are personal to them. Truly random matters from politics to relationships. What ought I do? If I offer the advice they come back for even more, if I fail they plead for an opinion at least. Which approach should I take when asked for advice?<issue_comment>username_1: Bachelor's students can know little about the outside world. Many may not have even done simple things like pay bills. Furthermore, in most countries they have either gone direct from high school to college, or direct to college after 1 year to travel or improve an entrance exam score. You should lead with a disclaimer, and proceed to tell them at least 2 sides to their problem. Honestly, the advice you give will comprise of things they would not easily or never imagine themselves (in a short timeframe). It's either your advice or the aggregate advice from the internet. You will be one data point, but a credible one. Sometimes just advising (or encouraging) someone to actually bring their issue to the appropriate person is the push they need. If you are constantly sought out for advice, I think it shows your opinion and life experiences are trusted. Considering the personal matters, I highly doubt the same students are asking more than 1 other professor. Be wise. Share your wisdom. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: For some questions you should refer the student to a more appropriate source, such as a counseling center. Likewise, legal advice and many other should be referred elsewhere. There are some things you just shouldn't know about your students. However, for other things, there should be no issue, especially if you have a habit of sitting around with groups of students. Being human to your students is a good thing. You can, of course, express sympathy in situations in which the student is having external problems, and you can give academic advice since that is your field. Politics is a bit dicey. If you disagree strongly with a student and your subject isn't Government or similar, then you are in danger of the student disrespecting you generally even when you try to teach them, say mathematics. It can make them less able to learn from you. Likewise, relationship advice can be fraught if you aren't trained as a counselor. There are some things you can say (like "seek counseling"), but you are likely hearing only one side of the story if the student has problems and your advice may well get misinterpreted and applied in ways you don't intend. Step carefully between being a human being and possibly getting into the middle of things for which you have no training. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Sounds fraught with liability and danger. One reason people look for advice is to avoid the responsibility of making a decision. That means they want you to shoulder it. Which of course means you could be blamed if they don't like the way things turn out. For personal problems, look for a real problem behind it. E.g., they complain about their life or relationship, the real problem may be depression or anxiety. Under no circumstances (at least if you're in the US) should you try to address or advise on such mental health issues. Refer them to someone else with training who's job is to address these things. My school has an office for this kind of thing. Also frankly, if students think they have a closer bond with you, they can get a lot more demanding in terms of extensions and grades they want, leading to bad evaluations... Upvotes: 2
2018/10/13	2,076	9,065	<issue_start>username_0: I am in the last semester of my undergraduate degree in computer science. I plan to apply for masters and PhD positions thereafter. I did not have a good classroom experience in my bachelor's programme – I did not find my professors to be great (in terms of knowledge, research or teaching). As a result, I soon lost interest in my courses [1]. To be fair, many of my peers enjoyed the very same courses and excelled in them due to their interest. Due to these experiences, I am not interested in doing courses further – I also realised that I learn much better on my own and while doing research. On my own, I don't have to stick to a curriculum decided by someone else and can move in and out of material, as required by my research, which would otherwise span a wide variety of courses. Thus, I am partial to programmes offering full-time research opportunities with little to no coursework. A large part of my research has involved reading papers on new techniques and figuring out how these techniques worked, how they were implemented, reimplementing them myself, etc. This required a fair bit of figuring things out by myself, which I found to be very different from coursework – where you had a professor, TAs, tutors, office hours, etc which provided an extensive support system. My question is, how closely are research and coursework linked in academia? Would it raise eyebrows if I were to say to someone in academia "I like doing research, but dislike doing coursework"? Now as I understand, through my SOP I have an opportunity to convince the admissions committee about why I am a good fit for this programme and vice versa. In such a scenario, I am very tempted to include the following points in my argument, because they are absolutely true and form the crux of why I am interested in such programmes (primarily applying in the US): * I dislike doing coursework. * I have quite a bit of research experience where I have performed well without doing coursework. * I learn better on my own and while doing research, as my research experience shows. * This programme will allow me to pursue research uninhibited by distracting courses, which is exactly what I want. But this is where I am confused. Will this unabashed honesty work in my favour? This is primarily because the vast majority of researchers I have interacted with happen to be professors – and as such have been very involved in teaching courses. Moreover, since they do spend a fair amount of their time teaching, they also invite students who do well in their courses to join their research. Now I understand there are also independent research organisations who are not directly involved in teaching, but the ones which I have had the experience of working with have invariably been associated with a partner university and involved in sharing of researchers, professors and students. [1] Due to the vast number of questions on this site regarding grades, I wish to categorically state that this question is not about addressing bad grades. Indeed, I don't wish to address this issue at all because although I was not very excited with my coursework, I made average grades and directly dived into various research endeavours. This allowed me to accumulate substantial research experience and include impressive research positions on my resume, including a prestigious scholarship. This, I believe, already compensates my not-so-good grades (as I have received offers from reputed research institutes based on this profile). My question is only about the aspect of 'not liking coursework'.<issue_comment>username_1: You would certainly be an exceptional case. Some would interpret that as a difficult case. When you don't fit the expected mold it is harder to evaluate you. That doesn't mean that you are at a disadvantage, necessarily, but you would be at some places that aren't very flexible. I think that a research focus at the MS level is more typical in Europe than in the US, however, so you might consider location as you look for a position. In some fields in the US research is also dominant, of course. But even in the US, if you can make contact with a professor or two at the graduate level who might be willing to give you a close look, you might be fine. However, many programs have fairly strict rules about things. You might, be able to do independent study to cover many of them, but that can be intensive for the faculty, so don't expect too many concessions unless you are exceptional in the positive sense as well. Your real problem, however, is that if you don't follow the "accepted" course of study you are liable to miss some things that it is valuable to know. The advantage of coursework is that someone has seen the bigger picture and has selected topics that are useful and given thought to how you can develop skill in those areas. Missing that can be a long term disadvantage, so tread carefully and seek advice on your personal academic journey. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: "Will this unabashed honestly work in my favour?" Nope. Stay away from the negatives and stick to emphasizing the positives. Course grades tells us both the skills you have accumulated as well as your potential for the future. Quite frankly, if you were a better candidate (defined as well-prepared in fundamentals, good study habits, seriousness about succeeding, etc.), you'd still have "held your nose" and aced the classes. Not succeeding in one aspect you were tested on is just going to be a negative. In the real word a job is not always just the fun stuff you enjoy doing either. Sounds like you will do fine despite it, however. There's a lot of competition to get into grad school, but also a lot of schools. Sounds like you're well above the supply vs. demand cutoff there. Also as for grad school, standardized test scores scores are another thing we look at to identify potential, apart from grades. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: While I can sympathise with this, having once had an (excellent) student in a course with a similar take on things, part of the coursework exercise is discipline, also in doing things that you do not like. Unless you are absolutely brilliant (say, Terence Tao-level), you will likely come to a point where you pay a price for having holes in your education due your nonconformist syllabus, potential lack of contacts, and unconventional approach. You will very likely to strongly have to compensate for this, unless you are very lucky finding an understanding prof who will support you. Now, you say, you have already something to show for it, such as scholarships and research projects; if you have publications, say, you might convince people to take you on as, say, a PhD student, even if your grades are mediocre. Does the lack of your coursework experience affect your research capabilities? It is possible, because you will not be acquainted with the standard techniques that everyone in your field is expected to know. Where this is critical depends on whether your research - otherwise - is sufficiently strong. If it is, you might have the ability to compensate for your lack of standard education. However, keep in mind that, in the end of the day, if you wish to survive in academia, you will have to take into account that there will be other things you have to do apart from coursework, that you will not be pleased to do and will be difficult to avoid. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Yes, honesty will work in your favor. You will not be accepted by a program/professor who will later abandon you once they discover you were hiding these things about your work style and production. However, this might mean you do not get accepted to any programs. One concern after reading your question: You describe part of your research as "reading papers on new techniques and figuring out how these techniques worked, how they were implemented, reimplementing them myself". That is not research, unless you are generating new knowledge in the "reimplementing them myself" part. That sounds more like you enjoy learning new things, but that you are not as interested in creating new things. Coursework is important because it helps you understand whether something you want to create is a "new" thing or whether it has already been done. Your lack of interest in coursework implies you might think you have many good "new" ideas that power brokers in academia with a better understanding of current topics/fads in the literature will think are stale or unpromising. The first part of a PhD program is usually about learning new things--hence coursework and comp exams, etc--but there is a crucial transition from learning to producing new things in order to finish a PhD and have an academic career. That might be your weak spot. Don't waste several years of your life in a PhD program if what you enjoy is learning new things, especially given all the things about PhD/academic life it appears you will really not enjoy. Upvotes: 1
2018/10/13	645	2,849	<issue_start>username_0: I sometimes receive a comment from 1-2 of my reviewers saying something similar to "the contributions and novelty of the work/method is limited". Consider it in the context of CS where you develop methods and algorithms which increase the performance of the state-of-the-art in a specific problem/domain. Of course in every paper, i state my contributions for the reader to understand, but when i receive a general comment like that i get puzzled. Especially when there is no mutual communication between the author and the reviewer to clarify the misunderstandings. So, let's say, in what typical situation a reviewer might vote for a critism like that?<issue_comment>username_1: I will take a guess, but it is a guess only. In CS there are results that seem interesting, even novel, but to someone who knows the field, and its literature, the "interesting" thing is pretty obvious or only a small step away from a known, if obscure, result. If the reviewer's immediate reaction to your main result, is that "I could have easily said that" then you have such a situation. Of course, the reviewer can be wrong, which isn't as rare as we would like. For both of these reasons I suggest getting any additional information that you can. Such information can help you revise if necessary, to further distinguish your work from what is known already. There is another possibility. Perhaps the reviewer has misstated the objection and it should have been "That has limited applicability" rather than "novelty". Again, having more information will help you sort it out. Unfortunately, in CS, where we depend on conferences, primarily, to present results, the short cycles work against the author in seeking such information. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Possibly related [xkcd](https://xkcd.com/1988/). Please don’t take offence! I’ve seen some papers in CS which validly improve upon the state-of-the-art on particular datasets. In fact, you might find these where there is an ongoing annual challenge, or a specific dataset that is used. The numbers are good but they essentially glue two existing methods together. Sometimes there are perfectly novel contributions in the "glue": sticking these two methods together only works if you do it in a particular way, but "glue" contributions are smaller than completely novel "method" contributions and this might elicit such a response from a reviewer. Even if gluing these two methods together is novel. Usually, in these papers, the results are great (they win the challenge/dataset) and I always wonder why the paper hasn’t been cited more. I think the answer to that is that the citations for the "method" contributions will go to the original papers and the "glue" contributions, if novel, might not transfer to other techniques or fields. Upvotes: 2