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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently in the process of trying to publish a mathematics paper. A draft of this paper had been posted on arxiv, which contained an interesting conjecture.
In the intervening time, this conjecture has been refuted by another group of authors. I am not sure how I should edit my paper to reflect this.
One option that is out of the question is to simply delete the conjecture from the paper. The problem with this is that the latter paper has cited this conjecture as its motivation. If I removed the conjecture, I would be pulling the legs out from the subsequent paper.
What I am leaning toward is to state something along the lines of "In an earlier draft, we had made the following conjecture:" and then include some discussion and citations about how the conjecture has subsequently been refuted.
Note that most of my paper is unaffected by this refutation, and in fact I still believe that the conjecture could hold *for the special case I need*
Is there a better way of handling this situation?<issue_comment>username_1: When you believe, that your special case still holds, you can keep the conjecture and mention that you believe it holds for your special case and that it does not hold in the general case with a citation of the other paper.
>
> We conjecture X for all cases in which Y holds. Note that X does not hold in the general case, as shown by *Name* [42].
>
>
>
So the other paper even improves on the revision of your paper and you can acknowledge this by adding this information and the citation. It would be way more complicated when the conjecture would be totally wrong. But when it is correct for a special case, both papers are useful.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> One option that is out of the question is to simply delete the conjecture from the paper. The problem with this is that the latter paper has cited this conjecture as its motivation. If I removed the conjecture, I would be pulling the legs out from the subsequent paper.
>
>
>
This isn't *pulling the legs out*, since the subsequent paper cites a published arxiv draft. Indeed, Tyszka published [152 drafts](https://arxiv.org/abs/0901.2093) (of one work) over almost six years and any version can be cited.
>
> What I am leaning toward is to state something along the lines of "In an earlier draft, we had made the following conjecture:" and then include some discussion and citations about how the conjecture has subsequently been refuted.
>
>
>
That's certainly a nice touch.
>
> I still believe that the conjecture could hold for the special case I need
>
>
>
Prove this result, at least partially.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If you can prove or at least make a convincing case for the conjecture in the special case you need, I'd do the following:
1. Describe the conjecture in the special case
2. Prove or make the convincing case in the special case
3. Write "in a previous draft, we expected this conjecture to hold generally. However, it has subsequently been shown ..."
If you can't or don't want to argue for the conjecture in your special case, then your formulation works as well.
Upvotes: 5
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a paper that has say 100 references. I'd like to use a lot of them as references to a paper I'm writing, but it seems pretty laborious to go on each and everyone of them, search in google scholar and get the bibtex info.
Is there a tool available that given a paper\pdf\book etc, harvests all the references of that paper into a list or bibtex file?<issue_comment>username_1: There would be a quick approach if you know how to code:
1. Take the DOI of that publication.
2. Use that DOI to access the [OpenCitations API](https://opencitations.net/index/coci/api/v1). (Example [here](https://opencitations.net/index/coci/api/v1/references/10.1177/1369148118786043).)
3. From the API, extract all the DOIs that are referenced in the `citing` field.
4. Loop each referenced DOI through a DOI-to-BibTeX-converter (such as [doi2bib](https://pypi.org/project/doi2bib/) in Python, or [CrossCite](https://citation.crosscite.org/))
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Based on the [great answer above](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/161536/166991), here's a tiny shell snippet that, given an input `doi` of a paper, will generate a `.bib` file containing the references of that paper.
```
export DOI="..." # put your input DOI here (not as a URL, just the DOI itself)
curl -X GET "https://opencitations.net/index/coci/api/v1/references/$DOI" | jq --raw-output ".[]|.cited" | doi2bib -i - -o "${DOI//[\/-]/_}-refs.bib"
```
To make this work, need to first install `jq` (available from any package manager, e.g. `brew` on macos) and `doi2bib` (available via `pip`).
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have seen similar posts to this one, but none of which answer my specific questions. The google scholar help documentation states:
>
> Documents larger than 5MB, such as books and long dissertations, should be uploaded to Google Book Search; Google Scholar automatically includes scholarly works from Google Book Search.
>
>
>
**What is implied by "uploading to Google Book Search"?**
I see no way to upload to the search.
**How does google scholar determine if one's book is scholarly?**
Criteria for articles include abstracting and bibliographies. Since books do not usually contain abstracts, is the entire criteria for scholarly containing a bibliography? If not, what is it?
(See <https://scholar.google.com/scholar/inclusion.html#content>)<issue_comment>username_1: As far as I know, Google Scholar collect documents automatically from multiple academic repositories and there is no way to manually add any content.
[This (apparently updated) Google Scholar help page](https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/inclusion.html) mentions that you can simply make your pdf available on your university web space and it will be taken care of automatically. Example:
```
www.example.edu/~professor/jpdr2009.pdf
```
In case you don't know how to do that you can ask your IT department.
If this is not convenient, you could enter your publication in your university publication repository. I would assume that any other repository (e.g. [arXiv](https://arxiv.org/)) would also do the trick.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I think the point is that one does not directly arrange that one's own documents are indexed in Google Scholar and such. Indeed, if that were possible, it would seriously degrade the usefulness of Google Scholar, since there'd be no quality control. So one must hope that someone *else* finds one's work of sufficient merit...
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: As at the time of writing, the other answers here are incorrect: you certainly can manually add entries, including books, to your Google Scholar profile. That is done directly on your Google Scholar profile page: there is no need to use some other indexing system.
When you are logged in to the Google account that corresponds to your profile, you'll see this "+" icon on your profile, which allows you to add records:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ejvk1.png)
Select "Add article manually", and when you get to this dialog box, select "Book", and enter the appropriate details:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XiVyK.png)
Perhaps just as importantly, you can also select records to delete (when Google Scholar's algorithm incorrectly adds someone else's publications to your profile), or you can select records to merge (when Google Scholar picks up slightly different citation details and thinks that a single publication is actually two, very similar, publications).
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I was kicked out of a programming-oriented PhD program at the end of last summer because I failed one of two qualifying exams; the department is keeping me on assistantship for a semester while I finish a master's thesis (which I've done).
Now over the past few months, I have developed a strong depression and even feel suicidal. I feel that I've been given many great opportunities and squandered them. Applying to jobs in my field didn’t work out either due to lack of interest from the prospective employer or the employer getting a negative impression from my interview.
I've had many jobs throughout my life, and without exception I have struggled and usually failed due to extreme anxiety. Honestly, I don't even know if I would want a job even if I was offered one, because I feel that I would waste the employer's time and cause myself greater suffering, and ultimately fail.
How can I deal with these issues?
EDIT: Thank you all for your kind advice and support; for any of those interested, I'm on a more even keel now than I was when I wrote this question, and I have taken steps toward mental recuperation.
I should also say that I won't be checking in on this question anymore, so any further comments are unlikely to reach me.
Thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: Seek clinical help! The fact that you are here means that you are someone who believes that you need the help of others and that is very respectable. The problem is that this community, with all the good people in it, is not a good place to provide the help that you can actually benefit from.
In your question, there are a few points that are important. Suicidal thoughts are always serious and must be considered seriously. Failure is not easy to bear and nobody can say that they can have a good time failing their goals but normally, people do not think of self-termination when they fail. If you are having this thought, please seek help.
Also, you mentioned that you have failed multiple times in your life before. If the number of these failures is a lot, maybe you are suffering from some underlying problem that is inflicting your performance. Conditions like anxiety (as you mentioned), depression, ADHD, ... can have a drastic negative impact on performance and the sad fact is that in many cases, people who suffer are not aware of it. If this is the case for you, look at the bright side of your situation which is the potential of finding the root cause, elimination of which can improve your life dramatically. Again this is something that can only be confirmed with the help of clinical professionals. Please seek help.
Remember that failure is hard but also remember that even Einstein failed to procure an academic position many times so it happens and it happens to everyone. As Churchill once said:
>
> Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.
>
>
>
Give it some time and move on. That is the most important part.
I repeat myself; please consider the fact that self-termination thoughts should be considered very seriously. Based on your country of residence, conditions may differ but nevertheless, accept the fact that, in any country, there exist people who are trained to provide the type of the help that you can benefit from. Please find them.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It sounds incredibly difficult for you! I think username_1's answer is very good; I'd just like to re-iterate the part about seeking professional help (please do!) and compare what you're going through to my own experience.
My anxiety is, from the sound of it, much less severe than yours. But it has still had a serious influence on my life. I've had a job that I basically had to quit because it was giving me panic attacks on a daily basis. And for some time after, I've felt like I wouldn't want another job because I thought I would fail, just like you're describing.
Currently, I have a job that I very much enjoy. I still get anxious at times, but it is much less than it used to be and it doesn't affect my work. Once or twice I've felt that the strategies I use to deal with anxiety have actually helped me out in stressful situations.
What's really important is to remember that anxiety is not something rational; your worries sort of spiral out of control and things that you don't need to worry about all of a sudden become incredibly real and scary scenarios. But that's just your anxiety playing tricks on you! Many of those scenarios do not materialise or when they do, the results aren't as bad as you imagined.
You may worry there's no job out there that you will do well and even enjoy. But those are not rational worries - there are jobs out there that you will thrive in, I'm sure.
The most important thing is to learn to deal with your anxiety. A professional can help you identify what things trigger your anxiety, recognise early warning signs and can help you develop strategies to deal with anxiety.
Best of luck!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I've *almost* been in your shoes. I wasn't thrown out of a PhD, but I was on the verge of failing one: Having difficulty focusing on work; not making any progress on anything for more than a year; watching my colleagues advance, sometimes brilliantly, even though I did not consider myself inferior to them intellectually. Even later in life - I've felt my post-doctoral stint was semi-squandered, not having been able to put papers in places I wanted, or needed, to put them in. I also struggled, initially, to find work coming out of Academia.
And throughout some of those years I was also struggling with depression, anxiety, and the sense that that's it - I've blown my chance in life; I've let myself down, as well as the expectations of others.
... so, were you thinking I was going to tell you how I've overcome adversity and gone on to flourish and succeed? Eh. Maybe. But I don't want to sell you that. Instead, it's a matter of being able to cope with failure - which is very difficult for those of us that are used to things going our way in life.
Here's some of what I did that helped me (or didn't do initially, and regretted it later); not in order of significance:
* Not-super-strenous aerobic physical exercise (walks outside, yoga, possibly jogging or other stuff). Definitely helps emotional stability and the sense that living is worth it even when you're just, you know, living. (Yes, do this even at the expense of time available for research / job search / etc.)
* Keep in touch with friends and family (but with those who are supportive rather than overbearing and order you around). Try not to maneuver yourself to be alone all the time. (Yes, even at the expense of time available for research / job search / etc.)
* Make a conscious effort to sleep enough hours a night (if you can help it, that is).
* Get recommendations for a psychotherapist, if you can afford one, or see some kind of "social worker" if you can't. This depends on there being some sort of health care system available or you having the money.
* Consult your doctor (your GP) about possibly going on anti-depressant medication. This is not an easy choice to make, since doing so feels like admitting failure, that you can't "handle it on your own"; or that it's a sort of an embarrassing crutch. But if you get professional advice to use an anti-depressant, remember that crutches help people get back up on their feet while they heal; the same may be true for you. Caveat: There are different kinds of anti-depressants; their effect is not uniform on everyone; some have adjustment periods; don't just take something without medical oversight.
* Find something (or several things) to work on that's independent of being employed or in academia. It could be a social/community cause; a hobby; a free software project; some sort of construction work; etc. Even though this will not be ultimate purpose of your life, it helps to have something to look forward to and plan ahead for, rather than the major stuff that's not working out right now.
I realize some of these suggestions sound trite, or cliché; but frankly - so is your situation. What you're describing happens, with some variation, to lots of people (well, "lots" relatively to the small number of PhD candidates of course). Do some of what I've suggested, and you'll pull through, like almost all of them. Of us.
PS - I haven't given any "career-wise" advice. It's not that I think this is unimportant, I just focused on your emotional well-being in the here and now. A longer answer than mine could have been in order here.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: I recently became depressed when I retired. A lot of our value can become attached to what we do.
After contemplating suicide I rang a helpline and they said to go to my doctor. My doctor referred me to a psychiatrist who gave me some pills but also referred me for psychotherapy.
Note: I'm lucky enough to live in the UK where we have the NHS.
However many Universities have *free* counselling services so check that out.
Psychotherapists vary enormously in ability (just like anyone else) so just because one of them isn't effective, don't take that to mean the problem is insoluble.
I was incredibly lucky in that my therapist was a good one and we tackled my problems between us, each listening to the other.
The point is that it *is* possible to get through hard times although sometimes the effort required can seem as much as doing a Master's!
Anyway despite a lot of c\*\*p that happened in my life, I'm still here and feeling happier than for a long time!
Best wishes.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: If it helps, my story was that I got my PhD in the US in 2009 right after the big crash. So lots of people applied to academic jobs. Industrial jobs were difficult too especially because I was not a citizen.
By I quirk of personal circumstances I ended up having to leave the academic track and the US as well for personal reasons. I went through intense feelings of uselessness & desperation similar to what you describe.
Now let's roll forward to 2018. I am in a lovely profession, freelancing, travelling the world and making good money for myself. My job has little to do with what I worked on during my PhD but a lot of those skills proved useful.
My advise to you is, life works out in strange ways. Don't despair and work hard at some other opportunity or industry.
A few years later your current crisis will fade and you will have had success in other ways. There's more than one ways for things to work out, the problem just is that which ways those are is often not obvious from where you are.
You rarely pick a career, very often a career will end up picking you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: You will need to learn to rewrite the narrative and change your attitude. Maybe you will need professional help to do this, maybe you won't. But the sign that you are on here asking about it points in the direction that you might.
---
You still learned what you learned on your journey.
What *actually* happened is that someone else failed to pass you through and someone else higher up the food chain thereafter consequently failed to acquire you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: As an addition to finding a good therapist (which you absolutely should do right away!), you may want to consider practicing mindfulness.
I've been in a similar situation a couple of times throughout my life, with depression and suicidal thoughts eating me incessantly over what I *then* perceived as missed opportunities, failures and losses, and it helped me realize that all the anxiety and suffering I was experiencing were coming either from the *memories* of the past or the *thoughts* about the future. In other words, I was suffering only because my brain was telling me to suffer, replaying the same distorted scenes over and over again.
Mindfulness helped me realize that right here, right now, I was absolutely fine (and so are you!), and that no matter where I was or what I did, there would always be things around me to cherish.
As far as the books on the subject matter are concerned, Peace Is Every Step was the gateway for me, but there are many other great options.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: >
> Honestly, I don't even know if I would want a job even if I was offered one, because I feel that I would waste the employer's time and cause myself greater suffering, and ultimately fail.
>
>
>
Question, how old are you?. And since when to take job is optional?. And how do you live?.
Anyways, the cure for the depression is not acceptation but a big kick in the butt.
My story, I was kicked out (bachelor), then I revived (I was re-accepted) and I finished the university as a mediocre student (it's hard to study and work at the same time). Then, I moved to another city (alone and without money), and lucky for me, I landed a job, it was a mediocre job but it was a job. Then, I jumped from job to a job. And now, I own a business and, the irony, now some universities paid me to train their personal, and I don't have a Ph.D. So, Am I satisfied?, never!.
**My advice, it is time to abandon your safe place. Like some company says, NEVER SETTLE.**
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: There are many excellent and comprehensive answers given. I just want to add one point.
It seems like the real source of your problems is your anxiety/depression. Those conditions *do respond to treatment*, and you deserve to get help to live a happy life. Hundreds of studies show that therapies like CBT, DBT, medications, and others *work*. People can be cured and live life more fully than they ever believed possible.
I don't know you, and I don't know your circumstances. If you can get competent professional help, that's wonderful. However, you might be among the many people who cannot get access to competent professional help due to finances, location, scheduling, or various technical matters.
If so, there *is still help available.* If you have an internet connection and a Smartphone, you already have access to help. Here is a non-exhaustive list of resources that may help:
1. *Mind Over Mood* has books, worksheets, a website, podcast
2. The free apps WYSA and YOUPER both use AI to provide personalized therapy. You text the app and it listens and responds using various excercises to help you.
3. BetterHelp.com provides online therapy along with discounts based on need
If you can get access to competent professional help, that would be idea. But if not, there are still many resources that can make a little bit of positive difference.
If you are really struggling, especially with suicidal thoughts, and you are not currently working or tied down to anything, you might want to try an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) which offers intense and comprehensive help to people who struggle. They tend to accept all insurances, so it may be an affordable option. These programs can help people recover quicker and learn lifelong skills in the course of a month or two.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying to several places for Masters in pure mathematics in the month of December.
I submitted a paper in a math journal and received its review. The reviewer mentions and I quote "I recommend
this article for publication". However, he has suggested to make some changes and upload a revised version. I am working on the changes but it may take a while and the next review might take more time and thus cross the application deadlines.
Now for university applications, I want to ask what can I write in my CV/SOP to show the current progress as in it is almost sure that it will be accepted and writing just submitted doesn't show the actual situation. Also, writing accepted will be wrong as it isn't accepted yet.<issue_comment>username_1: I don'n know about pure math, but I have seen faculty in science and engineering departments, having "published", "in press", "in preparation" articles in their cv. Your article is in a state further than what is understood "in preparation". Mentioning it in your statement of purpose/cv is quite OK.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The typical way to refer to the status is "in preparation" or "under review" in the citation. You could also specify in text that it received a "revise-and-resubmit" decision and you are revising.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: Whereas I normally paraphrase information when I use a source for my literature review, I occasionally insert quotes (not to emphasize the information within the quote). All the reviews I've looked at so far tend to use quotations as little as possible. My question is whether it is discouraged or encouraged to present information through a variety of ways (ie. paraphrase, quotes, etc.)?
For instance:
In looking at the relationship between immigrants in the Netherlands and the Dutch economy, Rootenberg et al. (2003) drew upon findings comparable to that of previous research results found in Sweden: while the impact varied across different immigrant groups, the average impact was inconsequential. Among the groups that produced a net gain were immigrants who arrived at a young age and those coming from a western society; all other groups represented a burden to the public sector. **Hansen et al. (2015) and Gerdes et al. obtain similar results for Denmark. Their findings are summarized as follows: “Immigrants from richer countries have a positive fiscal impact, while immigrants from poorer countries have a large negative one. The negative effect is caused by both a weak labour market performance and early retirement in combination with the universal Danish welfare schemes" (Hansen et al. 2005).**<issue_comment>username_1: In general, paraphrasing authors is better than quoting unless they say something truly unique and their exact words are needed to convey their ideas. In a literature review, you may find yourself needing to quote more often because of this reason (for example, historian <NAME> coined the term "Mythhistory," which is not something I have heard other scholars use).
Many times in undergraduate writing, students will use several quotes in order to make their word count higher. In higher levels of academic writing (like journal articles or books), some publishers will not print your work if you include too many quotes. (A former professor of mine had to write a letter to his publisher to justify adding a total of two block quotes in his 80,000+ word book.)
I think the most important thing about using quotes is to explain them. To say that so-and-so said "important thing" isn't enough; your interpretation and justification of the quote is needed. I personally think your example in the question would be better paraphrased rather than quoted because the way the authors worded their finding is not too unique. If there is some specific wording from this that you would like to interpret, then I would say quoting is better.
I would suggest not arbitrarily quoting. If you can strongly justify using a quote then I would do so, otherwise paraphrasing is generally better.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I have used quotes at times. A quote is actually on of the strongest form of a reference. I would use them to effect. Obviously not to pad. And vary them with just points/observations (paraphrases). But done right, quotes are great!
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been invited to review a manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal. Actually, this is my first invitation and I am a bit confused whether I should accept or decline. The subject is in the field of experimental physics which is quite different from my research field which is computational physics. In addition, the subject is also different from my background. I really appreciate any advice on this matter and if anyone can guide me whether I should accept or not and why. Thanks a lot for your help and for your prompt reply.<issue_comment>username_1: When I am asked to review a manuscript I ask myself three questions:
* *Do I have the time at the moment to do this?*
Normally the invitation to review comes with a time limit. In my field this is typically months in the future but can be limited to weeks. If I have a big deadline or other personal commitment coming up I might pass over the review.
* *Am I qualified to do the review?*
When you are asked to review a paper you are often shown the title and maybe abstract too. The job of a reviewer can be broadly thought of as trying to improve a paper. Even if you are inexperienced you might have other expertise which would add something. If the paper is too far away from your field it may take a very long time for you to read and understand which isn't good for you or the authors.
* *Am I interested in the paper?*
Reviewing should be a two way street. In effect you are giving your time away for free! Normally there is an implicit understanding the others will give their time for free to read your work in the future so it all plays out fair. Having said that if you are giving your time away you might want to get more out of the task than simply paying your service. I normally interpret this question in a quite friendly way and have never turned down a review for this reason.
If you have answered yes to all three there is no harm in accepting. Your review is a recommendation that the editor may or may not listen too when making a final judgement. There will also be other reviewers. Reviewing isn't something you should take too seriously and should hopefully something you enjoy doing!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: @tr1987 provides a good, general answer. Since you say that this is your first review, and another question of yours suggests you might be early in your PhD, I'd like to add a few points.
* You can ask your advisor for advice.
Reviewing is a skill (maybe an art!), and who's better placed to help you get started? Now, there is some field dependence in what's considered acceptable. Asking about general advice in abstract terms should be fine in all fields, but in physics it's usually also OK to discuss specifics about the paper with others. E.g. the report submission form for the Physical Review journals asks whether you prepared the review on your own, or if you discussed the papers with others. (For other journals, asking the editor for permission first would be the safe approach.) Since you're on the fence, asking your advisor whether they think you're qualified to review this particular paper might be useful.
* Read the referral from the editor carefully, and have a quick first read of the paper.
Often you're qualified to review part of a manuscript, but not all of it. The editor might know this already, and is maybe looking for a review focusing on those specific parts. Other times they might not be sure what your expertise is (relatively likely if it's your first review), and you should set this straight right away: "I can handle this part, but other reviewers would need to address XYZ". For example, an experimental paper might contain some computations as supporting evidence, which you might be qualified to review, while other reviewers might focus more on the experimental details.
* Find connections.
Finally, it's quite common to be asked to review papers about related topics. E.g. as a computationalist, you might be asked to review experiments on systems related to ones you've studied previously, or theoretical papers using methods related to what you've used yourself. If the topic is completely unrelated to your past work, chances are that you're not qualified. However, sometimes system/method A and B have more in common than the names suggest. Learning about such connections and getting a broader view is a very valuable aspect to reviewing.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: The Committee on Publication Ethics have a nice [flowchart](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/what-consider-when-asked-peer-review-manuscript) for this to walk you through what to consider when asked to review.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EzTGR.png)
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a postdoc and have dedicated the past five years to working on a big project spanning several groups and countries.
My and my supervisor’s contribution was to interpret their results in light of our knowledge in my field.
For me, the project was an “aside” project, i.e. I have done volunteering work and the other authors explicitly said repeatedly that they were not the boss of this project.
We submitted a manuscript to *Nature,* with me being one of the first authors.
This article contained insightful information interesting for both our fields.
We got feedback from five different referees. Most of them saw our results as interesting but had many questions and one did not like it. The editor’s decision was that the manuscript could be considered again if the issues were addressed correctly. They did not request a change of format or length, respectively.
We have been rewriting the manuscript to make things clearer, and people from the other field have worked on their side for the past six months without giving me any updates. I discovered a couple of weeks ago that it is now a short letter and most of my contributions have been removed. I remain on the authors list.
When I asked why, no one answered. A rumor is that the part on my field was too complicated for them so they cut it because they believed that my contribution on their field is sufficient for submission. So in the end, the project started as multidisciplinary but it ended with a short letter addressed only to scientists of their field, not mine.
I disagree with this move since it was in my opinion illegal to take such an important decision without my consent and because the paper has lost a lot of interest for my publication list, now that a big part of my original work has been cut out.
Since I have worked on this for five years, this decision jeopardizes my career. My own director does not care but I do.
The rest of the authors do not really care about my opinion and are saying that even without my consent, the paper will be quickly published with my name removed. I don’t think that is right.
They indeed asked me to write a new paper and publish it on my side, but I certainly won’t be able to publish it in the same journal *(Nature)* and the problem is that I finish my contract in a month. I guess it is somewhat possible to justify five years of work for a *Nature* paper, but for lower-ranked journal, it is more difficult.
If I decide to retract, can they publish the work as it is? Meaning that they still use my contribution to this work? If not, who and what department/lawyer can I turn to?<issue_comment>username_1: First, take the time to carefully consider your options.
From your description the problem looks like a disagreement between co-authors: the behaviour of the corresponding author is careless and disrespectful, but it doesn't look like a major breach of ethics. Turning this into a legal battle might cause a lot of trouble, especially in a large multidisciplinary project. This could damage your reputation.
This is why I would suggest a more subtle approach first:
1. Ask your co-authors why the article has been shortened and why your parts have been removed.
2. Try to negotiate with them: explain why you think some parts you wrote are really important and should be added back
3. If this does not work or if too much of your work has to be removed, ask to use your contribution to write another paper for a different journal/conference. This time you would be the main author and present your work as you see fit. Your co-authors can hardly refuse this to you after cutting your part.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I partially agree with <NAME>.’s answer: contacting the editor is one way to proceed, although admittedly it’s a somewhat drastic step, and you might want to consider more gentle approaches first. A respectable journal will be very cautious about publishing work with controversial authorship, so at the very least this could buy you some time to try to resolve the situation. It’s possible that the journal will also actively help to establish the facts and mediate the dispute, although I’m less certain about that part.
With that being said, I think before you start throwing around accusations of “illegal”, or even just unethical or inappropriate, behavior, you need to think carefully about the logical basis for your argument. From your description of the situation I’m actually not sure you have a strong case, although your collaborators’ behavior may reasonably be seen as nasty or uncollegial. What I’m understanding, roughly, is that the project has two parts, one (let’s call it “part A”) that was the work of the collaborators, and another, let’s call it “part B”, which was your work. The plan was originally to publish both parts together, but now the collaborators decided that they only want to publish part A. Well, I’m afraid you can’t force someone to associate their name to a work they don’t want to be associated with, so although you are understandably upset about the removal of part B, personally I think the collaborators are within their rights to remove it and tell you you’ll have to publish it on your own if you want to see it published. The real question, and the one I’d advise you to focus your argument on, is your authorship on the new version of the paper that only contains part A. If they put you in an inferior place on the author list relative to where you feel you deserve to be, that’s something you should discuss with them.
Anyway, good luck.
**Edit:** on further rereading of your question I am slightly confused about the precise events here. Are you still a coauthor or the shorter paper? Are you still one of the first authors? Are you complaining about anything other than the removal of part B? Did the collaborators get your approval to submit the shorter paper with your name as a coauthor? If they didn’t, that would be a legitimate thing to complain about, but if the shorter paper was indeed accepted to Nature, I would tend to agree with <NAME> that they might have actually done you a big favor - the longer paper might well have ended up not being accepted, and now you get a publication in Nature *and* an opportunity to publish another, separate paper as sole author.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In general, publicaltion requires permission or a license, but the license may be implied and may not always be revocable.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You marked this as a legal issue. As always, my only advice is that you speak with a competent lawyer in your jurisdiction if you have any thoughts on taking legal action. The legal issue will be copyright, though false light claims or right of publicity claims could also come into play depending on the full circumstances.
Generally, in the USA, an author including a joint author, gains copyright over their work and may use that copyright to block publication of the work without their permission even if the co-authors wish to publish. (Exceptions such as fair use, legal privilege, and de minimis use exist, but these are far beyond the scope of the question)
With that said, remember that permission once given cannot always be immediately withdrawn in the context of copyright. If, hypothetically, a joint author were to give permission, even implicitly, to publish at the outset of a project they may not be able to withdraw that at the end even if they are dissatisfied with the work in its finished form. I refuse to give legal advice on this forum so I will not ask about your specific situation, but as a general rule most academic collaborations I have dealt with have involved giving that permission towards the beginning. Large scale ventures involving grants and financing often have this explicitly in a contract or collaboration agreement. Smaller scale lower-cost ventures often have more informal arrangements but still involve conduct that would grant an implied license to publish that may be hard to withdraw.
Note that this particular question may truly have different answers in different jurisdictions since Moral Rights (droits moraux) vary significantly between countries.
A word on ethics
----------------
The ethics of the situation are another matter. While reasonable people may disagree, I personally feel it would be unethical or at least unseemly for your co-authors to publish this with your name and your work before they reach some sort of compromise you feel to be acceptable, which in this case may be splitting the matter into two papers which are submitted to journals in different fields.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I am adding a short answer based on your updated question, now containing all key points.
I agree with you in that it must be infuriating to see 5-years-worth of your time flushed down by your colleagues behind your back. I have worked in such a group setting, in a highly competitive institution. I had colleagues in similar situations. Years of dedication and long meetings, lab work, learning, dedication, and the feeling that you don't relate with the final outcome.
If you want to fight this battle, I believe others have provided you all relevant advice here. I just want to tell you what I'd do.
Your feelings are justified, but: (i) this is how ambitious institutions work, most of the time, and you cannot change that; (ii) working in a production line is frustrating as compared to the artisan's life, however it is favored by modern society (read Karl Marx on this); (iii) as others say, you'll end up with a nice publication on your CV and apparently the freedom to reorganize your data for another subsequent publication; (iv) modern academia is mostly about **prestigious authorships** and *not* *quite* about morals/personal values/human development; (v) any serious *players* involved will **crush** anyone standing between them and some "Nature" paper.
You are worried about justifying your contract time based on your publication outcome. Well, if you fight this war you'll finish your contract with **no** paper, and the accusation of being a troublemaker. Also I believe you're exaggerating this issue: likely you'll have enough justification as long as you don't mess things up (which you're considering doing **right now**). I therefore suggest you accept their conditions, finish your contract, take some time off, and then come back to your own work and objectives.
**Drink this poison, digest it later. Good luck.**
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Chances are that your university or institute has a policy to follow the Vancouver Protocol, or similar. This would give you good argument to confront your director, and to escalate to a higher hierarchy in your institute if he is not willing to discuss the matter. Like this, you take justified action without escalating too much. It is totally possible that the whole thing is merely a misunderstanding.
There is no rule how much contribution is required to be listed as an author. So, while you feel that "the key findings are also the fruit of [your] work", the other authors may feel that your contribution was not enough to be listed as a co-author. In that case, they should list you in the acknowledgements, at the very least.
Edit: I am referring to the ICMJE Recommendation "Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors", particularly the first criterion
>
> Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work
>
>
>
and the clarification
>
> All individuals who meet the first criterion should have the opportunity to participate in the review, drafting, and final approval of the manuscript.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: It is my understanding that articles in *Nature* have an almost "pop science" appeal, even though they have a very high impact factor.
Prudence thus dictates removing highly technical portions of the manuscript, and publishing them elsewhere. I know that after I read a paper in *Nature*, I know that I need to find the follow-up details either in the supplemental material, or in another journal.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: During my PhD I was also part as a computational person in a developmental biology project that made it into Nature. In contrast to your case we always discussed and agreed on how to proceed. Since the experimental results were spectacular, my contribution was kept at a bare minimum and buried in the SI not to upset any referees. Actually, the whole presentation was geared towards that: not upsetting any referees. Even after acceptance the text had to be reduced by a substantial amount. In my opinion the final paper does not really do justice to the whole project, so I can vividly imagine how you must feel and what is going on.
However, I don't think it is worth risking a CNS paper (particularly as first author) over presentation (if e.g. your statistical analysis would be interpreted in a misleading way things would be different). Furthermore, I don't think it is worth worsening the relationship with your colleagues. Publishing in Nature is a dirty business, but it certainly helps your career and it might help you publishing your work in more detail elsewhere. After all having a follow-up paper is almost as important as having the CNS if you are looking for a job. And not having letters of recommendation from involved big wigs would be a huge red flag.
I would strongly advice you to talk to a senior person you trust and who knows as much of the story as possible. I have never heard of legal steps helping anyone in academia. If you think it helps, I am happy to share my experience over Skype or something.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: I worked on a project much less impactful than this, but where a similar situation took place. After working on the project for a year, we were ready to submit the whole group paper. Then the group leader contacted my supervisor and wanted to cut out the part that included our work because of space constraints. Ultimately we substantially reduced the portion that described our part of the work and the group paper was accepted in a relatively high impact journal. So I took the rest of the material I had worked on with my supervisor and put it into another paper, for which we have just gotten back a revise and resubmit.
I recommend the same path to you. Take your material and make a standalone journal paper. All of a sudden, instead of one publication for your years of work, you have two. Perhaps your contribution can go into a journal important for your specific field. While you may be correct that the Nature publication may not seem quite as cool since your field's contribution is minimized, transdisciplinary research is important, and a Nature article is a big achievement. At my institution, which is a major research institution, such publications get highlighted in the internal news and bring other kudos as well to the authors.
The politics in a big group effort can be intense, and you are too junior to burn all your bridges on this one. The time for making the point you wanted to make was sooner, and the heavies in the group didn't agree with you. As your career continues this type of politics will continue to exist. Unless there is truly an ethical concern, it is probably not worthwhile to fight the tide on these. Also, keep in mind that we can all be a little blinded to the big picture. Think of all the musicians who have left groups to pursue their solo careers and then disappeared from view. Perhaps the article you have cowritten has been pared down to be a true classic for the related field.
Upvotes: 3
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2018/11/29
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<issue_start>username_0: This question is related to [this one](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1897/can-i-reuse-part-of-a-paper-for-my-thesis). Only this time it's not about a journal paper but a chapter in a text book.
I am first author of the chapter in the text book that was published by a renowned publisher. I would like to reuse parts of the chapter for my PhD thesis (including a citation, of course).
Is this acceptable? Is there anything different with respect to the situation with a "normal" paper? Is there anything I need to pay special attention to?
EDIT: The publisher allows reusing my own work in my thesis.<issue_comment>username_1: I did this in my thesis - my introduction was going cover a lot of information overlapping 3 textbook chapters I'd written, and I really didn't want to write it all again!
I did check with the publisher first, however (just an email asking for their consent), and added an acknowledgement to them in my acknowledgements page. I'm sure this was probably over-zealous, but it felt better to err on that side of things.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: You need to make it extremely clear that you are re-using material in your thesis. And yes, make sure the publisher is happy with this, because even if "nobody reads it", there might be a data miner looking for plagiarism that does look.
But shouldn't your thesis be original material? If you have already published three chapters on the topic, it is not original anymore. You need to check the rules at your institution, and make it very, very clear which bits are new and which are recycled.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: After reading your edit, it looks perfectly fine to use small parts of your chapter while citing your previous work carefully.
There should not be any problem at all. People often do it.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: There are two sides to this, copyright and academic integrity.
On the copyright side you presumably made some agreement with the publisher when you published the book granting them some form of exclusive rights. You need to check whether re-using part of the content in your thesis is in conflict with said agreement and if-so whether the publisher is prepared to grant an exception.
On the academic integrity side you need to find out what your unversity's policies are. My understanding is that "original" in the context of a thesis usually means "written by the author and not submitted for assessment as part of another qualification", so you are probably ok but it pays to check. Putting a citation is always good practice.
Also you need to make sure that the work is actually yours. If substantial portions were written by other authors of the book you should probably re-write those parts or at least clearly mark them as not your own work.
Upvotes: 1
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2018/11/30
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<issue_start>username_0: As an international student, I found hard to integrate well with other classmates. I only have two relatively close friends in my class. When my classmate asked me to send my code to him, I did not reject him as I was afraid of losing this friend. Now, I feel extremely regret as I am facing an accusation of plagiarism. I will never allow others to access my work. I actually have evidence that all works are done by me.
However, I worked extremely hard on my assignment and amended it four times before submission. I do not think that I deserve mark reduction. Are there any things that I can do to change the professor's mind instead of mark reduction? I hope I can do any other things to compensate for my fault instead of mark reduction.<issue_comment>username_1: **You are entirely at your professor's mercy or lack thereof.**
As a student, you are responsible for knowing the regulations of the course and the school. This includes plagiarism and academic misconduct charges. You were told to do all work individually. On multiple occasions you violated that principle and knowingly did so because you did not want to lose a friendship. You intentionally made a choice and now you must face the consequences for making that selection which fell afoul of regulations.
The fact that you did all the work individually does not clear you of misconduct because you *intentionally* aided someone else in violating the academic misconduct regulations. If your friend had stolen your work without your knowledge, that would be an entirely different issue. However, you willingly participated in the process, which makes you just as much of a "cheater" as your "friend."
So, you may try to argue about your lack of culpability but your instructor is within rights to pursue academic misconduct charges against you. Any offer of a "reduced" sanction or punishment is entirely at your instructor's discretion.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You may plead your case to your instructor in writing as you have here. Your best option is to demonstrate that you did not get the warning of the first offense until *AFTER* you had already committed the second offense.
Agree that what you did was wrong. Admit that you did the wrong out of partial ignorance (you knew a rule existed but did not understand its implications fully). Demonstrate that you were given a warning of the first violation only after the second violation had already occurred. Show that you immediately stopped the unlawful action at the warning. Ask that your total penalty be reduced (but not removed) in accord with a plea of doing the wrong from partial ignorance rather than willful intent. See some of these legal readings for insight.
<https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/research/ignorance-of-the-law-may-be-an-excuse.html>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignorantia_juris_non_excusat>
<http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/I/IgnoranceoftheLaw.aspx>
This is not necessarily a criminal case, it is more a civil one. Also, this is not necessarily one where the full implications of the rule were made clear enough at the outset.
On this latter note, since you have read the code now, you absolutely cannot plead ignorance that a code even existed. You can only plead ignorance of the full implications of the code. You should keep your personal story of a need for friendship out of the discussion. You gave the other person the code with the intent to offer insight, not to offer an answer key. You ignored the fact that your action could be easily abused (by a "cheater") and you were ignorant of the fact that such abuse by a cheater had real consequences not only for the cheater but also for you.
Having had cases such as yours multiple times in my career, I am well tuned to the distinction between intent and ignorance. Your instructor may be as well, and he/she may be willing to provide grace with sufficient grounds that remorse is sincere. On the other hand, I am also just as well tuned to spot someone who wants to play games when pleading for reduced penalties. Do not go down that path, lest your instructor is equally well tuned.
Finally, chalk this one up to experience. Some students take a lot longer to have this type of situation hit them. By that time, they often more than deserve the strong penalty that follows. You can now move to the next level of your life with greater confidence that such will not be the case in your future.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2018/11/30
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<issue_start>username_0: I am attending a course at a neighboring institute purely out of interest. Neither credits, nor grading of any kind are involved.
As part of the course, we are required to work in pairs (assigned, not chosen) and write an essay on a controversial/contentious topic. My partner and I find ourselves on opposite sides of the debate.
On account of the controversial nature of the topic, its connection with my academic work and my own contributions to the field, I am not comfortable diluting my stand. However, compromise is inevitable in pairs/groups, and I realise the point of this exercise might be to reinforce exactly that.
Nevertheless, I don't wish to sign off on something that I don't believe in 100%.
I also don't wish to opt out of the assignment as my partner is being graded on it and it seems unethical to leave him hanging.
So I propose submitting the essay titled:
(Title),(Partner name and affiliation), (Anonymous, independent).
Is there any precedent to do this, or is there a strong reason not to? Do I use a pseudonym instead?
Any advice on alternatives or other points of view would be appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: This is an unusual situation, and I find it a little difficult to understand your reason #2. In any case, I would suggest e-mailing the professor (anonymously, if you like) and asking what they would prefer. If you don't get a response, I see no harm with the "Partner's Name and Anonymous" option for the homework piece.
The only downside I see is that doing this may decrease the chance for publication (the [WSJ, for example, does not typically publish anonymous pieces as a matter of policy](https://www.wsj.com/articles/publishing-anonymous-column-is-rare-editors-say-1536269520)), which could adversely affect your partner. To get around this, I would recommend just adding a 2-sentence note at the end explaining why you are anonymous and giving permission for your partner to publish the work as single-author.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The point of an exercise in dissecting a contentious issue is not that you must agree 100% on the solutions to the issues by the end. The point is to find where you and the other members agree and where you and the others agree either that a) further research is needed or b) fundamentally different approaches are being proposed.
Your desire not to sign off unless you agree 100% with everything in the document essentially defeats the integrity of the exercise. You are allowing your (preconceived) stand to override the goal of finding common ground. Common ground is saying "We agree on these statements, we need more time on these statements, and we disagree on these statements."
So, first compile a document that presents the statements where you both agree, where you both agree that further research is required, and where you both agree that you both disagree.
Then, prepare an addendum. Present your views for the statements where you disagree. Invite your co-author to do the same.
Avoid using the addendum as a way to poke holes in the main document. The addendum should be of the tone "I FULLY agree with the presentations in the main document. I see issues however at the noted points of disagreement. My reasons are as follows: ..." Limit the addendum to a minimum (e.g. one page or even one paragraph).
Submit the document and the two addendum pages.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: One more suggestion: Ask your professor/lecturer about handing in separate assignments. You're auditing the class, after all. Since you and your coauthor's positions differ substantially, it sounds like you would each be basically writing your own paper anyway even if you followed the first suggestion. Your professor may agree that each of you submit separately.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I do not know what was in the minds of those who set the exercise that is now causing trouble for you, but I find it hard to imagine any future career for you that will not involve collaborating with other people with whom you do not entirely agree. It certainly makes sense for an educational institution to set exercises to give you experience of that.
I have experienced another version of such an exercise in which you and the other person are given, say, 5 minutes, to state your case. A bell is then rung, and you are both required to present, fairly, for a further 5 minutes what the other side had previously argued.
It is an important life skill to listen to the other person's point of view, to understand it so fully that you could explain it to somebody else, and then, if possible, and it usually is, agree a statement of what you both agree on with clear indication of where you differ.
If I had set the task I would regard separate submissions from you and your colleague as failure to engage properly with the task.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: #### Write an essay where you "argue cooperatively" instead
Rather that attempting to write an essay that is an unsatisfying mish-mashed compromise between two contrary views (giving rise to legitimate concerns about putting your name to it), I would suggest you instead reframe your essay in a way that presents and discusses each of your contrary views *without presenting this as an agreed position*. Instead you can argue both positions in your essay and note the disagreement of the authors over the correct position.
As a general guide of how to do this, you could write a fruitful essay that is open about the fact that the authors take contrary positions on the matter, and present both views with some discussion of points of similarity and difference. By debating points of difference with your co-author, you ought to be able to give some fruitful contribution towards understanding the two contrary views. Here is [an example](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/9460913512) of a scholarly book in which two authors with contrary views on a subject "argue cooperatively" about the subject matter. There is no expectation in such a work that a compromised position must be presented with assent from both parties --- instead, the value of the work lies in the fact that it presents opposing views in a controversy and assists the reader to understand the merits and demerits of those positions.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2018/11/30
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for an institute and would like to upload my manuscript for a paper which is under peer review onto the Supplemental materials section. The manuscript contains the watermark "For Peer Review Only." Can I upload this version?<issue_comment>username_1: This is an unusual situation, and I find it a little difficult to understand your reason #2. In any case, I would suggest e-mailing the professor (anonymously, if you like) and asking what they would prefer. If you don't get a response, I see no harm with the "Partner's Name and Anonymous" option for the homework piece.
The only downside I see is that doing this may decrease the chance for publication (the [WSJ, for example, does not typically publish anonymous pieces as a matter of policy](https://www.wsj.com/articles/publishing-anonymous-column-is-rare-editors-say-1536269520)), which could adversely affect your partner. To get around this, I would recommend just adding a 2-sentence note at the end explaining why you are anonymous and giving permission for your partner to publish the work as single-author.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The point of an exercise in dissecting a contentious issue is not that you must agree 100% on the solutions to the issues by the end. The point is to find where you and the other members agree and where you and the others agree either that a) further research is needed or b) fundamentally different approaches are being proposed.
Your desire not to sign off unless you agree 100% with everything in the document essentially defeats the integrity of the exercise. You are allowing your (preconceived) stand to override the goal of finding common ground. Common ground is saying "We agree on these statements, we need more time on these statements, and we disagree on these statements."
So, first compile a document that presents the statements where you both agree, where you both agree that further research is required, and where you both agree that you both disagree.
Then, prepare an addendum. Present your views for the statements where you disagree. Invite your co-author to do the same.
Avoid using the addendum as a way to poke holes in the main document. The addendum should be of the tone "I FULLY agree with the presentations in the main document. I see issues however at the noted points of disagreement. My reasons are as follows: ..." Limit the addendum to a minimum (e.g. one page or even one paragraph).
Submit the document and the two addendum pages.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: One more suggestion: Ask your professor/lecturer about handing in separate assignments. You're auditing the class, after all. Since you and your coauthor's positions differ substantially, it sounds like you would each be basically writing your own paper anyway even if you followed the first suggestion. Your professor may agree that each of you submit separately.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I do not know what was in the minds of those who set the exercise that is now causing trouble for you, but I find it hard to imagine any future career for you that will not involve collaborating with other people with whom you do not entirely agree. It certainly makes sense for an educational institution to set exercises to give you experience of that.
I have experienced another version of such an exercise in which you and the other person are given, say, 5 minutes, to state your case. A bell is then rung, and you are both required to present, fairly, for a further 5 minutes what the other side had previously argued.
It is an important life skill to listen to the other person's point of view, to understand it so fully that you could explain it to somebody else, and then, if possible, and it usually is, agree a statement of what you both agree on with clear indication of where you differ.
If I had set the task I would regard separate submissions from you and your colleague as failure to engage properly with the task.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: #### Write an essay where you "argue cooperatively" instead
Rather that attempting to write an essay that is an unsatisfying mish-mashed compromise between two contrary views (giving rise to legitimate concerns about putting your name to it), I would suggest you instead reframe your essay in a way that presents and discusses each of your contrary views *without presenting this as an agreed position*. Instead you can argue both positions in your essay and note the disagreement of the authors over the correct position.
As a general guide of how to do this, you could write a fruitful essay that is open about the fact that the authors take contrary positions on the matter, and present both views with some discussion of points of similarity and difference. By debating points of difference with your co-author, you ought to be able to give some fruitful contribution towards understanding the two contrary views. Here is [an example](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/9460913512) of a scholarly book in which two authors with contrary views on a subject "argue cooperatively" about the subject matter. There is no expectation in such a work that a compromised position must be presented with assent from both parties --- instead, the value of the work lies in the fact that it presents opposing views in a controversy and assists the reader to understand the merits and demerits of those positions.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2018/11/30
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<issue_start>username_0: This question is a splinter of [an earlier question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/120839/writing-homework-essay-anonymously-to-avoid-controversy?noredirect=1#comment320039_120839), posted separately upon advice from commenters.
The background is:
(1) I audited a course at an institute I don't belong to. As part of the course, an essay is being written by two of us.
(2) There is a chance that this essay would be published either internally or externally (not necessarily peer-reviewed).
The problem:
My co-author and I differ (significantly) on certain areas we write about. In a sense, we represent opposite ends of the spectrum. My partner is keen to publish; I am ambivalent.
I'm bothered by questions of academic integrity, namely:
(1) Do I withdraw entirely, allowing a one-sided, uncontested opinion to be expressed? This is the easiest option.
(2) Do we submit normally, with our names and affiliations, knowing that some opinions expressed are contrary to my own views, and may negatively impact my academic work at a later stage? While uncomfortable, this does seem fair.
(3) Do I remain anonymous, with the partner being the first author? This way we can address the divergence and bring out a contrast in perspectives, without me having to worry about long-term consequences. But I don't know if it is an accepted practice. I have come across questions on anonymity [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/70911/affiliation-and-address-when-writing-under-a-pseudonym?rq=1) and [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5408/is-pseudonymous-publication-ethical), but these primarily discuss single-author work.<issue_comment>username_1: Rather than *knowing that some opinions expressed are contrary to my own views*, you could present both views and clearly label them as such. For instance, you could open by explaining:
>
> The authors opinions differ significantly and each author presents their own opinion below:
>
>
>
Followed by each opinion:
>
> Author Name A: ...
>
>
> Author Name B: ...
>
>
>
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If your coauthor is not willing to somehow present the two sides of this coin as suggested by @username_1 -- which is *usually* the case -- I suggest you go with option (2).
You can always go back to that point to re-discuss the matter on your own, and there's always the chance you will see things a bit differently later, especially once this conflict of interests cools down.
Your career is potentially long, you're probably still young by now and thus prone to overestimate the future influence of a single short publication. Likely not many peers will read it as keenly as you expect, and even fewer will judge you for its contents (unfortunately this is how modern academia is).
**Back off now, come back to this later. Good luck!**
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: You haven't specified your field of study. I think the answer may depend heavily on whether you are in humanities vs. soft sciences vs. hard sciences. I will give an answer from the "hard" end of the spectrum: I work in applied mathematics.
If I didn't agree with the contents of a paper in a substantial way, I would certainly not consent to be an author of the paper. **Authorship implies a belief in the correctness of what is written**. I would go with option #1.
If I disagreed with coauthors over minor, subjective points (and this happens) I would work with them to find a way of presenting things that we can both agree on. In math, this often means simply leaving out speculative remarks.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: After looking at your previous post, I can't help but see this a bit differently. Unless the assignment had additional parameters about coming together around a controversial idea, and or the "challenge" is to merge your individual authorships into a singular voice, it kind of sounds like your over thinking it. It's not coincidental that you were put in random pairs, with a divisive theme/assignment. It seems like your anxiety over authorship differences, is not only going to be expected, but, it's kind of the point, yeah?
Sorry if i'm misunderstanding something, I just see the assignment as an opportunity to embrace the divide and embrace your differences. As far as precedent, make a new one. You can use subtle differences or typographic changes to refer to different voices. A communicatory battle to show the divide, to persuade your case, or to come together around universal ideas, or drastically break apart for the benefit of the reader, and so on. Maybe it's written from a legal guise, 2 sided, jury/reader persuasion. Maybe it's presented as 2 friends having a casual conversation, and finding ways to unify and come together around drastically different viewpoints.
Whatever it is, it sounds like it was designed to be that way, so I would embrace that, use it, and design/format/present it, in a way that doesn't hide from the divide and adds clarity for the reader.
Upvotes: 2
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2018/11/30
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm almost at the end of my Ph.D., writing down the thesis and having the disputation.
Well, my Ph.D. took me about 5 years. My main background is Engineering, but I changed my research domain to Computer Science during my master study.
So, my supervisor had a mindset at the beginning that I'm an engineer, but I can survive the Ph.D. project.
The first year went fine, I published a paper. I did another in the second year, and I like my Ph.D. topic.
During the first year, I noticed that she doesn't have any specific idea regarding how to proceed the Ph.D. work. I wasn't expecting her to instruct me in details but I was expecting some better abstract insight from her regarding my Ph.D. project.
Starting from then I tried to do my best using the literature and my own ideas. But I wasn't getting any feedback from her regarding my work, and how it looks in the general perspective of the field. I tried some top-tier conferences for which I got some rejections but at least I obtained some feedbacks regarding my work, that I was expecting to get from my supervisor in the first place.
Regarding reading my papers, sometimes she didn't have the time due to the closeness of the deadlines (which is a valid excuse), but even when she had the time, she was reading my paper with hesitations and biases. I was feeling a strong hatred in her destructive comments without providing hints and guides how to revise it. Even sometimes I felt being offended as she was criticizing my non-mathematical background and how my work does not feet to this field.
Also, even if she was reading my work, she was so careless in doing it especially to find the important facts in the work which led to the rejection as all the reviewers noticed that easily!! Worst than that, she never dares to discuss why my work was rejection and how to revise it, or how to answer the reviewers wisely!
For instance, I had a good chance at a top-tier conference but I failed the rebuttal phase while she just ignored my request to guide me through it.
During the 4th year, it was clear to me that I have a total ignorance from her, like if I'm not a part of her group anymore. She answers one out of every 5 emails from me after a second request! But I see her being different from others and spending a lot of time for them having chit-chats and unplanned long conversations and MORE ATTENTION and care about their works. In some occasions, I was proposing MS thesis topics to her and she was ignoring them and not even talking about them or giving any feedback. I was noticing MS students are assigned to her more favorite PhDs students even though my work was closer to those topics. I noticed she had opportunities of having involving me in collaborations with others people of her network, but she never mentioned that to me. During our colloquiums, she was treating/ignoring my questions/comments as stupid ones, and each time I had to send her a long email to precisely show her my point was worth considering. and more and more...
Well, I'm the international student of her group, and once she clearly states that she does not like international students as they are not good.
But I was surprised by that expectation as her group does not have any considerable contribution in any top conference in the field (maybe only 1)! They are normal Ph.D. students doing normal research. I know I am not an MIT or Stanford student, but based on the external peer-feedbacks I received from other experts in my field, I do not see any reliable basis to be treated that way! At least i deserved having feedback if i was doing something wrong!
Anyway, in the end I managed to supervise my Ph.D. work totally by myself and do my PhD project the best i could, and i think my achievements are good enough for the PhD level.
But my concern is what she might do in my defense day. A professor with that kind of biased mind against a student can act like a monster in a defense session.
Also, I aim to continue in academia at least as a post-doc for now. But, I'm afraid how she might react when being asked as the reference regarding my Ph.D. work. So i'm afraid she can ruin my career future if she wants!<issue_comment>username_1: **People can only influence your life within their political sphere and based on their willingness to do it.**
That means you'll feel no effects as long as you stay off your supervisor's sphere, specially if you give her no personal reason to actively persecute you. Academics typically overestimate the power of others, especially of PIs.
I've had a bad PhD supervisor who's quite influential within his sphere. I finished everything as diplomatically as possible but still through a bumpy relationship : **never** submissive, we've had our *spats*. I moved elsewhere to a series of postdocs increasingly far away. I always find opportunities & funding and design projects by myself. Never had any issues with my ex-PhD adviser that I aware of. The defense was smooth as I knew everything about my project and the committee was a friendly one. Usually *it looks quite bad* for an adviser to attack own students in their final defense.
Guess who provided a nice LoR to my latest position?
People only have as much power as we give them. **Keep your cool.**
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't think that your advisor will stop you from getting your PhD.
If she wanted to - she would have done so by now (simply cut you loose). Advisors have a vested interest in having their students successfully graduate, as they are a factor in promotion and tenure decisions. She may not be your most ardent supporter during the thesis defense, but any obvious act of sabotage would not be well received by your committee, and would make her look bad.
It sounds like your background and your advisor's expectations were mismatched from the get-go. Your advisor can absolutely hurt your career if you do not manage things carefully. She will be the *first* point of contact to anyone who considers you for a postdoc position, and getting an unenthusiastic reference letter from an advisor will significantly affect any decision about you a future host may make (all things being equal, most people would rather take the person with good references than the person without them).
There are mitigating circumstances that may come into play. Do any of the following apply to you?
1. You published as main author in top-tier venues.
2. You have allies that would vouch for you and write **glowing** reference letters in your advisor's stead.
3. You have some useful, unique skills that differentiate you from your peer group.
If none of these apply then I'm very sorry, but it is extremely unlikely that anyone will take you on as a postdoc, and I would explore options outside academia if I were you.
I would also be careful throwing the word discrimination around: I'm operating on very limited information, but from the way you describe it, a lot of the issues are because your advisor believed you had insufficient background and gave up on you rather early. I am not trying to discount your own perception of events here, just highlighting that ethnicity-based discrimination is a serious accusation and that you should think carefully about whether it applies in your case. Is there another local student from an engineering background who is treated better than you? Are there other international students whom this advisor treats well?
While hindsight is always 20/20, I think that it will be useful to note (perhaps to future users browsing SE) that there are a lot of telltale signs in your story that your relation with your advisor was broken rather early on, and perhaps the best thing to have done was to look for another advisor.
I'm sorry you're in this situation, and best of luck in the future!
Upvotes: 2
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2018/11/30
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently it happened to me twice that I had a paper which was under review for more than one year (first round) and that all inquiries about the status of the paper went unanswered by the handling editors. Both cases were reputable mathematics journals but not among the very top journals (not the Annals or similar).
Is it reasonable to withdraw the submitted paper in this situation and to submit it to another journal? What is a reasonable waiting time in such a situation, i.e. very long time under review (more than a year) together with an editor who does not respond at all to inquiries on the status?<issue_comment>username_1: There can be multiple reasons for lengthy review process.
1) Your work is very novel and its hard to find a reviewer.
2) You submitted your article to a journal who's scope is not fully relevant to your research area. According to my experience this is one of the major reason.
3) The ignorance of handling editor.
First make your own assessment if your work is very novel or if you have submitted to a journal who's scope is not fully relevant to your research area in both cases you may expect a much longer review process.
if its not the case 1) and 2), then Check the average time of first decision for recently published article, and contact handling editor after passage of average expected time. If Editor don't reply for another extra 25%~30% of average time, then write a withdraw letter and mention the unexpected delay as a reason for withdrawal to EiC.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: **Withdraw the paper(s) and send to a better journal.**
Its is clear from your description "(...)under review for more than one year (first round) and (...) inquiries about the status of the paper went unanswered(...)" that you're *not* dealing with a reputable journal.
Reassess your evaluation criteria and **aim higher**.
Good luck!
Upvotes: -1
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2018/11/30
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for a scholarship (women in graduate studies). It asks whether I have received any academic honors and prizes. I received a couple of master's awards from my supervisor's grant and a graduate scholarship. Do those count as an academic honor or not?
And in another part, it asks whether I have got funding in the past or present. I am getting some money for doing research. Is it a bad thing to include? They won't give me further funding? Having said that, the amount of money that I am getting for doing research is nominal, that is why I am applying for more funding.<issue_comment>username_1: I dont see why your graduate scholarship and masters award are not the honor or funding. I have used them in my CV for PhD applications, and plan to to include for my post-docs as well.
About funding: if you have received funding from any source, do mention it. It will not hurt your chances. In fact, it will demonstrate that you are a dependable researcher. Do mention about the project detail (if you can) and that you have successfully completed the project. When they ask about funding, it does not mean that they are not willing to give it to you. They are looking for someone who know the worth of the money he/she will get.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I received a couple of master's awards from my supervisor's grant and a graduate scholarship. Do those count as an academic honor or not?
>
>
>
If I understand correctly what you mean, I would argue that no. You should only list awards that are competitive (only a few students get them), are merit based (so not just given on a first-come-first-serve basis), and not automatically granted based on another achievement.
I'd imagine that you had already listed your master's degree on your CV, and mentioned your supervisor. Getting a graduate scholarship is not an 'honor' beyond the honor of being accepted to the graduate program (unless most students aren't supported); similarly, if you have a thesis advisor supporting you, you did not really compete for the award.
The same rule holds for conference travel grants. In my discipline, these are awarded at random, unless you are a best paper award recipient. If your paper was accepted to a conference then there's no point listing that you got some partial funding to go there. Again, you get that award because your paper got in + randomness, **or** because your paper was the best, in which case the travel grant is automatic (not an award in itself).
An award would be winning some prize (best paper, best poster, best presentation etc.); getting some competitive grant/scholarship (like a Google or Facebook fellowship); or an academic achievement (dean's list, valedictorian etc.). If you got accepted into a highly competitive program during your studies that might also qualify (say, you won an industrial internship at some company for outstanding academic performance).
My personal impression is that many students tend to inflate this part of their application. They list things that aren't honors (e.g. completing an online course certification), or very minor ones (e.g. 3rd place in a local high-school competition). This makes no sense to me. It makes it harder to distinguish the noise from the signal on student's current quality, and actually makes me generally more adversarial towards these applicants.
Good luck with your application
Upvotes: 1
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2018/11/30
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<issue_start>username_0: I am in an large, entry level course targeted at engineers. A few weeks ago, I was reading for another class while my professor covered material I was familiar with, and she marked me down as absent for at least one and maybe two classes. She has a strict attendance policy so that she gives a 5 percent penalty for missing three or more classes, and I already have three marked absences.
The only relevant section in the syllabus says, "Good manners provide the foundation for proper classroom behavior: arrive on time, listen attentively and take detailed notes, remain quietly in your seat until dismissed by the instructor." There is a strict no-screen policy, but nothing about reading.
I am considering taking it up the ladder and arguing that she should have asked me to put the book away if she wanted me to, as I spoke to her multiple times between the time of the alleged offense and becoming aware that she had penalized me for it. Do I have a good chance of a grade appeal? on merit? statistically?
She is a teaching only professor, so I assume she doesn't have huge sway in the department. It is a ginormous class at a large school though, so I probably don't either.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> The only relevant section in the syllabus says, "Good manners provide the foundation for proper classroom behavior: arrive on time, listen attentively and take detailed notes, remain quietly in your seat until dismissed by the instructor." There is a strict no-screen policy, but nothing about reading.
>
>
>
I am pretty sure that all department chairs would agree with a faculty member who concluded that reading in class is the opposite of *listen attentively and take detailed notes*. I would put your chances at exactly zero that the chair would override the decision to not credit you with attendance on that day, but marking you as absent for two days does not seem justified unless there is another penalty for not following *proper classroom behavior*.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: My dean once told me, "Remember where you're sitting." Approach this with *respect for the professor and from a position of strength*, ***not*** with disdain for the professor and from a position of weakness. Your best chance is to ask for probation, but you must also admit a no-brainer. It's all in here, try this:
>
> I am writing concerning the two absences I was deducted on account of reading unrelated textbooks during class. I request probation to have the statutory absences removed, but only on the condition that during finals I present responsible class notes for the remainder of the semester. As an engineering student, I should know that reading a textbook applies to the same principle as a the policy ban on mobile screens in class. Though this is an introductory class, covering information with which I consider myself to be familiar, I will hold a newfound respect for the importance of both foundational skills and the value of reviewing them. My grades are of concern to me, so if you as the lecturing professor will not grant me an achievable probation, I would only exercise my right to appeal by forwarding this same letter to the department chair, but I would go no further.
>
>
>
IME, this is your best chance. You can take suggestions from anyone, but it's still your own decision which course of action to take; whatever the results, the blame or the credit all goes to you.
*Brief explanation:* The goal is not to prove a prof wrong at the price of -5%; the goal is to reverse two special absences, and keeping peace is the best chance here. Every step of this letter does that.
---
To respect the community, I'm adding notes to explain, feel free to skip:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
*In my background, this isn't just theory, I wrote a letter to my school and had the student rules changed mid-semester. I also wrote a letter to Chicago and had the no-parking curbs painted yellow the following month. I've done more elsewhere and I know how to draft a letter that wins. The secret is that everyone needs to win and folly needs to be set in a third seat no one is forced to sit in.*
*No matter the outcome, no one loses face with this. If the prof permits the "probation", then the prof doesn't have to admit any wrongdoing. **Never ask your opponent to admit guilt as a requirement of granting your request.***
*The word "statutory" is vital because in a busy administration, these must be regarded as a kind of "technical foul", not actual, normal absences. The student has three actual absences, so there is a good chance for confusion. Any other word would require more words or be confusing. This makes everything clear.*
*Offering to keep good notes reflects the "original intent" of the prof's policy and a "coming into the fold" to support what "good attendance" is all about. It is also a way of "eating crow", a necessity to get probation anywhere, and the student gladly wears the dunce cap, but with a straight back, self-dignity, and gratitude to the prof for a punishment well-deserved. It shows dignity across the board, including the self-dignity of growing up and becoming a better person, which is what college is all about.*
*Engineering students should know the cross-media application. In the 1990s and before it was reading magazines. Today, it's playing on handhelds. Engineers produce "products" that fulfill the same, age-old purposes in society, but using technology for the time and purpose. An engineer who doesn't see the carry-over will have difficulty working with a product manager in the field. Moreover, that might have been covered in one of these boring, elementary (but vital) lectures.*
*Foundation, foundation, foundation—that is essential to any discipline. Also, this student might need to explain these principles to a product manager or a design team one day. Listening to this prof put things in simple terms might not only be for the students to learn, but also serve an example for what the students can say to teach other departments in a future company. Showing gratitude for this teaching method's "value" is wise.*
*"My grades are of concern" is the toned-down way of saying "It's my prerogative", which would be too wordy. Any student should be concerned about grades; some aren't! This student is one of the good students. And, it is perfectly understandable and reasonable that a student take steps to attain better grades, even with some normal college-age immaturity elsewhere. Any decent student would be foolish **not** to appeal for better grades if there were grounds for an appeal. Say so!*
*The final sentence might wrongly seem like a threat to some people. However, this is no more than a respectful reminder of the student's own rights. Always state your rights and that you may exercise them in any administration, whether school, government, courts, or any other. If anyone might feel put off by this, that could indicate a need to either learn about respecting the rights of others or to examine one's own motives. Why would you having rights make someone else feel threatened? What kind of a person would feel threatened by someone else having rights? With such a person, there is no way to win, and there would be nothing good or kind enough to say. But, I don't think that's the case here. This prof seems like a good person who genuinely wants students to learn because, though arguably harsh, the rules aren't totally unreasonable. Such a good person as this professor should not be offended merely by someone else reminding everyone of known rights.*
*Stating specifically how the student would make an appeal means that the student won't try to walk on the prof, but won't be walked on either. The prof knows what would happen, no surprises. So, the prof could go to the chair first and ask first, making a decision that won't be overturned by any appeal either way. Again, this allows saving face. If the student appealed, the chair is already in a position to respond, "I already know about this. The decision is final," yet the student wouldn't be seen a fool since the chair knew because the student said as much, nor would the faculty be seen as "gossipy". Everyone wins here, no matter the decision. Most importantly, saying "but I would go no further" means that the student will accept the decision and not keep beating a dead horse, something many people do. Say right away that you're not like that.*
***How to deliver & respond:***
*Print on computer, no headers, only "Dear [PROF]" and a normal first-last name closing, sign with "Your student, [NAME]". You could make the entire request in handwriting, but DO NOT SIGN with the John Hancock! DO NOT EMAIL! Go in person, at least to deliver. Emails can be scary, especially anyone watching the news lately. Emails are convenient in daily life, but in conflict they are limited and lazy—can't solve conflict. Take time to deliver a note in person, be soft, friendly, informal, "via memo"—all these things add a pinch of kindness and a dash of diplomacy—things this situation needs all it can get of. Everyone can save face by this being informal. But, having it on paper, the prof can go directly to the chair and ask for advice, having the options of doing so formally or informally; we want that. Administrations should have the power to administer, and in administration do everything in writing. Respect administration and administration will respect you.*
*The student could drop it in the prof's mailbox or pin it to a board outside the office, whatever works. If delivered in person, be charming and humble and thankful. Even if the prof denies the request, be thankful for the learning opportunity, sit in the front row, and take double notes the rest of the semester. The best argument is "hard work" and could result in the grades not being lowered, even if the prof says no at first. Kindness and respect melts hearts.*
***Final thoughts:***
*Remember, profs are humans who deserve attention, even in survey lecture halls. They genuinely want students to learn. Their strange rules often come as a way of trying their best to help students learn what they will need.*
*Administrations are made of rules and respect hierarchies by definition; bucking against either will only cause brain damage.*
*Being a sesquipedalian is actually a good idea because academic journals are the sacred texts of academia; when in Rome... The key is to not use big words that confuse meaning because they aren't needed. Though it could be toned-down, that's not the case here.*
*Lastly, even in admitting wrong—the student should don the dunce cap here, but do so thankfully and respectably—NEVER, NEVER, NEVER do this: "I'm right because... but I'm sorry and you're right." Don't be a wet noodle; stand up and act like you have a spine, say "I need to act respectable by respecting the prof!" What good prof could resist the urge to honor that! But, that self-justify-then-roll-over approach is [Satir's Blamer-Placater Distracter Mode](http://sourcesofinsight.com/satir-categories/) and is half a penny shy of a formal request for a public beating.*
*In school, the purpose is to learn. So, prove that you're good in school by proving that you are learning. Learning is your best defense and work demonstrated is its best evidence.*
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I would still take it up the ladder since that sounds like a stupid policy.
In my opinion, if she's not able to keep your interest, she should consider raising the level of the class, but there's only so much she can raise it without losing other students. It's not always possible to keep everyone's interest and you can't expect students to feign interest because it makes you feel important.
What does she care if you're quietly reading? It sounds like she childishly wants to be listened to. That's beyond wanting "good manners". She wants devotion.
You might as well complain to her dean. Even if you don't get what you want, if enough people complain, it's at least annoying for the dean who might pass the message on to her in one way or another.
---
Regarding some of the comments, when I wrote this answer, the only other answer here was essentially "suck it up, you have no power". When I saw that, I wanted to highlight why I think the situation is wrongheaded and unjust.
I think it's natural for professors to want the rapt attention of their classroom. But when that doesn't happen, my professors were much more mature than this lady. They did the best they could to *transmit their passion for the material*. In my opinion, that's the main function of education.
What happens when you try to force someone to care about something? They care less. It destroys the student's passion. If children are forced to eat something they typically end up hating it. Who fell in love with literature if not by reading great books? Who fell in love with mathematics if not by seeing the beauty of it revealed? No one falls in love by force.
If people don't care about your lectures, it's their loss. If, as a professor, you think that's bad manners, it's up to you to suck it up and just do your job as best you can. Sometimes the students are in the wrong program, and they'll find their way. Sometimes the professor is teaching the wrong class. I can't see any reason to punish someone for not overtly paying attention.
If you want to know how to diplomatically change the policy, take a look at username_4's excellent answer. I don't think we should get into the habit of accepting injustices. A simple paragraph email to the dean to explain your situation might not be effective, but I think it's a good habit to get into to express yourself rather pushing down your feelings of injustice. Some words that touched me were by <NAME>. who argued against a person:
>
> devoted to 'order' [rather] than to justice; who prefers a negative
> peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the
> presence of justice.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I will address two related but separate questions here: first, do you have a valid argument that the professor’s actions are unfair; and second, what should you do.
Let’s start with the purely logical issue of whether your complaint has merit. I think it does: your professor is being unreasonable and illogical and is abusing her authority. Here are several arguments that come to mind to substantiate these claims:
1. **Illogical justification for the course policy.** The professor justifies her requirement that students “listen attentively and take detailed notes” with a reference to “good manners” and “proper classroom behavior”. This is illogical. In a “ginormous class” as you describe it, there is nothing even remotely improper or contrary to good manners if a student does not take detailed notes or even does not pay any attention to the lecture, as long as they are not being disruptive. The professor is misusing the English language here: just sitting quietly in a class of, say, 100-200 students and thinking about whatever one wants to privately think about, or reading educational material on an unrelated topic as you were doing, is no one’s definition of impropriety that I have ever encountered; if it were, we’d be in serious trouble by the way, since if you walk into any large classroom anywhere in (for example) the US, at any given moment you’d see probably at least half the students doing exactly that (not to mention things that may actually be considered somewhat improper, like using their phones).
If the professor had just set out a policy mandating the taking of notes and attentive listening without giving a reason, one might have a harder time arguing against it (see below). But by illogically tying this to “good manners” and “proper behavior” she has undermined herself and set those rules up to be rightly criticized as being unrelated to the stated purpose they are claiming to be designed to achieve.
2. **Illogical punishment.** Another way in which the professor is being illogical is with the punishment she is giving you: she marked you as absent from one or maybe two lectures, but the unquestionable fact is, you were in attendance that day. Again, it is an abuse of authority and a misuse of the English language for the professor to pretend you weren’t in attendance in class when you were. Even if one accepts that she has authority to mete out some punishment for what you did (I don’t), she is again undermining herself by giving out what is an obviously unacceptable form of punishment.
3. **An abusive policy.** Even if one ignores the illogical justification given for the listening rules the professor set out in the syllabus, she simply has no authority to make such requirements.
Let me explain: it is usually assumed as a default premise that professors have the authority to make rules governing behavior in their classes. I see people making that assumption in some of the other answers and comments. Well, within reason, of course that’s correct, but it’s also obviously the case that no professor can mandate arbitrary rules that serve no purpose or that one cannot realistically expect students to follow, for example requiring that students wear silly party hats or risk suffering a grade penalty if they don’t.
In this case, the professor is trying to force her students to “listen attentively and take detailed notes.” Unfortunately this is simply an impossible requirement to satisfy. There are perhaps 1% of students (at really good universities) who have such remarkable powers of concentration that they would be able to sit through a 50 minute lecture and not once fail to listen attentively or fall behind with their detailed note-taking. (I’m positive I don’t fall in this group, by the way, but somehow managed to be a top student nonetheless and go on to a good career as a professor. Hmm...) And if the lecture is a boring one, that percentage would certainly shrink to 0%. Humans’ brains simply aren’t wired in a way that makes it possible to comply with the professor’s requirement.
Well, a requirement that the vast majority of students are physiologically unable to follow is null and void. No professor has the authority to make such requirements or to enforce them, even if the enforcement is selective and limited only to specific types of violation of the abusive requirement.
---
Now, I said I will discuss what you should do about the unjust treatment you are suffering. The truth is I don’t know. Appealing the punishment would make sense if you are in an environment where people care about fairness and logic, and if you did not fear retribution from the professor, but not all environments are of this type. Also, the appeal would have a real cost in time and mental energy that you will have to spend to get the outcome you believe is just; even then, success is not guaranteed.
If you do decide to appeal, try to ground all your arguments in logic as I have tried to do above. Just saying “this is a stupid policy” is not a good argument. One has to think carefully about, and make an effort to explain even more carefully, *why* it is a stupid policy; why allowing professors to make and uphold arbitrary rules will lead to all sorts of undesirable consequences and will result in students’ grades being less meaningful indicators of their abilities; why professors should be held to a high standard of logic and consistency in their treatment of students; and why your own behavior, even if technically in violation of some paragraph of text in some official-looking PDF document somewhere, was actually not only reasonable but actually rational, useful behavior that educators would actually want to *encourage* students to engage in to promote effective learning. All of those things are fairly subtle points, so the better a job you make of understanding them and explaining them to the powers that be, the higher your chances of success would be.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_5: Your entry level engineering course does have attendance requirements. Those rules were stated before you took the course. It does not matter whether you think the rules are silly or whether you think like I do that such rules are for children.
Do not take it further. It just turns up to the course. Going by what you have stated the professor is a bit precious which makes this likely to backfire on you. Maybe your so-called precious professor does not make the attendance rules either. Why should you expect her to say that you were there when you were not with the program? What if there were some safety aspects that students had to learn? These days with more internal assessment there is a greater correlation between being bad in class and getting bad grades.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_6: Depending on your location, it may be illegal to use attendance to affect grading without a proper justification of why (and when) it is necessary to demand the attendance. One location where this would be illegal: the Netherlands.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: People here are entering in complexe debates about the ethics or this or that...
She marked you as absent, were you and can you prove it ? That the only important thing here and the only thing you should bring up.
She is the one that will look stupid when she'll explain that she marked you absent because you were reading. Moreover if she can't prove that you were reading materials from another course.
Upvotes: 1
|
2018/11/30
| 424
| 1,556
|
<issue_start>username_0: For a conference paper, I created an image compiling data from multiple sources. What is the correct format for acknowledging the sources?
Map showing road condition (Data source: Esri, OpenStreetMap) or,
Map showing road condition (Data source**s**: Esri, OpenStreetMap)
In most of the literature, I observed authors commonly using 'source' when they mean 'sources'. Shouldn't it be 'sources'?<issue_comment>username_1: As long as you give proper credit to all images you’ve used and have not violated their terms of use, I see no reason why anyone would mind (or notice!) a little ‘s’.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: As others have pointed out, the choice is likely arbitrary since it will not affect the readability of your article much.
If you want to keep the formulation as is, I would personally go with "Data sources" as I think it makes more linguistic sense. If I would ask the reader to check out two published articles, I would write: "see the **papers** by [<NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom_Cobley) (1889) and [Alan Smithee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee) (1968)" and not "see the **paper** by Un<NAME> (1889) and Alan Smithee (1968).". Similarly, I would write "see the data sources Esri and OpenStreetMap" and not "see the data source Esri and OpenStreetMap".
However, one possible workaround would be to side-step the issue by chosing a different formulation. For instance, perhaps by writing "Data from", or just simply "Data".
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
|
2018/12/01
| 881
| 3,722
|
<issue_start>username_0: One of my professors gave me a recommendation letter for my master's degree application however I just noticed that she wrote the specific program that I'm applying to from a different university that I want to apply as well. Is it alright to just change that data? She send it on a pdf file, and I could easily change it to word and change it, but I don't know how acceptable that is. I'm afraid that the new program I want to apply will think is a fake letter or something like that. What should I do? Is 1.45 am and I need to finish the application ASAP.<issue_comment>username_1: Well you can use it to apply the the program / uni named with no issue.
You cannot edit it as you suggest as she did not write or sign that...
It would have been better, and I do this, to write the letter to be specific about you, not mentioning the course by name and date but more generically...
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: **You cannot do this.**
Your professor recommended you for University A; changing their recommendation to University B is fraud. I realize that they are probably also willing to recommend you for University B (they may even have promised to write a letter for University B), so I know it seems like you're just saving everyone some time.
But, the professor still hasn't authorized you to do this. I for one would be angry if I found out that anyone submitted a letter with my name on it without my explicit permission (and, for an undergraduate student, I would indeed want to glance at the updated letter before approving it).
The other concern is that University B could somehow find out about this and assume the worst (that you falsified the letter). They could reject you without even bothering to ask for clarification.
So, three options:
* Ask the professor to change it
* Ask the professor if you can change it (this addresses the first concern only)
* Submit it as-is -- as noted in the comments, programs will not generally be too concerned about this mistake, particularly if Universities A's competitiveness >= University B's competitiveness.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: As far as I’m concerned, if I were an admissions officer or on an admission panel, discovering such an action would be cause for me to call for immediate dismissal from the program and in fact from the university. I would advise the student that if called upon to explain this dismissal I would immediately indicate that it was because of admission under fraudulent premises.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: What you are proposing doing is called forgery. The reason it’s bad is that it involves deception and dishonesty. Even if your intentions are good, as they seem to be, that would make it well-intentioned forgery, but that’s still a kind of forgery, which is not only a big no-no in an academic context, but also a criminal offense in most places. So just don’t do it. More than that, don’t even *think* about doing it.
As for the practical problem you have that made you want to do this, it can be easily solved in a variety of ways that don’t involve any dishonesty. The simplest one would be to email the professor and point out the mistake, and ask her to fix it and send you a corrected PDF letter. At the same time, if you have an urgent deadline to meet, upload the original PDF with the mistake, and later find a way to contact the admissions office and send them the corrected PDF. This is just to correct an honest mistake, so I’m sure no one will make a fuss about this. By contrast, as others point out, finding out that you changed the letter the professor wrote would be immediate grounds for rejecting your application if not worse.
Upvotes: 2
|
2018/12/01
| 1,046
| 4,212
|
<issue_start>username_0: At the start of the semester, I was driven, powered, a little unfocused (my phone kept distracting me from studying.) But I kept pushing on and on.
But I made costly mistakes along the way.
-I insisted on reading the book for EVERYTHING.
Because of this, I would have to study into the day of the midterm and I would have the last 2-3 chapters unfinished and unstudied, only to find out that most of the chapters I had read were not ON the midterm.
I even neglected some classes for others. Even when I had done the book's examples in the class I was strongest in, I failed.
This isn't me making excuses or blaming the teachers for shifting content or making end content more valuable than the other, it just goes to show how my way of wanting to read everything just doesn't work right now.
Now I withdrew from 2 other classes and I'm down to the last two.
I want to work hard and focus on these, but now I have a different problem.
I think I'm afraid of busting my ass only to fail again, or rather. . .I don't see the point. So, I procrastinate.
I've bought energy drinks, coffee, went to the library to focus, but even then. . . I have issues with my parents and my interactions with them are like a tape playing on repeat in my head without consent.
When I finally knuckle down and get to studying, I just feel tired or listless and play a game or read something else for an hour. I keep telling myself I'll get to it, but I haven't in two weeks. Finals are approaching and I'm about to fail the last two classes I have, and I can pass them if I just figure out how to get past this.
This semester has been humbling. . .I took and passed 3 classes over Summer break with good grades, 2 B's and a C and these were under tight time constraints. Now, I can't even pass four classes over the span of four months. . . .
Right now I just don't see the \*\*\*\*\* point and I know I'm a fool for it.
I just need a little help. A little wisdom?<issue_comment>username_1: In general, your priority should be to follow all your classes continuously over the semester, working each topic immediately in order not to lag behind. Studying additional material is often recommended, but **not instead** of what you are taught.
You're burning yourself out, this is unhealthy and counter-productive. You don't need energy drinks or coffee, you need a more rational organization of your work. Thankfully it's a skill that you can learn. I would suggest that you find a fellow student and ask them for advice: how do they organize their work daily, weekly and in the semester? how much do they work? (and how much they *don't*: having some time to relax is essential for the brain to work properly). Maybe you could even find a group of fellow students to study together? It could help you to keep the pace and stay focused.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: One of the most destructive myths foisted on students is the idea that good grades are the result of being smart, motivated, and hard-working. In fact, good grades are the result of meeting the expectations of the person giving the grades. The best way to find out how to better focus your efforts is therefore to just meet with your instructors, explain what you've been doing, and ask them for advice about how to meet their expectations. Be polite and diplomatic about this (e.g., don't ask "How can I pass the class?") and don't complain about how hard you've been working or your family issues. No one is going to be receptive to the attitude that you deserve a certain grade just because you've put in a certain amount of time.
Some instructors will try to dodge the question or push you off onto someone else like the TA or the campus study center. Some instructors will lecture you about "your responsibility." But a good instructor will try to help. Even if the instructor is a jerk, be insistent and specific about what you need and be realistic about what can be accomplished in the remaining time. Don't put off talking to your instructors even if you want to crawl under a rock. It is after all exactly the instructor's job to provide reasonable help that students need to succeed. Good luck.
Upvotes: 3
|
2018/12/02
| 617
| 2,799
|
<issue_start>username_0: I've seen some review papers use images from other articles under the 'adapted from [ref]' description while most others use the standard 'reproduced with permission from [ref]'. Does the former not require asking for permissions from the original publisher? If I redraw images myself, is it sufficient to simply cite the reference at the correct places and not ask for permissions?
If I ask for the permissions to reproduce a large set of images from a variety of different publishers for my review paper which is to be published in a particular journal X, and for some reason they reject the review; do I need to ask for the permissions again before sending the manuscript to another journal Y?<issue_comment>username_1: **In short:**
In a review paper, you can reproduce parts of the articles you are reviewing, with proper citations.
**In long:**
Redrawing and reproducing images are different issues. The answers may vary in according to each country law, but I'm trying to give a general outline.
Information is free while its creative expression is protected by copyright. Therefore, you can take information from published images and draw your own, just as you can take information from an article and write your own text including that information. The resulting image is your own work, and the need to cite your source is mandatory in academia because of intellectual honesty, not because of copyright. However, your image wouldn't be your work if you had copied creative elements of the original work, just as a text is not your work if you copied sentences from someone else's work.
In the other hand, there are situations where you are allowed to reproduce other people's works. In the United States, [fair use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use) doctrine apply when **limited** reproduction of a work is justified and it doesn't cause an unfair prejudice to the copyright owner - copying for review purposes would fall into this category. Other countries have a more restricted [right to quote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_quote) which allows the cite of a part of a work for critics, review or discussion. Usually this right is extended to images and review papers would perfectly fit its purpose.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Usually the journal you are submitting to, will have instructions (even a form with legalese).
If it is just for your thesis, I don't think you need to be hyper legalistic, but ask for permission for the intended use (in your thesis). Email is sufficient (don't need a signature, but don't rely on word of mouth either. If part of the thesis ends up becoming an article later, just go back at that time and ask for the fuller permission using the journal's advised form or instructions.
Upvotes: 1
|
2018/12/02
| 2,242
| 9,064
|
<issue_start>username_0: The institute I am studying at has added the following requirement recently:
>
> A PhD scholar must publish two papers in his/her corresponding field
> in SCI journals.
>
>
>
This means that a student cannot get PhD without two SCI rated papers. To the best of my knowledge, novelty is a mandate for such journals; hence, novelty has became mandatory for a student to get PhD in my institute.
In this context, I have the following query: **Why is novelty mandatory for a PhD degree?**
Consider a scenario in which a student is ambitious and wants to do research on an open problem or famous unsolved problem in his/her field. The student cannot attempt to research such a topic since research may be locally saturated, and he/she cannot come up with a novel idea. Does the rule not restrict the research on such problems? I can see the alternatives like tutorial papers, survey papers, etc., but some of these require only highly experienced geeks.
**Note**: Assume that neither the PhD student nor the PhD supervisor is an extraordinary person in that particular field.<issue_comment>username_1: Novelty is a basic requirement in research because without novel results, the work is of at best limited usefulness. It's not useless - review papers are useful - but it's less interesting to the people at the frontier. In the case of a PhD, it is supposed to signify a student is now capable of doing research. Research (as opposed to literature review) necessarily involves new and novel results. Therefore novelty is a requirement.
If I understand your last paragraph right, you're wondering about open problems which might be too complex to solve in one go. But in that case, you still get new and novel results - they might be partial results, but they're still results. The same goes for research using new methods that turn out not to work: knowing where not to look is not as useful as knowing where to look, but by narrowing the parameter space, it's still useful.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Axiom
=====
My answer derive from following definition of the PhD and its thesis.
>
> The **purpose of a PhD** is to train a research student as an **autonomous scientist**
> and a **good researcher** — i.e., as someone deserving the grade of Doctor.
>
>
> The **objective of a PhD thesis** is hence to **demonstrate to one’s peers** that its author can be considered in this way by **reporting the successful\* completion of a high-quality piece of research**.
>
>
>
Depending on one's field, the monograph-style thesis can be replaced by a set of published peer-reviewed paper. The objective remains the same.
Question
========
The question is then ***"What is an autonomous scientist and a good researcher?"***
>
> Being a good researcher means first to **do science well**, second to **do good
> science**, and third to **do a lot of science**.
>
>
> *Doing science well* means following its **ethical rules**, being **thorough**, **honestly** and appropriately **reporting one’s results**, **crediting one’s peers** for their work and **acknowledging** one’s work **limitations**, using the **adequate tools and methods** to solve a problem, and doing research that is **reproducible**.
>
>
> *Doing good science* means addressing a **relevant scientific gap**, an issue that is influential, a research problem that matters for science, the society, and the industry.
>
>
> *Doing a lot of science* means to tackle a large-scale problem, to **address subsequent research gaps**, to contribute to multiple issues of a coherent sub-field.
>
>
> One must, however, note that **these criteria are conditional to one another**. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.
>
>
>
To this, I would add that (it is my opinion, and one may disagree) **the job of a researcher is to do science**.
And **doing science means reporting new knowledge that is as truthful as possible**.
This is achievable using the **scientific method** that is commonly acknowledged as the best method for creating/unveiling (depending on your ontological positioning) reliable new knowledge.
Answer
======
So, to pragmatically answer your question:
* **the purpose a a PhD is to train you as a scientist**,
* **producing new** (and highly reliable) **knowledge is quintessentially the role of a scientist**.
Hence, ***you cannot be recognized by your peers as a scientist*** *(i.e., being awarded the \_Doctor\_ title)* ***if you don't prove that you can produce new reliable knowledge by yourself***.
The confusion might come from the fact that — as it has been highlighted in comments — scientists do literature review, and literature review are useful and valuable. However, they are not the core of what *is* a scientist.
Post-scriptum
=============
It it worth highlighting again the last quoted paragraph:
>
> **These criteria are conditional to one another**. Doing a lot of science serves no purpose if one does not do good science. And more importantly, doing good science serves no purpose if one does not do science well.
>
>
>
Thus, I think that, **when doing a PhD**, one should mainly **focus of the quality of one's contribution, rather than breadth or scale.**
In other words: what matters is not that much *what* you have proven, but *how* you have proven it.
Of course I had the dream of a breakthrough thesis.
Yet I think that, during a PhD, it is more important to produce only a few robust, well designed experiment and well reported results on a minor "research gap"; rather than aiming to tackle a large scale issue without being able to produce robust results or reliable conclusions.
It's only once you'll have proven that you are a good researcher and autonomous scientist, that you'll be able to secure a job as a scientist/researcher.
And **then you'll have time** (and money, and support, and experience, …) **to shoot for the stars**.
Yet **this is not the objective of a PhD**. Everything in its own time.
---
Citations are excerpt of… the preface of my PhD thesis.
\* Note that *"successful"* is to be understood as *"We have completed each step of the scientific method"*. I.e., it does not consider whether results are positive or negative.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This answer will be a bit different and not limited to the sciences as the other current answers seem to be. It will also apply to many similar degrees not designated PhD. I'll use the term "doctorate" as an abbreviation for "research doctorate" to distinguish it from other degrees such as those that are clinically focused, for example.
Study for a doctorate (PhD and similar degrees) in a field is intended to teach you how to carry out *scholarship* in that field, whatever it is. Scholarship is always intended to be the *extension of knowledge*. A successful scholar extends what is known in the field of interest. In literature, for example, you can study *Dr. Faustus* by Goethe and give a perspective never considered before. This would be, as are many (most?) studies, very narrow. But it can also be very deep. If someone says that your thoughts aren't actually novel, but a simple extension of things written a few (or a lot of) years ago, then those thoughts don't really *extend knowledge*. So, if all you can accomplish are *derivative* works, without novelty, then you haven't reached the point of being able to *extend knowledge* in your field.
The actual accomplishment need not be earth shattering in its implications. Most are not - even in mathematics and the sciences. But you have to be able to say something that is *interesting* to other scholars, preferably something that will permit them to extend their own work in new ways not yet considered.
There are a lot of ways to demonstrate that you are, indeed, able to extend knowledge in your field. A requirement of publication in a good journal is just one way and it is easy for the faculty to judge, since the reviewers and editors of the journal help them in their judgement task. Not so many years ago, in mathematics, there was no requirement to publish before obtaining the doctorate and your "proof of ability" was measured only in your dissertation as evaluated by the local faculty, perhaps with some supplementing.
Research in any field is directed at extending the "known world". You need to demonstrate the ability to do that to earn a doctorate and to be known as a "doctor" of the field. Only "novelty" will do.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: A PhD thesis demonstrates the candidate's ability to perform research. Research, by definition, adds something novel to the body of knowledge.
>
> *Research:* The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources
> in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
> ([Oxford English Dictionary](https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/research))
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4
|
2018/12/02
| 1,797
| 7,415
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am the course lecturer of an undergraduate course.
For a recent assignment, I had written the assignment deadline as 23 November 2018 (Saturday). Unfortunately, 23 November is actually a **Friday**, and not a **Saturday**.
I received an email from a student asking for me to excuse his/her assignment which was submitted late. The student explained that he/she marked the deadline as Saturday, without checking the assignment date.
### Question
*Should I excuse the student's late submission because I made a slight mistake in specifying the assignment deadline?*
Note: We use a learning management system to receive assignment submissions, and the assignment deadline was entered correctly in the learning management system.
### What I decided to do
**For the current incident:**
After reading the answers, and thinking it through, I decided that it is better to use the later of the two deadlines (i.e., 24 November Saturday) as the official deadline for the assignment.
I did make a mistake in writing the wrong day of the week for the deadline,
and students could have been misled with my mistake.
It is not fair to punish such students for my mistake.
**For future courses:**
* The more places I put the deadline in
(e.g., the syllabus, the assignment itself, the learning management system),
it becomes likely that I will make a mistake somewhere.
* In the future, I will put the deadline in only the learning management system, and refer students to check the deadlines there.<issue_comment>username_1: If the assignment deadline was not shown correctly to the students, then it is **your** error and they cannot be penalized for being late.
Claiming it is correct in one area while incorrect in another does not absolve you, you caused the confusion so you have to accept late submissions, as long as they arrived on Saturday...
Any submissions on Sunday will, of course, be late.
Re-reading this, it sounds a bit blunt... Probably because I have done exactly the same and had to sort it out after... Peace reigns if you stick to being fair, so giving them the extra time does not usually make much of a difference, except for the recognition from the students.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: If you occasionally published two different dates as a deadline, you should accept the work until the latest date without penalty. This is what essentially happened: you announced the deadline as 23rd Nov 2018 but also as Saturday, which is not the same day. Go with the latest of two then — this is the best way to be fair in this situation.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: First thing: The student **handed in on the *shown* deadline**. That says *everything*. Not accepting is not an option in any reasonable way. But to be more specific:
**In dubio pro reo** *(in a case where nothing happened anyway)*
Mistakes happen. Like you writing the wrong day for a certain date. Happened once, the "damage" is that students *may* have a reason to hand in *one day later*. That's it. And that's basically nothing.
Students are humans too. Most probably he/she really did not pay too much attention, did not look it up properly. Like no one of us would have or normally does in his daily business. And that's fine. Because it was not about life and death.
Let it be like that and accept the hand-in saying that you really wrote the wrong day (and may even apologize for the small mistake, as it may caused some confusion and a little anxiety to the student when he realized it). Even thinking about that incident is too much energy wasted for nothing happened. And be happy that you did not write the date of a test wrong or similar. Keep the mouse a mouse, don't make it an elephant.
*Also, not accepting it will result in punishing a (most probably) innocent student. That's just unfair and will leave a very bad impression with the student. No reason to risk that.*
.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I think the most important question a teacher should ask about their own actions is "What my action will teach?"
If you accept the late submission you will teach that one must assume their own mistakes and get full responsibility.
If you don't, you will teach that the people with more power don't need to clean up and take responsibility after mistakes, and the underdogs should not trust them.
We can say the last will prepare the student to be a good employee in the corporate world, and the first to be a responsible person.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_5: ### You can only hold people to what you *said clearly*, not to what you *intended*
>
> I did make a mistake in writing the wrong day of the week for the deadline
>
>
>
Says you. As a student, I was given an assignment due on Saturday the 24th. What's that you're saying? That the numeric date has 23 rather than 24? Oh, surely that's the mistaken - it's just a typo.
See what I mean?
Actually, even in a more extreme case, where you merely hinted that the later day is appropriate, and did not spell it out, you should still have accepted late submissions.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: Purely from a standpoint of error distance, I would probably put more trust in the spelled-out day than in a numeric date, if there's any conflict between the two, because it's much more likely to accidentally hit `3` instead of `4` than to type `Satur` when you meant to type `Fri`. Of course that only applies to the mechanical aspect of typing, for most brains it's probably just as easy to mix the two up.
In any case, unless you noticed your error and communicated an unambiguous correction within a reasonable timeframe, it seems only fair that you should accept submissions up to the latest possible reasonable interpretation of the originally communicated deadline.
I say “reasonable" interpretation, because I guess the *latest possible* interpretation would be Saturday, November 23rd of the next year in which November 23rd is a Saturday. (This wouldn’t make sense in an academic context, but it’s a possible result of a typo in some longer-range planning.)
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_7: I think there is no other choice for you than to excuse your student. As he/ she already mentioned that he/ she follow calendar day deadline instead of calendar date which is also clearly mentioned in your submission deadline . So being a very valid reason and a typo mistake on your part, your student should be given excuse .
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: In my experience, there seem to be (at least) two different kinds of professors/teachers: those who believe that it is their purpose to convey knowledge and those who believe it is their purpose to fail students. At this point, I'm making to judgement here; it is easy to find ethical and rational reasoning for both approaches (i.e. the '[high washout rate](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100630184621AAipBxr)' used in some colleges) but I will leave judging the ethics of those as an exercise for the reader.
So—you probably want to ask yourself what your purpose in teaching is.
Is it to teach students, proliferate knowledge, and make sure people learn what you want to course to convey? If so, be lenient.
If, on the other hand, you think your principal job is to filter students by failing them hard and early, this is a perfect opportunity to do so.
Upvotes: 3
|
2018/12/02
| 503
| 2,123
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am applying to a university for a PhD position because my girlfriend is a PhD student there. Our affair is quite serious and it is almost surely going to convert into a marriage. We might even get engaged in 2019.
I have been in touch with professors from this university. Moreover, I am using some of the results of another professor directly in my masters thesis. I have a lot to write in the statement of purpose from a technical point of view.
However, because of my girlfriend, this university becomes a top-priority for me against all other PhD offers I may get and I want to stress this in my PhD application.
Should I mention this in my SOP? How should I mention it, if the answer is yes.<issue_comment>username_1: I can't see any scenario in which that would help and can see many in which it would hurt you. The first question asked would be "Is this guy serious???" People are looking for people dedicated to the academic process, research, learning, etc. Personal reasons such as this, and many others, shouldn't be mentioned. Take about why it is that you want to work with this faculty and what your long term academic goals are.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I agree with username_1. Put it other way around: there are people with whom you compete. Do you think the university should prefer person 1 over person 2 only because his/her has non-academic relationship to university? I do not think. Furthermore, I think that if this was a case, that would be unfair towards other people. If you mention it you might be tagged by the committee as a boyfriend of someone. But you might want to be someone of your own.
A possible reason to declare this might be if university requires to declare any family relationship with university stuff. But I do not think that it's your case because your girlfriend is not an university employee.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes you should mention her as a collaboration, but don’t declare any conflict of interest. You will only get yourself in trouble if you do. Show the University you have done your research.
Upvotes: 0
|
2018/12/02
| 396
| 1,663
|
<issue_start>username_0: Most of the US graduate programs I'm applying to require official transcripts sent in a sealed envelope from the issuing university itself and not by the candidate. I visited my registrar office and they are willing to provide sealed envelopes containing official transcripts to me but they do not post these envelopes on their own. Will the US universities accept the envelope sent by the candidate instead by the university address?
I have written to the concerned office/graduate officer in the universities, but I think due to Thanksgiving, I have not yet received a response. Also they get thousands of emails so I’m not sure how soon I will get a response from them.
And timing is crucial because my university is in different state altogether which is a day’s journey from my place by train. And Indian universities don’t do well with telephonic or email support, so things have to be tackled in person. Apart from the cost issues.<issue_comment>username_1: I'm in the US, graduated from US university. I've personally send sealed transcripts. If they don't do this normally, ask the university to use an official stamp and place it across the seal of the envelope. That provides proof that the transcript hasn't been tampered with.
This [link to a PDF](https://web.uri.edu/admission/files/ExamplesofProperlySealedEnvelopesforTranscripts.pdf) from University of Rhode Island shows several examples of properly sealed transcripts.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You have to do it yourself. I have faced the same issue with UPTU where they just provided me with sealed transcript and I had to post them by Fedex
Upvotes: 2
|
2018/12/02
| 1,749
| 7,683
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<issue_start>username_0: I want to explain the particular situation in my university, and advice for how should I act (or at least how my mental status should be).
Traditionally, the management positions in my university (dean of the science school, head of studies, director of PhD program, etc) has been taken by either Full Professors (with a longstanding research record) or Associate Professors with some kind of recognition (an strong research record, mostly).
From a time on, there is an phenomenon that is happening: Full Professors are not willing to take these positions (most of them they have acted already taking such positions) and younger Associate Professors are more interested on research that on management (which is on the other side, something normal, as I think the same :-P).
My point here is that now all these positions are taken by people (mostly Associate Professors) without research perspective (people with 20 years at university but with 2-3 research papers), and without global perspective. The consequence is that the institutions are decreasing the excellence and the level, and this is something I consider very bad.
I am very active on research and I would like to continue in this way, but I am very worried about this, because I love the institution and I believe that if everybody contributes (just a little!) the things would go better.
Here is my dilemma: as an Associate Professor who loves the institution I am and who wants the best for it I am considering starting doing some management, because I do not like the situation I am seeing. Of course I would prefer to continue focussing on research, which is why I am at the university. My point is that my colleagues (associate professors) that do not care about this issue and continue focussing on research will have an easier path in the forthcoming years to be promoted to full professors (and being clear, a better salary is also something to take care in a decision).
So: which is the mental state I should take: as I want the best for my institution I should sacrifice a little (or a lot) my research time in order to do some management, or should I be more egoist, focus as I am doing, in research with a more chance later to be promoted to Full Professor and take this more apathic point of view?<issue_comment>username_1: Sorry, but I don't recognize anything in your question that suggests why you would want to take on management duties. What you have sounds like a pretty good situation as you aren't describing any sort of dysfunction.
Realize that you can't do *everything*. You are probably better off focusing on what you do well and do, primarily, that one thing. It sounds more like you are interested in research, or the institution mostly rewards research. If so, do that, and leave the management to others, whoever they are.
Also be aware that a manager's chief job is to optimize he environment so that *other people* can do well. It isn't to be a "boss" or to carry out the main work of the organization. It is to enable others to do that. It involves working with people, rather than ideas, and finding compromises that let everyone succeed, not just within the department but within the larger structure as well.
My advice is to discover what you do best and to work into a situation in which you can do that and do it well. Management won't necessarily be any easier or harder than what you do now, but it will probably be very different. Among other things, expect to have much less time available for the research that leads to publication.
By the way, some institutions rotate many of the management positions (especially department head) among the tenured faculty. It isn't necessarily the most efficient system, but it gives everyone, eventually, a better sense of the workings of the organization as a whole.
I used to think that I could do a better job than any of my superiors. Often that was true as I had quite a number of poor administrators. I eventually wound up in a situation when everyone from the president down to my department head was excellent at what they did and was totally supportive of the faculty and students. Over a 45 year career it was a rare occurrence, and it didn't last.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This is a good question, but I don't see how anyone other than you can answer it. You write that you "[love] the institution ... [and] do not like the situation I am seeing." You also write that "I am very active on research and I would like to continue in this way." You have to ask yourself (i) whether you have the capacity to address both of these things -- some people do, and (ii) if not, which is more important to you. In other words: Would you be happy 5 years from now knowing that you did the best research possible but that you let your environment fall apart? Would you be happy 5 years from now knowing that you tried your best to make your university run well, at the cost of answering the research questions that drive you? Some people would answer 'yes' to the first question; some 'yes' to the second. No one but you can answer this.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Others have already spoken to your personal dilemma, but I'd like to also address this:
>
> My point here is that now all these positions are taken by people (mostly Associate Professors) without research perspective (people with 20 years at university but with 2-3 research papers), and without global perspective. The consequence is that the institutions are decreasing the excellence and the level, and this is something I consider very bad.
>
>
>
I don't think it necessarily has to be this way. Of the administrative positions most departments have to fill, there are the department head, the graduate director, and the undergraduate director. For all three of these, it is not necessary to be an excellent and recognized researcher: The skill set to be good at these jobs is actually quite different from that of being a good researcher.
Now, there clearly are colleagues whose research has come to some kind of halt, for many possible reasons. (In fact, that happens to some degree to most faculty over their career.) If they happen to be good at administration, I see nothing wrong with them becoming administrators in the department. In fact, it is one of the avenues for them to *contribute* to the department, have a job that is valued, and that helps them get decent annual evaluations that they couldn't get if they were evaluated on their research. So it is an honorable way to serve a department once their research wanes.
What you describe then seems to come down to the fact that you have people in these positions who are neither great researchers, nor good administrators. That's a bit of a shame, but it is something that can be addressed. For example, the (under)graduate director positions really are mostly administrative: talk to people, keep the wheels spinning, and things will be mostly fine even if there is little long term planning happening. If the people you have in these positions are good at keeping things going but bad at planning, then institute an (under)graduate committee that is responsible for the planning part. That's where the research active people can then spend an hour a week bringing in their perspective -- without having to spend 20 hours a week at the administrative part.
What I'm trying to say is therefore: Build structures that utilize the skills that people have and augment those they don't. These are things a department can do, and as a member it's up to you to make the necessary suggestions to make it happen!
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/02
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<issue_start>username_0: I am starting my PhD in Statistics soon and while I will try not to burn myself out, I still want to publish as much as possible while I am in my PhD program.
What are some useful tips that allows PhD students to produce many publications of good quality throughout the duration of the PhD? I have no previous experience writing papers, so I don't have any general idea as to how I will do this.
Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: If you want to publish a lot of (scholarly) papers you need a lot of novel/new/interesting results. To get results you need (a) a lot of ideas and (b) a lot of hard work to develop those ideas.
If you are lucky then maybe a third of your initial ideas will end up in a result that is interesting enough to publish. Some of the ideas will be so easy to develop that they aren't worth publishing. Some of them will be so hard that you can make no progress in a reasonable amount of time.
To have a lot of ideas you need a firm foundation in your field, both what is known and what isn't yet known, but worth knowing if it could be arranged. Probably you won't be able to find those ideas yourself, or not very many of them, so you can work with other people who have ideas and with whom you can develop synergistic relationships to explore the unknown corners of your field.
To become a writer, you need to write a lot (as user henning suggests in a comment), but it takes more. You need to learn what is worth writing about first.
Since you are unlikely to know everything, or why some things are important or not, you need feedback on your work (and your writings). This is one of the reasons for having an advisor. He or she should be both a source of ideas and a sounding board for the ideas you have and how you develop them. So build a strong relationship with your advisor.
Another source of idea will be any state-of-the-art lectures that you can attend and any recent papers that explore ideas but leave some questions unanswered.
So, work with a lot of people. Listen to them and read what they write. Try a lot of things, expecting to leave much of it on the floor. Get a lot of feedback. Give out ideas as well as receive them. Make ideas your currency. Work hard. Take a lot of notes so that when something doesn't work out, but might later, you have a structured way to remember what you did earlier.
Always have something with you to read. Always have the means with you of writing down a quick note on an idea.
Papers, again, represent the successful exploration and development of ideas resulting in something known that was unknown before you started.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: username_1's answer covers what you need to get good content, so I'll add a slightly different take. I’m not sure how important conference publications are to you or in your field, but they can be considered at least on a par with journals in some fields. The big advantage is that they operate on stricter/shorter deadlines. They offer the chance to publish "work in progress", or sometimes just a more interactive audience, provided you have the funds to attend.
Assuming you have no shortage of novel ideas, and your writing is good, maximising publications during your (finite and short!) PhD years can be aided by picking your targets carefully. Find out the "call for papers" deadlines of good conferences (or special editions) and plan accordingly. If you have work that can be done "in parallel", prioritise so you can meet a deadline.
Plan for rejections, too - some papers take more than one submission to be accepted and you want to optimise the time between submissions (enough to get the paper up to scratch and meet the next deadline).
As for finding targets, it seems obvious but make sure you note *what* you are **reading** - which paper or conference did it come from? You can find out the rank of a conference using websites like [conference ranks](http://www.conferenceranks.com) or assess a journal on its impact factor or other scores. Acceptance rates might provide consolation in the face of rejection! On their own, these metrics might be a bit, *ahem*, subjective, but they’ll give you an idea of how journals and conferences rank in your field.
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/02
| 2,146
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<issue_start>username_0: I've done my Master's degree in Computational Mathematics. Then, because of several reasons, I decided to pursue my Ph.D. in the field of Quantum Chemistry.
The problem is, obviously, my lack of knowledge in this area. I'm studying, but even in my second year there are still many things I don't understand or which I understand incorrectly.
Now I'm stuck on one, probably pretty basic, concept, where I'm not able to find the proper explanation either on the Internet or in my books and my friends seem to be also quite confused by it (they seem to have just some general idea, as they have, probably, never needed to use it).
Now I'm not sure if I should ask my Ph.D. supervisor about it. **Is it considered appropriate to ask your advisor about (probably) basic concepts in Ph.D. program?** I'm afraid he'll think that I'm not willing to study the topic myself and that I'm wasting his time.<issue_comment>username_1: If your colleagues in the department—presumably also PhD students—don't understand the concept, either, it doesn't strike me that the question is truly "basic." That said, if your advisor is aware of your background, then he should know that there will be some things that might not be "obvious" to you.
Now, in this case, you have already "done your homework": you've searched for an answer on your own but couldn't find one. Mention this to your advisor when you ask the question. A good advisor will recognize that you have done what you're supposed to and provide some guidance to help you. He may not provide you all the answers but should at least be able to point you in the right direction.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Don't ask any basic question if you haven't first *googled it* or looked it up on *wikipedia*.
If you read a couple of papers, and still don't understand, you can ask.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: Consider the risk-reward tradeoff here.
If you keep quiet and use the wrong interpretation of this "basic" concept, you risk spending the rest of your research time producing nonsense, because you did the equivalent of assuming 2 + 3 = 23.
If you ask your supervisor, you risk looking a bit stupid for five minutes.
The choice seems like a no-brainer to me!
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: No. It’s better for both of you to understand each other and make sure you’re going in the right direction. Neither of you wants to find out later that what could have been a short conversation has instead been weeks or months doing pointless work based a misunderstanding.
It’s normal to ask for clarification if you’re unsure of anything. Academics do this with each other all the time due to their different backgrounds and specialties. It’s part of a healthy and supportive student-supervisor relationship. They have a responsibility to guide you.
That said: Don’t waste their time. It is your responsibility to show what you’ve done to solve your problems and explain what you need from them clearly. They’re very busy and often working on multiple projects. Still you can and should ask for clarification if you’re unsure you understand their answer, even if it’s on seemingly basic topic. If they don’t have time to explain it to you, they can recommend resources to review the topic. They should never humiliate you for not knowing on the spot. Their role is to guide and train you, not test you every step of the way.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: You are doing a PhD in a difficult subject. If something is hard for you, then it's hard. Other people, perhaps even many other people, might know how to do it, but that's because they encountered this hard thing before you did. I say this because it's very easy to fall into a trap where you spend all your energy trying to conceal your "ignorance" and never ask the questions you actually need the answers to. That's bad for you, obviously, but it's also bad for the people around you, because the informal discussions that asking such questions spark are one of the main things that drive academic communities forward. So yes, you should ask.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: I was on both sides of the fence.
**As a PhD student**, I asked my supervisor several times about concepts which were maybe obvious for people from that specific field, but not for a newcomer.
Like you, I did my homework and explained my supervisor (a great supervisor, by the way) what I needed, what I searched and why what I found was not helpful. Usually within a few moments I was on the right track.
This was mutually beneficial: he also got to understand what students (MSc level in his field he was a teacher for, outside of the PhD program) may find difficult (and changed some of his notes accordingly), and to realize that advances in other fields may help him as well.
He was welcoming such questions.
**As someone who tutored two PhD students** (cross disciplinary), I always asked them at some point *"do you understand?"*. I specifically told them that I am asking this question so that they do not feel bad about not knowing (especially when I was sensing a disconnect between the eyes and the brain - for whatever reason).
I was also asking them whether they knew what *X* was, when I was about to discuss *X*. I did not want to start before we were on the same page.
To summarize: do ask, show that you did search for an answer, and if your thesis director is a good one he could eventually even encourage this.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: of course not, but that depends on what type of basic questions you are going to ask. Sometimes a basic question will lead to the change of our stereotype knowledge.
For instance, the recent science publication gave us an example. Check "[Prolonged milk provisioning in a jumping spider](http://science.sciencemag.org/content/362/6418/1052)".
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: Why not... it is the natural right of a student to ask any question whether it belongs to basic theory or modern theory. Actually, students get reluctant to ask basic questions despite not understanding because they feel embarrassed from their coursemates on asking basic questions. You should not at all care what others think and continue to ask as many as basic questions until the time you have a clear conception, because to get a good grip on the latest theory concepts, you must have a clear understanding of the basic theory.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: In your question, you've used three rather different terms: "instructor", "supervisor", and "advisor". My understanding is that one generally doesn't have a specific faculty member as an adviser until one has advanced to candidacy (one may have a faculty member advising you, but one wouldn't have an official *thesis* adviser), and by the time one is a candidate, one should have mastered anything that is truly basic. That being said, while mastering the basics before advancing to candidacy is better than not mastering the basics before advancing to candidacy, not mastering the basics before advancing to candidacy and asking one's adviser for help is better than not mastering the basics before advancing to candidacy and not asking one's adviser for help. Furthermore, not knowing the basics before advancing to candidacy reflects as much on the school as you, as that is the whole point of qualifying exams.
As for an "instructor", it's their job to teach you everything in the course, and if there's material they expect you to come into the course knowing, it's their/the department's job to make that clear in the prerequisites. It's not your job to teach yourself the material; if you were going to do that, you wouldn't need an instructor in the first place.
If your friends are confused on this point as well, then that suggests it's not truly basic, or your program has failed to prepare its students on basic matters. Asking faculty members to explain helps not only you, but your fellow students (assuming you share what you find with them), and the faculty, as it hopefully will clue them in that students don't have a solid foundation in this area.
>
> I'm afraid he'll think that I'm not willing to study the topic myself and that I'm wasting his time.
>
>
>
If you come to a faculty member, and say "These are the books that I've read on this subject, this is what I've learned from them, this is what I still don't understand, this is what my fellow students have said when I asked them for help, what do you have to help?", it would be difficult for them to conclude that you're not willing to put in work yourself.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_10: My PhD supervisor always tells me "You come here to learn, I don't expect you to know everything", so I think there's nothing wrong asking question to your PhD supervisor. Perhaps, you can raise the question in an interesting way, backed with previous information you know about. With that, you can develop a discussion where you get answers to your question.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/03
| 2,171
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<issue_start>username_0: While I was browsing faculty websites, I came across this [page](https://iblagouchine.perso.centrale-marseille.fr/teaching.php) (new link: <http://www.pdmi.ras.ru/~iaroslav/teaching.php?screen_check=done&Width=360&Height=640>). Near the bottom there is a section called *Top 6 Most Stupid Questions & Remarks That I'he Heard from my Students* where one can find a question and the first name (followed by one letter) of the student who asked it!
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8IVSB.png)
Just in case the page is eventually taken down here it is on [archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20181203105110/https://iblagouchine.perso.centrale-marseille.fr/teaching.php?screen_check=done&Width=1680&Height=1050)<issue_comment>username_1: No. This is completely unacceptable. Sometimes faculty rant on social media and email lists where they do not think students will see the comments. Even this is frowned upon if the student could realize it is them being made fun of. It is completely inappropriate to make fun of students on a public website with students names.
Upvotes: 10 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In addition to [username_1's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/120966/is-it-acceptable-to-publish-student-names-with-the-label-stupid-question-on-a/120967#120967), this kind of behavior would also discourage students from asking questions in fear of finding themselves on the “stupid questions and answers” list. Given that “unacceptable” wasn’t defined further in the original question, I think this is also an important aspect that makes this sort of student shaming unacceptable. Except if the Professor doesn’t actually want any questions asked of course :-)
---
I'd like to add that additionally, I don't think posting photos of test answers online (like this specific professor did) is ethical or even legal. According to [this website](https://dataedo.com/blog/what-is-personal-data-under-gdpr) ([archive link](https://web.archive.org/web/20181203121104/https://dataedo.com/blog/what-is-personal-data-under-gdpr)), handwriting is personal data according to the EUs GDPR (**G**eneral **D**ata **P**rotection **R**egulation) and can almost certainly not be published without permission.
Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_3: It's not only that such ridiculing is absolutely unacceptable and counterproductive (as others mentioned already) but it also puts the academic themselves in a kind of bad light as a lecturer/teacher. If my third year math/engineering students didn't know what the cotangent is I would consider it much more of my own fault rather than theirs.
And most importantly, one shouldn't be embarrassed of not knowing something but of not wanting to get to know it. Most people don't even bother to ask a question even being proud of their ignorance sometimes. So I believe that no curiosity should be frowned upon.
**UPDATE**: Having said the above, it could still be considered a good attitude for a student to come up with some answer themselves (i.e. do some research/thinking) prior to asking their professor a question.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: 1) First of all, it seems that the leading question of the discussion "Is it acceptable to publish student names with the label stupid question?" is not correctly formulated. A part of the the question contains a statement which is actually faulty: **the names of the students are not revealed**, only the first names are mentioned, which are all very common ones. The format like <NAME>. or <NAME>. does not permit to identify the person, so that the anonymity is fully kept (hence, GDPR has nothing to do with this). Moreover, such a format of names is usual in classic literature. Actually, to name the person only with her/his first name means precisely that you do not want to reveal the identity of the person.
2) **I don't think that the objective was to ridicule the students, but rather to make them attend more or/and to make them understand that they are simply too lazy (since they do not recall even basic notions)**. In engineering schools, as was remarked earlier by @A Simple Algorithm, students should have at least basic notions of the *trigonometry* (the trigonometry is usually covered in high school before the university), because it is used throughout all the university curriculum. Same remark concerns *decibels*: this is a very basic notion, which is covered during the 1st year of studies. So (@J.R.) nobody mocks. After all, it ain’t funny to have students with such a poor level.
3) In France, the higher education is free, so that it is easily accessible even for the lazy students. Don't you think about those students from other countries, who have a talent and would like to study, but can't do this because their parents can't pay??
4) Also, I don’t understand why it is acceptable to widely rank teachers and professors on the Web sites, and why it is not acceptable to do the same with the students (thought on this Web site the rank of the students is not published)? And on the Web sites, the professors are fully named, not as <NAME>. or <NAME>. So strangely, nobody thinks about GDPR or FERPA for the professors and teachers.
**UPD:** the initial question was modified so that now it is clear that the actual names are not revealed on the website in question.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: This is a bad taste, for sure (IMHO), but since there are plenty of websites where students are more than welcome to tell anything they want about their professors with full names etc., I guess this may be viewed as a kind of "symmetric response". I'm pretty much against internet trashing of anybody (usually it does more bad than good for all parties involved) but, alas, it has became a pretty common culture nowadays, so I am not surprised that some professors resort to it too.
As to the questions listed, they do not show stupidity, just utter ignorance, so I personally would object more to calling them "stupid questions" than to listing the student names. If a third year student asks me what a geometric progression is, I just answer with a definition and an example and consider the case closed. Moreover, I can openly announce that at the moment of this writing I don't remember what exactly a decibel is myself. All I remember is that it is a unit of measure of sound intensity and that the scale is logarithmic. If the student is not able to process an answer appropriately, it is, of course, a completely different story, but if one just doesn't know something, there is no shame in asking.
This means that I would neither call such questions stupid, nor list the names myself and would, probably, discourage my friends from doing so, but I wouldn't cry out loud "Unforgivable crime!" or "Unethical behavior!" if I see somebody else doing it either. For me it is bad taste, period.
That was the "common sense" part. As to the legal part, it is country dependent and I'm not really familiar enough with the European laws to discuss the corresponding subtleties.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: Not only the ethic behind this is very doubtful as [username_1 said](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/120966/is-it-acceptable-to-publish-student-names-with-the-label-stupid-question-on-a/120967#120967), but this is also probably illegal under the *loi informatique et liberté* & the GDPR because it falls under the definition of "*Donnée Personnelle*" (see the [CNIL definition](https://www.cnil.fr/fr/definition/donnee-personnelle)). If someone decide to warn the CNIL about this page, it could put the university and the teacher at risk.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: As has been said in prior answers, it is NEVER acceptable to make fun of students or otherwise say or do something that could prevent them from learning.
Many sites on the Stack Exchange network would not be the same without “stupid questions” and you could view students asking them in the same way. Even if it seems utterly ridiculous to you, the student likely is honestly wondering about it and laughing at their questions somewhere where they could potentially see them could encourage them to not ask questions for fear of being laughed at. Students who hold their questions for this reason often never get them answered and as a result earn a lower grade.
Upvotes: 3
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2018/12/03
| 905
| 3,948
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<issue_start>username_0: I received a 4/6 (59%) for my GRE analytical writing score. I would have scored higher had it not been for the fact that I type on an alternate keyboard layout (i.e. not QWERTY) and had to use QWERTY to type the essays. Before taking the test, I looked into getting approved to use my alternate layout, but it seemed like a good amount of time and paperwork would be involved, so I didn't go through with it.
Should I mention this in my graduate applications? For reference, this is for application to United States PhD programs in physics. My GRE verbal / quantitative scores and GRE subject test scores are all much better (>90%).<issue_comment>username_1: I don’t think you need or should mention it.
First of all, 4/6 is not a bad score, even for a PhD application. Moreover, Writing is probably the least important section of the GRE test, at least for a physics major.
Second, the professors who review your application would expect to see other more meaningful indicators of your research potential, and thus, explaining why you don’t have a higher score will make you look petty. In fact, try not to talk about your Writing score because the reviewers might not care about it at all, unless you mention it.
After all, the rule of thumb is to focus on the strength of your application instead of explaining the weaknesses.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Should I mention this in my graduate applications?
>
>
>
It is good that you are showing the initiative to seek advice on your application, so please take my criticism of your proposal in the positive spirit in which it is intended. As a general rule, it is not likely to look good for you if you are already volunteering contextual reasons for underperformance (a.k.a. making excuses) before you have even set foot in the program. Through their teaching duties, academics have experience with certain students who consistently underperform, and offer excuses in lieu of improvement. As a result, this type of comment excusing your low performance on that element of the test is likely to be seen as a "red flag".
There are some instances where universities ask people to put lower performance into context, such as when they ask about successes "relative to opportunity". In this context you are invited to raise disadvantages that have constrained your performance, though they are still expected to be substantial issues, not trivial ones. It is usually not a good idea to raise contextual issues unless prompted to do so, and it can give the impression that you are more interested in explaining-away bad results than doing what is needed to get good results.
>
> ... I looked into getting approved to use my alternate layout, but it seemed like a good amount of time and paperwork would be involved, so I didn't go through with it.
>
>
>
Unfortunately this makes it a lot worse. The fact that it is possible to put in some administrative effort to get the resources you needed, and you chose not to do this, is more likely to raise a negative inference than a positive one. If there were follow-up questions on this, and it came to light that you eschewed administrative work that was needed to get resources you needed to do good work, that would be seen as a serious negative, and could sink your application. PhD candidates are expected to be able to jump through administrative hoops to progress their work, and anything that indicates resistance to this in the application stage is going to hurt you. Even without that worst-case scenario, mentioning the issue is likely to focus attention on your low score, rather than focussing attention on the strengths of your application.
If you are not happy with your GRE score, you should consider re-sitting the test. If you need a particular piece of equipment to do this effectively, then do the administrative work required to get that. Good luck.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2018/12/03
| 305
| 1,141
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<issue_start>username_0: For example, in the same fashion that medical professionals might do research on cancer, does there exist comparable positions in philosophy where one "researches," say, Free Will Determinism?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, for example Oxford's [philosophy faculty](https://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/faculty-members) includes professors of
* ancient greek philosophy
* philosophy of mind
* political philosophy
* philosophy of language
* practical ethics
* philosophy of physics
* philosophy of mathematics
* medieval philosophy
* metaphysics
* logic
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There are philosophy faculty who specialize in research on a particular topic (see @username_1's answer). However, what I think is rare in philosophy and other Arts and Humanities disciplines, it research *only* positions. Where as in sciences there are purely research, commonly at the postdoctoral level, but also occasionally as full-time permanent employees (e.g. PIs research institutes or staff scientists). Most academic philosophers I know are also teachers to one sort or another, even at the Postdoc level.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/03
| 905
| 3,513
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<issue_start>username_0: My PhD supervisor wanted me to talk about how my research was "validated" by another student in my Viva Voce, despite my results speaking for themselves. This part of my findings had not even been questioned by my examiners.
The student in question had never worked with me in any way. Nor have they published in a work I could cite - conference paper, article or even blog post. Or even private correspondence.
He claims it is common to "have worked with people in this way".
I don't understand why he would ask me to do this.
Ideas?
Post-script:
I am asking this question from the perspective of the exam administration.
Isn't it cause for concern to bring up a person who wasn't cited or acknowledged in the thesis during the Viva?<issue_comment>username_1: I suspect your supervisor was thinking about how that student confirmed your results. A classic way this could happen is, if you solved a problem with one method and then the other student solved the same problem with a different method, and your results agree, then the other student has "validated" your results. Naturally, you don't need to have worked with each other to do this - in fact it's arguably preferable that you don't work with each other, to ensure independence of results. Neither do you need to be able to cite their work (you can just say "unpublished").
It's always good to have someone validate your results, because it increases the chances that your results are robust and not due to, e.g. statistical noise. If someone has validated your results, it's definitely something to mention.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: It seems you are worried that this would undermine your work in some way, but the point is that if someone also obtained your same result independently then two things happen: (1) it is a good sign someone else was working on a similar question, since it shows it is relevant to other researchers in the field, (2) the fact that their result matches your confirms your result is correct. I would add that (3) it is also good etiquette to acknowledge the work of others, specially when they were working in the same field as you. These people may be collaborators in the future, and it is not a really good start if you ignore their research.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Even if this is about independent confirmation, there should **not** be any reason for you to (agree to) claim to have worked with them in your research. This would be a lie. I may be wrong but I get the strong feeling that you have to be careful to not let others step over you and 'persuade' you to let them attach strangers' names to your work.
>
> If anyone is not "involved in a project", they are not an author. Listing them as an author is academic dishonesty. – [PVAL Aug 19 '14 at 5:26](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/27328/as-a-postgrad-student-is-it-appropriate-not-to-add-my-supervisors-name-on-publ#comment57984_27328)
>
>
>
See [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/17627) and [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/120921) and [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/20900), which explain (but of course do not justify) why such practices may be rampant in certain places, and also give an outline of what is considered ethical authorship practices. Also see [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/111022) for some possible motivations behind similar exploitation of some students for the benefit of others.
Upvotes: -1 [selected_answer]
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2018/12/03
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<issue_start>username_0: From the answers to [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/120918/35909) question. We can clearly know that novelty is a basic requirement for a PhD degree.
Now, consider the following statements:
1) Is Goldbach conjecture true?
2) Is P = NP?
etc.,
All the questions have a lot of attention in that particular field and are not easy to get answers for them. But we cannot say it is impossible to get answers.
Suppose I'm a student and my PhD thesis should be novel. I am highly interested in solving one such question.
In this case, either my supervisor will forbid me in doing research on such question or there are more chances that I may not get PhD because of the sole reason of **novelty**.
Hence, to the best of my knowledge, either directly or indirectly, the PhD is narrowing down to the topics of recent origin, relatively easily publishable, less saturated etc.,
Isn't it true that the research question has been influenced by novelty aspect of PhD?<issue_comment>username_1: Well, it is slightly unlikely that a novel researcher will solve one of the very fundamental problems in their PhD.
**But** whilst working on a solution, you will most probably find different other intersting problems which are unsolved or novel an those can be published and can be the basis of a PhD thesis.
You will have to convince a supervisor that you
* understood the problem well
* have some novel ideas which have not been tried before
and with this you may find someone. But be prepared for an intense discussion. It hppens quite often that a student claims to have a solution for a very fundamental problem and after half an hour of discussion the idea is gone with the wind... A good supervisor wants to avoid such a situation during your PhD.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> In this case, either my supervisor will forbid me in doing research on such question or there are more chances that I may not get PhD because of the sole reason of novelty.
>
>
>
Absolutely not. What your supervisor may ask you is if you have new ideas, methods or techniques to solve the issue. Plus, if the professor is working on that field, they may be the ones to suggest how to tackle the problem.
>
> Hence, to the best of my knowledge, either directly or indirectly, the PhD is narrowing down to the topics of recent origin, relatively easily publishable, less saturated etc., isn't it true?
>
>
>
This is another problem. Publish or perish is an issue we are facing in academia, but good researchers try to study things that are interesting if not for the present, for a near future.
An additional thing I would like to add is that the two cases you used may not be the perfect examples here. There are many groups that are trying to tackle the problem from different angles at the moment. A PhD in this field would not be called "is P=NP?" but more "CSAT can be reduced to XPROB" (it is totally an example, XPROB is not even a real name and I also would never name a thesis like this). While these field may be saturated, if you have new ways to tackle the problem, or another algorithm that was not yet studied much, nobody will stop you.
Other things can be discouraged because not new. To give an example, in CS, developing a new tool per se it is not a contribution, it is "just" development. What your tool can achieve, find or if it offers something new can be, instead, a contribution.
Overall, while it may seem true that we are narrowing down problems so that they are more publishable, inventing the wheel twice (or trying the same technique multiple times) is not very smart and it is not the idea of academia.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: A research contribution doesn't have to be path-breaking to be novel. Incremental contributions count as novel, too. A PhD student is well-advised to set realistic aims and target an incremental contribution at first.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Remember that **these big unsolved problems you listed are not easy to solve**. Realistically, no student is going to prove the big result. What they can get are partial results.
Here are [some examples about the P=NP problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P_versus_NP_problem#Results_about_difficulty_of_proof). You can see similar [examples for Golbach's Conjecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldbach%27s_conjecture#Rigorous_results). Proving one of these results can yield SCI papers, even though they don't decide the problem itself.
Can you (or your supervisor) think of some new method to attack these problems, or maybe prove a lesser result? If so, chances are you can go ahead.
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/03
| 1,049
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<issue_start>username_0: Currently I'm writing a thesis in Computer Science for which I need to introduce and compare several open source tools that are available for performing a certain type of testing ([mutation testing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation_testing)) on some piece of code.
To reduce the number of tools (initially more than 25), I set two limits :
1. The tool must have been updated in the last 5 years to be present in the list, otherwise it is considered obsolete.
2. Only tools that work for one of the 3 most used languages are considered. I defined them with the [TIOBE index](https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/) (Java, C/C++ are equivalent for the tools and Python).
I arbitrarily set the first condition to five years, but I would not be able to justify this number if needed. I didn't find a study or article with a point of view on the subject.
So **my question** is: After how many years without updates would such a software (or any software) be considered deprecated?<issue_comment>username_1: The most common usage of "deprecated" is quite different and has nothing to do with the date of the last update. It means that the developer (or group) responsible for the overall system (Java libraries, say) has decided that *in the future* the feature may be dropped or modified so as to not be backward compatible. It is a promise about the possible future, not a statement about the past.
Somewhat related, an organization, usually a large one, can deprecate the *use* of a piece of software, meaning that they permit employees to continue using it for company projects, but will no longer provide IT support. But that is an individual company decision and could occur at any time.
Even your "obsolete" idea is flawed. It isn't about when it was last changed, but when it last was used for important work. Software can be regularly updated, but if no one cares, it is effectively obsolete.
Of course, you may reduce the number of tools you consider to suit yourself. But you should most likely focus on the most commonly *used* tools, rather than ones that haven't been updated for a while. After all, a stable release is valued if it is fit for purpose. If the problem space doesn't change, older tools may have a benefit. Likewise a tool built in a domain-specific language might be quite valuable to users, so excluding it arbitrarily might be a mistake.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't think there is such a standard, certainly not one applicable to all of academia. For your thesis, I would suggest that it might be more useful to talk about "recently updated" / "currently developed" software, rather than labeling the rest as obsolete.
"Deprecated" signals that the creator no longer recommends using the software. I can't think of any real examples for a full software package (i.e. going beyond deprecating part of an API), but I guess it might happen if the software is known to produce bad results.
Software might be "obsolete" if it has been de facto replaced by a better option, but certainly not just because it's old. Even then, the old option might be good enough. Visit a couple of (established) experimental labs in the sciences, and you'll likely see lots of old equipment still running old software. Changing it all out would just be needless overhead, and not be guaranteed to help. There's almost always a better place to spend the money you might have... From another angle, if you consider numerical algorithm implementations and libraries as tools, there's a number of them that have gone decades without updates, yet are still routinely imported and used in new software development.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: So, just two points:
1) you "set" 5 years, that is justifiable as "what can be argued is a reasonable limit", it is as valid as any other assumption as you mention there is not other study with a comparable point of view.
2) you could make a case for only admitting software that is currently being fully supported and is being updated. While older software can still be used, you have a "limit" that the software is still capable of being developed to change as developments happen.
If, as I understand, you are just "drawing a line in the sand" then making the parameters clear should be sufficient. Many can, and possibly correctly, argue that X & Y software could or should have been included, but to keep the thesis within sensible parameters of time & length then some arbitrary decisions have to be made.
Best of luck anyway.
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/04
| 2,646
| 11,038
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<issue_start>username_0: I have seen a shrinking trend in the number of students coming to my classes and suspect that it's due to the large number of digital tools that are available to students.
What techniques can I employ to encourage students to attend class and stay engaged through a class or lecture?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm not entirely sure what you mean by digital tools, which could mean tools to enhance learning (e.g. lecture recording) or tools that might distract students in lectures (e.g. Facebook). I'm going to assume you mean the former.
There have been several studies looking at the influence of lecture recording on attendance in lecture rooms. The Teaching Matters team at the University of Edinburgh [recently reviewed some studies](http://www.teaching-matters-blog.ed.ac.uk/mini-series-a-summary-of-recently-published-lecture-recording-papers/) and the same team has previously [looked at some surrounding issues from a student perspective](https://www.teaching-matters-blog.ed.ac.uk/lecture-recording-what-does-research-say-about-its-effect-on-attendance/). The corresponding team at the London School of Economics also recently wrote about [the benefits of lecture recording for students](http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lti/2018/01/23/impact-and-student-use-of-lecture-recording/). All these links provide references to further sources you might find useful.
One thing that comes across in discussions with my own students on this is that they're more likely to attend lectures if they think that being there in person will give them some benefit that they won't get watching the recording or going through the slides. If a lecturer talks without interruption, or even worse reads off the slides, it's easy to see why a [student might feel they get nothing extra from being in the room](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ926446.pdf). Conversely, if lecturers answer student questions, [use quizzes or other techniques to enhance or check understanding in real time](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318379143_The_use_of_Kahoot_quiz_in_lectures_as_a_formative_assessment_tool), or [interact with students in the room](https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/learningteaching/Learning-and-Teaching-Support/QuickGuides/kcl-qg/dl/7ways-engage-students-lectures.pdf), there's more reason for students to show up.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Makes me think of the tape recorder scene in Real Genius (not so transparently based on reality of CalTech in the 80s) <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt4vXaoPzF8>
But seriously:
1. Make it interactive, with some amount of drill (math, science, practical topics) or discussion (history, lit). Can be quizzes (have the students swap papers and grade in class to lighten admin load), practice problems, paired stuff, recitation at the board, getting called on, etc. Doesn't matter exactly, but insert some amount of "doing" as well as "seeing".
2. Take a class in lecturing. See what tips you get.
3. Videotape yourself. Are you monotone and boring? Insert a little zip, juice, excitement into tone and topic. Don't worry about being false. Fake it til you make it. Think about how football coaches interact during practice. I was a ski instructor once (late in life). I got the advice to be outgoing (am not normally). I just decided to "go big or go home" and was very "on". It totally worked.
4. Maybe listen to a few lectures by other teachers on same or similar topic. See what they do?
5. Have a colleague come and observe you and then give you feedback.
6. I would also consider to have more full period tests than just a semester midterm and then final. More like high school where there is a test every couple weeks. Obviously they will be there for those. And it probably just keeps more of a beat of things. It's also HIGHLY VALUABLE "practice". Getting up for a test and doing a test is more intense and drives more learning than passively listening to the font of wisdom talk.
7. Occasionally mention importance of what you are doing. (This makes money for people, this is likely to be on the midterm, this is number one thing people mess up on, etc.) Students key for "horse". Obviously don't compromise the test after it is written (or if you have a section of a multisection group). But...let them know what is important. You can even stamp your foot like making a joke of the hint, hint.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: **Learning tools are *substitute goods* - don't be afraid if students choose their favourite tools:** This is an excellent question, since it raises a common issue with teaching, and it is an issue where some academics (not referring to you) take an irrational and overly defensive view. Here are a few points that I think are worth bearing in mind in these situations:
* The goal of any university course is to give students the best possible assistance to learn the skills you are seeking to impart in the course. The lectures and other materials available to students are generally "[substitute goods](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substitute_good)" in economic parlance, meaning that use of one tool assists in learning the course content and thus diminishes the demand for the other substitute tools. Thus, if the digital tools you are referring to are of high quality, they may be very helpful for students to learn the course content, and thereby diminish demand for your lectures.
* Students appreciate having a range of teaching tools they can choose from. When I was a student, the best lecturers I had were the ones that gave us lecture notes, practice problems, and other teaching resources of such clarity and high-quality that attendance at their lectures became virtually unnecessary. It was a pleasure to be able to teach yourself the material directly from lecture notes, etc., without the assistance of the lecturer. In some cases this meant that you learned some part of the course so easily that you could skip the lectures and still feel that you had good command of the subject.
* If lecture attendance is dwindling due to the provision of useful outside tools, this can be seen as a signal that *the quality of those outside tools is relatively high*. The fact that you are offering outside learning tools that the students perceive to be sufficient for their own learning should be seen as a good thing. Of course, you should want all the learning tools you are providing to be the best quality they can be, so if your lectures seem to be lagging behind in demand, you should certainly do what you can to improve them. Since you already have good outside resources, the use of a [flipped classroom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipped_classroom) would be one obvious thing you could try. Another thing to try would be increasing student questions and other interactions that cannot be substituted by digital materials (e.g., recorded lectures).
* Unfortunately, some academics take it personally when students don't attend their lectures, and so they try to encourage attendance by *removing outside learning tools* that compete with their lectures. (I am not suggesting that you are thinking about doing this, but I want to raise it anyway, since this is something I have seen other lecturers do in university courses.) This creates a kind of "race to the bottom" where a lecturer tries to increase demand for one set of tools by diminishing substitute tools. In the worst-case scenario, a lecturer who gives bad lectures ends up removing other material that could have substituted for those bad lectures, and the students end up with no good learning tool for the course. In my view, this is a petulant and irrational strategy, which represents a failure to appreciate that the goal of the course is student learning, not affirmation of the teacher's ego. *So whatever you do, I would encourage you not to remove the digital tools that seem to be working successfully*.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Some well-known strategies:
1. Tell students you expect them to attend and participate. Tell them why this is helpful.
2. Do not lecture during your lecture. Instead of using the time to tell students what they know, use some of the many interactive learning techniques. Lecturing, in the sense of telling students what they need to know, is among the least effective uses of class time because it allows students to relax. If the students must do something, they will be paying attention and they will then realize class time is helpful.
3. If students are not participating, refuse to continue until they participate. You can use clickers to check. Personally I use colored cards, which are much cheaper. If any student is not holding up a card after I ask a question, I will not go on. This way, students at least realize they were asked a question, which prompts them to pay attention in the future.
4. You can assign a grade for attendance and participation.
5. You can provide information in class that is not available elsewhere. For example, you can tell students the answers to the final exam. Most instructors do that already; students just do not realize that the answers to the exam are buried somewhere in what they are taught in class. Remind them.
6. Tell students why you are doing what you are doing. Then they will know it is important.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: I will take a different direction with my answer: **"You cannot fix what you do not know!"**
The first thing you need to do is to understand why the attendance is low / decreasing. You can find that out in at least 2 ways:
1. Make small changes in whatever you do, one at a time, see what it works. It will be slow and does not guarantee a satisfactory result.
2. Get actual information. Ideally, the students will tell you themselves what is going on - especially if you have a good relationship with them. Just ask them. Even better: do not ask about attendance, ask about feedback: about you personally and about the way you do your job. You may be surprised by the things you will find out.
Why feedback about you personally, you may ask? Well, we had a situation at a previous job. One guy (nice guy otherwise), was always emanating a smell of food, especially onions. One day, two days... For the colleagues near him, it was a nightmare to survive throughout the day. So one of them decided to suggest him (in private) to eat onions only in the evening. The answer was astonishing: he did not eat onions. The discussion revealed the true "monster": he was using deodorant with the smell of onions. What I want to say: the real reasons for things are not always obvious in any way. *No other implication intended.*
So you should not rule out reasons like color of shirt, haircut or God knows what else.
**Bottom line:** We can brainstorm about many things here. It is only you who can find out what is going on - and you may share the results with us. **If you are more specific with details of the situation, we can be more specific helping you.**
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/04
| 668
| 2,885
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<issue_start>username_0: I am about to make a submission to a computer science conference which adopts a double-blind policy. The submission is through EasyChair portal. My questions are as follows:
1. Should I remove all authors' names in the manuscript before submitting?
2. Since this is a computer science conference, I have some code in Github which shows the proof of my experimentation and reproducibility of my claims. How should I give the link to the code in my Github account in the manuscript without giving away my identity?
Note: I am not talking about camera-ready submissions but about submitting for the reviewing process.<issue_comment>username_1: I found the [Elsevier Double-Blind Peer Review Guidelines](https://www.journals.elsevier.com/social-science-and-medicine/policies/double-blind-peer-review-guidelines) helpful, however, this is somewhat journal/conference specific. Some of the not obvious points from that guideline include:
>
> Besides the obvious need to remove names and affiliations under the title within the manuscript, there are other steps that need to be taken to ensure the manuscript is correctly prepared for double-blind peer review. To assist with this process the key items that need to be observed are as follows:
>
>
> * Use the third person to refer to work the Authors have previously undertaken, e.g. replace any phrases like “as we have shown before” with “… has been shown before [Anonymous, 2007]” .
> * Make sure figures do not contain any affiliation related identifier
> * Do not eliminate essential self-references or other references but limit self-references only to papers that are relevant for those reviewing the submitted paper.
> * Cite papers published by the Author in the text as follows: ‘[Anonymous, 2007]’.
> * For blinding in the reference list: ‘[Anonymous 2007] Details omitted for double-blind reviewing.’
> * Remove references to funding sources
> * Do not include acknowledgments
> * Remove any identifying information, including author names, from file names and ensure document properties are also anonymized.
>
>
>
You might consider attaching a static copy of your code as an anonymous appendix directly to your submission.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: For the names, yes, definitely you need to remove all of them along with any indicators to the author names or organisation like emails, address, etc. You can add the submission number or the word anonymous in the authors part.
Regarding extra files, when I needed to upload some files for reviewing besides the paper, I made a specific account for conferences submissions. The account name does not indicate my identity. Sort of nickname.
Make sure you do not indicate your organisation or refer to your self by "our" and add a reference as this indicates your identity. Instead, refer to your work as a third party.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/04
| 446
| 1,783
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<issue_start>username_0: When one already has a PhD from a university outside of Europe, could he apply for a second PhD in Austria?
I know that second PhD is not possible for example in UK. Is it the same for Austria? Is there anything against it?<issue_comment>username_1: Assuming that "apply for a PhD" means that you want to persue a second PhD in Austria; yes that's fine. You can get as many PhDs as you want, but you cannot use the same research for more than one PhD and you cannot do the same program (same university, field and title) twice as far as I know.
If you are asking if you can use your research which was used for getting the PhD in a different country to get one in Austria the no, that's not allowed.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It is allowed to do second Phd. in the UK. Nothing prevent that. But the point of Phd. is training to do research. Once you pass this, you can do research and the scientific community knows that you have passed the training required to do research.
Multiple Phd. is not an honour or will look better in a CV. Both in Phd. and Post doctoral position you will do research. You will be evaluated on your research outcome. Not on how many degrees you have. If you have 3 Phds. and no publications and another person have one Phd. and three good publications, I think mostly, the student with one Phd. will look better on the employers' eyes. Because he showed outcome.
But it is totally up to you. If you are not satisfied with your first Phd. and could not get a job, then if you could get another Phd. can be a choice and chance to do better.
But if you just wan to continue research and reading, all post doc. positions do similar work as the Phd. They do research but may be with more responsibilities.
Upvotes: 2
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2018/12/04
| 888
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm an upper-division physics student. I have finals coming up next week and I want to take the advice of one of my professors from several years ago: write your own exams for practice and give them to peers. It'll help the test writer to review topics and your peers to have practice questions. However, my finals are all upper-division physics exams. Quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and statistical thermodynamics. Homework and exams are generally pretty difficult, and I'm not sure how I can write an exam that will be on the same level that we can expect on the final.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make up questions to create a practice exam for study purposes?<issue_comment>username_1: One way to do it is to make a kind of game out of it. Instead of trying to write a complete exam, just come up with one question. Give it to your peers and expect an answer in a few minutes. The first to give a correct answer asks the next question. Each person will need at least a couple of questions to get started, but not a complete exam. Questions asked will, hopefully, help people think of additional questions.
It would be good to do this face to face, but it could be done online if in real time - everyone simultaneously at their computer.
If no one answers in the allotted time, the asker gives the answer and another question is asked, either by the same person or another.
You might be able to use an online forum such as the [physics section](https://physics.stackexchange.com/) here to prime for questions. But searching for answers online sort of defeats the purpose of the exercise.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: For upper-level physics in particular, I would consider using book problems, as it's hard to develop questions that are easy enough to solve in ~15 mins but hard enough not to be trivial or memorization.
* If you're using a good textbook, then you have likely done quite a few of the problems already for homework / in class, though it's still a good exercise to redo them on the board (make some substitutions where possible) under time pressure and without notes
* There are also other good books you can likely find in your library: Griffiths or Purcell for E&M Griffiths or maybe Shankar/Sakurai for Quantum; (not sure about Thermo, I've never found a good thermo book). These will have good problems -- finding answers might be tough, but you can likely figure them out as a group if you choose ones at the right level
This could be in addition to some simple but useful concept questions that you could probably come up with on your own (e.g., what are the implications of the fact that electricity admits a scalar potential while magnetism requires a vector potential?)
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Start by making quizzes rather than exams. Try to come up with True/False and multiple choice questions. Add other types in as well if you want. The point is that you can't make a good question about something if you don't understand it.
I wouldn't bother with sharing it with peers. The important thing is to go over a section and ask, why did the professor bother talking about that section. What was its purpose. If you had to test someone on it, what is the core principle that needs to be tested?
The best thing I have ever received feedback on from students was when rather than giving them a quiz, I made them make and answer their own quiz. It forced them to think about the material. That is all your previous professor was getting at. In my opinion, sharing it with peers is neither here or there. You can do it if you want, the benefit would be to see the mixture of questions you all come up with. But you should also be capable of doing that on your own at this point. Figuring out what is important is the main take away from education.
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/04
| 365
| 1,380
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm an Erasmus student and I've had pleasure to meet a really great teacher who taught me more than anyone before. I would like to show my appreciation and thank her, but I'm leaving a week before the end of the course - and the grades release.
I want to be polite, appreciative and show my respect not to be a "teacher's pet" (I'm an Erasmus, I don't care about the grades, just the learning experience).
Should I came to her after the class and simply thank or send and e-mail or I'll be just making a fool of myself?<issue_comment>username_1: Thanking a prof in person is a tremendous thing to do. I recommend it highly. I also recommend returning later (years, perhaps) and thanking her again if possible.
However, if you want to do it by email, also copy the department head or dean on your mail.
I doubt that grades enter in to it in any case. If you are sincere, it will be recognized and appreciated.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You won't be making a fool of yourself, we all appreciate a "thank you"...
You can choose to say in person, and your idea of "thank you for the learning experience" is good.
An email can also be fine, which you can send to arrive after the grades come out if that is a concern for you.
Do it, it will be fine. Or do both...
Edit, as Bob points out a handwritten note or card is also good.
Upvotes: 3
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2018/12/04
| 2,190
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<issue_start>username_0: I am doing my PostDoc with a reputable professor, who achieved a lot in our research area. I really learnt a lot of things from him, but the problem is that I am uncomfortable with his supervision.
He is kind of person who wants to show that they are open and accept different opinion but when we start discussing he does not accept the other opinion and very often justifies his opinion by "If I was a reviewer I would reject ....". After a few discussions with him, I just say you are right. He has also an annoying attitude; he points out what he does not like directly (which is not always from the aspect of wrong and true) and if he believes something is wrong, he shouts and says it is wrong (even if you are presenting). At work, he has opinions about everything and I should apply (not because it is his opinions but because we discussed and his opinion is always true).
When we write something together based on one line idea, of course, I write what I think is right, but he just gives the feeling that you are doing something stupid and says it does not work (it is still an idea). Overall, I am allowed neither to do mistakes, to disagree with him nor to give wrong assumptions.
-I would prefer that he gives his opinion by saying I prefer this idea better and pointing out a wrong assumption by saying I don't think this works. Evaluating me (monthly for example) instead of just saying directly you are wrong (because most of the time the mistake does not affect the work). -
Since I started working with him, some colleagues just left because not agreeing with him (I don't know the details) but he told me that because they were not able to do what I asked them for. Also, during our meetings, he made so many people cry, especially girls because of his way of criticism.
We are now writing a proposal together and he asked me to write about his ideas, but he does not like that I am just doing what was assigned to me and not taking lead and drive the proposal. Actually, I don't feel that I am allowed to do thing by myself because he is pointing out everything so I just wait for his orders.
Before, I just accepted this fact and to deliver the work and accomplish his orders until I finish my PostDoc contract, but now he behaves as a micromanager and wants me to take lead. The two things don't match in my opinion.
I don't know how to deal with this situation.<issue_comment>username_1: Control freak. You can learn a lot about getting things done, but it will be high stress. If you are asking how to win with such a person, well you need to become their "star". This requires you put in long days, 7 days a week, at being the world's greatest bootlicking assistant. You decisions will have no value, your hard efforts can be discarded on a whim for an alternative approach that only differs in that he thought of it instead of you, and you may never be allowed to get full credit for any major aspect of the project.
I'd say the real danger is the recommendation you need from this person. In my experience such people write pretty bad recommendations, even for their "stars". Look into how much he has helped previous students and postdocs. If they struggle, just leave asap.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is a difficult situation but you can try the following:
1. Tell your supervisor the following:
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> I would prefer that he gives his opinion by saying I prefer this idea better and pointing out a wrong assumption by saying I don't think this works. Evaluating me (monthly for example) instead of just saying directly you are wrong (because most of the time the mistake does not affect the work). -
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It is not guaranteed to work — if he's certain he's always right, he's probably certain that he's right in how he does the supervision. But it may hive him the food for thought and eventually lead him to adapt to your needs.
2. Take a more leading role in collaboration. He explicitly expects you to do it. Yes, you will probably be criticised for your mistakes, but if you manage to process this feedback constructively, you will get a lot of useful knowledge and experience.
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> I don't feel that I am allowed to do thing by myself because he is pointing out everything so I just wait for his orders.
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Don't wait for his orders. He explicitly wants you to try and fail and receive his feedback on it and try again. This is his supervision method. It's annoying but it's not the worst. Maybe, ask him also to note and appreciate good things about your proposals when he sees them.
Micromanaging requires a lot of time, effort and thought. It's not an easy or pleasant strategy. Being control freak is not fun. PI's are pushed into it often because they:
* are responsible for large and complex projects
* do not have time to do all the work personally and have to rely on postdocs
* do not receive the expected outcome from their postdocs — for various reasons postdocs may waste project time and funds and achieve nothing.
There is a delicate balance to strike between developing a postdoc as an independent researcher (i.e. allow them to take lead, try and fail), and achieving project goals (i.e. get excellent results and produce top-level publications). These two goals contradict each other, and any PI is under a pressure to deliver both. This may lead to the conflict you describe as:
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> he behaves as a micromanager and wants me to take lead. The two things don't match in my opinion.
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Unfortunately, this is a direct consequence of modern funding system and culture of success in academia.
I disagree with another answer suggesting to "blame the professor". My advice is to try to help your professor.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: In my opinion there is no middle ground and you have only few possible options:
* You politely leave, blaming something external while thanking him for the support (just to have a slight chance to get good references).
* You confront him honestly, and say what you think it is not working and that your plan was to leave as soon as the contract ended so you did not plan to lead any research projects for more than the remaining time. Probably here he will fire you, but there is still a chance he might understand and he will listen to your feedback (nothing is impossible).
* You fake politeness and productivity until the end of the year while trying to do your best. This might give wrong signals to the professor, but if you really want to leave only after the end of the contract, it is one of the fewer options I can see.
* Alternatively, you can try to earn his respect and have what you want in a more subtle way. At the beginning, this would include: compliments, self blaming, high work productivity and so on. I have seen people do that and also achieving their goals, however, I can see why you would rather not go towards this path.
Moreover, by better reading what you wrote (also about other people leaving the group and students crying) I can totally see this as a mobbing case. In such situations, the university should have some people you could talk to about this (I understand there are consequences). Of course, I only heard your opinion and I am assuming that you are totally honest with us.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Question asks:
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> How to deal with a micromanaging supervisor?
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[@DmitrySavostyanov's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/121092/69206) mentions:
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> Being control freak is not fun. PI's are pushed into it often because... (a list of several quite realistic reasons)
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Everyone works within the constraints of their neurological & psychological strengths and weaknesses, and the skill sets the have managed to assemble so far in life.
Sometimes people are simply set to "output only" either by choice or hard wiring. In these cases "Try to explain to them that..." is probably pointless and counterproductive.
In these cases focus on your goals and what you can bear.
If you are worried about a recommendation, and you can find it within yourself, focus on agreeing with them, validating their positions and emulating their style rather than only focusing on demonstrating how good and independent-thinking you are.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" has substantial truth to it.
If you encounter what seems like dismissiveness or reflexive criticism of your thinking, change tack and ask a probing question about *their thinking* with as much apparent interest as you can. This has two benefits:
1. They may start thinking "Aha, this one is finally coming around and catching on, unlike all the other useful idiots that I have to manage".
2. *You might actually learn something useful!* They are not a substantial contributor solely via micromanagement, they must have some insight. Drain as much of it as you can out of them through whatever mixture of flattery and genuine interest you can muster! Consider this the reward for the unpleasantness of it all.
And always keep your eye on the prize - which is whatever you decide it should be. Presumably it's moving on with knowledge, experience, acumen and at least a non-negative recommendation.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a schematic diagram that I created and have used in a published peer-reviewed conference paper. It is not part of the method or the results for the paper, just an explanatory diagram giving context, explaining teh terminology used in the text. I want to use the same diagram in a journal paper on a similar subject. Do I need to
1) reference the original conference paper in the article caption?
2) seek copyright permission from the conference organisers?<issue_comment>username_1: If you are using an exact figure, then you need to provide the reference. However, I don't see any copyright issue in the given scenario.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: You should check with the original publication and the submission journal. Technically you are re-using copyrighted material so it seems little to no trouble to ask and get the correct answer rather than go ahead and correct a later misunderstanding. The journal, for instance, might care to know that they are publishing material copyrighted elsewhere.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends on whether you assigned copyright to the conference organizers (by signing or agreeing to such at submission time).
If you assigned copyright then the copyright lies with them and you probably need their permission (fair use provisions may apply in some jurisdictions).
If you did not assign copyright then it is still yours, and you can do what you like with it.
IANAL.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/05
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently started teaching activities in an American institution.
I have had a couple of students asking for extensions for problem sets / project deadlines for medical or family reasons, which is obviously acceptable. More unexpectedly, other students asked for extensions because they also had problem sets, quizzes and projects due for other classes during the same period (end of semester). Note that there is a buffer period between classes and exams, so we are not talking about conflicts with finals here.
I studied in a different country, in a notoriously work-intensive institution, so the idea that having homework for class X would somehow be an excuse to turn in homework late for class Y simply never occurred to me. I feel that no class should have priority over other classes - if it was the case, differences in credits would reflect that (my class is not a "small one" with little credit). Yes, sometimes students have a lot of work - but is it not part of real life too? On the other hand, the fact that students made these requests so openly makes me think that it might be normal here in the US, and I wouldn't want to be more strict than the local standards.
Is there any kind of norm regarding what is considered as an acceptable reason to ask for an extension?<issue_comment>username_1: Some institutions / courses build an "assessment schedule" prior to the semester starting so that the load on the students for any 1 week can be seen.
Then, assessments can be moved slightly so conflicts can be reduced / avoided. This means that the excuse assignment X conflicts with assignment Y is no longer relevant.
The medical / family excuse is always possible, but asking for evidence can reduce that. One of my professors told me that she had one student (this was in France) that he had to go back to the UK for his grandmother's funeral so would miss class and two exams. Unluckily for him, she was on the same bus to the UK/ France rugby match with him, cue difficult conversation... :)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The short answer is that opinions on granting extensions vary between institutions and even departments. Some universities view extensions as a way to support student learning. They argue that they want students to be able to get the most out of each assignment and so when the student completes the work is less important than that they do eventually complete it and are able to focus their full attention on it.
Other universities hold the same perspective that you do, that learning to manage deadlines is an important piece of being a student, and that allowing for extensions whenever asked is doing a disservice to students.
The chair of your department or even the other faculty should be able to give you insight on expectations that you should follow and on what is customary. I strongly recommend that you talk to them, since they know your students.
Another option is to pre-emptively institute a limited extension system for all students. The mathematics and computer science courses at my undergraduate college used this tactic to great success. On the first day of the semester, the professor told the students that each of them had a certain number of "late days" (usually 4 for a class with weekly assignments), which would grant a student 24 hours of automatic extension. These could be used at any time on any assignment except for group work or exams. Students did not need to provide a reason for using a late day, although they did need to inform the professor/a TA that they were. There was usually a form online for students to fill out. Students could use them as they wanted- all at once or one at a time. Some professors gave small amounts of extra credit for having late days remaining at the end of the semester, and some allowed students to earn extra late days throughout the semester by doing extra credit work, handing in assignments significantly early, or going to relevant talks, etc.
The benefit of a system like late days is that most students will feel less stressed and more in control of their own time. It thus enables you, as the professor, to hold a quite strict "no other extensions unless absolute emergency" policy. It was well understood that if a student used up all of their late days early on and then got minorly sick or had a job interview or had something else come up, that was just too bad. They would turn in what they had. Further extensions were typically only granted if the student or a family member was in the hospital or if they had formal accommodations through the college itself.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I would recommend against the practice in general, but with a variation. It is good to tell students at the beginning what happens if deadlines are missed and to stick to those rules except for emergency situations.
You can certainly publish in your course materials the consequences of being late. My own practice would suggest about a 5% (half a grade) penalty for missing the deadline with a limit on how late it can be and still be accepted.
One thing you want to guard against is those few students who want to be late so as to get some feedback from peers before completing their assignment. The penalty will help with this, but also will make the consequences clear.
Some folks even give a small bonus for early completion. This helps get some students moving earlier, which is good for them in general.
Another possible solution is to permit re-work and regrading after the deadline with the rules stating that only a portion of the points lost initially can be regained. This means that some students will submit incomplete work on the deadline and use the feedback you give to improve the work. This can be very helpful to some students and works well if the number of students isn't too big. It isn't as hard to do for the instructor if students doing re-work turn in the old with it (in a folder) so that it is easy to see why points were lost. For some courses, such as computer programming, having the students also mark their changes in the new work makes regrading very quick and easy.
But, whatever your rules, publish them and make them clear at the start of the course. In particular, don't assume that the very strict rules you grew up with are understood generally, or even that they are the best rules. Think about your teaching goals and how to accomplish them.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Asking if there is a norm for what is “acceptable” assumes that students care about such norms, but sadly some don’t, and will always try to push the boundaries of what is acceptable. It is up to you to set limits, and this is not especially difficult, and certainly not considered unreasonable in the (U.S., large public university) environment I am familiar with.
I suggest that the next time you start teaching a new class, you include a statement in your course syllabus saying “Deadline extensions for course assignments will not be given except in exceptional, justifiable circumstances”, or something to that effect. Then if students ask, all you need to do is point them to the policy. Problem solved.
As for this semester, assuming you have not had such a written policy that students were expected to have read, it might be reasonable to be a bit more merciful if you are so inclined. But you would still be perfectly within your rights and common sense not to give extensions even then.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Some American students, as members of an individual-oriented consumer culture and economy, will push to get away with as much as they possibly can, in any circumstance, without bounds. The "completion agenda" has given the signal for years that institutions will do everything in their power to guarantee graduation and certification. Especially if students detect that you are unsure or less than confident, they will attempt to get away with more. The US is generally a dog-eat-dog environment.
I sympathize entirely; my first semester had all kinds of missteps on my part like this. The best bet is always say a very clear, confident "No" to any request that you have any doubts about. Maybe say "No" to the first public request no matter the validity to set the tone that you have that in your vocabulary. (E.g.: Once a student asked me, "Can I do X?", and I responded, "Okay, remember, X is prohibited by the syllabus page two...". So she did X anyway and later challenged the penalty mark by saying "But when I asked you said 'okay'!").
Whenever this topic gets brought up, many commenters want to frame it as a debate between (a) good to teach students responsibility vs. (b) good to give students flexibility to learn at any pace. This tends to leave out (c) necessary for the instructor to budget their limited time. Presumably you have some time set aside for grading and assessment and then need to move on to other tasks. (And also (d) good to give speedy feedback on assignments back to the class as a whole.) There's no reason why you should sacrifice your productivity for late student work. They will ask, and there's nothing you can do to stop that. Just say "No".
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I've just started my master in Canada and I just passed one course so far and it was with my supervisor.
could I ask my supervisor to fill out a strong reference letter for me for a scholarship? or should I find another professor?
Please note that I am receiving some funding from my supervisor right now. Asking him to fill out the recommendation letter would be harmful?
how should I ask him? could you please guide me through writing an email?<issue_comment>username_1: In general, be polite but write as if you were talking to an actual, normal, nice person.
Your request should include some brief information about your motivation, the scholarship, its requirements, and how they apply to you. It should also help the recommender to recall who you are. And you should ask for a strong letter. If the recommender doesn't think they can write a strong letter, consider asking someone else instead of requesting a letter from them. I've highlighted those keywords in my example below.
Also, the supervisor is a good person to ask for a recommendation.
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> Dear Dr. X,
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> I am currently applying for the **Donald Duck scholarship** for graduate students in the **field** of comparative quackery.
> I am aware that you only **know me from** the course on boat programming, which I concluded with a paper on applied quackery, but I was wondering if you were able to write a **strong recommendation letter** for my application.
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> As you may recall, I would like **to continue my work on applied quackery** in my MA thesis and include some comparative elements.
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> The scholarship is quite competitive. It is only **awarded to students who are** expected to be part of the best 5% of a school's cohort. The Duck family's **mission** is to promote candidates with a rounded education, so it might be of interest that I am taking extracurriculars in ancient philosophy and volunteer as rugby coach at a school in my neighborhood.
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> I would be extremely grateful if you could write a **strong** letter of recommendation **until** 15 January 2019. The letter must be submitted online at www.duck-quackery-studies.edu.
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> Please let me know if you think this is possible, and if you have any questions.
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> Yours sincerely,
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> Nikki
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Depending on the local culture and the relationship to your supervisor, you may want to be less formal than this. But a letter like this would work also in Germany, which has a rather more hierarchical and less easy-going culture than, say, the US.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Politely, concisely, confidently, and as far in advance as possible.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I met with a potential supervisor and initially he was nice and helpful. Although he tried to make me alter my thesis, something I wasn’t keen on because I love and breath the topic. He told me to go and read more. I have done enough reading about the topic and it’s time to set the topic then read more about it to unfold it further. I wanted his consent on the topic at least before I invest more time reading in case he rejects everything.
I left with loose conclusion, not sure about his impression about me, the topic or if he’s interested to supervise me.
I saw him in a mutual class the next day and he was hostile about my research questions. He made me feel so stupid and worthless. Is this a normal behavior of PhD supervisors?
What should I do?
Is it polite to cut ties? What’s the protocol in this situation?
I don’t want him to be my supervisor, he doesn’t seem patient at all.<issue_comment>username_1: Given that the supervisor has more experience than you, it may be best to follow his advice. Don't let ego get in the way of improving your work.
I wonder if your second interaction as described might be the result of his feeling that you were rejecting his advice without considering it.
On the other hand, it is good to have an advisor you are comfortable with. Whether it is possible or dangerous to change supervisors depends on the particulars of your institution. Since you say "potential supervisor" it would be a good time to evaluate your options.
But in general, once you have an advisor, it is good to take their advice, for strategic reasons if no other. You want to finish successfully in a reasonable amount of time with good recommendations. Fighting with your supervisor achieves none of that.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I think two things are very important for a "good" Ph.D. journey: a collaborative working environment, and an advisor who would truly care about your research.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> What should I do? What’s the protocol in this situation?
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>
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**Find a different supervisor.** Since you don't have an advisor yet, this is a good time to look for someone whose interests and personality are better aligned with yours.
If you find someone else, then you can inform this guy "thank you for considering me, but I've decided to work with Prof. X."
If you don't find someone else, then you will have to learn how to work with this guy, including finding a topic of mutual interest. As username_1 says, this might be a good experience for you to learn from him -- but it also might not be.
In any case, I wouldn't formally "cut ties" with this guy, and certainly not before you have someone else lined up. For that matter, continuing to openly talk with him and his current students might help you come to a higher-confidence decision.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: *"he was hostile about my research questions. He made me feel so stupid and worthless"*
I would be honest and tell him in a very polite, but direct manner your **feelings**.
(Don't say HE was hostile, but what the [effect on YOU](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-message) was, i.e. you experienced pressure, felt stupid and worthless.)
Maybe it was a misunderstanding that you can both clear up.
Or he will admit to a mishap and apologize.
You will see.
In any case, I would recommend to trust your heart/gut feeling.
If you don't feel like you can work with him, and it's possible to find another supervisor, **why not change ?**
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/05
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<issue_start>username_0: This is not a question about how to insert images at the top, but rather asking whether or not this is common practice.
The template I've received from my university automatically inserts figures at the top of a page if no other flags are given using `\begin{figure}[t]` as default.
Personally, I find it a bit awkward to be introduced to a certain image before reading about the respective explanation within the text. But I got a feeling that top-positioned images are the way one usually writes LaTeX documents.
At the end of the day, it's a question about preference, but I really want to know which of the two following is "the way to go": Left or right?
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/21TJ1.png)<issue_comment>username_1: I would say it isn't common. As you suggest it is a bit awkward. Perhaps the intent is just to get the figure onto the correct page of the manuscript, expecting that you will make adjustments.
However, since you were given the template by the university, you should probably inquire from them why it was done that way and if you are bound to it in any way.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: You are asking a question about page layout. What is common may not be what is best for readers to understand. One of the issues with having a picture in the middle of text is that you often end up with a few lines of text above or below the figure. As a consequence, the eye often has difficulty distinguishing between what's part of the figure and what's part of the regular flow of text. That's particularly awkward if it's just one, two, or three lines of text. This does not happen if you put figures at the top or the bottom of the page, and consequently that's what most style guides recommend.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: My advisor suggested including a simple plot in my physics PhD personal statements for US universities in order to make the essay more interesting and give a bit more detail about a research problem I am working on right now. On one hand I agree that this would probably make the essay more interesting, but I am concerned that the admissions committees would be annoyed since it will take them a bit longer to look at and understand the plot. Is this a good idea?<issue_comment>username_1: I would much prefer that the applicant give me a plot to look at than that he tries to explain everything only in words. A balance of text and graphics can be beneficial in many pieces of academic work. Adding a graphic may actually *speed up* the understanding of an applicant's application materials. This is why most of us can read a comic book much more quickly than a novel. I am actually more prone to drifting off while reading paragraph after paragraph of text with no "graphic relief."
As academics, we are quite used to being told to refer to figures. If an explanation of your work can be aided by use of a graphic or two, by all means **please include them.**
At the very worst, if someone feels they only have time to read text, they can just ignore the graphics. This would likely be to their own detriment.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You're starting from the wrong end if you're asking whether *per se*, a graphic is bad. The question you ought to ask yourself is: Given that I'm trying to explain a concept to the reader, what is the best way to do this. If a figure is the best way to explain things, then add one. If the figure does not add anything that's not also easy to explain in text, then omit it.
Upvotes: 2
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2018/12/05
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<issue_start>username_0: I have received an excellent job offer from institution A. I have also applied to institution B, which I would likely prefer over A if I had the choice. I believe I have a shot at getting an offer from B, but it is far from sure, and they will only start making offers well after I have to give an answer at A.
Suppose I accept the job at A and subsequently I am offered the job at B. Once I accept A I would commit to staying for at least 1 year, but starting one year later at B should not be a problem.
My question is: how and, more importantly, when should I tell A about B? I can think of three possibilities:
1) I tell A even before I accept the position at A (and before I get the answer from B). I believe in honesty so I would prefer this but there are the obvious risks that A will withdraw their offer or assume that I will leave at the first chance I get (which is not quite true; if I don't get B I'd stay at A for at least a few years).
2) I tell A right after I accept the position at B (this would mean I would start my job at A with everyone knowing that I'm leaving after a year - awkward).
3) I tell A at the very latest legally allowed moment. This would seem best from a selfish point of view, but in addition to having to lie about my future plans there is a risk A will find out I accepted the job from B anyway (it's a small community).
Any additional thoughts are very welcome! In particular, how would you react in each scenario if you were a member of A?
---
Edit: Thank you all for the comments and answers. In my situation A is not able to wait until I get an answer from B; I agree this would be the best solution. Although I haven't made a decision yet, I'm leaning towards avoiding all the scenarios in the question and either accept A and withdraw my application from B, or reject A, wait for B, and keep applying next year if I don't get B.<issue_comment>username_1: I've added the ethics tag to the question, since it has ethical implications.
However, since there is no guarantee from B and you are willing to make at least an initial commitment to A, I see no ethical constraint. It would be different if you would be intending to drop a commitment to A immediately on getting an offer from B. After all, the offer from B may never materialize.
But you should, out of courtesy, at least, inform A when you do get an offer from B. Don't wait until you accept the offer, but when you get it. There are a couple of reasons for this, one being that A might want to sweeten the conditions. It would also give them more time to find a replacement.
No one assumes that accepting an offer means a lifetime commitment. But there are situations where you need to make a multi-year commitment and you would need to honor that ethically, and probably legally.
There might be different issues, of course, if A needs to spend considerable resources to support you than would, in effect, go to waste if you leave early. That would change the balance here. Likewise if leaving early would leave others, students or researchers, disadvantaged in their own work, then you would need to consider that as well.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I'll comment from the point of view of a former department chair.
A job search is quite an administratively arduous task to undertake when you think about it. You need to seek and gain approval to initiate the hiring process, deputise a search chair, convene a search committee, advertise an opening, screen applicants, interview them, check references, and negotiate a deal that includes a start date. All this needs to take place so that the work of the department -- teaching, research and engagement -- continues without a hitch.
When a department makes an offer to an applicant, it is in good faith. It is expected that the other party acts in good faith, too. The worst that can happen is that an offer is accepted with an ulterior motive in mind. This is because operations might be severely affected. For example, say you're hired to undertake a typical load of teaching and research at the assistant professor level. In particular, say you're assigned to lead one subject in the spring semester and supervise three master's students. The department was up front about this responsibility, it was part of the negotiation, and you signed a contract of employment. If you were to give notice a few weeks into your employment that you would be leaving to take up a post in another university, then the teaching and supervision responsibilities would be reassigned and may cause disruption.
As chair of the department, I would seek to handle this in two ways. First, I would activate that clause in your contract that states that we can ask you to see out the remainder of the semester. This is a standard clause in most academic contracts, but may be different in your specific case. Second, I would activate another round of hiring to fill in your position in time for the summer session or autumn semester.
Depending on your performance in this situation, I may or may not have a word to the academics in your new department about the issues you put us through. (Shock horror! We do talk to each other.)
What would I advise in this situation?
That you have applied for a position in another university is material information that I would like to know. While I don't think you have any legal obligation to disclose this (and I'm not a lawyer), it remains material to the decisions I, as department chair, need to make. You don't need to draw attention to it, but it is important to our considerations, nonetheless.
It's not as difficult as you might think. We expect that you've sent your application to a number of places and we have a sense of our department's standing in relation to other departments in other academic institutions. Thus, you're simply confirming what we already suspect, and it's likely that we've factored it into our assessments.
I would prefer to know during the negotiation stage. The statement you make should be brief and to the point. It's not likely we're going to dwell on it anyway. For example, "I'm considering positions in other institutions. I wanted to put that on the table." My standard response is, "Thank you. If you accept our offer, we expect you to meet your obligations under your contract."
Good luck to you.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I argue that honestly is the best policy here. Unless there are very special circumstances, search committees are generally aware that their positions are not the only game in town. You can say that you are very honored by the invitation to join the faculty at A, but you still need some time to consider it. Of course this means that you may lose the offer to someone else who’s interested, but if there’s genuine interest in you they’d be willing to wait a bit.
The one year option sounds like a bad idea to me. I can’t imagine anyone in A’s administration would like you too much. You are making the department undergo an expensive search in a year’s time, and also making the search committee look bad for taking in non-committed people. It may also reduce the number of slots the department gets next year. You’ll also have problems collaborating and finding students if you’re there for 1 year, and if management is sufficiently vindictive they can make your life hell for that one year (less consideration in teaching loads, equipment and resources don’t get to you etc). It might make B uneasy about taking you, and make your time there less fun when you join.
The last option also seems like it would anger any department. It means a lot of sunk costs and perhaps dropped offers to other good candidates. If you start waffling, they’ll wait a bit, and if you don’t sign they’ll post a deadline after which they’ll rescind the offer or extend offers to others.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a PhD student at my fifth semester in the US. From the beginning of my PhD program, I didn't have sponsored graduate research assistantship from NSF or NIH. I was just on my PhD adviser's startup grant for two semesters and after that I got a job in another department of our university. Right now, I don't take money from my PhD adviser for almost a year and half (so basically I'm a free PhD student for my adviser!). By the way I'm not the US citizen or permanent resident in order to apply for NSF or NIH funds directly by myself so my options regarding funding are really limited or even I would say I don't have any option to get a fund by myself.
As a result, I built my PhD research based on open source available softwares as well as data sets, which I found it initially just by my research without my PhD adviser help. Besides that we don't have any fund, also we don't collaborate with anyone which again limited our options. This relying on open source softwares and data sets is really limited my research, cause the amount of data that I could use for my research is limited to those open source datasets and I don't have access to any other datasets, which might be available in other research groups, because of the problems that I mentioned earlier. The type of data that I need for my PhD research is related to medical images, which is not available easily everywhere and as a result it's really hard to find it as a open source dataset (I was lucky that I found at least one open source dataset!).
Let's say, I processed all the currently open source available data out there and analyze them and answered my research questions. But the problem is: there are several people out there, which are famous people that they are emerged in the field that I'm working on for years and have a big project from NIH or NSF that give them an access to some private datasets that are 10 times bigger than mine. Of course this bigger datasets increase the accuracy of the model that we are trying to work on as my PhD project.
Recently, my PhD adviser compared my accomplishments to these research groups that are engaged in big projects from NIH and NSF for years and said: by using your current open source datasets, it's really hard to say something in this field. I think it's not a fair comparison. Even our recent results with smaller dataset size shows comparable and to some extent better performance than other available models out there. Also, we studied several aspects of our research questions, which did not even touched by other people. So my question is: Am I responsible for that my PhD adviser does not have any fund or grant and as a result it really limited my research? How can I deal with this situation?<issue_comment>username_1: Research projects that are not resource-limited are either very rare or non-existent. The Manhattan Project may have come close. You are responsible for selecting research plans that fit with the available resources. At the worst, if it is not possible to produce publishable results with those resources, you may need to change direction and/or emphasis. Maybe the ideas you have been applying to medical images might also be applicable to another domain with more free images.
As suggested in comments, collaboration may increase resources. Ideally, your advisor would be helping. My advisor introduced me to many of his collaborators. One of them had a lead on a proprietary data set I could use for zero money given the right introduction.
There are things you can do even with neither funding nor help from your advisor. Go to open seminars both in your department and in related departments. Ask questions. Hang around afterwards if anyone is interested in talking. Take an interest in other researchers' projects. Refine a good [elevator pitch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevator_pitch) so that you can use a few minutes attention to get someone interested in your research. If your department does any sort of poster day, prepare and present a poster describing your project. Take any opportunities to give talks. You have a job in another department. Take any opportunities to talk about your research and your data set problem with them. The more people you meet and who know about your research, the better the chances that one of them knows someone who knows someone who would be a good collaborator.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In general, this is bad form on the part of the advisor and your committee (shouldn't be approving thesis topics that are not viable if funding is not available). As a PhD student, you are in training and potential stumbling blocks should be made clear to you.
For example, for my PhD I worked in a lab where I wanted to do field work in another country, but my advisor didn't have funding for this. I decided to go ahead with this part of the project, partially using my own personal funds, as well as cobbling together several small research grants to cover these costs.
So I would recommend to you that you investigate research funds that might be available from your department, institution, scientific society, foundation, or other non-federal source. Funding begets funding and you absolutely have to be successful in getting grants to be a successful academic.
Additionally, it seems odd that an advisor could take on a student with no funding in the lab. That would not be allowed in my department (biology sub-field at a private, R1 university).
Finally, to your last question: I think you are correct and it is unreasonable to compare the contribution of a single graduate student with "famous" well-funded labs! The contribution to your field during your PhD can be modest- that's ok- but it has to be good science, so I would focus on how to make sure that you are doing the most rigorous and sound research with the resources you have available. And get to writing grant applications! Good luck.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: *I'm asking out of curiosity / because I think the answer may be of general interest:*
**A bit of context:** When I applied to PhD programs, I had degrees from two institutions. One (let's call it "A") is more selective and trains students a little more in depth than the other (which we'll call "B"), but doesn't really have a great international reputation (being very teaching-focused).
During interviews abroad, it felt like I was considered as a "serious" applicant because I studied in the other institution, B, which is much more famous because of its research programs, but actually didn't contribute as much to my training. Clearly, nobody had ever heard of institution A. During one of my interviews, an interviewer even saw my grades from university A, where grading is very strict, and asked me: "do you think your grades are good enough to go to [our prestigious university]?". In a live interview, I had the opportunity to explain these grades, but what about the other programs that did not invite me for interviews? I can't help but think that this kind of misunderstanding may have played a bigger role than it should have.
Fortunately I joined the program that I wanted the most. But I started wondering: what if I had only studied in institution A?
**So here's the question:** Those of you who, at some point, were part of selection commitees (for college, grad school etc.), how did you evaluate candidates who studied in small, foreign and/or unknown universities/high schools, as opposed to big, local, well-known universities/high schools?
In particular, how did you take into account :
* *Different grading standards* - in institution A, the equivalent of a 70% was considered an unusually good grade, whereas in some prestigious universities, an A or a B is quite normal; that difference does not always appear on transcripts.
* *Different curriculum structures* - some universities may require that students in their first/second years take classes that do not seem very relevant for certain grad school applications
* *Different opportunities to perform research* - this time in university B, a students would only perform research once at the end of their masters, so significant undergrad research experience is unusual and would require a lot of extra commitment
* *Different prestige* - the "best university of the country" may not be as famous as MIT or Harvard, depending on the country. For example are you familiar with the *best* university in, say, Kazakhstan (no offense meant, Kazakhstani friends)? Would you "trust" a degree more if it came from a more famous institution?
* *Different academic culture* - Europeans, for example, do not typically have a long list of "dean's list", "undergaduate award for (XXX)" etc.; it's simply not a thing there, so even exceptional students just don't have these. Writing SOPs is also not common in certain countries, so students are not trained to "modestly praise themselves" and might seem a little clumsy when they try to do so.
* Anything else?
Have you ever faced this kind of issues when evaluating candidates? Did you at any point take extra steps to make sure this kind of differences would not penalize international applicants?
**Edit**: this question is not entirely similar to other questions like "[How handicapped am I in graduate admissions if I graduated from a lower tier university](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26791/how-handicapped-am-i-in-graduate-admissions-if-i-graduated-from-a-lower-tier-uni)?". Indeed, this question focuses on applications within a single country, with *a priori* homogeneous definitions of what a "good" university is, with known grading standards... Answers to this question clearly assume that it is possible to define "good" and "bad" grades by looking at a transcript, for example. My questions challenges the notion that the application documents (SOP, GPA etc) are meaningful, because unless a commitee member knows the high school / university of origin of an applicant, they really have no way to tell whether grades are good or not, because standards are not uniform.<issue_comment>username_1: An effective process should involve a **diverse** group of faculty who are called upon to evaluate candidates for admission.
You are correct that academic and research opportunities and standards vary widely among institutions. For any academic department that admits graduate students there should be many faculty who share the load of evaluating candidates. Different members should be knowledgeable about institutions in different regions or countries, and can reach out to colleagues if they find a promising candidate from an obscure school. Some debate or agreement then needs to be reached among the various evaluators about who is above the bar for admission.
The challenges you describe are exactly why evaluating a candidate's potential can be hard. Some departments do a bad job evaluating. Some letter writers do a bad job explaining what the applicant has done, what rigor they have trained under, and to what group they are comparing the applicant.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I work in a European institute and we get a fair number of applicants from Middle and East Asian countries for PhD positions. It became obvious rather quickly that grades, curriculum, prestige etc. are basically incomparable. In fact, we only took these into account when we know the country of origin very well.
Instead, we put quite some weight on individual skillsets, what undergraduate research project applicants had done, whether their studies fit well with what we are doing, and letters of recommendation.
In other words, we do not take anything on your list into account, with the sole exception of the opportunity to do research: if a candidate hasn't done any independent research and we do not know how to interpret their grades etcetera, then we do not have enough information to make an informed decision. These candidates could be really good but we're unfortunately not in a position to determine that.
This works because we typically know pretty well what kind of students we are looking for; we are not selecting for the US-type Masters-PhD structure, these students immediately start with their PhD projects.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have withdrawn my paper after it was accepted for financial reasons.
Can I resubmit it to the same journal ?<issue_comment>username_1: That depends entirely on the journal itself. If the submission process is automated, you could just try and see what happens. But you could, and probably should, contact the editor for information, explaining the earlier withdrawal and why that isn't an issue at present.
But, I assume some journals wouldn't like to reconsider it. And take care that it isn't a predatory journal. They might want to accept it again, but you may have better options elsewhere.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Journals and editors want to accept and publish your manuscripts. If it has already been reviewed and accepted, that is even more reason for them to publish it. They need citations and a better reputation as much as you do.
If you are unable to pay fees (such as open access fees) at the moment, you should contact the editor if you still wish to publish with them in the future. You do not want to wait for reviews again if it can be helped. Even if the new reviewers approve of the manuscript as well, this is a time consuming process for everyone. It is better to come to some arrangement with the editor or at least notify them in case an automated system rejects your resubmission.
The exact process will vary between journals. Only an editor will know the policy for a specific journal. They will want to help you. Don’t hesitate to contact them about questions of this nature: it is their job to handle these matters.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: **Make sure you know what you're doing before resubmitting**.
If you submitted to an open access journal, then it's nonsense to resubmit because it will just lead to them charging you the submission fee again. If you submitted to a hybrid journal, then you shouldn't have withdrawn it in the first place because you can simply decline open access. If you needed a discount or a waiver, you could've negotiated for it without withdrawing.
In a nutshell, if you withdrew the paper because of financial reasons, and this was the right decision on your part, I can't see why you would want to resubmit to the same journal *unless you've found funding to pay for open access*. If this is indeed the case, then just write to the editor saying so, and do whatever she says.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently sent some e-mails to potential supervisors asking information for a PhD with them, I obtained no answers. I share my doubts and then copy the standard mail I sent.
1. I sent it to 5 different professors in different universities, is the sample too small to expect some answers? I know professors are flooded with e-mails so it could be normal not receiving answers.
2. Can you point out something I did wrong in my email such as: too long, too short, harsh, too many details, not many details, grammar mistakes (I'm not a native speaker), anything, to help me improve for future e-mails?
3. How do I have to take these silences? Should I solicit an answer or simply accept that they are not interested in answering?
4. I sent them on a sunday night, is this a bad moment to send such e-mails? if it is what are the best days and time to send them?
5. Feel free to give me any kind of advice you think could be helpful.
Here's a copy of my e-mail
>
> Dear professor XXX,
> I'm a student of XXX at the university of XXX thinking about applying for PhD in FIELD X, therefore your group at the university of YYY attracted my attention.
> I'd like to ask two questions about the possibility of being admitted at your university:
>
>
> 1) Is there a good chance your group is going to look for PhD students in 2019/2020?
>
>
> 2) Is the topic of the master's degree thesis fundamental for a strong application? For example, what are the chances that a student with a thesis in TOPIC Y would have his application taken very seriously into consideration by a group like yours?
>
>
> This is a very important question for me as it will have a great impact in my application strategy and maybe in the selection of the advisor for the thesis.
>
>
> Thank you in advance for your time and help if you decide to answer me.
>
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> ZZZZ
>
>
>
**Addendum 1**: as suggested by iayork I have to be more precise and state that I'm European writing to professor in Europe and that I wasn't trying to bypass the application system by writing to them but instead following. As suggested I share the example of a professor I didn't write to:
<https://www.ics.uzh.ch/~jyoo/home.htm>
In the section jobs he says he has to be contacted for information by possible PhD students. Another example from a university I didn't write to: <http://www.en.physik.lmu.de/promotion/berechtigung/index.html>
The point 1 is to find an advisor getting in touch with him/her
**Addendum 2:** Since it's creating a bit of confusion I have to precise that Topic Y in the letter is far from the research interests of the group contacted, I should have been more explicit in the mail and here explaining that the point of that question was to know if I had a chance even with such a thesis, and in case of negative answer I would change my master thesis advisor and topic to produce a thesis that allows me to have a chance to be taken in consideration by the group.
Thank you in advance for any help.<issue_comment>username_1: Asking
>
> 1) Is there a good chance your group is going to look for PhD students in 2019/2020?
>
>
>
might show that you haven't done your research, since professors usually advertise whether they are hiring. Do the professors you've contacted have positions advertised? Are they actively advertising that they aren't hiring?
Also, you're asking a subjective, probabilistic question "is there a good chance," which isn't trivial to answer, and "in 2019/2020" is ill-defined (what does it mean?).
Show you've done you're research and ask a straightforward, more-direct question, e.g.,
>
> a) I see that you are currently advertising for X, will a similar offer be available in MONTH YYYY?
>
>
>
Many professors simply won't know the answer if MONTH YYYY is too far ahead, but at least they are then informed about what you are looking for.
Asking
>
> 2) Is the topic of the master's degree thesis fundamental for a strong application? For example, what are the chances that a student with a thesis in TOPIC Y would have his application taken very seriously into consideration by a group like yours?
>
>
>
might also show that you haven't done your research, because you should know whether TOPIC Y is interesting to the group.
The question is again rather indirect and non-trivial to answer. It may possibly reflect negatively on you, because the topic *is* fundamentally important, but there's lots of leeway and you needn't be focusing on the professor's area of interest to be taken on as a student.
Show that you've done your research into the group's topics, explain why your TOPIC Y will help you be a successful PhD student, and ask if you could visit or talk by phone.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The statements
>
> what are the chances that a student with a thesis in TOPIC Y would have his application taken very seriously into consideration **by a group like yours**?
>
>
>
and
>
> it will have a great impact in (sic) **my application strategy** and maybe in the **selection of the advisor for the thesis**
>
>
>
tell me you are not specifically interested in applying here.
Are you interested in working with this prof or just shopping around? Giving general application advice to strangers isn't high on the list of the average professor's priorities.
*(My direct experience is with German and Austrian universities. Programms with centralized admissions are becoming more frequent in continental Europe as well, but in general professors have more leeway here over whom to hire or take on as PhD students than in the US.)*
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: *[This answer is relevant mainly for North American universities. In other systems, professors may be more easily able to staff their own labs without requiring admission beforehand.]*
For many universities, this letter is pointless and the professor can't offer any useful or helpful advice. In the US and Canada (and probably elsewhere but I'm familiar with those) students are admitted, not to a professor's group, but to the overall departmental pool of graduate students. After admission, the students are expected to identify faculty with whom to do their PhDs.
Individual professors typically have nothing to do with the admissions process. They can't promise admission, they don't know who will be admitted, they can't bypass the normal admissions process, and therefore they can't make any statements about openings in their groups.
No matter how compelling your letter to them is, it's a waste of your time and theirs. The only answer they can give you is, "Go through the usual admission process, and if you're admitted we can talk then."
Typically professors with any kind of profile will get literally dozens of letters like this each month, or each week. Some professors are kind enough to have a standard copy-and-paste reply, telling the writer to look at the admissions page.
Of course, the fact that someone sends this kind of letter indicates that they haven't done any background research and have no understanding of the admissions process. Someone who is willing to waste a professor's time without bothering to do any background research is probably not a good candidate for their lab, so most such letters are deleted after a quick glance.
If you absolutely must send letters to individual professors, it's critical to indicate that you are aware of the admissions process. Perhaps you could say something like "I have already started the admissions process, and am trying to learn about my options if and when I am admitted."
But in general, writing to a professor at this stage is like writing to Beyonce saying you might be interested in her latest music, could she advise you on the contents and where it could be purchased? There's very little incentive for her to write back to you.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: If an email like this came to me, I might reply, but it would not be a priority. I would assume that you meant to email Graduate Studies. What would work better for me, is if you emailed to introduce yourself, and asked if I had any time to have a phone call or video conference in the next 3 weeks etc. This would be more intriguing, and the email is very formulaic. I also think your instinct is good about the timing. I often miss emails that come in on Sundays, because Monday starts off with a bang and they just get forgotten about. Good luck with your applications!!
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: *[I'm answering from a US perspective. In many European PhD programs, advisors advertise funded PhD positions directly, only after funding is approved, and they have complete control over admission into their group. My advice may not apply in that setting.]*
>
> 1. I sent it to 5 different professors in different universities, is
> the sample too small to expect some answers? I know professors are
> flooded with e-mails so it could be normal not receiving answers.
>
>
>
As others have pointed out, **professors are busy**. In particular, we get a *lot* of emails like this, mostly from students who are poor fits for our groups and who appear to be spamming every professor they can think of. ("After looking at your research record, especially your paper [random paper title], I think I would be a great match for your group; I am also interested in high-temperature ceramics!") And there is little advice we can give other than **"I can't judge your chances without seeing your complete application, I won't know for months whether I'll have funding, and admission isn't up to me anyway. Just apply."** So many of us simply find it easier to ignore almost all emails from prospective graduate students. No, it's not friendly, but we don't have time to be friendly to everyone who asks.
On the other hand, if a **colleague** introduces me to a prospective applicant, I'm much more likely to pay attention and respond. In particular, if a prospective PhD student writes with a *substantive technical question* about my research area (not just a copy-pasted paper title), that question marks them as a colleague, and I'm much more likely to pay attention and respond.
>
> 2. Can you point out something I did wrong in my email such as: too
> long, too short, harsh, too many details, not many details, grammar
> mistakes (I'm not a native speaker), anything, to help me improve
> for future e-mails?
>
>
>
Remember that by requesting this information you are asking a stranger to do work on your behalf. Don't be surprised or disappointed if they decline.
>
> 3. How do I have to take these silences? Should I solicit an answer or simply accept that they are not interested in answering?
>
>
>
You should interpret the silence as "They must be busy". Nothing more. Contacting them again will not help; they'll still be busy. If you are interested in working with them, apply.
>
> 4. I sent them on a sunday night, is this a bad moment to
> send such e-mails? if it is what are the best days and time to send
> them?
>
>
>
Email is asynchronous. It doesn't matter when you send it. On the other hand, even under the best of circumstances, from a professor who thinks you're a perfect match for their group, you should not expect a reply in less than a week.
>
> 5. Feel free to give me any kind of advice you think could be helpful.
>
>
>
Figure out where you want to go. Apply there.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: The concern that you indicate in your email, whether you intend to or not, is that you are asking for your own benefit rather than theirs. You are cold-calling someone and asking them for advice and to save you time. You probably aren't going to get a response unless they are really desperate for a student and know for sure they will have funding, and even then you might get ignored.
1) Make sure you understand the admissions process at these institutions: how do you apply, who makes admissions decisions, etc.
2) Assuming that applications are managed through a *program* rather than individual professors, *just apply to the program you are interested in*, and then when you contact a professor tell them that you are applying/intending to apply and let them know you are interested in their research if you are accepted.
3) "Is the topic of the master's degree thesis fundamental for a strong application?" is a question for your current mentors (and maybe even StackExchange), not for professors you haven't met. Asking them if they'd accept someone who did a master's degree in Y sounds silly to me. It makes you sound insecure and clueless about admissions decisions. Tell them what your master's thesis is on and what you are interested in doing in a PhD. You aren't asking about some mythical person who might possibly exist who has maybe done work in a certain area, you should be advocating for yourself.
Asking about your chances is just asking for them to save you the time of submitting an application. If you submit an application it will get reviewed by the same process as everyone else and what matters is not your chances but whether or not you are accepted.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> 1. I sent it to 5 different professors in different universities, is the sample too small to expect some answers? I know professors are flooded with e-mails so it could be normal not receiving answers.
>
>
>
No, if you ask a simple question, you would likely get a response.
>
> 2. Can you point out something I did wrong in my email such as: too long, too short, harsh, too many details, not many details, grammar mistakes (I'm not a native speaker), anything, to help me improve for future e-mails?
>
>
>
In my opinion, it is not direct enough, and not clear what you are asking, or why you are asking it.
>
> 3. How do I have to take these silences? Should I solicit an answer or simply accept that they are not interested in answering?
>
>
>
It's not clear to me how these answers will impact the decision making process, so I would not push it.
>
> 4. I sent them on a sunday night, is this a bad moment to send such e-mails? if it is what are the best days and time to send them?
>
>
>
It shouldn't matter. Trying to guess the optimal time to send emails likely isn't worth your time. A simplistic message is more important.
>
> 5. Feel free to give me any kind of advice you think could be helpful.
>
>
>
The questions should be more direct. If you want to work with the professor, ask them that. Keep in mind they can't speak for other professors and that they don't know who you are.
For your second point in the email, asking if your thesis work will get you admitted shouldn't be asked to a professor, it should be included as part of the application process.
I would suggest rewording into something simple to answer, such as:
>
> Dear professor XXX, I'm a student of XXX at the university of XXX interested in working towards a PhD in FIELD X.
>
>
> I am attracted to your research group.
>
>
> Are you (or other professors in the group) accepting new PhD students? My master's thesis work was on TOPIC Y.
>
>
> Thank you in advance for your time. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
>
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Run <NAME>.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: A professor at the University of Victoria in BC has written a post about how to write convincing emails to potential applicants, although this is more targeted at undergraduates:
[So you want to go to grad school but can’t figure out why no one is answering your emails….](http://web.uvic.ca/delaneylab/research/Gradstrategy.html)
Additionally, because professors can literally get hundreds of emails a day, you might want to make yours short and more 'to-the-point' while still keeping it polite.
>
> Hello Dr. Professor,
>
>
> My name is Student, I am an undergraduate at Masters University, and I would like to join your research group for a PhD. I have research experience in XXX and have studied YYY, and my Master's thesis topic is in ZZZ. I want to do research in QQQ and your group's research aligns with my interests. My CV and transcript are attached to this email.
>
>
> Thank you,
> Student
>
>
> ...CV and transcript Attachments...
>
>
>
The short email should be the 'hook' that catches their attention and the CV is there to fill in the details if they are interested in looking further. The transcript may or may not matter depending on where you apply. Sometimes you need decent grades for scholarships.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: As many have pointed out, this just isn't the work flow for PhD admission. We get dozens of mails like this a year, and many are from students sending out what seems to be hundreds of messages hoping for a hit-- because their research interests have nothing to do with mine. We ignore them.
If you're really interested, officially apply to the department. If you're offered a visit, send a message to the prof stating that you've applied, you'll be visiting, and you hope you can schedule an on site interview.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_10: There may be several reasons that you didn't get a response. But your email is just very bad.
>
> Dear professor XXX, I'm a student of XXX at the university of XXX
> thinking about applying for PhD in FIELD X, therefore your group at
> the university of YYY attracted my attention.
>
>
>
This sentence alone would make your email be ignored.
What is an ideal PhD student for a professor: someone who shares research interests, who is interested in research in his/her group, and who really wants to work with him/her.
That sentence alone showed that you have none of the above.
* "FIELD X" ? Terms such as Machine Learning, Software Engineering, etc are too broad that they mean nothing, while PhD is about working on a very *narrow* topic.
* The fact that his/her group attracts your attention because they work on the general FIELD X means you know nothing about research in his/her group. You just want to be admitted in a PhD on FIELD X, and not really want to work with him/her.
* I'm not a native English speaker, so my feeling can be wrong. Somehow this sentence sounds very arrogant to me.
If this sentence doesn't stop a professor from reading the rest of the email, other parts are just very weird.
>
> what are the chances that a student with a thesis in TOPIC Y would
> have his application taken very seriously into consideration by a
> group like yours?
>
>
>
Why would you want to do a PhD when you are not able to do your own homework? Why would the professor should waste his/her time answering your basic questions.
>
> This is a very important question for me as it will have a great
> impact in my application strategy and maybe in the selection of the
> advisor for the thesis.
>
>
>
This also sounds very arrogant. It implies the professor needs (to try his best) to explain so you can select him as advisor.
>
> Thank you in advance for your time and help if you decide to answer
> me.
>
>
>
This sentence is really weird. It shows that you have poor communication skills.
In summary, this email alone shows many evidences that you are an incompetent candidate for his/her group, and that's why you are ignored.
---
I guess, just guess, you would have higher chance to be responded if you wrote something like:
>
> Dear Prof. XXX,
>
>
> I'm a ... I'm really interested NARROW-FIELD and, I'm very impressed
> with your recent work published in WELL-KNOWN-CONFERENCE (2 or 3 papers), in which you
> discovered/improved blah blah.
>
>
> During my Master, I worked on TOPIC Y, which is also very related (or NOT?).
> So I believe my background will be a good fit with your research.
> ...
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_11: I see many emails like yours. I appreciate many applicants are sincere, but not realistic. PhD students are a source of income to our School. Their fees are paid for by their governments, institutions, or themselves.
If you have no funding, a random application is pointless as you could not be admitted. When funded PhD places are rarely available, they must be advertised openly. Preference then goes to students who have already studied with us, or published, or both.
Upvotes: 0
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| 305
| 1,294
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<issue_start>username_0: Is someone who is currently pursuing his Integrated Master's course/ Dual Degree course (or any other 5-year degree course) considered to be a graduate student or an undergraduate student?<issue_comment>username_1: In terms of the literal meaning of the word, you're an undergraduate until you graduate. Then you are called a post-graduate student (British English) or graduate student (American English) if you continue studying for a higher degree, or simply a graduate if you are no longer a student.
However, your university may use these words differently or use different words altogether, and their meaning and usage also varies across countries and cultures.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This is going to depend on institution. For example two places I know which offered Honours degree (3-year Bachelor's, +1 year with research project for so-called Honours), one of them considered Honours students undergraduates, while the other considered them postgraduates. Similarly there are undergraduates who take graduate courses, and graduates who take undergraduate courses.
I imagine however if a student is enrolled in a program that results in a Masters degree, he or she would be a graduate student, no questions asked.
Upvotes: 0
|
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| 822
| 3,457
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<issue_start>username_0: I am 3rd year Phd student. So far I have been doing systems research in top US university. I realized that I want to do theory (in particular machine learning (ML) theory), but unfortunately I do not have any publications in that area. I do not have good math background, I never majored in math, and I did only basic math classes back in undergrad more than 6 years ago. So you realize that my math skills are very-very weak.
But I truly enjoy learning maths, read ML papers, read theory papers, even though I struggle. It makes me feel happy, intellectually inspired and motivated.
Meantime I completely do not care about systems research.
That said I am def much much much less qualified than most Phd students in theory who majored in math, have tons of experience and publications.
Do I even have a chance to switch to theory? Should I even talked to professors? I am completely fine to stretch my Phd for the next 5-6 years (since if I switch I will need to start from the beginning and have a long period of learning).
Do you think I should give it a shot? Is it even feasible?<issue_comment>username_1: You can do it, but as you already realize it will take a lot of time and effort. You have to get the necessary background as well as get yourself to the research frontier.
But it might make more sense to finish the degree program you are in, since you are well along in it. Once you finish you can obtain some position that gives you the resources to switch fields. You wouldn't need another doctorate, but you would need to learn all of the necessary skills.
But if you have few commitments and plenty of funding and don't care about time, there is little to stand in your way.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: ***Of course* you should give it a shot!** People switch fields all the time. One of my most successful PhD students (in algorithms) started in my department as a systems PhD student.
Your first step should be to talk to faculty who do ML theory in your department, and ask them how to get involved, given your current background. They might suggest classes to take for remediation; they might suggest specific papers to read/problems to work on that exploit your systems background; they might suggest first getting a master's degree (if you don't have one already) and then reapplying broadly to PhD programs. If you are very very lucky, they may be willing to take you on as a student and offer you funding while you transition.
But one word of warning. As I'm sure you already know, competition for PhD admission in machine learning is *incredibly fierce*. AI has always been the default subfield for smart CS students who want to go to grad school but really know what they want to do, but the popularity of machine learning has exploded over the last five years. Last year, **half** of the almost 1000 applications for my CS department's PhD program listed AI/ML as their primary research area, and **two-thirds** listed AI/ML as a possible research area, even though only a small minority of our faculty work in that area. (Of those roughly 500 applicants, we offered admission to about 50, and about 20 accepted our offer.) This competition may make it harder for you to pursue a PhD in ML *at your current institution*. That doesn't mean that moving to ML is impossible, but it may be difficult, and you may need to pursue multiple avenues to make it happen.
Best of luck!
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/06
| 3,923
| 16,229
|
<issue_start>username_0: I wrote my PhD thesis a few years back. After I finished, my supervisor found another researcher and continued research with the apparatus I built, but along a different line of study. I met this student a few times and gave them advice and help when I could. They always had a hard copy of my thesis in the lab for reference; I also provided a PDF copy at the student's request.
The student recently finished their PhD and I looked at their thesis. The lit review, results, and findings are the student's own work. But, particularly in the middle section (describing the apparatus I built):
* Many paragraphs of their text is copied and pasted from mine, some without checking so that it makes false references;
* In other instances, the student has substantially copied paragraphs, but changed a few words here and there;
* One that particularly annoyed me was the copying and awkward re-hashing of my acknowledgements to my supervisor, very personal words;
I informed my former supervisor (with whom I have a good relationship) and he seemed not to want to know. He said that as long as it wasn't the results then it wasn't too important. He reckoned as the student was a good guy, he may not have known what plagiarism was, and perhaps did it by accident. He did offer to acknowledge or include me in subsequent journal papers.
**Given that only some of the background text (rather than the results section) was copied, is it reasonable to pursue this further? What is normally done in such cases?**
In particular, I was thinking to quantify the level of copying involved and ask my supervisor to withdraw the thesis until copied material is removed. However, I risk jeopardizing a fairly good relationship with my supervisor and possibly also with the small network of colleagues.<issue_comment>username_1: You have two options:
1. Not care about plagiarism enough to warrant getting involved.
2. Care about plagiarism to the degree you get involved.
There are arguments for both points here.
1. It would be an obvious matter of record as to whose thesis was written first if anyone else happened to notice the similarities. Why get involved further? You notified the adviser, let him deal with blowback from letting a student plagiarize. *Pushing the issue further would just compromise your relationship with your adviser.* Whistleblowers rarely get rewarded properly anyway. And, cynically, some universities may not even care about a student plagiarizing parts of a thesis. It's more paperwork and labor for them to deal with and it's easier to just hope (from an administrative perspective) that the problem goes away.
2. Based on what you have told us, it seems reasonable that your thesis was plagiarized from. You have contacted the adviser about this and he declined to do much about it. The graduate college and university administration, however, may not concur with your adviser. *Plagiarism should be stopped on principle alone.* I would report the offending thesis to the graduate college and see if they are willing to investigate it further. If you really wanted to do some nasty damage and the university declines to investigate, notify the local newspaper and see if they'll send over some junior journalist to write a spot on how your university is allowing plagiarism to occur.
Part of writing a thesis is learning to articulate *in your own words* what your research is about. This has to do with much more than just shoving original data in a table.
If your adviser told you the student "might not know what plagiarism is" then.....wow.....No one reaches graduate school and is completely oblivious to what plagiarism is. Let's be honest here.
For me personally, I would let it go. The network with my adviser is more important to my career right now. This is pragmatism, not principle, speaking.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> Given that only some of the background text (rather than the results
> section) was copied, is it reasonable to pursue this further? What is
> normally done in such cases?
>
>
>
OK, that new student made a mistake. Now, you need to ask yourself what do you want to achieve.
>
> Given that only some of the background text (rather than the results
> section) was copied, is it reasonable to pursue this further? What is
> normally done in such cases?
>
>
>
First, note that this plagiarism makes no damage to you. You had graduated before (s)he started. There would be no question about who was the plagiarizer. The plagiarized text is in the background, it doesn't rob any credit that belonged to you.
**That means you would gain nothing personally**.
Your advisor's response is understandable. He was probably too busy (or lazy) to read the theses. He would know for sure that the new student was doing wrong. But if the plagiarism is discovered, he will be in a lot of trouble.
As you also guess, if you pursue further, you will lose the relationship with him, etc.
I do not encourage scientific misconduct, but in this case you will lose something and gain nothing.
If the new student works in industry now, he would not care less about the PhD thesis. If he is in academia, this plagiarism will haunt him forever.
---
Answers to comment of @cag51.
>
> I was with you until your last paragraph. If OP reports this, the
> student could have to do revisions or risk losing their PhD (or maybe
> they will lose their PhD outright); even someone in industry would not
> want their PhD revoked (as then they could not claim it on their
> resume). Conversely, it's not clear how this would "haunt him forever"
> in academia -- if this is settled quietly, and especially if OP
> doesn't speak up, no one is likely to know that there was ever an
> issue.
>
>
>
From the time someone starts working in industry, his/her PhD becomes irrelevant. Suppose the new student is working in company X, will he be fired if his PhD is revoked? No. Will his next company care if his PhD is revoked? No, they only care how many years he has worked for company X with which title.
I'm working in the US, where companies always hire a third-party to do background check on new employee, and you can get a copy of the report. I have never been checked for education background. They just do not care.
On the other hand, if the new student is working in academia, the consequence of the plagiarism being discovered is catastrophic. It likes sleeping with a bomb. Even if you know the bomb is very unlikely to explode, you can't stop worrying about it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: This is an unpleasant and complicated problem. Here's one possible course of action. Whether or not it's appropriate under the particular circumstances depends on details and subtleties that go beyond your question.
Perhaps contact the student directly. Let them know that you have noticed the plagiarism and that it disturbs you - particularly the acknowledgment! Say that the cut and paste is unacceptable academic behavior even if you are cited (you don't say). Conclude by saying that you have discussed this with your common advisor, that you don't yourself plan to take any further action, but want to let your future academic colleague know so that they do not transgress again in their career.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Depends where you are. At my university (in the UK), plagiarism or breaking any other academic integrity rule is a thing that can get you kicked out.
I would get it reported. The supervisor is not acting appropriately, considering that your work is something you put effort into for years. Even if your relationship with him may suffer, this is not something to just dismiss on the basis that you were his students.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: In general, this makes thesis [plagiarized](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism):
>
> Many paragraphs of their text is copied and pasted from mine, some without checking so that it makes false references
>
>
>
Unless you quote and reference block of text, you stole and claimed that you've wrote it. The student obviously did just that. You can talk to the University ethics/research integrity committee or department to make sure you understand their stance correctly.
Now the question is what you want to happen next.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: What do you value? Do you want justice at the expense of your relationships? Do you want relationships at the cost of easing your moral fortitude? People are creatures of habit. Those who pay attention to detail are known for their attention to detail. Those who are lazy and sloppy are known as well. If he doesn't change his behavior, it will catch up to him eventually. If he does change his behavior, then he had some slack to grow on his own. You could always reach out to him and point out your observations... This seems like a good middle-ground approach. It would let him know his laziness was discovered,and give him the opportunity to choose how to handle the situation without pounding him into the dirt for crossing the line.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I would argue that you could end up in trouble of your own for not reporting this after it can be proven that you have knowledge of his plagiarism.
If he is discovered to do the same thing later to someone else, or even if someone else reports what he did with your work instead of you reporting it, it's possible that your integrity might be called into question. After all, he is riding off of your own coattails.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: Since you know about this plagiarism you need to report it. Avoiding reporting it just because it might jeopardize "a fairly good relationship with my supervisor" should not be part of the equation. Then you are just as bad, letting plagiarism occur just because it is helpful to your career to not do anything about it.
You have already talked to you advisor, now talk to his/her superior. Make sure to document all communications. Keep going higher until someone cares and make sure you also report those who do nothing about it. If going as high as you could within the university still didn't result in a retraction of the thesis and action against those who did nothing you should contact local a newspaper/a relevant journal.
Ethics is incredibly important in science, taxpayers pay us to do research and society then trusts our results. Unethical behaviour like in this case needs to be firmly stopped before the line of what is acceptable moves and we lose both funding and trust.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: It's very likely that the view of the professor ("not that much of a big deal") did reflect on the working habit of the student. And that the student really did do it without thinking about it. Than it was obviously only done because -until now- nobody told him whats good citation is.
Contact the student, tell him what he did wrong. Ask him to fix it.
If he only copied your text, I would assume it was "misinterpretation" of the academic rules. He likely thought, since your are on "the team", its not needed to apply the citation rules. Talk with him. You can have some impact (in a good way) on his future behavior.
If you have the impression that the student does not care after you talked to him, you still can take the official route. If the student copied unrelated peoples text as well it may be done intentional, in this case I would point out (likely in writing, depends on the culture) to the advisor that you did talk to him and what the outcome of the meeting was.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: >
> The lit review, results, and findings are the student's own work
>
>
>
So to be fair what we have here is laziness. They haven't stolen or laid claim to your *ideas* or *concepts* or *results*. They've cut and pasted text. Certainly that text required some effort to produce, but is it what you value here and is this really worth going to war over ?
Arguing the point is likely to cause you problems. Right or wrong making an accusation of plagiarism could ruin the student's life. Is their sin worth the potential damage proving it will cause ?
If the authorities declare your accusation is wrong (or said to be wrong) this could be very damaging to *you* professionally. And they may do that simply to avoid having to ruin the student. Even if the agree with you, you are certain to make enemies doing this.
I'd suggest the sin is not worth the trouble reporting it will cause for everyone, including you.
>
> But, particularly in the middle section (describing the apparatus I built)
>
>
>
Now the student did use *your* apparatus in this sense at least. Did this warrant a reference in his thesis ? Did you get acknowledgement that way ? If so that's potentially valuable and you can take the view that you don't need more.
So overall, do you really need more ?
If you feel you deserve an acknowledgement in their thesis and did not get it, can you speak quietly to them and ask them to add one to later revisions prior to publication ? And I mean ask, not demand - be a diplomat, not a lawyer.
So rather than going to war over this, maybe try some quiet diplomacy that may make you more friends than enemies.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: What do the copied sections add to their thesis? You state that these sections describe the apparatus you built. Do you consider this to be intellectual property? Do they still make it clear that you built the apparatus? Are you acknowledged? If not, do they make it seem that they built the apparatus? Do they gain anything from doing so? In other words, will they be getting credit for work that they did not do? And will you be losing credit at the same time? These are the things that I would be thinking about.
It seems likely that it is important, to the thesis, that the apparatus is described in some way. It also seems likely that the review, results and findings of the thesis are enough to stand on their own, without needing credit for building the equipment. With that in mind, I would speak to the student yourself, explain your concerns, and offer to work with them to include the content that they need in a way that acknowledges you, and does not claim credit for work they did not do. Decide exactly what you want changed before you start this, however, so that you can be clear about exactly what you want and why.
I would try to avoid the p-word as far as possible. I find it hard to believe that this person does not know what plagiarism is. It seems more likely that they don't consider what they did to be plagiarism. In which case, they should be perfectly happy to work with you on this.
Report them if you need to, but since you've already worked with this person, you should definitely try to sort this out amongst yourselves before going down that road. If you have a good relationship (with this person and your advisor), then this should be enough, and you needn't be concerned about destroying it. If not, and no one is willing to listen to your concerns, perhaps it wasn't worth keeping anyway.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: To answer your bolded question: probably nothing, and accepting their offer of acknowledgment seems best.
From what you have described, I don't think they intend any malice, but simply
* don't have a better description for the apparatus than you provided
* don't have any personal words for their advisor
As they have offered to acknowledge your role, I'd try to see that you are properly credited for your part in their apparatus and otherwise not try to damage them. The former will benefit you, while the latter is unlikely to.
If they replicated your apparatus, it seems logical to describe its form and setup as similarly as possible. If they have done independent work otherwise, then the line around plagiarism gets fuzzier - they are not passing off your work as theirs, but pushing ahead with new findings!
Re-hashing your personal words, however, means they did not have any of their own, which seems like a personal failing you could also help them with if you have the time.
Upvotes: 0
|
2018/12/06
| 3,708
| 15,237
|
<issue_start>username_0: On my grad school applications for an American Statistics MS, the application asks for the Professor title. I've always referred to my professors with the "Professor" title, but I'm wondering if title on a grad school application is concerning their official position / ranking in the department?
For example, one of my professors has a PhD from my <NAME>ater but on the department website, it indicates she is a Lecturer. Should I indicate she is a Lecturer on the application? Or is it still appropriate to list her as a Professor?
Another one is indicated as "Professor & Graduate Vice Chair". Is it relevant to include the Graduate Vice Chair part or should I only include Professor?
Please point me in the right direction or provide some clarity if you can. I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: You have two options:
1. Not care about plagiarism enough to warrant getting involved.
2. Care about plagiarism to the degree you get involved.
There are arguments for both points here.
1. It would be an obvious matter of record as to whose thesis was written first if anyone else happened to notice the similarities. Why get involved further? You notified the adviser, let him deal with blowback from letting a student plagiarize. *Pushing the issue further would just compromise your relationship with your adviser.* Whistleblowers rarely get rewarded properly anyway. And, cynically, some universities may not even care about a student plagiarizing parts of a thesis. It's more paperwork and labor for them to deal with and it's easier to just hope (from an administrative perspective) that the problem goes away.
2. Based on what you have told us, it seems reasonable that your thesis was plagiarized from. You have contacted the adviser about this and he declined to do much about it. The graduate college and university administration, however, may not concur with your adviser. *Plagiarism should be stopped on principle alone.* I would report the offending thesis to the graduate college and see if they are willing to investigate it further. If you really wanted to do some nasty damage and the university declines to investigate, notify the local newspaper and see if they'll send over some junior journalist to write a spot on how your university is allowing plagiarism to occur.
Part of writing a thesis is learning to articulate *in your own words* what your research is about. This has to do with much more than just shoving original data in a table.
If your adviser told you the student "might not know what plagiarism is" then.....wow.....No one reaches graduate school and is completely oblivious to what plagiarism is. Let's be honest here.
For me personally, I would let it go. The network with my adviser is more important to my career right now. This is pragmatism, not principle, speaking.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> Given that only some of the background text (rather than the results
> section) was copied, is it reasonable to pursue this further? What is
> normally done in such cases?
>
>
>
OK, that new student made a mistake. Now, you need to ask yourself what do you want to achieve.
>
> Given that only some of the background text (rather than the results
> section) was copied, is it reasonable to pursue this further? What is
> normally done in such cases?
>
>
>
First, note that this plagiarism makes no damage to you. You had graduated before (s)he started. There would be no question about who was the plagiarizer. The plagiarized text is in the background, it doesn't rob any credit that belonged to you.
**That means you would gain nothing personally**.
Your advisor's response is understandable. He was probably too busy (or lazy) to read the theses. He would know for sure that the new student was doing wrong. But if the plagiarism is discovered, he will be in a lot of trouble.
As you also guess, if you pursue further, you will lose the relationship with him, etc.
I do not encourage scientific misconduct, but in this case you will lose something and gain nothing.
If the new student works in industry now, he would not care less about the PhD thesis. If he is in academia, this plagiarism will haunt him forever.
---
Answers to comment of @cag51.
>
> I was with you until your last paragraph. If OP reports this, the
> student could have to do revisions or risk losing their PhD (or maybe
> they will lose their PhD outright); even someone in industry would not
> want their PhD revoked (as then they could not claim it on their
> resume). Conversely, it's not clear how this would "haunt him forever"
> in academia -- if this is settled quietly, and especially if OP
> doesn't speak up, no one is likely to know that there was ever an
> issue.
>
>
>
From the time someone starts working in industry, his/her PhD becomes irrelevant. Suppose the new student is working in company X, will he be fired if his PhD is revoked? No. Will his next company care if his PhD is revoked? No, they only care how many years he has worked for company X with which title.
I'm working in the US, where companies always hire a third-party to do background check on new employee, and you can get a copy of the report. I have never been checked for education background. They just do not care.
On the other hand, if the new student is working in academia, the consequence of the plagiarism being discovered is catastrophic. It likes sleeping with a bomb. Even if you know the bomb is very unlikely to explode, you can't stop worrying about it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: This is an unpleasant and complicated problem. Here's one possible course of action. Whether or not it's appropriate under the particular circumstances depends on details and subtleties that go beyond your question.
Perhaps contact the student directly. Let them know that you have noticed the plagiarism and that it disturbs you - particularly the acknowledgment! Say that the cut and paste is unacceptable academic behavior even if you are cited (you don't say). Conclude by saying that you have discussed this with your common advisor, that you don't yourself plan to take any further action, but want to let your future academic colleague know so that they do not transgress again in their career.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Depends where you are. At my university (in the UK), plagiarism or breaking any other academic integrity rule is a thing that can get you kicked out.
I would get it reported. The supervisor is not acting appropriately, considering that your work is something you put effort into for years. Even if your relationship with him may suffer, this is not something to just dismiss on the basis that you were his students.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: In general, this makes thesis [plagiarized](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism):
>
> Many paragraphs of their text is copied and pasted from mine, some without checking so that it makes false references
>
>
>
Unless you quote and reference block of text, you stole and claimed that you've wrote it. The student obviously did just that. You can talk to the University ethics/research integrity committee or department to make sure you understand their stance correctly.
Now the question is what you want to happen next.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: What do you value? Do you want justice at the expense of your relationships? Do you want relationships at the cost of easing your moral fortitude? People are creatures of habit. Those who pay attention to detail are known for their attention to detail. Those who are lazy and sloppy are known as well. If he doesn't change his behavior, it will catch up to him eventually. If he does change his behavior, then he had some slack to grow on his own. You could always reach out to him and point out your observations... This seems like a good middle-ground approach. It would let him know his laziness was discovered,and give him the opportunity to choose how to handle the situation without pounding him into the dirt for crossing the line.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I would argue that you could end up in trouble of your own for not reporting this after it can be proven that you have knowledge of his plagiarism.
If he is discovered to do the same thing later to someone else, or even if someone else reports what he did with your work instead of you reporting it, it's possible that your integrity might be called into question. After all, he is riding off of your own coattails.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: Since you know about this plagiarism you need to report it. Avoiding reporting it just because it might jeopardize "a fairly good relationship with my supervisor" should not be part of the equation. Then you are just as bad, letting plagiarism occur just because it is helpful to your career to not do anything about it.
You have already talked to you advisor, now talk to his/her superior. Make sure to document all communications. Keep going higher until someone cares and make sure you also report those who do nothing about it. If going as high as you could within the university still didn't result in a retraction of the thesis and action against those who did nothing you should contact local a newspaper/a relevant journal.
Ethics is incredibly important in science, taxpayers pay us to do research and society then trusts our results. Unethical behaviour like in this case needs to be firmly stopped before the line of what is acceptable moves and we lose both funding and trust.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: It's very likely that the view of the professor ("not that much of a big deal") did reflect on the working habit of the student. And that the student really did do it without thinking about it. Than it was obviously only done because -until now- nobody told him whats good citation is.
Contact the student, tell him what he did wrong. Ask him to fix it.
If he only copied your text, I would assume it was "misinterpretation" of the academic rules. He likely thought, since your are on "the team", its not needed to apply the citation rules. Talk with him. You can have some impact (in a good way) on his future behavior.
If you have the impression that the student does not care after you talked to him, you still can take the official route. If the student copied unrelated peoples text as well it may be done intentional, in this case I would point out (likely in writing, depends on the culture) to the advisor that you did talk to him and what the outcome of the meeting was.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: >
> The lit review, results, and findings are the student's own work
>
>
>
So to be fair what we have here is laziness. They haven't stolen or laid claim to your *ideas* or *concepts* or *results*. They've cut and pasted text. Certainly that text required some effort to produce, but is it what you value here and is this really worth going to war over ?
Arguing the point is likely to cause you problems. Right or wrong making an accusation of plagiarism could ruin the student's life. Is their sin worth the potential damage proving it will cause ?
If the authorities declare your accusation is wrong (or said to be wrong) this could be very damaging to *you* professionally. And they may do that simply to avoid having to ruin the student. Even if the agree with you, you are certain to make enemies doing this.
I'd suggest the sin is not worth the trouble reporting it will cause for everyone, including you.
>
> But, particularly in the middle section (describing the apparatus I built)
>
>
>
Now the student did use *your* apparatus in this sense at least. Did this warrant a reference in his thesis ? Did you get acknowledgement that way ? If so that's potentially valuable and you can take the view that you don't need more.
So overall, do you really need more ?
If you feel you deserve an acknowledgement in their thesis and did not get it, can you speak quietly to them and ask them to add one to later revisions prior to publication ? And I mean ask, not demand - be a diplomat, not a lawyer.
So rather than going to war over this, maybe try some quiet diplomacy that may make you more friends than enemies.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: What do the copied sections add to their thesis? You state that these sections describe the apparatus you built. Do you consider this to be intellectual property? Do they still make it clear that you built the apparatus? Are you acknowledged? If not, do they make it seem that they built the apparatus? Do they gain anything from doing so? In other words, will they be getting credit for work that they did not do? And will you be losing credit at the same time? These are the things that I would be thinking about.
It seems likely that it is important, to the thesis, that the apparatus is described in some way. It also seems likely that the review, results and findings of the thesis are enough to stand on their own, without needing credit for building the equipment. With that in mind, I would speak to the student yourself, explain your concerns, and offer to work with them to include the content that they need in a way that acknowledges you, and does not claim credit for work they did not do. Decide exactly what you want changed before you start this, however, so that you can be clear about exactly what you want and why.
I would try to avoid the p-word as far as possible. I find it hard to believe that this person does not know what plagiarism is. It seems more likely that they don't consider what they did to be plagiarism. In which case, they should be perfectly happy to work with you on this.
Report them if you need to, but since you've already worked with this person, you should definitely try to sort this out amongst yourselves before going down that road. If you have a good relationship (with this person and your advisor), then this should be enough, and you needn't be concerned about destroying it. If not, and no one is willing to listen to your concerns, perhaps it wasn't worth keeping anyway.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: To answer your bolded question: probably nothing, and accepting their offer of acknowledgment seems best.
From what you have described, I don't think they intend any malice, but simply
* don't have a better description for the apparatus than you provided
* don't have any personal words for their advisor
As they have offered to acknowledge your role, I'd try to see that you are properly credited for your part in their apparatus and otherwise not try to damage them. The former will benefit you, while the latter is unlikely to.
If they replicated your apparatus, it seems logical to describe its form and setup as similarly as possible. If they have done independent work otherwise, then the line around plagiarism gets fuzzier - they are not passing off your work as theirs, but pushing ahead with new findings!
Re-hashing your personal words, however, means they did not have any of their own, which seems like a personal failing you could also help them with if you have the time.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/06
| 823
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for PhD this Fall. Came across one of my referees today, had a great conversation and then he asked if I had a plan B if I would not be admitted. Does it mean he thinks I'm not good enough?<issue_comment>username_1: Don't overthink this. It sounds like he's just showing a friendly interest in your plans. No matter how "good" you are, graduate admissions always has some degree of uncertainty, and so everybody should consider what they will do if they don't get admitted. He just wants to know what that would be for you.
If he really didn't think you were good enough, he wouldn't have agreed to be a reference for you.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Probably not. I had a really similar conversation recently with one of my referees for an MA that I'm applying for in the fall. He elaborated by saying that he wants to see me succeed, and wondered if I would continue to try and bolster my skills for reapplication in the event that I did not make it in. The road to success in academia is paved with failure, and I'm sure your referee is genuinely looking out for your best interest and not implying anything negative.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: It's unlikely this is any reflection on your ability, but more on the lottery of postgraduate admissions.
Personally, when I'd decided on my research interests, there were literally three people in the entire country who would have made suitable supervisors. The year I applied none of them had grants available to fund a PhD student. I decided to go into a different field instead, rather than waiting, which was a colossal mistake but that's a whole different story.
I only mention my personal circumstances to illustrate one of the many reasons that you can fail to get a PhD place which have nothing to do with your learning or skill.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: In science we often have to consider "Plan B". In fact, when you apply for a grant and aim to achieve several connected things, you often required to discuss what would happen if one of them won't work out.
There is no reason to assume that your referee is questioning your ability. I think they want to know one of these things:
* what other school you are applying
* have you thought about alternatives (non-academic career)
* do you want to get PhD to stay in academia or move to industry after getting degree (both are legit goals)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: The PhD program I graduated from typically had about twice as many strong candidates who they would love to have in the program as they had spots available.
Some of those people would end up choosing to go elsewhere anyways so that's no problem, but ultimately some of those people have to be denied just because of space and not because any of them were not good enough; the decisions on the most borderline of those cases might be simply tossups.
In summary, I think it's most likely this was just a polite question and didn't mean anything beyond that, but it most definitely doesn't mean that you are unqualified or not good enough.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: If you do not have a **Plan B**, that would indicate that you are 100% committed and fully invested into your doctoral studies should you be granted admission.
Personally, I would hope and very much love it if a person seeking admission with hopes of becoming my advisee answered the question with a negative on a plan b.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/06
| 949
| 4,052
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<issue_start>username_0: I got into a delicate situation with my supervisor (and the director of the institute -- they are very close friends) and I will not have a chance to get my Ph.D. at the institute, at least not under conditions that I find acceptable.
My thesis will be finished soon; I wouldn't like to lose years of work because of this toxic person. Is it possible to defend my work at some other institute and with another supervisor(s)? Where to look and what to look for?
Institute is not so big and it is placed in Eastern Europe. There is no "postgraduates officer / director or student union or department or college head" or option to change my supervisor at the institute, and this director is the top director at the institute... I would appreciate any suggestions and experiences.<issue_comment>username_1: Don't overthink this. It sounds like he's just showing a friendly interest in your plans. No matter how "good" you are, graduate admissions always has some degree of uncertainty, and so everybody should consider what they will do if they don't get admitted. He just wants to know what that would be for you.
If he really didn't think you were good enough, he wouldn't have agreed to be a reference for you.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Probably not. I had a really similar conversation recently with one of my referees for an MA that I'm applying for in the fall. He elaborated by saying that he wants to see me succeed, and wondered if I would continue to try and bolster my skills for reapplication in the event that I did not make it in. The road to success in academia is paved with failure, and I'm sure your referee is genuinely looking out for your best interest and not implying anything negative.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: It's unlikely this is any reflection on your ability, but more on the lottery of postgraduate admissions.
Personally, when I'd decided on my research interests, there were literally three people in the entire country who would have made suitable supervisors. The year I applied none of them had grants available to fund a PhD student. I decided to go into a different field instead, rather than waiting, which was a colossal mistake but that's a whole different story.
I only mention my personal circumstances to illustrate one of the many reasons that you can fail to get a PhD place which have nothing to do with your learning or skill.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: In science we often have to consider "Plan B". In fact, when you apply for a grant and aim to achieve several connected things, you often required to discuss what would happen if one of them won't work out.
There is no reason to assume that your referee is questioning your ability. I think they want to know one of these things:
* what other school you are applying
* have you thought about alternatives (non-academic career)
* do you want to get PhD to stay in academia or move to industry after getting degree (both are legit goals)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: The PhD program I graduated from typically had about twice as many strong candidates who they would love to have in the program as they had spots available.
Some of those people would end up choosing to go elsewhere anyways so that's no problem, but ultimately some of those people have to be denied just because of space and not because any of them were not good enough; the decisions on the most borderline of those cases might be simply tossups.
In summary, I think it's most likely this was just a polite question and didn't mean anything beyond that, but it most definitely doesn't mean that you are unqualified or not good enough.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: If you do not have a **Plan B**, that would indicate that you are 100% committed and fully invested into your doctoral studies should you be granted admission.
Personally, I would hope and very much love it if a person seeking admission with hopes of becoming my advisee answered the question with a negative on a plan b.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/07
| 1,595
| 6,740
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<issue_start>username_0: Next week I'm scheduled to graduate from a major university. One of the required courses that I've taken over the past semester is an independent research study with a single professor.
Throughout this process I've mostly worked on my own, however, with the semester nearing its conclusion, I now need to present my research and receive a grade on my efforts.
Well, over the past five to six days, my professor hasn't been on campus and is for all intents and purposes unreachable. Of the few emails I've sent him he's only responded to one, saying that he's had a death in the family and that he'll get in touch with me the next day (which is now today but he's still yet to do so and it's currently 8pm). The death in the family happened at least last weekend, since when I tried visiting his office on Tuesday another professor told me he was out of the office due to said occurrence.
I consulted my advisor and he recommended that I send a follow up email [tonight] mentioning my concern, and that if he doesn't respond within a few hours to send another follow up email but this time with the chair of the department cc'ed.
My question is, is there anything else I can do to push this professor to respond to me and to set up a time to conclude my research project? What happens if he doesn't issue me a grade? I absolutely have to graduate this semester for a number of reasons that I won't go into; but, it would absolutely be devastating to my current plans in life, finances, etc.
I've been told that it's not within the powers of the chair to actually do something about this, just nudge the professor in the right direction, but, does the dean of the college have some kind of influence in my graduating?
My mentor for this project does instruct other courses, so, I'm kind of guessing he'll be back on campus next week to proctor his final(s)... but, I could also very well see another professor filling in for him.
Does anyone have experience with / knowledge about this? I'm kind of starting to freak out and so I thought I'd consult the masses.
Thanks in advance and sorry if any of this was ranty.
---
**UPDATE:** This afternoon I met with the chair of that department, and, about five minutes into the meeting my professor showed up in the door of the room! He was there to drop off a folder of papers for other students from his other courses to pick up, and to tell the chair that he was back on campus.
At that same time, my professor told me that he would just grade me on the results of the project that I had previously submitted to him, along with the presentation I made.
It truly was complete luck [on my part] that my professor showed up at the same time that I was there. And, the conversation between me and the chair didn't get far enough for him to tell me what my options would be; so, I can't update you all regarding what my university's policy / way of handling this would be.
Thanks again for all the comments/advice.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> My question is, is there anything else I can do to push this professor to respond to me and to set up a time to conclude my research project?
>
>
>
I recommend that you don't send your professor any more communications than you already have, and in this case, it is **completely inappropriate** to "push" him to do anything. The death of a loved one in one's family is a major traumatic event, and a large degree of sympathy and forbearance is appropriate. With respect, it is a much bigger deal than what are relatively minor concerns over graduation.
At this point you have already sent multiple emails, and it is clear that the professor is not able to perform his work duties right now. Rather than contacting him again, contact the Head of Department, describe your case, and request a plan to have your assessment pushed forward in the absence of your professor (e.g., with another supervisor allocated). Make sure you write your request in a way that is sympathetic and kind to your professor, but which acknowledges the reality that he is not presently in a position to assist you. If you have been advised that there is nothing they can do, then you have been advised wrong, because that is clearly bullshit - a Department Head has the power and responsibility to replace incapacitated staff with other staff members who can do their teaching/supervision work.
If the Department is unable to assess you prior to your expected graduation time, this might end up being a case where your graduation is delayed. Accept that and put it in perspective. No-one you love has died, and the worst possible outcome for you here is that your assessment gets delayed, and you end up graduating one session later than you otherwise would have. If this occurs, and you are worried that it will hamper your ability to apply for later positions (e.g., jobs, post-graduate degree, etc.), ask your Head of Department to write a "to whom it may concern" letter that you can give to potential employers, explaining that you are due to graduate at the next conferral and that your graduation was delayed due to a staffing issue through no fault of your own.
One last thing: remember to buy your professor a nice card or some flowers consoling him for his bereavement.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: To answer a specific question:
>
> What happens if he doesn't issue me a grade?
>
>
>
In a US-like university system (which based on your terminology I'm assuming), what would normally happen is that you'd be temporarily assigned a placeholder grade, possibly I (for Incomplete) or possibly something else that indicates some sort of administrative delay. Your degree wouldn't be officially conferred, but in all likelihood you'd still be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony. When the professor eventually returns to duty, you can complete your presentation (remotely if necessary), and he can assign you a grade. That grade then replaces the I, and from then on it's as if you had that grade all along. Assuming it's a passing grade, you will then be awarded a degree, possibly backdated to the end of this semester.
This is a similar process to what would happen if *you* became ill or incapacitated and were unable to take your last exams on time.
In particular, this sort of situation does *not* result in you having to retake the course. I would not worry about the possibility of having to attend the university next semester.
If the professor is out for a *really* long time, or permanently, (which I wouldn't expect in this case), the department can typically have some other professor review your work and assign their best estimate of a grade.
Upvotes: 5
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2018/12/07
| 793
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<issue_start>username_0: In my country it is very common for courses to consist of two types of classes: lectures primarily focus on theoretical aspects of a topic and then after each lecture comes a corresponding “practice” class which covers practical aspects of the material from the preceding lecture, such as how to use it to solve exercises. These latter classes can be taught by the same professor or, quite often, by graduate students.
Is there a term for this kind of classes? If you are from another country, how can I concisely explain to you what these classes are for? How do I indicate in my CV that I was a teacher of such a “practical” part of a course?
---
As a person responsible for “practice” classes you have to plan them on your own (it is generally assumed that the topic of each class will be the same as that of the preceding lecture, but it is not a hard requirement and sometimes you might need to deviate); explain techniques and practical considerations; prove theorems (yourself or engaging the students) which didn’t fit into lectures because they were not required for the theoretical narration but rather have practical implications; solve exercises or have students solve them with your hints; etc. You are also responsible for designing and grading homework assignments, projects, tests.
In essence, professor “outsources” part of the course to you and then in the end gets your input about each student’s performance in it. The primary purpose is to divide students into smaller groups (of around 15 or less), each assigned to a separate teacher, so that each student gets more personal attention.<issue_comment>username_1: Try "tutorial".
Example [writeup on what tutorials are](https://student.unsw.edu.au/tutorials) from the University of New South Wales.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: These are also called "quiz sections" at my university.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: In the US, we used the term *Recitation Section* for such things. A TA and around 15-20 students would work together to make the lectures more personal in some way. In my experience (45 years) it was often used. Such a section would be stable in that the same TA would work with the same students over the course of a term.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: In the US I have heard them referred to as "discussion sections," "lab sections," or "fourth hour." Discussion implies a small group where students often work together to make sense of the material, although it may be more or less collaborative. Lab implies that they are working on practice problems or scenarios. Lab is more often used for science classes, although I had lab sections for some mathematics classes as well. The term "fourth hour" comes from a standard class meeting time taking 1.5 hours. Two meetings then would be 3 hours, and might be accompanied by a shorter class meeting to add another hour of time each week.
In the US, your job title would be Teaching Assistant or "TA" as it's often known. It is important to specify the variety of work that you have done, especially the curriculum design tasks. TAs in the US range from essentially teaching an entire course, including many lectures. Other TAs have almost no responsibility. They might take attendance, grade tests, and hold office hours to answer questions. And everything in between.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Best described as a "Tutorial" in my experience.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/07
| 797
| 3,333
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying for master's degree in mathematics (pure math) at Canadian universities.
I already found two professors to write academic letters for me, but it's hard to find the third one who can write a strong letter.
All schools mentioned on their websites that they require 3 letters with at least two academical references which means the third one could be professional.
I've been working as a math tutor at a community college in Toronto for past 3 co-op terms. She has supervised me for 2 co-op terms and knows me very well (even more than my professors).
Her position is Learning strategists - math specialist which means her job is to support students' learning and deal with their academic concerns. Before the current job, she earned her master's degree in mathematics and statistics and worked as a lecturer/teaching assistant at a university for 5-7 years and was an instructor at the current college for few years. I don't want to reveal too much about her, but at least I can say she went to/worked at top Canadian universities.
I have built good relationship with her as a co-op student & supervisor and I have some impressive achievements in a college tutor level. So I believe she can write a strong letter for me.
My concern is she doesn't hold PhD. Would committee take her letter seriously? Do you recommend to get a letter from her rather than from a professor who barely knows me?<issue_comment>username_1: That is of course always hard to answer, as we don't know you, we don't know what would be written in the letters, we don't know about the person reading your letters. Thus, the answer below is just my personal opinion, it might or might not align with the opinion of the persons in charge of admitting you:
I would go with the letter from your job. Your job is math related, the person writing the letter is working with math daily and she knows you better than the third professor. Thus, you would get a personalized letter instead of the generic "Andrew is a good student and passed my class with an A" that admission boards surely read way too often. Furthermore, it shows that you really enjoy math and not just study it to get a degree. With the right wording, this could show you as a really motivated mathematician; and every professor knows that to do a master's or maybe even a PhD in pure math you need tons of (self)motivation.
I wouldn't worry too much about the fact that she doesn't hold a PhD. On the contrary, she has been allowed to work and lecture at top universities without having one, that tells way more about her than a piece of paper saying that she wrote a thesis at some point in her life.
Oh, and if she already worked at top universities, maybe she also worked at the one you are applying to and has connections there? That would put her letter even above the two from your professors I'd guess.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I don't see this as a concern, given that you are applying for a masters program and not a Ph.D. program. In fact, if you intend to teach when you have completed your masters degree, and especially if you plan to (or hope to) teach as part of your assistantship (or whatever your graduate support money is called), then she could actually be your most significant reference.
Upvotes: 2
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2018/12/07
| 2,109
| 7,846
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<issue_start>username_0: I am presently writing an article about a certain class of discrete probability distributions, and I want to mention that the distribution is relatively obscure compared to other common distributions. As an indicator of its relative obscurity, I would like to mention the fact that this class of distributions does not have its own [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) page, whereas other common distributions (e.g., the [binomial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_distribution), [Poisson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisson_distribution), [hypergeometric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypergeometric_distribution), etc.) do have their own pages.
**My question:** What is the proper way to cite this evidence? Presumably I will be citing the fact that I have performed a *search* of Wikipedia at a certain time, and that I found pages for various common discrete distributions, but no page for the one that is the subject of my paper.
**What I am NOT asking:** I am well aware of the reasons that academic papers do not usually cite Wikipedia as a source. In this instance I only intend to cite it as an indicator of the fact that a topic is sufficiently obscure that no-one has created a page for it. As such, I am not seeking answers on the general objections to citations to Wikipedia (which I am already familiar with).<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think one needs a citation for the fact that no citation exists. If you're identifying a gap in the regular literature, you can say something like 'to the authors' knowledge, no study of this kind has been published' or words to that effect and you don't need a citation to confirm that you are identifying a gap in the literature.
I find it highly unlikely that you would be criticised for wording along the lines of 'at the time of writing (possibly give date), no article exists on this topic at Wikipedia' and then maybe give a general citation for Wikipedia as a whole. As Wikipedia time stamps every edit to every article, this is something that could very easily be verified at any time in the future. I'm not sure having a Wikipedia page or not is the best measure of obscurity, but that's a different question entirely.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You could also use a completely different, arguably more objective, metric for 'obscurity', such as published articles on your topic per year. This can easily be done in many indexing databases. E.g. in [Scopus](https://www.scopus.com) (biological or life sciences) the 'obscurity' of snow algae research could be demonstrated by comparing the number of documents per year to brown algae research.
Search string 'snow algae':
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vDj9B.png)
Search string 'brown algae':
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ow1oT.png)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> What is the proper way to cite this evidence? Presumably I will be citing the fact that I have performed a search of Wikipedia at a certain time, and that I found pages for various common discrete distributions, but no page for the one that is the subject of my paper.
>
>
>
You can prove that a particular page didn't exist, for instance, by accessing a particular page (e.g., [obscure\_distributions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscure_distributions)) and recording raw result data (which will be authenticated). See [my answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/120062/is-there-any-ways-to-document-google-search-results-in-a-research-paper/120064#120064) regarding a similar question for further details. That said, this is probably overkill, and you should probably be doing something [completely different](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/121246/22768) anyhow.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Cui bono?
=========
As it was [mentioned](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/121220/how-to-cite-that-something-is-not-on-wikipedia?noredirect=1#comment321270_121220) in the comments, the question originally looks for a way to document something is lesser known to general public. Would it not be more interesting to know, how well-known this particular thing is in the professional community? A measure for this is a number of citations, for example.
So, stating something like the number of Google Scholar hits for your particular distribution and, say, Poisson, might be more helpful.
[There](http://acta.tums.ac.ir/index.php/acta/article/view/4838) [are](https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/33/suppl_2/W783/2505675) [quite](https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/31/1/150/655941) [some](https://www.fasebj.org/doi/abs/10.1096/fj.07-9492LSF) papers on the meta- level, so it would be a somewhat accepted aspect of a research paper.
Also, [obligatory xkcd](https://xkcd.com/1447/):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wzkin.png)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: I tend to agree with username_1's answer, that "to my knowledge" should be sufficient, and is at least somewhat verifiable by consulting Wikipedia's edit history. However, considering your wish for something a bit more solid, two (independent) suggestions:
1. Expand the scope of "my knowledge" to include "XYZ experts' knowledge." To do this, post a question online somewhere you feel confident that Wikipedia experts exist...here, on Quora, on Wikipedia, etc. Make a simple statement like, "In the the interest of research I am conducting, I'm seeking a definitive answer on whether English Wikipedia contains an article on XYZ topic. I have done a search myself, but just in case my search technique was inadequate, can others with an intimate understanding of Wikipedia confirm this, or direct me to the article?" Then, you can link the discussion as evidence.
2. Do the search, take a screenshot of the (lack of) results, post it online, and then cite that.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: I think you could really just handle it in article text itself. ("I searched" or "a search was done".) I would maybe mention a few details (date of the search, English Wikipedia, what different versions of the name you searched on). I don't think you have to go crazy about the details if it is just a minor point.
You could put details down into a FOOTNOTE ("a" or "b", not a numbered ENDNOTE citation). This gives a little more backup for you, without having to derail the flow of the discussion. You could even consider to just put some [short] description into the endnote citation itself. I have seen people put things like "personal communication" or "Superbowl commercial 2005" or the like into endnotes. Obviously follow formatting strictly when citing normal sources, but if there is some rationale why you need to do something slightly differently, most editors/journals will be fine. The point after all is to communicate.
P.s. Practical advice: Do a Google search of Wiki rather than using the Wiki search engine (it is miserable, too literal). Also if there is more than one name for whatever it is, than search under all the names. Don't want to look stupid if there is a page on it but under a different name.
P.s.s. More practical advice: consider to do a search in Google science or Webofscience or the like to compare how often the funky distribution is returned versus more common ones (normal, etc.) It gives more of a comparison than just the yes/no has a Wiki page or not. You can also look at Google Trends for prevalence on the web (compare to other terms). I believe you can do the same thing even for book text. See below for an example in field I know:
<http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hC819n9EoFM/UfkIFielYMI/AAAAAAAAAlw/wgwD7GDqfqQ/s1600/screenshot_12.jpg>
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/07
| 2,211
| 9,588
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<issue_start>username_0: I am the project manager of a small team of five undergraduate developers who have been working for months on a large system for our Senior Capstone project. Four members of the team, including myself, have put in an extensive amount of work on this project. The remaining member failed to contribute anything at all to the team project (not only did this team member fail to contribute any source code, he failed to contribute in any way **at all**).
I spoke with this individual multiple times about how failing to contribute, or even contributing minimally, could result in having to retake the Capstone course. Still the individual made no contribution. I spoke with the Professor leading our Capstone team on multiple occasions, and provided documentation supporting my claims. This documentation, along with several peer evaluations, should give the Professor enough information to make fair decisions involving each of our grades, which is really none of my business at all.
What is my business is that this fifth team member has his name displayed on work that he did not contribute to in any way. My question then, is **can I remove his name from the completed system?**
Edit: Coming back to this question a few years removed, and reading through the given answers, I'm glad that I **did not attempt to remove my partner's name from this project.** Although I was frustrated at the time, I am now in complete agreement with the wisdom provided in these answers.<issue_comment>username_1: Anyone not giving contributions in any form to the project shouldn't be named, it's as simple as that.
You should inform your professor for your decision, and go ahead removing the name.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There are two aspects to this:
1. Who gets *academic* credit for this project? Who gets a pass, and what grade (if any)? In my opinion this also includes who shows up in the university's online system as team members for this capstone project, as well as on the poster you mentioned.
2. Who has *copyright* for the project source code? Who is listed as a commiter for the project, if it is published as open source software?
You already did all the right things with regard to the first item. You alerted the professor, and provided supporting documentation. As you correctly say in your question, it's now basically in your professor's hands how they want to handle this case further. If you disagree with their decision (if they, for instance, decide to go the path of least resistance and don't do anything) you are free to go one step higher, and discuss the case with your program director (or whoever is in charge of your overall programme). However, ultimately, it is not your decision to grade the project or to decide who has sufficiently contributed to receive academic recognition for the project. In that sense, you can't really unilaterally decide to kick out the student from the team, or not mention them in your poster.
The second item is a different story, though. If your team mate did not contribute code, they can't have any claim of copyright on the resulting project (hanging around in meetings, or formally being part of a team, does not give you copyright to code that you did not write). They have no grounds to require you to acknowledge a (non-existing) contribution if you decide to make your work public, independently of what the university says about this. You may decide to acknowledge them anyway in some way (as in, thank them for some unspecified collaborations or contributions in the README file of the project), but you certainly don't have to list them as authors (e.g., in the source code of files that they have never touched). The easiest, and also most generally useful, way to handle this is to be explicit with what team member did. Have a header in each source file that mentions who edited the file. Have a "contributors" page that lists, rather detailedly, what each team member did. A team member who did nothing will just not show up in either of these lists, making it fairly clear that they were not in any way instrumental to this project becoming a reality.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Can I remove someone's name from an academic software development project that didn't contribute a single line of code?
>
>
>
Just to focus on the title itself; lines of code contributed is not an accurate summary of contribution. This is a variation on the workman's fallacy of "management is useless because they don't directly make the product".
For example, someone can contribute by working together with the others, and due to working with everyone in different steps, they end up not writing the code and have only contributed to the design of the application. Or testing. Or analysis.
As a second example, maybe their initial code ended up being refactored due to a midway design change, thus technically not having their contribution added to the final product while still having contributed.
I'm aware that this is not the case here, but I want to advise you to refrain from using "not contributing a single line of code" as the main justification. When I read the title, before clicking the link, it implied that you were blindly measuring value by measuring LOC which would put you at fault for using a faulty metric.
---
However, as this person didn't do anything at all, let's address the real situation.
Whether or not removing the name is warranted depends on whether you are being graded collectively or not. If you all share the same grade, then this person should be prevented from mooching/piggybacking off of your results.
If the grading is done individually, and the professor is already aware (and has evidence) of this person's lack of contribution, then removing the name is unnecessary. It would only be a matter of principle/pride.
While I can certainly understand your desire to not give credit to someone who did not contribute; keep in mind that doing so may come across as petty and may even suggest to outside observers that this person was being ostracized by their team mates, which can end up as a mitigating circumstance in that person's favor.
In either case, I suggest you **ask the professor on the right course of action**. Since they are already aware of the issue (and presumably have not refuted your claim, since you didn't mention them doing so), having the professor agree to remove this person's name from the project safeguards you from possible negative inferences about having done so.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I will offer an answer contrary to most of the others.
Since he was officially a member of the team, list him in the documentation and project report.
You have discussed this person's (non)contribution with your professor - that's all you can or should do.
I have taught lots of capstone/project software engineering courses. One thing students learn is how small a part of the work the actual coding is. Another is how hard it can be to work on a team, particularly when some coworkers lag. That's a lesson you have absorbed. In your job interviews point with pride to the project and your role - even frustration - as team leader.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I cannot give you an answer on what would be the moral or legal thing to do (for that, I think it is best to ask the course supervisor), but I can give you an anecdotal answer.
Because last year, I was in the **exact** same situation as you!
For one of our courses, there was a semester-long project in which we had to work in teams of 3.
Me and one of my teammates, while we did have some issues combining our different programming styles, worked hard on this and even got close to winning the inclass-competition.
The 3d member however, didn't write a single line of code. (The only thing he pushed to git was a text file containing a TODO-list which I dictated to him while we were brainstorming...). We had git-logs to back this up in case it was necesarry.
Me and the 2nd teammate were both aware of this problem, and we both dealt with it in our own ways. I was the one who finished the final report and sent it in. I didn't put his name on it at all, because I didn't feel like he was in our group at all. There was no communication during the project, he didn't ask what he could do, and he didn't contribute anything. Maybe he even joined a different team, without telling us? How could I have known?
My partner however sent an email to the course-supervisor explaining how the other classmate didn't contribute anything, and that he wanted to let him know that.
During the peer-evaluation, we were asked how much each member approximately contributed to different parts of the project. We split 50-50 between us on all parts, but gave 0% to the 3d mate.
This might seem very harsh, but you can't have someone graduate by using you or others.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: First and foremost, I think this is a question for the instructor of the course. If the instructor is not willing or not able to remove that person from your team, they are part of your team and that fact should be reflected in the deliverables.
I would suggest that in your final report you and your team-mates make it clear who did what. E.g.
Team members: V, W, X, Y, Z.
* Requirements definition: V, W, X, Y
* Development and testing of module A: V, W
* Development and testing of module B: X, Y
* Development and testing of module C: V, X
* Writing of final report: V, W, X, Y
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I plan to make Master Thesis with the topic around Energy Storage System and PV, unfortunately the suitable Professor in electric power system does not have time to be my advisor.
I will use Matlab as modelling tools. Should I go find the professor with expertise in Matlab and Math Modelling instead?
Or should I change my topic instead?<issue_comment>username_1: You might try to convince the Professor's best student to supervise you. (Formally, the Professor might need to be listed as your supervisor, but the student will be your supervisor informally.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You can consider different professors, and ask this one if he is prepared to be an associate or supporting supervisor.
You may also consider a different institution, but you have not made your situation clear.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Both the student and the advisor have to agree on a thesis topic.
You certainly can go talk to this other professor, tell them what you have in mind, and ask if they are willing to be your advisor on it. They might say yes, they might say no.
They might also say yes, but with the caveat that they don't know very much about the engineering aspects of your work, and that you will be on your own should you need help with any of that material. If so, then there's a risk that down the road, you might get stuck, or spend a lot of time working on something that turns out to be unworkable. If it can't be resolved, you might have to start completely from scratch with a different topic, or you might run into time limits and have to leave without a degree.
So it's generally safer to choose an advisor / topic such that the advisor really is an expert on the topic. However, you do have to balance that against your own interests.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: If in a footnote I write something like, "For more on the debate, see... so and so"
Does that work I referenced in the footnote go on the bibliography page even if I did not reference this work directly in the essay?<issue_comment>username_1: You did reference it, it is in the document, so of course it goes into the bibliography.
Imagine the other way round: Someone reads the text, finds it interesting, sees that there is more to be found about this topic in a source and then can't find said source...
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: "Is it likely to help the reader?" is a good way to approach many writing questions.
In this case if the footnote is helpful then the bibliography entry is just as helpful. If the footnote isn't helpful it shouldn't exist. What would be *un*helpful is effectively saying to your reader: "For more, see a piece of work I'm only going to hint at."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: You referenced the work in your footnote. Your footnote is part of your essay. Therefore, you referenced the work in your essay.
But, really, I want to take issue with what seems to be the premise of your question. It seems to me that you're thinking in terms of rules: "I must include something in my bibliography if it meets condition X, Y or Z." This is the wrong way to think about almost every creative act, such as writing an essay.
Instead, consider *why* we have a bibliography at all. First, it's so that the reader can find full details of every source that you use, so that they can also refer to those sources. OK, so you could give the full details in your footnote. Using a bibliography also has the advantage that it means that somebody can see at a glance what your sources are, which doesn't work if some of your sources are in the bibliography and some are elsewhere. Also, a reader is likely to expect that all your sources will be in the bibliography, if there is one.
Also, consider what the reader will expect.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a homework assignment where I require students to create a set of pivot charts in Microsoft Excel. I know that I can reduce cheating by changing datasets or chart specifications around, but because of the complexity of the assignments and my practical constraints in not being able to mark more than five or so different versions, this does not prevent students from finding those who have the same specifications as themselves and copying among themselves. (I am coordinating a course with over 700 students, so I can only do so much as far as alternate versions go. The students are well connected to each other by Facebook, so communicating among each is quite feasible for those who want to cheat.)
On one hand, in my situation, creating alternate versions is difficult because of the complexity of the assignment, and its effectiveness is limited because hard-working cheaters can cheat anyways. On the other hand, I believe that if I can effectively detect cheating after the fact, then giving a strong warning to students about this could serve as an effective deterrent that should greatly reduce the incidence of cheating.
**Are there features in Microsoft Excel that make it easy to detect cheating by copying between students?** I don't expect to easily detect if a student copies elements like pivot tables from one file to another, but perhaps at least I might be able to detect if a student copied someone else's file altogether. I'm not necessarily looking for anything foolproof--I expect that the cheaters in this assignment would be those who don't even know basic things like how to manually change author information in an Excel file.
Speaking of which, unfortunately, as far as I can tell, Excel overwrites author information with the last person to save the file, so I couldn't even use that to tell if someone has copied a file created by someone else.
I would appreciate any suggestions.
**EDIT:**
Some answers have suggested asking students to submit a written explanation of their reasoning. Although I mentioned that there are over 700 students, let me be more explicit: I do not consider solutions that require reading and marking additional textual submissions to be feasible for my context. On one hand, there are multiple instructors, so any instructor would only have to mark a few dozen assignments. On the other hand, if there is cheating across sections, then reading text submissions is not a feasible verification technique. Thus, I was looking for a solution that could easily indicate that a student's submission contained undeniable traces of some other student's work.<issue_comment>username_1: If the revision history is not enabled, you will not be able to glean any information pertaining to the history of the document - maybe make enabling it a rule?
Other recommendations:
* If the project is based on data, programatically produce or alter the data that each student is given (they download it from some server)
* Rule that if any two students are found to have identical solutions, both will fail the course. The students giving their solution away usually are aware that the ones they are giving it to are inept, so they will be extremely wary.
* Have the students install a tracker (something like this: <https://www.exceltrainingvideos.com/track-changes-automatically-in-worksheet-with-vba/>) - The end result may be similar, but the way to the result will vary between persons. A lot.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: * Figure out a way to generate data sets and results programatically so you can uniquely verify each student's assignment separately. This would imply lots of effort initially but may payoff for later courses.
* Use a single dataset and a single result set. Ask them for their reasoning behind for achieving the most complex tasks of the assignment. Use this to check for cheating. No one person thinks exactly the same or describes something complex in the same manner.
My recommendation is for the latter. Most jobs that can be done with tools like Excel will be automated in the near future. The best that your students can learn is to reason (and articulate this effectively) and choose the appropriate tool/technique for the job.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I assume you need clues which can be obtained automatically.
It might be an idea to check all the positions and sizes of graphs / diagrams / drawings etc. Those are usually placed by mouse movement and so the positions should differ.
If you are very subtile, you might want to give them individual sheets to start from (maybe containing the initital data set). Those files can be secretly marked in the underlying xml files, e.g. by adding an extra tag per student (I did not test this, but I'm sure no one will detect it) or by adding a personalized "document creator" (but this is visible to the students). You just have zu unzip the .xlsx-file and modify docPros\core.xml
A pure file copy can easily be detected by e.g. calculating a PGP checksum for the files. If two checksums are the same, they are exact copies.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I teach excel and have had several students "cheat" by copying from other students. I have always caught them by right clicking the file they turn in and selecting "Properties". Under "Security", it gives the date and author ID of the student that created the file. If it's 2 different names, or a name that's completely different, that's a great clue. Hope this helps.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Oh, hey, I've written scripts to deal with this problem, on a similar scale (about 800 students each semester). We create new "starting point" workbooks each semester.
The first step is to check the metadata. This can be automatically extracted by the command-line tool [exiftool](https://exiftool.org/), the Python package [openpyxl](https://openpyxl.readthedocs.io/), or by just parsing the XML.
Then, if the creation date is older than your provided file, you know they downloaded a file from a previous semester. On the other hand, if the creation date is newer and the creator is the student rather than you, that means they created a new workbook from scratch and copied & pasted the contents in. There is little reason to do this unless they are trying to cover up cheating (but of course the student should get a chance to explain themselves).
Then there is the modified date—you can check that this is in a reasonable range (the days before the due date)—and lastModifiedBy. In our case, students turn in about a dozen workbooks over the semester, so it's worth it to keep track of their username and flag differences. If you're just getting one workbook, that might not make sense. I also check if the username seems to match the student's name; I have some automated checks which approve most of them, and prompt me for the remainder. If the name in the metadata is clearly a different person's name, we ask the student why that is.
Another thing which can be found is links. It's possible in Excel to refer to values in a different file, which creates a "link". When the workbook is uploaded without the corresponding linked file, the values can't be updated. Students often inadvertently create links when copying and pasting. The name of the file they copied from is stored in the workbook, which might be enough to make it clear it's from an illicit source. You can detect the presence of links by listing the files in the zip (every .xlsx file is really a zip file): if 'xl/externalLinks/externalLink1.xml' is present, then there are links.
I find the target of the link using openpyxl; in the workbook object, all links are in `workbook._external_links`. Given a link object `link`, the filename is in `link.file_link.Target`. If you want to do it on a lower level, the name of the linked file is in 'xl/externalLinks/\_rels/externalLink1.xml.rels'.
I also compute a hash of each file in order to find exact duplicates (generally only students who re-upload the starting file).
A more time-consuming step is to extract all the cell contents (including formulas). A hash of those will find duplicates, but ignoring metadata, formatting and colors, any graphs, filters, and pivot tables; it only takes into account the actual cell contents. (So if the main thing your students are doing is creating a pivot table, this won't be helpful).
I also feed these cell contents to [simhash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimHash) to find "near-duplicates". I've used a command-line tool by [<NAME>](https://github.com/BartMassey/simhash) as well as a [Python package](https://github.com/leonsim/simhash). Frankly, this doesn't seem very helpful most of the time. It has found suspicious similarities on several occasions, but it takes a lot of my time to check through the potential matches that come up.
I also find cell values that occur in a handful of workbooks (in, say, 2–12 of the 800 files.) The assumption is that cell values which occur in more files than that are "natural" for many students to include, and that a copying-cheating-ring would not be larger than that. I look at these and decide if they're suspicious or not (two students making a typo "Parrt 1" seems normal; a longer phrase with identical mispellings is not.)
It does take a couple hours of my time each time a batch of workbooks comes in, and it's far from foolproof, but it tends to turn up several clear cases of cheating each time.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_6: have you tried downloading all of the files into one folder and then sorting based on CRC number? I run a stats class with excel submissions and have caught a lot of students this way because crc will be identifical in most cases if the file is exact copy
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_7: I am also a teacher and I have the same problem with plagiarism.
I use these methods - I can detect:
* Pure copying and renaming files between students - I am using a special encrypted string placed into meta of each student's file. So when student is copying classmate's file, he is also copying this special string and I am able to detect from what file it was copied.
* Copying specific range of cells - I can put into specific cells some hidden link which contains a special encrypted string. If I put this link into cell into some data table (but to cell what student doesn't need to work with), there is some chance to catch him while copying, because he will copy some range of cells WITH THIS LINK.
* Also I am looking for author name and last edited author name.
You can use these advices for making your own script. Or just try online tool <https://www.sheetexpert.com/> - I developed it for saving my and my colleagues' time.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: The only official statement for Nintendo is their [legal terms page](https://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp), which prohibits anyone using downloaded ROM files.
Scenario -
* If someone plays a downloaded ROM file (any ROM file will serve the purpose) on the FCEUX emulator on PC. The ROM file remains intact and will not be changed. Only the game will be played and in-game variables will be changed via emulator.
* The reason someone can use NES/SNES games, is the availability of many diverse genres within the same platform.
* Is there any **fair use policy** to use proprietary material for academic research. There are some YouTube videos and some projects on hackster.io, where people have used AI (Artificial Intelligence) to play Super Mario and Tetris in emulator. There was a **research paper** on AI playing tetris too. (A simple google search reveals lot of published papers with Super Mario and Tetris).
* The for specifying any jurisdiction is to have blanket protection to anyone in the world using it for academic and research work.<issue_comment>username_1: What is legal, and legally enforceable, varies from place to place - especially for things like scientific study. But there is an additional ethical and respect issue.
I would suggest that you contact them with your research proposal. As long as it doesn't have competitiveness issues, or encourage activity that they frown on, they might actually support you. Of course it might also set them against you depending on what you want to do, but it is worth considering, at least.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: While the suggestions that others have pointed out are good, I would like to answer your question with a follow-up question. **Do you really need the ROM-files in question or just access to the games?**
Many of the popular games are also available on other consoles. For instance, Super Mario Bros. is available as part of the [NES Classic Edition](https://www.nintendo.com/nes-classic) and on the [Wii Virtual store](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virtual_Console_games_for_Wii_(North_America)).
If you don't want ports of the games due to possible differences between versions, then purchasing the original games and playing them on the original hardware (don't forget that modern TVs are not ideal for retro gaming!) is likely the best option. This is, of course, an extra cost but in comparison with salaries and other equipment costs connected to scientific research, probably rather low. Furthermore, depending on what you want to study in the games, ROMs might not be 100% perfect representations on the effect of the origninal hardware either. (I am no expert on technology though, so I'd suggest talking to somebody who knows a thing or two about hardware emulation and ROMs if fine details of the game and hardware performance is of importance.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: As you clarify in a comment, your focus is on the emulation, and not e.g. a historical study analyzing different video games by playing them. Thus I'll assume that you need the ROM, and that playing other versions of the game won't suffice.
The problem is that the legal situation is far from clear, and varies from place to place, as different copyright laws have different exemptions, interpretations, etc. E.g. archive.org supposedly has an academic DMCA exemption allowing them to archive ROMs. Is it legal to download them and make academic use of them under US law? I simply don't know the answer to that, and other countries will have yet other circumstances. The Internet is filled with a lot of hearsay and personal theories about what the law does/should say, but I don't think there's established case law. In short, I think you need to consult a copyright lawyer familiar with the laws (and precedents!) that apply to you, to be sure, *especially* if you're looking for some kind of academic exemption.
Many countries do have a clause allowing for personal backup copies *if, and as long as* you own the original game. As Nintendo say on their site, this [doesn't mean](https://gaming.meta.stackexchange.com/q/795) you're allowed to download a ROM from the internet just because you have the cartridge, but this is often interpreted as saying that you're in principle allowed to *personally* make a ROM file from a cartridge that you own. I think this is generally the safest route, and [recommended](https://gaming.stackexchange.com/a/33464) for private persons who wish to emulate their old games. The downside is that you would have to acquire the original cartridge, as well as the required hardware.
I'm not a lawyer, so take the above for what it's worth. What I do know is that Nintendo, as a company, is generally considered inflexible and overprotective when it comes to their intellectual properties. Their Youtube Creators program (a policy regulating how they'd treat game footage on Youtube, recently announced to end) [didn't make any fair use provisions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMExEpDH1Ik&t=394s), for example. Personally, given this company's past behavior, I would want to be certain that I'm in the clear before admitting in writing to using/downloading ROMs.
In an edit, you mention papers on AIs playing Nintendo games. It might be worth your while contacting the authors and asking how they handled these legal issues.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I can't answer the legal question; however, if you have seen other research that has been done on these games, then I don't think it would hurt to contact those researchers and ask them how they were able to use those games and/or deal with the legal issues.
Something else that may be worth considering is whether you could use similar free/open-source games as an alternative. There are open-source versions of most of those old Nintendo games that are extremely close to the originals, just that they don't include the copyrighted artwork and trademarks. Here are a couple of examples:
* [Tetris clone](https://phaser.io/news/2017/07/tetris-clone)
* [Super Mario Clone](https://www.supertux.org/)
If your research doesn't absolutely need to use those proprietary games, then these would be completely free of any potential legal issues. I would think they could be run inside a virtual machine, which would give you quite a lot of control over how they perform.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: I am not a lawyer or anybody *qualified* to give you an actual answer, but my tentative opinion is that this is not really permissible because of the method you specified for getting the game.
Since you did not specify a jurisdiction I am going to assume U.S. copyright law applies, because it is the most populous nation of native English speakers. You might also want to keep in mind that you would be likely to be tried in the 9th Circuit, since that's where most of the big copyright cases happen, due to most copyright holders being headquartered in that jurisdiction (Redwood Washington, Hollywood California, and the Silicon Valley come to mind)
Downloading a R.O.M. is a flat out violation of [U.S.C. Title 17 §106](https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#106) because it is necessary for you to reproduce the file by copying it onto your computer in order to be able download it. There are some exceptions to this rule such as fair use, but they constitute an affirmative defense since you have to admit to the principle fact that you created a reproduction in the first place.
We do not even get into the fact that you do not plan to redistribute or alter the files, because it is illegal for you to obtain them in this way in the first place.
>
> Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
>
>
> (1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
>
>
>
Note that a popularly cited series of cases as it pertains to computer software is the Mai Trio. This series of cases includes [Mai Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAI_Systems_Corp._v._Peak_Computer,_Inc.), [Wall Data Inc. vs. Los Angeles County's Sherriff Office](https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/794298/wall-data-inc-v-los-angeles-county-sheriffs-dept/) and Triad v. Southeastern Express. To summarize the significance of these cases, authorized copies come with an implied license to make temporary copies as is necessary to use them by the licensee, but unauthorized copies do not and you may not exceed the extent of authorized use. The very means of obtaining these copies is illegal, and playing them is also illegal.
You do not have much in the way of a [fair use](https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107) argument that would exonerate you. Your only interest in the games may be for a nonprofit educational commentary, but those the only factors you have going in your favor, and the entire character of use needs to be considered so that may not be enough of an excuse:
>
> (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
>
> (2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
>
> (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
>
> (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the
>
>
>
The copyrighted work is a commercial game, and you are using it as a game so your work is not transformative. You need to download the entire game in order to play it. The effect upon the potential market in downloading these R.O.M. files is that you do not have to pay anybody for authorized copies. Moreover, there is relatively little about the purpose and character of your use which *requires* you to download the copies from a third party source: It is just convenient for you. This is not quite the same as taking a screenshot of a game and showing it off to prove a point to others. The character of use is so that you can personally play the games.
*Maybe* an argument could be made if you copied your own games. [U.S.C. §117](https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#117) has express provisions for making a backup copy of a game you own, although they were ruled to be irrelevant in [Atari v. J.S. & A., Inc.](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/747/1422/344619/), which regarded cartridge to cartridge copying effectively illegal. [Nintendo also managed to sue the pants off of the creators of the Game Doctor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bung_Enterprises), which copied from cartridge to floppy.
Hypothetically, able to argue a case analogous to [R.I.A.A. v. Diamond Multimedia](https://cyber.harvard.edu/property00/MP3/rio.html) that a mere cartridge reader to interface with a computer which does the copying is not a dedicated copier, and that copying your own copies for the purpose of format shifting constitutes fair use so long as you do not exceed license. However there is also a good chance that these could be ruled illegal too, and I do not know of a case which directly tests its applicability to games.
How do Youtubers get away with it? Well, [copyright is civil law, so it is left up to the copyright holder to decide whether or not to sue](https://www.britannica.com/story/what-is-the-difference-between-criminal-law-and-civil-law), and it often is not worth the hassle to go after small time infringers. Publishers also might not know for a fact that they downloaded the games.
However, just to simplify matters, if you must use an emulator, what you should probably do is go a generation up and use a PlayStation emulator with the original game discs. *That* is expressly legal according to existing precedent such as [Sony v. Connectix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment,_Inc._v._Connectix_Corp.) and [Sony v. Bleem](https://www.google.com/search?q=sony+v.+bleem&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-ab). Now granted, both of those companies ended up going out of business after the lawsuits, but that was largely because of extralegal reasons and the precedence set by these cases should make a future case easier to win if push came to shove.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I have worked on a problem for close to two years. I feel I have an adequate theoretical solution. However I feel to get some backing on the theory I need some quantitative hard computer data. It is only a few days work of programming. Would it be ethically wrong to recruit an undergrad for a few days volunteer work without pay to get the computer crunching part done and not mention him as a coauthor and only mention as acknowledgement? This is only for time reasons as I am not familiar with tools required. Everything will be given as cook book to the interested programmer.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't suppose it's unethical so long as you are clear in your expectations and proposed reward (which is effectively nothing), and the other party fully understands what they are getting into. This could easily become exploitative, however, as you are hoping to get someone to work for you while offering really nothing of value in return. If you are a professor or are some other type of authority figure over the student, I'd tread very carefully here, as you could be exerting undue influence over this person.
I notice that you plan to approach an undergraduate student about this, which could very easily be seen as preying on someone who doesn't know any better. If you have a really interesting problem that's so cool to work on that someone should be happy to do it for a simple "thank you", why not approach a true "seasoned programmer" instead of an undergraduate student? If true professionals find your proposal unpalatable, I'd say it would be unethical to try to hoodwink a less experienced person into the deal.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't think is unethical if you provide something of value of exchange to the prospective student. Will he gain an understanding of some theory that **he/she's interested in** as part of the engagement? Be upfront at what you're offering to your prospective collaborator.
If you just want a free coder then yes this is unethical. This is pure and simple exploitation, and abuse of power from your side. Would you like to be on the other side of this exchange?
ps. Check the regulations of your institution!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Rather than proposing this to an individual, which should be interpreted as coercive since there is a power imbalance, you could publish a call for help, describing what you need and what you offer. Be clear that it is only an ack on offer, not authorship, and no money is involved. Ask for people to apply. You can choose among those who offer to help. Some probably will, but if not, you should consider something more substantial.
If there is a learning component, you could describe that in your "call" as well. It might make it more interesting, even though there is no academic credit involved.
---
Let me respond, indirectly, to some of the comments here by people who seem to think I'm suggesting an unethical course of action. Actually, all I tried to do was assure that coercion wasn't part of the OP's actions by suggesting an open call for assistance with little reward.
If I ask someone to mow my lawn and there is a power imbalance between us it is coercive and thus unethical. If I put out a general call for someone who would be willing to mow my lawn for no return but my thanks, it is no longer unethical. I hope that is recognized.
In fact, professors are on the "losing" end of exactly this sort of arrangement. Society has asked us to dedicate our lives, and often fund our own education, to educate the next generation. The tangible rewards are actually few. I earned, over a 45 year career about half of what I'd have earned working in industry (I actually have anecdotal evidence). Society asked me to do this, offering thanks and (often) respect, but not actually a "fair" compensation. Society depends, in fact, on lots of people being willing to take this deal, finding that the rewards are other than monetary or power or ...
Most of you reading this, and most of you disagreeing with me, have taken this deal or are in the process of preparing yourselves to accept it. While I'd like a "better" deal, I've never been unhappy with the deal as long as I had the respect of my peers and as long *as I felt I was contributing*.
Not every relationship needs to be strictly transactional. If I ask for assistance, offering only thanks but little else, I don't expect any particular person to accept, but I depend on the fact that those that do will find, somehow, their own rewards in helping.
Another analogy is precisely what happens on this site. People ask for help. There is very little offered in return for that help and yet other people - you and me - are willing to help and get our reward however we can. Sometimes the respect of our peers is enough.
I recognize that the current question may be a bit different, but I don't see that I'm suggesting finding a "sucker" if a student accepts such a request and finds in his or her own way a reason, educational or otherwise, for doing so. Those who are grant funded should, of course, build in funds for such things, but not everyone is. Many faculty at undergraduate institutions are *required* to do research but not compensated for it. You are paid for teaching and for being supportive of undergraduates and helping them grow and advance.
I also recognize that some here believe that any help on a paper should result in co-authorship. I think that is misplaced. I agree that those who contribute to the intellectual content of a paper should be recognized, probably as authors, but if someone works at my direction, then it is a different situation. Should someone translating my poor language skills into a polished paper be a co-author? Should my first Calculus instructor be a co-author in every Analysis paper I write?
Note that I didn't, and don't, know all of the details here and so can't actually comment whether as student writing code to validate a theory has contributed to the intellectual content (My field is CS, actually). It may be or not, depending on the level of direction, which I don't have evidence for. Creativity should be recognized, certainly. Don't guess that I think otherwise. There are situations in which authorship would be appropriate and others for which an acknowledgment is sufficient.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: The fact that *to a seasoned programmer* the work is easy doesn't have anything to do with it. As you describe it, this is work that's required for the publication. Without it, you don't have a paper. With it, you do. Therefore the programmer contributed significantly (critically) to the paper, and therefore the programmer should be an author.
The fact that it's quick and easy *for a programmer* simply means that programmers have spent significant time and effort learning skills that you don't have. If you consider the work trivial, then go out and learn the skills yourself, and do the work yourself. If that's too much work, then put an appropriate value on that work and offer authorship.
An example in my field is histopathology. I can take tissue slides to an expert who will look at them for five minutes and provide an interpretation. That expert becomes a co-author, not because of their five minutes of work but because of the decades of experience behind it.
Collaborators shouldn't need to run a bloody gauntlet and engage in hand-to-hand combat to become co-authors. If they provide a skill that contributes significantly to the paper, that should be enough.
Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_5: Seasoned's programmer's rate would probably be $100-$1000 per day. This, assuming that your estimation is correct (dangerous assumption) means you are asking for a volunteer to provide you with $500-$5000 of free labor(assuming that the work takes 5 days).
I also find it strange that you mention time for a seasoned's programmer, but want to hire an undergrad - the difference in the time required to finish the job might differ much. And no work is "Trivial" if it requires "few days" of expert's work.
Undergrad's work might also be of lower quality because of his lack of experience - what if the program is faulty and returns wrong results? How would you know that?
Ultimately it comes down to how you arrange it - you might find someone willing to do it for free. I suggest considering potential gains (is undergrad contributing $2000 in his time not enough to become a co-author?) and threats ( what if the work takes much longer? what if the program has bugs? what if the undergrad can't do it? ).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: >
> Would it be ethically wrong to recruit an undergrad for a few days volunteer work without pay
>
>
>
"Ethically wrong"? Some answers say it isn't (though I disagree)
But that is the wrong question to ask
-------------------------------------
>
> However, I feel [that] to get some backing on the theory, I need... computer data.
>
>
>
* You've worked on a problem for two years.
* You're going to trust "a couple days" free work from a random undergrad to prove it?
If you don't know enough to code it yourself, **how do you know the code is right?**
In other words (and this isn't meant as harsh or flippant) if you can't tell me how you will be able to tell the difference between these two outcomes:
1. A person taking your assignment and coding something which produces the answer you expect
2. A person writing a program which will prove or disprove your theory
...then you don't need the code, do you?
If it turns out you think #2 is correct, but later someone *proves* that #1 is what really happened... that's bad.
---
>
> This is only for time reasons as I am not familiar with tools required. Everything will be given as cook book to the interested programmer.
>
>
>
This information was added after I wrote my answer. I answered with the assumption that OP was getting an undergrad to do the code because s/he lacked the knowledge.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> Would it be ethically wrong to recruit an undergrad for a few days volunteer work without pay to get the computer crunching part done and not mention him as a coauthor and only mention as acknowledgement?
>
>
>
**Yes.** Perhaps it wouldn’t be the most terrible ethical offense, but if forced to choose one of the two words “no” or “yes” to answer the question “would it be ethically wrong?”, I’d go with “yes”.
The reason why it’s wrong is that you are going against established conventions of what authorship means. You think that by offering a student some other sort of reward for doing part of the work involved in publishing a paper, whether it be an acknowledgement, a letter of recommendation, or the opportunity to add another experience to their CV, then it is okay to not list them as a coauthor. But this is wrong, for two reasons: first, there is a clear power differential at play here that makes it likely the student may be tempted to go along with your scheme even without really finding the arrangement very fair or agreeable. In other words, it’s exploitation and an abuse of authority (of a sort we hear about all too often on this site unfortunately).
Second, and perhaps even more importantly, it is not just the student you are offending against. *The scientific community* has an expectation to be given honest and accurate information about who contributed meaningfully to the creation of the paper. And, by current conventions at least, “several days of work by a seasoned programmer” is more than enough to be counted as a coauthor. I find the idea of you reaching a private agreement with the student to deprive the community of that information by having the student give up authorship rights quite problematic, even overlooking the separate issue of exploitation. Imagine for example if rich people started paying famous academics to collaborate on research with them, giving them a high salary with the agreement that the famous and super-talented person will give up their coauthorship rights. Is this just a private transaction between two consenting adults that doesn’t hurt anyone else? No, of course it’s much less innocent and is harmful, since it deprives the community of information it needs to function effectively, and goes against agreed-upon norms of what’s acceptable.
Now, of course, in your situation you are actually the person who will have done almost all the research, and that’s fine. The student being a coauthor doesn’t mean that they will get half the credit for something you worked on for two years. It would be completely legitimate for you to make it clear to people what each coauthor contributed in any way necessary (by writing it in the paper, or in your CV or publication list, research statement etc). You absolutely deserve to get the correct portion of credit, and there is an honest way to make that happen. But as for coauthorship, the student programmer should get it, since they will have contributed time, creative thinking and a technical skill that’s quite nontrivial (at least, nontrivial enough that you yourself don’t possess it) to the project, and those are the accepted criteria for being a coauthor.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_8: Is the output of the computer program going to be included in the paper? If so, that output has an author, and that author deserves credit. But who is the author? Is it the computer? Is it the program? Or is it the programmer? I think it's the programmer.
If the output has no intellectual merit, why does it add value to the paper? Would including the program input instead of the output serve the reader equally?
Contrary to popular belief, programming is intellectual activity. It deserves respect.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: ### Authorship
(Ethical) academic authorship is independent of other forms of rewards, so it doesn’t really matter here whether you pay somebody or not. The crucial aspect here is whether your programmer made a creative contribution. Now, what is *creative* is somewhat fuzzy and difficult to assess, but a good litmus test can be obtained from considering what a non-creative contribution would look like:
* It always produces the same result with respect to your research question. (Irrelevant or unavoidable differences like the programming language, statistical fluctuations, etc. are excluded.)
* It follows a clear established protocol.
* Understanding your research question yields no advantage to the contributor, e.g., in form of assessing the plausibility of results (also see [J. <NAME>’s answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/121295/7734)).
If this applies to the contribution you seek, then it is likely not creative. However, as others noted, this is very likely not the case here.
### Payment
Your programmer is very likely not helping you for purely altruistic reasons, so there must be something else you have to offer.
I can only see the following options:
* Scientific credit (authorship). This requires a scientific contribution, which you excluded to be the case.
* Formal payment. You also excluded this.
* A prospect of recommendation letter, good grades, thesis projects would imply an abuse of power and in some cases bribery. This could very well be compared to just receiving money from the student.
* Getting insight into the scientific process would be in conflict with your claim that this is a trivial task.
### Sidenote
I often found that tackling a research question from another point of view yielded valuable new insights or perspectives in unexpected ways. Given that you spent two years on your question, investing two days in programming will almost certainly be a worthwhile experience on average.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: It would be exploitative and quite unethical, yes.
==================================================
>
> It is only a few days work of programming.
>
>
>
You'll know that after the programming is done. Preliminary estimates of programming time are typically much lower than actual effort expended, not to mention the significant amount of not-actual-programming overhead we tend not to account for.
>
> Would it be ethically wrong to recruit an undergrad for a few days volunteer work without pay
>
>
>
So, you want someone to do work you need for your research - for which you yourself are paid, and for which your university is funded - without the person doing the work getting paid?
You *bet* this is ethically wrong. Ethically, morally, and in some countries also legally.
It should also be noted you would not just mistreating that student. You would be:
* Legitimizing younger, inexperienced researchers not getting acknowledged for their work.
* Legitimizing students not getting acknowledged for their material contribution to the work of people higher-up the ladder.
* Legitimizing exploitative employment practices in academia, where it is unfortunately quite common to squeeze unpaid work out of people who depend on the system in various ways.
So your suggested act would be offensive both to the academic community at large. If I were in your university you could expect harsh action from the nontenured academic staff union upon us finding out you've done this.
>
> to get some backing on the theory I need some quantitative hard computer data... and not mention him as a coauthor and only mention as acknowledgement?
>
>
>
Since this data is necessary objectively, it will also be necessary to present it, to some extent, in the paper. And this necessary part of the paper will be generated by that undergrad programmer. ... Sounds like a co-author to me; and you cannot drop co-authors.
Also, while it is sometimes legitimate to ask people about whether they want authorship or not - when an undergraduate is involved, there's a power and knowledge imbalance which makes it unethical to ask them to give up co-authorship.
What you could do - if you like - is describe the extent of his/her involvement; but even this may be impolite (depending on the conventions in your field of research).
>
> This is only for time reasons as I am not familiar with tools required.
>
>
>
So the co-author will even utilize some expertise which you do not have? An even stronger co-authorship.
If not for time reasons, I would have written most papers in most scientific fields all on my own. I just need enough time to become familiar with all of that stuff.
>
> Everything will be given as cook book to the interested programmer.
>
>
>
That would be nice and a good idea regardless of who writes the code. However, an unethical, immoral, and exploitative act is not excused by a related socially-beneficial and commendable act.
Oh, and, just so you know - implementing something to just work for a paper and implementing it for publication so that other people can use it to is a significant difference in the amount of work necessary.
---
I also very much agree with @DanRomik's [observation](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/121302/7319) that you would be committing an offense against the scientific *community*, not just the undergrad; and with @JChrisCompton's [observation](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/121295/7319) that you're ignoring the issue of verification/trustworthiness of the code.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_11: I am a software engineer. There's a story that has always resonated with me whenever a friend asks for "free" software development
>
> The story goes that Picasso was sitting in a Paris café when an
> admirer approached and asked if he would do a quick sketch on a paper
> napkin. Picasso politely agreed, swiftly executed the work, and handed
> back the napkin — but not before asking for a rather significant
> amount of money. The admirer was shocked: “How can you ask for so
> much? It took you a minute to draw this!” “No”, Picasso replied, “It
> took me 40 years”
>
>
>
Even though I am no Picasso in the software world, the overall message is the same and applies to any professional. A good story to consider when asking for "free" help
[Blog Link to story](http://blog.brianbraun.net/wisdom/picassos-napkin-wisdom-on-experience-and-pricing)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_12: >
> Would it be ethically wrong to recruit an undergrad for a few days
> volunteer work without pay to get the computer crunching part done and
> not mention him as a coauthor and only mention as acknowledgement?
>
>
>
It's not ethically wrong **if** the engineering contribution is too tiny, compared to the whole contribution of the paper.
In fact, it's very common that professors/researchers hire several undergrads/interns to work on engineering a tool, and only list them in the acknowledgment. (I can provide many examples).
However, it is ethically wrong if the engineering contribution is substantial, and you don't list them as co-author. Whether there contribution is enough for co-authorship depends on your judgement, but your judgement can be wrong.
If you read the book "7 habits of highly effective people", one of the habit is always thinking about win-win solution. You can't just expect somebody to work for you for free. It sounds unrealistic.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_13: In many institutions, it is common for undergraduates to help with research, either paid or for credits. It is not necessarily unethical to post your project and ask for help, but you have to consider what the student is getting from this experience.
Authorship might reasonably be off the table, but at the same time the undergraduate might come with some interesting insights/get more involved. You never know.
Regardless of the authorship or financial aspect, there is some form of payment that, for some, is invaluable: the experience and the advice. For most undergraduates, getting involved in research (especially if they are actively interested in pursuing such a career) can be tough.
However, you should consider that undergrad less as the one doing the dirty work and more as your mentee. You are, after all, more experienced than him, and you could provide some useful insights into academia or into your field. This comes of course at the cost of you spending some (possibly rather fun) time with the undergraduate, sharing your knowledge.
To put is shortly, if you find somebody willing to be just a coding monkey, it's not necessarily unethical, but adopting the coding monkey as a (possibly very short term) tutee is a win-win situation.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: As a post-graduate student at a renowned university, I am supposed to make an assignment (see attached images) which is obviously inspired on [this](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/auto_examples/manifold/plot_lle_digits.html#sphx-glr-auto-examples-manifold-plot-lle-digits-py) licensed scikit tutorial.
Since the assignment (code) instructions are identical to the licensed code, I have two questions:
1. Is the scientific integrity of the teacher challenged by posing this question?
2. Should I report this at the university's fraud office?
In the assignment is no reference or citation included.<issue_comment>username_1: Before you step into a potential minefield of accusations and possible blowback, I'd suggest that you just discuss it with the professor, raising your concerns about citation. A fraud accusation would be very serious and possibly unwarranted. You don't know whether the professor has discussed this with the team that created it. Also their own materials only ask for citation if you "use it in a scientific publication". The funding agencies (INRIA, for example), may require fairly loose restrictions on use. I didn't investigate the BSD license, so it may be restrictive or not.
But delay serious steps from which it would be difficult to extract yourself until you know more.
I'm sure many people have turned some of my work into student exercises (not published outside the course material). I would, myself, never object to that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: IMHO, this is not a scientific paper where there is new contribution he is claiming. Academics have enormous and diverse set of tasks more than you imagine. It can be unintentionally ignored or oversight. It can be that he is acknowledging it but not to the students to not search for solutions online.
Therefore, I advise you to assume a good faith and talk to him personally in a friendly way to point this to him. Especially if solutions can be found online.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: for what I can find the scikit tutorial are under the BSD licenses and from what I can read from the homework's description nothing is violating the terms of service.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_licenses>
<https://scikit-learn.org/stable/documentation.html>
<https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause>
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: 1. Maybe? Not really. I don't think anyone cares.
2. I would advise against reporting this to anyone.
Explanations:
1.) This isn't a peer-reviewed paper; it's a homework assignment. It's also an assignment in a field that isn't well supported by years and years of instructional material, like textbooks, etc. So It's hard for instructors to come up with good assignments. If your instructor had taken a problem out of a textbook and given it to you, would that ping your suspicions? (I can hear someone arguing: "But wait! If it was from a textbook, I would know it wasn't his own work, and I wouldn't be suspicious." To which, I would reply: "Sure; see previous point about not much in the way of established instructional material. Also, if your instructor had given the class a citation, it might have included solutions.)
2.) If this was in a book published by your instructor (and I don't mean a fancy set of handouts, I mean published), maybe someone would be upset. Perhaps the original author. If you bring this to the higher ups in the university, I could see more potential difficulties for yourself than for your instructor.
Summary:
Is this the "best" instructional practice? No. Is this commonly held to be "OK" instructional practice? I think you will find, yes, it is.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Six months after my PhD graduation, I submitted a paper to an SCI journal as a sole author. Apparently, my PhD supervisor is the technical editor for this journal. He wasn't pleased that I submitted a sole-author paper without informing him.
I formulated the idea and wrote everything from scratch. However, he claimed that's a generalization of what he's currently working on. After I proved to him that they aren't related he went ahead to forbid me from publishing in that area as it's likely to interfere with his. That's after he made me divulge all my on-going investigations. He said it's better we are collaborators than competitors. I didn't set out to compete with anyone. Most ideas I gave him during my PhD were suppressed only to be given to other students two years later. He made me the last author in those anyway.
Question:
1) Does he have the power to do this?
2) Being that he sits on the board of top SCI journals in my field, how do I overcome this?<issue_comment>username_1: While I don't believe he has the ethical right to do this, he may well have the power to affect your career. It is more of a political problem than a scientific one. You could just ignore him, but he may have the means of retaliation and you might be the one to suffer.
It may well be true that you are better off as his collaborator than his competitor, regardless of the ethics. I'd suggest thinking about it and making a strategic decision, even if it isn't the most satisfying one.
In order to fight him, you would need allies and a position of some power yourself. Your current position isn't that strong.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Your former supervisor's behaviour sounds entirely unethical. I'm sorry to hear that he is unnecessarily causing you distress. So, to answer the title question: No, it is not ethical to forbid anyone from publishing in a given topic.
The justification given -- that it is better to collaborate than compete -- is entirely beside the point. Yes, it is good to collaborate. However, once the work is complete, it should be published and the authors should be those who contributed.
It is understandable that your former supervisor would have liked to be informed. Everyone wants to be kept in the loop. But he has no automatic "right" to be informed of your activities after you graduate. (I'm assuming none of this work happened while you were his student.) Furthermore, there is no justification for blocking publication because it would interfere with his work.
Moving on to your real question: He has a lot of power over you both because he is senior and because he was your supervisor. Thus you should proceed with caution. Perhaps you can reason with him and seek a compromise. If that doesn't work, you can escalate -- appeal to the other editors of the journal, who presumably would not agree with this behaviour.
In the long term, you should consider slowly moving your research away from his to avoid repeating this situation. And you should work with other people. The situation would look a bit different if you had senior coauthors to fight back on your behalf.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: His demands are obviously silly and his interpersonal skills terrible, but he may have a point under there to some degree (depending on how wide a swath of the field he is claiming). If you are going to continue in the exact same niche as your graduate lab, you should collaborate.
Generally you do not want to stay in the same area and collaborate with your former advisor on everything. As your work will continue to be seen as primarily his. Though if he will make you a co-PI on his grants, of course, (if your system works that way) then go for it. I suspect he wants a one-way street, where you give him more publications, and he gives you squat. But you should ask.
Otherwise it is preferable to move to a new niche (at least to some degree) to make your own, since you would always be second in funding in his niche. (why would a funding agency risk giving money to you, when his much more successful lab is willing to do the research?)
I'd suggest doing both, collaborate with him on manuscripts when the topic is really close to his, and push into a new area.
While your work may seem quite different already, consider that from a larger perspective it may not be so obvious. It is a difference that you need to be an expert in the niche itself to understand?
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: *He made me the last author in those anyway.*
And was probably expecting tit for tat.
As you tell the story, this is not a person you want to deal with in the future, but it is possible that you might have enjoyed a long and mutually profitable relationship with them had you thrown them this bone. It is hard to know in general; academic vampiricism is a real thing, and your refusal to stand for it is, on the whole, the better attitude to take (I say after a long career of giving in).
Chalk it up to experience, kid.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I have published an academic monograph in Spanish based on my dissertation with a university press in Spain. I have reworked the book since then and translated it into English, would it be dishonest to try to get it published in English (I would of course mention that the book originally appeared in Spanish)?<issue_comment>username_1: Many books are published with something like "translated from the original Spanish (French, German, Italian) by <NAME>" so go ahead.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It almost certainly depends on the contract you signed with the publisher of the Spanish version. Many book contracts have a clause that stipulates that the publisher retains the right to license translations -- in other words, it may be that you don't have the right to publish the translation without the consent of the publisher, even if you did the translation yourself.
The prudent course therefore is to read your contract for the Spanish version again, and if in doubt contact the publisher.
Upvotes: 2
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2018/12/08
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<issue_start>username_0: I generate detailed notes throughout the school year to help out the students. Most of these notes are in the range of 30 - 50 pages.
I wonder if I should attempt to copyright my notes to ensure that it is not copied without attributing me as the creator.
If so, how can I go about doing this to the maximum effectiveness? As for now, all I am thinking is to place a copyright icon somewhere in the notes.<issue_comment>username_1: From your post, it appears that you want to discourage people from plagiarizing the notes (i.e., copying them and passing them as their own), rather than make such plagiarism illegal (which, as @NateEldredge has observed in his comment, may already be the case if you do nothing). If so, the Berne convention is irrelevant. In my experience, the best discouragement is publicly posting the notes online somewhere; this way, if a teacher reuses them without attribution, students will easily find out (and they will notice -- I have seen at least one rant about a professor that mentioned his reuse of other people's notes as evidence for bad teaching here on academia.SE lately).
If you want to ensure that people can legally copy your notes with attribution but not without, then a good option is [the CC BY license](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) (or any other CC license more restrictive than that -- but I'd go with CC BY if this is your only issue).
[Comment extended to answer.]
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Two misconceptions here:
1. *I need to "copyright" my intellectual property to protect it.* - No. Unless you explicitly indicate otherwise, you already automatically get exclusive copyright to your notes. There is no "copyrighting" process like applying for a patent. The common "Copyright 2018" notice serves as a reminder of this, as well as suggesting a relevant entity to contact about getting permission and to pre-empt any arguments in court that "well it didn't say it was copyrighted". The last point is superfluous, since court would not require the copyright notice either way.
2. *Holding exclusive copyright physically prevents people from copying my intellectual property.* - No. While unauthorized copying is illegal, the copyright is not a magic incantation. You still have to find unauthorized copiers, ask them to stop, then sue if they refuse.
So your copyright is only as good as the steps you're willing to take to enforce it. Will you spend your free time trying to track down people who copy your notes? Will you pay a lawyer to send letters to everyone who copies the notes without permission? Will you shell out hundreds or thousands in legal fees to sue when they refuse?
I'm guessing you're just hoping a scary sounding warning will discourage people. In this day and age, I doubt many would be discouraged. At best you could contact their institution (if they have one) and put pressure on them that way. But ultimately, what are you trying to protect here? A few students passing around copied notes? So what?
If you're thinking somebody will take the notes and use them to write a textbook and sell it for money, forget it. If they're planning to do that they can easily change your notes slightly and even if you had a case, you would have to waste horrendous amounts of time and money in court. If your notes are so great that they have non-trivial financial value on their own, just publish them yourself. Otherwise, stop worrying and move on with your life.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2018/12/08
| 708
| 3,154
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<issue_start>username_0: As an international graduate applicant, I'd contacted professor that I am interested to work in his research. He replied that I should apply to school first and if I get admission, then contact him? Is he aware that I want to join as an graduate assistant? What does he really mean?<issue_comment>username_1: In the US and some other places, graduate (and other) admissions is handled by the university itself in coordination with an academic department. They are not under control of individual professors. Therefore, in such places, you need to deal first with the admissions system, and than with a professor.
Depending on how you phrased your letter he may just be informing you of the rules.
You could, of course, send a letter to professors expressing your interest, telling them that you are applying through normal channels and asking if they are considering taking on students for advising. Such a letter should show some knowledge of the research interests of the professor and your own matching background.
For your specific question, I think the professor is being as positive as he can be. Don't take it as a negative.
Also, depending on the field, the professor may not be responsible for choosing graduate assistants. Again, it may be a university or department decision. In some other fields, the professor, if grant funded, can staff his/her own labs. In mathematics, for example, while you have a specific advisor, you may 'work for' the department, not that professor.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: From what I can read, he is neutral about you.
In most institutes this is a standard procedure: individual faculty member cannot guarantee admission or post-admission employment. This is to avoid providing mixed messages to the applicants. If the admission committee denied the application, but the applicant came back and said Prof. so and so said he would hire me, many complications can happen.
Second, most assistantship within a school is prioritized for students. So, in order to be even considered, the candidates usually would have to be admitted first. Without that it's pointless to discuss even you have an excellent resume.
Third, be aware that international students may face extra barriers when looking for employment. Within school jobs such as teaching or research assistantships are generally of "equal opportunity." Jobs outside the department that go through a formal hiring process can also impose extra measures to ensure local citizens have been considered first. All in all, make sure you have the means to at least get through the first year, don't count on the plan that you will get a job as you arrived.
Perhaps instead of e-mailing individual professors, consider e-mailing the admission personnel as well as the career service personnel of the department. They are more informed about how internal hiring is done. They also have the incentive to attract more students, so they are more likely to engage and follow up with your inquiries. Ask for a spreadsheet of estimated costs of living and study: they are immensely helpful for financial planning.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/08
| 1,101
| 4,593
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<issue_start>username_0: On Workplace Stack Exchange, one answer to the question
<https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/124329/bullying-group-work>
says "Speak to your personal tutor. Immediately."
I remember to have seen the word "personal tutor" also here on Academia Stack Exchange. (As I do not remember having seen a country mentioned (also not on the linked Workplace Stack Exchange question), I believe this is a US-concept.)
So: What is a "personal tutor"? Who is this (undergraduate student, graduate student, administrative personell, post-doc, professor, somebody not related to one's university) and when do you as a student get such a tutor? What are their roles?
Thank you!<issue_comment>username_1: It depends on country / programme but a "personal tutor" or "mentor" is usually available for questions that are outside the scope of the subject lecturer.
These "mentors" will answer, or help the student answer, or get other officials in the institution to answer those questions the students have, be they personal or study / work related.
This may, in some institutions, fall on the programme manager, and you get some really "of the wall" questions that have to be dealt with with tact, diplomacy and discretion.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: It could be a variety of things, depending on where you are, but most likely the following. In some universities with large classes, students meet a few times a week in smaller sections with a TA, sometimes called a tutor.
In top UK universities, courses are often done in very small (<10) groups with a "tutor", who might actually be a professor or someone much lower down the ranking. The person provides direction on your readings and writings.
But in general, it should refer to the person who has some authority in your course but at the most personal (small group) level if that is available to you.
However, for some purposes, such as disputes with professors, a university might also provide a student support office to help resolve the disputes. The people there aren't, strictly speaking, tutors, but rather advisors.
It is *least* likely to mean someone you pay separately from the university to tutor you in a subject.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: In the UK, a personal tutor is assigned to you when you start your degree and the same person will generally maintain that role for the whole of your course. They are usually a lecturer or more senior-- never a student, PhD or otherwise. There are often a mandated number of meetings that a student must have with their tutor: once a term is common.
The role of a personal tutor is mostly non-academic. While you could discuss academic problems with them, they are really there to help with pastoral matters, such as wellbeing, or helping you to decide what courses to take or how best to manage your time. Personal tutors are a common choice of reference letter writers for their students' applications for postgraduate degrees, as they likely know the student and their grades very well.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: "Personal tutor" in the sense of the question you linked to is definitely not a US-based term.
We absolutely have tutors. A tutor would be used when you need extra help to keep up with the content in the class. Getting a C in chemistry? Then you might hire a tutor to spend extra time with you outside of class to learn the material.
Similar to the "personal tutor" from that link, undergraduates are also typically assigned general advisers that they meet with a few times a year. They help to make sure you are fulfilling your academic requirements (have the right number of credits to graduate, are successful in courses) and can connect you to resources for academic problems, and also if you are encountering things that might violate university or legal regulations (like the bullying example you linked to). At my private R1 university, these advisers are always staff and never faculty or students.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I live in Miami, FL. Personal tutors are assigned by universities to a student for the whole academic course. He/She will guide the student in assessments, exams, research papers. If you are lucky enough to have a friendly tutor, you can get a lot of guidance from them.
Note: This pandemic made a huge impact on the educational sectors around the world. My niece was placed at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. He has his own mobile app from which he can select his tutor based on reviews and ratings. Thanks to technology.
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/08
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for PhD positions in computer science. I have been fortunate to get the opportunity to research under some really good professors (specifically, one who has a high h-index, another who is the academic director of a large scientific institution). While these professors are respected, they are not pioneers in the field and so not known to *everyone*.
Thus, while mentioning that I worked with these professors (specifically in my resume, but in general wherever it's required), I usually include a link to their profile. **My question is, is there a specific format or convention that people follow while providing more information about a professor?**
For instance, many professors have multiple profile pages across different institutions that they're associated with---which one should be used then? Sometimes, they have poorly maintained profile pages but have really good research work, which makes their Google scholar page much more impressive. Some even have Wikipedia articles about them.
If I want to highlight different aspects about a professor, can I link different pages against their names? In my case, that would mean linking the Google Scholar page for the professor with the high h-index while linking the profile page of the professor holding the important position.<issue_comment>username_1: I would assume that someone really interested is capable of using a search engine. Personally, I would find it strange if there are any links.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This would be a useless exercise at best. If the professors are as good as you say a quick Google search will offer all necessary information. Moreover, applications are often filtered through various HR/IT systems that may render links unusable. Some reviewers (myself included) will print physical copies of applications which makes URLs unlikely to be checked.
Generally, if you worked with someone your CV should say
Worked with X on Y which resulted in Z, where if Z is a published work then that should be referenced.
As a final note: just because you worked with someone good does not necessarily say anything about you. If you worked with someone and it resulted in something good- that’s more meaningful.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: To add on to the answers here, (from my experience) if you are applying via the graduate admissions portal, most of them parse your written documents (including CV, Resume, SoP, Personal Statement etc.) via some kind of a parser. Essentially meaning, it will be converted to plain text. The problem with hyperlinking is that, those will not be clickable in plaintext.
I know for a fact that this is true for Harvard's SEAS application (it was very clearly mentioned in their portal).
In my opinion, if you can succinctly mention the work you have done with the professor in your statements, it should speak for itself. And moreover, the research community is small and there is a good chance that professors from one university will know professors from the other who are working in a similar field.
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/09
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<issue_start>username_0: It seems to me, based on two previous stack exchange questions ([1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38175/solution-manual-and-copyright), [2](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/87125/posting-solutions-to-textbook-problems-online)) that this is legal, but I'm wondering more if it's "okay," i.e. what do academics/professors think of this?
I'm interested in posting (my own) solutions to textbook problems (that I find interesting) online, as I self-study them. I'd guess some problems may be of interest to others, I get to possibly have discussions about them (maybe I mess up), and I get to practice explaining technical concepts through text (I'm interested in pedagogy). For what it's worth, I'm an undergrad (though soon to be grad) student. Ideally I'd want to do something similar to [physicspages.com](http://www.physicspages.com/), though I doubt I'd have the same rigour. I'd be working on a textbook myself and using this as a sort of "learning by teaching" approach.
On the other hand, I know many professors use textbook problems as homework, and a publicly displayed website with textbook solutions might be easy to find on a search engine (so students may just copy). Would instructors think this is inappropriate?
In case it matters, I intend to start with *Topological Insulators and Topological Superconductors* by Bernevig since this is likely to be related to my PhD topic. (Though this could change on a whim)<issue_comment>username_1: I **think**, if the publisher does not have their own solutions book and some do, that you can do this.
Of course, some professors will be upset as they will have to deal with favorite questions for exams...
It may give you experience and lead you to write more or even, the publisher asking you to write / edit a solutions manual...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: While I don't think there is anything formally standing in your way of doing this, as long as you don't post the questions themselves or answers from the publisher's answer key, I don't think that it is a wise thing to do.
But I'll focus on future students rather than professors to explain why it isn't wise. For many things the only real way to learn them is to practice. This is true in math and the sciences as well as in, say swimming or chess. Learning involves changing the brain. See, for example, the book The Art of Changing the Brain by <NAME>.
The implication of this is that, very often, the most important part of a published textbook is the exercises, not the explanatory text. Students need to, perhaps, struggle with those exercises to *learn* the material. If you give them a shortcut to *getting the answer*, while it feels good to them, it makes it harder for them to learn the material. Too many students don't understand this (hence the need for a book like Zull's). It isn't a question of being able to turn in "homework" as much as it is having useful practice exercises that you can't short-circuit.
If you want to meet your own goals and also publish something useful, publish a set of additional exercises for a good book instead of answers for the existing exercises. You will find (a) that this is harder and (b) that it increases your own knowledge by changing your own brain.
You could also, as some publishers do, publish solutions to half of your questions. Some textbooks, for example, have solutions to, say, the odd numbered exercises in the backmater.
You might even get an offer from a publisher to do that for other books. Some textbooks, in fact, have the questions provided by other than the author.
But publishing answers is a disservice to other students, not a service.
Upvotes: 3
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2018/12/09
| 1,779
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently a Master's student and planning to apply for PhD. Now, I have directly worked with two professors for research projects. Unfortunately, those two are the only professors I have taken more than one course with too. With no other professor I had two or more classes so they do not know me well. I could be able to convince one of them to write letters for me. But surely that's gonna be a canned recommendation like "I taught him this course and he's got an A". Besides as an introvert, I am not memorable at all. I don't drop by during office hours to have small chats or ask many questions in the class.
On the other hand, I have a PhD student in my research group. He doesn't have the credentials or experience, but he can write a more personal and accurate recommendation letter for me. I have worked with him closely and he can give his opinion from both our personal and academic interactions.
Edit: just to be clear, the two professors I have worked with already agreed to give me LORs. I need a third letter.
Edit 2: I have another option. I have worked as a TA for one semester. The instructor can give me an LOR. But he is neither a tenured professor nor a Ph.D. degree holder himself. So I am not much sure about this option. Is it gonna "hurt" my application?
Edit 3: I collaborated with the PhD student before and we are co-authors of two papers.<issue_comment>username_1: You could do this, though it might be questioned. It would be best if the PhD student has some supervisory function in your group, rather than just a "fellow" student. The letter from the student should make your relationship clear so that someone reading it knows whether they should follow up with you or not.
But you can also, as an introvert, work to increase your own visibility with the faculty so that this need not recur. Many of them are possibly just about as introverted as you are.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I have heard a couple of times Ph. D. students writing recommendation letters, and the outcome was positive, it should not be much problem. But you may, in most case, try to get the 2 recommendations you mentioned from professors, and another one with "canned recommendation", to meet the requirement of 3 LOR, for instance. Additionally, you can get an extra LOR from that Ph. D. student.
P.S. even if you expect a canned recommendation, it may not be that dull. I have seen many professors who are very good observers. Besides, they can also check your exam papers and quizzes/assignments rigorously and infer some positive things from there as well. In short, don't try to imagine what a professor can write in LOR. If they accept to write it, and you are on good terms with him/her, it will not be as bad as you predict.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: NO.
---
The fact that you cannot find enough professors to write LoRs implies that you are some random unknown student in your university. Unless you are applying to a PhD program in a much much lower rank than your current university, you don't stance a chance with this LoR.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: When applying for my PhD in the UK with funding I needed two letters of reference.
The first one was my Master's Dissertation supervisor, I would really recommend trying to get a professor that has worked with you before in a research sense (if possible), if this is not possible I would try to open up the conversation with a great research proposal. If the Professor is interested in it and you do a good job then he would be able to see that you already have some good research skills, a good proposal is the start of the project.
The fact the you have co-authored with the Ph.D student is good, they can mention it in the LOR.
The second letter of recommendation I got was from a Senior Lecturer in Finance, I could have tried to go for another professor but I did think a more personal one from even a junior member of the faculty would be better (similar to a PhD writing for you).
I would recommend trying to work on the professors that you already have, if they send two great letters, the third one becomes much less important.
I am also extremely introverted, however, you have to try, you have to stop by there office hours, (it gets less daunting each time), you have to go back even when they are to busy on a certain day. Win them over with a good proposal, if at all possible try to cite them in your proposal. Do whatever it takes, getting a PhD place is not easy, there is lots of competition, other people will be persevering with the small talk. Its like you're in a race with them, run faster.
Also the fact that you have publications is already a big thumbs up. You have a proven research record, that is far more than the majority of PhD applicants.
It is also good for the PhD student to frame the letter well if they frame it as your co-author rather than pal that could be better.
A last note on your Instructor without a PhD. There are some people in Universities that don't have PhD's but are still world-class researchers. I have met a few that have come from industry and rightly or wrongly, they would never bother with the fees for a PhD and their publications speak a lot more than the title, so double check if your instructor has good publication. Also, teaching experience is extremely important...
So if it was me I would probably go with the instructor that you have been a TA for and the two Professors. The fact you have written papers will come up in your application anyway, the University can judge how well these are with reading them, looking at what journals they are published in them etc. It is much more difficult for them to judge if you are a good teacher or not, so signalling this to them by a LOR from an instructor would be my best bet.
In my PhD interview, I was asked a lot about teaching, its important for the modern academic. As there is so much competition, they want good researchers and good teachers, not just one or the other.
Best of luck!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: If you’ve already got a couple of strong recommendations from your supervisors, it shouldn’t be a problem, especially since you have a strong resume if you’ve already published. What matters is that referees can say something different to each other and that they know you well enough. A character reference is totally fine provided that you have worked with them enough that they can vouch for your work ethic and technical skills.
The position and reputation of a referee is not so important. What matters is its authenticity. Taking on a PhD student or postdoc is a serious commitment. A supervisor will be looking for someone who can be trusted to meet their goals and work well with others in the lab. In that respect, an authentic letter from a more senior member of your lab would help your application more than a generic template letter from a busy professor who hardly knows you.
With a strong resume, letters of recommendation are often a formality. What is important is to be honest in your resume and application. If you exaggerate, they will notice if there are inconsistencies or you cannot answer questions in the interview process. If you are polite and respectful when contacting potential supervisors (and when requesting letters of recommendation), that will also help show you can work in the lab.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: Ask your supervisor if the PhD student in question has the skills to write a letter that will help you.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: There are two terms in my thesis that I'm using throughout the entire work. They have been added to the glossary for that reason. However, by the time I got to chapter 4 or so I've stopped writing them as PDF hyperlinks (so that they can jump to the corresponding entry in the glossary) because I got really tired of it.
My assumption was that by this point the reader should know what the glossary terms mean.
Is this okay or should I use glossary hyperlinks as much as possible?<issue_comment>username_1: Actually, I question the value of hyperlinks at all. You are assuming that the reader will be using a specific technology to read, rather than just a printout.
It is really enough, in my opinion, to refer to the glossary at the first use of a term and forgo it thereafter. If the reader is aware that there is a glossary, they can go there in any case if they are puzzled.
The links will interrupt the flow of reading in any case. There is value in making the work *beautiful*, not just informative.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If your university has some thesis style guide / requirements, obviously follow them.
Your current approach does sound a little arbitrary, or even sloppy - like you ran out of time to make things uniform. If you had only linked the occurrence in the chapter defining the concept, that'd make more sense than linking every occurrence in chapters 1, 2, and 3. Linking every occurrence for a common word throughout the entire thesis seems ok, but maybe a little overzealous. After all, if I'm reading the PDF, presumably I can search myself. Another possibility would be to link the first occurrence in each chapter. This is useful for readers who don't follow your thesis from cover to cover.
Upvotes: 2
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2018/12/09
| 479
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<issue_start>username_0: May you please tell me what is the difference between
>
> Visiting Lecturer
>
>
>
and
>
> Lecturer
>
>
>
Can Visiting Lecturer be considered an affiliation or academic staff, for Ph.D holders?<issue_comment>username_1: It surely depends on the circumstances.
Perhaps in some cases a "Visiting Lecturer" is someone not normally on the staff, who comes for one term or one year and serves as a Lecturer. After that, going back to their usual job.
Whereas a "Lecturer" is a regular member of the staff.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In Australia lecturers are paid. Honorary Adjunct Visiting and Emeritus aren’t.
In Australia a visiting lecturer is **generally** an unpaid position which allows access to the library. Visitors either have a substantive academic rank elsewhere or an equivalent. Jane comes over to do a sabbatical here, Jane is appointed Visiting Senior Lecturer.
Other purposes unpaid
Honorary: retired with former rank or equivalent, they turn up for occasional seminars or coffee with their mates.
Adjunct: substantive external profession or trade, ie surgeon, coder, manager, fine artist
Emeritus: generally only professors (E) equivalent of full professors elsewhere. Like Honoraries but they’re so prolific you can’t stop them publishing full time, or they won a big gong (Nobel, field specifying monograph, etc)
These days you keep publishing or the title goes away. Often this is a way to rope in ERA publications.
Australian Ranks:
A Associate Lecturer / Tutor
B Lecturer / Tutor (course coordination)
C Senior Lecturer
D Associate Professor
E Professor
Upvotes: 1
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2018/12/10
| 541
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<issue_start>username_0: After the report was sent in, the status of my manuscript in the tracking system of Physical Review Letters indicated a *query to referee.*
What does this mean?
The editor explained further information is needed from the referee.
This is basically what *query to referee* means.
But I am wondering what it implies. Is the report good or bad?
Does anyone has any experience on this issue, and what is the outcome?<issue_comment>username_1: It can mean that there was something problematic about the referee's report. This can indicate that there is some kind of inconsistency between what the referee says in different parts of the report. For example, the referee may have provided a very positive written evaluation, but accidentally clicked the box saying "Reject." If that happens, the editor will naturally ask the referee to clarify what they actually meant.
One other thing it can mean, particularly in connection with a journal like *Physical Review Letters*, which has selection criteria that require more than just a correct and interesting paper. If a paper is deemed to be, in fact, correct and interesting, there may still be some additional back-and-forth communication between the editor and referee(s) to ascertain whether the work is important enough for that particular journal.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: *Converting and expanding a comment by [<NAME>](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14506/andreas-blass) to an answer to make it more visible:*
My first guess was that the query might was:
>
> When will you get this report done?
>
>
>
But there are lots of other possibilities, like:
>
> Did you perhaps accidentally omit the word *not* on line 57 of your report?
>
>
> You signed your report with your name. Do you really want to share it with the authors?
>
>
> Is the paper really that wonderful?
>
>
> Is the paper really that hopeless?
>
>
>
As the possibilities strongly vary in size and sign, you cannot divine anything meaningful from this. In particular, the experiences of somebody else in a similar situation are unlikely to translate to yours.
Upvotes: 0
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2018/12/10
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<issue_start>username_0: * The first year is when the data was collected: 2013
* The second year is when the paper was written: 2015
* The third year is when the paper was published: 2017
"In total, 121 women and 61 men completed the experiment over the course of several months across 2013." is where I am getting the 2013 from, so if I was to say, in a study conducted in 2013, blah blah blah, very specific to the data itself, and I do an in-text citation in APA format, which year do I use?<issue_comment>username_1: It needs to be the year of publication in the in-text citation (same for the reference at the end of the paper). This is backed up by the Purdue OWL:
>
> When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
>
>
>
<https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html>
If the date the survey was conducted is important then you should definitely mention it in the surrounding text like you’re doing.
Due to the fact that writing a paper then going through peer review takes time, it’s not unusual to see some delay between the date the experiment was done and the date the paper was published. Even though this does seem like a bigger gap than usual, I probably wouldn’t even question it if I was reading it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Adding to username_1's previous answer: The purpose of the in-text author-year citation style is to point your readers to the full citation record of the published work in your bibliography. Consider a situation in which you cite two independent works of the same first author, *e. g.* Jones et al. (1989) and Jones et al. (1991), then the date is essential in associating the reference to its respective entry in your bibliography.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I am not sure I am following you. If the data were collected in 2013 and published in 2017 and when the data were collected matters (e.g., prior to or following a major event that could influence the data), you would want to list both.
>
> In total, 121 women and 61 men completed the experiment over the course of several months across 2013 ... (Smith and Jones 2017).
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: The F32 pays for my salary, and my benefits. This is going to be more than 58,500 dollars that my boss saves per year, for the next 3 years. That is a lot of money.
I think it is only right that I ask my boss for more money on top. She has 1 large non federal grant. And since she is relatively new, she still has start-up funds. NIH stipulates that the F32 can be supplemented with more money, given the money is not from a federal grant.
To start, i want to ask for an additional $15,000 per year.
Have any tips for me?
Thank you!
**Update**: I talked to my boss a 2nd time. She said supplemental funds were really rare and that she could not justify it. But she said she would give me retirement benefits starting July 1, 2019 (start of fiscal year). At this university, that amounts to 14%. I am relatively happy. My salary is going from 47.5k to 50.3k thanks to the NIH, and I do not have to pay FICA. This is an increase of almost 6,000 dollars from 2018 to 2019, not including retirement benefits. With retirement benefits, that is another 7,000 per year, approx.
I won't be able to get another car, but I'll be able to repair my clunker when it breaks down!
Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: I have worked as a research administrator in the Boston area for 8 years, and thus have seen all postdoc salaries in the areas I work (natural sciences, engineering, and computer science). This is not how salary works for postdocs.
1. It is set by location. Boston pays higher than other areas due to cost of living. They have to set a rate that is sustainable to meet future commitments as well.
2. It is set by funding source. NIH has minimums that must be adhered to. If you don't receive NIH funding, you can pay less unless your institution says no.
3. It is set by field. I work in a top research university, known for having high salaries in research positions, including graduate students. Within the same building, there is a $30k disparity in pay between postdocs. Econ CS folks pay $80k because the faculty have to compete with **both** finance and Silicon Valley stealing their postdocs. Bio-engineering postdocs get the NIH minimum. It's not personal--it has to do with the fields they are in and the competition for postdocs.
Of the hundreds of postdoc salaries I have personally managed, I have only seen PIs supplement if the fellowship pays below the department standard or NIH minimum. If that's not the case here, I would not approach the PI.
The point of you getting an F32 is three-fold:
1. You learn how to write a grant on your own.
2. You can spend time on your own project, promoting independence in research.
3. You relieve the stress of procuring funding for the PI.
[**Clarification on the compliance involved with this funding source:** F32s are highly regulated; the [grants policy statement](https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps/html5/section_11/11.2.10_supplementation_of_stipends__compensation__and_other_income.htm) defines supplementation and additional compensation differently, and it's important to make sure we are explicit about which words we are using.
A supplement, is additional stipend funding that provides no benefit to the PI. Because additional stipend funding must be consistent across the institution, frequently the policy is to use a department standard or NIH minimum as the policy to which a trainee is supplemented. This is paid out as a stipend and is not certifiable effort.
Additional compensation, is essentially a part-time job which allows the postdoc to work on other projects up to a total of 10 hrs/week. This is paid out as salary, and if on a federal grant is certifiable effort.
Unless they provide a part-time job for you (see policy statement), this leads to the conundrum of the PI spending more money on a postdoc who will not work on their grant. Furthermore, you can't work on a grant that overlaps with your own. This is probably why this method is less common than expected; if you request the raise of $15k, these additional funds (stipend, not salary) by definition must be of no benefit to the PI, because F32 Postdocs fall under the "trainee" [definition](https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/whd/flsa/scope/ee15.asp) of the Department of Labor. If your salary is $58,500 and you received $15k in salary instead of stipend at the same hourly rate; NIH could cite your institution for non-compliance, because it's technically above the 25% figure that they allow for additional compensation. The funding source is irrelevant. Your institution should have guidance on how they handle F32s. Here's one for [UCSF](https://controller.ucsf.edu/how-to-guides/contracts-grants-accounting/additional-compensation-t32f32-postdoctoral-fellows).]
You are currently considered a bonus to the PI and a great relief. Startups don't last forever. They are great for bridging funding when data and results are difficult to procure; funding new research that sponsors won't fund; paying for expenses that cannot be allocated to a grant (e.g., general lab supplies or travel). She's not rich--there is plenty in her future to spend this money on, some of which could be on you (e.g., professional dues or travel).
Research funding is a rough game, so be supportive of her too. There is some risk for her as well, as her future funding is not guaranteed. Funding cliffs can be seriously painful for a PI, as they don't have personnel to procure data, do initial analysis, etc. Everything comes to a crawl, and it's hard to get published or funded when you can't pay students or postdocs. Should this happen, she may become a ward of the department, which will cause her reputation to take a hit with her peers.
If you are still going to approach her, definitely consider how tough her situation is, even if she wants to give you everything you ask for. In the end, you are both at the mercy of limited funds, and her responsibility is to make sure she has the funds to support everyone in her lab that she is committed to.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In contrast to [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/121376/929) I can tell you that supervisors can and do supplement the salaries of postdocs funded by an F32. My F32 was years ago and I don't remember the exact amount of additional funding I was provided, by my guess was it was close to 15k a year. I was earning more than the other two postdocs in the lab who were R01 funded and other F32 funded postdocs in the department. I believe I was the highest paid "postdoc" in the department, although determining who is/isn't a post doc is non-trivial.
For me, it was a relatively easy subject to broach. I had been working in the lab for 6 months prior to getting the F32 award letter and was being paid more the the NIH scale. Sometime soon after the letter, but before I even knew what was up, the department grants person sent an email to my supervisor and me saying that we had to make a decision about my salary. My supervisor suggested that if I was willing to devote some of my time to other lab projects, she could pay me more.
I think the NIH limited my outside commitment to 20% of my time. She had a pot of about 15k a year of non-federal funds (essentially the only money she has to supplement my salary). This meant my outside commitment of 20% was paid at about 75k a year which was close to the max we could justify with the department grant administrator. So I got all of the available money and was more than happy and didn't really have to say anything. She also agreed to cover all my consumables and travel from her federal funds since the work of the two projects was related closely enough.
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> I think it is only right that I ask my boss for more money on top.
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Sure you can ask, but the non-federal grant probably has work that needs to be done and paying someone from that pot of money not to do that work is illegal. Even if there is overlap between the research, you cannot double dip. You would have to agree to do extra work for that grant specifically.
Startup funds are another story and do not generally have any/many restrictions. As for the likelihood of the PI supplementing your pay, all you can do is ask. You might be better off asking for an increased travel budget or money for consumables (the F32 does not provide much in terms of non-salary support).
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: Thing is, dude was happy with my work in a research course with him over the summer. I had a small portion left to complete the project which I offered to volunteer to do. He immediately ordered the supplies I needed to conduct this last portion of research, and that was 2 months ago :(. I sort of never considered until now that I should have finished it in 1.5 months maximum regardless of the fact that I was volunteering on my own time. In my defence he's been on pat leave (although he attended informal weekly departmental meetings on campus).
How do I explain this to him in a way that shows I acknowledge my mistake and that I am still interested? Do I stand a chance of mending the relationship? I intend to finish the work over the next 2 weeks.<issue_comment>username_1: I would pose two questions:
1. Is the professor unhappy with you?
2. Did you really do anything wrong?
If the professor has not said they are unhappy with you, then I see no reason to give an explanation; keep it up-beat.
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> Dear Professor, Just a status update on the X project. I've finished X, has taken a little longer than I anticipated, but I think I'll have it wrapped up in the next two weeks. Looking forward to it!
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If the professor is unhappy, then the question becomes whether you did anything wrong. If there was no deadline and you're not getting paid, then it's a bit rich of the professor to be angry. You can push back as much as you're comfortable with; here's a reasonably polite version:
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> Dear Professor, Sorry for the slow progress on the X project. Given that we had never discussed a deadline (and that I am not getting paid), I hadn't realize you had expected this to be finished by now. Still, I do want to finish the project, and will pick up the pace. I think I can be finished in two weeks; would that be OK? I'll keep you informed on the progress. Thanks,
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If the professor is unhappy and you did do something wrong, then a quick apology is in order.
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> Dear Professor, Please accept my apology about the slow progress on the X project. I am still interested and definitely want to finish it; I had just [stupidly] been doing the work pretty slowly and hadn't managed to keep the schedule we agreed upon. I think I can finish the project in the next two weeks; would that be OK? Happy to discuss in person if you like, just let me know.
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As to whether to include the word "stupidly", I think it depends on your personality a bit -- as stated in the comments, you shouldn't seriously suggest that you are stupid, but I think it's fine as a way to be a bit self-effacing.
(*Note, my answer is from a Western/US perspective*)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Calling you stupid is of no benefit to anyone. Simply acknowledge your mistake, apologize, and tell how you will proceed.
It is not unusual for research projects to proceed slowly for whatever reasons, so unless you agreed on a specific deadline, all should be fine.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: No, you aren't stupid. Decisions and actions can be stupid, but not people.
But you don't say why you didn't complete on time. If you were working on the project and it just didn't get done, then it is just the fact that such things are hard to estimate up front as you don't know what you will encounter along the way. However, if you just didn't do anything, then it isn't the same at all. But even in such a case there may be reasons that delayed you. Even just *needing a break* can be a valid reason for not making progress. Many people experience such periods.
There are many other valid reasons for not making progress. I don't know your situation, of course, but if you worked at it and got nowhere at all, that doesn't make you stupid. It makes you inexperienced, nothing more. You may have needed more direction than you were able to get. That is a shared defect in the system, not your fault. Lots of things can intervene in our good intentions.
Perhaps you have disappointed your professor, but on the other hand, you were volunteering your own time and effort in the first place. It isn't that you got something for which you didn't return value. Had you not volunteered in the first place everyone would be objectively in the same situation now. The work wasn't done and needs to be done by someone.
You can apologize, if you like, for not meeting your own goals, but just an explanation is the most that would be needed. But just "I wasn't able to spend the time and effort that I thought I would" is enough. But also expressing your desire to continue working with the prof would be a good thing to do. If he is disappointed then that is for him to deal with.
But this is also the sort of situation that is best resolved in person, rather than in email.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm reviewing the paper **X** related to the topic **Y** for a conference which is single-blind (in Computer Science). Also, I'm about to submit a paper to a different conference related to the same topic (single-blind).
In fact, I noticed the paper **X** is a good recent work in the literature to which my paper belongs. However, it does not have the exact purpose as my work does, so I do not need to compare my results to those of paper **X**.
Therefore, I like to cite paper **X** in the introduction of my paper, but I'm not sure if it is appropriate. Well, based on the quality of the paper **X** I expect it to be accepted (with 75% of confidence!), but would it be appropriate if I cite it as a submitted work, especially when it is not my work?<issue_comment>username_1: You should not cite unpublished work that you discover during peer-review, because the reviewing process is confidential and citing such work violates confidentiality. There's an exception when such works are publicly available (e.g., as preprints), in which case they can be cited (without harming confidentiality).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Reviewers obligations in general include respecting the confidentiality of peer review and not revealing any details of a manuscript or related communications, during or after the peer review process. Detailed for example in the [COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers](https://publicationethics.org/files/Ethical_Guidelines_For_Peer_Reviewers_2.pdf).
That said, by citing a confidential manuscript you reveal the title, potentially giving away a scientific message, and the authors, disclosing the fact they are working on a specific research question.
You can however cite a different version of the work in case it was previously published on a preprint server for example.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying to a PhD program. I contacted one professor and told him that I would like to join in his research team. He replied to me as below. Was this a positive response? How could I reply to this email?
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> "Good luck with the PhD applications! Happy to talk with you if you come to XXX (university name)."
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: You should not cite unpublished work that you discover during peer-review, because the reviewing process is confidential and citing such work violates confidentiality. There's an exception when such works are publicly available (e.g., as preprints), in which case they can be cited (without harming confidentiality).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Reviewers obligations in general include respecting the confidentiality of peer review and not revealing any details of a manuscript or related communications, during or after the peer review process. Detailed for example in the [COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers](https://publicationethics.org/files/Ethical_Guidelines_For_Peer_Reviewers_2.pdf).
That said, by citing a confidential manuscript you reveal the title, potentially giving away a scientific message, and the authors, disclosing the fact they are working on a specific research question.
You can however cite a different version of the work in case it was previously published on a preprint server for example.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: The dean of our school/program teaches a class and has put in the syllabus that if a student gets below a 75% in her class it is an F and the student will be eliminated from the program. She doesn't round up either so a 74.99% is a 74%, and a D is not a grade she offers; it's an A, B, C or F.
I don't think this is legal and was wondering if anyone else has had this issues or any advice on how to fight her on this.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> I don't think this is legal
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While laws vary from country to country and even within countries, I highly doubt any country has a law that makes this illegal. As for how much leeway professors have for setting the grading criteria, this depends on factors from the department level all the way up to the university, and possibly accrediting agency, level.
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> was wondering if anyone else has had this issues
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I am not sure I have ever seen this exact grading scheme, but professors do all sorts of stuff. The department I did my undergraduate studies in had limited lab space and therefore made sure the prerequisite classes had the *appropriate* failure rate.
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> any advice on how to fight her on this.
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I am not sure what there is to fight. If too many students fail (or not enough get As), you might be able to file a complaint. The university will hopefully have a formal procedure in place. Filing a complaint as an individual student will likely have no affect. You will need to demonstrate that the system is unfair.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> The dean of our school/program teaches a class that...
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Sorry, but I think your time/energy is better spend getting a tutor and working harder, than spending it trying to figure out how to get a D in the class that the dean says s/he won't give.
The only work you should do before getting your final grade is to maybe collect contact information of the other students. At that point, explore your options - until then, study.
There was a prof at my school that always said at the beginning of the semester that he had never had a class that got all A's and wanted that to happen before he retired. The last class he taught he gave everyone an A - regardless of their deserved grade. Professors can do, and do do, a lot of crazy stuff. Deans are maybe worse.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The professor might be doing the students a favor.
When I was going to school, a D was worse than an F. If you got an F, you could retake the class and have the grade replaced.
If you got a D, it's still not considered a passing grade, and you would still have to retake the class. Then you would get the average of the previous and new grade AND the transcript would show you getting a D in the class.
It seems a bit harsh that failing would result in dropping out of the program though. Are you sure that's what the consequence of failing is? No chance to retry?
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Your options depend on the university you attend. My recommendation is to talk to your academic advisor and see what they say. They might tell you that it's fair and to do your best or they might raise their eyebrows and help you go over her head. If your school has an ombudsperson, that is another great resource. Their job is to resolve conflict and they are typically very familiar with college policies.
Best of luck!
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> I don't think this is legal...
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There seems to be a general misapprehension among students that there are strict legal or procedural rules on academics in regard to how they assess their courses. Such beliefs are generally not rooted in any actual training or study of the law, and are far from the legal realities of higher education. In reality, academics have wide discretion to form the assessment structure and pass-requirements for their courses, within allowable university policies. The only constraint that is commonly operative on a university lecturer is if the university has chosen to adopt an assessment policy that constrains its own academics. Such policies are sometimes formulated in order to give consistent assessment structures across the university, or to satisfy the accreditation requirements of an outside body (e.g., for medical students or engineering students). The university might decide to impose a fixed numerical pass-level at a centralised policy level, but there is no legal requirement for this.
I have practiced as a solicitor in Australia, and I am unaware of any legal rules in any country that would prevent a university lecturer from choosing the assessments and pass-level for a course they are teaching. The only exception to this would be general laws of contract, if there is some university policy or other representation to the student that disallows a higher pass-level for a course. Some universities do indeed set policies for their courses that specify constraints on the assessment structure, and in some cases this may preclude a higher pass-level. It is possible that unreasonable failure rate (too high or too low) might threaten accreditation requirements of outside bodies in the long-term, but that does not make it illegal for university lecturers to set course requirements within the scope of university policy.
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> ...any advice on how to fight her on this.
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Unless there is some university policy that prevents her from setting the pass-requirement at 75%, or has some other expectation with respect to the overall pass rate, you will not have much of a basis on which to raise an objection. But for the sake of argument, let's suppose you fight her on this and you win. One problem I foresee with this is that the grade-point is an arbitrary scale to begin with, and so your lecturer could simply adjust the difficulty level of her assessments to correspond to any particular pass-requirement that is imposed on her course. Even if you get your way, and your lecturer is required to drop the pass-requirement to the standard level at 50%, all she has to do to render this change redundant is to now make the assessment items correspondingly more difficult, so that achieving 50% on the new items requires the same level of understanding as achieving 75% on the old items.
Setting this aside, it is generally the case that university lecturers are required to explain any significant aberrations in the outcomes of their courses compared to other courses at the same level. Universities usually have processes in place to review grade-levels in their courses, and they usually flag any courses that have either an excessive failure rate, or an excessive rate of high-grades. In such processes it is usual for lecturers and their heads of department to give explanations to the central administration in cases where the grades in their courses are a significant aberration from the norm. If there is consistent aberration over multiple semesters, with no good reason for this (e.g., if the lecturer is just being much too harsh), then this can sometimes lead to intervention by a head of department. This would tend to operate in the event of persistent aberrations in course grades from university norms, rather than from an individual student complaint (though student complaints might augment it).
Rather than putting your energy into an administrative battle with a person who is given wide discretion to assess her own class, I would recommend that you put that effort into mastery of the course content, and try your best to get up to the pass requirement. If this causes you to knuckle down and learn the material to a high standard then you might find that you look back on this as a valuable challenge.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: Seems to me that the issue with the 75% threshold is not that it is too high, but that is implies the assessment is easy. What that means seems the interesting question.
[ When I was student, 70% was graded a "First".]
There are definitely a number of ways of thinking about the purpose of assessments.
For example, having a "hard assessment" is good way of identifying and separating the top students. Setting it with a low pass mark still gives all students a chance of credit, with the effect of them seeing their low performance relative to the top students.
Having an "easy assessment" with a high pass mark makes it hard to tell apart the good students. It might be good at determining those that have understood the course basics. Where this course is a prerequisite for more advanced courses, that might be much more useful.
So, maybe just ask the Dean what the reasoning is, what objectives of the course are, what is the consequence of a pass/ fail for entering subsequent courses etc.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a sociology undegrad working on an essay for a methods class. I'm also planning on submitting it as a sample for my application to grad school. I don't want to be too specific, but I believe that this work is quite original and my hypothesis would confirm previous literature, and all in all I think it would would make a good impression on the admissions committee.
So basically I've run the tests and I'm getting conflicting results. Using one dataset (which has more observations) gives me very significant results, while using another one (which would arguably be more accurate) doesn't give me anything. So here I am at a crossroads, and I've come up with three possible options as to what to do:
1. Only show the significant results. After all, this is just a ten-page essay, it's not supposed to be publishable or anything, right?
2. Only use the better dataset and admit that there just isn't much there - maybe blaming it on the small sample size or on the not-so-good dependent variable. Hopefully the committee would appreciate the honesty and the relatively advanced methods that I used.
3. Show results from both datasets, suggesting that the differences might be due to the sample size or maybe to chance.
As I type this I'm leaning more towards option 3, but I'd like to hear from people with more experience in academia. What should I do?<issue_comment>username_1: Omitting negative findings and selectively reporting only the positive findings would be a breach of research ethics. As a researcher you are supposed to uncover knowledge,\* not to obscure it. Findings are often contradictory and in need of interpretation. By explaining how you obtained these contradictory results (i.e. your methods), you help others to avoid dead ends in the future and to make sense of what looks confusing today.
\*Interestingly, the knowledge that research creates often takes the form of higher-level confusion rather than ultimate certainty.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: In research, you don't set out to *prove* that something is true. You set out to discover whether or not it is true. This would be knowledge. The other is just propaganda.
Negative results are not a failure. They give you evidence just as do positive results. If you ignore, or obscure, results you are lying to yourself and others. If you design an "experiment" so that it is guaranteed a priori to produce positive results, it isn't research.
Hoping that something is true isn't evidence. Many researchers start out with that idea. I think this is true. I really want it to be true. But if it is false, it is just as valuable (possibly more so) to know that and to be able to investigate why.
Report all your results. Try to explain why different aspects lead you in different directions. Only then can your learning begin.
Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_3: Are your significant results a large effect size, or just a tiny change that is significant because of the large sample size?
Are your non-significant results similar in direction and magnitude to the significant results from the other dataset?
Consider how much the size of the dataset is impacting what you are seeing - you may be able to frame one study as confirming the results of the other if they are in agreement apart from significance. Look at more than just the p-values, especially if they are coming from a very large dataset.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> How honest should I be in disclosing not-so-exciting results?
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**You should always be completely honest:** Show the results of both datasets and let the conclusion follow from the data. Comment objectively on the quality of the two datasets, and their sample sizes, but don't exclude data merely because it gives undesirable or unexciting results. In terms of the differences between the datasets, if you know why they are different then explain this, and if you don't know why they differ, then say so - don't present your speculations as scientific conclusions.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: I'm only a student too (graduate level), but here are a couple more reasons to go with option 3 of showing both data sets:
* As mentioned in username_1's comment, perhaps you can use your unusual results as a stepping stone for further research, and include this in your application. Treating unsatisfactory results in such a way can show that you have motivation and resilience.
* If you did good work and showed it, even without getting "good results", that can show that you at least have potential.
* Furthermore, in the context of applications where people usually put only their best foot forward, your honesty may actually be appreciated and respected by the admission committee. It can show that you put science first.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: For option (3), add 'or there is something I do not yet understand going on".
This is **much more** interesting.
Your undergraduate course is there to teach you how to answer questions.
The important thing in research of any discipline is not getting the right answers but asking the right questions.
So, present both data sets, call out the discrepancy and try to explain why that is interesting and why it is worth following up.
Setting out a mini research problem like this could make you stand out much more than simply having a result.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: Consider for a moment that you may be comparing datasets (and results from them) incorrectly. "Significance" or rather the power is not independent of design. If Study A is done on 1,000 people but Study B is identical but includes only 100 volunteers, Study A is much more powerful, so (statistically) significant findings from A and (statistically) non-significant findings from B are non-surprising. There are better methods for comparing two studies, like a forest plot.
I only mention this because it all depends on the "you" you are trying to sell for this application. An undergraduate level sociologist doesn't need to have a graduate level statistics education, but if you are boasting it as a strength, you should be sure that you are correctly interpreting a set of findings.
The word "negative" (result or study) is an abuse of statistical terminology. There are issues of power, context, and precision; but adept researchers are readily throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Stop for a moment and think:
"Do not reject H\_0" means that the confidence limits include the null hypothesized value(s): 0 for differences or 1 for ratios. So what?
1) Was this study sufficiently powered or is it a complete shot-in-the-dark? Large, untenable confidence intervals can represent a crappy study or it can reflect substantial heterogeneity in the population. Were there issues with recruitment or compliance? Did you need to compensate people better? Did you administer an existing instrument and if so, did you assess yourself or the patients to be sure the wording is clear? If it's a trainwreck study you can focus on lessons learned. E.g.
>
> we recruited 30 people based on an incorrect power calculation, our effect estimate had a much smaller magnitude than was noted in previous literature. This is a cause for some concern given our calculation was based on previous research which claimed that...
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2) Is the CI narrowly on 0 or 1 excluding all other research? This is a significant finding because it is inconsistent with other literature. There's a whole field of research devoted to determining the effects of publication bias. Funnel Plots show the expected distribution of effects from meta-analyses. If the distribution is shifted with a gap at H0 it gives some pause as to whether the state of evidence is exaggerated by filtering out null findings? Important landmark research has been able to conclusively say, "No. A certain treatment does not / cannot cause a difference.
3) Is the CI wide but centered on a result which confirms previous research. For instance:
>
> A 5,000 person study of salt reduction found that the HR for MI was 0.95 95%CI 0.92, 0.99 (p < 0.05). A confirmation study of 100 found a HR for MI of 0.95 95% CI 0.5, 1.45. (p > 0.05).
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Importantly these studies agree 100%.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: That sounds so super interesting. There are statistical issues at play for sure, I don't want to dissuade you but you need to make sure that you did the math (including data collection and methodology are correct), but you can write a very powerful paper by comparing two methods. Something like:
* Method A, which is cheap and easy to collect data on but we have
concerns that it will contain bias gives a positive result.
* On the other hand Method B that is difficult and expensive to collect data on but is
far more thorough and not expected to contain bias gives a negative result.
* Therefore, researchers should avoid using method A.
I'd be willing to bet that you could get a journal to publish a paper that is written like that, given that all of the analysis, data collection, etc. was above board, let alone get a good grade in the class.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: We are publishing articles that use several different datasets acquired from user (clinicians, physicians and radiologists) analysis through interaction to our healthcare systems [1, 2, 3]. We would like to share them so that other researchers can use the same data for post-process analysis and verification.
Our work is a relation between both Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Health Informatics (HI) fields by study human behaviour, as a user of an *AI-Assisted* system for [breast cancer diagnosis](https://breastscreening.github.io/). From here, we measure several attributes, with several scales (*e.g.*, [NASA-TLX](https://humansystems.arc.nasa.gov/groups/TLX/), [SUS](https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/system-usability-scale.html), Time, Number of Clicks, Number of Errors and Qualitative Analysis). It seems to us really interesting to not only publishing around our work but also to provide the information to other researchers.
Our question is as follows:
**What strategies are available to share our dataset?**
In a near future, we would like to take advantage of [Google Dataset Search](https://toolbox.google.com/datasetsearch). However, our idea will be to publish the dataset on [Kaggle](https://www.kaggle.com/MIMBCD-UI) and then publish an [arXiv](https://arxiv.org/) document to link the dataset. By doing this, we will not only promote the dataset for the scientific community but also have the chance of being cited by.
---
[1] <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME>, and <NAME>. 2017. Towards Touch-Based Medical Image Diagnosis Annotation. In Proceedings of the 2017 ACM International Conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ISS '17). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 390-395. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1145/3132272.3134111>
[2] Maicas, Gabriel, <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME>, and <NAME>. "Deep reinforcement learning for active breast lesion detection from dce-mri." In International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, pp. 665-673. Springer, Cham, 2017.
[3] <NAME>, <NAME>, and <NAME>. 2016. 3D Reconstruction with Low Resolution, Small Baseline and High Radial Distortion Stereo Images. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Distributed Smart Camera (ICDSC '16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 98-103. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1145/2967413.2967435><issue_comment>username_1: >
> What strategies are available to share our dataset?
>
>
>
Various options are available, for instance, you could
* make your dataset publicly available on a website (e.g., your personal website); or
* submit your dataset, along with an accompanying manuscript, to a journal that will make it available.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/) is a EU-funded dataset storage site ran by CERN that seems to be slowly gaining traction. Each dataset gets a DOI immediately when you publish it, so you can refer to the dataset in your manuscript. You can also update your dataset later, which gives a new DOI to the newer version and still keeps the older version there for reference.
A workflow could look something like: (1) Publish dataset in Zenodo, you get DOI for v1. (2) Refer to v1 in your manuscript, submit it. (3) Referee wants to have more stuff in the dataset and you agree. (4) Update your dataset, get a new DOI for v2. Everyone who uses the link to v1 also will be notified that there's a new version available. (5) Submit your edited manuscript, refer to v2 there. (6) Paper gets published, readers see a reference to v2.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: Is there any point to making a complaint against my PhD supervisors?
I was never going to ask my supervisors for references but was wondering about other repercussions.
I was planning to complain informally to the graduate office and say I had terrible supervision that I wouldn't wish on anyone.
My complaint will be made on the basis of persistent misleading advice and a total lack of advocacy in terms of university administration. I can support my case with emails and written feedback.
Post-script:
Here is one example of an administrative problem I experienced.
Supervisor put forward a request to terminate my candidature in the first year of study after I informed them that I was medically unable at that point to work for a few months. I was not informed by them that they were doing this until I received an email from the Graduate office telling me I was out. I rectified this immediately, on my own, while I was incapacitated. I did not even get asked if I wanted sick leave so the time I took to heal was a part of my candidature.<issue_comment>username_1: Since you seem to have made it and passed your Phd., why do you go to the pain? May be they become more experienced and improve. Assume good faith especially if they are not experienced and you are their first student. May be this is all what they can do. May be the topic was not of their experience. If someone asked you for feedback, you can be honest and tell them what you faced.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: This is maybe a cynical opinion, but graduate students rarely have a voice in academia. Put bluntly, administrators don't care. Or at least they do not care enough to actually take any action.
Most departments will take your complaint, say "Okay, thanks," then move on with other things. It will be out your mouth and into the shredder. If your adviser broke the law (stole money, assaulted students, etc.) then you maybe could make some headway, but a complaint of "My adviser was not very good" will usually be met with ambivalence. This is especially true if you are a former student who is not filthy rich. (If you had US$5 million you were willing to give the department, they will immediately begin listening to you). There is next to no motivation for administrators to act on complaints of incompetence among their professors. Admins hear so many complaints (well founded and otherwise), that they just do not have time to give much effort in following through with a complaint lodged by a former student.
My advice is to move on with whatever employment you have lined up and never think of your adviser again. Complaining will just waste your time and burn unnecessary bridges.
---
One aspect I will add is this: Graduate students may actually care about your advice. If you are leaving/have graduated, you can tell fellow graduate students to steer clear of your adviser. That is about the level of actionable complaint you can levy.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I have to disagree with the others. I feel like it's our responsability to improve our institutions and one way of doing so is by expressing both admiration and dissatisfaction when applicable. Communicating your experience in my point of view should **always** be encouraged, regardless if it results in a practical action or not. Even if they do not act on your specific situation, your supervisor's behaviour is bound to repeat and if every student did they same, there would be a point where the department would start questioning his methods.
How seriously they will take your complaint will depend on which tone you use when addressing it. Attaching private e-mails, for instance, might be regarded as b\*tching and not professional. In fact, I think you should see it as a 'feedback', instead of 'complaint'.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: First - a meta comment. Getting out of abusive relationships with one's advisors can be really difficult, especially if said advisor is a big name researcher. That said, once the first signs are in, it is often better to cut your losses and get out of this relationship than to stay on in a bad situation.
I think that if you have some real complaint then you should make your case to the department administration (head, dean for graduate studies etc). If your university has student support resources (e.g. a student union, an ombudsman), get them involved as well. What happens next is very dependent on the advisor's status within the department, and on your department's administration.
If yours is not the first case, then your complaint can have serious repercussions towards your advisor. Informing fellow students about this person's behavior is also a viable strategy, as it may protect them from a potentially terrible experience.
The weight given to your complaint is highly dependent on what it is that you're actually complaining about. If your advisors gave you bad advice but otherwise kept their advisory roles (e.g. regularly met with you, provided you with necessary resources etc.) then this could be chalked up to style/bad luck. A lot of administrative matters are beyond your advisors' control, so maybe what you perceive as a failure on their part really has nothing to do with them. If you have written proof of malicious intent or gross incompetence, then you may have a case.
Since you have already graduating, I see no benefit to you in complaining, at least under a very narrow definition of benefit. There is some satisfaction in knowing that you made the world a better place by acting against an abusive/incompetent advisor, again, under the premise that your complaint has real merit.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> I was planning to complain informally to the graduate office and say I had terrible supervision that I wouldn't wish on anyone.
>
>
>
In any complaints process, you need to first consider what it is you want to get out of the complaint. What is the outcome you want to occur? It sounds like you are already finished with your candidature, and you simply want to leave feedback. If this is the case then presumably the same effect could be obtained by framing your contact as "feedback" rather than as a complaint (especially since you have said you do not intend to use the formal complaint mechanisms). If your goal here is to encourage your supervisor to raise his game for future students, then it is possible to pursue this in a way that is encouraging to the supervisor (see below).
If you do indeed "complain informally" to the graduate office, then you should be aware that they probably will not have much scope for action. The university already allows informal feedback from students to staff, and has formal complaint mechanisms for serious cases. If you choose not to avail yourself of the formal complaint mechanisms then your contact will be treated as informal feedback, and so what happens then is really up in the air. Your feedback might be passed on to the supervisor, and might also be communicated to the department head, or it might just stay with the graduate office. If multiple complaints accrue against the same supervisor then this might spur some action, but it depends on the department.
>
> My complaint will be made on the basis of persistent misleading advice and a total lack of advocacy in terms of university administration. I can support my case with emails and written feedback.
>
>
>
Those things are upsetting, and I'm sorry they happened to you. Nevertheless, more detail would be needed to see if these things actually constitute failures of supervision. Misleading advice is certainly annoying, but whether it is a supervision problem depends on what it was about. Research advice often involves educated guesses about how to pursue a problem, and this can lead to dead-ends, such that the initial advice may be misleading in retrospect. On the other hand, if the misleading advice concerned administrative matters, then it may be outside the scope of the supervisor's expertise, and instead be the proper domain of administrators. I'm not suggesting you don't have cause for complaint here - only that it is unclear from your description.
As to advocacy in terms of university administration, it is unclear from your description whether this falls within the scope of the supervisory relationship at all. Some supervisors do help students navigate the waters of the university administration, but there are limitations to their responsibilities. As a general rule, supervisors are not required to act as advocates for their students in administrative processes, though some may choose to assist in this area if they feel their students are not being treated fairly. Again, I'm not suggesting you don't have cause for complaint, but you will need to think carefully about whether the assistance you wanted from your supervisor is actually part of his role.
>
> Is there any point to making a complaint against my PhD supervisors? I was never going to ask my supervisors for references but was wondering about other repercussions.
>
>
>
Assuming you have reasonable cause for grievance on these matters, if you want to give feedback on these matters informally, the best way to do this would be through direct communication with your supervisor. For maximum impact, I would suggest you frame your feedback carefully - make sure you put these issues in context, and acknowledge any positive work done by your supervisors. It is actually quite hard to supervise a PhD student, and it is often thankless work, so it would be best not to approach this matter from a purely negative perspective. You could start by telling your supervisors the things they did well in your candidature, and thank them for their work with you. After you have shown some appreciation for their work, raise the negative issues where you believe they did not assist you properly, describe what happened and how this caused problems for you. You might also offer positive suggestions for how you would have preferred those matters to have been handled.
Most academic supervisors are reasonable people, and if you give them constructive criticism, properly contextualised, they will try to take that on board to improve their work in the future. If you frame your feedback in a reasonable way, and are not belligerent, then there are unlikely to be negative repercussions. However, If you frame your feedback in a way that does not acknowledge any of the work they have done with you, or is unreasonably critical, then it probably will not do you much good.
Finally, if you are only proceeding informally, I would recommend you don't give evidence from emails and written feedback in the first instance. When giving informal feedback you are not expected to *prove* anything, and if you make a point of laying out a whole history of emails to prove your assertions, this will come across more negatively than if you just state the problematic issues, describe what happened in general terms, and say how this affected your candidature. If you were to proceed to a formal complaint then you would be expected to give evidence of your claims, but with informal feedback this is not expected.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: Cheers, I am writing a thesis using secondary data and need to report on the sampling methods used to collect the data. Am I allowed to verbatim state what is listed in the study documentation? It is fairly complex and thus paraphrasing it changes the meaning.<issue_comment>username_1: It isn't plagiarism, but it may be a copyright violation. Plagiarism is claiming that something is due to yourself that is actually due to another. Your citation covers that. But it may still not be proper to quote it at too much length. Laws on that (copyright) vary by location. Look for any stated license on the work or contact the publisher to be sure.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Proper way to handle that would be to say you've used the methodology of Dude et al. (20XX), which you have reproduced here for convenience. That wouldn't violate any copyright. You dont need the their publisher's permission every time you quote someone. It only matters if you're using a published figure.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: If you are copying large chunks of material *verbatim*, and paraphrasing won't work, then you should give a direct quote with citation to the source and page number. If the volume of material is too large for a block quote, or if you plan to refer to chunks of the text over and over again, it might be easier to add the entire document as an attachment in the appendix of your own work, and then refer to the parts you need with citation (but without giving the quote) in the body of your work.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: Alice and Bob both go to a conference. Alice gives a great talk, and most people understood it. Bob gives a much more technical talk filled with jargon which almost everyone failed to understand. Do people walk out of the talk thinking Alice must've done something simple while Bob did something profound?
I get the feeling that this happens - after all given two concepts, one which I understand and the other which I don't, it's intuitive that the one I understand is the simpler one. It also feels like the easier-understood the talk is, the more questions Alice receives that aren't directly related to her work. For example I once attended a talk where the speaker talked about aggregating samples of the sky, and someone asked "why do you use square samples? Why not circles or triangles?". This kind of non-specialist question is obviously hard to see coming, and the you-either-know-it-or-you-don't result is [uncomfortable](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/91869/how-to-answer-questions-in-a-conference-talk-that-i-should-know-the-answer-to-b).
On the other hand, if it's indeed true that giving easily-understood talks makes people think you did something simple, it would imply that giving comprehensible talks is a bad thing. That not only sounds silly, it's also counterproductive.<issue_comment>username_1: I will tell you what I've observed in Math. Similar to what <NAME> says in *How not to be wrong*, one can think of depth and technicality as two orthogonal axes, so one has 4 rough categories of results:
1. Deep and simple (technically easy)
2. Deep and hard/technical
3. Shallow and simple
4. Shallow (unimportant) and technical
Some people like things that are more technical and some people like things are simple, but deep. For instance, <NAME> thought that the most profound ideas in math are simple and said all of his ideas were simple ones.
Correspondingly some people are more easily impressed by technical talks and some people are more easily impressed by simple talks. So my answer to:
>
> Do people walk out of the talk thinking Alice must've done something simple while Bob did something profound?
>
>
>
would be, while it of course depends on the audience, I think this depends largely on the talk. If you can explain a simple idea that lets you solve long-standing open problems, I think most people will agree this is deep. However if your talk doesn't make it clear you're solving long-standing open problems, then people will be unsure. And you certainly want to avoid giving a talk that is shallow and simple, as no one will be impressed.
I myself generally prefer (giving and listening to) understandable talks, and here are a couple other pieces of advice:
* Even if you don't want to present technicalities, make it clear to the audience that technicalities are present, and maybe make a few comments to the experts as to how you handle them.
* What may seem simple to you, who have been thinking about these things for months or years, may not seem simple to others. I've many times given talks and worried that it was too simple for the experts in the audience, and found out later that many of them didn't completely understand what I said beyond the introductory material.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: No.
People are impressed by Alice's presentation skills, and her ability to explain a complex subject in a way that can be digested in a short talk.
Obviously a few people are impressed by impenetrable jargon, but trying to impress them does the rest of your audience a disservice. The purpose of a presentation is to communicate ideas. If almost nobody understood Bob's presentation, then Bob has failed.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying to PhD program. I'm my 4th year out of undergrad, I have a masters and am currently midway through my 3rd year at a research org. At this stage, can I get rid of stuff (like summer internships, clubs, etc.) from undergrad on my CV that I submit as part of my application? I guess I should keep the awards, but that might be it.
I was going back and forth about debating a (very mediocre) summer internship from my "relevant experiences" section. Is there any rule of thumb for this?<issue_comment>username_1: I do not think there can be a generalised answer to your question, however there are multiple factors to consider about what you might want to put on your CV.
* As <NAME> mentioned in the comments some programmes have certain requirements. These should obviously not be omitted.
* Some programmes might have preferences about their applicants, e.g. valuing research experience, volunteer work, social engagement or experience abroad. Such preferences might become obvious from the descriptions on their website, advertisements or alumni interviews. You could try to tune your CV according to these.
* You can also choose how you want to portray yourself. Maybe you want to show extra enthusiasm by including that besides coursework and research you have even spent summers doing internships? Or you want to focus on just the hard facts?
* Which leads a potentially very important point: The length of your CV. If you think summer internships do not add anymore weight to your research experience and rather obstruct the reader from getting a quick overview of your education and work experience, then there is little point in keeping it on there.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: What is “most relevant” is your experience as a researcher. Of course, your masters course should be included, especially since this is how you know your referees. However, in this respect, summer internships may be more relevant than other activities on your resume. They can show relevant experience in industry or a research environment.
If you did menial jobs during the summer, this may not be as relevant. If you can include it, it may still help to explain the “gap” in your resume and why you weren’t involved in research or volunteer activities at the time. We can’t all afford to live without income for an extended period of time. You should not be disadvantaged for this and it arguably shows your work ethic as well.
Of course, any way to show that you’ve had interests relevant to a research career helps but is not essential. It is understood that many students only realise that a research career is suitable for them once they’ve experienced a research environment. That is part of the purpose of summer internships afterall. Many first generation graduate students do not know what academia is like until they experience it and aren’t expected to. There are supervisors who are understanding about this (although not all of them are unfortunately).
I no longer include my non-research jobs on my resume, unless they demonstrate experience in teaching, academic writing, or similar skills. I don’t mention awards (everyone gets them anyways) unless they held a monetary value such as a competitive scholarship. Competing for grant funding is a major part of an academic career any experience at securing funds on your own is worth including.
However, as a postdoc, I still include my summer internships. These establish that I’ve had a long relationship with my previous supervisors and maintained a good relationship. It shows that I’ve changed research topic and managed to learn the necessary new techniques for the new field. It shows that I can work in different environments on my own and in a larger collaborative team. Most importantly, my summer internship project ended up being published which demonstrates that I can as see a project through to completion. As such, these positions are relevant to your application but you should think about their purpose before including them. They will not spend much time reading your resume so everything on it should be there for a reason.
Of course, every country and every institution has different requirements. Your experience may vary. Do pay attention to the guidelines of the institution and if possible contact a prospective supervisor for their support and heed their advice since they should know the system.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: My friend is completing her PhD comprehensive test and is going to start research.
Her supervisor is emphasising the importance of self-learning. He is saying that "I will provide the necessary resources, books, etc., I am not going to teach you anything, it is your responsibility to complete prerequisites. There are several resources over the internet to accomplish all your required tasks".
My doubt is that why can't the supervisor teach at least the prerequisites and the subject of research to some extent?
Anyway, the literature survey and the publishing will be done by the student only. In this context, my doubt is to know whether the supervisor is bound to teach or not?<issue_comment>username_1: **Supervisors train; they don't teach.** (Albeit the distinction between terms is rather subtle.)
>
> why can't the supervisor teach at least the prerequisites and the subject of research to some extent?
>
>
>
A PhD is like an apprenticeship, rather than a taught degree (such as an undergraduate degree). Hence, supervisors are expected to train, not teach.
>
> the literature survey and the publishing will be done by the student only.
>
>
>
Actually, the supervisor will guide the student in both activities and will (likely) be a co-author of any publications.
>
> is...the supervisor [likely] to teach or not?
>
>
>
No: The supervisor has said they won't teach nor is it their job to do so.
---
The supervisor is quoted as saying, "I am not going to teach...it is your responsibility to complete prerequisites," which might reference (especially in the US) taught courses that PhD students are required to take. Given such context, the supervisor may merely be explaining that it isn't their responsibility to provide any help for taught courses.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Actually, the supervisor *is* teaching you, or trying to, at least. No, she is not required to teach you as you want to be taught, telling you explicitly what is needed. She has another method in mind that she expects to be very effective if you are willing to go along with it.
When you finish your degree you won't have any "teacher" available to you anymore except yourself. She is teaching you that now and teaching you to be effective in those circumstances. A lot of recent graduates learn that lesson too late.
Too many professors depend too much on lecturing, confusing that with teaching. Teaching is providing the circumstances for learning and for that the student needs to work, not just watch and listen.
She is doing you a favor, not being lazy. Accept that and you can have a glorious future.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: (Under the implicit assumption that the supervisor is a (full) professor or some other similarly high-level person)
PhD supervisors typically already have a lot of duties: teaching classes, marking exams, conducting oral exams, supervise the projects of the other PhD and grad/undergrad students, proofread papers, theses and reports, grade theses and reporst, manage administrative duties, prepare presentations for conferences/visits to other institutes, be a host to guests from other institutes, attend department meetings, and many, many more.
At the same time, the group has experienced PhD students and postdocs that are right on the cutting edge of the research but who have much more time for side activities because they only have a small fraction of the rat’s tail of duties the (full) professor has.
Having the full professor, i.e. the official supervisor, be the person teaching the new PhD student would be very inefficient. It is, by definition, a one on one situation meaning a high time cost with a necessarily low gain. Something that really doesn’t fit well with tight schedules. On the other hand, experienced PhD students and postdocs also have the knowledge and much more time on their hands. Therefore, if there is any actual teaching of methods or skills to be done, it will be the PhD students’ or postdocs’ job.
Naturally, the supervisor will still be there for the core part of their job: answer questions, provide guidance and point to helpful references if they are hard to find. I believe the quote states your friend’s supervisor is planning on doing exactly that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It usually recommended PhD students take courses or at least one course in the area they are doing their comprehensive exam in. This allows the student time to read and evaluate critical readings - but the supervisor is under no obligation to hand hold students through this process.
Our comps were entirely self directed. We got a reading list and took about 4 months independently to study and make notes for the exam. Taking a course allows you to unpack some of the critical trends in the literature - so they could ask their advisor if they would do a reading course with them, otherwise, nope.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: A PhD supervisor's job is to prepare and train the student for research.
In order to carry out research, a person very often needs to learn new material, and to learn it very quickly and very efficiently, much more efficiently than the average undergraduate learns material.
The trouble is, once a researcher has left the womb of PhD training, there won't be anyone around to coddle them and guide them through learning new material. They've got to do it themselves.
So, part of the PhD supervisor's job is to require their supervisee to *learn* to learn quickly and efficiently, without coddling.
So no, it is *not* the PhD supervisor's job to teach their students the prerequisites. A good supervisor can decide for themselves when it might be useful to accelerate the process by presenting, let's say, a well-timed example or case study. A good supervisor might also lay out a course of study. But to walk the student through that course, step-by-step, as in an undergraduate course, would be counterproductive.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have recently published an article (written in English) in a Finnish scientific magazine (for outreach mostly). This magazine reaches only a few thousand people in Finland. Most of the articles are not made available online and, those that are, are so behind a subscription paywall. It is thus extremely unlikely that the wider potential audience in my field will be able to access it.
Because of this, I have asked the publisher for permission to post the article on a repository (likely to be the arXiv), to which they have agreed after a 6 month embargo.
I am now wondering if it would make sense to publish this in an international scientific journal as an outreach piece.
Assume that the original publisher in Finland grants me permission to do this (with attribution, linking back to the original source, etc). What about the international publisher? Are there journals, specifically in physics and chemistry, that would consider republishing an article whose copyright belongs to a different publisher and that does not represent an original contribution?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> What about the international publisher? Are there journals, specifically in physics and chemistry, that would consider republishing an article whose copyright belongs to a different publisher?
>
>
>
Typically an academic publisher will not republish a published work, since publishers are seeking novel contributions (and copyright issues will arise, albeit the OP assumes those away). This can be sidestepped by significantly extending the original work with a new, novel contribution.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: You can't do this and it's not because of copyright, but because journals generally don't accept unoriginal contributions. For example from Elsevier's [policies and ethics](https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/policies-and-ethics) page:
>
> Originality and plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.
>
>
>
Springer's [publishing ethics](https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/journal-author/journal-author-helpdesk/publishing-ethics/14214) page:
>
> Maintaining integrity of the research and its presentation can be achieved by following the rules of good scientific practice, which include ... The manuscript has not been published previously (partly or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of previous work (please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the hint of text-recycling (‘self-plagiarism’)).
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: **Legally,** the copyright and license status is important. If you signed away all your copyright upon publication in the Finnish journal, you need permission. If you granted an exclusive license, you cannot except by revoking/adjusting the original license. If you granted a non-exclusive license you're free to do as you please.
**Professionally,** it depends. It is generally frowned upon to republish exact works (translations less of a problem). There are exceptions (e.g., medical guidelines are often republished across journals for maximum reach), but the best advice here is to supply this information in the submission or ask the editor (say it's already published in XY and why you're looking to submit anyway). Note that for publishers a large part of it is due to the legal issues outlined above (e.g., commercial publishers want the full copyright assigned to them to maximize revenue they can get from publishing your article and any activity they want to with it afterwards).
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I read a scientific paper, which is accompanied by a code library published by the authors. I couldn't find anything about its license.
Could I just reuse the code?
Is there a default license for code libraries that accompany scientific research papers? or a standard way to find out the license model?<issue_comment>username_1: In the copyright law that most countries sign onto (e.g., Berne Convention), copyright is assigned upon creation. In other words, if there is no explicit permission, you are not allowed to redistribute it. This is why licensing is so important.
However, if the code is publicly available and you reuse part(s) of it to create your own creative work, you are the copyright holder of that new piece of code. If the original copyright holder is of the opinion you violated their copyright (i.e., they think you copied too much of it directly and made too little additions/changes of your own), you have to substantiate your claim on how you deviated or added sufficiently from the original work to get copyright yourself.
In other words, take the risk or ask for explicit permission/a license to be added (e.g., MIT, GPLv3; see also [here](https://choosealicense.com/)).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Any intellectual property is copyrighted, including code, even if it is released. The authors still hold the copyright unless they explicitly relinquish it or permit certain uses of it. Most commonly this is done with a License or an agreement with a publisher. A publisher may hold the copyright to a publication but this may not include code and data released to support the manuscript (which may still be held or licensed by the authors).
It is best to check with the authors if it is possible to contact them. Generally they should not have a problem with if you intend to use it for academic, educational or research purposes (rather than for commercialisation or profit). In fact, they should encourage you to use their code and techniques to cite their work. Unless you are sure it is okay with them, you should not use it without a license. However, there are cases where the authors themselves are bound by the conditions of software that they’ve used.
There is no standard universal license for academic software. It is the choice of the authors but it is common for software developed for research purposes to be released with an open-source or copy-left License. It is worth checking that any of the code used includes the use of modifications of other open sourced code that does have a license. Many of these licences (e.g., GPL, MIT, BSD, or CC-BY) permit reuse and modification of the code, provided that the original authors are acknowledged appropriately. If software with any of these licenses is used, any code derived from them (even if it is modified) must also comply with the license of the original and similarly be free to distribute, reuse, or modify. How exactly the code can be reused or modified depends on the exact conditions of each license.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: In Berne Convention countries (which comprise almost all of the world), the source code is copyrighted as soon as it's written. Without a license, you can't make a copy (or do other things that can vary by country). So, without a license, you can't legally use it. You might be able to argue Fair Use in the US, but don't count on it, and check with a lawyer first.
Using it as a basis for your own development is (at least in the US) creating a derived work, and that's still under the initial copyright, so you still can't use it. You can start with the algorithms (which should be explained in the text part of the paper) and write your own.
The only way you can legally touch it is with permission. If you can't find a license, you can't use it. You can write to the copyright holders and ask for permission. You can suggest that they put some sort of open source license on it, but they aren't required to.
Using it internally and not revealing what you're doing will normally keep you from being sued, but it's still unlawful. Publicly using it would be an openly unlawful act, and I wouldn't try it without consulting a lawyer.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I´m looking for a database of granted and declined scientific funding proposals. The applications should contain an identifier of the subject as well as the semantic components of the application and be available for download. The area of applications does not matter.
I have already found the website of the National Science Foundation (NSF). In my opinion, there are only the granted applications. In addition, I find in the database only the application, but not the announcement.
Thanks in advance.<issue_comment>username_1: Proposals are usually submitted with the expectation of confidentiality. A database of proposals by a funder is therefore unlikely.
Some people choose to publish their grant proposals at time of submissions (me included; [RIO Journal](https://riojournal.com/) is the only place I know that does this).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: The DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) has a database of funded proposals as well: <http://www.dfg.de/en/funded_projects/index.html>.
I second username_1: There can not be a data base of rejected proposals due to confidentiality issues.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: There is an attempt to collate this sort of information at <https://www.ogrants.org/>. So far its quite small, but could grow over time.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student, and my supervisors have a "different approach" for doing research. They do not dig into the literature to find a gap and then do research on that. Instead, they just do some surveys and then hand the data over to their students, who go through it in order to find an interesting research question to address. Is this fishing for data? Is there a body in which this could be anonymously reported? Or is just one of the bad practices that one can sadly find in academia, and unfortunately in this case on my PhD research?<issue_comment>username_1: "Fishing" is fine for exploratory analysis: formulating hypotheses to be tested. It can even be publishable if you are straightforward with your fishing: reporting data is not unethical. Fishing without accounting for your fishing, however, [is quite problematic, as your question implies](https://xkcd.com/882/).
Unfortunately, in some fields it is common to go straight to publishing exploratory analyses as if they were not exploratory. Statistically, this is a bad idea; the 'replication crisis' in especially psychology is an example of the consequences. *[If you torture the data enough, nature will always confess](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ronald_Coase)*.
As awareness of this problem spreads, some journals and funding agencies have now gotten very strict, for example with clinical trials, and demand that trials be preregistered to be published/funded to avoid the increased rate of false-positives from "fishing" through data. I'm not aware of anything similar in other types of research, but certainly that's the direction that statisticians would suggest to avoid reporting misleading results.
As far as what you can do, it really depends on the standards of the field, and you are in a vulnerable position as a student. I would recommend you not publish "fished" data with your own name on it unless the extent of the exploratory analysis is made clear, and that you advocate to apply appropriate statistical approaches to fished data, like using those results to inform a subsequent study to properly control your false positive rate.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In statistical analysis we draw a distinction between two types of data analysis, that depend on whether you already have a well-formulated research hypothesis you want to test, or you are merely looking for interesting hypotheses to test. Statisticians are also cognisant of the dangers of testing bias in cases when researchers are given flexibility in identifying hypotheses of interest, or making model choices, after already seeing the data they are using. I would strongly suggest you read some of the statistical literature about these issues, and have a look at some of the discussion by <NAME> on researcher degrees-of-freedom (see e.g., [Gelman and Loman 2013](http://www.stat.columbia.edu/%7Egelman/research/unpublished/p_hacking.pdf)). Here is a basic summary:
* **Exploratory Data Analysis:** In this form of analysis you do not have a research question formulated (or your research question is not yet formulated with sufficient precision to be testable) and you are exploring a data set to look at patterns and formulate possible research questions. This analysis generally consists of graphical methods and model-fitting that is done with a view to summarising trends, rather than for formal testing. Relationships that emerge from statistical analysis in this phase are treated only as research hypotheses for the future. Principles and procedures for this kind of data analysis can be found in many statistical papers and books (e.g., [Behrens 1997](http://cll.stanford.edu/%7Elangley/cogsys/behrens97pm.pdf)).
* **Confirmatory Data Analysis:** In this form of analysis you already have a well-formulated testable hypothesis prior to seeing your data. This analysis generally involves model-fitting from a pre-specified class of models, and formal statistical testing of pre-specified hypotheses. For added rigour, researchers often pre-register the details of the analysis and hypotheses, to ensure that this choice is not affected by the data. Generally researchers make an effort here to minimise their flexibility, so as to ensure that they are not making testing decisions that are biased by seeing the data. If done correctly, formal statistical testing of pre-specified hypotheses establishes unbiased evidence about those hypotheses.
* **IMPORTANT - Don't use the same data for both!** If you use the same data set for EDA and CDA, this biases your tests strongly towards confirmation of the hypotheses identified in the exploratory stage. The reason for this is that the choice of hypotheses or testing methods may be affected by seeing the data. In the case of deliberate "fishing" the hypotheses of interest are chosen directly from the fact that *strong evidence for them is observed in the data*. Even in the absence of deliberate fishing for hypotheses of this kind, there can also be bias if researchers have too much flexibility to determine their hypotheses or modelling choices after seeing the data.
From your description it sounds like you are being given data for the purposes of performing exploratory data analysis. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. In this context it is legitimate to "go fishing" for patterns and trends, so long as the identified patterns and trends are treated as *hypotheses for future testing*, rather than conclusions from the data. The important thing here is not to use that same data to perform formal testing of the hypothesised pattern or trend (since this will be heavily biased towards confirmation). What should be done instead is to then collect *new data* with a well-formulated testable hypothesis in mind, and use that new data for formal testing.
Both exploratory and confirmatory data analysis are legitimate forms of research if done correctly. There is no in-principle reason that pure exploratory analysis could not be published, and indeed, it would be wonderful to see more of this type of analysis get published in academic journals. Unfortunately these issues are not always well understood, and the pressure to publish "statistically significant" results tends to induce a bias against publishing exploratory analysis, and sometimes leads researchers either to ignore EDA, or try to shoehorn it incorrectly into CDA.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student and I wrote a paper in the social sciences. The contribution of my paper is that it's the first non-North American analysis on the subject.
There is a working paper I found online from a doctoral student in another university, whose research is semi-similar to mine, and who looks outside of North America.
I am submitting my paper to an academic Journal. I have not cited the other students paper. It's been two years since they uploaded the working paper, and there is no sign of it published anywhere, and no update on the students (now a post doc) own research website. I tried to contact the author to ask if they intend to publish, I got no response.
I did not reference their paper in my research, because I don't think it's right that I should forfeit my contribution for an incomplete paper that doesn't seem to be heading to a journal and undergo peer review.
I am seeking opinions/guidance as to whether I am right. My supervisor has provided no guidance, and I can't find information on the internet.<issue_comment>username_1: You need to cite the paper only if you use it or depend on it in your research in some way. However, if you have a section on "Similar Research" then you should probably mention it there. You don't *forfeit* anything if your work was independent. For purposes of your degree, your supervisor will decide if you have made a proper contribution. For purposes of publishing, the editors and reviewers will decide on priority. Just because you don't cite it doesn't mean that it isn't known.
Independent research on a topic goes on constantly in the real world.
The worst case for you is that if you don't cite it and someone thinks you have plagiarized. But the real world situation is as it is. You can't change that.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I'll add another aspect to the main issue that's covered in username_1's answer. It seems that the working paper is not at all identical to your work. As you say, it is "semi-similar" and focuses on a different region. First, this means that your paper remains original. Second and more importantly, your work and that of your colleague seem complementary. You said you already contacted your colleague without response, but in general, this is a great opportunity for collaboration, for example on a comparative paper. Maybe you'll get a response if you suggest a collaborative project that builds on both of your contributions.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I think in your literature review where you point to the gap in studies that look outside of North America, you could add something like, "Little research has applied this theory/concept/idea outside of the North American context (for an exception, see Smith, 2016).
And then cite it in your references as
Author, <NAME>. (2016). Title of paper or manuscript. Unpublished manuscript. Date retrieved. URL.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: **New answer**
Comments below explain the OP posted their work online first and that their underlying question is about priority, in particular, is priority awarded to the first author(s) to make their work public or the first author(s) to formally publish their peer-reviewed work? My original answer to the original question appears below, and my answer to the aforementioned question is as follows:
Priority is rather contentious. Ultimately, no one can deny that a work publicly available before another takes priority, regardless of whether one work is formally published after peer-review and the other was merely part of the public record. Moreover, no one can deny that authors of the second work had an advantage. Nonetheless, some will argue that being first doesn't matter; being formally published does. But, they still cannot deny the previous statements. Thus, they can only make claims such as "*this is the first published, peer-reviewed work that ...*," which implicitly acknowledges that the work isn't first. I recommend avoiding such claims altogether and mentioning related work, regardless of whether it is formally published.
---
**Original answer**
You open by explaining
>
> ...The contribution of my paper is that it's the first non-North American analysis on the subject.
>
>
>
Yet,
>
> There is a working paper...from a doctoral student in another university...who looks outside of North America.
>
>
>
So, your claimed contribution is seemingly a lie: *It's* [**not**] *the first non-North American analysis on the subject*.
(I don't understand how a paper can contribute simply by conducting analysis in a new geographical region; to contribute, you surely need to bring new science. I'll proceed regardless.)
>
> I did not reference their paper in my research, because I don't think it's right that I should forfeit my contribution for an incomplete paper that doesn't seem to be heading to a journal and undergo peer review.
>
>
>
I consider that to be morally and ethically wrong. You should *rightly* forfeit your claim of ***first** non-North American analysis*, because by your own admission, you aren't first.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: Suppose there are several journals with the same impact factor.
Is it better to submit my papers to one of them or each time I finished a manuscript it is better to submit to an equally good journal that I have not published in yet.
I am early in my career and I already published two papers in the same journal and I am going to finish my third paper, which potentially can be published in the same journal as my previous two papers.<issue_comment>username_1: While I cannot state authoritatively that this is the case for all disciples, it is my experience that it does not matter. Equally prestigious journals have equal prestige. Moreover, while the reputations of the journals you publish in is certainly not irrelevant to your future career prospects, you should expect your work to be evaluated at a deeper level than just looking at journal names and citation counts.
If you want to pursue a research career, the people who will be considering hiring you are going to want to know about the substance and significance of your work. What journals you publish in may be relatively low down on the list of things that they look at. Hiring committees want to see clear explanations of why your work matters from your reference letter writers; and the committee members likely will read some of your publications for themselves and draw their own conclusions about the quality of your work.
For reference, when I was a post-doc, I published the vast majority of my papers in a single highly-regarded journal, and it was never an issue when I was looking for permanent faculty positions. I do not think the issue of having too many publications in a single journal has ever come up in the search committees that I have been on either.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In general, it doesn't matter a lot, especially if you have more than a few publications.
However, if you work in a field with a number of sub-disciplines and different audiences, which journals you publish in says something about your specialization.
Say, you are a political scientist and have only published three papers so far. Those papers analyzed the implementation of different environmental policy instruments on different levels of government (regional, national, European, international). With this overlapping topic you could have published some or all of your papers in an environmental policy journal, in an European integration journal, in a regulation-focused journal, or in an international relations journal, etc.
If, for some reason, you published all three in, say, *Environmental Policy and Governance*, this will brand you as environmental policy specialist. But perhaps you would rather like to be seen as European integration scholar, as a comparative politics researcher, or as someone with a broad profile. This is a strategic decision that you have to make especially at the beginning of your career, with a view to the jobs you are planning to apply for.
So the answer to your question depends on your career trajectory and on which profile you want to build.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Yesterday, a colleague from my school's history department brought me a student's final project from her history class. The assigned project was to produce a "creative" project dealing with a historical figure/event covered in the time period of the class (20th century United States). One student wrote a short play about the Great Depression. Another student designed a simple computer game that he ran on a Macintosh Classic II from the 1990s.
However, the student in question here (whose project I was shown) wrote a diary for a famous American serial killer. The diary **graphically** details the killings this man performed, including hand sketches of female genitalia, clippings from some porn magazines, and (as far as we can tell) splatters of real blood. *It is a horrifically disturbing piece of work.*
The student did technically fulfill the parameters of the assignment. He produced a (seemingly) historically accurate project on a historical figure from the 20th century in the United States. (Neither my colleague nor I really wanted to fact check every detail of a 200 page diary written in scrawled handwriting and splattered with blood and sketches of vivisected women). The writing is decent, albeit rather repetitive and somewhat simple. My colleague is likely going to give the student a fairly high grade on the project.
**However**, the graphic and disturbing subject matter, alongside the frighteningly realistic psychopathy, have brought my colleague to wonder if she should show the project to department or university administration. We were not sure if this student just had a distinct (and disturbing) gift for creative writing or if he was actually writing from personal experience (or something?). Is it a cry for help? Is the student a serial killer (unlikely)? Does he enjoy fantasizing about vicious crimes?
We are not psychologists, so we are not going to try to psychoanalyze this student from a professional standpoint. We also want to tread lightly around punishing and censoring a student for "thought crimes." However we also do not want to become part of history ourselves by being "that one professor" who saw potential signs of a violent criminal and opted to just give the kid an A- and be done with it.
Should my colleague show this project to university administrators?
---
### Addendum
There have been a few questions about the structure and reasoning behind this class. This is a class that emphasizes history through the lens of "creativity." The thesis of the class is essentially that historical figures were highly creative and that we can learn a fair amount about history by examining "creativity." The class is usually taken by STEM majors as a general ed requirement. I took the class (years ago) and it actually was very interesting and I learned a lot about history.
There have been questions about the grading on the assignment. I do not know the specific metrics for grading the project. I said that my colleague may give an A- on the project as just a hypothetical filler grade. I do not know what she will grade the student on specifically. I guess it comes down to how creative we think writing the F-word 200+ times in a pornographic notebook splattered with a bloody substance is. Let's not act as if all violent porn is to be elevated to the pedestal of artistic acclaim just for the sake of radical liberality. I'm not the grader of the assignment and I ultimately cannot answer how it will be graded.<issue_comment>username_1: The "administration" is probably the wrong place to look. Instead, see if you your institution has some mental health staff, whether just associated contacts, or counselors, or even a dedicated behavior concerns advice function, to get proper advice. If the university is well-organized enough to have one of the latter, chances are they've also established policies requiring you to pursue this. And such an advice line would be well suited to tell you how to go about it. If your university doesn't, figure out where to report it.
Note that, unless your institution is highly dysfunctional, reporting concerning behavior and having a professional talk to the student in question shouldn't be considered a punishment, but a safety net.
As Buffy points out in a comment, the law may further require you to do some things, and avoid doing other things. While one would hope that the mental health support staff are well-informed, contacting the legal staff (University Counsel) may be useful. That said, as a non-lawyer person, I imagine most legal pitfalls concern naming the student when you shouldn't. Your initial inquiries need not include the name of the student, until you're convinced that you should.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> [A student wrote] a diary for a famous American serial killer... graphically detail[ing] the killings this man performed, including hand sketches of female genetilia... [The student will likely receive] a fairly high grade on the project.
>
>
>
It seems like **the student should be commended** for their account of historic events.
>
> It is a horrifically disturbing piece of work.
>
>
>
That seems like an excellent portrayal of a serial killer.
>
> (as far as we can tell) splatters of real blood
>
>
>
You've acknowledged that it might not be real....
I'm left thinking: *The student should be commended*. That said, I don't have the full picture and you certainly "do not want to become part of history ourselves by being 'that one professor.'"
The OP has been commended (in comments, e.g., [by Nic](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/121480/reporting-a-student-who-may-be-psychologically-disturbed/121539?noredirect=1#comment321985_121480)) for acknowledging that they feel somewhat out of their depth. So, this seemingly isn't an issue that the OP should deal with alone: I recommend **delegating responsibility to your department head**. This isn't shirking; it is the right thing to do. (At least in my opinion.)
There are also ramifications to consider: As [commented below](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/121480/reporting-a-student-who-may-be-psychologically-disturbed/121539?noredirect=1#comment322152_121539), "[I]f it all blows up, you can point fingers. If you don't, and it all blows up, fingers will be pointed at you."
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Not to be dismissive of this, but to be honest he sounds like the average "edgy" teenager/young adult. Maybe he's a fan of horror/slasher movies/history or just interested in serial killers specifically. I'm very interested in this type of things myself, and I'm not violent in the slightest. I also did some questionable school projects when I was younger, not only because of my interest in these subjects but also partly for shock factor and to stand out from the other works (which seems to have happened here).
That being said, there's always a **chance** he *could* become a serial killer or show signs of violence, etc., but anyone in your class could without explicitly demonstrating it. If anything, show it to your superiors or talk to him about it just to clear your conscience, and if you notice any other worrying signs maybe suggest an appointment with a mental health specialist.
Grade wise, I do think he deserves a high grade if he did a good/accurate and detailed work, independent of opinion or personal taste on the matter.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: TL;DR - if you're worried, contact the department head and recommend that they keep an eye out for further signs.
Let's start with the obvious: if you think that there is a clear and immediate threat to you, the student, or anyone else - contact the authorities.
I don't think that this is the case here though. The most reasonable explanation in my opinion is that this is a student who wants to be edgy/different, and has a thing for horror. Some of the things you point out do not sound too outlandish to me (at the risk of sounding crass, you can get a pretty good idea of what genitalia look like after 5 minutes on the web), but you are a better judge of that.
If you feel like this is unusually weird, and it raises red flags in your opinion, I would the department head. Your reaction needs to be measured when you present the case. The student committed no crime and took an unusual approach to an assignment. If you start a whole thing involving psychological services etc., it may turn out to be nothing, and may be construed as 'thought police-ey' (your department head may -rightly- think that you're overreacting). Just state that the work made you uncomfortable, and that its content may be indicative of some underlying issues. There is no ethical issue with showing students' work to colleagues (including department heads). Your department head will be in a better position to make a call - they'll be able to find out whether the student has been showing other disturbing signs in other classes, or on campus.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> Yesterday, a colleague from my school's history department brought me
> a student's final project from her history class. The assigned project
> was to produce a "creative" project dealing with a historical
> figure/event covered in the time period of the class (20th century
> United States).
>
>
>
What a strange university level type of history assignment ! Why would you want a student of history to get creative ?
>
> (Neither my colleague nor I really wanted to fact check every detail
> of a 200 page diary written in scrawled handwriting and splattered
> with blood and sketches of vivisected women)
>
>
>
200 pages with drawings ? That seems overzealous, way too much work for an assignment, doesnt it ?
Although it's not your job to put a diagnostic on the student, it is possible that you dont find in the institution anyone whose job it is. In that case, **you still gotta do something *as a citizen***.
The teacher can interview the student about the essay under the guise of finding it interesting and unusual, but with the real intent of probing the student. A paranoid/guilty student wouldnt submit such paper. I suggest the interview focuses on discerning the fantasy part in it and possibly concludes with a counselling offer if suitable.
The interviewer should ask questions as an amazed reader wanting to know more about the genesis of the work, this is well within the scope of teacher student interaction
-is this real blood? Is it yours ?
-did you write the thing on a word processor before handwriting it ?
-what sources did you use ? Did you get creative ? Where ?
-how did the idea come to you ?
-how much time did you spend on it etc....
Now if the student says it's his blood (shows you the cuts), wrote all by hand without word processor, intertwined a lot of fantasy with few historical detail, and has always been fascinated with such things then it is certainly worthy of spending extra effort finding shrink help for the student.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Talk with the author about his motive to write such a piece and whether he used real blood. If yes, ask why he used real blood. After this you can decide how to proceed. I mean, is it really necessary in such a forum to suggest to ask the most basic questions?
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: ### First thing's first: Handle potential immediate danger
Your colleague should contact the student - most preferable in person if she knows she will see him / pass him by somewhere; if not that, by phone; otherwise by email, but also possibly through known friends of his.
When first contacting, your colleague should not be overly alarmist - so as not to make him break contact. She should commend him for his effort; casually sneak in a question about whether he is on campus, taking his exams, or whatever it is he's supposed to be doing; and asking him to come in for a talk about the work, to explain some aspects of it (e.g. during reception hours).
If the student cannot be contacted, is incoherent, or suggests that he is in distress - then it's emergency mode. I'm not good at giving advice about interacting with people when they're potentially-suicidal or potentially-homicidal; I'd say Google it or maybe other answers here on the site are relevant.
I'm just saying - don't have your colleague mull this over, wondering what exactly to do, in case the guy is in danger of harming himself or others in the immediate future
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_8: >
> Should my colleague show this project to university administrators?
>
>
>
Yes. It's lunacy for the instructor to try to handle this alone as a purely academic issue. The student should know *a priori* that submitting what sounds like hundreds of pictures of mutilated women and what appears to be real blood is out-of-bounds for a college class. The fact that this is not the case suggests very deep problems.
At any institution I've experienced, there is some well-defined path for reporting and getting students appropriate help. For example, at my college we have an Assessment and Care Team (ACT) whose mission statement includes "Initiating appropriate intervention without resorting to punitive measures", etc. Reportable behaviors include "Material, written or spoken, in coursework suggesting possibly self-harm or harm to others", etc. Among the members of this team are the Dean of Students, Public Safety, Counseling and Health Services, etc.
The fact that you and your colleague don't know what the recognized process is at your institution indicates that you're pretty far out of your depth. Ask your manager/chair immediately what the correct contact is. I'll close with one more quote from our college's ACT document for faculty, which I think is top-notch advice:
>
> Know your limits: Only go as far as your expertise, training, and
> resources allow and trust your feelings when you think an individual's
> problem is more than you can handle. If you are unsure how to respond
> to a specific student, consult with Counseling Services or a member of
> ACT.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_9: You should do nothing, for the following reasons:
(a) The student did an excellent project and should be rewarded for that.
(b) Morality is attached to actions, not character. The act of killing someone is contrary to ethics, but character traits that allow one to not be grossed out by the idea of killing someone is not contrary to ethics.
(c) People are horrified by different things. For myself, I am very squeamish and discomforted by apparently "moderate" depictions of misuse of power. Yet to most people, these depictions are just harmless entertainment. See point (b).
(d) If the existence and availability of certain cultural materials is psychologically harmful, the responsibility falls on society to legislate appropriately. The responsibility does not fall on nonexperts to act on their highly fallible guesses about the empirical facts pertaining to the psychological effects of cultural materials.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_10: There are several good answers here already, but I would still like to add a humble option: talk to him, without assuming he is disturbed.
"This is a dark topic, and you have obviously spent a lot of time with it. How do you feel, now you're done?"
If you think the work might be a "cry for help", such a discussion will probably help you assess whether there is any cause to worry.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am wondering if having much knowledge in other (seemingly not directly related) branches of mathematics is helpful to a mathematician in his own research. Say there are two algebraic topologists A and B. A also has some knowledge in PDE (say he knows the basics of graduate level PDE well and can even teach a graduate course on PDE) and B does not even know the very basics of ODE. Does this make any difference in their ability in doing research in algebraic topology?
I know that some fields are somehow related; for example, it will help a group theorist if he knows algebraic topology or number theory; but how about other fields that are not apparently related, such as the example that I have quoted?<issue_comment>username_1: The answer is yes. It helps. Mathematics is very broad. In the various major branches, such as Analysis, Algebra, etc. different insights are needed to really understand what is going on and what is important. In addition to the all-important insights, different proof techniques are common.
When you are doing real research in mathematics you are engaged in a very narrow study. But having a wide variety of ways to attack a problem, even if they might be suggested by ideas from another subfield, will give you an advantage.
Both breadth and depth are needed. Depth is usually what is most valued, but the breadth of knowledge helps you get there. So, don't completely neglect other mathematical subfields than the one you are most interested in. You don't need to be equally skilled in all of them, but being able to grasp the essential insights is a plus.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Here are two anecdotes from my own career. I wrote a thesis in summability theory, despite a background in algebra. In that thesis I used the 5-lemma to deduce an isomorphism between two subalgebras of a Banach algebra given an isomorphism between two related subalgebras. Later on, working in algebra, I used familiarity with matrix methods of summability to prove that a countably infinite dimensional vector space V over a field k is not Hopfian, that is there is an onto linear transformation T from V to itself that is not one-to-one. The transformation T mimicked the usual shift map that demonstrates this fact, but I did not have to know it based on my summability experience. So I was lucky to get cross-fertilization in two directions. I might have obtained the results in each case eventually, but it saved a great deal of time knowing something from a different area of mathematics.
Upvotes: 0
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