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2019/01/12
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently my research article has been reviewed after first round of revision and has been sent back to me by editor. In addition, editor has written in a very clear manner that a thorough response and revision will make my paper eligible for second round of revision otherwise it would be a waste of time.
In the light of reviewer's comments, one reviewer has completely recommended the paper and didn't ask for any change but what surprised me the most was other reviewer comments as he hasn't recommended my article for publication. both reviewer comments are complete in contrast with each other. for example, if first reviewer is telling that research article has explicitly stated its significance the other reviewer has stated that it is missing significance.
my question is, can i email editor to change this reviewer and request him to look for other reviewer although editor had told me before the reviewer in my field are not much in number. or just simply withdraw my paper from this journal?<issue_comment>username_1: Since it was the editor that said you need a thorough "response", I think you need to revise. It sounds like s/he is trusting the second reviewer. Think especially about the significance. It may be that it is there, but you didn't state it clearly enough.
I doubt that the editor will respond favorably to such an email. Just re-think your paper and do a revision. You don't need to explicitly change it for any particular reviewer comment, but you need to *consider* what the reviewer has said and how you can improve it if possible.
It may just be that one of the reviewer (either one) has missed something, but you don't really know which.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Your case is not unprecedented. This might happen. I think there are two options:
1) The editor knows that if you prepare a careful rebuttal / revision of the paper, this might potentially convince the second reviewer. Reviewers sometime sound very negative, but they can be eventually convinced. Keep also in mind that in addition to free comment, the reviewer also gave ratings. So, the editor might know better than you whether it is dead end or not. For example, when you review a paper some journals ask whether the paper will improved by revision. So, reviewer 2 might have indicated that.
2) The editor did not think very carefully, and just returned you a paper after 50/50 score. In such case, you might prepare the revision but this will not help and the reviewer 2 will continue be negative. Possibly, you will convince him/her in some points, but not in others. So, you will get another review round. Maybe one more etc.
Asking to replace reviewer might not be very appropriate, in case that the review sounded professionally. If you can convince the editor that the reviewer lacks understanding, then it might work better.
The bottom line: if the journal is not that good and you do not are to send the paper to another journal OR it is a lot of effort to prepare the revision, I think you can first write to the editor asking whether revision worth the effort and whether it is possible to replace this reviewer. If this journal is important for you, then prepare revision & rebuttal the best you can and hope that the reviewer will change his mind.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Asking for a change of reviewer is unlikely to succeed. If the editor asked you to revise on the strength of Reviewer Two's comments, it's pretty likely that they found those criticisms credible, and they will probably have severe doubts about publishing without addressing those criticisms one way or another.
I think most people who've gone through the publication process have received some "wrong" comments from reviewers. I've certainly had my share, and it's frustrating, especially when Reviewer One got what I was saying but Reviewer Two misunderstood.
The first instinct on receiving that kind of response is to challenge the review: Reviewer 2 is ignorant and they've misunderstood my work, can we just ignore them? But the editor probably doesn't believe that Reviewer 2 is ignorant, or they wouldn't have chosen them. And if Reviewer 2 misunderstood my paper... it's quite likely that other readers will too.
Usually it's better to take misguided feedback as a warning that I haven't communicated things as clearly as I wanted to, and address this by improving the explanation. Often this can be achieved by taking the points that I want to make to Reviewer Two, and just working them into the paper instead.
For example, in a comment on another answer, you wrote:
>
> he lacks the understanding of the approach/methodology which i have adopted for the study. he is asking me to include results in quantitative form which is impossible as my research was policy based and i can provide references of many other studies that have used the same approach and performed qualitative research
>
>
>
My response to this might be to add some text to the introduction of the paper, e.g.:
>
> Although it would be highly desirable to examine quantitative results, this is generally impossible because [discuss reasons]. Hence, prior research on this topic has instead taken a qualitative approach[spam citations here], which we follow in this paper.
>
>
>
Then note this change in your response to the review. Hopefully this will appease Reviewer Two. If not, then at least the editor can see that you have addressed these criticisms, and it's quite likely that you have made your paper more useful for readers who may not be familiar with the field.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate student in geophysics. I have read two types of papers in this field.
First, the field work papers that shows survey results using some particular methods.
Second, paper in which novel advanced mathematical concepts are used to solve geophysics problem. 95% of mathematical stuff.
I have implemented some paper and have created a series of softwares for numerical studies, but there is nothing novel in that.
What should I do as an undergrad to enter the field of research in geophysics?<issue_comment>username_1: Since it was the editor that said you need a thorough "response", I think you need to revise. It sounds like s/he is trusting the second reviewer. Think especially about the significance. It may be that it is there, but you didn't state it clearly enough.
I doubt that the editor will respond favorably to such an email. Just re-think your paper and do a revision. You don't need to explicitly change it for any particular reviewer comment, but you need to *consider* what the reviewer has said and how you can improve it if possible.
It may just be that one of the reviewer (either one) has missed something, but you don't really know which.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Your case is not unprecedented. This might happen. I think there are two options:
1) The editor knows that if you prepare a careful rebuttal / revision of the paper, this might potentially convince the second reviewer. Reviewers sometime sound very negative, but they can be eventually convinced. Keep also in mind that in addition to free comment, the reviewer also gave ratings. So, the editor might know better than you whether it is dead end or not. For example, when you review a paper some journals ask whether the paper will improved by revision. So, reviewer 2 might have indicated that.
2) The editor did not think very carefully, and just returned you a paper after 50/50 score. In such case, you might prepare the revision but this will not help and the reviewer 2 will continue be negative. Possibly, you will convince him/her in some points, but not in others. So, you will get another review round. Maybe one more etc.
Asking to replace reviewer might not be very appropriate, in case that the review sounded professionally. If you can convince the editor that the reviewer lacks understanding, then it might work better.
The bottom line: if the journal is not that good and you do not are to send the paper to another journal OR it is a lot of effort to prepare the revision, I think you can first write to the editor asking whether revision worth the effort and whether it is possible to replace this reviewer. If this journal is important for you, then prepare revision & rebuttal the best you can and hope that the reviewer will change his mind.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Asking for a change of reviewer is unlikely to succeed. If the editor asked you to revise on the strength of Reviewer Two's comments, it's pretty likely that they found those criticisms credible, and they will probably have severe doubts about publishing without addressing those criticisms one way or another.
I think most people who've gone through the publication process have received some "wrong" comments from reviewers. I've certainly had my share, and it's frustrating, especially when Reviewer One got what I was saying but Reviewer Two misunderstood.
The first instinct on receiving that kind of response is to challenge the review: Reviewer 2 is ignorant and they've misunderstood my work, can we just ignore them? But the editor probably doesn't believe that Reviewer 2 is ignorant, or they wouldn't have chosen them. And if Reviewer 2 misunderstood my paper... it's quite likely that other readers will too.
Usually it's better to take misguided feedback as a warning that I haven't communicated things as clearly as I wanted to, and address this by improving the explanation. Often this can be achieved by taking the points that I want to make to Reviewer Two, and just working them into the paper instead.
For example, in a comment on another answer, you wrote:
>
> he lacks the understanding of the approach/methodology which i have adopted for the study. he is asking me to include results in quantitative form which is impossible as my research was policy based and i can provide references of many other studies that have used the same approach and performed qualitative research
>
>
>
My response to this might be to add some text to the introduction of the paper, e.g.:
>
> Although it would be highly desirable to examine quantitative results, this is generally impossible because [discuss reasons]. Hence, prior research on this topic has instead taken a qualitative approach[spam citations here], which we follow in this paper.
>
>
>
Then note this change in your response to the review. Hopefully this will appease Reviewer Two. If not, then at least the editor can see that you have addressed these criticisms, and it's quite likely that you have made your paper more useful for readers who may not be familiar with the field.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2019/01/13
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<issue_start>username_0: I successfully defended my dissertation in November. Through the process, my chair (member A) was a terrific cheerleader. My second committee member (member B) was encouraging in a more specific,academic manner. At times, only because of Member B's feedback, I advanced in the dissertation process. Committee Member B broached the notion about co-authoring my study. Two days later, Member A called to discuss possible authorship opportunities. I have not given a firm answer. Is it possible to write two articles in separate journals with two different authors using the same study(not the same article)? How does one handle this issue?<issue_comment>username_1: 1. There is a general prohibition on publishing the same work twice, whether with different co-authors or not.
2. One option is just to add both of them on same paper. Put yourself as first author. After that, it's other people riding the sled. Most people understand the main contribution is first author.
3. Potentially there is some way to carve the study into different pieces and do different papers with each person without violating (1). Or maybe give one of them some later co-authorship (say on a review or followup study). I wouldn't go through too many contortions though just for the purpose of doing separate co-authorships. Divide your overall work as you think it makes most sense to the reader and most benefit to you. Then figure out what coauthors are deserved where.
4. Also consider to use the "acknowledgements section" if a contribution was made but you do not think it rises to coauthorship.
5. Finally, I would make sure that A knows about what B is asking for. They may be buddies/colluders or rivals or whatever. But he can advise you. I bet he says go with (2).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Some studies are rich and complex enough that it is perfectly reasonable to publish more than one paper, each detailing some particular novel aspect of the study. Not all are like that, of course, but if yours is you can certainly proceed as you suggest. You aren't limited to just two.
For example, if a math paper has many lemmas to reach a specific result, some of the lemmas may, themselves, be worth a publication. This is especially true if the dissertation is longer than most journals would accept.
On the other hand, in my day (changed fields and am retired now), it was perfectly ok for a student to publish his/her own work without any co-authorship by advisors or others. I don't know if that is still true, but it seems a better practice to me. I would never consider being a co-author with one of my doctoral students on their dissertation. The work was theirs, even when I contributed some things.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently in the first 4 months of my PHD in Physics, but I already did a 5 months internship before. I have some relationship+work problems with my phd advisor.
I am here to have feedback from other phd students or phd advisor to understand if what I am facing can indeed be a big problem and would compromise my pursuit of the phd. Or if things like this can actually happen and it can just be what a normal phd is.
**My questions are around miscommunication problem which strongly impact the quality of the work to make.**
---
In the end of my internship I started to have some troubles with my phd advisor, in summary it was a mix between miscommunication (like I didn't do what he expected me to do, but for me it was what he asked me to do). And some "rude" remarks related to this : when I didn't do what he expected, and when I told him that for me it wasn't what he asked, he got annoyed quite fast and made "not cool" remarks related to this.
But in the end of the internship we both decided that it would be nice to write workplan to be sure we have the same goals in mind.
Allright, so after this I was thinking that things will get better thanks to the workplans.
---
Then I had vacations, the phd started, and after learning new things at the beginning of the phd we both agreed that I needed to study a given thing. We made a workplan for this.
So, I studied it for 3 weeks, and I had really put a lot of motivation in it. Then, we met, I presented him my work. And he told me that I shouldn't have used a given definition in my work because it is not how people work with today. So basically all what I did was not usable.
I was annoyed with it because he told me to use this definition in the beginning, and I had the feeling to have almost lost 3 weeks of work for a miscomunication problem. I was very worried that this thing would happen again and again. So I sent him an email telling him I was worried with this and that for me it would be a big problem if we lose a lot of time during my phd for miscommunication problems.
He took quite badly my email, but as we had the workplan he somehow agreed that he made a mistake and that he can make mistakes sometimes. And I understand that, everybody can make mistake and it is not that much of a big deal (if it doesn't come too frequently of course). And then he asked me to show him more in details what I did (which I appreciated because it changed from the basic "you took the wrong definition, it will not be usable"). But then at some point he wondered if the whole question I studied was basically a good question to ask on the topic we are researching on.
And here I was really more disappointed because for me it was like he told me to work on something he didn't really wondered if it was worth it. What if this happens again ? Will I lose months of work ?
What's more is that we had a meeting 10 days after I started to work on this and he told me to continue on it.
---
So, in the end I am very worried about my phd. I am afraid that I will be misguided in what I am doing and that I would lose a lot of time because of it. Also it is very hard to discuss those problem with my phd advisor because he takes it personnally. All the discussions around it happened in a quite bad way (even if at least we ended up with conclusions and things to try).
My main goal is to pursue in academia and as it is very competitive it makes me even more worried.
What do you think about this situation ? Don't hesitate to say if you think I am probably overthinking the problem or whatever, I just need an external point of view, either from professors or phd students.<issue_comment>username_1: From wherever you start, the road to a PhD is never straight. Expect many turns - even dead-ends. Four months is just getting started. Three works of "wasted" effort is, in the greater scheme of things, nearly nothing. Perhaps you learned something in any case.
You are still in learning mode in working with this advisor (and he is in working with you). Don't expect everything to be easy, but it is a poor idea to start out by complaining. What you need is to work out a better communication regime with him so that misunderstandings don't explode, though they may still occur.
In some fields it is common to spend months working on a problem, only to find that it isn't going to result in a dissertation. In my case, I worked on two problems in mathematics that proved to be dead ends. One was too easy so the results were many but trivial. One was too hard and nothing could be learned. The third one was golden. But it took the other two to get settled.
You don't say it, but I wonder whether you are communicating with your advisor frequently enough and effectively enough. An email every few weeks doesn't sound optimal to me. A personal visit every week or so would avoid much of what you fear, I think.
Also, try not to get too discouraged by the (inevitable) setbacks. Scientific progress isn't easy and the path to it is long and difficult. That is in its very nature.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Let me address one point in particular:
>
> And here I was really more disappointed because for me it was like he
> told me to work on something he didn't really wondered if it was worth
> it. What if this happens again? Will I lose months of work?
>
>
>
Yes, he probably asked you to do something that now, in hindsight, informed by your weeks of work, he realizes may not be worthwhile. **Yes, this *will* happen again. Yes, you *will* "lose" months of work.** Welcome to research.
You are attacking problems that nobody knows how to solve. Mistakes are inevitable.
Occasional failure is inevitable. Confusion and frustration are inevitable. If it is possible to know in advance that a particular approach will work out, you're not doing research.
Fortunately, this is true for *everyone*, not just you. Also fortunately, the months of effort that you "waste" on one problem often turn out to be useful for other problems (if only in steering you away from dead ends).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: My gut feel and best advice is to move on and get a different advisor. You are early into this thing and the guy has two strikes. Life is a one way journey. Cut the guy off and move on.
Grad school is hard enough and for low enough pay that you don't want to deal with conflicts with an advisor. The ideal one is one who just leaves you alone. "Apprenticeship" is an ideal but not a reality. Just do your own thing. Get some kinder, gentler soul near retirement or preoccupied with administration or the like. Not a young Turk.
I would also advise picking a problem/area that is tractable and interesting to you. One likely to succeed.
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/13
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<issue_start>username_0: I have come up with a new mathematical method that has applications in a field outside mathematics. I have described the mathematics of it, and proved relevant theorems to show how it works. The sole importance of this method is its applications to field X.
If I go to mathematicians, they are saying that the theorems are right, but the mathematics of it is nothing unusual but expected. They don't readily know much about X, and have no inclination to know. So it’s difficult to impress a math journal editor for a publication acceptance. So the mathematicians are advising to go to experts of field X.
On the other hand, If I go to experts of X, they are reluctant to comment, as they don't readily understand the relevant math (unless they take some time and refer to a few books). Moreover the concept is a bit counter-intuitive to the latest beliefs in field X.
I need better workstations and some time and funding to apply and solve harder problems in field X, for which I need some support and funding, which is possible only if someone buys my idea and sponsor, as a form of startup. My strategy is to first publish this mathematical method, in a math journal, so that it gets some authenticity and help me get some serious attention from experts of field X for providing labs/infrastructure or attract venture capitalists for a startup.
I appreciate some suggestions whether my strategy is good idea. If so, what are type of math journals can I target for this purpose. I don’t expect to go to mathematicians and say that I have done something incredible, but I just want to garner enough interest to get published in a decent journal, so that it will be easy for me to gather attention from community of field X.
Note that I am not asking for a specific journal, but types of journals, and even if it makes moral/practical sense to publish at all, and if so under what philosophy?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> My strategy is to first publish this mathematical method of function fitting, in a math journal, so that it gets some authenticity and help me get some serious attention from [anonymized topic] experts for providing labs/infrastructure or attract venture capitalists for a startup.
>
>
>
You have contradicting goals:
* If you want to sell some service or software based on your idea, then you shouldn't publish it. Once published, your method is available to everyone so you don't have exclusivity anymore. Instead you might want to license it, but for this you probably want to setup a company first and get legal advice from a professional.
* Otherwise there's a wide range of [anonymized topic] journals and conferences where you can submit. You should be able to justify your method, typically by comparing it to state of the art methods and demonstrating that it outperforms them or overcomes some problems they have. It's more convincing if you can demonstrate its usefulness with some real application, but if you have solid arguments about its potential applications then demonstrating the theory might be accepted as a contribution.
In both cases the main question is not about high dimension or not, it's about which kind of problem it can solve better than state of the art methods.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm an applied mathematician and I have written some papers with a focus similar to what you describe:
* They don't include fundamentally new mathematics
* They achieve new/faster/better results in some application, by applying mathematical techniques that are not known in the application field
**This kind of work should usually be published in a journal of the application area, not a mathematics journal**. The application specialists are the ones who need to learn about what you've done, so they can use it. You need to write your manuscript in a way that is accessible and convincing to application specialists. This probably means not focusing on theorems and proofs, but on results. It may require changing the vocabulary and notation you use. It is often not easy, and you will need to spend time reading the literature of the application field. It can be very helpful to find someone in that field you can talk to, or even get as a co-author.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: You want to build a startup from your idea, having first published the idea. Although that is possible, you will not be able to patent the idea, which may limit the startup.
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/14
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently our paper was rejected in an journal.
Now, after two resubmissions a Reviewer was not satisfied and the editor sent it to an independent reviewer, who was satisfied with our previous revisions.
But now he asked a new set of comments and thereby the editor rejected it.
Our main objection is that the new comments were based on a comment bya Reviewer and was already answered in the first resubmission.
So is there any chance for rebuttal as the editor already gave 2 chances for resubmission before? and as the independent reviewer has misunderstood the work and is asking the same question?<issue_comment>username_1: Only the editor who rejected the paper can respond to this. But before you send it, be sure that you have somehow addressed all of the objections and improved the paper based on any helpful reviews.
You don't have to actually do what a reviewer would like, as you still have *ownership* of the work, but you do need to consider them in any revision. But don't just put in "a few lines" out of context or in rebuttal. Weave any updates into the text. I doubt if you have done this, but including a comment in a paper like "In response to a reviewer we would like to add..." is awkward. That stands out both for the editor and later the reader.
You can send the editor your best version and ask for reconsideration, but it is up to him/her. If you don't get a positive response, consider submitting elsewhere.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I will give the perspective of someone who has been an independent reviewer brought in on a disputed manuscript.
You do not know what the reviewer wrote to the editor. In a recent manuscript where I was asked to review in the situation you are in, I provided constructive and actionable feedback to an author. I discussed where the author had adequately answered the reviewers concerns and had not met those concerns. And then in the private comments to the editor, I expressed my reservation about the manuscript.
Do not take the rejection personally. This is a normal part of academia. I had a paper rejected after three rounds of edits recently! A year in the review process and the editor decided enough was enough and cut our paper loose. We looked at the feedback from reviewers objectively and prepared the manuscript for a different journal.
My advice, there is little chance that you will sway the editor. Accept their decision and move on. Fields are small and memories are long. Take the reviewer feedback that you were given and feel good that you got solid feedback on a manuscript draft from scholars in your field. Then incorporate that feedback and resubmit to a different journal.
A word of warning about resubmission. Address the feedback of the reviewers before you resubmit.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: 1. Move on. Haven't you wasted enough time with that journal? (Whether you were in the right or whether the editor was.)
2. Without a little more detail it's hard to get any inkling of the issues. Don't know the field, don't know the objections. But there is at least the possibility that the reviewer comments and editor decision are valid. They may actually just be valid. Or they may at least be poor communication.
3. My advice if you want to get published is to write very classic "datapoint science" papers. Don't claim big discoveries but just literally report your experiment and the observations. Be completely candid about any lack of controls, experimental issues, etc. Nobody has time to do the perfect experiment, especially the first time round. But if you are just clear what you did, than the paper is the paper.
Note that this does not mean you need to walk away from all interesting intuitions from the work (they are of interest and benefit to the reader), but just take a more caveated approach and make it clear where you are speculating. For example the report is "varied temperature and the material showed this pattern in conductivity". Intution/speculation (towards the end of the paper) could be along the lines of "The graph suggests possible onset of weak localization. Further work (e.g. with more advanced methods such as umptifratz spectroscopy) is needed to confirm this hypothesis and determine the extent of the phenomenon.
The idea is you are not totally hiding your light under a bushel or boring the reader by hiding from showing him some possible interesting insight. But you're also not going around bragging and hyping with weak evidence (like WAY too many papers in Science/Nature do).
The point I am trying to make is that it is very easy to just publish uncontested work. I synthesized something, I varied the temperature, I measured the conductivity might be uncontested. (Actually they could be contested to, but for the sake of argument let's assume that both you and the reviewer agree, here.) That's good enough. It's a contribution. Publish it. Now "we are near a superconductor" is a much more tenuous and arguable claim (absent smoking gun evidence by resistivity and magnetic...AFTER the transition, not "near it"). So you probably want to cut or at least properly caveat such speculation (make it clear it is not the point of the paper).
The same issues would apply for biological or social research (here there are often practical limits of expense and number of data points). Doesn't mean you can't publish--for instance, if you are going to move on from the work, it's actually in the interest of science for you to write up even incomplete work, so at least someone may benefit from the time spent--but it just means to be honest about the warts. And not to make strong statements of insight if you haven't done strong work to rebut criticisms.
I am not an expert on theoretical work but I think the same would even apply there. For example, "we suspect a new property of prime numbers, that every third prime is related to differential equation X by transform Y. We have checked the first 100,000 such primes and see no deviation. Our efforts to prove the relation to date have been unsuccessful. We suspect the phenomenon is related to recent findings/research in boundary flow phenomena because of the similarity of the two differential equations, but have not been able to definitively link the two problems." [And then publish it in a lower rank journal.]
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: When a conference has a date for `Rebuttal`, does this mean they send the reviews to all submitted papers including accepted papers? Or is it just sent to borderline/rejected papers?<issue_comment>username_1: The answer will depend on the conference, but reviews are typically sent to all authors, to give all authors an equal opportunity to respond. At this stage, reviewers might not have seen other reviews, hence, no decisions will have made.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Usually accept/reject decisions are made after the rebuttal phase. All authors get to see the preliminary reviews and respond to them — answer questions or clarify any confusion or errors in reviews. Often it’s pretty clear to authors whether the reviews are favourable or not, even if no official decision has been made yet.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm trying to reference a book chapter (I have the title for this). But the book's title is not yet confirmed and neither is the order of the chapters, or the size of the book (meaning page numbers are not gonna be fixed to the A4 manuscript).
How would I go about citing this?
I have the chapter title, chapter author, publisher, location. That's it.
Any advice?<issue_comment>username_1: It may not be possible in all cases, but if you are preparing a manuscript for publication and there will be delays for review, you can give a *tentative* descriptive citation, rather than a formal one, marking the other work as "forthcoming". This will probably be fine for the purposes of review and you can correct the citation before final publication.
It might also be possible, in some cases, to contact the author(s) of the other work for their "best guess" as to these things and mark the citation using their words but as a "private communication, publication forthcoming". It is fairly common to mark some citations in new work as private communication, actually.
But it is possible that the work you want to cite won't, in fact, ever be published, so you need to be a bit tentative, both in the short term and possibly for final publication of your work.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Cite what can for chapter details (at a minimum first author but hopefully title, publisher, chapter, editor, etc.) and say "in publication" or "in review" or "submitted" "in preparation" or even "unpublished". Whatever describes the situation.
This is not unusual situation. For instance I often see people cite journal articles with "in review". (I have self cited in this manner.) Obviously we don't know the issue number or page number yet.
Of course such citations may never make it into the peer reviewed literature so people may object if the work is highly dependent on a questionable result from unpublished work. But even on that, you may appease them by sharing a copy of the unpublished work. (Or may not, some reviewers/editors may balk at essentially reviewing two papers at once...others will feel like it is OK since they are just checking on a small doubt.) If the current paper is not heavily dependent on unpublished work (unpublished work cited to show parallel work or background or credit for a minor idea) than it is usually no big deal.
And of course some detail of name/author/journal may change in the future. But you are doing the best you can. Some cite may be better than no cite. I would further say that I frequently see a few cites like this in final papers and it is often no big deal (if the cite is just a nice to have cite).
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: Title is a pretty good TLDR.
I would like to get a PhD sometime in my life.
I have a stable job where I can work from home frequently. Unless something catastrophic happens, I should be receiving my BA in mathematics this summer.
I would like to continue my education. I know of many data science and machine learning online master's degree programs that I would like to apply for.
I would love to be able to study some particular aspect of machine learning and become an actual expert in it one day. Automated machine learning comes to mind, but many other aspects fascinate me.
I'm perfectly fine being an older student at any college but there are some issues that are getting in the way of my long-term goal.
Right now I'm the main source of income for myself and my girlfriend. So I will have to wait until I am more financially stable before I could apply for a PhD program. From what I understand, most programs do not offer much income. It's going to take a couple of years of planning and sacrifices to be able to financially handle a lower income.
In the meantime, I feel that getting an online master's degree would be helpful. The problem is that almost all online degrees DO NOT OFFER A THESIS OPTION. This concerns me, since that would be the most enjoyable aspect of grad school. However, if that is my only option, I am okay with that.
Would it make sense to go to an online grad school and, when I'm financially stable, cross my fingers that a PhD program will accept a student who has only attended online classes for the past 3-5 years? From what I understand, most PhD programs want to see some research experience. Or at least have some professors that you can connect with. Going to school online prevents me from making a connection with professors, so I have doubts that I could get strong recommendation letters that way.
Questions:
* What can I do with the next 3-5 years of my life to help my goals?
* How can I connect with professors who I only interact with online?
* Is it even possible to do quality research while working full time?
* Should I wait until I'm financially stable and then apply to a physical campus for a master's program?
* Are online degrees even worth it, if my ultimate goal is a PhD?<issue_comment>username_1: Rather than give a long answer to a long set of questions, let me propose a strategy for getting all your answers fairly quickly. Make an appointment to visit a quality university and a professor in machine learning. It might be a place you'd want to go, but it need not be. Ask him/her these questions and try to work out a plan that might lead you to success.
I'm going to guess that online-only education will be less valued than in-person education, but by how much, I can't say.
Yes, you can do quality research part time, but it takes a lot longer than when done full time - especially if you don't have collaborative relationships to aid you.
The other questions (and even these) should be explored face to face with someone who can answer follow up questions and help you devise a plan.
Note, too, that 37 is still pretty young. Ignore the age factor.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I have been fortunate to be in a top online M.S. Statistics program which is synced with the on-site M.S. Statistics and Ph.D. Statistics students, am almost finished with the program, and I've considered a Ph.D. in the past, so I feel like I can offer some insight.
**TL;DR I should have done the Ph.D. coming straight out of my undergraduate. Doing it after an online M.S. can be done, but you will have a lot working against you.**
For me, the online education aspect isn't an issue. My degree will be identical to what I would have gotten if I were on-site.
I am expecting no letters of recommendation from my M.S. program. Although I've been pleased with how the online content has been delivered in coursework, I haven't had opportunities to interact with professors. The main benefit of the M.S. content has been to be able to implement what I learn in my full-time positions in data analysis, and to be able to learn some advanced material on my own. This, of course, is not the point of a Ph.D.
Another difficult part of online learning, in particular *while working full-time*, is that employers will be mixed toward supporting you toward your degree, whether that be letting you take vacation or offering tuition reimbursement. I am aware of some anecdotes of hiring managers that will immediately reject candidates who are currently pursuing graduate degrees, because they feel that candidates will leave as soon as they are finished with them, and that such candidates do not apply to jobs to benefit companies, but rather, to only benefit the candidate's self.
I also don't interact with others in the class, other than a periodic e-mail to a few people whom I know. The M.S. program has taught me to become very independent and how to learn complicated material on my own, but one of the parts that I miss about my experience with the on-site degree that I have is the interaction aspect: interacting with other students, as well as professors, and building those relationships. This matters in more ways than one might imagine, not only for letters of recommendation, but also for attending seminars (I don't live anywhere near the campus which houses the program I'm in), and also for finding new (even paid (!)) opportunities. As one example, one of my peers did a paid government project due to a connection she had with a professor; that is an opportunity that I would not have access to.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I was chatting recently to a new PhD student in my university, who had recently taken her Bachelor's degree. When I asked her why she was working on the specific topic of her research, she replied that that was what her supervisor had suggested.
Nothing wrong with that, I suggest, if you are in your early twenties. But if you are a lot older, you might be expected to have in mind some aspect of your subject that you passionately wish to know more about and to contribute original work towards.
You will also, having more life experience, know more about how to work independently, and how to plan work over longer than the length of a course. An online masters will not give you anything more in those respects.
Do you know now what area of ML you would like to research? If not, you need to find out by learning more about the subject, for example by studying an online masters. As the holder of no fewer than three masters degrees, however, I feel that earning them required me to learn too many things that were not interesting and too little about the things that I did find interesting.
So, in short, there may be better ways than an online masters to follow your interest in ML until you think the time is right to seek a place on a PhD programme.
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/14
| 2,280
| 9,618
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently accepted a paper review based on an abstract.
On seeing the paper, at least one of the authors has listed their address as being within an unrecognized annexed territory, like this:
>
> Author, X university, /annexed territory/, /annexing state/
>
>
>
I am interested in the community views on whether this is reason to decline the review. And, if so, should the reason be declared.
At the moment, I intend to decline as I do not wish to legitimize the annexation in any way. On the other hand, I also do not wish to discriminate against individual researchers.
How much should the decision depend on:
* the perceived quality of work?
* personal links?
* time since/extent of violence during annexation?
Can anyone offer a good framework for thinking about this?
---
Points of clarification:
* The authors do not use the term "annex", "annexed", or "annexing".
* It is widely considered an illegitimate annexation (shared with a
majority of world states, UN)
* The annexing state is not required for geographical location/postal
address (if anything makes it more confusing).
* I do not wish to act in a way that can be perceived as "activism", or to
"create a stink"...
* My argument is that adding to the record with the annexing state included
helps (albeit in a very minor way) its potential path to legitimacy.
Please do rebut...
"Annexing" might not be the correct term in this case, perhaps "occupying" is more accurate, I'm not sure - I think the general point of the question stands either way...
It might be helpful to reference what policies journals typically have on this?<issue_comment>username_1: Since you ask for a framework for thinking about it, I'll suggest that an action on your part that disadvantages the author, perhaps already a victim, won't bring justice. Probably better to ignore that detail and focus on what the author says, and honestly give the usual feedback.
If you want to try to deal with the unfairness of the annexation, there are other places that would be more appropriate and effective.
But your review is independent of any concept of "legitimization". You are giving a service to an author and a journal, not the occupying country.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: You can decline it as you choose. I would probably not bother to give a reason (will be seen as you making a stink.)
It's probably hard to decide where the exact boundary is to making these decisions also. (What feels right.) After all borders have moved around for thousands of years and usually for reasons of force.
I might lean a little towards doing the review but certainly nothing wrong with not doing it if it makes you uncomfortable. And not just for reasons of annexation but even if you have an antipathy to the other country.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: This is a special case of a question about boycotts, but I see nothing in it that is unique to the situation of an academic reviewer as opposed to any other person needing to make a decision about whether to participate in a boycott of some group of people (other perhaps than the fact that a decision to participate will come at zero cost to you in this case). So, if you are looking for a framework for thinking about the situation, [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott) is [it](https://www.google.com/search?q=ethics%20boycotts).
Now, one thing you should expect people to tell you (I see it already in some of the answers here) is that your boycott could hurt an innocent person who may actually be a supporter of the same political cause you are trying to support with your boycott. That may be true, but is mostly beside the point - all boycotts have this feature, but many are still logical and useful means to peacefully achieve a political end with minimal harm to all parties involved.
Anyway, the decision of what to review is a personal one - I couldn’t even tell you what I personally would do without knowing the identities of X, Y and Z. As for whether to state the reason, if you do that then you effectively become a publicly outspoken political activist. Perhaps you are the kind of person who wants to play such a role - if so, go ahead, but know that this would incur risks to your reputation; there might well be people refusing to review your own papers down the road...
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: You don't have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. If you find you don't want to review this paper because of your strong political views on the annexation, by all means decline. It's your personal views after all, and people will generally accept that your politics might differ from theirs.
However, regardless of whether you agree or decline to review, you should alert the editor about this. It's possible the editor is unaware about this, and the editor will almost certainly want to know if his journal is about to publish this kind of political content. If you decline, you can point this out in the "reason for declining" box; if you accept, you can use the "confidential comments to editor" box.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I offer this framework:
**The international community of academics**
Openly published research is a global undertaking, producing results of use to the entire world, and needless to say many academics live and work in countries controlled by political forces they don't support. The assumption when reviewing work which will be published for all to read is that the author is proposing a good-faith contribution to a global human effort, that their published work speaks for itself, and that their physical location shouldn't be relevant in the review process.
These assumptions might be re-examined if you believe that a particular researcher is acting in bad faith or is a vocal supporter or direct beneficiary of political causes that you consider sufficiently unethical.
A sticky point is to what extent you consider, say, receiving a salary at a university to be support for the political forces that control a region at the time. Crucial is how intellectually independent you believe the academy in general, and this researcher in particular, to be. Also related are your views on the ethics of inaction under various political circumstances.
Without further specifics I'd personally suggest to do your due diligence to ensure that this particular author isn't a vocal supporter of the political forces you'd like to boycott, and then proceed with the review as usual, assuming good faith and recognizing the value of the international community.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: Unless the content of the paper is political in nature, I don't see any reason to refuse to review it. The fact that the author works in disputed territory doesn't seem relevant to the worth of the work. Unless there's any extra context, the author's choice - if it is a choice - of how to give their location, seems to me that it could be from either or no political view.
Of course, you are free to refuse to review a paper, but unless you're deliberately boycotting all interaction with academics in a given country or region, this feels like an odd reason to me.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: No it's not a valid reason.
You don't know why the author wrote it like that, and nothing says their reason is political. Maybe the person just felt it was more clear like this, maybe some local authorities would give them problems if they wrote otherwise, there could be many reasons.
You are making it political while it is not. Stick to the paper reviewing, this is not the place to take a political stand. Would you feel legitimate to decline if the author was in a religion you don't approve of? No because that's not the place. Your interest should be in the paper's content only.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: You asked about how the community here views things, but you also asked a number of more important things we can't answer. You're answerable to yourself first of all. How much to weigh any of the moral factors you list is really up to you; you have to decide what you, personally, can live with. (It's also doubtful the journal has a specific policy about this.)
Second, *any* action you take, now that the question has been put to you, is political. The claim that to consider this question is political, and that the integrity of Research supercedes all political considerations, is itself a political statement. A claim you are (implicitly, wrongly) "being political" usually just means the speaker has differently weighted priorities.
Third, the opinions about potential harm to the author seem somewhat overstated. If you feel uncomfortable reviewing this paper, it's certain someone else will do it. You're professionally obligated to referee **some papers**, not this one specifically.
Finally, as username_3 says, what you're considering is de facto a form of boycott and it's easy to find a lot to read about the ethics of boycott tactics. But more particularly, and possibly more usefully, if other people have thought about this particular target, there is quite possibly an organized boycott effort, and one of those tends to come with a statement of principles and a precisely articulated set of criteria delineating what and whom should and shouldn't be boycotted. If you find you agree with the principles, then you might find some guidance that way, and acting as part of a coordinated effort with well-defined procedural guidelines might take off some of the pressure of structureless you seem to be feeling.
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/14
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| 9,992
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a BSc in Software Engineering, and I am now doing an MS in Software Engineering (taking more advanced courses and such).
Once I am done with my MS I would like to do a PhD in a software engineering related research topic, but I am not sure if I should get a job for a few years after my MS - or jump straight into a PhD?
With regards to long term goals I do not think I will want to do full-time teaching but I would like to do some part-time teaching (at University level, not picky about graduate vs undergraduate) alongside a professional career.
At this point I am not considering the monetary aspect of a PhD vs. a job. I would simply like to know if one approach is academically and professionally better than the other.
Thank you.
**EDIT**
Ideally, I would like to work with new, cutting edge technologies, and be an "expert" in my field - hence why I thought of doing a PhD. I would love to perform research as long as I can then apply the results in an industrial setting. At this moment I do not think I am interested in a pure research career.
**EDIT 2**
Thanks to everyone for their answers, it'l help me a lot. This isn't really a right/wrong answer question so unless an answer gets a huge amount of upvotes I won't be picking an answer.
I guess I should also add what I am currently leaning towards.
Bearing in mind I still have one year to make up my mind, right now I am thinking about one, maximum two, years of work then back to school for a PhD.
...but time will tell!<issue_comment>username_1: In some ways it is easier to continue directly to the doctorate. The letters you get in support of an application will be fresher and academically oriented. You won't have to deal with getting "rusty" on concepts or behind the times on theory.
It can also be difficult to return to life as a student if you get used to living off a better salary and also gain some obligations that might be hard to deal with as a student.
You can, of course, use either path to explore whether it is the right path, but it is, I think easier to move from academia to industry than the other way.
In some fields, of course, industrial experience is valued and if you had the right position, say at Google or similar, it would be helpful. But most of the people reading your application will be more familiar with situations of people moving to a higher level in academia than moving from industry to academia.
That said, a decision you make now doesn't have to be your final answer for your life.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Many schools will allow you to teach part time with a masters. So this argues for the work experience.
Fields differ. In chemistry or physics, I would say push on to the Ph.D. For one thing it is more the norm to go through, for another it is sometimes perceived as the entry level degree (big chemical companies like to hire Ph.D. chemist vs. BS/MS chemE.
In engineering, I would lean more to the work option versus the advanced degree. Software probably even more so. Many great coders have no degree.
Finally, while you asked us to factor out money, there are a lot of social rewards from being an earner versus a student. It's a good thing to learn what work is like.
Give what you have said about yourself and the field, I would lean towards getting a job. Can go back later (if you miss it). Also, if you get burnt out or need a break or stalled out for promotions or laid off during a recession, you can consider further schooling at that time.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: **Work first**. There're many reasons for this:
1. It's not true that you can't work with cutting-edge technologies without a PhD. You certainly can, and it might even be a better use of your time since you avoid the administrative processes that you must do with a PhD. Check out the various graduate programs that employers offer. There might be high entry requirements, but if you can do PhD studies you can clear that bar also.
2. You likely earn more. It's not just for the next 3-5 years that you need for a PhD. If you do a PhD, after you graduate, you'll need to find a job. If you get a job now, you'll already have a job. If you do well you might even command a higher salary in 5 years' time compared to entering the market as a fresh PhD.
3. You might find you don't need a PhD. This could especially be the case if you work with other PhD-holders. You might find that you have the same duties, or that you're already capable of doing what they do. In this case a PhD is not very useful for your career and you might as well stay put.
4. If #3 doesn't happen, then you have a better idea why you're doing a PhD. You know what you want to learn, why you want to learn it, and how that skill is going to be useful for you after you graduate.
It's my observation that people who work first and then go to a PhD are much more likely to have thought seriously about *why* they're studying. [That is a good thing](https://medium.economist.com/why-doing-a-phd-is-often-a-waste-of-time-349206f9addb). I'm not saying you shouldn't do a PhD, but you should have good, clear reasons for why you're doing it to avoid possible future regret.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: In my opinion (as a non-studying BSc post grad with a view to attain MSc and PhD) there are a couple of contradictory answers.
One, it is easier to continue your academia non-stop so the self education and acquired knowledge doesn't stagnate (use it or lose it).
Two, it is a very valuable skill set to have experience in the field of a workplace, even one unrelated to your studies.
Best compromise is a year as an intern at a placing relevant to your chosen area of study. That way you get the best of both worlds. Your knowledge doesn't stagnate, in fact it may likely proliferate, and two you can show real world experience on your CV/resume.
Some employers are known to look with disdain on pure academics, especially those who 'worked their way up the ranks'.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: On a cautionary note regarding working first - I decided to work first, as there are a number of advantages. I am now 33 and have finally applied a second time this past month (the first time was 8 years ago, and much less coordinated). I no longer have strong academic connections which I can use as references. Ultimately, life got complicated and busy, and it took me 12 years to apply for the doctorate I've long sought.
I believe I am no longer an ideal candidate as a result - while I've extensive work experience, am (more) mature and know how to work hard, I have been too busy working to demonstrate serious research ability. Additionally, should a program accept me, I have fewer work years left to return to the field than a younger individual with stronger references.
As a further note, I frankly *don't* need a PhD - only if I'd like to continue along my current career track (web developer, just switched to embedded systems due to tremendous preparation and good fortune). My father (an academic himself) calls it "an expensive hobby", and additionally points out there are a lot more PhDs than jobs for them.
I still feel there are substantial advantages to working for a time first - just, be aware that you will need a specific actionable plan for keeping strong ties to academia, or you will face increased challenges getting accepted in the future.
Edit 2.7 years later: I am now in a program and making progress towards my PhD. I've found the work and time management skills involved in research to be very different than those involved in production programming, and it has been a time consuming shift in mentality (though perhaps no worse than student to researcher). It *is* a career change (developer to researcher), and I am a novice again, which is sometimes frustrating compared the the honed skillset I am using much less frequently than before. For me the shift is worth obtaining my personal goals - but I would never recommend it to everyone :).
Regarding keeping ties to academia - it is hard to stand in two boats. Employers expect real commitment, and academics are busy. With a "publish or perish" mindset it is hard to devote resources to a long term long shot with low payoff. There might be no easy answer.
Perhaps a series of internships is the best route forward if some industry experience is desired. However it is unlikely you'd become a principal or lead software engineer and put in charge of large and important projects without significant time and commitment. My experience is difficult (and likely undesirable) to replicate.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Work first.
The practical experience will guide your thoughts and interests as a Ph.D. You'll also known your attainable market worth before the doctorate. Between BSc and MSc should be a noticeable difference. Same with between MSc and PhD, but you'll never be able to gauge this (and know confident where you stand) if you haven't worked a full-time job with the MSc first. One year is enough. Any longer then 3 years, and the great pay may become a deterrent (opportunity cost). Sounds strange, but maybe two 18 month stints at 2 different companies, for proper contrast, if you can pull it off.
Consider full-time work after the MSc, as research. You cannot understand industry form the outside. Get in there. Collect info. Understand the good and bad sides. Work on production-level projects, and in teams (good or bad). In short. Don't just jump from MSc to PhD.
Was going to end there, but... have you looked into what school you would attend? I get the sense this isn't about prestige. Therefore, I suggest taking time (i.e. while you work) to look into programs abroad.(MSc and PhD programs in many countries can be cheap. Especially if you've saved you own money - from working!) Great opportunity to combine additional study with a different life experience.
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/14
| 588
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate student and I am writing my CV which I am going to send to my professor for a position as a junior researcher. My questions are:
* How should I present my education (including the bachelor that I am going to finish in a year) ?
* I am currently doing my thesis which I am going to finish in 6 months. How should I present it given that I haven't finished it yet ?<issue_comment>username_1: This is how I usually see students present education and work in progress:
>
> **Bachelor of Science**, *expected December 2019*
>
>
> *University of State*
>
>
> Major: Physics
>
>
> * Senior Thesis: "Reflection of bivariate light distributions" (Expected completion July 2019).
> * Major GPA 3.78/4.00
>
>
> Minor: Greek History
>
>
>
Using the "expected" tag is usually an indicator that the work/degree is not yet completed, but is in progress. If the project lead has further questions he/she can ask you about your work in more detail. They likely are perfectly aware that you have not completed everything for the degree. People apply for jobs all the time under the premise of expected education/projects.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As a post grad (BSc) not currently in an advanced degree program I can only say what my approach would be. Firstly id listen with all ears to username_1, being personally experienced in the revirw of such documents.
But as for my humble opinion, id just be straight up. Describe succinctly/briefly the topic/title of the thesis, maybe include some of the thought processes that led to the substance of the paper, (the addition of an expected time of completion is not something id have thought of but is an excellent idea).
Depending on how descriptive/well understood the content of your degree is i might include a list of the relevant modules/classes that show your specialist studies. For example i did a Natural Sciences degree (a vague descriptor im sure you'd agree), however it was a molecular/cellular bio and classical chem double major, so after year one there was no geology, no whole life bio, no evolution, no physics (except that involved in physical chemistry etc) so it was necessary to specify the detail of what i actually had been educated in.
Hope that gives you something to think about.
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/15
| 1,195
| 5,120
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<issue_start>username_0: I have recently shared a [video](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6474879610864619520/) on LinkedIn about a project I was involved in while working as a part-time Research Assistant. Besides this project, I have a number of other robots that might be commercialized.
Having shared this video, I received several messages asking whether this robot will be soon on the market or whether we have an early adopter program.
This is something we have not even remotely considered. Can a product that has been developed in University be conceptualized or made commercially available by the University or the Research laboratory?
I know some people that started a company and turned their PhD research into a startup. But this is not something I am considering. In this case, the University is the owner of the product that has been developed and we are not allowed to take anything outside the campus.
If I invent something while I am working in the domain of the University, can revenue be created by selling this product?<issue_comment>username_1: The answer - at least in the US - is pretty well always "yes", it just depends on who has to sign off on the legal agreements and what they want in exchange for doing so.
The most common path is that institutions will have some equivalent of an intellectual property office, which handles legal agreements, licenses, royalties, etc. Most big institutions now have a requirement that staff must report any potentially valuable IP to them so they can protect and/or sell it and/or disavow it as it pleases them.
In R1 institutions, this isn't a rare thing - it's big business, with many regularly bringing in tens of millions or more in yearly revenue agreements.
However, in general Universities won't directly sell products. Instead, they will license out the tech to whoever wants to do business. It is common even for institutions to offer exclusive licenses to their own students/faculty to develop companies, provide seed funding grants, offer placement in incubators, and provide the licenses in such a way that there are no up-front costs and money is only owed back to the institute once revenue has gone beyond some threshold (often a few hundred thousand USD, but YMMV).
The big complexity is generally in how the project was funded and what the IP agreements everyone almost inevitably signed somehow indicates. Contracts where the government was involved in granting can get a bit more complicated, but generally the whole system has grown to be very accommodating in favor of people finding a way to bring more money into the system. Go figure.
Of course, a University rarely if ever sell the products in any kind of direct relationship. Instead there is a system of licensing and so on that moves that over to private companies, with the institution getting a piece of the action.
Some systems are more generous than others (and others more aggressive in claiming ownership over as much as possible), so you'll need to check with your local intellectual property office if you are interested in knowing more precisely how things work in your neck of the woods.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The first two answers here give generally valid advice, but don't mention patents and patent law. You can monetize any idea unless someone else holds a patent and you don't have a license to use it. So, for things that *can* be patented (inventions) it is generally a good, if expensive and time consuming, idea to do so.
Many universities have, in their general rules, a claim to be able to patent, in the University name, anything invented there. This may apply to you or not. The rule is a mixed blessing/curse since it is expensive to obtain a patent and lawyers are required. But the university, while holding the patent, may either give you a license for things you invent, or separately license the invention and share proceeds with the inventor. But you need to check to see if you have implicitly agreed to this in your employment contracts.
The same might be true of funding agencies, but the rules will vary and they will/should be explicit in contracts. If you anticipate inventing things it is good to work out the details before you start if that is at all possible.
One can, of course, monetize an idea without a patent (unless someone else holds one). You can, with certain actions, put the invention into the public domain, making it unpatentable. Then anyone can monetize it. Much of the internet is like that, since the invention was generally US government funded and so, for most things, the public owns the result.
But, I'm not a lawyer, and so what I say is tentative, and perhaps a bit conservative, so you don't get into trouble. As [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123134/75368) says, see your university research or IP office for help and advice. They normally employ the necessary experts and can assist you. But, don't assume that you "own" and invention just because you invented it. Patent isn't very much like copyright, which is automatic.
Upvotes: 1
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2019/01/15
| 1,190
| 5,229
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a third-year Ph.D. student in the Industrial Engineering department and my supervisor owns a company based on the technology which I initially intended to work on under his supervision. I am mostly interested in the technical aspects of his work, for example, modifying software and hardware to enhance the capability of the existing method. But my supervisor wants me to work on validation of his product to be clinically approved.
I have already submitted a paper (under review) based on validation of his product and now he wants my whole Ph.D. to be based on validation by preparing more validation papers. I am good with programming and software (my initial interest) but he thinks I am not capable of doing that for the product development. More importantly, he wants me to publish papers on behalf of his product for FDR approval which later I found out his primary purpose.
With this topic neither can I publish original scientific research work since all my papers will be based on validation of an existing product nor can I gain expertise about any tools or software. Will it worth later if I stick to it and manage to get a Ph.D.?<issue_comment>username_1: The answer - at least in the US - is pretty well always "yes", it just depends on who has to sign off on the legal agreements and what they want in exchange for doing so.
The most common path is that institutions will have some equivalent of an intellectual property office, which handles legal agreements, licenses, royalties, etc. Most big institutions now have a requirement that staff must report any potentially valuable IP to them so they can protect and/or sell it and/or disavow it as it pleases them.
In R1 institutions, this isn't a rare thing - it's big business, with many regularly bringing in tens of millions or more in yearly revenue agreements.
However, in general Universities won't directly sell products. Instead, they will license out the tech to whoever wants to do business. It is common even for institutions to offer exclusive licenses to their own students/faculty to develop companies, provide seed funding grants, offer placement in incubators, and provide the licenses in such a way that there are no up-front costs and money is only owed back to the institute once revenue has gone beyond some threshold (often a few hundred thousand USD, but YMMV).
The big complexity is generally in how the project was funded and what the IP agreements everyone almost inevitably signed somehow indicates. Contracts where the government was involved in granting can get a bit more complicated, but generally the whole system has grown to be very accommodating in favor of people finding a way to bring more money into the system. Go figure.
Of course, a University rarely if ever sell the products in any kind of direct relationship. Instead there is a system of licensing and so on that moves that over to private companies, with the institution getting a piece of the action.
Some systems are more generous than others (and others more aggressive in claiming ownership over as much as possible), so you'll need to check with your local intellectual property office if you are interested in knowing more precisely how things work in your neck of the woods.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The first two answers here give generally valid advice, but don't mention patents and patent law. You can monetize any idea unless someone else holds a patent and you don't have a license to use it. So, for things that *can* be patented (inventions) it is generally a good, if expensive and time consuming, idea to do so.
Many universities have, in their general rules, a claim to be able to patent, in the University name, anything invented there. This may apply to you or not. The rule is a mixed blessing/curse since it is expensive to obtain a patent and lawyers are required. But the university, while holding the patent, may either give you a license for things you invent, or separately license the invention and share proceeds with the inventor. But you need to check to see if you have implicitly agreed to this in your employment contracts.
The same might be true of funding agencies, but the rules will vary and they will/should be explicit in contracts. If you anticipate inventing things it is good to work out the details before you start if that is at all possible.
One can, of course, monetize an idea without a patent (unless someone else holds one). You can, with certain actions, put the invention into the public domain, making it unpatentable. Then anyone can monetize it. Much of the internet is like that, since the invention was generally US government funded and so, for most things, the public owns the result.
But, I'm not a lawyer, and so what I say is tentative, and perhaps a bit conservative, so you don't get into trouble. As [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123134/75368) says, see your university research or IP office for help and advice. They normally employ the necessary experts and can assist you. But, don't assume that you "own" and invention just because you invented it. Patent isn't very much like copyright, which is automatic.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a fourth year undergraduate student in a university in the U.S., and this is my last semester. I have already applied to graduate schools, and I'm currently awaiting responses. Since I have already finished all my requirements and am ready to graduate, I wanted to go part time this semester. I am aware of how it affects my financial aid; however, I do not know if it has an effect on my admittance to graduate school. *I do not mean whether or not I get accepted (the decisions will happen without knowledge of my current semester), but whether I am eligible to attend graduate school if I have been part time for a semester*. That is, will there be any potential issues when the schools that have accepted me see my final transcript and see I was part time? Is there a universal answer to this? Or should I contact each school individually and ask about their policy?
Also, are there any other potential issues with going part time that I haven't mentioned? Anything noteworthy I might have missed?<issue_comment>username_1: The answer - at least in the US - is pretty well always "yes", it just depends on who has to sign off on the legal agreements and what they want in exchange for doing so.
The most common path is that institutions will have some equivalent of an intellectual property office, which handles legal agreements, licenses, royalties, etc. Most big institutions now have a requirement that staff must report any potentially valuable IP to them so they can protect and/or sell it and/or disavow it as it pleases them.
In R1 institutions, this isn't a rare thing - it's big business, with many regularly bringing in tens of millions or more in yearly revenue agreements.
However, in general Universities won't directly sell products. Instead, they will license out the tech to whoever wants to do business. It is common even for institutions to offer exclusive licenses to their own students/faculty to develop companies, provide seed funding grants, offer placement in incubators, and provide the licenses in such a way that there are no up-front costs and money is only owed back to the institute once revenue has gone beyond some threshold (often a few hundred thousand USD, but YMMV).
The big complexity is generally in how the project was funded and what the IP agreements everyone almost inevitably signed somehow indicates. Contracts where the government was involved in granting can get a bit more complicated, but generally the whole system has grown to be very accommodating in favor of people finding a way to bring more money into the system. Go figure.
Of course, a University rarely if ever sell the products in any kind of direct relationship. Instead there is a system of licensing and so on that moves that over to private companies, with the institution getting a piece of the action.
Some systems are more generous than others (and others more aggressive in claiming ownership over as much as possible), so you'll need to check with your local intellectual property office if you are interested in knowing more precisely how things work in your neck of the woods.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The first two answers here give generally valid advice, but don't mention patents and patent law. You can monetize any idea unless someone else holds a patent and you don't have a license to use it. So, for things that *can* be patented (inventions) it is generally a good, if expensive and time consuming, idea to do so.
Many universities have, in their general rules, a claim to be able to patent, in the University name, anything invented there. This may apply to you or not. The rule is a mixed blessing/curse since it is expensive to obtain a patent and lawyers are required. But the university, while holding the patent, may either give you a license for things you invent, or separately license the invention and share proceeds with the inventor. But you need to check to see if you have implicitly agreed to this in your employment contracts.
The same might be true of funding agencies, but the rules will vary and they will/should be explicit in contracts. If you anticipate inventing things it is good to work out the details before you start if that is at all possible.
One can, of course, monetize an idea without a patent (unless someone else holds one). You can, with certain actions, put the invention into the public domain, making it unpatentable. Then anyone can monetize it. Much of the internet is like that, since the invention was generally US government funded and so, for most things, the public owns the result.
But, I'm not a lawyer, and so what I say is tentative, and perhaps a bit conservative, so you don't get into trouble. As [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123134/75368) says, see your university research or IP office for help and advice. They normally employ the necessary experts and can assist you. But, don't assume that you "own" and invention just because you invented it. Patent isn't very much like copyright, which is automatic.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently in the process of changing my advisor and hence looking for new prospective advisors at my university. I got interviewed by one and she asked If I was in touch with any other advisors. I told her what the truth was but what exactly is the reason for asking this question? What does the potential advisor want to know?<issue_comment>username_1: One reason an advisor might ask this question is to know how time-sensitive the decision process is. If you're not considering other advisors at the same time, there is no competition and the potential advisor can spend some more time making her decision.
Another reason might be to gauge your interest in her research activities based on the other people to whom you're talking. Are you looking only at her field or are you looking more widely? Since you're coming from someone else at the same university, she'd likely be using such choices as a means of determining your level of interest in what she's doing. In other words, she probably wants to know if you're just looking for *any* advisor, and she happens to be someone you're talking to, or looking at her as a serious option.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: It's possible she may want to discuss your academic future with other faculty members. Bouncing ideas of other potential advisors to come up with the best fit for you wouldn't be outside of the realm of possibilities.
If the situation arises again, I wouldn't hesitate to inquire "Why do you ask?"
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This is a question I often ask prospective students when they ask me about being their adviser, whether it's for initial advising or to try to change. There are a few reasons:
* It may give me a better understanding of precisely what parts of my work interest them. If a student is attracted to both my work and that of a software engineering professor, they likely have a different set of interests than if their other possible interests are privacy or machine learning.
* If I know who else they're talking with, I can better help them find the best fit. That best fit may well be one of the other faculty members they're talking with.
* If they *aren't* talking with anyone else, I can suggest they do so, and perhaps make a few specific suggestions.
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: A few days ago one of my former PhD students (in fact Dr. since I'm in Germany) contaced me and asked me, if there is any chance to finish their PhD thesis. The work was done at a different institution where I was active years ago and I was one of the two advisors.
A rough outline of the facts:
* At the time the work was done, it was quite innovative. The work was done in an interdisciplinary field and the person had to dig deep into "the other field" and did a good job. There was a tangible result and an evalutation was performed based on a small group of participants.
* The tanglible result was novel at that time, the evaluation of the new system was in line with current findings at that time and confirmed the usefulness and practicability.
* The work was not submitted since it was not completed when the contract of that person ended, and after working in the new job, it took a while (~1-2 years) to bring everything to paper.
* When this was done (about 3 years ago), the person was in doubt whether "the results are enough" and "whether the validation was proper enough". My feeling was it was enough to at least obtain the grade, even though one could critisize a few things (e.g. size and quality of the study participants), but it was in line with many other theses in this field. The person told me that my remarks would be considered and that I would be contacted if any decision was made.
* Now (about 8-9 years after the work was done) the person contacted me and asked, if I would see any chance to "bring this work to an end" - either with the "Dr." title (no matter which grade) or to finally dump it. The person is willing to add some extra work (e.g. doing another evaluation study), but the system developed is outdated from todays point of view and I would see little benefit in an additional study.
The "Dr." title is quite helpful in the field the person is working in.
* The technical system itself is still quite unique in the field.
I don't want to bias your answers so I would prefer not to tell at the moment how I responded, but I would appreciate thoughts and experience based on the following questions:
* Did you ever experience a PhD handing in the thesis many (>5) years after completition? If yes, was it accepted?
* If it was accepted, has it been evaluated based on the state of the art when the thesis work was done, or based on the current state of the art?
Bonus question (but opinion based, therefore just as a bonus ;-) ): How would you proceed? (Keep in mind that the was not done in a structured PhD program but as an employee in a research project for a limited time. And we are in Germany.)<issue_comment>username_1: Unfortunately much of the answer to your question has been given in comments. Let me summarize and then give a personal view as you request.
Yes, many places have a time limit. This is to encourage the student to maintain progress and to limit resources spent on the student's behalf. Your case doesn't really involve either of these and you say there are no limits in any case.
Yes, a degree given today should, in theory, meet today's standards as user <NAME> has stated.
Yes, it is Germany, where, if I understand it correctly, the rules can be quite formal and, perhaps strictly applied.
An anecdote. I once had a colleague who did world shaking research with some of the top people in CS at the time, but never "earned" his doctorate as he was too busy doing the good work that others are known for. Not that the others don't deserve their acclaim, but my friend just didn't ever put the finishing touches on his work. I once suggested (as he was about to retire) that the university award him an honorary doctorate or lobby another "friendly" university to do so, based on his past work. That this didn't happen always made me sad, as he was, likely, the deepest thinker on our faculty.
My inclination would be to do "whatever it takes" to work with the student to achieve the goal, even if some rules need to be bent a bit. In particular, I would lobby the faculty as a whole to reach a point of awarding a degree by acclamation, or some such thing. I might fail, of course, but I would try.
The reasoning is that the student isn't "shirking" and being given a gift but it is simply a recognition of small, perhaps inconsequential, effects that caused the situation to occur. Letting it go on, or requiring extensive work, seems to me to be letting an injustice fester.
Unfortunately another answer here was very rude and was deleted, but I think that it gave good bottom-line advice. Make it so.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I am not clear that after completion has much meaning outside getting awarded a degree or outward facing milestones, at least not to the outside world. But, with that caveat, there is precedent here:
* Other than rules internally imposed by universities there is no agreement that there is "you only get so long" to do it clause in the academia. There are "it might be exploitative to keep a PhD strung along as cheap labour" general agreement, but it's clear that's not what's going on here.
* A PhD's merit is measured by contribution to the field. When the work was done should not have any bearing. If work was published during this time, that's a different matter and could well be reasonably judged relative to the state of the art at the time it was published. I don't know if this would be assured though.
Bonus round:
Ask someone with authority if you think it has a decent chance. Ultimately this will boil down to if a university is willing to take on the case (and if an external examiner could be found to support it, but this is rarely an insurmountable issue). I would say there is at least merit to push this further (if you want to, but I would see it as the right thing).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Did you ever experience a PhD handing in the thesis many (>5) years
> after completition? If yes, was it accepted?
>
>
>
Our department actually just went through this. Our process involved a justification of why the gap occurred, a defense of the student's standing both at the time the gap occurred and now, and a defense of the scientific merits of the research (and how it wasn't completely stale).
>
> If it was accepted, has it been evaluated based on the state of the
> art when the thesis work was done, or based on the current state of
> the art?
>
>
>
Current.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: The countdown to ending my studies has begun, with less than a year left to finish my PhD. I'm currently very confused about whether or not going for a post-doc, considering that I have recently found out that [physicists can do something outside academia](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/56449/what-are-paths-that-physics-majors-phds-can-follow). I might therefore look for a job in the private sector.
I work in a mathematical physics sub-field called quantum chaos. I have been programing in Python and Mathematica for the past 3 or 4 years. Although my research does not include data analysis, I do have some small experience in neural networks using Keras, which I believe would not be too hard to fine tune. At the end of my PhD I will have published no more than two papers, both possibly in Physical Review A (impact factor 3), but maybe one will be accepted in Physical Review Letters (impact factor 9). I will also have participated in two or three international conferences. I do speak some four or five languages.
So what? I understand that if I apply for a post-doc my achievements can be seen as standard, and I already have a CV aimed at presenting my research work. The problem is: what should I put in a CV aimed at triggering the private sector's attention? I see my work as immensely irrelevant. I understand that physicists are quick to find patterns and solve problems, but they must be employed to get a chance to show it. Are they really going to care if I add that I have experience dealing with harmonic analysis in cotangent bundles or that I have shown that a certain coherent state propagator is not actually an element of a Bargmann-Segal space? I have absolutely no experience working in any sort of industry, and the only assets I can offer are a reasonable knowledge of Python and Keras and the languages I speak. Any imaginable CV I write will probably make an employer laugh at me. Do I even have a chance here?<issue_comment>username_1: I see little reason, actually, to limit yourself to a single CV. You can have a comprehensive one, of course, that covers every interesting thing you've done, but you can also provide tailored CVs to particular purposes, leaving out the things that you believe to be irrelevant to a reader.
This implies, of course, that you aren't posting the CV to a general public site for everyone to see.
You need to be honest, of course, but the CV needs to include only relevant things. Those are naturally different for academia and industry. In fact, for industry, different potential employers might see different CVs depending on the work they do and whatever it is that you do that might be relevant to it.
Alternatively, you could provide, for a particular employer, a different organization of your CV, listing the most relevant things in a special section and the other stuff (or most of it) in a later section. The reader will focus on the relevant stuff, I think and will give up on the esoterica.
I was once advised by an employment counselor to not say that I held a PhD when looking for an industry position. There were no academic positions available at the time and, in industry, an MS was thought of as more valuable than a PhD.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Your private sector CV needs to be different than your academic CV. I can give you a little insight into this. The best way to think about it is that your private CV highlights your skill set and your academic CV highlights your publications. I recently decided to accept a position in academia rather than go into industry but I still applied to both.
My resume is a page long, my CV is longer than a single page. My resume was ordered as such-
1. education/work experience
2. Recent examples of work
3. technical skills (programming, analysis, etc)
4. soft skills (spoken languages, leadership, etc)
As for what you can do with a physic phd, my friend ended up taking a job at a bank. More than one physics phd is not interested in doing 2-3 post docs before finally having the street cred for an R1 to hire them. This is especially the case when they can make nearly double (or more) going straight into industry.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: **""CV""** is for academia. **"Resume"** is for outside the ivory tower (government, McKinsey, Goldman, Google, industrial companies, etc.)
Postdoc or professor jobs will expect a "CV" which is a longer document listing all your publications, conferences attended, etc. It can often be several pages long.
The rest of the free world just expects a standard "resume" like in all the "how to write a resume" books. Instead of listing your publications, you can just say X peer reviewed papers written as a bullet point.
This is 1-2 pages even if you are 60 years old and extremely high ranked. While there will be some differences in the content, it really doesn't look that different for a CEO, secretary, industrial scientist, HR manager, or whatever. For someone under 40 (arbitrary, but my guideline), don't exceed 1 page. Right now you will maybe be straining a little to come up with bullet points of work or quasi work experience. But this will change as you progress and will be the opposite problem!
*This is very, very far from a fresh novel problem (people graduating and needing to write up CV/resume). There is a HUGE amount of advice out there.* Lots of books on this. Your guidance center can advise you on this also (even giving you feedback on your document itself). Also good to compare/contrast resumes (or CVs I guess) done by people currently interviewing.
P.s. It's normal at places like Google, McKinsey, Goldman, NSA, etc. that they would take an entry level Ph.D. and then have him do something different from his direct experience. (Same thing applies for chemists and engineers in more mechanical industries.) They just see you as a fresh smart face. You've cut your teeth on some topic but very unlikely to keep working in same exact subfield. (It would be great if you could for your sake and theirs, but it is really just rare from either side to find perfect matches. Employers end up going for the "good athlete" versus the skilled player. Given the physics and the programming, everyone knows you are smart and can do something.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: This is why it's a good idea to think about these things during, or preferably before, your PhD. You're picking up skills, but how useful those skills are and how you're going to use them is a big question. Fortunately, you're not out of options, and you've probably learned more than you think. Some thoughts:
* You should absolutely list Keras. With the amount of hype machine learning has been getting having experience with neural networks is a big deal. I'd go much more than that: list everything you know about data analysis. It doesn't matter if it's something as simple as linear regression. List it all, give details.
* You should absolutely list Python as well. In fact, list all the programming languages you know. You don't have to be an expert in all of them because you can learn the others quickly. Are you able to read C/C++ code? Java? R? You can also list Mathematica.
* You should absolutely list all the languages you can speak. These skills aren't easy to pick up. If you can speak Japanese for example, that might make you the only viable candidate for a company that's looking to send a consultant to a Japanese client.
* What else did you learn in your research? Did you learn any algorithms that might have wider applications? For example, did you learn how to parallelize code? Did you learn how to use a Linux terminal? Git and Github?
* Did you engage in science communication and / or teaching? If so definitely list this as well, since it indicates you can mentor others.
You should also visit your university's career center. They'll have experts who can help you.
**EDIT:** One more thing, take a look at the advertisements you're responding to before sending in a CV. Do you know any of the things they request? For example looking at one such advertisement, there's this:
>
> * Ability to query a SQL and/or NoSQL database efficiently
>
>
>
If you know how to do this, you should absolutely list it on your CV as well.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: My university requires me to write my Bachelor thesis in my mother language. How detrimental and devastating is it to have your Bachelor thesis in non-English when it comes to applying for PhD positions and language requirements in other countries?
My thesis is on p-adics and my wish is to pursue a career in mathematical physics, so I'd be particularly interested in how mathematics faculty rank their candidates in this regard.<issue_comment>username_1: It should have no effect, whatever on your future. You can fulfill all of the requirements of your university, but also, when you have the time, provide a translation of your thesis for others to peruse. You can, in theory, produce an English language publication based on the thesis in another language.
You need to demonstrate some English proficiency for study in some countries, but it needn't be through your official thesis. There are many other ways. In fact, a translation, done by yourself, might be an especially good way.
Yes, my doctorate is in mathematics, though I worked mostly in CS. Your mathematics will be much more important than whether the thesis is in one language or another.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> My university requires me to write my Bachelor thesis in my mother language.
>
>
>
You might be able to circumvent this requirement simply by asking (which avoids any detriment of the thesis not being in English).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: It is very unlikely that someone will want to read your bachelor thesis as is. But if you think it may contain interesting results, you can try to publish these results in a paper in English. That will actually strengthen your cv. Talk to your thesis supervisor and mention that you want to do a PhD in another country. They may be able to help you with that.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Will application deadlines for federally-funded fellowships and grants be extended, due to the ongoing government shutdown here in the States? Is there even anyone to contact (and get a response from) at this time, regarding application deadlines?<issue_comment>username_1: For the National Science Foundation (NSF)
=========================================
If your grant or fellowship is funded by the NSF, then the deadline remains the same.
From the NSF page, <https://www.nsf.gov/shutdown/grantees.jsp>, *Information About the Government Shutdown for NSF Proposers and Grantees*:
>
> **Impact on Existing Deadlines**
>
>
> During a lapse in appropriations, NSF will continue to accept proposal
> submissions pursuant to existing deadlines.
>
>
>
You should read this as "they will accept your proposal, will not process it, and the dead-line remains unchanged" during the shutdown.
You will not get any answer to your email during the shutdown.
Quoting the same page:
>
> Responses to any inquiries received regarding upcoming deadlines, including proposal preparation, will be deferred until normal operations resume.
>
>
>
---
Update
------
<https://www.nsf.gov/> says:
>
> With the enactment of continuing appropriations through February 15, 2019, NSF is working to resume operations. Employees should report to work on their next scheduled work day. For most staff, that will be Monday, January 28, 2019. NSF headquarters will be open to all staff starting at 6:00 a.m. Monday, January 28, 2019.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: [NDSEG](https://www.ndsegfellowships.org/) deadline for 2019 is already over. It looks like their 2020 deadline is unchanged. Their funding may not be impacted (I can't keep track of which agencies are shutdown and which aren't). I know [EIA](https://www.eia.gov/) is still funded so I imaging all of [DOE](https://www.energy.gov/) is. But I really don't know for sure. In any case, I would just treat it as same deadline.
When I did stuff like this you had to actually mail off for paper applications. But I imagine this stuff is all on the net. So really nothing stopping you from doing applications.
Upvotes: -1 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: Here is the scenario (hypothetical at the moment):
I have two papers on entirely unrelated topics, but are both presentable at the same conference. Paper 1 was funded through funding agency A, but paper 2 was not. The conference has multiple sessions covering a wide variety of topics. My funding to travel to the conference was provided by funding agency A in order to present paper 1.
Is it ethical to present paper 1 and paper 2 at this conference (given that I pay the abstract fee for paper 2 out of pocket), or am I confined to presenting results from the paper that I was funded to present?
*Note: This isn't a dilemma I face now, but one a bit further down the line.*<issue_comment>username_1: I can't see any ethical issues at all. You seem to be properly fulfilling the obligations of your funding. What else you do at a conference is your own concern. The funders are willing to support you and you are doing what is required for the funding. Rest easy.
I can't imagine that any funding agency would suggest (or even think) that you can't do other things at a conference. They certainly expect you to take advantage of the opportunities it affords.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Asking "is X ethical" is a philosophical question, since it depends on the notions of morality and justice you approach the question with. It's impossible to truly answer the question without starting with axioms to that effect. What is considered ethical to one person may be considered wholly unethical to another. Academia in general has no prescribed code of ethics- there may be expectations or general consensus about what is right or wrong, but reasonable people can still disagree with the consensus for any number of reasons.
I think a better way to phrase the question would be, "In a professional academic setting, am I likely to get into trouble for X, or would I be looked down by my peers for X (regardless of whether I get into trouble)?"
In answer to the rephrased question, my professional opinion would be that your actions are perfectly reasonable, rational, and justifiable, and I believe most people would feel the same way. Unless, of course, your funding agreements specifically stated that your desired course of action is forbidden in this case, which might itself be reasonably interpreted as an unethical stipulation.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Questions of ethics generally revolve around *conflicts of interest,* where your personal interests pull you in a direction that is in opposition to your professional or moral obligations.
In this case, your professional obligation is to present paper #1 at this conference, and your personal interest is to present paper #2 at the conference. Assuming you have the time available to present both, and furthermore that the second doesn't undermine your employer's interests in some way--which I'll take as a given, since you said the two are entirely unrelated--there doesn't appear to be any conflict here, and so no ethical problems.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have earned a PhD last year in materials science (semiconductor processing). Now I find myself in a job where most of the work is managing other people. To mee it seems like most of my former colleagues at university share the same fate.
What are your experiences? Have some of you found a job in industrial research which is really hands on like at university?
In particular I am interested in the field of semiconductor processing.<issue_comment>username_1: We have all heard the old saw: "those who can, do; those who can't, manage". If that sums up your opinion, then you have two options: get a job as a basic researcher in industry (that is, as one of the people you currently manage) or in an appropriate academic environment (if you can find one that does not involve managing anybody).
You may, however, like to consider that some of the greatest scientific and technical achievements in the whole history of human activity have come from teams of individuals working together on a problem. Teams don't just work together automatically; they have to be managed. The skill of managing scientific research is to be prized: by no means every brilliant researcher can do it, and very few so-called professional managers can do it either.
So, do not undervalue the importance of managing people.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Consider technical staff jobs at a national lab.
That being said, the post-docs in my groups have had to learn that the technologists should be doing much of the hands-on work. That is what they are there for, that is what they are good at. The techs may need hands-on help for really new stuff, but they should do the vast majority of day-to-day stuff in the lab.
You, the PhD staff member, are not paid to optimize beam, or machine and build something. You are paid to think up new research topics, get funding for those, and oversee the project to successful completion (whether or not that includes publications). Yes, you get to think deep thoughts and analyze the data generated by the techs. Even then, the very best techs will do most of the data analysis for you. If somebody else can do it, let them - you should be doing the things nobody else can do.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a PhD student at a reputed institution and in my 4th year now. I'm researching in the domain of information security & privacy.
I've got a number of good conference publications (4 conferences) but not in top conferences.
I attempted for the top conference (S&P or ACM CCS - their workshops as well) but my papers got rejected.
I'm writing my dissertation now, however, I still have this unsatisfied feeling that my work is not really good, it may have been the imposter syndrome. I feel that my work doesn't look as good as other people's (PhD students) work who are working in the same domain. I've got a few questions maybe some experienced researchers who have gone through can answer.
1. How do you know your PhD work is strong work?
2. How to gain confidence in your PhD work?
3. How to know if the main idea of PhD work is a good one? (How to
get rid of this feeling?)
Thank you for your help! :)<issue_comment>username_1: We have all heard the old saw: "those who can, do; those who can't, manage". If that sums up your opinion, then you have two options: get a job as a basic researcher in industry (that is, as one of the people you currently manage) or in an appropriate academic environment (if you can find one that does not involve managing anybody).
You may, however, like to consider that some of the greatest scientific and technical achievements in the whole history of human activity have come from teams of individuals working together on a problem. Teams don't just work together automatically; they have to be managed. The skill of managing scientific research is to be prized: by no means every brilliant researcher can do it, and very few so-called professional managers can do it either.
So, do not undervalue the importance of managing people.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Consider technical staff jobs at a national lab.
That being said, the post-docs in my groups have had to learn that the technologists should be doing much of the hands-on work. That is what they are there for, that is what they are good at. The techs may need hands-on help for really new stuff, but they should do the vast majority of day-to-day stuff in the lab.
You, the PhD staff member, are not paid to optimize beam, or machine and build something. You are paid to think up new research topics, get funding for those, and oversee the project to successful completion (whether or not that includes publications). Yes, you get to think deep thoughts and analyze the data generated by the techs. Even then, the very best techs will do most of the data analysis for you. If somebody else can do it, let them - you should be doing the things nobody else can do.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Is the course site property of the university or the person engaging it such as a teacher, teaching assistant etc.,?
Is it proper etiquette to add **religious contents such as quotes from religious texts, images of gods** into scientific course pages in a secular institute?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Is [a] course [web]site['s content] property of the university or the person [responsible for the course]?
>
>
>
The answer will depend on local law, but content on course websites will typically constitute work product of the person that produced the content, and work product is typically owned by the person's employer. Hence, content is probably owned by the university, rather than the content producer.
Ownership isn't particular relevant to the remainder of the question, which asks
>
> [Whether adding] religious content [to web]pages [of a science course] is appropriate?
>
>
>
A course website serves to educate the course's students in the terms intended by the course. I don't see how religious content helps serve that goal for a scientific course. So, I'd consider such content inappropriate.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In general, probably not, but there are cases where it might be reasonable. Religion is an immensely powerful force in human society, so inevitably it will impinge on science and sometimes it's appropriate to talk about that.
For example, the science of evolution has been under attack since its inception by those who believe in a literal reading of the Old Testament and other such texts. In a course on evolution it might be quite appropriate to present a quote from the Book of Genesis in order to discuss that opposition to evolution. What would *not* be appropriate there is to present it uncritically, casting young-earth creationism as some sort of equally-valid alternative to evolution.
<NAME> apparently named the Trinity nuclear test after a [religious poem by <NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Sonnets#Sonnet_XIV_and_the_Trinity_site), and he famously quoted two passages from the <NAME> to express his reaction to the first nuclear explosion:
>
> If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky,
> that would be like the splendor of the mighty one.
>
>
> Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
>
>
>
Those passages are tremendously evocative and have been re-quoted many times. There's even a Linkin Park album named for the "thousand suns" line. I wouldn't consider it improper for a text on nuclear physics to include those quotes.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: When we write to any professor, we write Dear Professor X. If we write only Professor X, is it weird?
Professor X,
------------
---
Best Regards,
-------------<issue_comment>username_1: What you write is probably fine if you are in a place where it is proper to address the person as "professor". In some very formal places you might need to be more specific about titles, but in the US, for example, it would be fine, even if the person isn't, technically, a Professor, say an adjunct.
The "Dear" is superfluous and unneeded. But no one would likely object if you write it also.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In Germany, omitting the dear is close to an offense, even though most people know that it is common in the US.
So the answer to your question is definitely country specific.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying for an Economics PhD and I need to submit a writing sample of 2,000 words. I am planning to take an extract from an article I published, but I am unsure about whether I should take the literature review or the empirical results + conclusion.
The upside of the literature review is that the language has more coherence. The empirical results section consists mostly of descriptive sentences, graphs and tables. On the other hand, I can imagine it would be good to demonstrate my capacity for statistical analysis and reasoning. Any advice on this? I'd really appreciate it.<issue_comment>username_1: What you write is probably fine if you are in a place where it is proper to address the person as "professor". In some very formal places you might need to be more specific about titles, but in the US, for example, it would be fine, even if the person isn't, technically, a Professor, say an adjunct.
The "Dear" is superfluous and unneeded. But no one would likely object if you write it also.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In Germany, omitting the dear is close to an offense, even though most people know that it is common in the US.
So the answer to your question is definitely country specific.
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<issue_start>username_0: I graduated in December 2018 with a double degree in math and electrical engineering and have applied to various graduate schools in pure math and electrical engineering and have been offered admission to phd programs in pure math and electrical engineering.
During my undergraduate studies, I have heard many academic mathematicians say that a math degree opens many opportunities for you and mathematicians can get any job, ...
On the other hand, I have also heard people saying that a math degree is useless financially and you can not get a decent job with a math degree; you either need to become a school teacher or work at a bank, ...
Now that I am about to start my phd program, although I enjoy math a lot, I do not want to get a phd in math and after four years find that it did not worth it financially and I have to do a not well-paid job. I can not also hope that I will end up in academia as I have heard academic jobs are very hard to get.
So that leaves me to think that if I want to get a well-paid job, I should do a phd in electrical engineering and not math.
I am so confused and I do not know which paths am I supposed to take? do a phd in math or electrical engineering?<issue_comment>username_1: Just a personal anecdote, not really an answer, too long for a comment.
I have a master degree in mathematics and now I'm doing physics simulations for visual effects in Hollywood blockbusters. I believe that a math degree gives you a massive upper hand in any field with reasonable amount mathematics in it. However, you have to be interested in that field and study it in your spare time. I studied computer graphics in my spare time and my math background allowed me to comprehend things in computer graphics orders of magnitudes faster and deeper compared to fellow computer science students.
Take it with a grain of salt, master degree is completely different kind of a beast compared to a PhD degree.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: This can depend on more than just the mathematics. You don't say where you are, nor anything about the nature of the educational system. But, for the US, at least, a BS in mathematics is a great basis for many careers, both in and out of academia. But that is because the baccalaureate is, in the US, a very general degree. One studies more than just mathematics, which amounts to only about a third of the courses taken.
But mathematics is about thinking and you can apply that thinking, especially thinking in a formal and disciplined way to other things. But if you don't really know anything except mathematics, then you aren't in such a good place, except to do more mathematics.
But any company that needs analysis of things, such as products or strategies or, well, anything, can use people that have a disciplined way of organizing and presenting information. Mathematics helps with that, as long as you also have the more specific knowledge that the job requires. But that knowledge is easier to obtain, in most cases, with the discipline of thought that mathematics brings you.
A degree in EE would teach you to think in a different way, whether that is better *for you* is up to you, however.
But, to give some perspective here, I also think that a degree in Philosophy is also a good launching point for a career, and for much the same reason that mathematics is. It teaches discipline of thought that can be generally applied.
However, you are starting a doctoral program. Such programs prepare you to do research and they are very specialized. They are not general education in any sense. Most, or at least, many, PhD holders (guessing a bit here) stay in academia since the doctorate is a good preparation for that. There are other opportunities, of course, but like the degree itself, those opportunities are very specialized. But mathematics is, even at the highest levels, still good mental training that can be applied in other domains.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Where I live, a lot of math degree holders work in software development and are generally doing quite well ... especially since many computer science degree holders are not really good at maths. Other opportunities for mathematicians are simulations (i.e. in engineering) or insurance companies.
In fact, maths teacher is also a quite decent occupation where I live, but that is of course subject to supply and demand.
Were the people who told you you might not find a good job also math degree holders? I have found that non-mathematicians sometimes do not really know what mathematicians work as.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: The answer depends very much, as already outlined, on the particular job career you choose to pursue. It is generally true that nowadays it might be quite hard to find a very well-paid tenure position in Academia, therefore the chances that one might end up being financially wealthy with that particular choice are not the best; likewise, industry does not seek many pure mathematicians either.
However, mathematicians and physicist are extremely well employed (and probably consitute the majority) in quantitative analysis, machine learning and data science related jobs, not to mention the subset who choose to continue in software development. It is often said (as you yourself stated) that the ideal solution is to move to the financial sector, nevertheless that is not the only one; as already mentioned, nowadays the field of artificial intelligence and data science is particularly filled with academics: the main trait that pursuing a PhD offers is the capability to solve problems, in general, and to apply a broader set of knowledge to investigate different scenarios. Such skill set can be easily applied elsewhere and as a matter of fact most academics do not stay in Academia (at least nowadays); to make a long story short and answer your question
>
> On the other hand, I have also heard people saying that a math degree is useless financially and you can not get a decent job with a math degree; you either need to become a school teacher or work at a bank
>
>
>
a scientific PhD is not financially rewarding if you decide to stay in Academia (for the majority, with the due exceptions); it can be if you move to industry, to the right places. Moreover I do not see a PhD in electrical engineering opening so many more doors that a PhD in maths cannot.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Have you considered the [ROI](https://www.investopedia.com/advisor-network/articles/calculating-roi-college-education/) of higher education?
If you want to make more money then start working now and building up your work experience instead of taking on more debt and not having several years of work experience.
You will also find out from working that maybe you don't like EE as much as Math for example, and this can help you decide.
If you are a curious person and want to learn, then go for the phd in math and lean towards academia.
I faced the same problem when I was deciding my undergrad, I love astronomy and astrophysics and cosmology. I was concerned about the time and money investment and the questionable returns. I have heard how there is a lot of politics involved in securing grants and funding, and also the small number of jobs are very competitive.
Instead of physics, I went into engineering because it would be more practical to get a BS and begin working right after. Now I don't have a lot of debt, a good entry level job, and I can explore different industries and my own interests and continue growing. I would like to continue my education and get a masters eventually but I'm not sure what it will be in yet.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: >
> I am so confused and I do not know which paths am I supposed to take?
>
>
>
Only you can answer this. Whatever path, it has to be one that you will be motivated to stick with through your PhD.
With that said, assuming math is what you enjoy, **why not consider combining a math PhD with another subject?** In other words, you focus your work on math, but are integrating it with another field that interests you and opens up employment opportunities that a pure math degree might not have. In effect, consider being coadvised by someone in another department where math can be used in a more applied research context (The caveat being that if you are already in a program, you may have an advisor that may not allow it.)
The reality is that math has applications everywhere, whether it's physics, chemistry, engineering, economics, biology, ecology, computer science, geology, etc. In my case, I'm doing the reverse. I'm just beginning a PhD in wildlife ecology, but I've always had a strong interest in math, so I'm actually going to try and take several graduate level courses in math. The benefit being that most people in my field dislike math, yet there is a strong need for people capable of integrating advanced mathematical concepts into ecology. For example, we use things like network theory for modelling landscape connectivity for different species, which has real world uses for conservation, but this integration is only relatively recent in ecology, and is still be developed and built on.
If your biggest concern is financial success, then integrating computer science into your program could really set you up for success. Computer science, like math, has applications everywhere, so the two combined will give you a lot of flexibility. You can look at the type of research being done in computer science to get an idea of the different things people are working on. Depending on the approach you take here, you could probably set yourself up for a nice future as a data scientist.
Or you could do something entirely different. I know someone that was a mechanical engineer working on space shuttle related projects before starting a successful PhD program studying bears. Despite not having a biology related degree, they were probably able to pitch their math and computer background as strong selling point.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: A math degree provides evidence that you are a strong problem solver, that you can grasp and apply logic, and that you are comfortable with
algorithms. These skills apply to many areas. You have the opportunity to find what you are passionate about and pursue it. Many jobs say something
like candidates must have degree in X, or other related field. Math is almost always accepted in the other related field category based on the skills
it demands. However, a math degree in itself may not always be enough, so you should be prepared to develop specialized skills.
What you are asking is really a personal question that you will be able to answer for yourself better than any of us can do. That said, I do would
not recommend a PHD in math if you do not know how you want to use it. You need to find your passion. It's OK if you don't know and if you don't get it right in your first
job, but by entering the real world you will get exposure to real life things that you like and dislike.
I was a math major and found myself in a similar position. I started out at an actuarial company and switched to a software
development. Both paths required time outside of work to learn the specialized skills required by the job, but the problem-solving skills demanded of a
math major have provided an excellent foundation.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: **Is a math degree useless financially?** Yes, if its just an undergraduate degree.
**What about a masters in math?** More useful, but still quite useless comparatively to other degrees, unless you back it up with other skills (e.g. I know software developers who've gone into data science/machine learning positions, but that requires self-learning software development on the side).
**What about a PhD in math?** Much more useful than either a masters or an undergraduate, *but* mostly for the purpose of enjoying a career in Academia. Since that's not usually well-paid for most people, that doesn't seem to be what you are aiming for (and yes, the fact that Academia is also highly competitive with loads of pressure is yet another reason to avoid that path *if you aren't extremely passionated about research*. That's the only way you'll be good in Academia, except if you are some sort of genius). There are however other alternatives: you can get a job in finance (again, if you back it up with other skills, like learning financial theory and/or programming), and a job in banking does pay quite well, but if you aren't interested in that sort of thing (don't blame you), then there aren't really that many options left in the industry. People will tell you fairy tale stories about how their math PhD got them a job working with this or that, but the truth is that none of those jobs are guaranteed and your math degree isn't structured for it. At best, you'll still have to spend an enormous amount of time self-studying whatever stuff you need to work in whatever random industry you got hired into. The truth is you won't walk into any industry apart from banking or teaching and be able to dazzle people with your math knowledge. Your math knowledge is and always will remain a *nice bonus*. Nothing more. You have to be able to offer more.
Personally, if financial gains were my main worry and I wasn't particularly fond of math (which you don't seem to be), Electrical Engineering is a complete no-brainer. Lots of jobs, salary's decent.
Oh, and **please** don't listen to people who say that a degree in math "improves your analytical thinking" and blah blah blah. As if a degree in Electrical Engineering doesn't do the same.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: I'd be more inclined to comment - but I get more space in an answer:
The premise that a degree is a path to a job is blatantly false. Even the best most sought after degree might leave you jobless: wrong region, potential employer doesn't like you, you aren't as good as the rest (some subjects are apparently very competitive, for better or worse).
So you should really pick a degree that you find personally interesting that has a potential of being useful for work.
In the case of mathematics this leaves very must two main routes:
* Pure maths in academia, or close to it, teaching
* Applied maths in academia or industry
Mathematics is very much the foundation of much of our modern life. Banking, electronics, engineering - BUT this is applied mathematics, not pure mathematics (but even that has its fans).
Some people may joke that an applied mathematician is a physicist ;).
In your specific case, the combination of mathematics with electrical engineering can be quite valuable. You would possibly be better at the calculation that your peers if they did not study mathematics.
Then again, if you hate electrics and love maths, it may not be an advisable choice.
In addition, paths can change. Even a PhD you should chose to some extent by interest if you can - it will make it more interesting.
To bring in a personal note:
I studied mathematics. In the PhD I ended up with some limited experimental and analytical chemistry, chemical kinetics, ab initio quantum chemistry and programming. Then in two post docs I ended up programming more and working more with chemical kinetics and quantum chemistry.
Unfortunately I am not in academia any more - still, for now a very interesting job. And what is it? Numerical simulations (where my previous experience is useful.)
Now in some countries subject mobility isn't very large (Germany springs to mind, maybe also France). In England you come from subject A and do a PhD on sbject B in the end...
So to bring this to a conclusion:
Study what you like - a PhD is also funded. A degree is NOT a "path to money" - follow your interest. Mathematics is the basis of most of the things we need today. If possible, focus on the applied side and there should be many opportunities for an applied mathematician. And don't necessarily reject the pure maths: Developping new functionals in quantum chemistry or new models for say CFD, working on cryptography is well beyong what I would be able to do in maths - especially given that my paths capabilities have been rusting away the past 7.5 years....
Nowadays I do less "actual maths" and more programming, number crunching and data processing.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_10: My undergraduate degree is in pure mathematics and it opens many doors. First, remember that there are a lot of jobs which require a degree but are not overly picky about which one. For instance, I started my career as an Army Officer after receiving my bachelors. A degree is a requirement and a math degree in particular opened the door to Military Intelligence.
Math is also an acceptable starting point for many careers that are tangentially related. After leaving the army, I became a programmer and database administrator for a while. I know others with math degrees that went into financial analysis
Math also serves as a basis for many related graduate degrees. I went into law after I decided I did not want to continue in programming.
And that is to answer your direct question about the value of a pure math degree. You said you also have an electrical engineering degree. While a masters is very helpful if you want to go into work as a true electrical engineer, a EE degree opens a huge array of doors by itself. I know many other programmers that got an EE degree to start.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_11: >
> Is a math degree really useless financially?
>
>
>
I guess you mean PhD., as you seem to have already double majored in EE/math.
>
> I am so confused and I do not know which paths am I supposed to take? do a phd in math or electrical engineering?
>
>
>
From a financial perspective...
the path to the greatest in lifetime earnings is probably to get an EE (or math) job now.
That's four (+/-) years more of income and you won't have to pay to go to school anymore.
Normally my advice is follow your passion, but you don't seem to have found your passion yet (from your post at least).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: With either a PhD in Math or EE, you have a good chance to get a well-paying job. So my advice is: **study what you interests you** (if neither interests you, a PhD is probably the wrong choice).
To give you some numbers, from the US, the [AMS Survey](https://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/employ-new-phds) gives data on starting salaries for Math PhDs. You can also get some data from Payscale on average salaries (e.g., [Math PhDs](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_(PhD)%2C_Mathematics/Salary), [EE PhDs](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_(PhD)%2C_Electrical_Engineering_(EE)/Salary) and [Engineering Bachelors](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Bachelor_of_Engineering_(BEng_%2F_BE)/Salary#by_Years_Experience)):
* AMS Median industry starting salary (2016 Math PhD): ~$106,000
* Payscale Average Math PhD salary: $98,000
* Payscale Average EE PhD salary: $116,000
* Payscale Average Bachelor of Engineering salary with 5-9 years of experience: $83,568
Some words about this data: The AMS data is rather reliable. Payscale does not have have a lot of data on Math and EE PhDs, and I am not sure if the salaries used are all starting salaries. The Payscale Math PhD includes a number of academic salaries which are significantly lower. AMS reports medians and quartiles, Payscale reports averages and ranges. If we compare the Payscale *Median* EE PhD salary (by eyeball, about $110k) with the AMS Median (about $106k) we see they are not so different (and the latter is certainly only starting salaries).
Ignoring the relative cost of getting a PhD (which is typically relatively small in the long term), it appears that your general salary prospects are better with a PhD in EE or Math than just a Bachelors, and slightly better with a PhD in EE than a PhD in Math.
That said, there are some areas of math that are considerably more marketable outside of academia than others, such as Statistics and Data Science.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_13: To give a slightly different take than the other answers:
Employers hire people to do a job for them. Many companies have situations slightly more complex than "hire the best for the job," but at the end of the day they want the person who can meet their need as best as possible.
As a math major, you have a skill set that people want. Unfortunately, they rarely are looking for people with *only* that skill; they likely also have other requirements. For example, in the United States, the NSA [explicitly lists mathematics](https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/NSA/nsacareers.html) on their jobs page. The mathematicians they hire, though, are rarely *only* mathematicians; they also have at least some skills in computer science, programming, and other related areas (e.g., linguistics, cryptography).
Basically, check out jobs you may be interested in and make sure that math isn't the only skill you bring to the table. Outside of academia mathematicians typically need to be polyglots to be successful, but polyglot mathematicians can be [successful indeed](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/14/5-successful-ceos-who-majored-in-math.html).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: I got a PhD in pure math, got a job at a financial company, and I am very well paid.
For full disclosure, I did have a small amount of trouble getting a job at a financial company. I interviewed at maybe 5 companies. I was first hired by this company as a lowly programmer (in the last year of my PhD program), then after I got my PhD I applied for a job on the modeling team. You could say I snuck in.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_15: As already said, the answer is No, it isn’t.
Among the thousand or so software engineers and systems engineers at my first civilian job, **many** were math majors.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_16: I did a PhD, left academia and have worked a career in areas for which that is an asset. Never had to use very advanced maths, but 'mathematical thinking' has been essential.
A key thing to observe is that maths comes under two well known labels:
* Pure
* Applied
When in academia this can sometimes seen a trite distinction, commonly with a bit of snobbery thrown in.
Outside of that, 'applied' also means that you have to take a problem and translate into mathematical form. No longer can you 'given such and such' or 'assuming that'. You need to take the data that you are given and determine the conditions it satisfies, or fix it so that it does. You typically need to translate the business problem into abstract form, solve it abstractly, then implement in software. In fact, even to get the first of these involves a ton of talking to people and language skills.
Think of such roles such as:
1. Data Scientist/ Analyst : A huge growth area. The Analyst *very* well paid and mathematical
2. Operations Research Analyst : Cool, but not that may positions available.
3. Modeller - finance: Still a lot of jobs, well paid, but you may have reasons not to
4. Modeller - defence: Still a lot of jobs, quite diverse, but you may have reasons not to
5. Modeller - other: Fewer jobs, can be very interesting and valuable.
So, if you think you'll want exit academia after PhD, the specific additional knowledge a employer will look for then is **programming**. If you have EE, you most likely already have some knowledge. Continue to build on that during your PhD. Maybe take some courses through institution or online. Learn about OR and Data Science. You'll then be well set up to find a good position on a good entry salary.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: Would it be possible for researchers back-assign a DOI to an existing dataset they have rights to - where there is no permission to share it publically (privacy, organization proprietary, personnel to clean data...etc)?
This would at least allow tracking the same dataset usage across multiple papers (+ - stages of).
To clarify (30 Jan 2019): What I mean is for example there are many papers already published that use the same dataset. In some cases it is not possible to get rights to the dataset. However, at the very least I believe it is useful to back-assign a DOI to these datasets that would allow for people to track datasets across multiple papers, particularly in this age when we may inadvertently commit the sin of deriving effect sizes from the same population if the dataset being the same is not clear, as we sometimes may surmise where people who collected the data get authorship rights directly grandfathered in - but in cases where they are not we may not be able to tell that we are using repeat datasets!
One way to get around the fact that these datasets are not available on open access is to have, under their DOI, descriptions of items that are included, waves of collection, and sample size - these can generally be derived and gradually pieced together from past studies. It then becomes clearer for replication or es. estimation whether the re-analysis actually used the same parts of the dataset. For example using only wave-2 instead of both waves, and using depression from Beck's inventory rather than depression based on interview.<issue_comment>username_1: Just a personal anecdote, not really an answer, too long for a comment.
I have a master degree in mathematics and now I'm doing physics simulations for visual effects in Hollywood blockbusters. I believe that a math degree gives you a massive upper hand in any field with reasonable amount mathematics in it. However, you have to be interested in that field and study it in your spare time. I studied computer graphics in my spare time and my math background allowed me to comprehend things in computer graphics orders of magnitudes faster and deeper compared to fellow computer science students.
Take it with a grain of salt, master degree is completely different kind of a beast compared to a PhD degree.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: This can depend on more than just the mathematics. You don't say where you are, nor anything about the nature of the educational system. But, for the US, at least, a BS in mathematics is a great basis for many careers, both in and out of academia. But that is because the baccalaureate is, in the US, a very general degree. One studies more than just mathematics, which amounts to only about a third of the courses taken.
But mathematics is about thinking and you can apply that thinking, especially thinking in a formal and disciplined way to other things. But if you don't really know anything except mathematics, then you aren't in such a good place, except to do more mathematics.
But any company that needs analysis of things, such as products or strategies or, well, anything, can use people that have a disciplined way of organizing and presenting information. Mathematics helps with that, as long as you also have the more specific knowledge that the job requires. But that knowledge is easier to obtain, in most cases, with the discipline of thought that mathematics brings you.
A degree in EE would teach you to think in a different way, whether that is better *for you* is up to you, however.
But, to give some perspective here, I also think that a degree in Philosophy is also a good launching point for a career, and for much the same reason that mathematics is. It teaches discipline of thought that can be generally applied.
However, you are starting a doctoral program. Such programs prepare you to do research and they are very specialized. They are not general education in any sense. Most, or at least, many, PhD holders (guessing a bit here) stay in academia since the doctorate is a good preparation for that. There are other opportunities, of course, but like the degree itself, those opportunities are very specialized. But mathematics is, even at the highest levels, still good mental training that can be applied in other domains.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Where I live, a lot of math degree holders work in software development and are generally doing quite well ... especially since many computer science degree holders are not really good at maths. Other opportunities for mathematicians are simulations (i.e. in engineering) or insurance companies.
In fact, maths teacher is also a quite decent occupation where I live, but that is of course subject to supply and demand.
Were the people who told you you might not find a good job also math degree holders? I have found that non-mathematicians sometimes do not really know what mathematicians work as.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: The answer depends very much, as already outlined, on the particular job career you choose to pursue. It is generally true that nowadays it might be quite hard to find a very well-paid tenure position in Academia, therefore the chances that one might end up being financially wealthy with that particular choice are not the best; likewise, industry does not seek many pure mathematicians either.
However, mathematicians and physicist are extremely well employed (and probably consitute the majority) in quantitative analysis, machine learning and data science related jobs, not to mention the subset who choose to continue in software development. It is often said (as you yourself stated) that the ideal solution is to move to the financial sector, nevertheless that is not the only one; as already mentioned, nowadays the field of artificial intelligence and data science is particularly filled with academics: the main trait that pursuing a PhD offers is the capability to solve problems, in general, and to apply a broader set of knowledge to investigate different scenarios. Such skill set can be easily applied elsewhere and as a matter of fact most academics do not stay in Academia (at least nowadays); to make a long story short and answer your question
>
> On the other hand, I have also heard people saying that a math degree is useless financially and you can not get a decent job with a math degree; you either need to become a school teacher or work at a bank
>
>
>
a scientific PhD is not financially rewarding if you decide to stay in Academia (for the majority, with the due exceptions); it can be if you move to industry, to the right places. Moreover I do not see a PhD in electrical engineering opening so many more doors that a PhD in maths cannot.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Have you considered the [ROI](https://www.investopedia.com/advisor-network/articles/calculating-roi-college-education/) of higher education?
If you want to make more money then start working now and building up your work experience instead of taking on more debt and not having several years of work experience.
You will also find out from working that maybe you don't like EE as much as Math for example, and this can help you decide.
If you are a curious person and want to learn, then go for the phd in math and lean towards academia.
I faced the same problem when I was deciding my undergrad, I love astronomy and astrophysics and cosmology. I was concerned about the time and money investment and the questionable returns. I have heard how there is a lot of politics involved in securing grants and funding, and also the small number of jobs are very competitive.
Instead of physics, I went into engineering because it would be more practical to get a BS and begin working right after. Now I don't have a lot of debt, a good entry level job, and I can explore different industries and my own interests and continue growing. I would like to continue my education and get a masters eventually but I'm not sure what it will be in yet.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: >
> I am so confused and I do not know which paths am I supposed to take?
>
>
>
Only you can answer this. Whatever path, it has to be one that you will be motivated to stick with through your PhD.
With that said, assuming math is what you enjoy, **why not consider combining a math PhD with another subject?** In other words, you focus your work on math, but are integrating it with another field that interests you and opens up employment opportunities that a pure math degree might not have. In effect, consider being coadvised by someone in another department where math can be used in a more applied research context (The caveat being that if you are already in a program, you may have an advisor that may not allow it.)
The reality is that math has applications everywhere, whether it's physics, chemistry, engineering, economics, biology, ecology, computer science, geology, etc. In my case, I'm doing the reverse. I'm just beginning a PhD in wildlife ecology, but I've always had a strong interest in math, so I'm actually going to try and take several graduate level courses in math. The benefit being that most people in my field dislike math, yet there is a strong need for people capable of integrating advanced mathematical concepts into ecology. For example, we use things like network theory for modelling landscape connectivity for different species, which has real world uses for conservation, but this integration is only relatively recent in ecology, and is still be developed and built on.
If your biggest concern is financial success, then integrating computer science into your program could really set you up for success. Computer science, like math, has applications everywhere, so the two combined will give you a lot of flexibility. You can look at the type of research being done in computer science to get an idea of the different things people are working on. Depending on the approach you take here, you could probably set yourself up for a nice future as a data scientist.
Or you could do something entirely different. I know someone that was a mechanical engineer working on space shuttle related projects before starting a successful PhD program studying bears. Despite not having a biology related degree, they were probably able to pitch their math and computer background as strong selling point.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: A math degree provides evidence that you are a strong problem solver, that you can grasp and apply logic, and that you are comfortable with
algorithms. These skills apply to many areas. You have the opportunity to find what you are passionate about and pursue it. Many jobs say something
like candidates must have degree in X, or other related field. Math is almost always accepted in the other related field category based on the skills
it demands. However, a math degree in itself may not always be enough, so you should be prepared to develop specialized skills.
What you are asking is really a personal question that you will be able to answer for yourself better than any of us can do. That said, I do would
not recommend a PHD in math if you do not know how you want to use it. You need to find your passion. It's OK if you don't know and if you don't get it right in your first
job, but by entering the real world you will get exposure to real life things that you like and dislike.
I was a math major and found myself in a similar position. I started out at an actuarial company and switched to a software
development. Both paths required time outside of work to learn the specialized skills required by the job, but the problem-solving skills demanded of a
math major have provided an excellent foundation.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: **Is a math degree useless financially?** Yes, if its just an undergraduate degree.
**What about a masters in math?** More useful, but still quite useless comparatively to other degrees, unless you back it up with other skills (e.g. I know software developers who've gone into data science/machine learning positions, but that requires self-learning software development on the side).
**What about a PhD in math?** Much more useful than either a masters or an undergraduate, *but* mostly for the purpose of enjoying a career in Academia. Since that's not usually well-paid for most people, that doesn't seem to be what you are aiming for (and yes, the fact that Academia is also highly competitive with loads of pressure is yet another reason to avoid that path *if you aren't extremely passionated about research*. That's the only way you'll be good in Academia, except if you are some sort of genius). There are however other alternatives: you can get a job in finance (again, if you back it up with other skills, like learning financial theory and/or programming), and a job in banking does pay quite well, but if you aren't interested in that sort of thing (don't blame you), then there aren't really that many options left in the industry. People will tell you fairy tale stories about how their math PhD got them a job working with this or that, but the truth is that none of those jobs are guaranteed and your math degree isn't structured for it. At best, you'll still have to spend an enormous amount of time self-studying whatever stuff you need to work in whatever random industry you got hired into. The truth is you won't walk into any industry apart from banking or teaching and be able to dazzle people with your math knowledge. Your math knowledge is and always will remain a *nice bonus*. Nothing more. You have to be able to offer more.
Personally, if financial gains were my main worry and I wasn't particularly fond of math (which you don't seem to be), Electrical Engineering is a complete no-brainer. Lots of jobs, salary's decent.
Oh, and **please** don't listen to people who say that a degree in math "improves your analytical thinking" and blah blah blah. As if a degree in Electrical Engineering doesn't do the same.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: I'd be more inclined to comment - but I get more space in an answer:
The premise that a degree is a path to a job is blatantly false. Even the best most sought after degree might leave you jobless: wrong region, potential employer doesn't like you, you aren't as good as the rest (some subjects are apparently very competitive, for better or worse).
So you should really pick a degree that you find personally interesting that has a potential of being useful for work.
In the case of mathematics this leaves very must two main routes:
* Pure maths in academia, or close to it, teaching
* Applied maths in academia or industry
Mathematics is very much the foundation of much of our modern life. Banking, electronics, engineering - BUT this is applied mathematics, not pure mathematics (but even that has its fans).
Some people may joke that an applied mathematician is a physicist ;).
In your specific case, the combination of mathematics with electrical engineering can be quite valuable. You would possibly be better at the calculation that your peers if they did not study mathematics.
Then again, if you hate electrics and love maths, it may not be an advisable choice.
In addition, paths can change. Even a PhD you should chose to some extent by interest if you can - it will make it more interesting.
To bring in a personal note:
I studied mathematics. In the PhD I ended up with some limited experimental and analytical chemistry, chemical kinetics, ab initio quantum chemistry and programming. Then in two post docs I ended up programming more and working more with chemical kinetics and quantum chemistry.
Unfortunately I am not in academia any more - still, for now a very interesting job. And what is it? Numerical simulations (where my previous experience is useful.)
Now in some countries subject mobility isn't very large (Germany springs to mind, maybe also France). In England you come from subject A and do a PhD on sbject B in the end...
So to bring this to a conclusion:
Study what you like - a PhD is also funded. A degree is NOT a "path to money" - follow your interest. Mathematics is the basis of most of the things we need today. If possible, focus on the applied side and there should be many opportunities for an applied mathematician. And don't necessarily reject the pure maths: Developping new functionals in quantum chemistry or new models for say CFD, working on cryptography is well beyong what I would be able to do in maths - especially given that my paths capabilities have been rusting away the past 7.5 years....
Nowadays I do less "actual maths" and more programming, number crunching and data processing.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_10: My undergraduate degree is in pure mathematics and it opens many doors. First, remember that there are a lot of jobs which require a degree but are not overly picky about which one. For instance, I started my career as an Army Officer after receiving my bachelors. A degree is a requirement and a math degree in particular opened the door to Military Intelligence.
Math is also an acceptable starting point for many careers that are tangentially related. After leaving the army, I became a programmer and database administrator for a while. I know others with math degrees that went into financial analysis
Math also serves as a basis for many related graduate degrees. I went into law after I decided I did not want to continue in programming.
And that is to answer your direct question about the value of a pure math degree. You said you also have an electrical engineering degree. While a masters is very helpful if you want to go into work as a true electrical engineer, a EE degree opens a huge array of doors by itself. I know many other programmers that got an EE degree to start.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_11: >
> Is a math degree really useless financially?
>
>
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I guess you mean PhD., as you seem to have already double majored in EE/math.
>
> I am so confused and I do not know which paths am I supposed to take? do a phd in math or electrical engineering?
>
>
>
From a financial perspective...
the path to the greatest in lifetime earnings is probably to get an EE (or math) job now.
That's four (+/-) years more of income and you won't have to pay to go to school anymore.
Normally my advice is follow your passion, but you don't seem to have found your passion yet (from your post at least).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: With either a PhD in Math or EE, you have a good chance to get a well-paying job. So my advice is: **study what you interests you** (if neither interests you, a PhD is probably the wrong choice).
To give you some numbers, from the US, the [AMS Survey](https://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/employ-new-phds) gives data on starting salaries for Math PhDs. You can also get some data from Payscale on average salaries (e.g., [Math PhDs](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_(PhD)%2C_Mathematics/Salary), [EE PhDs](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_(PhD)%2C_Electrical_Engineering_(EE)/Salary) and [Engineering Bachelors](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Bachelor_of_Engineering_(BEng_%2F_BE)/Salary#by_Years_Experience)):
* AMS Median industry starting salary (2016 Math PhD): ~$106,000
* Payscale Average Math PhD salary: $98,000
* Payscale Average EE PhD salary: $116,000
* Payscale Average Bachelor of Engineering salary with 5-9 years of experience: $83,568
Some words about this data: The AMS data is rather reliable. Payscale does not have have a lot of data on Math and EE PhDs, and I am not sure if the salaries used are all starting salaries. The Payscale Math PhD includes a number of academic salaries which are significantly lower. AMS reports medians and quartiles, Payscale reports averages and ranges. If we compare the Payscale *Median* EE PhD salary (by eyeball, about $110k) with the AMS Median (about $106k) we see they are not so different (and the latter is certainly only starting salaries).
Ignoring the relative cost of getting a PhD (which is typically relatively small in the long term), it appears that your general salary prospects are better with a PhD in EE or Math than just a Bachelors, and slightly better with a PhD in EE than a PhD in Math.
That said, there are some areas of math that are considerably more marketable outside of academia than others, such as Statistics and Data Science.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_13: To give a slightly different take than the other answers:
Employers hire people to do a job for them. Many companies have situations slightly more complex than "hire the best for the job," but at the end of the day they want the person who can meet their need as best as possible.
As a math major, you have a skill set that people want. Unfortunately, they rarely are looking for people with *only* that skill; they likely also have other requirements. For example, in the United States, the NSA [explicitly lists mathematics](https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/NSA/nsacareers.html) on their jobs page. The mathematicians they hire, though, are rarely *only* mathematicians; they also have at least some skills in computer science, programming, and other related areas (e.g., linguistics, cryptography).
Basically, check out jobs you may be interested in and make sure that math isn't the only skill you bring to the table. Outside of academia mathematicians typically need to be polyglots to be successful, but polyglot mathematicians can be [successful indeed](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/14/5-successful-ceos-who-majored-in-math.html).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: I got a PhD in pure math, got a job at a financial company, and I am very well paid.
For full disclosure, I did have a small amount of trouble getting a job at a financial company. I interviewed at maybe 5 companies. I was first hired by this company as a lowly programmer (in the last year of my PhD program), then after I got my PhD I applied for a job on the modeling team. You could say I snuck in.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_15: As already said, the answer is No, it isn’t.
Among the thousand or so software engineers and systems engineers at my first civilian job, **many** were math majors.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_16: I did a PhD, left academia and have worked a career in areas for which that is an asset. Never had to use very advanced maths, but 'mathematical thinking' has been essential.
A key thing to observe is that maths comes under two well known labels:
* Pure
* Applied
When in academia this can sometimes seen a trite distinction, commonly with a bit of snobbery thrown in.
Outside of that, 'applied' also means that you have to take a problem and translate into mathematical form. No longer can you 'given such and such' or 'assuming that'. You need to take the data that you are given and determine the conditions it satisfies, or fix it so that it does. You typically need to translate the business problem into abstract form, solve it abstractly, then implement in software. In fact, even to get the first of these involves a ton of talking to people and language skills.
Think of such roles such as:
1. Data Scientist/ Analyst : A huge growth area. The Analyst *very* well paid and mathematical
2. Operations Research Analyst : Cool, but not that may positions available.
3. Modeller - finance: Still a lot of jobs, well paid, but you may have reasons not to
4. Modeller - defence: Still a lot of jobs, quite diverse, but you may have reasons not to
5. Modeller - other: Fewer jobs, can be very interesting and valuable.
So, if you think you'll want exit academia after PhD, the specific additional knowledge a employer will look for then is **programming**. If you have EE, you most likely already have some knowledge. Continue to build on that during your PhD. Maybe take some courses through institution or online. Learn about OR and Data Science. You'll then be well set up to find a good position on a good entry salary.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I am editing a thesis and the writer has quoted from many interviews with non-native English speakers. I'm wondering whether it is correct practice to leave the quotations as is, or perhaps use (sic), or to edit them in correct English? Thanks in advance.<issue_comment>username_1: Just a personal anecdote, not really an answer, too long for a comment.
I have a master degree in mathematics and now I'm doing physics simulations for visual effects in Hollywood blockbusters. I believe that a math degree gives you a massive upper hand in any field with reasonable amount mathematics in it. However, you have to be interested in that field and study it in your spare time. I studied computer graphics in my spare time and my math background allowed me to comprehend things in computer graphics orders of magnitudes faster and deeper compared to fellow computer science students.
Take it with a grain of salt, master degree is completely different kind of a beast compared to a PhD degree.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: This can depend on more than just the mathematics. You don't say where you are, nor anything about the nature of the educational system. But, for the US, at least, a BS in mathematics is a great basis for many careers, both in and out of academia. But that is because the baccalaureate is, in the US, a very general degree. One studies more than just mathematics, which amounts to only about a third of the courses taken.
But mathematics is about thinking and you can apply that thinking, especially thinking in a formal and disciplined way to other things. But if you don't really know anything except mathematics, then you aren't in such a good place, except to do more mathematics.
But any company that needs analysis of things, such as products or strategies or, well, anything, can use people that have a disciplined way of organizing and presenting information. Mathematics helps with that, as long as you also have the more specific knowledge that the job requires. But that knowledge is easier to obtain, in most cases, with the discipline of thought that mathematics brings you.
A degree in EE would teach you to think in a different way, whether that is better *for you* is up to you, however.
But, to give some perspective here, I also think that a degree in Philosophy is also a good launching point for a career, and for much the same reason that mathematics is. It teaches discipline of thought that can be generally applied.
However, you are starting a doctoral program. Such programs prepare you to do research and they are very specialized. They are not general education in any sense. Most, or at least, many, PhD holders (guessing a bit here) stay in academia since the doctorate is a good preparation for that. There are other opportunities, of course, but like the degree itself, those opportunities are very specialized. But mathematics is, even at the highest levels, still good mental training that can be applied in other domains.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Where I live, a lot of math degree holders work in software development and are generally doing quite well ... especially since many computer science degree holders are not really good at maths. Other opportunities for mathematicians are simulations (i.e. in engineering) or insurance companies.
In fact, maths teacher is also a quite decent occupation where I live, but that is of course subject to supply and demand.
Were the people who told you you might not find a good job also math degree holders? I have found that non-mathematicians sometimes do not really know what mathematicians work as.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: The answer depends very much, as already outlined, on the particular job career you choose to pursue. It is generally true that nowadays it might be quite hard to find a very well-paid tenure position in Academia, therefore the chances that one might end up being financially wealthy with that particular choice are not the best; likewise, industry does not seek many pure mathematicians either.
However, mathematicians and physicist are extremely well employed (and probably consitute the majority) in quantitative analysis, machine learning and data science related jobs, not to mention the subset who choose to continue in software development. It is often said (as you yourself stated) that the ideal solution is to move to the financial sector, nevertheless that is not the only one; as already mentioned, nowadays the field of artificial intelligence and data science is particularly filled with academics: the main trait that pursuing a PhD offers is the capability to solve problems, in general, and to apply a broader set of knowledge to investigate different scenarios. Such skill set can be easily applied elsewhere and as a matter of fact most academics do not stay in Academia (at least nowadays); to make a long story short and answer your question
>
> On the other hand, I have also heard people saying that a math degree is useless financially and you can not get a decent job with a math degree; you either need to become a school teacher or work at a bank
>
>
>
a scientific PhD is not financially rewarding if you decide to stay in Academia (for the majority, with the due exceptions); it can be if you move to industry, to the right places. Moreover I do not see a PhD in electrical engineering opening so many more doors that a PhD in maths cannot.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Have you considered the [ROI](https://www.investopedia.com/advisor-network/articles/calculating-roi-college-education/) of higher education?
If you want to make more money then start working now and building up your work experience instead of taking on more debt and not having several years of work experience.
You will also find out from working that maybe you don't like EE as much as Math for example, and this can help you decide.
If you are a curious person and want to learn, then go for the phd in math and lean towards academia.
I faced the same problem when I was deciding my undergrad, I love astronomy and astrophysics and cosmology. I was concerned about the time and money investment and the questionable returns. I have heard how there is a lot of politics involved in securing grants and funding, and also the small number of jobs are very competitive.
Instead of physics, I went into engineering because it would be more practical to get a BS and begin working right after. Now I don't have a lot of debt, a good entry level job, and I can explore different industries and my own interests and continue growing. I would like to continue my education and get a masters eventually but I'm not sure what it will be in yet.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: >
> I am so confused and I do not know which paths am I supposed to take?
>
>
>
Only you can answer this. Whatever path, it has to be one that you will be motivated to stick with through your PhD.
With that said, assuming math is what you enjoy, **why not consider combining a math PhD with another subject?** In other words, you focus your work on math, but are integrating it with another field that interests you and opens up employment opportunities that a pure math degree might not have. In effect, consider being coadvised by someone in another department where math can be used in a more applied research context (The caveat being that if you are already in a program, you may have an advisor that may not allow it.)
The reality is that math has applications everywhere, whether it's physics, chemistry, engineering, economics, biology, ecology, computer science, geology, etc. In my case, I'm doing the reverse. I'm just beginning a PhD in wildlife ecology, but I've always had a strong interest in math, so I'm actually going to try and take several graduate level courses in math. The benefit being that most people in my field dislike math, yet there is a strong need for people capable of integrating advanced mathematical concepts into ecology. For example, we use things like network theory for modelling landscape connectivity for different species, which has real world uses for conservation, but this integration is only relatively recent in ecology, and is still be developed and built on.
If your biggest concern is financial success, then integrating computer science into your program could really set you up for success. Computer science, like math, has applications everywhere, so the two combined will give you a lot of flexibility. You can look at the type of research being done in computer science to get an idea of the different things people are working on. Depending on the approach you take here, you could probably set yourself up for a nice future as a data scientist.
Or you could do something entirely different. I know someone that was a mechanical engineer working on space shuttle related projects before starting a successful PhD program studying bears. Despite not having a biology related degree, they were probably able to pitch their math and computer background as strong selling point.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: A math degree provides evidence that you are a strong problem solver, that you can grasp and apply logic, and that you are comfortable with
algorithms. These skills apply to many areas. You have the opportunity to find what you are passionate about and pursue it. Many jobs say something
like candidates must have degree in X, or other related field. Math is almost always accepted in the other related field category based on the skills
it demands. However, a math degree in itself may not always be enough, so you should be prepared to develop specialized skills.
What you are asking is really a personal question that you will be able to answer for yourself better than any of us can do. That said, I do would
not recommend a PHD in math if you do not know how you want to use it. You need to find your passion. It's OK if you don't know and if you don't get it right in your first
job, but by entering the real world you will get exposure to real life things that you like and dislike.
I was a math major and found myself in a similar position. I started out at an actuarial company and switched to a software
development. Both paths required time outside of work to learn the specialized skills required by the job, but the problem-solving skills demanded of a
math major have provided an excellent foundation.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: **Is a math degree useless financially?** Yes, if its just an undergraduate degree.
**What about a masters in math?** More useful, but still quite useless comparatively to other degrees, unless you back it up with other skills (e.g. I know software developers who've gone into data science/machine learning positions, but that requires self-learning software development on the side).
**What about a PhD in math?** Much more useful than either a masters or an undergraduate, *but* mostly for the purpose of enjoying a career in Academia. Since that's not usually well-paid for most people, that doesn't seem to be what you are aiming for (and yes, the fact that Academia is also highly competitive with loads of pressure is yet another reason to avoid that path *if you aren't extremely passionated about research*. That's the only way you'll be good in Academia, except if you are some sort of genius). There are however other alternatives: you can get a job in finance (again, if you back it up with other skills, like learning financial theory and/or programming), and a job in banking does pay quite well, but if you aren't interested in that sort of thing (don't blame you), then there aren't really that many options left in the industry. People will tell you fairy tale stories about how their math PhD got them a job working with this or that, but the truth is that none of those jobs are guaranteed and your math degree isn't structured for it. At best, you'll still have to spend an enormous amount of time self-studying whatever stuff you need to work in whatever random industry you got hired into. The truth is you won't walk into any industry apart from banking or teaching and be able to dazzle people with your math knowledge. Your math knowledge is and always will remain a *nice bonus*. Nothing more. You have to be able to offer more.
Personally, if financial gains were my main worry and I wasn't particularly fond of math (which you don't seem to be), Electrical Engineering is a complete no-brainer. Lots of jobs, salary's decent.
Oh, and **please** don't listen to people who say that a degree in math "improves your analytical thinking" and blah blah blah. As if a degree in Electrical Engineering doesn't do the same.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: I'd be more inclined to comment - but I get more space in an answer:
The premise that a degree is a path to a job is blatantly false. Even the best most sought after degree might leave you jobless: wrong region, potential employer doesn't like you, you aren't as good as the rest (some subjects are apparently very competitive, for better or worse).
So you should really pick a degree that you find personally interesting that has a potential of being useful for work.
In the case of mathematics this leaves very must two main routes:
* Pure maths in academia, or close to it, teaching
* Applied maths in academia or industry
Mathematics is very much the foundation of much of our modern life. Banking, electronics, engineering - BUT this is applied mathematics, not pure mathematics (but even that has its fans).
Some people may joke that an applied mathematician is a physicist ;).
In your specific case, the combination of mathematics with electrical engineering can be quite valuable. You would possibly be better at the calculation that your peers if they did not study mathematics.
Then again, if you hate electrics and love maths, it may not be an advisable choice.
In addition, paths can change. Even a PhD you should chose to some extent by interest if you can - it will make it more interesting.
To bring in a personal note:
I studied mathematics. In the PhD I ended up with some limited experimental and analytical chemistry, chemical kinetics, ab initio quantum chemistry and programming. Then in two post docs I ended up programming more and working more with chemical kinetics and quantum chemistry.
Unfortunately I am not in academia any more - still, for now a very interesting job. And what is it? Numerical simulations (where my previous experience is useful.)
Now in some countries subject mobility isn't very large (Germany springs to mind, maybe also France). In England you come from subject A and do a PhD on sbject B in the end...
So to bring this to a conclusion:
Study what you like - a PhD is also funded. A degree is NOT a "path to money" - follow your interest. Mathematics is the basis of most of the things we need today. If possible, focus on the applied side and there should be many opportunities for an applied mathematician. And don't necessarily reject the pure maths: Developping new functionals in quantum chemistry or new models for say CFD, working on cryptography is well beyong what I would be able to do in maths - especially given that my paths capabilities have been rusting away the past 7.5 years....
Nowadays I do less "actual maths" and more programming, number crunching and data processing.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_10: My undergraduate degree is in pure mathematics and it opens many doors. First, remember that there are a lot of jobs which require a degree but are not overly picky about which one. For instance, I started my career as an Army Officer after receiving my bachelors. A degree is a requirement and a math degree in particular opened the door to Military Intelligence.
Math is also an acceptable starting point for many careers that are tangentially related. After leaving the army, I became a programmer and database administrator for a while. I know others with math degrees that went into financial analysis
Math also serves as a basis for many related graduate degrees. I went into law after I decided I did not want to continue in programming.
And that is to answer your direct question about the value of a pure math degree. You said you also have an electrical engineering degree. While a masters is very helpful if you want to go into work as a true electrical engineer, a EE degree opens a huge array of doors by itself. I know many other programmers that got an EE degree to start.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_11: >
> Is a math degree really useless financially?
>
>
>
I guess you mean PhD., as you seem to have already double majored in EE/math.
>
> I am so confused and I do not know which paths am I supposed to take? do a phd in math or electrical engineering?
>
>
>
From a financial perspective...
the path to the greatest in lifetime earnings is probably to get an EE (or math) job now.
That's four (+/-) years more of income and you won't have to pay to go to school anymore.
Normally my advice is follow your passion, but you don't seem to have found your passion yet (from your post at least).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: With either a PhD in Math or EE, you have a good chance to get a well-paying job. So my advice is: **study what you interests you** (if neither interests you, a PhD is probably the wrong choice).
To give you some numbers, from the US, the [AMS Survey](https://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/employ-new-phds) gives data on starting salaries for Math PhDs. You can also get some data from Payscale on average salaries (e.g., [Math PhDs](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_(PhD)%2C_Mathematics/Salary), [EE PhDs](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_(PhD)%2C_Electrical_Engineering_(EE)/Salary) and [Engineering Bachelors](https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Bachelor_of_Engineering_(BEng_%2F_BE)/Salary#by_Years_Experience)):
* AMS Median industry starting salary (2016 Math PhD): ~$106,000
* Payscale Average Math PhD salary: $98,000
* Payscale Average EE PhD salary: $116,000
* Payscale Average Bachelor of Engineering salary with 5-9 years of experience: $83,568
Some words about this data: The AMS data is rather reliable. Payscale does not have have a lot of data on Math and EE PhDs, and I am not sure if the salaries used are all starting salaries. The Payscale Math PhD includes a number of academic salaries which are significantly lower. AMS reports medians and quartiles, Payscale reports averages and ranges. If we compare the Payscale *Median* EE PhD salary (by eyeball, about $110k) with the AMS Median (about $106k) we see they are not so different (and the latter is certainly only starting salaries).
Ignoring the relative cost of getting a PhD (which is typically relatively small in the long term), it appears that your general salary prospects are better with a PhD in EE or Math than just a Bachelors, and slightly better with a PhD in EE than a PhD in Math.
That said, there are some areas of math that are considerably more marketable outside of academia than others, such as Statistics and Data Science.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_13: To give a slightly different take than the other answers:
Employers hire people to do a job for them. Many companies have situations slightly more complex than "hire the best for the job," but at the end of the day they want the person who can meet their need as best as possible.
As a math major, you have a skill set that people want. Unfortunately, they rarely are looking for people with *only* that skill; they likely also have other requirements. For example, in the United States, the NSA [explicitly lists mathematics](https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/NSA/nsacareers.html) on their jobs page. The mathematicians they hire, though, are rarely *only* mathematicians; they also have at least some skills in computer science, programming, and other related areas (e.g., linguistics, cryptography).
Basically, check out jobs you may be interested in and make sure that math isn't the only skill you bring to the table. Outside of academia mathematicians typically need to be polyglots to be successful, but polyglot mathematicians can be [successful indeed](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/14/5-successful-ceos-who-majored-in-math.html).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: I got a PhD in pure math, got a job at a financial company, and I am very well paid.
For full disclosure, I did have a small amount of trouble getting a job at a financial company. I interviewed at maybe 5 companies. I was first hired by this company as a lowly programmer (in the last year of my PhD program), then after I got my PhD I applied for a job on the modeling team. You could say I snuck in.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_15: As already said, the answer is No, it isn’t.
Among the thousand or so software engineers and systems engineers at my first civilian job, **many** were math majors.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_16: I did a PhD, left academia and have worked a career in areas for which that is an asset. Never had to use very advanced maths, but 'mathematical thinking' has been essential.
A key thing to observe is that maths comes under two well known labels:
* Pure
* Applied
When in academia this can sometimes seen a trite distinction, commonly with a bit of snobbery thrown in.
Outside of that, 'applied' also means that you have to take a problem and translate into mathematical form. No longer can you 'given such and such' or 'assuming that'. You need to take the data that you are given and determine the conditions it satisfies, or fix it so that it does. You typically need to translate the business problem into abstract form, solve it abstractly, then implement in software. In fact, even to get the first of these involves a ton of talking to people and language skills.
Think of such roles such as:
1. Data Scientist/ Analyst : A huge growth area. The Analyst *very* well paid and mathematical
2. Operations Research Analyst : Cool, but not that may positions available.
3. Modeller - finance: Still a lot of jobs, well paid, but you may have reasons not to
4. Modeller - defence: Still a lot of jobs, quite diverse, but you may have reasons not to
5. Modeller - other: Fewer jobs, can be very interesting and valuable.
So, if you think you'll want exit academia after PhD, the specific additional knowledge a employer will look for then is **programming**. If you have EE, you most likely already have some knowledge. Continue to build on that during your PhD. Maybe take some courses through institution or online. Learn about OR and Data Science. You'll then be well set up to find a good position on a good entry salary.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I´d like to know if the average salary for a PostDoc and a PhD student is sufficient for a middle income expectations in Denmark.
What I mean for middle income is for the two of us (1 PostDoc and 1 PhD) to rent a 1 bedroom flat, spend in public transport, go to the supermarket without worries and travel on vacations once a year.<issue_comment>username_1: Cost of living is high, particularly in the Copenhagen area: rent, food, transportation, etc. But already with a PhD salary you will get by no problem and you will have plenty of extra money at the end of the month. Two salaries will allow you to rent a nice small apartment, so no problems. People with kids do PhDs in Denmark, so that should give you an idea, if you have no kids it's plenty enough.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This answer is about the København/Copenhagen/Kööpenhamina region.
Taxes
-----
As a foreign postdoc it is possible to get a flat tax rate, at the price of losing all deductions. This might or might not be worth it financially, but certainly makes planning easier.
Apartment
---------
Renting an apartment is terribly expensive. First, it is difficult to find one that has a reasonable price. Being a foreigner does not help. We (two adults and a child not of school age yet) had to first live in a far too big and expensive apartment before finding a cheaper one. A couple just moving in are renting an apartment with three rooms. Cheap apartments do not exist and finding one of reasonable price is not trivial. Both of the examples here were of Nordic couples/families, and the latter could read Danish fluently and write it intelligibly.
You should have savings. It is typical to pay three months' rent when moving in; the first and the last months of the contract and one more just in case.
It is typical that the walls of an apartment and newly painted and you are supposed to paint them again when leaving. This, too, is expensive. Try to avoid this at all costs when making the contract; it might be possible with a short one, but might be difficult with a longer contract. Be very diligent when making the move-in report and take detailed photographs of everything, just in case.
Life
----
My family lived with a single postdoc salary. After getting past the initial shock of settling in, we did not have problems, visited museums and places for children and used the public transport.
We travelled back to Finland for Christmas and summer vacations.
Some caveats: We did not eat out (though I did eat at the DTU cafeteria), but also did not save from ordinary food expenses, eating plenty of nuts, for example. We do not drink alcohol. I walked and biked to work, so we did not use the public transportation daily. We did pay for the daycare, which is an expense lacking from you. We tend to buy things used and I tend to not buy many non-food things.
So, given a reasonably frugal lifestyle, we did not have problems living with a single postdoc salary. I did have enough savings to not worry about it anyways. We were there for little less than a year; a longer stay would have made things easier.
PhD salary is quite comparable to postdoc salary.
### Eating out
It is unusual to eat frequently at a restaurant in Denmark (and Finland and Norway, so extrapolating to all the Nordic countries might be fine, too). It is something done on special occasions, not every day or every week, for most families. It is also expensive, as the staff has reasonable wages and there are taxes.
Eating out seems to be bizarrely common in some other parts of the world.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I noticed a particular conference had a deadline in January, whereas a workshop collocated at the conference had a deadline in May. Does this mean the workshop is merely using the location of the workshop, but is a distinct event? [Example](http://www.fatml.org/schedule/2018/page/call-for-papers-2018). I noticed the workshops proceedings are considered "non-archival meaning contributors are free to publish their work in archival journals or conferences" Is this the case with all workshops?<issue_comment>username_1: It happens from time to time. The idea is to give people who did not make it to the "normal" conference an opportunity to attend and present something. E.g. it could be work in progress without evaluation or projects at their very start. Usually, the deadline for workshops is after the final acceptance / rejection of the host conference.
Depending on the conference, there might be an extra fee for the workshop.
It depends on the workshop organizers (who are often selected by a "call for workshops") on how the contributions are published.
This might differ between conferences!
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The conference deadline is likely for regular papers and is early to allow for review and possible revision. The workshop may be tightly associated or not, but likely has a separate organization (chair, committee,...). It also likely has a specialized purpose and participation may be less "controlled" than paper submissions so the deadline can some later.
Some workshops present "working papers" than may not actually need review and the workshop itself is a kind of review. Other workshops are actually working groups where people interested in a topic gather to do some work. Workshops may or may not publish anything after the event, and if they do it is usually less formal than for the conference itself.
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/16
| 420
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<issue_start>username_0: I have reached the maximum paper length and already shortened everything as possible. I use 4 different github repositories, which I mention in my paper. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no room left to add a citation for each repository.
What options are there to solve this problem?
Would it be a good idea to create a new own repository that references the 4 different repositories and only cite my own repository?<issue_comment>username_1: URLs (including those for Github repositories) needn't be cited, they can (and commonly should) be included as footnotes.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: You could create a DOI for each repository with [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/) and then put all the DOI's in a single reference. Note that you can connect your github account to Zenodo, making the whole procedure really straightforward (see [here](https://guides.github.com/activities/citable-code/) for a how-to).
Not very elegant, but I don't see any other "simple" solution.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: There are really only two solutions to this problem, and which is appropriate depends on the customs of your field:
1. Name the repositories (and possibly give their URLs), but do not formally cite them. In some fields this will be unacceptable, others it's up to the author, and in yet while others it is considered unacceptable to cite a non-peer-reviewed source like a repository (I have had journals force me to de-formalize software citations before!).
2. Shrink something else to make space for the repository citations. You may think this is not possible, but I promise you that you can get the few lines you need without significantly affecting content through minor tweaks in wording, layout, and such (including in reference contents!)
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: My employer is sponsoring most of the tuition and fees for my master's degree (in aerospace engineering), including required textbooks. Thus, it is unethical and against policy for me to sell those books once I'm done with the corresponding courses. Specifically, the policy is that **I cannot "make a profit on" them**, but other than that I am free to do with them as I please. I find that having the physical book is helpful when I'm taking the course, but afterwards if I need to reference it a digital copy will suffice. And while having my office/residence full of these high-level materials certainly makes me feel good about myself, it's not practical. Thus, **what can I do with these textbooks that will have the biggest, most positive impact on academia?**<issue_comment>username_1: **Ask your employer**.
You should be able to work out a solution both parties are happy with pretty easily. The obvious one is to sell the books and then give your employer the profits. If they don't care, you can also pocket the profits yourself, perhaps recycle the books or donate them to your university's library.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Provided you clear it with the appropriate person, sell the books and give the proceeds - in your name and/or in the name of your employer - to a good cause run by your university: scholarship fund etc.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Give them to the professor. It is often useful to be able to lend the course book to future students who cannot afford the books.
Seeing if the library will take them is also a good choice, as mentioned in [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123275/929), but they may not take them as mentioned [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123297/929). Overall I think the professor can do the most good with them. He can lend the to the library, or sometimes the school office, for short term loans, give them to students for an entire semester, or decide that the library is the best place and donate them.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: Options:
In priority order:
1. Put them in a bookcase in your office and use them as desk references. Textbooks are valuable resources. You become familiar with them. So good to retain them. Have your assistant order bookcase if needed.
2. Box them and store them.
3. Give them to the company/site library.
4. Give them away to other students, professors, etc.
---
The reason for the priority is that the company funded your education and you are most familiar with the books. So the most fitting is for you to retain them.
Finally something about this question strikes me as strange. As if you want the $$. Or don't appreciate the company funded education. Or have a pointed aversion to physical texts.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Keep those books that you believe will be valuable as reference material; donate the rest to the university library where you are earning your degree. You know that particular institution uses those particular books. Students less fortunate than you will be able to check them out of the library rather than buying them.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: Donate to other countries
=========================
I'm not sure if this kind of donation is available in other countries, but in my country (Vietnam), there is an organization collects donated English textbooks from the US and ship to libraries in universities in our country. This solves the need of English textbooks in poor and developing countries.
You can visit [Vietnam Book Drive](http://www.veffa.org/vnbookdrive/) if you are interested in this idea.
*Disclaimer: I used to work here as a webmaster a couple years ago.*
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: As an academic librarian, I am frequently asked similar questions. First, *please* **don't just drop them off at the library**. Unwanted donations are a significant problem at libraries—it's very difficult to recycle books, so libraries end up having to *pay* to get rid of books we don't need, on top of the time and effort it takes to deal with a big pile of books on our doorstep.
Do feel free to contact a librarian to see if they would be interested, but be prepared for the answer to be no: textbooks, which change edition quickly and tend to be most useful only to people taking specific classes, are fairly low on the list for most libraries. Some large university libraries do have policies of obtaining a copy of every required textbook, but they will already have a mechanism for purchasing those in a timely manner. If you do go this route, please also be as tentative as possible in your offer: Librarians also tend to dislike telling people "no", so if you push, the librarian is likely to take your books and then quietly dumpster them.
There are some charities that take donations of (some) books. Our library uses [Better World Books](https://www.betterworldbooks.com/Info-Donate-Books-m-7.aspx), which I believe is currently accepting recent textbooks, and you could also look around for programs close to your home.
The most straightforward option might be to pass the books on to another student or students in your program. If you want your donation to have an impact beyond just the student who receives them you could ask them to "pay it forward" by passing along some other books at some future date. (You could also just ask that they pass *your* books along gratis, but the value of this gift will decrease with every iteration as the books get older and new editions come out.)
If you don't care about keeping any value within academia, you could offer the books for pick-up through something like Craig's List. Whether people want your books for study or a book art program or as kindling for their wood-burning stove, the books will at least have value beyond gathering dust in a box in your closet.
If you want to recycle some or all of your books, you will need to deconstruct them first, or locate a service that specializes in books (these are very hard to find, and may have a charge). If you want to do it yourself, a box cutter or utility knife to cut the pages out works pretty well. The pages can go to any paper recycling service. The cover itself may also be recyclable, but any glue and/or stitching will probably need to go into the trash. You probably shouldn't compost the books, as page coatings and inks can be toxic.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_8: If there are graduate students or PhD studens working as TAs at the university, they might have use for it when teaching.
I recall teaching a class as a post-doc, and had difficulties finding the book I was supposed to be teaching on (I did of course not want to buy it with my private money). There might even be a small collection of course books available to TAs, so your book might be a good addition there.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: Some colleges & universities have "textbook libraries", separate from the main academic library, that will accept donations of textbooks. In later semesters, these libraries then lend the textbooks back out to students for whom buying the textbooks would present a financial hardship.
Such initiatives can be difficult to track down, as they're often run on a volunteer basis. To find whether your institution has such a program, search on Google for "[institution name] textbook library", or make inquiries at the dean of students' office, the academic library, the office of financial aid, and/or the student government association.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: ### Donate to [Textbooks for Change](https://textbooksforchange.com/)
In addition to other perfectly reasonable options, you can donate to:
[](https://textbooksforchange.com/)
This is a Canadian charitable organization ("B corporation" whatever that means) which distributes textbooks. 50% of the books go to university libraries in Africa, 20% are resold cheaply to fund the other operations, and 30% are recycled as paper (if they don't meet criteria for use or have no demand or whatever).
Now, they operate mostly in Canada and Michigan - but they're (also) based on people who volunteer to be "drop points", so that might be flexible.
Caveat: I've never lived in Canada nor the US; and my textbooks were semester-long loans from my alma mater's library - so I never actually had the opportunity to donate to "Textbooks for Change" myself. I just noticed their existence and they seem like a nice initiative.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_11: Destroy the books.
Another answer referenced using them for "kindling". Finding some way to recycle the paper may also be good. But don't give the books to someone else who will benefit from their text.
My basis for this unhumanitarian-sounding suggestion was this phrase from the question:
"afterwards if I need to reference it a digital copy will suffice."
If you're keeping a digital copy, then you shouldn't be giving away the separate physical copy, because that is essentially resulting in two different copies being used by two different people when the publisher as only paid for one user. This might violate some actual copyright law, usage agreement, etc. But even if a legal loophole causes this to not be technically illegal, such duplication basically violates the spirit of the idea of having the publisher (and, down the line, the author) being paid for each user of the book.
As long as you're (sometimes) using a digital copy, the bundled physical copy should remain unused (shelved, destroyed, whatever).
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: While taking a test a student is bound to make *some* mistakes but I make excessive errors. It's not that I get a question conceptually wrong. I'll make a mistake in reading it or in simple arithmetic calculations.
This issue is not a new occurrence it's been haunting me since middle school. I've seeked advice from my teachers/parents/classmates they are always along the lines of:
* Try to stay calm during the exam.
* Practice more questions.
* Read the questions properly.
I've done all of that. I try my level best not to make any mistakes but they just *happen* and it frustrates me to no end.
I distinctively remember my middle school math teacher telling me that if I don't take care of my *silly* mistakes I'll pay the price later.
As a cocky preteen I brushed away her warning after all silly mistakes are just *silly* mistakes but she was correct. I did pay the price. I messed up an exam recently and now I won't be getting a tier A university.
How do I stop making silly mistakes?<issue_comment>username_1: Well, simple steps can be:
Slow down, many errors are due to rushing.
Read the question twice before starting , make notes or underline important info.
Return and re-read the question and answer checking the detail, make sure that numbers have not been changed - I managed to swap 293 deg C for 273 deg C as 273 wasmore common in the practice questions...
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: First, stop thinking about "Tier A" or "Tier B" or whatever "tiers" -- it's another kind of a silly mistake. You have the whole Internet in front of you, so gaining knowledge anywhere is not an issue.
Next, after supervising many different students, I tend to believe that some people are *inherently* unable to be meticulous. We indeed should discipline ourselves, and simple tricks do help. The best one is to write, put aside your writing, do something else, re-read later carefully and fix.
However, in general I think the best advice is to focus on your strong parts. Yes, perhaps, you won't win a medal for attention to details. So try to train yourself to the best of your abilities, but think what kind of future job/career would not be too demanding in this regard. Exams are quite artificial situations, hopefully in "normal" life you won't have to do often something quick and correct while the clock is ticking.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: "Read the question properly" is really important. Answering the wrong question isn't going to get you many marks.
Another strategy I have used is to run through the exam reasonably quickly. Don't ponder too long while answering the questions. This should result in your finishing early.
Now go back and do it all again. Read the question again. Check your working again. See if you spot a mistake.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I had the same exact problem and I then later found out I have dyslexia and dyscalculia. I am not in anyway suggesting that you have the same issue, but I was diagnosed very late in life (18 yo) and I honestly see many colleagues having the same issues and never being diagnosed with that to then later found out they had some form of it.
Thing is, even if this problem of yours has a name, there is no cure for these type of learning disabilities. In some universities you can ask for a bit more time and a calculator but that's it. I decided not to ask for those because 1. it was a long process 2. I was too proud (and stupid) to ask for it.
Honestly, my tricks were the following:
1. If it is a math test, I did thousands of exercises, even of the same type... I just did them over and over and over again. This does not mean that I did not do any silly mistakes (as you call them) but still, the chances were pretty low.
2. In case it was not a math test, I would still approach the problem similarly. Studying more (and I mean a LOT more) made me more confident and also less prone to silly mistakes.
3. I drank passiflora tea (I still do it sometimes) that made me more attentive during exams and helped me focus during long study sessions. Passiflora is also called the "Student's tea" because it has important effect on concentration and stress. I very much advice it to all students that have similar issues. Just do not drink three liters of that in one shot (you could hallucinate).
While all these made me pretty stressed at times, I always studied more than necessary and ended up with a PhD. I think that all depends on you. For some, it is natural to commit 0 silly mistakes, for me, this was a big challenge (as you said, at uni they really cared about certain details and I would get very little points at exams for similar errors). However, there is always a way to solve these problems, and you can definitively achieve what you want in life despite these issues it is all a matter of finding what works for you.
Hope this helped.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: 1. Practice more questions. This is basic pedagogy. Look at how people learn sports or music for instance. We are not computers who just learn a concept and then can use it flawlessly any time in the future. We have to be trained. Similar to how a dog is trained. We are animals also.
2. Check your answers. If you made any mistake, even as simple as a sign error in math or the like, force yourself to do the ENTIRE problem over again. Do this without looking at what you did before. Imagine it is a fresh problem. Believe me, if you start training yourself this way...you will get better.
3. Give yourself some mental reward if you ever do all the assigned homework flawlessly. It can be as silly as drawing a smiley face on the page. And it will be hard to get to. Especially given your current skill. But when you eventually achieve it, you will know you did something well.
4. If you have a choice, emphasize books that have answers (detailed solutions not needed, but at least answers). Make sure you check your work and force yourself through the training in 2 (and eventually 3). If you don't have books like this, than try to buy the solution manual. Or get a separate drill book (e.g. Schaum's Outline). Note, you are always doing the problems FIRST. The answers are for checking work and creating a feedback loop. And especially to DRILL the mistakes away.
And I don't believe you on the "I've done all that" because in a different part of your question, you mention that you told your middle school teacher silly mistakes were no big deal. So I don't trust you to have really arduously executed the advice you were given.
However, the good point is that if you do turn to, you will get the rewards. It won't happen overnight. But hard work pays off. Same as sports or music. You can't change the past. But you can affect the future.
P.s. Work hard in the Tier 2 university. Life is not about just getting a Harvard brand stamped on your butt. Work, study, learn. You will set yourself up for rewards after graduation from Cal State. (The material isn't that different. Learn it well. Be like Good Will Hunting and show those Harvard boys.)
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/17
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<issue_start>username_0: I need a comprehensive introduction to how research journals work and conferences relevant to the point of view of a student, and as a researcher.
Although I have read many research papers, I think I still don't understand a lot of the basics. I googled my problem and maybe I am not searching it right but I came to know what the volume number, issue number, etc mean just yesterday from here: <https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nmp/sonet/rlos/ebp/journals/what_are_journals/index.html>. This was helpful but I still need to know more e.g. what does impact factor mean, how important is this metric, who has the right of distributing the article considering I want my research to be publicly and freely available, what is general process of writing and review, etc.
Maybe I am not searching for the right terms. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: Well, simple steps can be:
Slow down, many errors are due to rushing.
Read the question twice before starting , make notes or underline important info.
Return and re-read the question and answer checking the detail, make sure that numbers have not been changed - I managed to swap 293 deg C for 273 deg C as 273 wasmore common in the practice questions...
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: First, stop thinking about "Tier A" or "Tier B" or whatever "tiers" -- it's another kind of a silly mistake. You have the whole Internet in front of you, so gaining knowledge anywhere is not an issue.
Next, after supervising many different students, I tend to believe that some people are *inherently* unable to be meticulous. We indeed should discipline ourselves, and simple tricks do help. The best one is to write, put aside your writing, do something else, re-read later carefully and fix.
However, in general I think the best advice is to focus on your strong parts. Yes, perhaps, you won't win a medal for attention to details. So try to train yourself to the best of your abilities, but think what kind of future job/career would not be too demanding in this regard. Exams are quite artificial situations, hopefully in "normal" life you won't have to do often something quick and correct while the clock is ticking.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: "Read the question properly" is really important. Answering the wrong question isn't going to get you many marks.
Another strategy I have used is to run through the exam reasonably quickly. Don't ponder too long while answering the questions. This should result in your finishing early.
Now go back and do it all again. Read the question again. Check your working again. See if you spot a mistake.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I had the same exact problem and I then later found out I have dyslexia and dyscalculia. I am not in anyway suggesting that you have the same issue, but I was diagnosed very late in life (18 yo) and I honestly see many colleagues having the same issues and never being diagnosed with that to then later found out they had some form of it.
Thing is, even if this problem of yours has a name, there is no cure for these type of learning disabilities. In some universities you can ask for a bit more time and a calculator but that's it. I decided not to ask for those because 1. it was a long process 2. I was too proud (and stupid) to ask for it.
Honestly, my tricks were the following:
1. If it is a math test, I did thousands of exercises, even of the same type... I just did them over and over and over again. This does not mean that I did not do any silly mistakes (as you call them) but still, the chances were pretty low.
2. In case it was not a math test, I would still approach the problem similarly. Studying more (and I mean a LOT more) made me more confident and also less prone to silly mistakes.
3. I drank passiflora tea (I still do it sometimes) that made me more attentive during exams and helped me focus during long study sessions. Passiflora is also called the "Student's tea" because it has important effect on concentration and stress. I very much advice it to all students that have similar issues. Just do not drink three liters of that in one shot (you could hallucinate).
While all these made me pretty stressed at times, I always studied more than necessary and ended up with a PhD. I think that all depends on you. For some, it is natural to commit 0 silly mistakes, for me, this was a big challenge (as you said, at uni they really cared about certain details and I would get very little points at exams for similar errors). However, there is always a way to solve these problems, and you can definitively achieve what you want in life despite these issues it is all a matter of finding what works for you.
Hope this helped.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: 1. Practice more questions. This is basic pedagogy. Look at how people learn sports or music for instance. We are not computers who just learn a concept and then can use it flawlessly any time in the future. We have to be trained. Similar to how a dog is trained. We are animals also.
2. Check your answers. If you made any mistake, even as simple as a sign error in math or the like, force yourself to do the ENTIRE problem over again. Do this without looking at what you did before. Imagine it is a fresh problem. Believe me, if you start training yourself this way...you will get better.
3. Give yourself some mental reward if you ever do all the assigned homework flawlessly. It can be as silly as drawing a smiley face on the page. And it will be hard to get to. Especially given your current skill. But when you eventually achieve it, you will know you did something well.
4. If you have a choice, emphasize books that have answers (detailed solutions not needed, but at least answers). Make sure you check your work and force yourself through the training in 2 (and eventually 3). If you don't have books like this, than try to buy the solution manual. Or get a separate drill book (e.g. Schaum's Outline). Note, you are always doing the problems FIRST. The answers are for checking work and creating a feedback loop. And especially to DRILL the mistakes away.
And I don't believe you on the "I've done all that" because in a different part of your question, you mention that you told your middle school teacher silly mistakes were no big deal. So I don't trust you to have really arduously executed the advice you were given.
However, the good point is that if you do turn to, you will get the rewards. It won't happen overnight. But hard work pays off. Same as sports or music. You can't change the past. But you can affect the future.
P.s. Work hard in the Tier 2 university. Life is not about just getting a Harvard brand stamped on your butt. Work, study, learn. You will set yourself up for rewards after graduation from Cal State. (The material isn't that different. Learn it well. Be like Good Will Hunting and show those Harvard boys.)
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/17
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<issue_start>username_0: I have reviewed several papers for a particular journal in the field of computer science. This journal has the practice of not informing reviewers about the final decision. As an example, I previously suggested a major revision and after a couple of weeks I received the revised paper, then I suggested a minor revision and had radio silence since then (6-7 months ago), so I have no idea whether the paper was accepted, rejected or withdrawn.
To me, it seems like both the decision and the non-blinded, non-private parts of the correspondence should be shared. This seems reasonable given the effort I expended; further, it would be helpful for my future reviews to know whether my review was on par with the others (in terms of both the decision, and the comments). It seems like there is already software that would automate this process (this journal uses Open Journal System as its editorial management system).
Are there disadvantages I am overlooking? What are the arguments for *not* sharing this information with the reviewers?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Are there any reasons why the details of a peer review process should be kept secret from the reviewers?
>
>
>
Yes, it burdens the editor.
Reviewers can ask for---and in my experience will receive---reviews from fellow reviewers.
The outcome of the peer review process will eventually be known to reviewers (with a few exceptions).
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't think you should become overly invested in the articles you review. This is similar to other questions I have seen from reviewers about wanting to do a third level of reviews or the like.
You need to de-emphasize your importance in the process. The primary responsibility for the paper is on the author. Secondary on the editor. And only tertiary the reviewer.
Do a decent job on the review but do NOT become invested in the article meeting all of your advice or being stopped (or promoted) based on your review.
Consider your review to be feedback and then move on.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: One possible rationale would be a belief that the acceptance decision ought to be a confidential matter between the journal and the author, and the reviewers simply don't have a "need to know".
The argument "it is important feedback for the reviewer" isn't very strong, in my view. Knowing the fate of the paper doesn't really give you much information about whether your review was helpful in reaching that decision, and certainly doesn't tell how you could have made it better. Conversely, if the editor wants to give you feedback on your review, they can certainly do so without revealing the final decision.
By analogy, consider what happens when you write recommendation letters for people. When they apply to a school or employer, the school doesn't tell you whether the applicant was accepted or not, because they consider it to be nobody's business except the applicants's (and privacy laws may back this up). Of course this is a different situation in many ways, but I think the underlying principle is the same - having been part of a process doesn't, in and of itself, entitle you to information about the result which would otherwise be confidential.
Upvotes: 3
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2019/01/17
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<issue_start>username_0: I made a contact with a proposed PhD supervisor( Professor), everything went well and she forwarded the email between her and the department Research committee secretary that I have been shortlisted for studentship and recommended for Fellowship, in the email she sent to me, I observed a remark on my application file (my entrance requirement was indicated with FAILED) and I quickly asked her if it won't affect my admission, but she ignored it, a later found out that all applicant were initially categorized as a masters holder (I am a bsc holder) before screening that was the reason why for that). After, a couple of days, i asked her if I was later shortlisted for Fellowship but she ignored the message, though the admission offer will be released in March.
My questions are these;
Hope I have not create a doubt in her mind towards me as a result of my inquisitive nature?, hope this won't affect my admission offer and lastly, how can I build the relationship back because she used to reply my messaged often and appreciate my research proposal?<issue_comment>username_1: It sounds like you have been peppering this professor with emails. Some might call this "inquisitive," others might call this "pestering." Not everyone answers their email within a day or two. Although not ideal, this is the way things are many times. Some professors receive literally hundreds of emails a day and filtering through them all is very time consuming. There were some semesters that I would teach 100+ students. Now stack all of the research and teaching assistants, department administrators, university administrators, society duties, colleagues, spam, etc on top of those emails from students. That's a lot of email to filter through in one day. Sometimes it would take me a few days to get back to a potential student who asked a question about their application.
Do you have any other points of contact in the department?
If the fellowship list does not come out until March, it actually seems that you have plenty of time still. This professor could be waiting to hear back from a chain of contacts in the department who make final decisions on things like fellowships.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is obviously an important decision for you, and it's understandably making you anxious. However, you have to accept that the decision won't be made until March. Repeatedly contacting the folks making the decision, asking if they've decided won't help. They have a process they have to follow, and they can't make promises before they've completed that process. Sending repeated emails asking about the status of their decision could be annoying them (it would annoy me), but if they're reasonable, professional people it probably won't affect their decision on the position. However, no one can guarantee that. You just have to live with the uncertainty for a couple of months.
As long as your application is complete and accurate you should just put this aside until March. Find something else to keep yourself busy, or seek professional assistance if the anxiety is overwhelming.
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/17
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<issue_start>username_0: Background: At my current institution I haven't even officially started my PhD yet, meaning I am not even enlisted as a PhD student. I have my bachelor’s and master’s already, and this is in Germany so “thesis only”. I also have worked here for a while now during my master’s so I know the institute well and they also know me well, which may be part of the problem as I am not “just a PhD student”.
The problem is that I get buried in all kinds of work like,
* writing parts of grant proposals (many, not one or two like other questions mention)
* giving popular science talks about our work on any given chance
* presenting our work during lab tours for all kinds of guests (which happens often)
* writing news articles and marketing material
* supervising students and assistants
* ...
It’s not that I don’t like doing that stuff as much of it helps me to improve my writing, presentation and people skills.
My problem is that there is nearly no time left to actually do research. I just present old stuff or the work of colleagues that is to some degree build upon my old stuff. I feel like I do the work of a postdoc or professor and not the work of someone that hasn’t even started their PhD yet.
So to what degree/amount are the mentioned tasks normal for a student in my stage?<issue_comment>username_1: These all sound to me like usual activities for a PhD student (the "news articles and marketing material" bit sounds a bit odd to me, but that might be more field-dependent).
PhD programs are not typically designed only to allow you to do research, they are designed to *teach* you to do research, and furthermore to *train you to be an independent researcher*. That can include learning about all the other baggage that comes with research, such as finding funding, disseminating the research to the academic and sometimes lay community, mentoring junior researchers, etc.
However, like most things, balance is important. It's hard to specify some number of hours per week or something like that for you to contribute to these "other" activities, but the most important thing is that you are able to make progress in your research.
Since your advisor will be the person judging your satisfactory progress as well as being the person assigning you all these tasks, you should have regular conversations with them as a student regarding this balance. Have these conversations early and as often as necessary. It would be appropriate to approach this question directly as you have asked it here, too: tell your advisor *"I am worried too much of my time is being spent on X/Y/Z and it will be difficult for me to make progress towards my thesis."*
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I agree with the considerations on scope and balance from [Bryan's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123295/14017). With a CS background from Germany, I consider all of the activities you listed quite normal, as long as you are not downright swamped with the sheer amount of work. I would, however, like to point out another important aspect:
**It is important to learn how find synergies in the additional tasks and your research.**
This can mean executing some of the additional tasks in such a way that their results are in some way useful for your research. It can just as well mean guiding your research into a direction that aligns with the content of your additional tasks, even if it is not exactly the direction you would have picked otherwise.
Let's look at your examples (without taking into account whether the concrete amount or frequency of such tasks is adequate):
>
> * writing parts of grant proposals
>
>
>
Beside this being an "inter-generational contract" (PhD candidates are employed from the funding gathered by a grant obtained by one of their predecessors, and during their employment, the candidates write some grant proposals to secure funding for their successors), delving into the topic of grant proposals may give you a better overview of what questions and topics appear to be considered interesting by the community and by external entities.
Furthermore, it gives you a chance of spawning follow-up projects to what you are working on, which will, in the future, produce citations of your work. In the best case, it might even create one or two new positions in your lab with colleagues working on directly related topics, thus naturally paving the way for collaboration opportunities.
>
> * giving popular science talks about our work on any given chance
> * presenting our work during lab tours for all kinds of username_3s
> * writing news articles and marketing material
>
>
>
All of these are chances to practice how to present your work to members of an audience who are not experts in your field, maybe not even in your general subject area.
Depending on your research interests, this can be immediately helpful for paper-writing: While research papers typically assume some familiarity with the field, there often is a desire to keep at least the introduction and problem description sections comprehensible to a rather wide audience. After all, even readers who may be only marginally familiar with the particular research questions should be able to figure out what the paper is about by and large, so they can decide whether reading up on the topic in order to understand the paper in-depth is worthwhile.
At the same time, chances are your research interfaces with people outside of your field in one way or another. Maybe you will have to embed a theoretical framework in a context of application from another field, maybe your research results are meant to benefit non-experts (who will thus be a part of user studies or similar events). Either way, you will have to explain to people who are outside of the target audience of your actual papers what your research is about.
>
> * supervising students and assistants
>
>
>
This might be the proverbial elephant in the room when it comes to synergies between additional tasks and your research - at least if this supervision happens in the kind of arrangement I am thinking of: Projects of one or more students whose content is more or less individually agreed upon between the students and (officially) the examiner/(inofficially) the supervisor.
If that is the case, try to actively participate in the definition of the tasks. Bachelor and Master theses, as well as other student-based projects, can often be designed in such a way that they end up forming a sub-project for your own research (think a prototype with a small evaluation of a concept you describe, an alternative approach that you do not have time to explore yourself, an extension that forms the "missing link" between your concept and a concrete problem, ...). Motivated students may be willing to try and publish a paper about their work together with you after completing their project, not so motivated students will at least submit their work, which you can then mention in your thesis as a proof-of-concept developed by students.
If done well and with some good luck, this can be a self-reinforcing process, as satisfied students will recommend your supervision to (hopefully) equally capable friends of theirs who can carry on where the previous ones finished.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: You need to concentrate on your research. Hide out if needed or do your work at odd hours. Often people won't tell you the dirty truth but I would urge you to at least consider a more stark and cynical view of grad school.
A fair amount of single-mindedness, even *selfishness* is needed. It is possible to take this too far (not pulling your weight in the group, leaving lab dirty, breaking things) but you are the opposite. Doing too much. At the end of the day, the "score" will be based on how many papers you write and how good they are. NOT on the other crap.
Buckle down and get some science done and papers written. You can be more outgoing and do outreach, etc. after you are a tenured faculty.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: In Hamburg, by law, at least 30% of your paid time should be focused on your PhD. Track your time and if that isn't the case, speak up.
But as others have said, most of what you have to do, can help you as well. Find the synergies and maximize them. In the end you should be able to reach 50% or more and all the remaining tasks are necessary for your (academic) career anyway. You can't be a professor without teaching experience. If there is an opportunity, most people will hire someone who was able to generate funding, for a postdoc position.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Let's get things sorted straight away: in Germany, most PhD students are *Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter* (scientific collaborators), with a part-time or full-time contract for the time of their PhD. The tasks of your job are:
>
> * writing parts of grant proposals (many, not one or two like other questions mention)
> * giving popular science talks about our work on any given chance
> * presenting our work during lab tours for all kinds of username_3s (which happens often)
> * writing news articles and marketing material
> * supervising students and assistants
>
>
>
Plus some degree of teaching responsibility **and, of course, doing research**.
Being able to get a PhD degree is, at least on paper, an **extra perk.** If you have a full-time contract (TV-L/TV-H 13 100%), as common in the "IT" part of MINT, you're supposed to do all those stuff during your normal work week, and then put extra effort towards your thesis. If you have a part-time contract (50%, 2/3, 75%), as common in the "MN" part of MINT, you're supposed to devote that portion of the work week to those tasks and work the rest of the time towards your degree.
That, at least, is the situation on paper. In practice, your degree is one of the main goals. As [O.R.Mapper also said](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123310/103112), your best bet is to make sure those other parts of your work also have relevance towards your degree. Try to be proactive in offering to supervise Bachelor and Master theses by proposing topics which are relevant to your research (data analysis, programming and evaluating some algorithms, etc.). The better those theses are, the further they will bring you, and the higher the chance a good paper may come out of them - which, depending on the advisor, may be a major part of your final thesis. Try not to see those tasks (especially the teaching and supervising ones) as a burden: they may be really useful, if played well.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: The type of work you described definitely belongs to the work of PhD students. And sometimes it can even be less connected to research; from my own experience this can include organizing conferences or helping reorganization of offices.
The actual amount typically depends on the kind of contract. There are different types with different perks and requirements on your side. A typical full time university job ("Lehrstelle") includes a certain amount of teaching, typically measured by lecture hours. It is expected that you spend twice as much time for the teaching. I.e. if you have the obligation for 8 hours of teaching this will mean 16 hours per week. The additional time is required for preparation, correcting exams, supervising the lab, etc. Also supervising other (bachelor and master's) theses is expected, and also helping students in seminars.
Often these jobs are only part time, which means that the official teaching obligations are also only halved. This allows you to spend the other half of the time for doing research.
Additionally, there are research grants. They typically do not include teaching obligations, but supervising students for seminars and theses is often expected and also voluntarily giving a lecture. However, it is easier to select an interesting topic. With these contracts comes the most free time to actually do research work.
The other topics are normally not written down explicitly in contracts, but it is expected to be the kind of work. If you feel that you do more than is usually done in your group, speak to your supervisor. From my experience in research groups that work well together, the work is shared belong all members, with a trend that PhD students that are shortly before finishing their own thesis have to do less work to concentrate on the at that time more pressing topic.
However, with any kind of contract it is often the case to write most of the thesis in after office hours.
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/17
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm responsible for a large research project, with many members and some substantial funding for traveling to conferences. However, I'm now in a relationship with one of its members. How should I proceed regarding allocating funds to my significant other? I'm worried that I may be accused of being unethical if I allocate whichever amount to them. What should I do? Namely, I would like to declare a conflict of interest, but there does not seem to be a way to deal with this conflict without some drastic consequences.<issue_comment>username_1: The ethical way is to allocate funds in the same way you would if the other person wasn't in this relationship.
The "safe" way to make the decision and avoid appearances of impropriety is to somehow share the decision with either an independent party or the members of the group itself. It is harder to claim unethical behavior if the decisions are made in public, with full transparency. In extreme cases you could delegate the decision to someone else, such as a superior, if that is possible.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I served for a couple of years on the Conflict of Interest Committee of my institution. During that time I learned many useful and sometimes counterintuitive things about the subject. The principles that should guide you in thinking about what to do to avoid exposing yourself to any accusations of policy or ethics violations are:
1. You should avoid putting yourself in a conflict of interest with respect to the grant and your significant other, *if at all possible*.
The point of the “if” qualifier is that, as you seem to believe, it may not in fact be possible to avoid without taking unreasonably drastic measures such as you or your SO resigning your roles.
2. You should avoid creating the *appearance* of an *unmanaged* conflict of interest, period. No exceptions.
The point of “appearance” is that it’s not just the conflict that needs to be avoided but also the appearance of one. You may be the most ethical person on the planet, or you may even know certain facts that not everyone knows that explain away the conflict and make you confident what you are doing is fine, but the appearance of a conflict can invite consequences that are just as bad, and possibly worse (e.g. a headline in the New York Times followed by calls for your resignation, a public lynching or whatnot), than the conflict itself.
The point of “unmanaged” is that if you can’t avoid a conflict - and one of the surprising things I learned is that conflicts can not always be avoided, nor is avoiding all conflicts at any cost even a desirable goal to have - then the next best thing is to find a way to *manage* the conflict. For example, at many institutions one can set up a conflict management plan, which may involve additional levels of oversight (for example a department chair or dean signing off on your funding allocation decisions pertaining to your significant other, and maybe additional reporting requirements such as you filing a letter of explanation justifying any such decision).
3. This goes without saying, but you should find out all applicable rules and policies that govern your situation.
The bottom line is, you should ask for guidance from your institution and your funding agency on how to address the situation. Have *in writing* documents, written (or at least reviewed and approved) by people in authority, which specify how you are expected to handle the situation. Then follow what these documents say.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: >
> However, I'm now in a relationship with one of its members. How should I proceed regarding allocating funds to my significant other?
>
>
>
The best thing to do here is to **disclose the conflict-of-interest** to your Head of School\*\* and ask that they allocate a different academic to decide the funding allocation. The Head of School might have a different idea, and might decide that they want you to make the decision anyway, and if so, they will direct you to do that. By suggesting you be removed from making the decision you will have given yourself protection in the event that you are asked to make the decision and then later accused of bias. That will put you in a strong position if you are later accused of any mismanagement or bias.
>
> I would like to declare a conflict of interest, but there does not seem to exist a way to deal with this conflict without some drastic consequences.
>
>
>
That is ridiculous. There certainly should not be any adverse consequences merely for *declaring* a conflict-of-interest prior to making a decision. The whole point of a conflict-of-interest policy is to *encourage* people to disclose potential conflicts-of-interest so that alternative decision-making arrangements can be made to avoid the conflict. The onus is on you to declare the conflict to your Head of School, and the onus is then on the Head of School to decide how to proceed. If your university has a conflict-of-interest policy then you should read it and follow its reporting rules, and if there is no such policy then you should declare the conflict directly to your Head of School with a simple email.
Also, **you are not required to find a solution to your own conflict-of-interest**. The whole point of the conflict is to make your decision-making suspect, and thereby taint decisions you make on the matter. Once you have disclosed the conflict-of-interest to your Head of School, the onus of decision-making will be on him/her to decide if and how they would like to alter the normal decision-making mechanisms.
---
\*\* Throughout this answer I will refer to disclosure to your Head of School. Depending on your level in the university it might be sufficient to make disclosure to your own supervisor, even if this staff member is lower than Head of School. For simplicity, I will refer to disclosures to HoS.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: You report the conflict of interest to your superior, and ask for help developing a management plan moving forward. Full stop.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: ### TL;DR: 1. Involve an impartial party in decision making; 2. lots of transparency.
As other answers suggest, it is important to recognize and disclose the fact that you are in a conflict of interests. However, that is not enough - it is merely the beginning. You can also not rely on higher-ups to provide adequate (or any) remedy to this situation: They might help, or they might not - it depends on the specific rules and organizational culture in your institute. Don't be surprised if they will be mostly annoyed at you creating more headaches and trouble in their already overly-busy schedule.
Ignoring here any specific procedures and binding rules that might apply to your case (which you should *not* ignore - read up on them), let's assume for a second it's all up to you. In this case, the solution must - IMHO - involve:
* Someone who is not you interfering, supervising or participating in your decisions regarding how funds are allocated and to whom. This should not be a person you choose, but rather someone which is chosen either by consensus of the people affected by the funding decisions, or by higher-up academics or management which the people affected hold in high enough regard. The extent of involvement is also something that should have wide agreement, and I suggest you err on the side of caution, i.e. the more you can offload the decision to such an external party the better off this would be ethically. Of course, the price is more burden on that person, plus there will possibly be professional considerations which you are more capable in making - but that's the price you pay for better fairness when you have a conflict of interests.
Note: In my opinion, someone having authority over all of you choosing the external party is not in itself good enough, since that higher-up might not be trusted by the people affected.
* Transparency in all possible stages of the process: What funds are available; what the external obligations are; what actions you are taking to secure more funds or to convince people to do things which affect fund allocations; the timelines for funding decision making; the criteria and formulae used in allocation; the input material and appeals by relevant people (including but not limited to your SO) for funding etc. Such transparency should be in face of those people who may be affected by the decision, including those which otherwise you would not have felt obligated to discuss these matters with.
---
As a side-note, I would very much recommend **not** to try something like democratizing the funding decisions, unless you're democratizing many other aspects of the project or the research group. The reason is that as a central person with more influence and power, you are likely to be able to form majorities even around less-favorable positions, and to deter juniors from opposing your position. Plus, you and your SO are two people, biasing the process even more in favor of your potentially-coordinated decision.
Upvotes: 1
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2019/01/18
| 531
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a first time researcher and naively submitted to an OA predatory journal (on BEALL'S LIST) which requests a publishing fee. Having read the terms and conditions, there was no comment stating that I needed to pay if accepted for publication and did state that i retained copyrights to my work. My work was accepted and they requested the publication fee but I have now found that my work is already on their website without the fee being paid or me signing anything. Is there anyway to retract my work without being penalised?<issue_comment>username_1: [IANAL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IANAL)
It totally depends on your jurisdiction.
However, as pointed out by Solar Mike, they made an "invitatio ad offerendum" (like at the bakery, where they invite you to make an offer (i.e. want to buy) a bread or similar).
By submitting, you declared to make an offer and they accepted it and published it.
So they fulfilled their part of the contract and your part (payment) is still open.
You can still try to retract your paper by sending an email to the editor and maybe it's worth a gamble to not pay. Your institution should be able to help you with this question
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Normally, you also need to confirm to its publication (and say goodbye to your copyrights). So I think even though you have submitted it, you hold the right to let it be published or not. Use an affirmative language and make it clear that it is not about the price. Stand firm with your request.
Not exactly same, but I once agreed to be a reviewer and then figured out they are a predatory conference/publisher, I regretted it immediately but thought I had to brace it (while they put my name on their website and I felt like I screwed up my career). Luckily for me they sent totally unrelated papers for me to review and when I said I am not even remotely an expert on this subject, they said well you could still do it and I saw my ticket out and demanded firmly my name to be deleted from their site and in the end they did.
That being said, this depends on their reputation but if it is not too crappy, a free online access paper has a good chance of more citations.
Upvotes: 1
|
2019/01/18
| 549
| 1,900
|
<issue_start>username_0: The way I'd like to cite papers in my work is 3 characters of the last name of the first author + year of publication without spaces, 'et al.' and comas.
I'd like to use Citavi, as it has convenient Word add-on, but I haven't found how to shorten last names there so far. After all, if it is possible in another program, I will give it a try.
Such citing style was chosen to enhance reading experience, as reader can relate to the cited paper much easily by the last name and the year of publication and trace it throughout the document. This style is yet shorter, than patterns officially available in Citavi.<issue_comment>username_1: If you are willing to use LaTeX instead of word, there is a very simple solution to achieve something close to what you want. The relevant command is to specify the "alphabetic" style, when loading the biblatex package. `\usepackage[backend=biber, style=alphabetic, citestyle=alphabetic]{biblatex}`
```
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[english]{babel}
\usepackage[
backend=biber,
style=alphabetic,
citestyle=alphabetic
]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{sample.bib} %Imports bibliography file
\begin{document}
\section{First section}
First statement \cite{gascuel97}, and a second statement \cite{sokal58}.
\printbibliography
\end{document}
```
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/fOoIA.png)
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: There's an easier LaTeX solution (compared to another [answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123328/22768)):
```
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\section{First section}
First statement \cite{gascuel97}, and a second statement \cite{sokal58}.
\bibliographystyle{alpha} %Sets [Ste2002] bibligraphy style
\bibliography{sample} %Imports bibliography file
\end{document}
```
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/18
| 587
| 2,494
|
<issue_start>username_0: I asked a professor for letters of recommendation for 7 universities. I was able to view his review for one particular university and it was extremely, unnecessarily negative.
When I confronted him, he denied submitting this review. However, on comparing the negative letter and the actual letter that he forwarded, I found that the first paragraph of the letters are the same except that the adjectives are all negative. I have no way of knowing if it was him who submitted this. If so, there is a possibility all the universities received this negative letter.
What do I do?<issue_comment>username_1: You should contact this professor again and ask him to inform the committee or school that the LOR had been submitted by mistake and asking to revoke the letter ( I think this is the best case), so you can select new referees. If he did not do that or refuse for any reason, you have to save your reputation by your own and forwarding all the emails that showed he didn't write the LOR on his own, you can ask the committee to revoke the letter, I suspect that the second one could work, however, this is the last option. If all of that doesn't work out, simply, you have to look for new positions, and please be careful before choosing a person and don't waive your right to see what the referee had written about you, but if you genuinely trust your referee you can waive which is the best.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I think the question is unclear, so I'll try to cover all the scenarios.
* **If the professor is claiming that he submitted the positive letter and someone sabotaged it**, then he should be very concerned that someone is falsifying letters. He should take the lead in helping you get to the bottom of this. If he says "oh well, someone sabotaged my letter but I don't care", then I would question his honesty.
* **If the professor is claiming that he did not author the letter at all**, then it would seem that you've caught him in a lie. (This doesn't really make sense to me; doesn't the letter have his name on it?) Best to find another referee; if possible, you could even try to switch out the letters on your in-progress applications.
* **If you're not sure which of these is the case**, you could express your concern that a letter was incorrectly submitted on their behalf, and ask for their help in fixing it. Or, if you have another referee, you could just try to swap them out without involving this person.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/18
| 448
| 2,020
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am a researcher in computer science. I have seen few research papers in a journal called *Information Processing **Letters**,* which seems to cover a very broad subject area. I am not getting what distinguishes such a journal from other journals in the area of computer science. Why would somebody publish in such a letter journal?<issue_comment>username_1: While the areas covered by this journal is very broad, the journal focusses on contributions that can be explained in a concise way. They have a strict page limit that is quite low, hence the "letters" in the name.
Other non-letter journals ask for contributions from a more narrow field of research and have a much higher page number limit (if they have one at all). These journals accept papers that provide a substantial benefit to the respective research area, regardless of their length. While the papers submitted to a journal do not officially compete for acceptance (as they would in a conference), all submitted papers need to be competitive in terms of how much they bring the community forward in order to be accepted. Small isolated results often do not fare well in this regard.
A letters journal is hence attractive for contributions that can be explained in a few pages, and for which it makes no sense to embed them in a larger paper (or the author does not want to).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The rationale is speed. The tradeoff is shorter length. Some prestigious journals (I think Science and Nature) will also promise speed. While they are not "letters" per se, they end up being very similar because of space constraints for the in-demand pages.
Prestige can vary widely. Phys. Rev. Lett is a big deal. Applied Physics Letters is not.
My advice would be to do medium length articles in medium tier journals (APS/ACS subspecialty journals for instance) except in very unusual circumstances: big discovery or something very niche and throwaway that you can't fit into your normal papers.
Upvotes: 0
|
2019/01/18
| 1,008
| 4,222
|
<issue_start>username_0: So, during my bachelor years I was a bit of a hermit. I studied on my own, made little contact with my professors outside of the necessary academic/ social situations, and mostly passed on as that rather good student professors don't think much about.
Stupid, I know, but people skills is the worst of my worst developed skills. Also I was stubbornly independent and asking questions during office hours made me feel as if I was failing at being a decent student, so I never asked questions or help.
4 years after graduating, I am thinking of applying for a master degree. I have picked the professors to whom I will ask for reference letters .... and the first deadline is 31 jan. I have received BA and BB with one of the professors (professor X) and BA and AA with the other (professor Y).
I was thinking of emailing professor Y and asking if I could meet him (it is easier for me to ask for the letter face to face, and I think I can make a better case this way). He is a positive, decent person and I think he considered me a good student despite our minimal interactions due to the cold and introverted disposition we both have as people. Also, knowing how busy he usually is, I don't intend to take much of his time and I intend to clarify this in the email.
As for professor X, I will just email him. He is very indifferent towards all students, me included, so nothing I can say face to face will make a difference. The problem with him is that, he probably doesn't even remember me.
So I am not sure if I am going about it the right way. The reason I left this for the last moment is that whenever I opened my email, I felt there was no right way to do it. What would be the most appropriate way to ask for the two reference letters?<issue_comment>username_1: Dear Professor Smith:
My name is <NAME>. I was a student in your class on widget design at Enormous State University in 2014. I am writing to request a letter of recommendation.
After 3 productive years in the workforce at Ballbearings Anonymous, I have decided to apply for the Ph.D. MechE program at CalTech and a few competing programs. While BA has been great practical experience and good use of my ESU training, now I want to move into cutting edge fluid flow research.
*Would you be able to write a positive letter for my applications?* If helpful, I can supply some bullets to refresh your memory on my class project, class performance and our interactions.
Sincerely,
<NAME>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **Just e-mail them.** The template that username_1 provides is a good one.
Some other notes:
* **Professors probably won't remember that you were a "hermit."** Thinking about the time I was instructor of record (five years ago), I don't remember any names, there are about 5-10 students that I distinctly remember and whose name I could probably recognize, and then the ~100 other students that I have basically no memory of (many of which were excellent, some of which participated regularly).
* **E-mail is better than requesting a meeting** (my advice would be different for current students). Even a brief meeting requires some logistics, while just asking for a letter can be turned around quickly. And, since it's been three years and you are already a professional, there isn't much to offer in terms of 'advising' or keeping a relationship; this is just a transaction you're requesting.
* **The professor won't be able to say much in your letter since they don't really know you.** They will likely just describe the course, your grade, and anything else they remember or that they're comfortable repeating from your mail to them. You may want to assure them that this is all you want, as they may be reluctant to provide such a weak letter unless you specifically request it.
* **You should really have given 4-6 weeks of lead time.** Writing the letter will probably take all of 30 minutes, but many professors have notoriously poor time management skills, and they may have other legitimate deadlines that they need to give priority to. You should certainly acknowledge (and apologize for) the time pressure in your mail, and get it done ASAP.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2019/01/18
| 2,158
| 8,592
|
<issue_start>username_0: As I work my way through my academic career (second-year PhD student), I am confronted with many stats and instances of gender bias in the publishing process (see references below). Of course for double-blind peer reviews, this is not an issue, but for others it may be. I’ve also seen stats that indicate that female first-authored papers receive fewer citations, even after taking into account the historical gender lag of fewer female publications.
So the question I’ve been pondering is: Should I use my initials (first and middle) when submitting papers as an attempt to introduce gender neutrality into my work? I am lucky that I have a relatively unique last name (nothing like *Smith*) so I’m not very worried about identity.
Is this a good idea? Are there any further pros and cons I may not have considered?
### References
* [<NAME> and <NAME> – *Author׳s gender affects rating of academic articles: Evidence from an incentivized, deception-free laboratory experiment*](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2016.02.017)
* [<NAME> – *Publishing while Female. Are women held to higher standards? Evidence from peer review*](https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/camcamdae/1753.htm)
* [<NAME> – *Understanding the Extent of Gender Gap in Citations*](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/08/16/new-research-shows-extent-gender-gap-citations)<issue_comment>username_1: If you feel at risk in your profession for such things, then, certainly, establish a professional persona for yourself that will help assure fairness. Whether it is necessary or not, or backed up by statistics, is irrelevant. If you feel at risk, do what you think is best.
I would also suggest that you get some advice from a female mentor or professor about this. What have their experiences been? I'd guess their advice would be pretty good.
But I'll add, that you should think about making that a permanent persona that won't change in the future. You want your complete history to be traceable through a single name, even as your life changes. You can be A professionally, and B personally, as long as no fraud is intended.
I once should have changed my name, but didn't. Things would have been better for me had I done so at the time. The issue was completely different, but it had consequences.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Even if there is an impact, I suspect it is very minor. And then you are giving up some of the benefits of having your name out there to begin with (harder to search). Given your statements, it seems like cites and thus notability is a motivation for you. So I think it is counterproductive to cloak your name.
My guess is gender is immaterial or if anything a positive. (IOW, I don't buy that a stats difference must be the result of discrimination. Of course we would have to do really controlled experiments to see that...blind/unblind, not just factor controls). I suspect that biased judgment stemming from prestige of university is much stronger. Even ethnic bias is, I suspect stronger than sex bias. Both of these of course are much harder to cloak.
But in any case, I believe your mindshare is better spent on the work and doing it as well as possible and promoting it as well as possible versus contemplating injustices.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: As an author, you can choose any variation of the name you will put on your manuscripts. People use initials instead of full names for a variety of reasons, including very long names, names which are hard to write using English letters, names which are hard to read correctly, etc. If you want to abbreviate your name for whatever reason, do it.
It is a good idea to stick to one form of your name to keep build your publication track record. However services like [ORCID](https://orcid.org/) help you maintain your track record even if you change your pen name later for any reason.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Based on extensive anecdotal evidence, not stats, I'd recommend, yes, using first two initials and then surname, if your surname is sufficiently unusual so that (e.g., if/when you google yourself with those parameters) you are "unique".
Yes, be sure to set up ORCID and similar, as mentioned in another answer, to disambiguate yourself, and to allow for future modifications.
I say this based on long-term observation, in math in the U.S., of perhaps inadvertent presumption about gender and such... Better to avoid it entirely, even if things are not as wildly prejudicial as decades ago. Dodge it.
Yes, I know there is a big issue here, which my advice might be seeming to ignore. In effect, *later*, when you are established, you can make the professional-ideological point that you were ... who you are ... all along. On practical grounds, I'd tend to recommend against too-aggressively mixing ideology and professional issues, for a beginner, since you'll tend to not get your foot in the door at all, and be dismissed as marginal. Get a little credibility first, and then you'll be better able to *do* something about the (visible, if subliminal to many people) inequities that exist in the system.
EDIT: Thanks to @DanRomik for some insightful comments... which among other things made me think that a fuller explanation of my rationale for the advice would help people evaluate it.
So, first, yes, in general, short-term, when one is acting on one's own as a not-so-powerful person, it may be best to try to "stay under the radar", unless one chooses to risk martyrdom of some sort. I cannot give advice about nuances of self-immolation, so I tend to give advice about how to *avoid* it... which may not be the universally correct choice, I understand.
In mathematics, in the U.S., in my observation, the biggest bias issues are not about overt, explicit bias (though there is quite a bit of that), but unconscious bias. That is, I know very many good mathematicians on hiring committees who would never consciously select against women, ethnic minorities, etc., ... but nevertheless mysteriously *functionally* do so. If accused of somehow being biased, these honorable people would be hurt and absolutely deny any intent of discrimination.
Yet they do discriminate. Wow, how to make a policy to prevent this? Obviously it is easy to prohibit overt bias, etc., even tho' people with conscious biases can figure out how to circumvent such... but how to outlaw (acting upon) unconscious biases?
For that matter, people without conscious bias, but with unconscious ones, and who otherwise strive mightily to behave ethically and with a good social conscience, will (apparently!) have extreme difficulty understanding that there does continue to be a problem ... since, supposedly, biased behavior is illegal... "Equal Opportunity"... "Affirmative Action"... and so on... ?!?!
In my own case, in general social terms, I had not really thought of the possibility until my daughter explained to me "beneficent sexism": guys hold doors open for gals, all that. Nothing overtly mean about it, but, duh, yes, lotta problems.
And, no, not "equality", but "equity".
Now and then I think about the semi-voluntary martyrs of the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. c. 1964. My question in that case is whether that's what it really took? To read LBJ's memoirs, it probably did. What's the analogue for gender equity?
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: If you use only your initials, readers and reviewers (in non-anonymous refereeing) will either default to assuming that you are a man or, less likely, make no assumption about your gender.
It is plausible that this strategy will protect you from being discriminated against. Without being able to guess your gender from your name, readers and reviewers can't take your work less seriously just because you are a woman.
You're asking whether this strategy will "promote gender neutrality". If by this you mean whether using initials will promote gender equality *in science*, the answer is clearly no. To the contrary, one more woman scientist will become invisible; prejudiced people will have one less chance to correct their false assumptions; and, to generalize a bit, it will appear as if only men produce publishable research.
I am not arguing for or against hiding your identity; I am just pointing out the implications, so you can base your decision on them. As to what consideration should be more important, that is for you to decide. Regarding the strategic question of picking your battles, <NAME>'s answer is good advice.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/18
| 1,009
| 4,344
|
<issue_start>username_0: So I applied to several PhD programs at different schools of probably different levels of selectivity and prestige. From a few of these schools I have been admitted and in contact with certain professors there who are suggesting that I will receive full funding to go there. In one case, this funding will be in the form of a fellowship from the school. The only hang up is that they would like me to make a decision on these offers quickly. In one case, I think they want to figure out if I would accept the fellowship if offered to me so they can extend it to someone else if I wouldn’t accept.
The problem is, the two schools I am most interested in have not yet admitted me and no professors from those schools have reached out to me. I would like to know what the result of my application to these schools will be before deciding. Should I just tell the other schools to wait? I worry that I may not receive a fellowship offer from one of these schools for delaying my decision too long (and would maybe be funded through some other means). Another option I see would be to reach out to the universities that have not admitted me yet and try to initiate conversations about working in professors groups and gauge how they perceive the strength of my application.
To summarize my question:
What is the best course of action when a grad school (or specific professor you want to work with there) pressures you to make a decision on their offer before all other schools you applied to admitted or rejected you?
I am located in the US, sorry forgot to mention it<issue_comment>username_1: There probably isn't a best course of action as it all involves tradeoffs that only you can make. But the options you suggest are all ethical. The only one that would contravene ethical standards is to accept an offer knowing you would later back out of it.
But asking for delays in acceptance or asking for additional information about your position (shortlist or no...) are all good options. I doubt that they would prejudice any decision against you.
It seems pretty common here that the places that really want a candidate seem to make offers before the places that the candidates prefer. That is pretty natural, also, as the later decision makers may well have higher standards.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I would try to (softly) delay with the second choice schools. And immediately contact the first choice schools (professor who leads admissions). Let them know both that you are being pushed for a decision and may come off the market AND that the fellowship is being offered (maybe you get a match).
No guarantee but in general competition (for you) drives better outcomes. But you need to let them know. This becomes even more the case when job interviewing.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: This answer applies if your schools of choice are in the United States:
Most major universities in the US are signatories to the "April 15th resolution," which gives students until April 15th to accept offers of admission/financial aid. A full list is here: <http://cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGSResolution_RevisedOct2017.pdf>
>
> Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of
> such offers violate the intent of this Resolution
>
>
>
---
If the schools you are applying to are in the US and signatories to this resolution, they are not allowed to offer and then withdraw admission/financial aid prior to April 15th. Before that deadline, you can politely inform them that you are waiting for all your offers before making a decision. They might want to pressure you to commit earlier, but you are not compelled to do so.
You are correct, though, in assuming that they would like to offer the fellowship to someone else, if possible. Therefore, the polite thing to do **is to inform any school that is no longer in contention as soon as possible**, that is, as soon as you have another offer you plan to accept, and no sooner.
You could reach out to the schools you are waiting to hear from, but I wouldn't pester them, it is still fairly early in the acceptance calendar (again, from a US perspective) and admissions committees are still meeting to make decisions.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/18
| 453
| 1,857
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am assigned to review a paper that has an extremely strange page layout (the pages are squares, single column with about 150 characters per line), making it very impractical to print or read. It is for a journal and was submitted via Manuscript Central.
I could of course read it on my screen (which I don’t like at all), or print it with either rotating or stretching the pages (which I tried but it’s very awkward to read and therefore extremely distracting).
Is it okay to write to the ADM and ask them to demand a re-submission in a proper document layout, i.e., A4 or US Letter? Or am I being fussy?<issue_comment>username_1: No. It is not your job as a reviewer to demand things. You can inform the editor that given the format of the manuscript that you will not review it. The editor will then likely look at the manuscript and either decide that you are being a pain and find a new reviewer or that the manuscript format is ridiculous. In that case, they will apologize to you and tell you that they are requesting a reformatted version.
Unless the format is really awful (like less than 10 lines a page or greater than 100 characters per line), the editor will probably conclude you are a pain.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The one column is not ugly for a submission. It is very normal for the journal to handle that reformatting and for authors not to worry about it.
The square thing IS ugly and a little strange (surprised it won't just print normally in Word?) But maybe it is a pdf.
I would lean to printing it and reviewing it. It's a minor imposition. (Reading poor English is much worse and if you have to handle a paper that needs a translator because of the flawed grammar, than just stop the review on those). But let the journal deal with the format peculiarity.
Upvotes: -1
|
2019/01/18
| 352
| 1,314
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am in my second semester in a Post-Bachelors Doctorate of Nursing Practice program. The class is a graduate nursing informatics course. My instructor posted the following grading scale. My initial reaction is that it leaves little room to earn an A grade. Would it be appropriate or acceptable to raise the issue with the professor? My past experience has usually been that an A is mid 90s or above and that an A- has been low 90s.
A: 97% or above
A-: 93-96%
B+: 90-92%
B: 87-89%
B-: 83-86%
Anything else is considered failing.<issue_comment>username_1: You can question it, of course, but it may not actually be as bad as it looks. You don't know, for example, how the individual assignments will be evaluated and fit (or not) into this scheme. But high standards may be needed in your field. Actually, I hope they are.
But such things are fair game for discussion with the professor as long as you go into it with a non-confrontational attitude. Doing it in person is much more likely to result in a proper understanding/outcome.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: No, unless your institution has a specific policy on grade cutoffs.
Grade cutoffs are arbitrary. You cannot compare a % grade in one class to another, because the assessments are going to be different.
Upvotes: 3
|
2019/01/18
| 661
| 2,912
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have been assisting with a project that my friend had come up with. I am doing the entirety of the analysis for it as they have zero research experience and are not able to do anything beyond conception of the idea.
They are not letting me submit it to a conference to present a small part of the project at a very small "conference" (quotation marks because it's a one day event held at a university auditorium for medical trainees specifically), based on the fact that they would like to present first. I have been slightly annoyed by this, and am contemplating withdrawing from the project, which admittedly is a bit of a dirty move.
That being said, if I do withdraw from it, could/should I ask for any and all analysis done by me to be removed and not used?
Or should I just bite the bullet and let them just carry on.<issue_comment>username_1: Withdrawing is a loss-loss situation and I will not recommend it. You have done your work and they seem to have the motivation to release it some day. If you withdraw now, the work is gone, tension arises, friendship threatened. These are not worthy for a short moment of revenge-induced pleasure.
If you feel your input is so instrumental then take this as a lesson to bargain better; in future when similar collaboration comes along, make "have the right to present at xxx conference [year/month/day]," or similar terms as your condition. You should also raise the issue of authorship from the get-go.
Ascending one more level, if you're indeed that much more experienced than the team in terms of how the research realm works, why not help them further? Connect them with this very meeting that you plan to attend, and propel the work forward by letting more people know about it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: What you describe is indeed can be potentially annoying. I agree. The main likely reason for that is that you and your colleagues might had from the beginning different expectations. You think that without your analysis they can do nothing. But they might think that their idea is so genius and thy make you a favor inviting you to work with them. Instead of quitting due to dignity concerns, I suggest you to talk with the head of the project and to adjust the expectations. Tell him/her under which conditions you will be interested to continue the work. You cannot demand something in retrospect because you had not agreed before. But you do can say that for the future conferences you are interested in doing that (Penguin\_Knight also suggested that). If what they agree do not work for you, you might quite. But I do not think that it would be fair to ask them not to use what you had already done. They also invested their time and effort. The problem of not adjusting the expectations in advance is the problem of both sides. So, it would not be fair that they suffer an extensive damage.
Upvotes: 1
|
2019/01/19
| 2,201
| 9,448
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<issue_start>username_0: Would authors of a paper be okay with fielding technical questions about the paper (implementation, theory, etc.) from a person in industry?
I see this as a moral grey area because an engineer in industry is in some way profiting off the work of a researcher without necessarily paying them for the time they took to respond to emails, etc. On the other hand, is the researcher responsible for clarifying details about their paper regardless of who they are being contacted by?
Of course, this will vary from person to person and the length of the engagement, but I was just wondering what the general attitude towards this situation is.<issue_comment>username_1: I certainly don't see anything immoral about asking questions. You may want to mention your affiliation, which will clarify the issue and perhaps also help the author give a more useful response.
The author doesn't have any particular obligation to respond to your questions or anyone else's, but probably will if they are interesting and well thought out. Academics generally would want to encourage anyone who is interested in their work.
If your questions get very involved, to the point where an academic might consider suggesting a collaboration, you may want to consider offering the author a consultant contract.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It's fine. You might even learn something. They can share practical knowledge and you can explain some things about the paper or bounce ideas around about things that aren't publishable. Really, it would be good if it happened a lot more than it does, but the two sides are usually so unable to bridge the gap.
Obviously if someone takes a lot of your time, than you should ask for a consulting contract. But this is really rare that you have that much to offer. I would instead view it as a good form of networking. There is a world outside the ivory tower and it can inform your research (and teaching) to know something about applications.
Of course you don't have any obligation to explain the paper if the interaction is tedious or unpleasant. But I would be open to positive interactions. Have ended up inviting a person in for a talk and vice versa. Granted I was doing research that had a fit with industry (and vice versa). But also, I was open to the interaction and enjoyed something outside academia. Business manager was a cool dude too, funny and good taste in wine.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: **This is not a moral grey area - asking is totally okay.**
In my country (Germany) researchers at public research institutions are even expected to answer. It's called "third mission" (the first two being research and teaching respectively).
Besides this "third mission" I shall pursue (helping to bring their research to industry), I would be pleased to learn how my research would be helpful in practice and would love to help the company. Just explaining some details is no problem at all. If this develops into some severe counselling one could start thinking about payment, but actually, this is often how collaborations between universities and companies start.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: There’s a distinction between asking an author for clarifications on what she/he has done and asking said author to do more work. The former is fine. The latter... well... I wouldn’t assume an author would necessarily do it unless this extra work would be of some benefit - v.g. additional publication - to said author.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> Would authors ... be okay with... questions about the paper... from a person in industry?
>
>
>
Yes, within reason.
By the way - don't forget that readers outside our "clique" sometimes notice things like implicit assumptions, and occasionally even an error (!)
>
> I see this as a moral gray area because an engineer in industry is in some way profiting off the work of a researcher without necessarily paying them for the time they took to respond to emails, etc.
>
>
>
This is actually a good point, but perhaps more on the collective level than on the individual level. Industry bases a whole lot of its for-profit activity on science and tech developed in universities, and employ engineers and technicians trained in universities/colleges - yet they repay academia with very little money (donations + fraction of taxes) and other resources. Of course this changes by country, but it's definitely the case for most of the world's large tech giants.
So, bottom line:
* On the collective level, try to get your superiors to **donate to the author's institute**, in recognition of their contribution to your company's success. You'll very possibly fail, but you can try. Donation can be in the form of money, hardware, or manpower (e.g. someone who would teach an advanced course relating to his/her professional specialty at the company).
* If you expect to require significant effort explaining, consider asking your direct superior for budget for a few **consultant hours**. If you're in the same country as that person consider even inviting him/her to talk about the paper's findings, adapting it to the background of employees of your companies and allowing for a lot of audience questions.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: **I tried it and got positive feedback.**
>
> Would authors of a paper be okay with fielding technical questions
> about the paper (implementation, theory, etc.) from a person in
> industry?
>
>
>
I was asking myself the same question 1,5 years ago. I work also in industry and was interested in some technical details. I asked my boss for a budget and then contacted the authors offering budget if needed.
I did this several times. My experience: If it takes <15-20min to answer your request, they are happy to help for free. Discussing a budget only made sense for them if the effort was 1-2 days effort or more.
Only problem i would see is if you have questions that would take away a few hours of their time, then its too much to do for free, but too less to consider a contract. But i think asking is always fine, if you show that you respect their time.
(All based on my (limited) experience of 3-4 contacts and my own reasoning,...)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Yes, definitely feel free to inquire.
Others have noted the general value of an inquiring, but there is another aspect.
When someone from industry inquires, it means that you are potentially doing the academic a favour!
@username_3 mentioned the German 'third mission'.
Elsewhere in the world it may not be so formal, but academics are constantly being asked to justify their funding in terms of its 'real world' applicable or economic value.
You help the academic understand how what they do is applied and how that creates economic value.
They might even be able to use that information directly in grant application, or perhaps in less formal situations.
Additionally, as someone in industry you might understand that when you create a product you thrive on feedback from the market. For an academic, you are potentially providing that feedback, helping them understand which areas of their work is relevant and potentially shaping where they wish to spend their time.
**Note**: The academic is always on the hunt for funding. Take care to not give false signals in regards whether your organisation might provide that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Not guaranteed. Depends lots on the person and how much time they have. Quite some authors of papers expect to get paid for any kind of consulting - which is what answering any question outside of work would be for them.
They often have their fair share of questions from students which is their job to answer on work-time. It is not so weird to imagine they would expect compensation helping people (who usually make more than they do) for doing any work for them.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: As a researcher with a strong industry background, I tended to find a disconnect between the actions of my industry (software development and data science) and the research being conducted by the academics.
I would be delighted if an industry practitioner asked for more details of my academic work and certainly would regard it as a mark of prestige. There is no downside I can see to engaging with such a person - providing, of course, they are not expecting you to contribute significant amounts of your time and resources. If this is the case, then the answer above is correct - they need to be paying for a consultant.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: When I taught English at a local university and had them write research papers, I was *always* trying to steer the students towards looking at professors at our own university!
My goal in part was to connect Published Research with People Who Researched/Wrote This.
There is not some giant up on high handing down Scholarly Sources, but people, often teams of them, some of them graduate students, are the ones creating it. So they TOO can question the research, wish a study had been designed differently, or want to combine information from different fields.
Alas, as Batman almost said,
>
> [Freshmen] are a superstitious and cowardly lot,
>
>
>
so many were not yet ready to cope with this much intellectual responsibility. But a few now and then were, and that was always fun.
Upvotes: 0
|
2019/01/19
| 2,357
| 10,010
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have recently been a admitted to a top 20 math Phd program at one of the schools I really wanted (woohoo!). The reason I wanted this school is because I have been really into a certain research topic and, after a lot of "stalking" I found a professor at this department who's research interests matched mine really well. Now that I've been admitted and am more seriously considering my working with him, I noticed that he's graduated seven other Phd students. After a bit more googling I realized only 1 out of these 7 got an academic job and even this job was as a lecturer at a small liberal arts college. The others got jobs in industry (rather high paying ones so good for them).
My question is as follows: Is this evidence that working with this professor would make me unlikely to get an academic job involving research (post doc, assistant professor, etc ..) after my Phd?
This guy's research is dope and I really want in on it, but I also have to take my future goals into account. I'm pretty ignorant on the process of getting academic jobs so any extra information or clarification of any misconceptions it seems like I have (in addition to an answer to the question) would be of help.<issue_comment>username_1: I certainly don't see anything immoral about asking questions. You may want to mention your affiliation, which will clarify the issue and perhaps also help the author give a more useful response.
The author doesn't have any particular obligation to respond to your questions or anyone else's, but probably will if they are interesting and well thought out. Academics generally would want to encourage anyone who is interested in their work.
If your questions get very involved, to the point where an academic might consider suggesting a collaboration, you may want to consider offering the author a consultant contract.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It's fine. You might even learn something. They can share practical knowledge and you can explain some things about the paper or bounce ideas around about things that aren't publishable. Really, it would be good if it happened a lot more than it does, but the two sides are usually so unable to bridge the gap.
Obviously if someone takes a lot of your time, than you should ask for a consulting contract. But this is really rare that you have that much to offer. I would instead view it as a good form of networking. There is a world outside the ivory tower and it can inform your research (and teaching) to know something about applications.
Of course you don't have any obligation to explain the paper if the interaction is tedious or unpleasant. But I would be open to positive interactions. Have ended up inviting a person in for a talk and vice versa. Granted I was doing research that had a fit with industry (and vice versa). But also, I was open to the interaction and enjoyed something outside academia. Business manager was a cool dude too, funny and good taste in wine.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: **This is not a moral grey area - asking is totally okay.**
In my country (Germany) researchers at public research institutions are even expected to answer. It's called "third mission" (the first two being research and teaching respectively).
Besides this "third mission" I shall pursue (helping to bring their research to industry), I would be pleased to learn how my research would be helpful in practice and would love to help the company. Just explaining some details is no problem at all. If this develops into some severe counselling one could start thinking about payment, but actually, this is often how collaborations between universities and companies start.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: There’s a distinction between asking an author for clarifications on what she/he has done and asking said author to do more work. The former is fine. The latter... well... I wouldn’t assume an author would necessarily do it unless this extra work would be of some benefit - v.g. additional publication - to said author.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> Would authors ... be okay with... questions about the paper... from a person in industry?
>
>
>
Yes, within reason.
By the way - don't forget that readers outside our "clique" sometimes notice things like implicit assumptions, and occasionally even an error (!)
>
> I see this as a moral gray area because an engineer in industry is in some way profiting off the work of a researcher without necessarily paying them for the time they took to respond to emails, etc.
>
>
>
This is actually a good point, but perhaps more on the collective level than on the individual level. Industry bases a whole lot of its for-profit activity on science and tech developed in universities, and employ engineers and technicians trained in universities/colleges - yet they repay academia with very little money (donations + fraction of taxes) and other resources. Of course this changes by country, but it's definitely the case for most of the world's large tech giants.
So, bottom line:
* On the collective level, try to get your superiors to **donate to the author's institute**, in recognition of their contribution to your company's success. You'll very possibly fail, but you can try. Donation can be in the form of money, hardware, or manpower (e.g. someone who would teach an advanced course relating to his/her professional specialty at the company).
* If you expect to require significant effort explaining, consider asking your direct superior for budget for a few **consultant hours**. If you're in the same country as that person consider even inviting him/her to talk about the paper's findings, adapting it to the background of employees of your companies and allowing for a lot of audience questions.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: **I tried it and got positive feedback.**
>
> Would authors of a paper be okay with fielding technical questions
> about the paper (implementation, theory, etc.) from a person in
> industry?
>
>
>
I was asking myself the same question 1,5 years ago. I work also in industry and was interested in some technical details. I asked my boss for a budget and then contacted the authors offering budget if needed.
I did this several times. My experience: If it takes <15-20min to answer your request, they are happy to help for free. Discussing a budget only made sense for them if the effort was 1-2 days effort or more.
Only problem i would see is if you have questions that would take away a few hours of their time, then its too much to do for free, but too less to consider a contract. But i think asking is always fine, if you show that you respect their time.
(All based on my (limited) experience of 3-4 contacts and my own reasoning,...)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Yes, definitely feel free to inquire.
Others have noted the general value of an inquiring, but there is another aspect.
When someone from industry inquires, it means that you are potentially doing the academic a favour!
@username_3 mentioned the German 'third mission'.
Elsewhere in the world it may not be so formal, but academics are constantly being asked to justify their funding in terms of its 'real world' applicable or economic value.
You help the academic understand how what they do is applied and how that creates economic value.
They might even be able to use that information directly in grant application, or perhaps in less formal situations.
Additionally, as someone in industry you might understand that when you create a product you thrive on feedback from the market. For an academic, you are potentially providing that feedback, helping them understand which areas of their work is relevant and potentially shaping where they wish to spend their time.
**Note**: The academic is always on the hunt for funding. Take care to not give false signals in regards whether your organisation might provide that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: Not guaranteed. Depends lots on the person and how much time they have. Quite some authors of papers expect to get paid for any kind of consulting - which is what answering any question outside of work would be for them.
They often have their fair share of questions from students which is their job to answer on work-time. It is not so weird to imagine they would expect compensation helping people (who usually make more than they do) for doing any work for them.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: As a researcher with a strong industry background, I tended to find a disconnect between the actions of my industry (software development and data science) and the research being conducted by the academics.
I would be delighted if an industry practitioner asked for more details of my academic work and certainly would regard it as a mark of prestige. There is no downside I can see to engaging with such a person - providing, of course, they are not expecting you to contribute significant amounts of your time and resources. If this is the case, then the answer above is correct - they need to be paying for a consultant.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: When I taught English at a local university and had them write research papers, I was *always* trying to steer the students towards looking at professors at our own university!
My goal in part was to connect Published Research with People Who Researched/Wrote This.
There is not some giant up on high handing down Scholarly Sources, but people, often teams of them, some of them graduate students, are the ones creating it. So they TOO can question the research, wish a study had been designed differently, or want to combine information from different fields.
Alas, as Batman almost said,
>
> [Freshmen] are a superstitious and cowardly lot,
>
>
>
so many were not yet ready to cope with this much intellectual responsibility. But a few now and then were, and that was always fun.
Upvotes: 0
|
2019/01/19
| 340
| 1,290
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a young resercher from bangladesh. I have submitted a muniscript to SPGbiomed and the articale has been accepted. Now I have to pay the APC (article processing charge). Is there any grant who can provide the charge on behalf of the author?<issue_comment>username_1: Check with your professor or university librarian. They are the ones most likely to know. If they don't, assume the answer is "no".
You could conceivably ask for a waiver or discount based on your status as an author from a developing country, as well.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Based on the number of spam emails I've gotten from them, the google autofills after "Science Publishing Group" being both scam and predatory before anything else, the fact that all of the actual search results say it's a scam, and that [this article by <NAME>](https://www.4open-sciences.org/articles/fopen/full_html/2018/01/fopen180001s/fopen180001s.html) calls them out by name... it's pretty unlikely that anyone would give you money to publish there.
You could ask them to waive the APC but I don't know why a predatory journal would do that - it seems to be counter to their purposes. I guess worth a try though, provided you are amenable to publishing in a predatory journal.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/19
| 738
| 3,133
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm now at the final (4th) year of completing my bachelor's degree in IT. Four years back I haven't had any idea about what I'm choosing and in my country there were no space related degrees, therefore I enrolled in an IT degree. But I always had the passion for space and now I really need to chase that dream. I thought of applying for Masters' in space related programs but I'm afraid I'm lacking that university level engineering basis. And I don't know if I can afford to enroll another four year degree from scratch in a space related program, possibly in United States/Canada.
It's not that I don't love the field of IT, I'm having good grades and all but my passion lies in space industry. I had to make a wrong choice four years back and I want to make it right. The problem is affording to start from scratch. I'm 23 years old now.
So how can I still do this?
Thanks everyone for taking your time to read and reply :)<issue_comment>username_1: Getting in any neighboring field is not always a matter of basic education. Space agencies indeed need engineers, but they for sure have a huge demand on IT specialists as any modern tech company. But you need to first search what kind of ITs are engaged in space industry (automation, simulation, modeling, integrated systems etc.). Then if you would like to do a master degree, choose one which will give you necessary skills. Furthermore, you can try searching internship/practice in a space-related company during your study. It is very probable they would hire you, if you did well.
Having an IT degree gives you pretty a lot of perspectives, but nowadays it is really about skills and what you learn by yourself. Google, visit career days, make personal contacts, learn and prosper.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I would get out and work for a while. Don't go to school forever. Get some real world time. You can make a change a few years from now if you still want to. But you might even like work better.
Try for something in the aerospace industry, very broadly defined (aviation, airlines, defense, suppliers as ell as OEMs, etc.). But I would consider normal IT jobs also. You are an entry level person. Any good experience will be good experience.
And you actually may prefer other industries (telecom, retail, software, heavy industry, natural resources etc.) more than aviation which can be rather bureaucratic because of the intense safety concerns and long product life cycles. (But you don't know what you don't know. Because you are 23 and haven't worked much. Get some experiences.)
Note, that getting a "space degree" (whatever that is, I assume aeronautical/aerospace engineering) is no guarantee of a space industry posting. Space remains a small industry. I know a lot of aero grads who get normal engineering jobs. And there are more MechEs designing planes and rockets than aero types (mechanical is the most general engineering degree, electrical second). And planes and rockets and satellites are complex machines with different people developing and building different parts.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]
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2019/01/19
| 1,210
| 5,205
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<issue_start>username_0: I just received my first offer to a Mathematics PhD program at a reasonably good US institution, where one of my recommenders is also working. He sent me an email saying he "hopes I can accept the offer quickly". I love working with him, and have told him his school is my top choice, which is true, but I have some very close second choices whose results are not yet out (expected within next two weeks). The official deadline to accept the offer is in April. Should I politely tell him that I wish to wait for a month before accepting this offer, stating "I'm a bit nervous to accept the first offer without taking a look at one other first" (which is also true)?<issue_comment>username_1: Before you do anything, ask yourself what is the best possible outcome here. You have an offer from your top choice school and someone you like to work with. If the other parts, such as grants etc. are acceptable, this may be it. But I can't make that judgement. But if it is the best choice no matter what, then why risk it? What more do you hope to achieve?
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In the US, "hope you can accept the offer quickly" has become a set phrase in graduate admissions letters. You have the right and their explicit permission to wait to accept an offer until the deadline they give (such as the April 15th common US graduate school deadline), and you almost universally will not be penalized in any way for taking that time if you need it (i.e., waiting to hear from other schools, going to visit days to see the place in person, etc).
When I say set phrase, I mean that every offer I received from every graduate school had this term in it, so it is actually part of form letters now for many (most?) places in the US.
What does it mean? Simple - everyone would ideally like to know as soon as possible what your decision is, so they can know who is joining. That's it. They would naturally want to know, so if you have already made your decision they would like to know and have you lock it in rather than exhibit the common behavior or waiting until the day before the deadline to submit your decision.
That's it! So don't worry about, at all. All you need to do is is reply and thank them for their offer, perhaps state your excitement at having received the offer (if you genuinely have that reaction!), and let them know you will let them know of your final decision as soon as you have made it. No need to give excuses or be sorry, that's just how this works. No need to feel pressured into deciding sooner, its a big decision and you have the set deadline for lots of good reasons. Make the decision when you have the responses you need, and if there are visit days feel free to wait to accept the offer until after you have gone and met them (especially true if you have multiple offers you are trying to decide between).
Congratulations on your offer, and good luck in your future career!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I would slow pedal it. You don't need to explain anything. It is very unlikely the offer gets pulled. It's OK to communicate some gentle positivity and keep #1 positive. But I would not let yourself get influenced to early decision given "close seconds" exist. You need to string #1 along.
Just wait and see what comes back from the other schools, especially on the money front. Check on deductions also, some places pull for healthcare, gym access, etc.) This kind of dynamic with offers, competing offers is normal, especially for top candidates. Without making a big deal of it, you need to look out for you. It is possible some places offer you small incentives. You may also have the option of paid or at least subsidized visits to some schools to assist your decision.
Same dynamic will hopefully occur when you job interview in 4 years.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Many graduate schools have subscribed to the [April 15 Resolution](https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution) which says that accepted applicants are not required to make a decision until April 15. If the school you have applied to is one of these schools, then you should feel absolutely no compunction to report a decision until then.
I would basically just tell him that you hope to be able to make a decision soon and will keep them informed. You don't need to mention that you're waiting to hear from other schools if you don't want to say that; it's implicitly understood that most applicants may have to decide between multiple offers.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: My first guess as to the reason that he "hopes I can accept the offer quickly" is that he genuinely wants you to come to his school. If so, any delay on your part would only increase the likelihood that you end up going somewhere else. If he is at all reasonable then there should be no problem in politely explaining to him that since you applied to multiple schools, you want to see how it plays out before making your final decision. I thus interpret his statement as an indirect testament to you potential, rather than an unreasonable pressure that should cause you anxiety. It is nice to be a sought-after student. No need to overthink it.
Upvotes: 1
|
2019/01/19
| 864
| 3,545
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<issue_start>username_0: This is my first year in graduate school. I am studying computer science. Our group has 2 faculty advisors and ~8 students (faculty are married). The group is established in a niche part of the subdiscipline of computer science that I study.
My advisor really wants our group to break out into a second niche. I was chosen to lead the effort to do this. It wasn't clear why I was chosen, but I am older and have work experience and I am unique because I also recently finished my undergraduate and have a very strong background in mathematics. Our group are mostly 1st and 2nd years, there are 1 or 2 4th/5th year students.
I love the area they want to break into, it is interesting to me, but we have no one in our university that specializes in this area. My advisor wants me to figure out a solution to a problem and publish my ideas, but has not set any expectations beyond "you need to submit a paper."
Is this something other people have experienced? Is it normal for a first year graduate student to be asked to single handedly publish work that will establish a new area of research for a group? Are these standard expectations? In the industry usually there were step-by-step expectations that culminated in selling a product.
Road blocks I am facing:
1) Advisor doesn't set expectations beyond "submit a paper"
2) Advisors have all the other students working on different projects, people don't have time to help me.
3) Only 4 of the 8 speak fluent English (as well as both advisors).
4) I am also teaching ~40 students, 2 labs, work heavy engineering course
Is this just how graduate school is? Am I doing something wrong? Did I just land in a difficult group? I am so worried I am too stretched thin to accomplish anything. I want to communicate this to my advisor, but I am worried I will become a burden in my first year which will be a bad thing for me.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't see it as very unusual. The advisor seems to want to have several projects going at once to maximize the chance of success on at least some of them. It is common, where I've been, for different students to work on different things.
But as you go along, you will need continuing guidance. Setting a simple expectation at the start (write a paper) is probably fine as long as it doesn't end there. And you will also need to depend on the ability of the advisor, and his general experience, to get you over any hard spots or know when it is time to move to a different problem if the chosen one turns out to be fruitless.
It actually sounds like he has some faith in you to carry on. That can turn out to be a great thing.
And, as you go, keep notes on other directions that your work suggests might be good to explore in the future. Having lots of "irons in the fire" is a good way to avoid getting stuck.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't think it is that unusual to do a new area. I would just watch out a little that you don't get exploited as some sort of subgroup leader versus spending time on your own research.
Going into a new area can be great. Often easier to get more progress more easily at first. I like his advice to just get started with something publishable also.
The teaching load sounds heavy. I would try to minimize time spent on it. It's unfortunate for the undergrads but not your fault (colleges choose to not pay good/dedicated teachers). Do enough not to get yelled at but make it the minimum and be efficient. Your path forward lies in publications.
Upvotes: 0
|
2019/01/19
| 1,649
| 6,831
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<issue_start>username_0: I began my undergrad at an ivy league university but decided to transfer after one year. It wasn't that the classes were too hard; I went through a bit of a mental health crisis w/ depression, which contributed to a mediocre average (81, if I recall correctly). It doesn't help that I also slept through one exam, earning me a 60 in a course in which I would have otherwise received a high-80. I began to see a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist; the former prescribed me antidepressants and the latter recommended I switch universities. The city in which I was studying did not suit my temperament whatever, and my therapist (rightly) thought that my condition would be ameliorated should I switch schools.
I took their advice, and now, two years down the road, after extensive CBT and adjustments to my medications, I am in excellent mental condition. My grades have improved dramatically (CGPA: 92, and the CGPA of accepted students at the Grad programs I am applying to range from 83-87). Additionally, I have been doing extensive research, I have been published in some undergrad journals (and am waiting to hear back from a more prestigious open access journal), have attended a few professional conferences, and am currently working on a thesis project with a professor, part of which includes (a) designing a course to be offered next term, and (b) assisting with lectures and workshops in that course (basically I'll be splitting the teaching workload with a full time prof for a second year course).
Soon, I will be applying to grad school. I am worried that my application will be thrown out because it looks like I failed at a hard school and so I decided to go to an 'easier one.' I only received 4.0(/20) credits from the first school, but still, I worry this will be a disqualifying factor. So what should I do? On the one hand, I would like to somehow indicate that my mental health was a significant contributor to my lacklustre grades and my choice to switch universities. On the other hand, I do not want to give the impression that I am trying to cover up my own blunders with some sob story. (Somewhat sadistically, part of me welcomes the possibility of not being accepted because of my earlier mediocre grades; part of me feels as if the fact that I'm the kind of person that CAN be so detrimentally impacted by depression is enough to prove that I'm not cut out for grad school). Ideally, I would love for the application departments to only consider my current transcript. That way I don't have to mention mental health nor do I have to worry about my application being thrown out for the reasons above cited. Is this a possibility? More importantly, is this ethical?? I have my reservations. Anyway I know mental health services at the undergrad level have dramatically improved in the last few years to the point that if you have a documented mental illness, some poor grades may be stricken from your record. Is there a similar process for grad applications?
Thanks for reading this. I haven't yet spoken to anyone about this particular worry, though it's been on my mind for the past few months. I am happy to have written it down, even if there is no satisfactory solution. I should mention this: even though grad school is a fundamental goal of mine (often I'll daydream about working on difficult problems at the graduate level), I am OK with the possibility that I just wont get into any grad program whatever. It's a strange thing to think about, but where I am now, I like my life. I did not like my life two years ago. Frankly, if I were offered a choice between (a) attending grad school but doing four years at my past university and (b) not attending grad school but getting to be where I am today, I'm pretty sure I'd choose (b). At any rate, the choice would at least be very, very difficult.<issue_comment>username_1: Just apply and see what happens. You can't change the past.
Typically a graduate application will explicitly say that you must submit transcripts from all universities you have attended (or "earned credits from"). So it is not appropriate to simply pretend that it never happened.
Grad school decisions would, in any case, be based mainly on your more recent work, so the first year of your studies will not carry much weight regardless. I'd ask the question: considering students at your *current* institution whose records *in their later years* are similar to yours, are they successful at getting into grad school? If yes, then I think you are in good shape.
There is no systematic procedure in graduate admissions for discarding grades that were affected by medical issues. You can, if you wish, discuss the issue in your statement of purpose (or other similar essay), and it would be up to the admission committee to decide how to take that into account in considering your application. However, my feeling is that you don't need to say much more than "I started at University X, it wasn't a good fit, I transferred to Y. Now here are all the fantastic things I've been doing at Y..."
As you get ready to apply to grad school, you will want to have serious conversations with your faculty mentors. This is definitely something you should discuss with them (though you don't necessarily need to go into as much detail as you did in this post), but I suspect they will agree that it isn't a big deal.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: 1. Small school is fine. Some grad programs even prefer it because the mission of liberal arts is more teaching (thus better training, all equal) and the small school students are less disillusioned or aware of the issues at R1 schools.
2. Nobody will care much about your few credits from somewhere else. I personally wouldn't even mention it, much. Think of yourself as a "Littleco" grad now, not an ex Harvard person. The few credits from somewhere else are kind of irrelevant. Everyone has differences in their background (took a year to walk the A trail, worked a campaign, enlisted, etc.).
3. They are mostly just going to look at what you have done in grades, scores (important) and research/essays.
4. I would avoid bringing up the medical issues. Like you say they are fixed. And the time at IvyU was minor. Don't open something that doesn't need to.
---
(Not meant as a slam but to help you, especially on essays and interactions):
5. Try to be a little more positive. Life is hard enough. It goes better if you go at it, not doubt yourself.
6. Your question was very long. Try to tighten up. People appreciate succinctness, it takes/shows work to be efficient in text). Even if you have to be so long, make the paragraphs shorter (people find long ones tedious).
[And for 5/6 I admit this is a do as I say, not as I do.]
Net, net: you'll be fine. 92 > 87 (grades)
Upvotes: 1
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2019/01/19
| 541
| 2,357
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<issue_start>username_0: everyone—
A quick and vague question. I've applied to 9 English PhD programs this cycle at institutions that vary greatly in prestige. Only one of them, the least prestigious program, requires a brief video interview for "finalists" (about 15 minutes), in which the candidate discusses his/her interest in the school, academic interests, and career plans with a member of the department.
I was just selected for this yesterday, and the interview is tomorrow! I wanted to know if anyone has any insight about the true purpose of such an interview, which is rare in the humanities, and seems redundant considering that the proposed topics of discussion are all covered at length in my application. It's especially bizarre considering it's not an especially prestigious program/their funding isn't great/etc., so such a step seems *less* necessary than it would at very competitive programs.
It occurrs to me that they may want to ensure that finalists are genuinely interested in *their* program before potentially wasting offers on candidates who regard the school as a backup? Of course I'm taking the interview prep seriously, but any extra insight that would help me be more strategic would be much appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: I would take the request at face value. They want to get some "feel" for how you would fit into their program. Their motive, I suspect, is to save money for travel by not needing to invite you for a visit.
They will probably use what they learn to choose one or two people for a face-to-face visit. I would read "finalist" more like "shortlist" or "semi-finalist", but maybe not. Your sense of their intentions are probably close to the mark, actually.
I suspect that some programs in your field depend on a close and collegial working relationship among the students and faculty. If so, don't underestimate the importance of this, though it sounds like you are taking it appropriately seriously.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: One possible purpose of the interview, from their point of view, is that having an actual conversation may help *you* become more interested in joining their program. So it may be partly for recruitment as well as screening.
This would also explain why a less prestigious program would want to do it: they have a harder time recruiting.
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/19
| 573
| 2,415
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<issue_start>username_0: Accidentally submitted to predatory journal (very naive and stupid first time researcher here) accepted with no evidence of peer review. Could not pay submission fee so they reduced cost substantially so I submitted an updated manuscript. Then realised it was predatory and they also have already uploaded my article online! Have not paid fee and confronted journal on predatory status. Can I get away with not paying the fee? No copyright transfer signed.<issue_comment>username_1: I am not a lawyer but I would think this depends on the contractual laws that govern you where you live and where the journal is based. You may be able to ask them to take down the article but they may try to do so through a retraction rather than simply "deleting" it.
On the other hand, if you have not transferred copyright then they shouldn't technically be able to publish the article, and you should still have had the right to withdraw the submission.
So this is a bit of a thorny situation and I would try to seek out help from your university (do they have a Legal department in the administration?) to guide you through this process.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Don't pay them! Pretty much no matter where you are, they'd have to win a lawsuit in a court that has jurisdiction over you to force you to pay. (If you and the publisher are in the same country, you may need legal advice; otherwise, you're pretty safe. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.)
Sadly, the paper's probably a write-off, though, since they've "published" it on the web.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If you made a contract with the predatory journal to pay the fee, you must pay. You probably did not, but we cannot determine this for you. You cannot make a contract by accident if [assent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_the_minds) is required in your location.
If you did not make a contract to pay, then in my view you have an ethical obligation to **refuse to pay**. If you pay, you are supporting this journal's efforts to scam other authors.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: My recommendation is to send a note pulling the paper and not to pay. This is basically regardless of the state of "publishing" (likely electronic) and regardless of the contract. You just don't want to be associated with these types of journals. Just whack the knot with a sword.
Upvotes: 1
|
2019/01/20
| 853
| 3,698
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<issue_start>username_0: I will be applying to PhD programs in statistics this upcoming fall and I have noticed that at many institutions, the professors in the statistics department also hold positions in other departments such as CS or EE. I know that professors do interdisciplinary research, so they get experience in other fields, but how does a professor get this appointment? Do they apply or does the university award them after conducting research in the other field.
I am interested in doing research in statistical machine learning in graduate school and have extensive CS background on top on a math background. So I would love one day to be able to be a professor in say stats/CS department.<issue_comment>username_1: These professors have knowledge / skills that are applicable to both departments so are "employed" by both.
The benefit is really to the institution in terms of HR as they have one name, but two posts satisfied, as well as the "cross-fertilisation" across courses & departments.
The maths courses in our engineering degree were taught by maths professors from the maths department and they were **very** good. Not only did they give the mathematical background or proof to concepts, they could work with the "real" engineering examples we were doing...
So, if you have the things another department is looking for then apply as it may be easier for them to use existing faculty instead of trying to find a part-timer...
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> So I would love one day to be able to be a professor in say stats/CS department.
>
>
>
I don’t think you can really plan for this, other than by acquiring the skills and reputation that would make you an attractive hire for people in both disciplines. If the time comes and you see a position of this sort listed, go ahead and apply of course, but this is quite a rare event. Alternatively, once you secure a position in one department (already a hard enough thing to do in most people’s estimation), you can bring up the possibility of a joint appointment, either when you are offered the position or at any future time after you are hired, and see if the people involved are open to that idea. If you are very sought after and have multiple job offers on the table, that will give you useful negotiating leverage and increase your chances, but still be prepared for the answer to be “no”, or “not right now” - university politics is such that joint hires are not easy to arrange, and not always favored by all parties who need to sign off on them.
Finally, keep in mind that even if you can make it happen, it’s not necessarily the dream job you are thinking it is. As a joint member of two departments you will be paying a rather large (in my observation) “tax” of doing lots of things twice - getting to know and be on friendly terms with two large sets of colleagues; going to faculty meeting of two departments; being evaluated for promotion by two groups of people, each of which speaks a unique scientific dialect you’ll need to speak to convince them the work you are doing is good (and who will often look down on, or misunderstand, anything that you’re working on having to do with the other discipline); having two offices in two buildings that are halfway across campus from each other and needing to keep track of which one of them you left that textbook in that you really need right now; etc. - generally speaking there are a good number of inefficiencies of this sort. I’m not saying it has to be bad, and I’m sure there can be nice things about it, just be aware of these and other complications that you may not be taking into account. Good luck!
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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2019/01/20
| 1,233
| 5,331
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<issue_start>username_0: I’m a beginning PhD student in theoretical physics specializing in string theory. Unfortunately, my advisor doesn't have a good understanding of this subject; therefore, he provides me with very little guidance. The problem is that I have a very little understanding of how should I do research in string theory.
My style is that I try to work thing out from the first principles. For instance, when I try to understand the fundamentals of this subject (by which I mean graduate textbook material), I start with blank papers, write down a question I would like to understand, then try to find an answer mostly by reading parts of the textbook or by searching for research papers that deal with this question. Furthermore, I try to work things out on my own. Somehow, this feels somewhat unnatural to me (and it leads to very slow progress). Another approach would be to read the standard textbook thoroughly, then start reading papers more linearly.
I always feel that I’m trying to re-invent the wheel. I think that researchers take assumptions and conclusions from previous work and then build on it. On the other hand, I always try to start from scratch and to derive everything on my own. For instance, physics student learn quantum mechanics by starting with some axioms, then try to understand their consequences. On the other hand, I try to deduce or rather, “find” these axioms by pure thought, which led me to spend a lot of time researching the original papers on quantum mechanics.
Am I doing it right? I think that part of my problem is that I’m trying to imitate top physicists such as, <NAME>. Do top physicists (or mathematicians) really do this?<issue_comment>username_1: I don’t think this approach is feasible for the following reason:
Theoretical research (and any other research for that matter) **takes much more time to perform than to understand**.
For example, if you have sufficient mathematical background knowledge, I am pretty confident that a few hours suffice for me to make you fully appreciate and understand the entire (theoretical) research I did in the last year, such that the only difference between you and me would be that I have more experience with thinking in these my terms.
I am not very familiar with the history of quantum mechanics, but I am pretty confident that writing down the axioms was the result of quite some hard thinking, conceptualising, and a considerable amount of experience.
If this weren’t the case, it would be impossible to advance a field beyond what can be done from scratch in a lifetime.
Rather, it is an ongoing challenge for science to improve didactics, programmes, etc. to bring new people to the forefront of a field within a reasonable amount of time, such that they can advance this front – [**standing on the shoulders of giants**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants).
As a sidenote, take a look at some really old mathematics textbooks to feel how didactics has marched on and how important that is.
That being said, trying to do some things from scratch at times can be a helpful exercise that yields a deeper understanding of the matter and trains your field-specific problem-solving skills.
But mind that this should be **only as an exercise** – you do not want to do this all the time.
Finally note that (at least in the fields I am familiar with), most theoretical research is not about coming up with a new theory, new axioms, or similar, but working out the consequences of existing theories.
If you can come up with a new, useful theory, that’s great, but chances are that this will only happen after you gained a considerable amount of experience with the existing theories and doing theoretical work in general.
As a complete sidenote: Doing a PhD without a supervisor experienced in your respective subject is usually not a good idea.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it is an inefficient approach to do this too much. Certainly at times, it is useful to develop things from first principles, but I would definitely not make it your initial approach.
Feynman did not really do it all the time himself. Read the article on him by <NAME> or even the biography by Geis. When he got into some heavy electrodynamics, he refreshed and improved his classical E&M by studying a standard text and working every single problem. Another example is his studies in physics books. Miserable for first years but fun for people who "already know it". Of course he was very creative as well and a deep thinker and would come up with little systems of his own at times. But he was also a person who valued learning and collecting tricks (look at his habits in integration, algebra team, riddles, radio fixing, etc.).
But even excepting Feynman, I just don't think your approach is a time efficient way to learn things. Also, it doesn't stop you from going back and reconsidering things yourself to learn some things in a standard manner. You may even find having a baseline informs you more. Also, just find yourself wondering about things and coming up with new questions as you read a standard approach.
Now string theory. Isn't that so 1995? ;-) Oh...and Feynman didn't think much of it either. Had a skeptical take on the rush down the rabbit hole.
Upvotes: 1
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2019/01/20
| 919
| 3,928
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<issue_start>username_0: I submitted my manuscript to a journal from 1 month ago in scholar one. The status changed to admin check to under review after one week. Now, it shows Awaiting Decision.
Does this mean that the paper has passed the editorial check and the external reviewer completed?<issue_comment>username_1: I don’t think this approach is feasible for the following reason:
Theoretical research (and any other research for that matter) **takes much more time to perform than to understand**.
For example, if you have sufficient mathematical background knowledge, I am pretty confident that a few hours suffice for me to make you fully appreciate and understand the entire (theoretical) research I did in the last year, such that the only difference between you and me would be that I have more experience with thinking in these my terms.
I am not very familiar with the history of quantum mechanics, but I am pretty confident that writing down the axioms was the result of quite some hard thinking, conceptualising, and a considerable amount of experience.
If this weren’t the case, it would be impossible to advance a field beyond what can be done from scratch in a lifetime.
Rather, it is an ongoing challenge for science to improve didactics, programmes, etc. to bring new people to the forefront of a field within a reasonable amount of time, such that they can advance this front – [**standing on the shoulders of giants**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants).
As a sidenote, take a look at some really old mathematics textbooks to feel how didactics has marched on and how important that is.
That being said, trying to do some things from scratch at times can be a helpful exercise that yields a deeper understanding of the matter and trains your field-specific problem-solving skills.
But mind that this should be **only as an exercise** – you do not want to do this all the time.
Finally note that (at least in the fields I am familiar with), most theoretical research is not about coming up with a new theory, new axioms, or similar, but working out the consequences of existing theories.
If you can come up with a new, useful theory, that’s great, but chances are that this will only happen after you gained a considerable amount of experience with the existing theories and doing theoretical work in general.
As a complete sidenote: Doing a PhD without a supervisor experienced in your respective subject is usually not a good idea.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it is an inefficient approach to do this too much. Certainly at times, it is useful to develop things from first principles, but I would definitely not make it your initial approach.
Feynman did not really do it all the time himself. Read the article on him by <NAME> or even the biography by Geis. When he got into some heavy electrodynamics, he refreshed and improved his classical E&M by studying a standard text and working every single problem. Another example is his studies in physics books. Miserable for first years but fun for people who "already know it". Of course he was very creative as well and a deep thinker and would come up with little systems of his own at times. But he was also a person who valued learning and collecting tricks (look at his habits in integration, algebra team, riddles, radio fixing, etc.).
But even excepting Feynman, I just don't think your approach is a time efficient way to learn things. Also, it doesn't stop you from going back and reconsidering things yourself to learn some things in a standard manner. You may even find having a baseline informs you more. Also, just find yourself wondering about things and coming up with new questions as you read a standard approach.
Now string theory. Isn't that so 1995? ;-) Oh...and Feynman didn't think much of it either. Had a skeptical take on the rush down the rabbit hole.
Upvotes: 1
|
2019/01/20
| 875
| 3,416
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<issue_start>username_0: The Lab leader is putting a surveillance camera inside the lab to protect some precious devices bought recently. The viewpoint of the camera covers most of the lab and shows clearly the lab members 24h per day and 7 days a week. The camera is only accessed by the lab leader.
is it ethical to put such a camera inside the lab?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, it is certainly ethical, so long as everyone knows it is there. It doesn't even necessarily show lack of trust in the regular lab denizens. An alternative, of course, would be to pay someone, a guard, to be always present.
I suppose it is possible that the leader's motives go beyond protecting the equipment, of course, but even that isn't problematic if a record of lab activities might be needed to assure against possible bad behavior, such as, for example harassment. In some situations the lab work may be so sensitive that a record needs to be kept.
As noted in comments on this page, the legality may be in question. But that varies from place to place.
To make it even clearer, if the camera is put in place without the knowledge of the participants it would be unethical. If the camera were put into a public area then it would also be unethical in the absence of come compelling reason that would mitigate it.
If the camera were put in place to monitor the people and their performance, rather than protect equipment, the situation becomes more difficult to asses. But it would probably be *unwise* to do it, whether ethical or not, because of the strong negative reaction that it would cause and which is evidenced in the comments here.
The ethical judgment I made is, therefore, very limited to a particular set of conditions as expressed in the question asked.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This largely depends on **disclosure** --- in cases where you record employees at work there are ethical and legal obligations relating to notification and disclosure. The legal rules depend on your jurisdiction, but in most jurisdictions this situation is regulated by some kind of legislation on surveillance. (E.g., in NSW in Australia this would be regulated by the *Workplace Surveillance Act 2005*.) To check on the legality of this practice you should consult relevant surveillance legislation in your jurisdiction. Regardless, your lab leader should certainly **contact the university legal counsel** before installing a surveillance camera.
As to the broader ethical question of surveillance (as opposed to its legality), there is a reasonable literature on this question in the business ethics journals (see e.g., [Ottensmeyer and Heroux 1991](https://www.jstor.org/stable/25072180), [Fairweather 1999](https://www.jstor.org/stable/25074188), [<NAME> and Grunewald 2008](https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25482135), and [Hadjimatheou 2014](https://www.jstor.org/stable/24478571)). I will not attempt to paraphrase this issue here since it is a large issue which is best understood by reference to the literature.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If the lab ever uses human subjects, it's important to keep this camera in mind as a potential breach of confidentiality. Most IRBs would (a) want to know that subjects are being recorded, (b) want the camera mentioned in the consent form, and (c) want a plan for the storage and disposal of recordings that include subjects.
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/20
| 1,071
| 4,972
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have a reason to think an official from a university I previously applied to is potentially stalking me. His previous actions and attitude had made me uncomfortable. We live in the same town and at a talk I attended recently, he asked if I am a grad student at University X now (the school I chose to attend instead). I did not answer and largely tried to avoid them but I do indeed attend university X. The thing is, I really don’t want them to contact me at my university/lab so I do not want them to know my information related to this school. I asked the office of registrar to make my directory information confidential. It took a few days and I have also been told that FERPA confidentiality has some limitations and it seems release of information to educational institution officials is one of them. As long as a university official contacts the school with an education-related interest (it would be easy to fake one, I think), apparently revealing my information is at the discretion of the school and not governed by FERPA. Is this correct?
If they were to contact my university as an official from a different university / department head, would they be told any of the following information:
- My current address and phone number
- The department and the labs I work in
- My office address and office phone number
- Dates of attendance
- Classes I am currently taking and their schedule
etc?<issue_comment>username_1: Some of the information you mention might be considered public information and not "educational" and so not covered by the law. Your courses, and similar are probably covered, but FERPA is more intended to cover your performance. But if you are concerned for your safety, for example, you need legal counsel. The university may be able to provide it via some office dedicated to student services. But for a serious concern you may need to contact a lawyer or even the police. In some situations, a university can bar a person from school facilities, of course.
It may be a crime for someone to use the university systems to harass or stalk you, but if they are willing to risk it, you would be at risk, so you need to take precautions. But for serious interventions, you probably need some evidence or corroboration by others. Some people are just awkward rather than creepy, but only you can really judge that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: FERPA distinguishes between directory information (generally public unless the student has requested confidentiality) and other student records such as grades that are always confidential except for university employees who need the information to perform their duties.
If you have requested confidentiality for your directory information then the only answer that should be given under FERPA is something like “I can neither confirm nor deny that <NAME> is a student at our institution.”
In practice, information like this can often be social engineered out of staff, faculty, and other students. If you are concerned about this, it might help to remind your advisor, department chair, and support staff that you have asked for your directory information to be confidential and that you have reason to fear a stalker.
Also, if your department maintains a web site listing graduate students in the department you can ask that your name be kept off that web site.
It is very unlikely that your registrar’s office would reveal this information if you have had it marked confidential- they are generally well trained on this issue and will only release this information in response to a request from you.
To answer your particular question, an official at another university should be treated under FERPA exactly the same as anyone else outside of your institution. For example, if you apply to another university you will have to ask your current university to release your transcripts to that other institution.
Because this rule is strict, many students ultimately decide to make their directory information public. For example, background checks and letters of recommendation can be difficult to get if you have confidential directory information. Furthermore, your name won’t appear on graduation lists or lists of award winners if you’ve requested confidentiality.
Also, there are many situations under which you would have to make your affiliation and contact information public as a graduate student. For example, if you work as a TA you would have to reveal this information to your students and they would have no obligation of confidentiality. Similarly, if you give a conference presentation or publish a paper you’ll need to list your affiliation. When you complete your thesis or dissertation you will most likely have to publish it in a way that makes your affiliation public. If you ultimately go on the academic job market you will definitely want to have a professional website and profiles on services like Google Scholar.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/20
| 922
| 4,297
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an American citizen but I am doing my undegraduate studies in math/physics in France. I am looking for a way to get some research experience this summer. My ultimate goal is to return to the US for graduate studies in physics, and it appears that research experience is a de facto requirement for admission to top programs.
It seems that in Europe summer research programs are not as popular as in the US, where the NSF funds the well-known REU program.
Unfortunately, the acadameic year at my school ends well after most REU programs begin. My school also does not offer research opportunites until the 3rd year, after the grad school application deadlines.
Are there any other options someone in my position might explore?<issue_comment>username_1: Some of the information you mention might be considered public information and not "educational" and so not covered by the law. Your courses, and similar are probably covered, but FERPA is more intended to cover your performance. But if you are concerned for your safety, for example, you need legal counsel. The university may be able to provide it via some office dedicated to student services. But for a serious concern you may need to contact a lawyer or even the police. In some situations, a university can bar a person from school facilities, of course.
It may be a crime for someone to use the university systems to harass or stalk you, but if they are willing to risk it, you would be at risk, so you need to take precautions. But for serious interventions, you probably need some evidence or corroboration by others. Some people are just awkward rather than creepy, but only you can really judge that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: FERPA distinguishes between directory information (generally public unless the student has requested confidentiality) and other student records such as grades that are always confidential except for university employees who need the information to perform their duties.
If you have requested confidentiality for your directory information then the only answer that should be given under FERPA is something like “I can neither confirm nor deny that <NAME> is a student at our institution.”
In practice, information like this can often be social engineered out of staff, faculty, and other students. If you are concerned about this, it might help to remind your advisor, department chair, and support staff that you have asked for your directory information to be confidential and that you have reason to fear a stalker.
Also, if your department maintains a web site listing graduate students in the department you can ask that your name be kept off that web site.
It is very unlikely that your registrar’s office would reveal this information if you have had it marked confidential- they are generally well trained on this issue and will only release this information in response to a request from you.
To answer your particular question, an official at another university should be treated under FERPA exactly the same as anyone else outside of your institution. For example, if you apply to another university you will have to ask your current university to release your transcripts to that other institution.
Because this rule is strict, many students ultimately decide to make their directory information public. For example, background checks and letters of recommendation can be difficult to get if you have confidential directory information. Furthermore, your name won’t appear on graduation lists or lists of award winners if you’ve requested confidentiality.
Also, there are many situations under which you would have to make your affiliation and contact information public as a graduate student. For example, if you work as a TA you would have to reveal this information to your students and they would have no obligation of confidentiality. Similarly, if you give a conference presentation or publish a paper you’ll need to list your affiliation. When you complete your thesis or dissertation you will most likely have to publish it in a way that makes your affiliation public. If you ultimately go on the academic job market you will definitely want to have a professional website and profiles on services like Google Scholar.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/20
| 969
| 3,681
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a question regarding filling out the FAFSA or not as a incoming PhD student.
What is the benefit of filling out the FAFSA if you are a(n) (incoming) PhD student? In the US (at least in physics), PhDs are (to the best of my knowledge) fully funded — full tuition waiver + a "decent" TA stipend initially and then an RA later. And so I'm a bit confused if I should fill out the FAFSA at all.
Is it a case of "you might as well," since it could end up supplying me additional funds to supplement the TA stipend (which is usually less than RA stipend)? Could the additional funds go to unforeseen student fees and such? Or is it simply not needed as my tuition will be fully waived and I will be getting paid?
For reference, from a graduate school's website:
>
> Types of Financial Aid
>
>
> A variety of aid is available for all income levels, including various types of student educational loans (Graduate and Professional Student Loans, Short-Term and Emergency Loans), grants, and Work-Study funding. Contact your graduate program regarding the availability of work-study funding.
>
>
> Apply for Financial Aid
>
>
> All students interested in educational loans are required to apply for financial aid via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application. Both applications are free. Whether or not students think they are eligible, we encourage you to apply for financial aid each year. You may apply for financial aid before you have been admitted.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: First off, while many PhD students in many degree programs in the U.S. receive TA and RA positions, these are hardly universal. Many students, especially those who are foreign-born or in the humanities, are responsible for paying their own way.
You need to complete the FAFSA if you want to be eligible for student loans, which could help bridge the cost of your living expenses if your TA/RA stipend isn't large enough. For some universities, it can also unlock the door for scholarships or other funding that may cover things your TA/RA does not. It's not uncommon for TAs/RAs to still have to pay several hundred or even thousand dollars per semester in fees.
If you're a first-year PhD student, I'd suggest completing the FAFSA and see if it yields anything beneficial. After the first year, you can decide if you want to keep filing or skip it.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> What is the benefit of filling out the FAFSA if you are a(n) (incoming) PhD student? In the US, PhDs are fully funded
>
>
>
That's not universally true, see e.g. [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/18755/17254). Even when it is, fully funded doesn't necessarily imply that the money you receive is enough to cover living costs. I believe the FAFSA application is required for certain need-based loans, and some federal grants that may be available to specific types graduate programs. You should be able to tell from your offer letter what level of funding you're promised.
Google reveals that the grad school website you've posted excerpts from likely is [UC Davis'](https://grad.ucdavis.edu/financial-support/financial-aid). It appears that they offer some merit- and need-based [university](https://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/graduate/gradstudies/types) and [departmental](http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/graduate/graduate-program/graduate-student-funding-and-financial-support) fellowships, for which they require a FAFSA application. You might want to check with university staff (e.g. your department's graduate coordinator) if it's worthwhile to apply for these or not.
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/20
| 2,037
| 8,703
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<issue_start>username_0: Some months back I got into a situation where a paper with information that I considered important to prove a point was in a language I cannot understand. Since it was important but not crucial, I ended up not using the paper. Except for its abstract, which was in English, the entire paper was in this other language. It had graphs and images that I could understand without knowing the language.
At the time, I was tempted to use Google Translate in order to get the general idea of the paper (in more detail than what is given in the abstract), while not necessarily trusting on the specific information that the translation gave me ([it can give faulty results at times](https://www.argotrans.com/blog/accurate-google-translate-2018/)). Since this would still leave me with some measure of uncertainty — there was no way for me to be sure exactly what it was saying — I thought it better to just let the paper go.
But say that in a future situation I find a crucial paper in a language I don't understand: **if I use Google Translate, using the paper in a situation that does not require specific information but only it's general gist, would citing it be ethically acceptable?**
(It's almost the same situation as [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21478/is-it-appropriate-to-ask-an-author-for-an-english-translation-of-a-paper), but I'm not concerned with translating the entire paper, for this would take time/resources that I simply don't have access to.)<issue_comment>username_1: I think the fact that the paper is in a language you don't understand is somewhat of a red herring. Sure, it will affect the specific steps you'd take to try to understand the paper, but the ethics of "to cite, or not to cite" it is no different from [a paper you don't understand written in a language you speak](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/1519/17254). You're generally supposed to provide a good-faith overview of the literature, with citations as appropriate. The fact that one paper is significantly harder to understand doesn't really change that.
My view is that it behooves you to, as far as possible\*, and regardless of language, *at least* understand at a high level what the full papers you cite contain, and the parts of papers you use on a detailed level. Google Translate will be good enough in some cases, but for other cases it's better used as a starting point. If you find yourself doubting the machine translation it's certainly best to use it as a starting point. You might want to try to clarify uncertain points with the authors, ask a colleague (who might speak the language) for help, get a professional translation of parts of the paper, or use a secondary citation.
\*In some fields they even study ancient languages to understand original texts. That might be overkill...
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I would lean to including it. Of course you need to be careful about relying on something you can't completely read but this applies to everything (even just hard math). But I would lean to more cites than less since it helps future researchers.
It is not like you are endorsing everything or giving some huge gift to make a cite. You are trying to help people find info. They can still do some evaluation or even get into tangential ideas.
If you just need a datapoint (say transition temperature of a well known and noncontroversial substance), I think just taking the datapoint is fine without translation. Depending on how much more you need, you can try struggling through it with partial info, ask someone to look at it, use Google Translate, etc. If it is crucial, just pay for a translation and charge to your grant (this is not that hard, have done it).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Reiterating the main points (as I see it) of the other answers: if it's relevant, cite it... both to show your own awareness, and to acknowledge prior art, whether or not it *exactly* impinged on your own work.
That is, whether or not an individual can fully vet a piece of work, through difficulty with the ambient language or whatever, acknowledgement of its *existence* is very important, I think. Citing things is different from endorsement, and is different from a claim that one has fully checked all details, or even read the whole thing through. Just be clear, in the citation, what use you made of it, or did not.
Once again, straightforward-ness, honesty, are better guides much of the time (too bad not always... I know...) than stylistic prescriptions.
As an example to perhaps *not* cite: if you happened to read arguably crack-pot documents on arXiv (for math, for example) purporting (implausibly) to do amazing things in your specialty, I think you can justify not citing... if the author has insufficient credibility, and no one else with any credibility has vouched for it. But, yes, what the heck is "credibility"? :)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: You cite earlier works either because you directly built on them, or to provide the background against which you are working, and to position your new contribution in the larger context of existing research.
You should be able to judge whether a given foreign language paper warrants inclusion for the second reason based on an English language abstract and/or Google translate. If it does, cite it.
Also: nothing keeps you from including a footnote, or a parenthetical disclaimer.
>
> Foo and Bar (2019) discussed the ethnographic complexities of underwater basket weaving (as judging from the abstract; Foo & Bar [2019] is unfortunately in Amharic, which we do not speak).
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: While agreeing with the other answers, I would add that you should cite the "original" work you used to base your work/analysis/paper on.
Subsequently finding a copy of the same paper translated by A. N. Other may lead to issues if the translation has errors or other assumptions not in the original.
That being said, you need to make it clear what you translated parts of the paper to mean as you probably made assumptions as well.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: If "to cite" is interpreted as "to include, in the 'works cited' or 'references' section of your academic work, a academic-publication-style-conformant bibliographic reference to a piece of scholarly work", it does not seem to be a good idea to include papers which you think you have understood by just reading its abstracts, its figures and tables (very likely that their titles are not in your language either) and machine-translated contents. You include a paper in your "works cited" section because you have carefully studied it, reflected upon it, analysed it against the theories and conclusions you've already known, or even carried out verification work, after which finding that the paper is of significant importance to **your own** study, positively or negatively. In this way you are weaving connections between past and present so that followers will see how the discipline has developed.
You do not include citations to show that you have consulted a lot of sources, or to let others know that you think this one is really important--important is a personal feeling unless quantified by, say, h-index; whether a paper is important or not is the reader's business, not yours. If a lot of authors do include this piece of literature in their works then that literature would naturally be important empirically.
That said, nothing stops you from including the article under concern in your own thesis: an academic-publication-style-conformant footnote or endnote would do well. Some professors even require their students to have both a "Works Cited" part and a "Works Consulted" part in their disseration (e.g. mine), and at least for humanities fields I have seen really serious scholars doing the same in their monograph. Also remember that the reference can be annotated as well.
Finally, you've said that
>
> *in a future situation I find a crucial paper in a language I don't understand: if I use Google Translate, using the paper in a situation that does not require specific information but only it's general gist*
>
>
>
I don't see the underlying logical connection: if a paper is really crucial to you, your study must have partially relied upon it, how then is it possible that you would be citing it only for general, non-specific purposes? Additionally, suppose that other readers knowing the same languages as you have consulted your paper and also found the paper under concern worth reading, how then will you know that they are just reading it for general gist?
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/20
| 1,311
| 5,305
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<issue_start>username_0: **Two part question**
*Part I*
For a revised paper following a review by referees, to what extent is each of the following acceptable or unacceptable:
1. Use the exact sentence from a report without quotations or acknowledgement of the source?
2. Use a series of sentences (almost) verbatim from a report without quotations or acknowledgment of the source?
3. Repeatedly engage in 1. or 2., possibly to the point where sum total of a page in the revised draft are unattributed quotations from a report?
*Part II*
What the reviewer should do in case #3 above, when reviewing the revision in a subsequent round. Should this be brought up in the report for the authors? In private communication with the editor? Both? Neither?<issue_comment>username_1: Perhaps you (or the author, if not you) are misunderstanding the purpose of the reviewer's reports. It shouldn't be to give the author words that s/he must/should include. It is to help improve the ideas and expressions in the paper.
In most cases the author don't actually know the reviewer and the words haven't been published. But, rather than use their words, the author(s) needs to think about what they want to say and the best way to say it, taking the reviewers suggestions into account when appropriate.
However, in some fields, such as mathematics, it is known that there is, in essence, only one way to say something (equations and the like). But even there, the referee is expecting that the author will just say the right thing based on, perhaps, a new understanding that they now have after reading the referee's report.
So, in essence, it is the author's words should be to used, perhaps influenced by those of the reviewer.
But yes, the author needs to include a note thanking the reviewers for valuable suggestions.
In the case of a reviewer who objects to his/her words being used verbatim without attribution or acknowledgement, yes, the reviewer should raise the issue. The editor may need to make a judgement about propriety and that may depend on how much was taken from the report.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are the reviewer, just let the editor know the plagiarism problem. Hopefully this is prior to the paper getting out.
A reasonable outcome would be for the text to be paraphrased AND a more specific acknowledgment made "one reviewer for specific content in section 3". I would gently suggest such to the editor. "Please go ahead and take whatever action you feel best as editor, but I suggest modify the text and make a more specific acknowledgment".
An alternate outcome is to leave the text as is and become a co-author, (If the contribution meets the threshold. Perhaps it might on a review or theory paper.) But I would not be seen as pushing for such an outcome and it comes with issues of its own (now you are tied to the rest of the paper).
If the paper was already published, I would still let the editor know, but I would copy the editor in charge (since the subeditor let the plagiarism of the reviewer text get by). It's not the end of the world for the subeditor but he needs to be mildly held to account also.
All this assumes it is not some junky journal. If it is and they don't take action, you should obviously stop reviewing for them (and shouldn't review for junky journals regardless). If it is a conference proceedings the issue is a little trickier since they don't really have all the same systems and editorial strengths, but I would still notify both subeditor and editor of the problem.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: In these cases it is usual to paraphrase the words of the referee into your own words, but also give attribution to the source. An example of a paper that makes extensive (attributed) use of referee work is [Kuenon (2000)](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2685585?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents). In that paper the author paraphrases the work of an unnamed referee and attributes that work as follows (emphasis added):
* "**But as pointed out by a referee**, (1) is an immediate consequence of Bonferroni's inequalities (Feller 1970, pp. 110-111) and therefore enjoys the property that the error incurred by truncating the sum after any number of terms has the sign of the first omitted term and is smaller in absolute value."
* "Moreover, **a referee pointed out that** taking *s* as the saddlepoint for *S*, the sum of independent and identically distributed left- truncated Poisson variables, implies very accurate approximations."
* "Levin's Edgeworth approximation at the saddlepoint of *S* **allowed a referee to reproduce** all of the exact values shown in Table 3, except of the value in the lower right hand corner, which was 1,481,168."
* "**A referee has kindly calculated** the median number to be 451,617."
Here you can see that some parts of the paper (e.g., the exact values in Table 3) were done by the referee, and are reproduced by the author with attribution. This seems to me to be an appropriate way to proceed. Still, if for some reason you would like to quote the referee verbatim, then I would expect that this would be treated just as any other quotation from another source ---i.e., it should be in quotes, with a citation to the source (Referee report, unnamed referee).
Upvotes: 1
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2019/01/21
| 511
| 2,131
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<issue_start>username_0: Can an advisor suddenly say one day - "I have decided not to advise you anymore"?
Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: Advisors can do this. (So can students.) I would ask for some reason (money, competence, personality, etc.) Not an interrogation or a debate (for now). Just listen, don't argue and take notes on what he says. Heck for all you know, his concern may be valid and may change your behavior with a subsequent advisor.
You should also go to the department chairman to discuss your options.
The situation becomes more serious the more time that you have spent with the professor. If there has been a fair amount of time and you are at least semi-competent, his colleagues may pressure him to just work with you and get you past the goal line. Every situation depends on the particulars (or even how the department behaves). But alternately, if you are a "problem child", the professors may back up their colleague.
I would not expect some Roman judge standard of fairness, but I would certainly look at your options and talk to department chair, alternate advisors, and maybe even the grad school. If you are a decent candidate and things are early, it may be simple to just move to an alternate advisor.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This depends on a lot of things (place, field, personal situations such as illness, etc), but generally, yes. Early on it a program (usually a graduate program) either party is free to change. You don't give any circumstances and there may be some situations in which it isn't appropriate (sexism, racism, etc) but generally there should be no difficulty.
However, the university needs to assure the student that a *suitable* advisor is available, but not necessarily a particular one.
But, even if you could "force" an advisor to keep working with you I don't see a positive outcome.
Some people get overloaded and have to reduce the load. Better to do this early, as it can become unethical if done late where a student is left hanging.
Perhaps with more background to your question, the answer would need to change, of course.
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/21
| 685
| 2,591
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<issue_start>username_0: I had worked under a supervisor in 2015 and that year I asked a recommendation letter from him for a Ph.D. He wrote it very well. On 2016, I again asked him for one and he sent me again. Both of the times my application was unsuccessful. This year I had applied for a very prestigious scholarship again and I have been shortlisted. While applying they asked for the name of the referee and they said they will send a request to submit a reference letter to the referee if the applicant is shortlisted. So the scholarship committee already sent the professor a request mail. I did not expect that I will be shortlisted so I did not inform my referees earlier. Now I am confused how to write him an email and ask him if he can write one for me again? The professor is really good and helpful. We did not have any contact these years which made me feel awkward to write him.<issue_comment>username_1: Shouldn't be a big deal. He will likely just send the same one he has on file. Send him an email and politely ask for the help like the below.
>
> Dear Professor Y,
>
>
> Thanks for your kind letters twice before. I am now a second year
> Ph.D. student at Fantasy University, working on a thesis in widget
> design. It is going well--my training from you and the rest of the
> ESU staff is being put to use.
>
>
> I have another request, this time for the SooperDuper Fellowship,
> which will support me financially at FU. Actually I have already been
> shortlisted, so chances are good.
>
>
> *Could you please send copy of your earlier letter to support me with SooperDuper?* Submission details:
>
>
> 1. how/where to send
> 2. due date
>
>
> Once again, thanks for your kind help. Would love to stay in contact.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Dukhia
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If, as you state, **they** are sending the request, then you need do nothing - the professor will receive a polite request for a reference from your possible future employer and the professor will reply to it - positively from what you have written. You don't need to get involved.
Point raised by a comment below:
The system of the employer/institution sending out requests themselves directly to the referees is to help reduce or avoid "collusion" between the candidate and the reference provider. Of course, whether this has ever happened is a different question....
When some employers/institutions ask for 3 or sometimes more referees which they state they will contact, then they have the choice of which ones they will use.
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/21
| 4,640
| 19,771
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently took an exam in my master's program where I missed just enough points to change my grade from A+ to A (in my country, these show up differently on a transcript). I intend on applying to some extremely competitive PhD programs (otherwise I would not be concerned with this grade difference), and given my undergraduate background, this is a course where I am probably expected to get an A+. Furthermore, I am essentially depending on a letter of recommendation from the professor of this course.
After having already looked at the exam with my professor, and hearing him explain the grade justification, I believe I did not yet make a well thought-out argument as to why I should have been given certain points.
**My question**
Should I bother emailing this professor with my legitimate argument, or simply let it go? I will probably get a rec letter from him either way and while I want an A+ and genuinely think my work on the exam deserved it, I don't want to annoy my professor and make his opinion of me depreciate.
Edit: In this scenario, I feel that an error was made on the part of the test-writer where a question could've been reasonably interpreted in two distinct ways. I was told that because I was the only person to make this particular interpretation, that it was an unreasonable interpretation. I don't agree with this logic.<issue_comment>username_1: Let it go.
You discussed this before, he made his arguments and it is unlikely that he will change his mind. It isn't only up to you to make a good argument for the points, but the professor himself will have judged the points again when you discussed them and will now be convinced that the points are fair.
Begging even more for the points will probably not get you any more points, but may annoy the professor, e.g, because you already discussed it and you are still not satisfied after he told you the final outcome. He has neither the time to discuss this again and again, nor he will consider that he was wrong the first two times (the first assignment, then your previous discussion).
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I agree with username_1.
Some further thoughts:
It's frustrating when you haven't even gotten the chance to make your points, and a good university should develop protocols and procedures to make sure this is possible. This isn't always done, and depending on where you live and what expectations/rules apply, it might be risky to mount an objection. The fact that mounting an objection is likely to be a risky act is fundamentally not okay, **however** I'm not all-powerful and neither are you, and I recommend being strategic here. As buffy said, the recommendation letter is a lot more valuable than the grade. For the same reason that risking 10 thousand dollars for a chance at obtaining 1 thousand dollars is a bad idea unless the chance of losing the 10 thousand is very low, I do not think you should mount an objection.
And, please, if you're ever in a situation where you can influence the direction that university policies take, please please please influence them in the direction they need to go. Students shouldn't be punished just for making an appeal to fairness and offering some arguments in favor of their work, or for rebutting a weak rebuttal to their arguments. Nothing about this is okay.
For myself, I'm currently doing my 3rd university degree, and I've been teaching and grading for 10 years, I'm keenly aware of the deficiencies of the current system. More specifically, I live in Australia, and here universities make it their goal to make making the process of disputing a grade as hard as humanly possible.
I've seen so many examples of this. Here's one example:
A friend wanted his grades on a math assignment increased. His arguments were as follows:
1. The questions were vague and the lecturer's expectations were vague, and yet the lecturer did not respond to emails or requests for clarification, of which my friend sent many.
2. Some of the "errors" he had been penalized for were actually errors on the lecturer's part.
3. The lecturer did not give reasons for any of the grades, and there were no published marking criteria for the assignment, which was contrary to university policy.
Dot points (1) and (2) above constitute a good argument for increasing the grades, or at the very least a remark. Dot point (3) constitutes a good reason to refuse a remark until proper grading criteria have been published.
So, what happened? He met with 3 professors - the lecturer and 2 others - to discuss the issue. They essentially conceded all of his points, yet offered no grade increase, only the chance for a remark. They did not offer to publish objective grading criteria, despite that university policy required it. He explained that without such criteria, he would not accept the offer for a remark, and would only ask for a grade increase. After another meeting, they decided to decline his request for grade increase, despite a variety concessions to the effect that the lecturer had made numerous mathematical errors in his marking.
So my friend took it higher. His arguments were very strong - I would know, I helped him write the appeal. He ended up making his arguments in front of a board of university staff. A lawyer that was provided by the university union sat next to him, partly to keep notes on his behalf. At the end of the meeting, the lawyer told him that he had *destroyed* the opposing arguments. A few weeks later, he received their final decision. His grade would not be adjusted. Literally hundreds of scarce hours were wasted on this appeal "that could not possibly fail", at a time when the burden of difficult Master's level subjects meant that every hour wasted was a serious cost. And yet at the end of it, my friend had nothing to show for it, other than a bruised ego.
This kind of thing, I'm under the impression that it happens a lot. For myself, I never took things quite so far, and yet I too have had similar experiences. I will give the most recent:
To object to an exam grade at my current institution, you have to do a lot:
* You have to work out how to go through the process. It turns out that "applying for feedback" is how you do it objection. But nobody tells you this. The phrases "object to a grade" and "dispute a grade" do not appear on the Monash website, nor on the specialized faculty subsites. Mainly what you get is endless talk of "feedback". If you email the relevant customer service team and ask them outright if this is the right way to mount an objection, you receive a cheery non-answer that specifically does not answer your question:
>
> Hi [name omitted]
>
>
> Thanks for your enquiry.
>
>
> If you've already completed Stage 2 of the exam viewing process and
> have further questions, you can proceed to Stage 3 for further
> feedback by completing the online application form, giving reasons to
> support your request.
>
>
> We'll go through all the submitted requests and forward them on to the
> respective chief examiners if we determine the reasons are strong
> enough for further feedback.
>
>
> Have a good day!
>
>
> regards
>
>
> [name omitted]
>
>
>
* Once you've worked out that "applying for feedback" is the way you make such claims, you're faced with clicking a checkbox that says that if you miss your exam you viewing session, you will forfeit the right to see your exam script ever again, **no matter what**. It doesn't matter if your Dad died, your car broke down, or you had a stroke - nope, it's your own fault.
* When you get into the exam script viewing room, you have almost nothing to work with. You get to see what answers you submitted. But often are not told what the actual question was, or what you were graded out of. You are NEVER told the reasons for the grade you got. You're not username_1wed to take the exam script out of the room - all you can do is scrawl your objection on a bit of yellow paper they give you. That's assuming you've worked out at this point that you need to be building a case. If you think this is just the feedback stage, and the mount-an-objection stage will come later, you're in an awful lot of trouble.
* In my experience, the extent to which your comments receive fair consideration is based almost entirely on whether the lecturer likes you. If the lecturer likes you, they will consider your points carefully, and your grade will change by 4, e.g. from 91 to 95. If the lecturer does not like you, they will ignore your points, and your grade will change by 0, e.g. from 91 to ... well, 91.
I also think the voting patterns here bolster my point. In the original version of this question, I commented that universities try to make objecting your grades as hard as possible...
>
> ... and you're forced to put up with the stubbornness, small-mindedness
> and stupidity of human nature, essentially by design. And, though most
> professors are far from stupid, they can be every bit as stubborn and
> small-minded as anyone.
>
>
>
This is so true! Just look at the voting here. Because my answer offended some people, I ended up at -6, despite that my points were strong. Well, this is exactly what happens at university! If the lecturer likes you, your marks go up. If they don't, your objections are ignored. It's roughly the same pattern that plays out so frequently on this website.
Long story short, universities need to implement controls prevent this kind of thing. In my opinion, the average professor simply cannot be trusted to grade (or vote, for that matter) based on the strength of someone's argument, as opposed to their feelings about the other person's tone or character.
And, with that in mind, I'll leave the Addendum from my original post as some final food-for-thought.
>
> *Addendum.* I think the voting patterns here bolster my point. For example, note that I fully addressed the points made in username_7 I.'s first comment, yet the comment continues to be upvoted and the rebuttals ignored, essentially because I ruffled a few feathers. This is small-mindedness in a nutshell, and really emphasizes the importance of my final point, which I'll repeat again: Students shouldn't be punished just for making an appeal to fairness and offering some arguments in favor of their work, or for rebutting a weak rebuttal to their arguments. Nothing about this is okay.
>
>
>
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: **At U.S. top schools, recommendation letters are more important than grades.**
If your professor knows you well and has a truly positive opinion of you, this will come out in the recommendation letter. The best thing you can do for yourself cultivate a real relationship with the professor (e.g. by visiting office hours, talking about ideas beyond the syllabus of your class etc). If you can talk about your goals for doing original research, so much the better.
As an aside, perfect grades aren't a very strong signal for who will be a good PhD researcher, so I really wouldn't worry about the grades very much anyway. A person who is curious and pushes themselves beyond their comfort zone -- even at the risk of getting some bad grades -- is a much better PhD admit than someone who has always gotten perfect grades.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Here is my two-part opinion.
First, it would be a breach of professional ethics if a professor let the quality of their letter of recommendation depend upon whether students questioned their grading judgments. (I know for a fact that I have made grading mistakes, and I have come to terms with the fact that I need to receive all requests for reconsideration, even though the majority of them are misguided, to username_1w the students to have my back on the not infrequent occasions they are correct.) I know this is a statement of ideals, while you are asking about what happens in practice; for that I would guess that your cordial interactions will be remembered far more than the content of your query.
Second, I still think you should let the issue go, for the following reason that is unrelated to the letter of recommendation. You had an opportunity to present an argument about how the grading scheme was applied to your work; you did so; and the grade was confirmed. Perhaps this is a learning experience that one should take the time to formulate the best argument possible the first time around, if you think you didn't do so. But the fact that you now think you could have presented a better argument is, in my opinion, not relevant: you had a chance, and you did the best you could—none of us are perfect.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I personally would let it go. Most of the time people (this does mainly depend on personality) think they're right and if you attack (i.e. challenge their views) them they get extremely defensive and unresponsive. If you are going to argue in favor of those extra points make the professor himself admit they are wrong; without you outright saying it. Perhaps explain the benefits of those extra points to him? Anyways that's my 2 cents.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: If you asked me for the points and the letter, i would give you the points and reflect my irritation with you in your letter.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> As a professor, I encourage you to reframe your thoughts: you didn't "miss just enough points to change [your] grade from an A+ to an A"; rather, you earned enough points to rise to an A but not quite enough to rise to an A+. It's amazing how this one detail can result in a huge shift in perspective.
>
>
> --- Comment by [username_4](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62187/greg-martin)
>
>
>
This comment by [username_4](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62187/greg-martin)
is so good, and so important here, that I want to highlight it here as an answer, and make some broader points about this type of situation. This is somewhat tangential to your specific question, but I will come around to the connection with your question at the end; so please bear with me.
---
In university-level teaching, it is very common to encounter intelligent ambitious students who have got high grades throughout their schooling and are used to performing at a very high level. Some unfortunately adopt an annoying way of framing their work, where they speak in a way that sets 100% success as the implicit default position, and any derogation from this constitutes "missing out" on points. This is a somewhat natural way that elite students come to speak of these things, since they have always obtained high grades throughout their schooling, and they are sufficiently talented to realistically shoot for 100% on a piece of assessment. In these cases it is somewhat natural for these elite students to frame things as "missing out" on this mark or that mark, since their focus is in weeding out remaining errors in otherwise high-level work. Unfortunately, over time, these students get sloppy with the way they talk about learning, and their language reflects the implicit view that perfect knowledge is the default position for them, and anything less than perfect performance constitutes some aberration, often in need of arguments over grades.
The other thing that is common to encounter in elite students is an implicit reversal of the relationship between learning and grades --- the elite student often considers the formal grade to be of paramount importance, and the learning as a method to increase grades. In reality, learning is of primary importance, and formal grades are merely an imperfect tool to assess the degree of success in that learning. In extreme cases, one occasionally encounters intelligent students who are so concerned with their grades that they username_1w opportunities for self-reflection and learning to bypass them entirely. Most university lecturers have had at least some experience of a situation where they attempt to impart some broad lesson to the student during a discussion over grades (e.g., pointing out some broad deficiency in their work that is a "soft-skill", which is not easy to quantify), where the student shows no interest in learning from that situation, but is only interested in arguing for a higher mark.
These kinds of attitudes constitute deficiencies in understanding the process of education and assessment; they reverses the true nature of what is going on. For ambitious and intelligent students this generally do not hamper learning too much *so long as that learning is done in the confines of a formal course with a fixed scope and assessment structure, and with formal assessment of grades*. However, once you come out of that environment, into situations without formal grading, these attitudes tend to stunt learning.
Most PhD programs are focussed primarily on training a student to be able to conduct independent scholarly research. They require students that are proactive in learning, and are hungry for knowledge and improvement outside of their formal courses. Some PhD programs have courses in the early years and others don't have any courses. If coursework is required then you're expected to get good grades in these, but they are merely considered as preparatory work for the real meat of the program --- the main focus of the program is on your ability to learn outside your courses, and to be able to advance your research work under supervision, without getting marks as feedback. Hence, when writing a letter of recommendation for a PhD program, a professor will assess your subject-matter knowledge, as reflected in your grades, but he will also try to assess your ability and willingness to learn independently beyond your formal coursework. If your focus is on making arguments to advance your own grades, to the detriment of self-reflection on your own performance, and opportunities for broader learning, this bodes poorly for your ability to succeed in a graduate research environment, where grades in courses are secondary, and self-driven learning is primary.
I mention these things because they are the background to assessments of a student's ability to engage in self-learning in graduate school. I'm certainly not saying that you have these deficiencies, but please bear in mind that your professor has probably encountered some students with these deficiencies before, and he is trying to figure out if you possess any of these problems yourself. You say in your question that you already made the case for a higher grade and you received an explanation for your marks. Ideally, that would assist you to reflect on how you can improve your work --- not improve *your grades*, but *your work*. Anything that reflects a willingness to self-reflect and improve your own work is going to reflect well on you in a letter of recommendation. Anything that reflects an attitude of focus only on formal grades, and a resistance to self-reflection will come out poorly.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: There should be an appeal process, that bypasses / escalates beyond the professor's purview. If you successfully make the appeal, you may be able to get a recommendation letter from one of the board members rather than the professor whose judgment (or that of his TA) was found wanting.
Alternatively, you could take the course again with a different professor or opt for a different elective.
You are obviously between a rock and a hard place. Write your own assessment of the professor in ratemyprofessors.com to username_1w other students to decide whether they want to risk their careers by taking a class given by that professor, eat your losses, and then move on.
Upvotes: -1
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2019/01/21
| 789
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<issue_start>username_0: I have done a literature review, but every time I send my article to the journals I receive either major changes or a rejection because I have only searched in journals indexed by Scopus and Web of Science (40). The journals say I have to search the databases. I am in the last year of my thesis and I have to publish my work in an indexed journal. How to do so?
I searched also non-Scopus and non-Wos journals. They say that I have to search articles in the databases directly and not search in the journals indexed by these databases and then searching articles in these journals.<issue_comment>username_1: It depends on the culture of your scientific field, but a literature review per se is nothing to be published. Yes, it is work you did, but it should be the basis for your work and an article about the results.
In some rare circumstances, a review article might have a value on its own, but in such cases the article adds additional value and insights which can not be found in the individual articles.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: It is indeed considered best practice nowadays to search publication databases for literature rather than only individual journals or conferences, typically combined with some snowballing. Scientific fields are manifold, and it is very easy to miss relevant publications if all you do is look through a pre-defined list of journals (independently of whether they are listed in Scopus, WoS, or whatever). Essentially, for a literature review to add value it needs to be able to make a case for *completeness*, and it is very hard to claim that without a fairly clear and comprehensive search procedure (along with rather objective acceptance criteria for papers).
>
> I am in the last year of my thesis and I have to publish my work in an indexed journal. How to do so?
>
>
>
I should also say that this is, to no small degree, also a failing of your supervisor. Your supervisor should have told you early in the process that your research methodology has a good chance of not surviving peer review.
However, that doesn't really help you now. If you have repeatedly received this comment there really are only two ways forward:
1. Do as you have been told, i.e., search the standard publication database(s) of your field and extend your review with any new material that may pop up.
2. Lower your standards, i.e., go for a lower-ranked journal and hope that the reviewers there will be more happy with your approach.
As a sidenote:
>
> every time I send my article to the journals I receive either major changes or a rejection
>
>
>
In my field (Computer Science), "major changes" is qualitatively different from "reject". A request for Major Revision is typically the first step towards getting accepted - it actually happens to most manuscripts. You really should not back out once you have received a request for major revision - usually, you address what can be addressed and argue about changes that cannot be addressed. In the vast majority of cases such papers end up being accepted.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I suggest to look for another (better) journal.
I can't imagine the quality of a lit review coming more from completeness than from organization and explanation and selection. There are a lot of junky papers in some fields. I would even see completeness as a bug, not a feature. It sounds like a link farm.
Upvotes: -1
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2019/01/21
| 738
| 2,798
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently the main author of a paper. The work was performed when I was working at university X. However, I will start at a new university Y in one month, and the conference I'm presenting the work at is in two months. So, while presenting the paper I will be working at university Y (but the work was performed during my time at university X).
My question is the following, how would you present the author information:
A)
Both universities in the main information.
```
First name, Lastname (1, 2)
(1) University X
<EMAIL>
(2) University Y
<EMAIL>
```
B)
Name and previous affiliation (where the work was completed) as the main information and the current affiliation in a footnote.
```
First name, Lastname
(Footnote: 'Currently working at University Y, <EMAIL>')
University X
<EMAIL>
```
or C)
Name and current affiliation as the main information and the previous affiliation (where the work was completed) in a footnote.
```
First name, Lastname
(Footnote: 'Work completed at University X, <EMAIL>')
University Y,
<EMAIL>
```
Or do you have any other suggestions?<issue_comment>username_1: This is only from my personal standpoint, what I would like to read in the paper. Your final choice (C) seems best, as people (i.e. *me*) will want to use any email address to contact you *now* and the old one may become obsolete. So, in current papers your contact information should be current.
But I would also expand a bit on your footnote as the previous employer likely has an interest in your paper and has contributed some resources to it, even if indirectly. The note should thank them for support that made the work possible. You don't even need an email address unless you have some guarantee that mail will be forwarded to you in the future.
However, this also assumes that the work wasn't done under any sort of contract that specifies attribution and such.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: This may be specific to journal, research area, whatnot. However, in a recent edition of Applied Physics Letters one finds in the author list:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AKw4F.png)
The "2" corresponds to an institute in the affiliations list (other authors have other affiliations) where the author was at during the work.
The "a)" links to:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XwkxX.png)
Followed by the new address for that person.
Other uses for footnotes include email addresses and apportioning credit.
This is how it was done some 25 years ago when I last changed institutions.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/21
| 762
| 3,160
|
<issue_start>username_0: I meet with my PhD advisor quite irregularly so we arrange meetings on an ad-hoc basis depending on work progress, availability etc. Usually we communicate a bunch by email about the state of work.
I'm want to leave my course. I don't see how any minor changes to my work would change this decision. At this point I mostly just want to have a couple weeks of mental health break with no pressure to put time into the PhD, so I can have some brain-space to clear the remaining doubts from my head.
**Should I let my advisor know that the meeting we are scheduling for later this week is about my position in the programme instead of normal project progress report?**
PS. I am aware that a natural way to frame this would be to mention in an email that there I have some doubts about my work that I'd like to discuss. However that would be misleading - I'm pretty set on the idea that doing this degree is not right for me and the only doubts I have are whether this is the right decision at this time. I'm not interested in being convinced I should stay and try to "work things out" because my decision to leave is related less to problems I have with the course and more to simply having no reason why I should want to be doing it in the first place.<issue_comment>username_1: If you think that there is any possibility that the advisor can adjust your working arrangement enough to let you continue, then it would be better to give him/her a heads up before the meeting. That way thought can be given before the meeting and so it needn't be so ad-hoc.
But have an idea of what you would need for yourself going in to such a meeting so you have some basis for discussing options.
Leaving a degree is a big step, make sure it is the right one. And make sure that others have a chance to try to work it out with you if there is any way possible. But for that, they, themselves, need a time for reflection.
And, as per your final thoughts in the question, have an idea about what you want the alternative to be. Ending with *nothing* isn't a very happy outcome.
But the goal isn't to get you to change your mind. Rather it is to find a way so that the conditions are appropriate and the future is clearer.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Let him know what is on your mind, ASAP.
Personally, I can't imagine needing a scheduled meeting for this. It is a big deal after all. I would just go into his office and say you need to talk.
I feel ya on how academia can be pretty whack. But with 2 years in, it might make sense to prevail. Say if you can do another 2 years and go. There is also the issue of masters to consider.
You don't say what is bugging you, either. But I would try to think through the issues (list them) and how to fix. If it is an intractable problem or one with no "along the way" publications, there may be options to change the paradigm so you can start generating results.
The not sharing the issues along with the 'needing a couple weeks peace' along with not having a specific job lined up makes it sound like you are a little frustrated. Try not to quit in pique.
Upvotes: 0
|
2019/01/21
| 1,037
| 4,368
|
<issue_start>username_0: I was just catching up with a friend about the plunging temperatures in the towns that we live in, and they brought up that they actually have classes today, on Martin Luther King day, which is a national holiday.
Shouldn't colleges observe national holidays and give faculty, students and staff the day off?
(If location matters, we're in the Northeast region.)<issue_comment>username_1: Academics don't normally get "days off". Holidays are just work days by another name. Note that in the US, there are almost no National Universities (the service universities like West Point being the major exception). Most universities are actually independent of any government *control* though almost all have some government (usually State) oversight.
Many universities also recognize a number of religious holidays and these vary depending on the location. In New York, for example, many don't hold classes on Jewish holidays. This sometimes makes it difficult to put together a schedule meeting all constraints.
So, it varies and there is not general rule. Some holidays are more likely to be taken than others, also. But still, it can vary. It can even vary at the same institution from year to year.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: The observance of holidays in the United States is a complicated issue.
Holidays declared by the federal government are generally (but not universally) observed by state governments, which oversee public universities here. Private institutions, on the other hand, have no obligation to observe those holidays, and can choose to close or remain open according to their own decisions about what best serves their students’ needs. For example, my undergraduate institution did not take any days off from the first day of classes in the fall semester, but did provide a week’s break corresponding to Thanksgiving. It’s an unusual arrangement but perfectly legal.
It should also be mentioned that while universities have core “business hours” where faculty are expected to be present, in reality, faculty largely choose their own working hours.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: It's common in the US for some more recent Federal holidays to not be observed by a lot of the private sector or even state government. MLK, Veteran's Day, Columbus Day are the ones.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The key point is that <NAME> Day is a [federal holiday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holidays_in_the_United_States), and only the federal government is bound to observe those. State governments and private corporations are free to choose their own holiday schedules.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: In addition to what others have posted, my university would forgo minor holidays (like Labor Day, Columbus Day, etc.) and give us a week off in the Fall and the Spring semesters. So, overall, we traded a bunch of 3 day weekends for 2 discrete, but longer periods off.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: My institution has a very tight, set schedule that relies on classes beginning and ending on certain days—many years our first day of class is actually Labor Day.
Beyond the logistical concerns, our community also had a conversation specifically about the best way to observe <NAME>, Jr. Day. This was before my time here, but the consensus between both faculty and concerned students was that it would be better to hold classes and have events on campus focused on MLK's legacy, rather than treating it like a vacation day. My children's schools have made a similar choice. This is also the practice for Veteran's Day and, to a lesser extent, a few other holidays.
Personally, I can appreciate the philosophy that it's better to actively celebrate these civic holidays\* as an academic community, rather than celebrating mainly by sleeping in or going shopping—even if sometimes it feels like we're the only people in the state who have to work on a given day.
---
\*Labor Day is in a rather different category, since it was initially conceived specifically as a day of rest for laborers.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Penn State had no classes on MLK day but required staff to be in the office. Students carried out public service (or went drinking).
We also ignored Presidents' Day and Columbus Day completely.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]
|
2019/01/21
| 2,110
| 6,353
|
<issue_start>username_0: In the US, "Assistant Professor" is a junior rank among permanent university faculty. Generally, Assistant Professors are independent researchers with more or less the same job responsibilities as more senior faculty (Associate Professors or Full Professors), but without the perks of tenure. That is, they teach classes, advise graduate students, apply for grants, and have administrative responsibilities. (In other countries, the term may have a slightly different meaning. It is roughly equivalent to a Lecturer in the UK system.)
As far as I know, Assistant Professors are not *assistants* to anyone. So why the name?
Usually an Assistant X is someone who works under the supervision of X and helps X carry out their duties, but that is not the case here. In contrast, other university titles containing "Assistant", such as "Research Assistant" or "Teaching Assistant", do fit the more conventional definition of the word.
After a bit of searching, I have not been able to find any information about the origin of the term. Although it has apparently been [in use since 1827](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assistant%20professor). Does anyone know more about the history of the term?
Perhaps the job has evolved from a true assistant position into what it is today while the title has remained the same. Alternatively, it may be a (mis)translation or the meaning of "Assistant" has changed. If someone can find a source documenting a history like that, I would happily accept that as an answer.<issue_comment>username_1: The OP dictionary is inaccurate. The term **assistant professor** was in use prior to 1827.
In the 1805 book [The College of Fort William in Bengal](https://books.google.com/books?id=i1LXrfBxcVgC&pg=PA237&dq=%22assistant%20professor%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSl_io0obgAhUKWN8KHVbMB88Q6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=%22assistant%20professor%22&f=false) there is an article dated 20 September 1804, beginning on page 225, that uses the term several times, to name several assistant professors of various languages. The term is used in this article at pages 226, 227 and 228, and the book also list four assistant professors on page 237.
Also, the 1801 [The New Universal Biographical Dictionary, and American Remembrancer, volume 4](https://books.google.com/books?id=VVkoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA204&dq=%22On%20the%204th%20June,%201787,%20the%20king,%20upon%20%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj85OzH1YbgAhWJdt8KHQ7WDO8Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22On%20the%204th%20June%2C%201787%2C%20the%20king%2C%20upon%20%22&f=false) says, under the entry for <NAME>:
>
> On the 4th June, 1787, the king, upon the unanimous recommendation of the university, appointed him **assistant professor** of moral philosophy and logic, although he was not then nineteen years of age.
>
>
>
And [volume 2](https://books.google.com/books?id=jlkoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA316&dq=%22In%201730,%20he%20was%20promoted%20to%20the%20professorship%20of%22%20%22assistant%20professor%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjT2YTF2YbgAhUvxVkKHXJjAOgQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22In%201730%2C%20he%20was%20promoted%20to%20the%20professorship%20of%22%20%22assistant%20professor%22&f=false) of the same Dictionary, in the entry for Euler says:
>
> he was called to <NAME>, and was admitted as an **assistant professor** in the university of that city ... In 1730, he was promoted to the professorship of natural philosophy; and in 1733 he succeeded his friend <NAME> in the mathematical chair.
>
>
>
However, there is an earlier (1785) [version](https://books.google.com/books?id=FRILAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA9&dq=%22In%201730,%20he%20was%20promoted%20to%20the%20professorship%20of%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi77P6-2IbgAhXMmVkKHZ1TAhoQ6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=%22In%201730%2C%20he%20was%20promoted%20to%20the%20professorship%20of%22&f=false) of the Euler biography that uses the term "joint professor" instead of "assistant professor".
The 1802 book [Travels through Sweden, Finland and Lapland to the North-cape, in the years 1798 and 1799](https://books.google.com/books?id=mtVTUXx9d10C&pg=PA151&dq=%22assistant%20professors%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDpc20o4fgAhVIhuAKHTK3C2gQ6AEILjAB#v=onepage&q=%22assistant%20professors%22&f=false) discusses assistant professors, saying for example concerning University of Abo:
>
> In the branch of theology there are six professors, three assistant professors, and three private teachers or *magiltri docentes*: of law, two professors and two assistant professors : of medicine, three professors and two assistant professors : of philosophy, ten professors and twenty assistant professors: of genteel exercises...
>
>
>
Also, in the US, a [law was passed](http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Lieber_Collection/pdf/Analytical-digest.pdf) 29 April 1812 concerning the Military Academy (meaning West Point):
>
> each of the foregoing professors to have an **assistant professor**, which **assistant professor** shall be taken from the most prominent characters of the officers or cadets, and receive the pay and emoluments of captains, and no other pay or emoluments, while performing these duties.
>
>
>
So, at least according to this US law, the assistant professor was assigned to a particular professor.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Just to add to username_1's very comprehensive in the origin of the use of the term, take a look at <NAME>'s answer the [this question regarding differences between assistant and associate professors](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2536/assistant-professor-vs-associate-professor?rq=1). The general takeaway is that in some European countries, at least in the past, Assistant Professors actually *did* assist full professors and could only work on topics that these full professors were working on. This changed with the promotion to associate professorship.
While this does not imply that it was the situation in the US at any point (as it certainly is not the case now), since universities in the US are relatively young (Harvard being the oldest and established in early 17th century), it is not unreasonable to assume that among the many things imported from Europe, was the 'assistant' term, even if it lost it's actual original meaning, and retained just the symbolic entry position.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/21
| 1,091
| 4,587
|
<issue_start>username_0: A paper was uploaded to Arxiv that is very similar to my research. I cited it in the related work section of the paper I am currently working on. I was planning on noting the shortcomings of this Arxiv paper when a few days later I found that it was rejected from the conference via [openreview](https://openreview.net). My questions are:
* Should I leave this citation in?
* Should I say that it has been rejected?
* Should the knowledge of the rejection change the way I talk about the paper?
This is the first time something like this has happened to me, so not sure how I should approach this.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Should I leave this citation in?
>
>
>
Definitely. A paper on arxiv is still related work regardless of its submission/acceptance status.
>
> Should I say that it has been rejected?
>
>
>
No. That seems inappropriate. The paper may soon be accepted elsewhere in which case your comment about rejection will be outdated.
Just cite it like you would any other paper. If you want, your bibliography could link to the openreview page where people could see the reviews and decision.
>
> Should the knowledge of the rejection change the way I talk about the paper?
>
>
>
Not really. Perhaps the reviews include some useful information. Otherwise treat it like any other paper.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> Should I leave this citation in?
>
>
>
Yes. If the work is related to yours and may be relevant to those reading your paper, you should cite it.
>
> Should I say that it has been rejected?
>
>
>
No. The rejection is only a transitory part in the paper's life cycle. If you cite it as an arXiv paper, that in and of itself already communicates *the paper has not yet been accepted anywhere*.
>
> Should the knowledge of the rejection change the way I talk about the paper?
>
>
>
No, probably not. The rejection doesn't necessarily mean the paper is bad, it just means the conference had no room to accept it. It could still be a very good paper, it just didn't make the cut at the conference. If you know it was rejected for a very serious reason, then that might be relevant (for instance if the reviewing process found a crucial flaw in the paper).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I would definitely not cite it without a strong reason to include it.
The scientific community used to rely on "personal communication" as a method to cite truly useful or pivotal information that came from a source that had a meaningful influence on the development of the work, but was not publicly available. However, it was generally discouraged for use only in extreme cases because it undermines the nature of peer review.
The two primary purposes of peer review are to check validity and to provide feedback to improve the paper for the benefit of the intended audience. If the reviewers (which are part of the audience) find the paper not valuable enough to accept and the authors don't find the work valuable enough to improve, then why cite it? Just because somebody wrote it, doesn't mean it is valuable and if it is duplicitous, then, by definition, it lacks value from a scientific perspective. It is the author's responsibility to demonstrate the worth of the contents, not the other way around. It is also the responsibility of authors of subsequent works to respect their audience and provide the audience value. Citing a paper that the community found lacking, solely for the purposes of "completeness", is not a service to your audience. I would argue it is a waste of the reader's time and dilutes the value of other works. Would you list a paper you knew was deceptive or falsified, just to provide completeness? (I hope not!)
If an unpublished work truly influenced your work, then, by all means cite it and explain why you are doing so. However, citing a paper that the authors, themselves, do not feel is worth their time to improve has a negative reflection on your own efforts, which I would avoid. Rejected papers on Arxiv are little different than an unreviewed work on a personal website or an advertising site. Some communities use them for feedback, which is great! But failure to respect the feedback and improve and eventually publish the paper should not be encouraged.
Scientists need to be cautious or the entire enterprise is jeopardized. Once, in my own naivete, I "invented" the Hough Transform. But just because I thought of it independently doesn't mean I deserve equal credit. In fact, it demonstrated how little I knew!
Upvotes: 1
|
2019/01/21
| 604
| 2,543
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am writing a research proposal for a PhD, and I am referring to my earlier research, which is published in a scientific journal. Should I cite myself? It feels a little preposterous, but I can imagine it could be good to provide the full reference. I do provide it in my CV as well.
An additional reason I thought it would be good to cite my paper is because I am making the claim that it built on the work of a professor from the department I am applying to, and I figured providing a reference - with DOI - to my paper would be the best way to back that claim up.
Thank you in advance for the advice, I really appreciate it.<issue_comment>username_1: In general you cite yourself just as you would any other person. Failing to do so, while repeating earlier things you have published, leads to a charge of self-plagiarism. It is an odd concept, but is treated seriously.
Ordinary plagiarism is when you claim the work of another as your own. Self plagiarism is a bit different, of course.
But avoiding both types of plagiarism via proper citation has the purpose of placing a work of scholarship within its complete context. People reading a new paper want to know what it is based on, whether by that author or another. Having the citation lets a reader go back to that context (and possible further citations).
So, while this isn't an actual publication you are developing, the same rules should apply. The reader wants/needs the context.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: **Yes, you should cite all relevant research:** When conducting research projects that extend over multiple papers it is not unusual to want to refer to your past published papers on the topic. These should be treated just as with other relevant literature ---i.e., if they are relevant then they should be cited properly.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: As others suggest, you can and should cite yourself. But, more importantly, you should clarify this - not via the citation but in the proposal text itself. That is:
* Explain what kind of research you were doing before, what you motivation was, what limited your scope (if anything) etc.
* Explain how your proposed Ph.D. research *continues* your previous work - as such, i.e. don't just say "It was established in [3] that bars can be frobnicated; I propose to extend this result to baz" - where [3] is your own paper.
* Explain how your proposed Ph.D. research goes in a different direction / does *not* continue your previous work.
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/22
| 555
| 2,405
|
<issue_start>username_0: Now our marks came out and the average is 94 and he gave me 2 marks less than the average of the class. (This means that I have got the lowest grade in the class)
I am overthinking these days and getting a headache.
I really want to figure out what is his intention and why is he playing with my future?
I always study hard to get everything done in high quality; I always compare my work with other classmates to correct myself; I do not know why he gave me his lowest grades?
Should Ph.D. students get higher than master students? is there any range?
or
I am getting this just because I am a girl...<issue_comment>username_1: You should assume the grading is fair, unless there is a reason to believe otherwise. Based on your question and comments, I don't see any reason to believe that discrimination is involved.
You state that you did everything that was required, just like the other students. That doesn't mean you should get exactly the same grade as them. Perhaps your presentation was not as clear as the others or your project had some minor flaws. It is very hard for you to judge that yourself -- you are neither an expert like the professor is nor objective in self-evaluation.
You received a 92, which is below the class average of 94. To me, that still sounds like a good grade and you shouldn't be concerned. Trying to argue for every last point is not productive -- it's called grade grubbing.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you feel you're being discriminated against, approach the support services of your university. If you don't know what they are, try approaching the head of department, or if you feel the discrimination is coming based on your gender & the HoD is male, approach a female faculty member. Before you do this, make sure the things you're complaining about aren't normal procedure at your institution - for example, most people would not find it surprising that PhD students are offered teaching assistantships preferentially over Masters students.
I should say that in this kind of dispute, evidence will be paramount. It doesn't sound like the evidence you have is strong; certainly what you've written wasn't enough to convince the people who've left a comment. You probably will want something more tangible before escalating the dispute: some kind of paper trail that shows the professor is not being fair.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I am reaching out to get a piece of friendly advice on the search process for a faculty job worldwide.
I was awarded a PhD in Pure Mathematics from a Russel Group university in July 2018. I started a postdoc during my PhD, and it is has been now one year and a month of my postdoc. I wrote the grant for my postdoc and my doctoral advisor secured the funding.
My research interests are in analysis on quantum groups and noncommutative spaces, contractions of Lie groups, geometric quantisation.
I have 12 preprints and nine are published, and more are coming. There are 48 citations of my papers in Google Scholar.
I have put my best efforts in the application materials.
At the moment, I have applied for 145 faculty jobs mainly in the USA ( both tenure-track and non-tenure-track).
My references for the applications are the tenured recognised professors and heads of the departments in Europe.
Could anyone in the community share a piece of friendly advice on what I might be doing wrong?
My sole aim is to improve and suit the faculty search.
Unfortunately, I have not been given any constructive feedback so far (cold, formal e-mails mostly).
The time scale is from mid-November 2018 - up until now.
I followed up with 6-8 e-mails and received cold written official rejection e-mails (eight overall). The rest are keeping silence. I have not had any interviews yet.
Many thanks to everyone who replied!<issue_comment>username_1: Chances are you're not doing anything wrong, but in your area few good academic positions are available, and you may need to wait for your CV to build up and also for the stars to align right. People I know would get a permanent academic job (in the UK or Continental Europe) after up to 5 years of postdoc, less if they wanted a teaching-only position, without doing research.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You are not doing anything wrong, at least not more wrong than many of us here.
* One cay say that is is wrong that research and education are so under-funded and under-appreciated in modern society.
* One can say that it is wrong that academia sometimes is such an unwelcoming and tough place. Providing zero feedback to unsuccessful candidates is a norm in academia, but would not be appropriate in IT industry sector, for example. This is extremely discouraging and damaging for people at the start of their careers. Another example is visa fees, which would be compensated in industry, but usually not compensated by universities, making international scientists essentially to pay for the privilege of working at a university in a first-world country. This is wrong, but academia goes away with it as there are always enough people who wants the job bad enough.
* One can say that over-production of PhDs, driven by managerial approach to tenure and promotion in academia, is wrong, as it makes young people to spend many years and a lot of money pursuing something which eventually may not increase their chances for successful employment, but instead make them overqualified and unemployable in many "real-world" jobs.
I wish you good luck with your job search and future career.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I have three suggestions:
First, it is possible that your application documents are not hitting the right notes. You could consider a document review service for this.
Second, you may ask your post doc supervisor or any of your letter writers to personally reach out to their contacts at a few departments on your behalf. The best would be departments where you would like to be but that are only moderately competitive. The idea is to signal your sincere interest and their sincere endorsement.
Third, make sure you are networking in the US. I would suggest presentations at as many conferences as you can swing. Make sure to go to talks and ask smart questions. Be very open about the fact that you are on the market. Good luck!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It's probably mostly just an issue of competition and your profile versus presentation. However, your question here had a few examples of grammar mistakes showing non-native English (e.g. omitted article).
I would make sure all your documents have flawless, native-seeming English. After that, of course, it is still a competitive situation on the merits.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: I will give my perspective
1. I am also ahead of the publication curve for peers in similar career stages as me in my field.
2. I applied to a broad range of institution for tenure positions ranging from elite R1's to R2's.
To me, the application process felt like it had more to do with luck than anything else. I was interviewed and offered a position at an institute I wanted to be at which was very nice though. But as far as the other institutions, there was no rhyme or reason. It felt like playing a numbers game.
I thought, 'is my research not really exciting?', 'should i have funded grants', 'was there something wrong with my letters of recommendation?'.
In short, I did not really have an answer. All I could do was keep applying and publishing.
I also found out that not only was I competing against my fellow doctoral graduates, but also faculty looking to move up.
I also found out that my CV sent the wrong signals to universities without as strong research records. A graduate with a strong research record is going to want to go to an R1. R2's and R3's are going to know this and might not want to have to go through the hiring process again when a research orientated faculty member moves up the academic ladder.
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently working on finishing my PhD thesis. For about 3 years and 6 months of my study, I am suffering from the absence of my supervisors. She always travels for 6 months, sometimes two months without contact. My second supervisor takes only 20% as supervision.
Any help, please?<issue_comment>username_1: If things are as you describe there is likely no help for you on this site. Ultimately, you need to make your supervisor(s) happy with your work.
I can see elements of misfeasance (lack of doing the job properly) here, but we can't solve that. An email, even if polite, isn't going to solve your problems.
If you believe that your advisor hasn't properly guided you and is now abandoning you, then you need to deal with that locally. Either by working out a better (closer) relationship with the advisor or making an appropriate complaint to local authorities.
But even if you make a successful complaint, it won't get you any closer to a degree and might get you farther away.
The question I would want to ask of the advisor is about what you need to do to earn the doctorate. If you can get a plan, a written plan, and it is reasonable, then just do that and move on.
You attribute bad motives to both of your advisors. That may be true, but it may also be a problem. If the second advisor is just "devil's advocate" it can actually strengthen your work, as long as that is all it is. Saying that your advisor doesn't want a written record may be true, but if true is a serious allegation. If I were adjudicating your case, I would question that sort of statement.
Look first for a path to completion. If that is impossible, then an MS/MA may be all you can reasonably achieve in this situation. If it allows you to go on afterwards it may be good enough, though clearly not ideal. But find out, if you can, what it would take to make the advisors happy. Make sure it is clear and in writing.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You have previously posted questions about how to better communicate with your advisors, which seems to be the main issue here. They seem to have chosen to be absent from their advisory role.
This could have happened for a variety of reasons: being away a lot, hoping that the other advisor would do the job, you not living up to their expectations... I think it’s not important why: after 3.5 years the best you can do is cut your losses and think of alternatives.
An email would not resolve three plus years of miscommunication. Once your advisors repeatedly doubt your ability to successfully graduate it is very unlikely that you will, at least not under their guidance.
I’m really sorry but I think it’s past the point of reconciliation. Get out, think of alternative paths. Good luck!
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<issue_start>username_0: Some professors might have many papers and a high reputation, but aren't necessarily good at theory/maths/research hard skills. In a face to face or video interview, what will be the best strategy to interview/test a professor's maths/theory/research ability? It's of course usually the other way around in that a professor wants to test a candidate's ability. But a strong candidate should also look for a strong professor to work with through clever interviews, in order to learn from the PI on hard skills.
Note here the candidate is not necessarily a student, but can be any employee a PI hires to work with as a colleague.<issue_comment>username_1: I think that the best way to do so is to read one of their papers and ask them questions about it. If they’re able to confidently and enthusiastically discuss their work on a technical level then it’s likely theirs. Go attend their seminar and ask lots of questions!
As a math/theory person myself I can tell you that people often take great pride in their pet ideas and would often be very good at some things but not others. Don’t expect professors to have expert knowledge in every detail. In fact it’s usually the case that students are better than the advisor in some topic (this is the goal at least!).
As a final note, if you’re testing in an obvious/confrontational way many professors will rather not take you on. A successful PhD experience is a lot about trust and collaboration, so starting it out by trying to get the professor on the defensive will likely not succeed.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I think that would be foolish to try. You aren't likely to find someone who is (a) good enough for your (in my view, ridiculous) expectations and (b) willing to work with you. Mathematics isn't a video game. It doesn't get advanced in quiz-like environments. And if the person is good enough, how will you be able to evaluate it anyway?
"Clever" isn't enough in mathematics.
What you want in an advisor is someone who (a) respects you, and (b) is willing to work with you. Someone with a good reputation could be a good advisor even if they are rather slow and methodical in their work. Someone who is "quick and clever" might be terrible as they leave you only scraps.
Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman!
(Sorry -again- for the final joke, but, your username ... Can't resist.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: There is a story by Borges wonderfully illustrating the point. There, a prospective student comes to Paracelsus to study, but, before he would join him, he demands of him to prove whether it is true that he (Paracelsus) is able to convert matter from one form into another? This ends up with the candidate grabbing a rose from Paracelsus' table and throwing it into the fireplace.
The rose burns down to ashes and the candidate demands from Paracelsus to make the rose whole again. Paracelsus sadly shakes his head and the prospective student apologises for embarrassing him and leaves. After the candidate leaves, Paracelsus speaks a word and makes the rose whole again.
**Moral of the story** Even if I had the full set of abilities of a Feynman (who OP seems to value), I would not engage with a student that effectively demands from me to show them off. There are things that a student is entitled to know (such as supervision style, funding situation and similar), but effectively running an examination/interview for their prospective superviser is showing utter disrespect for the prospective supervisor's life experience, background and the fact that they simply can be assumed to have done quite a few things to become an academic teacher, whether strong in science or not (although, in an academic, without further evidence, a rule of thumb should be the "presumption of competence" - competent until found to be otherwise).
In short, the student is not the interviewer and shouldn't give themselves airs that they are. They should have the opportunity to judge their superviser via their publications and/or other visible activities. If that is lacking, they can have a conversation (*not* interview) with the prospective superviser to see whether they will get along.
Also, some supervisors have a number of students that are stronger than themselves (to name e.g. Sommerfeld or Feynman's supervisor, <NAME>) - these are the best ones; they know how to get the maximum out from their students.
**Bottom Line** If the professor has a high reputation and you are not sure about their quality as supervisor, investigate whether *their students* end up successfully (e.g. publication record, visibility, academic or other career). Since you are considering joining their club, this is much more important than petty testing of the professor's specific skills.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: **Edit:** after my answer was posted, the question was edited, changing the scenario from that of a student to the more general one of a “candidate” considering working for or with a professor. To clarify, my answer below addresses the original context of a student and may not be equally applicable to other more general situations.
---
My gut reaction on reading your question was to be taken aback by your perceived arrogance and naïveté and to want to criticize you for it, as the other (still excellent) answers are doing. However on further reflection I’ve come to believe that your question is actually more interesting than I realized, and I don’t think you’re necessarily either arrogant, foolish, or naive to be asking it.
In fact, what you’re asking is highlighting something interesting that doesn’t often get pointed out, which is that there is a big information asymmetry between professors and students. We professors are so used to this asymmetry that we take it for granted and don’t often stop to think about its consequences. We expect that students need to “respect” us and assume we are smart and competent because we have already proven our worth to lots of other people by publishing papers, applying for and securing a job in a prestigious university, and so on. But it’s interesting to be confronted with the reality that from the student’s point of view, none of this may matter: what if once in a while a student comes along who isn’t content with relying on *other people’s opinions of us* to form an impression? He (I’ll assume they’re a “he” because of OP’s user handle) wants to be convinced *directly*, by seeing it *with his own eyes*. In fact, <NAME> himself was very much just such a person who never gave much credit to “sociological” markers of prestige and would always seek to learn the truth, both about people and about scientific facts, “from first principles”. So I think your choice of user name is very apt, and, before I give my proposed answer to your dilemma, I’d like to acknowledge that I think your desire to become convinced through your own personal experience of a professor’s level of talent before you accord them the kind of respect most of them think they are automatically entitled to, is, in my humble opinion, very legitimate.
Now to address the question itself, which I’ll rephrase to avoid loaded words (that I think had a slightly triggering effect on some people reading this) like “test” and “interview”:
>
> How can I become convinced, through my own direct experience, of a professor’s competence in mathematics?
>
>
>
The short answer is: **you can’t**; at least, not easily, and certainly not in a single conversation. This goes back to the information asymmetry I pointed out above. Imagine me taking Japanese lessons for two weeks and then meeting a new Japanese teacher and trying to decide if they do in fact speak correct Japanese as well as they claim to. There’s no chance for me to be able to say anything meaningful about the person’s Japanese, is there? I just don’t have the knowledge that’s needed to make that sort of determination. It’s similar with math - a math professor has had so many more years of training and experience than you that you are simply not in a position to decide *directly* if they are “clever” at math (even if we adopt the premise that you get to “test” them in a way that doesn’t immediately put their ego into defensive mode, leading them to kick you straight out the door). They will likely find any question you can ask them either very easy or very naive, or both.
Now, if you interact with someone over the course of a few months or a year and watch how they handle a variety of questions and problems, including things that are research-level problems or from areas of math outside their expertise, there is a good chance you’ll be able to develop a feel for their level of “cleverness”, or at least the very specific type of cleverness that involves “thinking on your feet” in a spontaneous setting in the presence of other people (something which some really good mathematicians nonetheless aren’t very good at doing). But as I said, that will take a much longer time than just a single meeting.
To summarize this long answer, I think it’s good that you’re a Feynman-type person who insists on reaching their own conclusions through direct experience. It’s an unusual trait, and one that could serve you well in your scientific journey. But there are situations when you’ll need to have a bit of humility to accept that there are facts about the world that you lack the knowledge to intuit yourself, and you’ll have to rely on those indirect sociological cues that you normally prefer not to rely on.
Anyway, good luck!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Pretty much any professor is competent **enough** to advise a PhD. If your PhD advisor isn't up to your standards in clever, you can fix that by talking to other people or getting co-advised.
It's not that you shouldn't be testing the person who you're going to pin your professional career on, it's that you shouldn't bother to test them for things that don't matter.
As a student you shouldn't worry about competent. You should worry about crazy. That's what the interview is for. For you as a student to figure out if this person is someone you can live with for 5 years. If your PhD advisor is nuts you're probably just screwed. No matter how clever you are, or think you are, you can't fix crazy.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: I think your prior is wrong. Lots of people want to become professors, but only a few succeed. Therefore instead of assuming that the professor is weak and should prove his/her strength, you should do it the other way: assume the professor is strong until proven otherwise.
If you want to test something else, like whether your personalities are compatible, whether the professor is not so busy that he'll never have time for you, etc, there're ways to do that. But if you want to test if the professor knows math ... try reading your OP again, suitably edited.
>
> I'm an undergraduate who needs to find a PhD student mentor in an undergraduate research project.
>
>
> Some PhD students might have many papers and a high reputation, but aren't necessarily good at theory/maths. In a face to face or video interview, what will be the best strategy to interview/test the PhD student's maths/theory ability? It's of course usually the other way around in that the PhD student wants to test a undergraduate's ability. But a strong undergraduate should also look for a strong PhD student through clever interviews.
>
>
>
No surprises if you're offended.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I agree with a lot of the answers so far, but I want to point out one other relevant point:
>
> In academia, unlike in industry, interviews are generally ***not*** used as a way to evaluate a person's technical skills or abilities. Instead, such evaluations are usually based on:
>
>
> 1. The person's documented achievements in the field; and
> 2. Recommendations from other people whose expertise in the field is recognized, and who are familiar with the person's work.
>
>
>
This applies at pretty much all levels of academia. When departments hire professors, they do not ask them "clever" interview questions to evaluate their technical expertise; rather, they look at their papers and talk to other experts who know their work. The same goes when professors hire postdocs, or when professors hire grad students (there may be a few exceptions to this last one). The interview is meant more to evaluate the person's "soft skills", administrative and organizational abilities, and to discuss the person's achievements and goals in depth.
I won't really go into the reasons for this practice, or attempt to justify it, except to say that the qualifications for success in an academic position are typically much broader, and much less specific, than for, say, a programming position, where they really just want to know "Can you code in language X?"
So this explains why people are finding your question somewhat outlandish: professors don't *ever* get asked "clever" technical questions in any kind of an interview, because nobody finds that to be a useful method of evaluation. Thus the notion of having a student ask such questions of a prospective advisor sounds particularly absurd.
Now, I think it's perfectly reasonable for you to want to have some idea of a professor's qualifications in a certain area. If you want to learn about a particular area of math, then you'll want to try to identify an advisor who can help you in that regard (though, as a graduate student, you'll also be expected to develop the ability to learn independently). But you can go about it in the same ways listed above. Look for achievements: Does the professor write papers that use the sorts of techniques that you want to learn? Do those papers seem to be influential? And look for recommendations: talk to the professor's current and former students, and look at their records. Did they learn the sort of things that you want to learn?
Of course, you can also ask the professor directly: "I am interested in learning about theoretical area X. Is this something that your students typically learn? What does that process look like?"
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying for postdoc jobs right now (math). I was put on the short-list for one position and had an interview but the PI for that postdoc made the offer to someone else. I'm starting to get discouraged and wondering what I'm doing wrong. I showed my research statement to a few faculty members and they said it was fine. I also got a letter from one very well-known mathematician. Maybe I didn't make enough faculty contacts? Was I supposed to have a contact at each place I applied to? Maybe what I am doing is not trendy enough.
Question 1: What do I have to *do* to get noticed by the hiring committees?
Question 2: What are people getting postdocs doing that people who don't get postdocs aren't doing?<issue_comment>username_1: There are two big issues: competition and potentially poor fit. Either can knock you out. In some fields, at some times, the competition is fierce. Be happy (a bit) that you made the short list.
On the other side of the coin, it is possible that a candidate is seen as a poor fit for the position. This is more likely to happen early in the process unless it comes down to personal issues - arrogance, or indifference, or ...
Your materials can be fine and you can be fine, but someone else is just seen to be a better fit at the moment. Soldier on.
You may not need the rest of the advice, below, since you seem to be able to reach the shortlist, but for others, note that your written materials have to be positive/strong enough to move you from the "all applicants" pile into the "we should look at this person" pile. The second pile is very short and if you don't get into it at a quick reading, you are done. Once you are in the shortlist it becomes more of a personal and less of an institutional "game". If you know you are a marginal fit for a position, don't bother applying except in exceptional circumstances.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The job market for postdocs is such that most new PhDs will have to contact 50-odd people to get maybe 5 interviews and 2 offers. Unless you meet someone at a conference that you click with, job searches are the academic version of Tinder; it's just a numbers game. Your PhD advisor can set you up a bit, but unless they're some superstar it's mostly on you to keep swiping.
If you aren't even getting replies to emails, you should work on your approach - having your advisor email a rec letter at the same time as your initial email is something that I've seen work well. You should also not take being ignored personally - usually your email just falls off the first page of the inbox and is therefore gone forever. You can follow up after a couple days if you don't get a response.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If you got to the interview stage, you probably aren’t doing anything wrong. The reality of today’s job market is that employers have the advantage because there’s an oversupply of candidates; paring down a large list of applicants is difficult enough, discerning who should be a job in a final pool of 3 or 4 highly qualified applicant is a nightmare.
It’s always good to remember that people don’t hire CVs: they hire other people. This means there’s a human element that enters in the selection process, and at the end of the process this human element can rarely be controlled, lest you are obviously much more qualified than the competing candidates. Basically, it can come down to pure luck.
You might have been bested because the other candidate was a slightly better fit *for that specific position*, because the supervisor of this other candidate or a referee for this other candidate knows the person offering the position, because the person offering the position has historically had good candidates from the school of this other applicant, because this other candidate publishes in this or that journal that is favoured by the employer etc, *i.e.* a whole host of factors which have minimal weight until someone has to decide between two more or less equally qualified candidates. Maybe this other candidate had just one more citation than you did at the time of the decision.
You cannot change any of the above factors; it’s unlikely that people who get the positions do something really different. If it’s just bad luck then one can take solace in the fact that there usually is a very restricted number of candidates on the final shortlist, so that every time you make it to a shortlist you increase the chances of all these infinitesimal variations will go your way this one next time.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: In my experience the biggest issue is eligibility to work in the UK. If you are (currently) a non eu citizen and any of the other candidates is appointable then we can not hire you, even if you are the best candidate. The situation is the same in the USA.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I think postdoc hiring is much like any other hiring process. As others have pointed out, there are too many qualified applicants for too few positions. This makes it easy to toss someone out of contention for soft reasons such as perceived lack of fit.
If you think of it from the hiring PI's point of view, they likely have restricted funds, meaning that the postdoc is a huge investment for them. Furthermore, even in a best case scenario it would likely take a new postdoc 6mo-1yr to get "up to speed" in a new environment, at which point it the PI has already has a sunk cost in case the postdoc is not performing to expectation. Therefore, this is a decision they quite literally can't afford to get wrong!
This leads to the old adage that it's not **what** you know, it's **who** you know. A prospective hiring PI is more likely to take someone from a department they're familiar with, or from a group they already know quite well. In that sense, probably the best thing you can do (if you're not already doing it) is to talk with your PhD advisor, or other members of your current department that you're friendly with. Do they know any of the people you'd like to work with? Could they send an e-mail or make a phone call on your behalf?
In my experience, while this wouldn't guarantee a job, it would almost certainly put you on the shortlist.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I think your low publications (none other than your thesis, see your question of January 31th 2019) is hurting you.
This answer is not meant to be cutting. But to be analytical. You ask why. I see this as a big factor.
I have a stack of resumes to review. Some have publications. Some don't. Not hard to understand that I (or many other people) will apply a filter and cut the ones with no publications.
We don't live in an ideal world where every individual will get infinite time spent on analyzing his case or will always find a spot. People will apply common sense filters. I hire a postdoc, I want someone who can produce and do so relatively independently. This is demonstrated by his publication count. I want to see some papers coming out (or at least in review) from someone in the second half of their doctorate. This is an indicator of their productivity that I will use to judge if they will be productive as a postdoc.
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<issue_start>username_0: Generally, the "standard" path of further educational progression in the UK is:
Bachelor's -> Master's -> Doctorate.
However, I've been doing a BEng part-time whilst working full time and as part of my work I also have to do a significant amount of research and have written many academic-style papers (albeit they have only been published internally).
Would it be generally considered acceptable to jump straight from a BEng to a doctorate or are there significant barriers that would be caused by this?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm not in UK, and it isn't my field, but the only real barrier is getting accepted into a program. You may be missing some technical background without an MS, but if you are accepted there will presumably be a way for you to fill in what you need.
Some places the rules may make it impossible for you to even apply, specifying a given degree, but otherwise, the only way to know is to make application and make it as positive as you can. Let the review committee know why you are a great candidate with a high likelihood of success. Of course that is the situation no matter what your formal background.
If an institution doesn't have a path from where you are, it is very likely to be obvious from their online materials.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It's fine. It is becoming more and more the norm to have direct to Ph.D. programs.
I recommend that you get an en passent masters if possible (sometimes you can just fill out a form a couple years through). I have had employers who were not familiar with academia who wondered about the masters so I list it on my resume even though I never think about it--was in a direct program.
Really, it is no big deal.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends on the field and school, but I went directly from BS to PhD (computer science), and getting the MS was almost considered a consolation prize for people who couldn't finish the PhD. So I would say start graduate school, and fairly soon you should have an idea about what people at your school think of getting the MS. If they don't care, I wouldn't either.
Edit: I am US based.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Is it unethical if we cite a paper with mentioning the publication venue (e.g,. author, "paper title," journal name, year) when quoting or mentioning some idea from it, while we have not even seen the paper in its final published form and what we have read is indeed previous versions of it (e.g., because we got it from the author's homepage, arXiv, etc., which are not copy-editted and may have some differences with the final version)?
If yes, what is the solution? (Having many references without any publication venues and e.g., by mentioning the url of the file we have, makes our paper ugly)<issue_comment>username_1: I don't believe there would be any ethical issue. But it is far better for your work and the work of others who read your work if you cite some final, official, version of it. The other versions may well disappear.
If you are in the stage of paper preparation, you can depend on a period of time to update any *tentative* references if better versions of the papers become available by the time you need to produce a final version. Your tentative citations are likely good enough for your reviewers, but it is better if you update them for final publication if at all possible.
But if an author publishes something, even informally, you can certainly cite it. If you cite things found on the web, however, and for some other places, include the date at which you retrieved the information in the citation. This lets future readers know that things may have changed.
But you should only cite something to which you actually have access and have read. If you read A but cite B there may be a minor ethical issue, but a larger practical issue. Things may have changed and you don't know about the changes. You could wind up both looking foolish and misleading people.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Citing the published work is to be preferred and to do so you should have read them.
In case this is a problem due to paywalls, there are several possibilities:
1. Ask the authors to for a copy. Most publisher provide a pdf to the authors that they can (and are supposed to) share.
2. Ask the authors to update their preprint. Some publisher allow this and sometimes it is even requested.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm going to answer from a (theoretical) computer science perspective.
For historical reasons, in computer science, the "published version" of the paper is likely to be much lower quality than the arxiv preprint. Conference proceedings typically have terrible page limits. Usually 8-12 pages are allowed, but I have heard of 4-page limits. Formally, the published version is not a full paper, it is an "extended abstract".
The standard practice in has become to cite the conference paper but to read the full version on arxiv. It's the only thing that makes sense given our publication system. I rarely bother to find the published version of papers I cite, even if they are readily available.
If it's standard practice in computer science, I struggle to believe that it is unethical in other fields. The arxiv version should be good enough and, if it isn't, it's the authors' responsibility to update it (or withdraw it).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Yeah. Just cite the authors and as much detail about the paper as possible. If you know the eventual journal, say "submitted" or "in press" or whatever describes the status. (These words make it obvious that you did not have the final version. Also it covers you if the thing never makes it through.)
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I would be careful of citing one version while referring to a result in another. It has happened before that an ArXiv version contained a result that a preliminary version did not, or that the ArXiv version indicated a problem/bug with the result in the older version.
The reason one should be accurate about citations is because they are essential to understanding the context of your work! If you don't cite accurately, you may be shooting yourself in the foot.
Think of this from the perspective of a future grad student reading your work and trying to retrace your steps. If you refer to a version that does not contain the updated result then the student will be (rightfully) confused by the situation. They may disregard your work, or misinterpret your findings.
I had a similar situation happen to me: we had an updated version on ArXiv with a much better result. A paper came out that rediscovered the same result - I was the one reviewing it, and had to point out to them that the ArXiv version already contained that result...
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/22
| 1,019
| 4,524
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently in the writing phase of my master thesis in a US-based university. Almost all of the feedback I am receiving from my advisor is either linguistic suggestions or just positive supportive kinda of a language. I am the primary investigator from my thesis.
How should I interpret this positive feedback and lack of critical comments? Could it indicate that the work is so weak and not even worth corrections? How can I direct their responses to be more critical?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't believe there would be any ethical issue. But it is far better for your work and the work of others who read your work if you cite some final, official, version of it. The other versions may well disappear.
If you are in the stage of paper preparation, you can depend on a period of time to update any *tentative* references if better versions of the papers become available by the time you need to produce a final version. Your tentative citations are likely good enough for your reviewers, but it is better if you update them for final publication if at all possible.
But if an author publishes something, even informally, you can certainly cite it. If you cite things found on the web, however, and for some other places, include the date at which you retrieved the information in the citation. This lets future readers know that things may have changed.
But you should only cite something to which you actually have access and have read. If you read A but cite B there may be a minor ethical issue, but a larger practical issue. Things may have changed and you don't know about the changes. You could wind up both looking foolish and misleading people.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Citing the published work is to be preferred and to do so you should have read them.
In case this is a problem due to paywalls, there are several possibilities:
1. Ask the authors to for a copy. Most publisher provide a pdf to the authors that they can (and are supposed to) share.
2. Ask the authors to update their preprint. Some publisher allow this and sometimes it is even requested.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm going to answer from a (theoretical) computer science perspective.
For historical reasons, in computer science, the "published version" of the paper is likely to be much lower quality than the arxiv preprint. Conference proceedings typically have terrible page limits. Usually 8-12 pages are allowed, but I have heard of 4-page limits. Formally, the published version is not a full paper, it is an "extended abstract".
The standard practice in has become to cite the conference paper but to read the full version on arxiv. It's the only thing that makes sense given our publication system. I rarely bother to find the published version of papers I cite, even if they are readily available.
If it's standard practice in computer science, I struggle to believe that it is unethical in other fields. The arxiv version should be good enough and, if it isn't, it's the authors' responsibility to update it (or withdraw it).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Yeah. Just cite the authors and as much detail about the paper as possible. If you know the eventual journal, say "submitted" or "in press" or whatever describes the status. (These words make it obvious that you did not have the final version. Also it covers you if the thing never makes it through.)
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I would be careful of citing one version while referring to a result in another. It has happened before that an ArXiv version contained a result that a preliminary version did not, or that the ArXiv version indicated a problem/bug with the result in the older version.
The reason one should be accurate about citations is because they are essential to understanding the context of your work! If you don't cite accurately, you may be shooting yourself in the foot.
Think of this from the perspective of a future grad student reading your work and trying to retrace your steps. If you refer to a version that does not contain the updated result then the student will be (rightfully) confused by the situation. They may disregard your work, or misinterpret your findings.
I had a similar situation happen to me: we had an updated version on ArXiv with a much better result. A paper came out that rediscovered the same result - I was the one reviewing it, and had to point out to them that the ArXiv version already contained that result...
Upvotes: 2
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2019/01/22
| 1,058
| 4,623
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<issue_start>username_0: My college (IIT) follows a relative grading system and each professor was given freedom in choosing how to grade the students.
As far as I know, Some professors give 5 students (less than 8 percent of the batch) the grade of S and others give A grade to 6-7 people in the class. I am looking for to apply for Phd, where I see colleges asking for a certain percentage in marks, like X percent in a taught module.
It is almost impossible for me to know how much I scored in a particular subject as we were just given relative grading. How should this issue can be resolved?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't believe there would be any ethical issue. But it is far better for your work and the work of others who read your work if you cite some final, official, version of it. The other versions may well disappear.
If you are in the stage of paper preparation, you can depend on a period of time to update any *tentative* references if better versions of the papers become available by the time you need to produce a final version. Your tentative citations are likely good enough for your reviewers, but it is better if you update them for final publication if at all possible.
But if an author publishes something, even informally, you can certainly cite it. If you cite things found on the web, however, and for some other places, include the date at which you retrieved the information in the citation. This lets future readers know that things may have changed.
But you should only cite something to which you actually have access and have read. If you read A but cite B there may be a minor ethical issue, but a larger practical issue. Things may have changed and you don't know about the changes. You could wind up both looking foolish and misleading people.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Citing the published work is to be preferred and to do so you should have read them.
In case this is a problem due to paywalls, there are several possibilities:
1. Ask the authors to for a copy. Most publisher provide a pdf to the authors that they can (and are supposed to) share.
2. Ask the authors to update their preprint. Some publisher allow this and sometimes it is even requested.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm going to answer from a (theoretical) computer science perspective.
For historical reasons, in computer science, the "published version" of the paper is likely to be much lower quality than the arxiv preprint. Conference proceedings typically have terrible page limits. Usually 8-12 pages are allowed, but I have heard of 4-page limits. Formally, the published version is not a full paper, it is an "extended abstract".
The standard practice in has become to cite the conference paper but to read the full version on arxiv. It's the only thing that makes sense given our publication system. I rarely bother to find the published version of papers I cite, even if they are readily available.
If it's standard practice in computer science, I struggle to believe that it is unethical in other fields. The arxiv version should be good enough and, if it isn't, it's the authors' responsibility to update it (or withdraw it).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Yeah. Just cite the authors and as much detail about the paper as possible. If you know the eventual journal, say "submitted" or "in press" or whatever describes the status. (These words make it obvious that you did not have the final version. Also it covers you if the thing never makes it through.)
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I would be careful of citing one version while referring to a result in another. It has happened before that an ArXiv version contained a result that a preliminary version did not, or that the ArXiv version indicated a problem/bug with the result in the older version.
The reason one should be accurate about citations is because they are essential to understanding the context of your work! If you don't cite accurately, you may be shooting yourself in the foot.
Think of this from the perspective of a future grad student reading your work and trying to retrace your steps. If you refer to a version that does not contain the updated result then the student will be (rightfully) confused by the situation. They may disregard your work, or misinterpret your findings.
I had a similar situation happen to me: we had an updated version on ArXiv with a much better result. A paper came out that rediscovered the same result - I was the one reviewing it, and had to point out to them that the ArXiv version already contained that result...
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/23
| 4,250
| 18,261
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<issue_start>username_0: Example:
>
> Q: Does Venus exhibit retrograde motion? (1 mark)
>
>
> A: No. This is because Venus orbits the Sun and not the Earth.
>
>
>
The first part is correct: Venus does not exhibit retrograde motion. But the explanation is incorrect: the reason Venus doesn't exhibit retrograde motion is because it's closer to the Sun than we are. Mars for example also orbits the Sun and not the Earth but does exhibit retrograde motion.
Do I award 1 mark or 0? On the one hand, for obvious reasons, the grading scheme only covers whether the student said "yes" or "no". Based on that, I should award 1 mark. Further, if the student hadn't written the incorrect explanation, then the answer is perfect, and it feels wrong to penalize the student for going beyond what the question asks for.
On the other hand, the explanation is clearly incorrect and the student should've known the correct explanation (it's part of the curriculum). It also feels wrong to award full marks for semi-incorrect answers. For example, if the student had written something silly such as "This is because Venus is made of Swiss cheese", do I still award 1 mark?!
Ideally, I'd award 0.5 marks, but for various reasons, fractional scores aren't permissible.<issue_comment>username_1: I think that if you would allow full marks for just yes/no without an explanation at all, then you should allow it here. Otherwise the question is flawed and can't be properly and fairly graded. But a note to the student would be good, also.
To be more precise, if it is possible to answer a question with inconsistent parts it isn't a valid question for examination. It should be clear and clean.
But your job is to educate, not to grade. Give the marks and write the note. And think harder about the questions you ask and how they are presented.
If the explanation is required, it is a different situation. In that case, and if you weight the explanation heavily for other students, then probably 0 marks is better than any other alternative.
Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_2: Give him the point. If you want, mark on the paper "wrong reason" in red.
If you wanted to evaluate reasons, you would have made it more points and required an explanation. But you didn't. So treat it like a normal true false or multiple choice problem. Reason not graded, just getting the right answer. Luck allowed. Etc. Similarly right reason but wrong result gets hammered.
If providing an answer was required then I guess you could mark wrong any case where both answer and reason were right.
P.s. This is if you are the teacher. If you are the student, don't debate 1 point. Get it all perfect next time.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: You asked for a yes/no answer (which, as you've discovered, has its disadvantages) and got one plus some other stuff. You should grade the yes/no answer and ignore the other stuff. If you like, you could add a note like "You got lucky! This is actually because..."
The whole point of yes/no or MC questions is that you grade only the answer, and assume that type-1 and type-2 errors cancel out or are normalized out. That paradigm doesn't work if you don't uniformly ignore everything other than the answer.
More concretely: other students likely got this question right using the same incorrect reasoning, but didn't write their reasoning down. There is no way to identify these students; so, you need to make sure they get the same score as this student.
Upvotes: 9 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: There are a few schools of thought here, and it really depends on your teaching style.
From a **fairness** perspective, you shouldn't mark this student down. I'm quite sure that there are a few other students in your class who could not explain why they got the right answer (a good number of them probably just guessed at random). Unless you have a system to find out who those students were and penalize them, I think you'll have a hard time justifying why this student gets marked down and all those other students are not.
From an **instructional** perspective, there is some merit to marking this student down. Students have a tendency to write down random stuff with the hope that something sticks. If you incentivize your students to write less bulls\*\*t and more to the point, you are teaching them a valuable lesson. You will be signalling to this student that you care about how they reason about answers, and not just the final product. I know of some lecturers who give their students 1 point in essay questions if they write nothing, just to provide an incentive to not write nonsense.
I would lean towards a fair verdict, but this is really because your question was very limited in answer scope.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: This is a discretionary matter, and different lecturers will treat it differently, depending on their own educational preferences. However, I disagree strongly with some other commentators on this thread. In my view, **there is nothing unfair in marking a student down for *unsolicited and incorrect information***. Indeed, I would say that this is generally a good practice, since it ensures that the student is held responsible for the correctness of their assertions, even in cases where they offer unsolicited information. This implicitly gives the student some broader training in the importance of ensuring that they give correct information even when they choose to advance information that is unsolicited --- something that is a broader life-skill of importance.
In my personal practice, if a student gives me more information than was requested, and that additional information is *wrong*, this incurs a marking penalty just as if that information was part of the question. I warn my students in advance that this is my practice, but it is a justifiable practice even without giving a warning. In this particular case, if I were marking the question, I would not give the student full marks.
---
**What kind of graduates do we want?** We are training students to become professionals in difficult fields. So, in considering this issue, I think it is important to consider the implicit lessons we give students by what we penalise and what we don't. Imagine that this student graduates and practices in your field. Would it be okay if this practitioner gives unsolicited information to people on the subject area, and that information is wrong? Would you be comfortable working with a colleague who gives information to you or others that is sloppy and incorrect, but then he faces no penalty just because that information was not requested by others? Is that the lesson you would like to impart to your students? Is that what you want to teach them about the world?
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: I personally would award the point (but disclaimer: **I'm not a professor**), but probably implement other answers' solutions (like write on the test an explanation). I'd like to point out that if this one question or a similar one were worth a huge amount of points on a test, of course it would be necessary to award points because the question never asked for reasoning. That question could simply ask for an explanation to avoid this whole issue.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: If you want to be absolutely right, treat the answer as wrong.
The purpose of marks is to accurately reflect the level of student's learning. If there is clear evidence that the student hasn’t learned the correct concept, marks should not be awarded.. unless you are grading their luck. (The student is clearly lucky here.)
---
But, really... marks are secondary. Won’t hurt if you give them the marks and make sure that they get the concept too. That’s your job as an instructor.
So, give them the points **and** explain the correct concept to them. Win-win for everyone.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: A recommendation I usually give when someone has an [analysis paralysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_paralysis):
1. Grab a coin. Head for 1, tail for 0.
2. Toss it high, so that it will spins as long as possible on the floor
3. During the spinning, your expectation will show up most. Which side do you DON'T want most?
After you have know what you want, you can know why you don't want it.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_9: Ask them to give a confidence score (1 to 5 say) for their explanation. A high confidence but wrong explanation suggests a real lack of understanding for example.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_10: Whatever you do, you need to do it consistently for all students. For this reason we have a marking scheme. Presumably, you are not the only person responsible for the course? Are you working with a professor or colleagues? Ask them what they would do and do the same.
If there is no marking scheme and each marker makes an independent decision — discuss and work out a marking scheme that everyone can accept. Then write it down and ideally incorporate into the questions to make students aware, e.g. *You need to explain your answer - correct answer with incorrect or absent explanation is worth 0 marks*. Then simply stick to it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: Where does this "grading scheme" come from?
**If you made it yourself**, cross it out and make a better one that gives zero marks for both "yes" and "no" and only gives marks for an answer with a correct explanation. Students should by this point know that an unexplained answer is worthless, unless the question specifies otherwise, and your example does not.
**If you received it from somewhere else**, don't ask strangers on the internet to adjudicate, go back to the person or organisation that gave you the grading scheme and ask them for a ruling. This is the only way that the grading can be fair between different graders.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_12: The cause of the problem would seem to be the lack of instructions on how to answer the questions.
If the exam paper clearly said "answer the questions with either yes or no," the answer given is wrong ***because the candidate did not follow the instructions.*** That might sound harsh, but that's the way the real world works, unfortunately.
If candidates were expected to explain their reasoning, the answer is also clearly wrong.
This is no different in principle from the converse situation where candidates are expected to show their working, and someone simply writes down the correct answer. If they really were smart enough to see the answer immediately rather than do the expected half-page of calculations, they need to learn to be smart enough to also *explain* why their answer is correct, in real life!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_13: It depends on the actual title above the questions (if there is one). For example:
---
**"Are these statements true?"** (or synonyms):
In this case, the actual answer is only "Yes" or "No". There are two options: marking it as **incorrect** since it's not fully complying with the title (writing further information was not asked), or marking it as **correct** since its actually complying part ("No") is indeed correct (and potentially crossing out the non-compliant part).
---
**"Are these statements true? Justify your answer."** (or synonyms):
The answer would be it as a whole. In this case, I'd mark it as **incorrect** since it does not answer all the title's parts correctly and thus it's not fully correct.
---
In case there is no title, it becomes a difficult situation since the mark turns out to be subjective. Besides, the student would be in their right to complain about what they get.
---
**Conclusion:** always make your exams with clarity in mind, clearing all technicality loopholes for justifying wrong answers, and no one will be harmed.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: Is this a standardized exam? Will the score acquired by the student affect his chances of getting into college? Will it be carried onto the future? If so, award full marks. You were not testing the mechanics behind it. There is a good chance that other students didn't know the right explanation either, and thus, **on account of fairness**, you should give the student full marks.
The question only asked the student to answer Yes/No to the statement presented. Consider this: on any given test, there are going to be a number of people who answered "Yes", but didn't give an explanation. What if they didn't know the explanation either? What if they just guessed it? What if they tossed a coin? There are lots of facts that we know without knowing *why* they are true. Plenty of students in your class would not have known the explanation.
---
If this test is not for some standardized exam and if it'll not have any bearing on the student's feature, we can throw the fairness criterion out the window entirely, and concentrate on the more important aspect of testing: to see if the student has gained the required knowledge. In this case, whether or not you award 1 mark will not matter. You have two options:
* Award full marks, but leave a note.
* Award zero marks and leave a note.
What you choose is entirely your preference. Ideally, you'd want to award 0.5 marks; but since fractional scores are not permitted, I'll make a case for (2). Students are most likely to review questions for which they are marked wrong. If something is correct, it's correct and most students wouldn't want to bother with it. If they're marked wrong on a question, they'd want to know why. A student might review the whole paper, in which case your comments would be noted in both cases; but this is less likely to happen. It'll also encourage a student to not go beyond what's asked in a question. You don't have to present everything you know to the examiner in a test. While "sticking to instructions" may not always bode you well **in life**, in a test, it will certainly help you very much.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_15: I would usually give no credit for a correct answer supported by incorrect argumentation, particulary when the argumentation contradicts the putative answer, is irrelevant, or is absurd. However, given the grade-seeking, formalist/legalist behavior of many students, it is imperative to indicate in the exercise statement that answers will be regarded as correct only if adequately justified. In the current case I would not give full credit, but would not give the 0 I would like to give, unless this had been my practice throughout the course and was known as such to students, because the problem or exam formulation should indicate what sort of answer is required.
It seems to me educationally irresponsible and entirely *unfair* to award points for an incorrectly reasoned "correct" answer. Such an answer reflects a lack of understanding, and should be graded accordingly.
Here is a concrete example, understandable to some. One asks a student if a given matrix is diagonalizable. One student makes calculations, indicative of conceptual confusion and poorly performed, that would clearly indicate that the matrix has nontrivial Jordan form, but answers that the matrix is diagonalizable anyway. A second student makes a minor arithmetical error that leads via otherwise correct argumentation to the erroneous conclusion that the matrix has nontrivial Jordan form and answers accordingly that it is not diagonalizable. Some seem to think that the first student should be given more credit than the second, when the second student has clearly demonstrated a high level of mastery of material and understanding. (Neither answer should receive full credit).
This isn't a hypothetical example. In mathematics and engineering exams this sort of situation occurs fairly frequently.
Grading serves to indicate whether certain standards have been met. Guessing, or obtaining accidentally, a factually correct answer does not meet reasonable standards for demonstrating understanding of content.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_16: It seems you were giving a point (a) to students answering "yes" for the correct reason, (b) to students answering "yes" and wasting their time by writing down the correct reason, (c) to students throwing a coin and answering "yes" because they were lucky, (d) to students answering "yes" for the wrong reason, and you ask whether you should give a point (e) to students answering "yes" and writing down the wrong reason.
Since you are willing to give a point to groups (c) and (d), it seems unfair to me not to give a point to group (e). (But if papers are returned to the students, the wrong answer should be marked as wrong).
Of course, asking for an answer *and* giving reasons would make more sense.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_17: There are two methods to use in this situation, and it really comes down to the environment you have made in your classroom.
Let's start with method one. Disregarding the response, giving the question full marks, and leaving a note for the student describing what was wrong with their explanation. There is nothing wrong with this method, and it educates, not punishes the student, because at least they gave effort. However, do cross it out and make sure the note explicitly states that the answer is wrong.
Method 2: Mark it wrong, and leave a note. While this doesn't "punish" the students, per se, though it does help them learn something and prepare for the field that they want to go into. Many of these students will want to go into fields that involve specific (correct!) answers. In this case, you would mark it wrong in the hopes that they may review it. If this seems a bit harsh, maybe invite him to do a correction of sorts.
Inviting him to do a correction seems like a compromise without resorting to fractional grades. It also allows him to make up the question while preparing him for the workplace, and making sure he learns and reviews the material, which will be beneficial later in life. If this isn't allowed, then it is more of a personal preference and a moral compass type situation, in which case you should look at both of the methods above and decide which one most supports the atmosphere that you have created in your class.
Upvotes: 0
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2019/01/23
| 396
| 1,689
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<issue_start>username_0: This is in the U.S. I am a graduate student, and an undergraduate student who I mentored in an independent reading project has asked me to write her a letter of recommendation for an internship outside of the university.
For some context, I am the organizer of the program at my university through which undergrads apply to do these projects, and this program is advertised on the university website.
I haven't been able to find any information on who can use the letterhead on my university's website, thought I'm sure it's buried there somewhere. I was only able to one other [question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/65075/as-a-student-is-it-appropriate-to-use-my-universitys-letterhead-for-a-letter-i) about this on here, and it was about an undergrad using the letterhead for a personal matter.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, letters of recommendation are official university business, so you can use letterhead. It would be unusual if you did not.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Letters of recommendation are within the scope of official business, so it would usually be normal for this to be on university letterhead. However, since you are only a graduate student, and not a regular staff member of the university, I would recommend that you should first check with the relevant professors/administrator in your Department to make sure you are authorised to write letters of recommendation at all. The Department might prefer for letters of recommendation to come only from academic staff, in which case they might decide to bump the request up to someone higher. When in doubt, ask the senior people in your Department.
Upvotes: 1
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2019/01/23
| 866
| 3,478
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<issue_start>username_0: I finished my PhD degree last year. I had a bad experience with my adviser over the 4 years. He treated me like a technician. He used the data I collected and analyzed to publish with his post-doc in a top journal. They just put "personal communication" in the paper when they used my analytical method. Then, my name was under the acknowledgement section. I even never be communicated regarding of their manuscript producing process. I found it out based on randomly reading papers online.
In addition, he insulted me when I was in his lab. He tried to threat me for rescheduling my wedding date.
Now, my adviser pretend nothing happened in the past. He keeps chasing me for publishing one of my PhD chapters with him. I have a full-time job now. I just keep ignoring his emails. However, one of my committee member told me that he has been bugged by my adviser for my latest information. He wants me to talk to my adviser even I don't want to publish with him.
Could anyone give me advice?
Thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: If your job is taking all your time, you don't have to publish again - that is your choice.
Have you explained all the circumstances with your "committee member"? If not, that may, at least, explain to them the "real" or at least, your view of the situation.
If you do decide, after due deliberation, to collaborate and publish a further paper, then you need to set out a "cast iron" set of parameters such as you will be "first author", you will be the point of contact, etc etc AND have this agreed with the advisor and your friendly committee member. You will also need to include what happens if the advisor pulls the "change of direction" stunt on the paper to relegate you to a footnote while still using your data...
But, imho, is that all worth it?
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Option A: Blow him off. You did your Ph.D. You're done. Work for your current employer and to feed your family. The academic rat race is not your concern. And it's not even like this guy cares about the science being lost. He just wants another sticker on his helmet (pub count).
Option B: Tell him "what's in it for me". Maybe get something out of him, like inclusion as co-author on a review or the like.
Option C: Write it but tell him you will be the communicating author, you're in charge and not interested in edits from him and he can just ride along for a pub count (maybe a little gentler stated than that, but that is bottom line).
---
When I was in this situation, I went with option C. But I actually cared about the science getting out and had the paper ready to go, no issues. Also my advisor never messed with my text (I never had an edit from him on previous papers). [And even in this case, it only came after a year or two of the guy, sitting, before he came back and agreed to my terms.]
I would probably go with C for you. But make it clear to him who is in charge. Some of these professors are not used to grad students that take them on.
You probably will never get satisfaction on the previous slight, but if you tell the guy "I wasn't happy with how you handled X. That is behind us. But I have to evaluate if I can trust you going forward before doing any work on Y." maybe he toes the line. He may not, so then put him in deep freeze.
I can't promise you a great outcome. But I do know if you don't sometimes stand up for yourself people will take advantage.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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2019/01/23
| 1,822
| 7,465
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a second year PhD student in math. I recently feel miserable working with my current advisor so I am considering switching advisor or adding a second advisor.
A few problems I can think of at this moment which make me want another advisor include:
* He constantly forgets meeting. For example, I schedule it with him on Wednesday. He would probably forget it on Friday. Of course this is minor if I send out a reminder in the morning on the day...
* I feel he is not able to suggest me good references or offer help. I am surely not an independent enough student that can work on my own yet. I kept desperately seeking answers online, asking everywhere, and probably spamming the authors who wrote the papers... This is probably the right way of doing research, but I doubt whether I could speed up my progress a bit if I could get more help from my advisor.
* I guess one reason also for the last paragraph is he is giving me something that he is not very familiar with. I believe this is probably the case with most advisors. But once I tried to search for a long time and just could not find an object in the problem that he suggested me, and it turned out he remembered it wrong... I just wish he could be less careless.
I actually kind of transferred following my advisor to this university, so I tried to work with him since I came here, though I actually did not really start working with him in my previous school and came here as a first year student. I always thought seeking for another advisor would again take effort, and the miseries come and go, so I just did not do anything with it.
What I am thinking now is, if everything like the above is normal for a math advisor, then I would like to convince myself and go along with it. My miseries are probably just what I need to bare to do math, but If it is not, I really hope to get more help and support from my advisor for my next a few years in grad school. I guess one direct reason why I am posting this is I have not made any progress reading one paper (not even doing a problem) since 3 or 4 months ago. I could not answer my advisor's questions about the paper perfectly as he wants and he would not let me move on. I do not really see the meaning of doing it and he could not give any suggestions, and I started to hate the math and lost motivations, so I think I definitely want some adjustment, either real or mental.
Thanks in advance for any advice.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> He constantly forgets meeting.
>
>
>
That's normal (and perhaps a good sign). You need to take control and establish a procedure to ensure meetings take place. (It's perhaps a good sign, since it suggests your supervisor is busy.
>
> I feel he is not able to suggest me good references or offer help.
>
>
>
For *good references*, that's probably normal: You've been conducting research for over one year and your knowledge of the research domain now exceeds your supervisor's, hence, you are more familiar with the *good references*. An exception arises if the *good references* are unspecialised, but that doesn't seem to be the case, since "he is giving me something that he is not very familiar with."
For *offer help*, you'll need to provide more context. As it stands, I cannot judge whether the degree of help is normal.
>
> once I...could not find [what] he suggested me, and it turned out he remembered it wrong
>
>
>
That's normal, he's human.
>
> I guess one direct reason why I am posting this is I have not made any progress reading one paper (not even doing a problem) since 3 or 4 months ago.
>
>
>
This is perhaps your real problem.
>
> I could not answer my advisor's questions about the paper perfectly as
> he wants and he would not let me move on.
>
>
>
That's good; you probably need to understand the material before you move on.
>
> I do not really see the meaning of doing it
>
>
>
Why not?
>
> and he could not give any suggestions,
>
>
>
What suggestions do you expect?
>
> and lost motivations,
>
>
>
See elsewhere on this forum for questions regarding lost motivation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: 1. The meeting forgetting is minor. There can be way worse aspects of an advisor (competition, power struggles, etc.)
2. Giving good references: in an ideal world, "apprenticeship" would be more normal. However the reality is that many grad students forge their own path and are even expected to do so. Definitely this is the case in experimental sciences with large groups and advisors who have teaching responsibilities and spend a lot of time grubbing for money, etc. Perhaps this is a bit different in math because the groups are smaller and the work is harder. But still, perhaps it is somewhat the case in math also. I would lean to assuming you need to do your own work.
3. Project selection: this is a big issue. It's probably the most important part of a Ph.D. to pick a problem that is tractable. Advisors are not the ones doing the work. It is easy for them to assign "nice to know" projects that are too difficult or have low likelihood of success. And then the risk/reward is dramatically different and the pain of failure much harder on you.
---
Based on what you say so far, I would try to pivot to some easier project that is more tractable. Probably with a different advisor, perhaps with yours. Would be open to some field of math that is not as challenging as what you are in (stats or OR versus <NAME>iles stuff) if such a change is still feasible. You seem to need something easier.
Note, I'm not sure if the issue is you were given an unreasonable problem or if you don't have the traits to deal with what was assigned. But it sort of doesn't matter. Find a better match. You've been doing this a little while and some parts of your question text make me think it unlikely you will succeed with challenging material. (It's OK. <NAME> was bad at baseball.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: As suggested in other answers here, none of the things you describe are necessarily deal breakers.
But you don't give any positive aspects of the relationship. A lot of relatively small negatives can add up.
I'm going to guess that you've made up your mind already, even if you haven't noticed it, and simply want confirmation that it is ok to go. Yes, it is ok to go. There is little worse in a doctoral program than having an advisor who isn't right for you. If you don't have some big positive sense that makes the negatives less important, then you should start looking for a different advisor. You don't have to break ties before you start to search, of course. But explore the options, at least.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It is worth noting here that you could choose to keep your advisor and add additional “mentors” to your team. This may mean increasing your relationship with committee members or forming mentorship relationships with other faculty or perhaps more advanced grad students. In this way, your advisor can be appreciated for his good points and you can go to him when you have problems or questions that relate to his strengths.
Ideally you will have a team of mentors across many sub-fields and universities by the time your graduate. You will tap each person when they can be the most helpful resource rather than relying on one person (and thank them appropriately in your publications, of course).
Upvotes: 0
|
2019/01/23
| 1,141
| 4,668
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a newbie and have a question. First of all let me introduce myself and the situation in which I am going through.
I have just got my PhD from the Middle East Technical University (Turkey) from the department Political Science. I was also a research assistant between 2011-2018 during my master and doctorate studies. Actually, living outside Turkey had never been one of my plans, but love changes everything. :) I got married with a German citizen and I am living since 6 months in Germany with my wife. During this time, I worked on a few improvements of my PhD Thesis, finally I defended it in December and have got my degree.
So, before I met my wife, my academic plan had been to continue in the Turkish Academia, however, having decided to marry with her, there had been a decision to make: Staying in Turkey (and waiting her to come to Turkey) vs. going to Germany
Considering the last political and economic instability of Turkey, moving to Germany was surely the clever decision to make. Yet, it was so sudden that I couldn't make any academic preparation in 2 years, since I was writting at the same time my PhD thesis. So my migration to Germany was a bit an unplanned one, considering the Academic world, considering especially the fact that in Turkey PhD's are most generally 6 years long. So, I couldn't waste my previous 4 years.
As a result, I want an advise for my further step in Germany, probably post-doc. Actually, I was also born in Germany and lived 8 years here in my childhood, which means that German was once my mother-language however, I couldn't keep it fluent in 25 years. Yet it is still enough to cope with daily issues and conversations, it keeps improving, I am far away than 6 months before, but it is surely not enough for Academy yet.
What do you think? Is post-doc a clever idea in my situation? If so, what are my chances? I do not have English publications yet, but 5 Turkish ones. Moreover, as an additional information, my research topic has been an attention getting one in the German social science circles. Is it possible to apply to a post-doc with a project aiming for international publications based on my PhD thesis, such as articles or a book? Or do I need to write a new research proposal to apply?
Or would you suggest to skip the post-doc and apply to a position as lecturer (which in my opinion seems not possible to end up with a positive result considering my current state)
Or, finally, would you suggest me to postpone my plans on academy, find another work until I make an international publication?
Sorry, for the very long question.
I will appreciate any of your answers and suggestions.
Thanks in advance.<issue_comment>username_1: A postdoc is probably the easiest point of entry (instead of lecturer or "real job"). That said, you seem pretty flexible so I would just apply for everything in parallel.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: You have publications, even if only in Turkish, on a subject of current interest. I do not if the number of publications is big or small, or anything about the quality. Presumably you know enough German and English to get by, and will pick up German fast.
Based on this information only, apply for all places where you might have a chance of being accepted. To improve your chances, consider if there are people who are
1. famous in your field in Germany, or at least have some name recognition
2. can read Turkish
3. familiar with your work or willing to get familiar, or at least the journals.
If you can find such a person, ask if they can certify that you have published reasonable papers in reasonable journals.
In your application, be honest about your language skills and potential. If a position asks you to immediately teach in German, you might not be the ideal candidate, but if there is a year to learn to language or something similar, you should be qualified.
In the academic world, it is best to apply early and often; getting a position or funding is partially a matter of luck, so making many attempts pays off.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I don't know how it is in turkey, but working in germany as a scientist is not so easy. the universities or institutions often don't have enough money to financiate their staff.
maybe you should apply to a daad stipenium. There are programs only for foreign people. <http://www.research-in-germany.org/en/jobs-and-careers/info-for-postdocs-and-junior-researchers.html>
In any case the biggest problem for a research institute will be the money to pay you. So if you bring your project or stipendium, the start will be much easier.
Upvotes: 0
|
2019/01/23
| 418
| 1,636
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<issue_start>username_0: This morning I received the email I've posted below, which says it comes from an "acquisitions editor."
1. What should I expect from a meeting if I agree to meet with the rep?
2. Is Kendall/Hunt a trustworthy company?
"Dear Professor Cruiser,
My name is [redacted] and I am an Acquisitions Editor with Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
As an Editor, I am particularly interested in speaking with you about the business math course that you teach. I am curious to learn how the particular course is taught and the materials being used.
I am not a textbook rep. I am going to be at the [redacted] University campus during the week of [redacted] and I would like to meet with you during my visit.
Please let me know what day(s) and time(s) works best for us to speak during the week of [redacted].
I look forward to meeting you!
Kindest regards,
[redacted]
Acquisitions Representative"<issue_comment>username_1: I would probably ignore such a message, but if you want to know what to expect from a hypothetical meeting, I suggest asking the person who emailed you, since they weren't very specific. Why do they want to know about your course? What's in it for them, and what's potentially in it for you? If they can't or won't give you clear answers to those questions before the meeting, you can conclude they are not worth your time.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Looking at their website, it looks like a self publishing shop. Which is even worse than a textbook hack.
I would blow it off. You have better use for your time. And better people to endorse, even by a meeting.
Upvotes: 3
|
2019/01/23
| 1,088
| 4,627
|
<issue_start>username_0: Good afternoon,
I am a high school junior in the process of preparing a real analysis paper for submission to a mathematics journal. I have written my proof and conducted an exhaustive literature review and now I would like to take the next step towards finishing my paper but I am unclear as to the convention with regards to including in my paper both an abstract and introduction or just an introduction.
I have read published papers such as [this one by Erdos](https://old.renyi.hu/~p_erdos/1974-24.pdf) which include both an abstract and introduction but I have read many others such as [this short proof of the prime number theorem](https://people.mpim-bonn.mpg.de/zagier/files/doi/10.2307/2975232/fulltext.pdf) which includes just an introduction. Then there are some like [this one](https://projecteuclid.org/download/pdf_1/euclid.em/1048515661) that have what appears to be an abstract without an explicit heading.
I have also read guides regarding how to write mathematical papers. There is [this one](https://faculty.math.illinois.edu/~berndt/writingmath.pdf) which includes an introduction but no abstract. Then there are other guides like [this one](https://www.impan.pl/wydawnictwa/dla-autorow/writing.pdf) which make mention of both an abstract and an introduction.
My question is, is there a convention regarding the inclusion of an abstract in a math paper? If so, what is it? I understand that scientific papers traditionally employ both but I do not see a trend when it comes to math papers.
Thank you in advance.<issue_comment>username_1: The purpose of an abstract is to summarize the entire paper. It should have all the major findings, actual numbers (if applicable), etc. An introduction gives the history of the problem, including earlier attempts or related problems as well as the motivation for the research. They are different animals.
Perhaps you are confused because introductory paragraphs on high school essays often have an outline summary of what the essay will be. But that's really not the main objective of a journal article introduction section. (It could have that sort of outline explanation but probably more commonly doesn't.)
Also, you should just look at what journal you want to go to (pick something decent but not too high ranking). Then just ape their format.
---
All that said, I am skeptical of a high school junior contributing an analysis paper. Anything is possible of course. But I suspect you don't know what you don't know about the topic, previous literature, etc. For one thing, your question here shows some naivete about the structure of journal articles, so perhaps you haven't done a good lit search in your area. But...don't let me hold you back. Nothing like learning by experience (as I told my friend before he opened a restaurant),
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: The purpose of an abstract and an introduction are very different, so it may be useful to include either or both. An abstract is a summary of the whole paper, focusing on the main result. It might exist separately from the paper itself as, say, an online "teaser" to get people to read the paper. But an introduction is intended to give background on the problem to be addressed in the paper and to situate it within the literature. You would almost always include an introduction. You might also write the abstract, but not actually include it within the paper itself.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes, mathematics papers generally have an abstract.
The question of whether it has the word "Abstract" as a heading is a stylistic question, usually determined by the journal where the paper is published. They might feel that the page layout makes it clear that this is an abstract, without needing a heading.
The Zagier paper you cite was published (in 1997) in the *American Mathematical Monthly*, which is a special case. They used to not print abstracts for very short articles. However, looking at some recent issues, even the *Monthly* does routinely print abstracts now.
So you should certainly write an abstract for your paper. Write it after the paper is completely finished, so that it accurately reflects what the final version of the paper contains. Format it in any reasonable way you like (e.g. the `abstract` environment in your preferred LaTeX document class.)
Include the abstract when you distribute the paper or submit it for publication. It will ultimately be up to the journal whether the abstract is included when the paper is published, and how to format it, but most likely it will be.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2019/01/23
| 858
| 3,917
|
<issue_start>username_0: I submitted my application for grad school with some professors as my potential supervisors. I have never contacted them prior to my submission.
Days ago I sent an email to one of them and asked him to take a look at my application and later he invited me to an interview. Interview went well but at the end he said there are some other candidates that he is interested in and he would interview them too. So I have to wait for the admission committee decisions.
In this situation, is it wise to contact other professors listed in my application and present my case to them? Some of them are working in a similar field to this professor and others have different research interests.
Please note that in my statement of purpose and CV, I mentioned my research goals which are inline with these potential supervisors' interests.<issue_comment>username_1: The purpose of an abstract is to summarize the entire paper. It should have all the major findings, actual numbers (if applicable), etc. An introduction gives the history of the problem, including earlier attempts or related problems as well as the motivation for the research. They are different animals.
Perhaps you are confused because introductory paragraphs on high school essays often have an outline summary of what the essay will be. But that's really not the main objective of a journal article introduction section. (It could have that sort of outline explanation but probably more commonly doesn't.)
Also, you should just look at what journal you want to go to (pick something decent but not too high ranking). Then just ape their format.
---
All that said, I am skeptical of a high school junior contributing an analysis paper. Anything is possible of course. But I suspect you don't know what you don't know about the topic, previous literature, etc. For one thing, your question here shows some naivete about the structure of journal articles, so perhaps you haven't done a good lit search in your area. But...don't let me hold you back. Nothing like learning by experience (as I told my friend before he opened a restaurant),
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: The purpose of an abstract and an introduction are very different, so it may be useful to include either or both. An abstract is a summary of the whole paper, focusing on the main result. It might exist separately from the paper itself as, say, an online "teaser" to get people to read the paper. But an introduction is intended to give background on the problem to be addressed in the paper and to situate it within the literature. You would almost always include an introduction. You might also write the abstract, but not actually include it within the paper itself.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes, mathematics papers generally have an abstract.
The question of whether it has the word "Abstract" as a heading is a stylistic question, usually determined by the journal where the paper is published. They might feel that the page layout makes it clear that this is an abstract, without needing a heading.
The Zagier paper you cite was published (in 1997) in the *American Mathematical Monthly*, which is a special case. They used to not print abstracts for very short articles. However, looking at some recent issues, even the *Monthly* does routinely print abstracts now.
So you should certainly write an abstract for your paper. Write it after the paper is completely finished, so that it accurately reflects what the final version of the paper contains. Format it in any reasonable way you like (e.g. the `abstract` environment in your preferred LaTeX document class.)
Include the abstract when you distribute the paper or submit it for publication. It will ultimately be up to the journal whether the abstract is included when the paper is published, and how to format it, but most likely it will be.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2019/01/23
| 1,315
| 5,650
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<issue_start>username_0: As you may know, I was a first-year student and forced to leave and it was a long story, I have posted here. My question is: since I pledged myself to be honest and tell the truth, the interviewers when they hear that they are negatively affected. Recently, I have applied for a position and I was shortlisted to 4, and then when they heard my case they told me we want someone who can commit, I told them my story positively and never mentioned any negativity. I have received an email from ex-PI who forced me to leave asking that he received an email from the interviewer and I saw the email that he is extremely interested, and the ex-PI asked me what I have told them about the lab so that he can be consistent with my words, honestly, I didn't have a good intention from his email, I have been always honest and candid, but the ex-PI used to lie based on multiple situations. I have been rejected. I am struggling as I was blamed and honestly, the reason for leaving is that I am an independent researcher and ex-PI didn't like that. However, I look through interview embarrassed sometimes and a nervous little bit because of their reaction like have a taboo. I don't want to lose any future interviews, I have noticed that students apply elsewhere and don't mention they are a current student in a specific program, however, my situation is awkward as I spent one year and my name is still indexed in their website although my webpage is removed. Please, suggestion, should I hide it, but I tell myself it isn't ethical.<issue_comment>username_1: My advice is to not mention a single year of work somewhere else. It gets lost in the noise when you are looking back at your life from many years in the future. Plus Europe can be very fussy and cloistered and cronyish.
Actually maybe you should bail from academia. Go drive trucks in the Permian. Well maybe that is a little much. But get involved in US E&P. It's still America out there. At least for now.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: It is typical in applying for a job, graduate program, etc, to account for how you've spent your past time. If you are an undergraduate student for some years, then maybe a master's student, and then there is a gap in your resume from when you were a PhD student, it will jump out at anyone reviewing your application.
It doesn't look good that you've left your program, but **it looks worse if you have no answer for how you spent that time**, and worst of all if it becomes clear you intended to mask your time as a previous grad student.
No matter how you go about this, **it looks bad that you did not complete a PhD program**. Applicants for a PhD are assessed primarily based on their perceived **likelihood to be a successful PhD student**. As a past unsuccessful PhD student, that perceived likelihood decreases, especially if your past PI says bad things about you and people believe them.
In the short term, you likely need to **gather some new references**. You need people who can vouch for your ability and potential as a researcher. Depending on your field, the availability of such positions may be limited, but in my own field I would advise taking up employment in an academic lab as a technician. The barrier to entry is much less than for a PhD position where an institution is dedicating themselves to you over several years. Your PI in that lab will be able to recommend you to programs that you subsequently apply to, and confirm to them that your prior experience was a fluke.
You asked for candid advice, and I am doing my best to give it. If I was reviewing your application, and saw that you left a PhD program after a year, I would not want to take you on as a student. Regardless of whose fault it is, there are many many qualified candidates for most PhD programs. If you got grants and publications, that may help, but you still have clearly had a personal conflict with your past PI and have accused them of many bad things. The last thing I would want would be to take you on as a student, bright as you may be, and then be accused of similar things myself. I wouldn't have any objective information to assess whether you are a victim as you claim or not, unless someone else, whose input I trust, gives me information about the situation.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: When evaluating an applicant people look at tangibles and non tangibles. Tangibles would be publications, research attachments, grades, awards etc. Intangibles are things like your personal statement, and more importantly your referees.
If your only reference is from your advisor you may be in trouble. You need to find a good academic figure who’ll vouch for your research potential and explain the situation with your advisor. If you can’t think of one then you may have a problem getting in. If your advisor is actively sabotaging you then it may border on unprofessional conduct but I don’t know for sure. It may be wise to reach out to a department head or student ombudsman who’ll probably just ask the advisor to let you go in peace.
Sorry about your situation, it sucks...
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: In addition to [Bryan's excellent answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123665/53), it should be noted that depending on the policies of the school you are applying to, omitting details of attending a previous PhD program from your application can be considered sufficient grounds to revoke offers of admission. Therefore, if you are directly asked about your past experience, you should not attempt to lie about it, either directly or by omission.
Upvotes: 3
|
2019/01/23
| 1,001
| 2,911
|
<issue_start>username_0: Is there citation style that only cites it as (FirstAuthorLastName,year)
that can be downloaded as a .csl file and incorporated into mendeley/readcube.
However a simple nature style [1] is too short.
And I would like to see the author's name in the text.
Is there citation style that only cites it as (FirstAuthorLastName,year)
Meaning no other coauthors name, (since that not how I remeber the article anyway) and no et al.
(because i already know it's "et al", it's just redudant text).
is there a citation style that is like this?.
Or is there a website when one can see different citation syles?
Thanks<issue_comment>username_1: In a comment you mentioned that you're looking for a .csl citation style file, e.g. for use with Mendeley. It turns out that Mendeley has a generator for, and repository of such files. In particular, one can opt to [search by example](https://csl.mendeley.com/searchByExample/). Using that tool for citations of the form "(Campbell, 2007)" reveals some examples, the most relevant of which is [a modified Chicago style](https://csl.mendeley.com/styleInfo/?styleId=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zotero.org%2Fstyles%2Fcolorado-state-university-school-of-biomedical-engineering) that appears to be associated with Colorado State University - School of Biomedical Engineering:
>
> Example Output
> --------------
>
>
> **Inline citations**
>
>
> (Campbell, 2007)
>
>
> (Ahlquist, 2009; Borges, 1999; Campbell, 2007; Mares, 2001)
>
>
> **Bibliography**
>
>
> <NAME>., & <NAME>. (2009). Country clustering in comparative political economy (MPIfG Discussion Paper No. 09–5) (p. 32). Cologne: Max-Planck Institute for the Study of Societies. Retrieved from www.mpifg.de/pu/mpifg\_dp/dp09-5.pdf
>
>
> <NAME>. (1999). Selected non-fictions. (<NAME>, Ed., <NAME>, <NAME>, & <NAME>, Trans.). New York: Viking.
>
>
> <NAME>., & <NAME>. (2007). “The varieties of capitalism and hybrid success.” Comparative Political Studies, 40(3), 307–332. <https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414006286542>
> “CSL search by example.” (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2012, from <http://editor.citationstyles.org/searchByExample/>
>
>
> <NAME>. (2001). “Firms and the welfare state: When, why, and how does social policy matter to employers?” In P. A. Hall & D. Soskice (Eds.), Varieties of capitalism. The institutional foundations of comparative advantage (pp. 184–213). New York: Oxford University Press.
>
>
>
I have not tried it myself, but I hope it does the trick.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I agree with anyon. Well, that's the basic citation style and it is the mostly used. Since you said that your doing a quick not, this will style will be okay for your writing.
..this site might help..
<http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/citation/apa/intextcitation/>
Upvotes: 0
|
2019/01/24
| 392
| 1,692
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<issue_start>username_0: I feel a little unproductive in managing students as their advisor. I have both undergrads and graduate students, and especially with undergrads, it's hard to make them respect scheduled updates.
Right now, I am using online tools to track their progress (on GitHub), but communication is lacking. I hate using email for these regular updates, since many of them even take two days to a week (sometimes more!) to check their email account (using University's address), moreover, it would be probably cluttering my inbox.
>
> What tools or communication services can I use to manage several students, communicating with them in a timely manner?
>
>
>
Thanks for any suggestions.<issue_comment>username_1: You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink...
You can use a multitude of systems to provide files / problems / updates, but you can’t make them log in... unless they want to - I find activities linked to grades get more attention than activities not graded...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I institute a lot of different things, but in my personal experience, the best thing is face-to-face meetings. Weekly meetings with the individuals, to talk about the problem and issues they may have with it. If it's undergraduates that are less committed to you you can settle for every other week. Things get lost in digital communication, and your students will feel a lot less comfortable with having nothing to discuss week after week. I find services like GitHub/Dropbox/Sourcetree to be the most effective, but people have their own pet software that they're used to. I suggest emphasizing personal interaction above all!
Upvotes: 2
|
2019/01/24
| 581
| 2,607
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<issue_start>username_0: I've been working in commercial software development for quite a while for now, and I'm getting more and more disappointed in the way things are being done here as time passes.
So I was thinking to get back to academia, but the problem is that even though I hold master's degree, I have just a couple of publications (rather weak, I suppose), and there are no letters of recommendation in my disposal. Moreover, all colleagues I can possibly reference are engineers, not a scientists.
Basically, I'm quite used to applying to jobs I do not fit entirely (I mean not 100% of requirements met) judging by their requirements list in commercial sphere, but how mandatory publications and references are? My estimation is that I'm still capable of at least supporting research project as a engineer, while regaining lucking researcher skills.<issue_comment>username_1: **You question whether you satisfy the requirements for a position as a PhD student**. The minimum requirement for such a position is a bachelor's degree, albeit, many positions will require a master's. You satisfy both of those requirements, so your move from software development to academia is entirely plausible.
**You seem to believe that publications are required for a PhD student position**. They are not, at least, not at many institutes. They are nonetheless useful, even "just a couple," even if "[they're] rather weak," since they demonstrate an ability to do research and an understanding of the research process.
**You are concerned that your referees are engineers, rather than scientists**. This isn't a problem, actually it is an asset, as is your software engineering background. *Impact* is a measure of success in academia and your real-world experience can guide you towards practical research problems that have more potential for impact.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You can go back as a PhD student and @username_1 has given a good answer to that. I just want to point out a different path.
Many research projects require software development. If you want to do research and not specifically computer science / engineering research, you could join a research group as their software developer. If you wanted to make a career out of it, you would probably need to get a PhD, but it may be that the research group would be able to help with that. In addition, it would allow you to see whether research is what you want to do while still being gainfully employed (albeit at a lower payscale than what you would get in commercial software development).
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<issue_start>username_0: I emailed a professor asking him to be my master's supervisor. He replied saying he is willing to meet me and asked me to send him my transcript. I have sent it and he has not replied yet after a week (he replied to my initial email a day after). I don’t have great grades so does this mean that he's not interested anymore?<issue_comment>username_1: **You question whether you satisfy the requirements for a position as a PhD student**. The minimum requirement for such a position is a bachelor's degree, albeit, many positions will require a master's. You satisfy both of those requirements, so your move from software development to academia is entirely plausible.
**You seem to believe that publications are required for a PhD student position**. They are not, at least, not at many institutes. They are nonetheless useful, even "just a couple," even if "[they're] rather weak," since they demonstrate an ability to do research and an understanding of the research process.
**You are concerned that your referees are engineers, rather than scientists**. This isn't a problem, actually it is an asset, as is your software engineering background. *Impact* is a measure of success in academia and your real-world experience can guide you towards practical research problems that have more potential for impact.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You can go back as a PhD student and @username_1 has given a good answer to that. I just want to point out a different path.
Many research projects require software development. If you want to do research and not specifically computer science / engineering research, you could join a research group as their software developer. If you wanted to make a career out of it, you would probably need to get a PhD, but it may be that the research group would be able to help with that. In addition, it would allow you to see whether research is what you want to do while still being gainfully employed (albeit at a lower payscale than what you would get in commercial software development).
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<issue_start>username_0: More clearly;
Is it possible to apply with a proposal like "I want to make international publications based on my PhD Thesis during my post-doc"
or
Does someone have to formulate an entirely new research question/proposal in the application?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Is it possible to apply with a proposal like "I want to make international publications based on my PhD Thesis during my post-doc"
>
>
>
This is appropriate if you want to pursue a post-doc with your PhD advisor, or you want to pursue a post-doc with an advisor that will allow you to do whatever you want. It is inappropriate if the advisor has their own research agenda.
>
> Does someone have to formulate an entirely new research question/proposal in the application?
>
>
>
This is appropriate if the advisor doesn't have their own agenda.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Postdoctoral fellowships come in all shapes and sizes.
It is often good to play to your strengths while keeping an eye towards where you want to get to. Some postdoctoral positions are very task oriented e.g. help run a lab doing X for 2 years. Others are more open ended. If you’re going for the former then it would be good to show how you’re the right person for the job. If it’s open ended then you may want to emphasize your capability to expand to new fields, hopefully those that your host is interested in.
It’s important to also focus on more “grownup” skills like managing students and writing grants, which may be expected of you.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: You need to show how your prior research is relevant to the field of research that falls within the scope of the advertised postdoc. Publishing papers in internationally recognized journals should be a unspoken assumption and you need not state it. Typically the professor will have already have a research agenda, and you need to make sure that it's a good fit for you before applying. If your prior research interest has no intersection with the professor's I would advise you not to apply at all. Conversely, you should highlight how your research interest aligns with the job scope of the postdoc.
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