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2019/01/24	1,045	4,278	<issue_start>username_0: I have been doing projects nearly 1 year with my future supervisor. I think he knows me enough. We were talking about many topics for thesis. Among all the topics, he is in favor of one topic which is pure science ie. development of new material. There will be lots of repetition and testing. On the other hand, I am a mechanical engineer and wanted to do some mixture work of science and design task, we ofcourse have an idea about it. After my masters I would like to do phd, and I have low/mediocre GPA [Low GPA](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/122018/phd-application-with-mediocre-grades-2-sci-co-authored-pubs-lors-from-very-we). So I think that my thesis should be very good to compansate it. My supervisor admitted that the topic he is in favor of would be hard, lots of pain and hardwork and has high rate of failure, on the other if I somehow find something or improve a little bit, it would has very huge impact. He added that failing with new devopled materials would be again success, since in future they will skip what is failed. Other topics that I am in favor of are more on design and less science focused, ie. using new developed material(I will make it but there will be only one material) in newly designed systems, our aim is to make an end product with low weight and low cost, ie. increasing the fuel cell performance in the ragone plot. My question for researchers and committee, can you define a good master thesis? What do you look for?<issue_comment>username_1: Any such definition is necessarily broad and somewhat vague. Here's my attempt at offering a categorisation: * An instance of an outstanding master's thesis is one that significantly advances state-of-the-art research, such results are rare. * An instance of an excellent master's thesis is one that contributes to state-of-the-art research, such results are infrequent. * An instance of a good master's thesis is one that satisfies the institution's criterion for the highest grade, such results are common amongst PhD students. (This categorisation is highly subjective.) Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: 1. Really, I don't think "quality of thesis" will do much to improve your application. It's good that you have something. But having a great one is not going to do much more than having an average one to compensate for low grades, scores, etc. Your next project will probably be different and nobody sees you as a functioning professional in R&D until your Ph.D. (or at least deep enough into it that you are publishing strongly and are the world expert in your microsubject). 2. I would be very leery of projects with high likelihood of failure. Your incentives and the advisor's incentives are not aligned here. You need to pass a hump. But for him, sure he wants you to succeed, but if he burns a couple students to get there, big deal. (Note this is worst case, but in any case the dynamic remains even if not that coarsely blatant. And there definitely have been instances of professors doing exactly this and blatantly. You could even argue science advances more from it...but it doesn't serve the student's interests.) 3. However if you can still publish the results when "it fails" than that is fine. For example, a grant proposal might be oriented towards finding Avatar's Unobtanium. But when you fail to synthesize it, if you can still publish some papers with crystal structures and electronic measurements of non-superconducting cuprates that is fine. 4. I would also be leery of something requiring apparatus building or exploration of very different methods or materials (new to the lab group). Even as a Ph.D. these are negative factors. But at least for a Ph.D., there's some time to spend 5 years (no joke) building a laser. For a master's student, you need to be productive ASAP. Not spending 5 years building and rebuilding and fixing something and then 6 months collecting data and 6 months writing it up. You have a different time horizon. --- Given (1), I would not jump into a killer topic to save yourself. Even though you are trying to combat the low grades, you still need to consider the risk/reward of a master's project and be conservative. A "<NAME>" pass is not a good strategy, here. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/24	1,243	5,219	<issue_start>username_0: My B.Sc. thesis advisor did nothing regarding my B.Sc. thesis. I chose the topic, I have done everything on my own. He didn't even read the work or provided me with any guidance or any advice. Just passive aggression is all I gained from him. However. I want to try to publish it. But since he didn't contribute even the slightest I don't want to put his name upon it. Also, the work I submitted at the university has some minor mistakes. So if I considered publishing it, I will change some minor details. So is it ethical or it will get me into troubles?<issue_comment>username_1: I’d tread lightly. If the advisor truly did not contribute or read it then you can try to broach the topic very diplomatically. Say something like: I want to get this project published and I think I have some valuable results. I’d really LOVE you to get involved with the project so we can submit it to a good venue. If not I completely understand and would like a chance at submitting this work myself. If the advisor was truly uninvolved they won’t care enough to bother. In addition they may offer valuable contributions still in terms of polishing the writing (I don’t know you but I’ve never met anyone who was able to write a good paper alone on their first attempt). They can also help pick a venue, guide the literature review etc. if they haven’t already done do. I will also advise that contributing to a paper can come in many forms. Somehow I can’t believe that the advisor contributed literally nothing of value to the paper. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You could consider to just send it in on your own. It might be a bit of an FU move. But if you are going to go that path, probably you are better off with a fait accompli versus asking for permission or making it easier for him to dispute something. In theory everyone on a paper should have a significant contribution. But bottom line in our culture is that advisors (at least in the experimental sciences) commonly add their names to papers where they did none of the work, were just administrators. You have to decide if you want to fight city hall on that or not. I would think for a bachelor's thesis it might be even easier given that you weren't funded, etc. Also perhaps you have minimal plans to play the academic politics game. Finally, you should consider if you really have a publishable result and are capable of writing it up well enough for a journal. It does affect how much you want to get into a potential fight or if you even need the prof to help you some. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The basic rule is that you can publish your own work without limitation. You can also correct previous versions, such as drafts, or even work submitted for class or a degree. However, there are two considerations. The first, is that in some fields, questions can be raised about "contributions". In a chemistry lab, that is grant funded and has a lot of participants and a PI who wrote and manages the grant, it is considered proper to include many (all) of those participants, often as co-author. If you are in such a field, and depended on such things, then you need to consider the contributions that made your work possible, even if the contributions were indirect. The second consideration is purely political, but not ethical or legal. An advisor who likes you and your work can do you a lot of good in the future, especially if you want to aim for an academic career. In such cases either an acknowledgement (even if unearned) of an advisor, or even including him/her as a co-author, might just do yourself some good in the future. An adversarial relationship with an advisor, especially when you need them for letters and such is a career killer. Having a faculty member, advisor or not, who dislikes you, whether validly or not, won't help you and could hurt. But the advisor needs to weigh in on whether s/he wants to be a co-author. It is improper to include someone who hasn't agreed. You don't need permission for an acknowledgement, however. My approach would be to tell the advisor that you want to publish an updated version of the work. Ask for advice in doing this. You don't need to offer co-authorship, but if it is requested, my advice would be to submit. If nothing more, the name, assuming the person has a good reputation generally, will add a bit of weight to the paper, since you are a novice at this. It can be an introduction to the bigger world. If the advisor agrees that it can/should be published, you can ask if s/he wants to participate in improving it or if you should just go on your own. The answer you get should be instructive. One danger here is that some people will try to take it over. Before you start on improvements, make sure that you know how authorship will work. Do this at the beginning, and keep a record of the interchange so that misunderstandings don't occur later. This is one sort of transaction where (saved) emails can be a good thing. If you get advice not to publish it you will need to explore the reasons. It may be that the work isn't "ripe" enough for publication, even if it was fine for the degree. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/01/24	838	2,756	<issue_start>username_0: Numbered citations ------------------ In my field, we usually use only numbered citations, e.g. > > As shown in [1], the sky is blue. > > > This means that we obviously refer to a certain the paper (which can be found under [1] in the reference list). Saying something like > > As shown by [1], the sky is blue. > > > doesn't make too much sense, whereas > > As shown by Tyndall [1], the sky is blue. > > > works. Author / year citations ----------------------- Do we again cite papers when using author / year citations? Is "Tyndall, 1869" our name for a certain paper? Or are we refering to the authors? In particular, which of this is correct: 1. > > As shown in Tyndall (1869), the sky is blue. > > > 2. > > As shown by Tyndall (1869), the sky is blue. > > > 3. > > As shown by Tyndall (Tyndall, 1869), the sky is blue. > > > 4. > > As shown in (Tyndall, 1869), the sky is blue. > > > --- Sorry if this is a duplicate. [This question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/76045/conjugation-do-we-cite-authors-or-papers) and the answers don't really help.<issue_comment>username_1: In general, the final arbiter of this is the style guide the editor is using for the book, journal or collection. If you have no external editor or style sheet then the choice is yours, but the most common usage for inline citations would be not to repeat the name, while leaving the sentence readable with the parenthetical part left out, i.e. > > As shown in Tyndall (1869), the sky is blue. > > > This is specifically when the name is reused, so it would still be > > As shown in another paper (Tyndall, 1869), the sky is blue. > > > Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It's obviously context dependent and depends on what you want to emphasize. You can either call attention to the author or the paper. If there is a reason to prefer one to the other do so. For example, if you are tracing a line of work over several studies, perhaps attention on the author as the common thread and the paper as just an instance makes more sense. "Initial observations by Tyndall [1], established the sky was colored. Later, with more precise gazing at the sky, Guest [2] established it was blue." Conversely, if you are discussing a raft of papers from different authors supporting a common idea, emphasis on the papers makes more sense. "Gas colors observation has been reviewed [1-7]." I would think in many general cases, either choice is fine and it is just an issue of the turn of phrase. After all, you have the paper citation either way. It's just a question of how you like to structure your narrative. And unlikely that one way will be strongly wrong. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/24	1,137	5,071	<issue_start>username_0: I am writing my dissertation and my supervisor recommended me this LaTeX template. <https://bitbucket.org/amiede/classicthesis/wiki/Home> However, I have been using MS-Word all along and don't know LaTeX. What are some approaches I can consider given this situation?<issue_comment>username_1: Learn how to use LaTeX. LaTeX is not hard. If you have any experience programming you'll probably find LaTeX extremely elementary. You can conceivably have issues rendering certain characters or equations, but Google is likely to easily find solutions to that. TeX is also quite powerful as a word processing tool, allowing you to write obscure symbols (for example, \cdot) easily. This doesn't mean LaTeX is better than Word; certainly some things are easier done in Word than TeX. But knowing both means you have an additional weapon in your arsenal, and you'll have a better idea which weapon to deploy given what you intend to write in your dissertation. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: First, the repository you linked to has a PDF showing exactly what the template looks like. So, there is really no issue, you can follow that template in whatever typesetting system you want. This technically answers the question you asked -- you can follow your advisor's instructions and still use Word. I hate to see you waste time recreating everything in Word when it already exists in LaTeX, however. A better option would be to search for thesis templates written in Word. Depending on how flexible your advisor is, you could either tweak the templates until they look like the one your advisor wanted, or you could sit with your advisor to find one you both like, or you could just find one you like and see whether he complains. An even better option, assuming you are in STEM, would be to learn LaTeX. This is something you should know anyway if you are getting a STEM degree. You'll be able to copy-and-paste your existing text into LaTeX (with some minor modifications); you don't have to type it all out again. Assuming you know how to program, you'll learn LaTeX in about 90 minutes -- read chapters 2 and 3 of "The Not So Short Guide to LaTeX." If you don't know how to program, this will be a heavier lift, but it's still a low-effort, high-reward endeavor. One last point -- are you sure your institution doesn't have a required thesis format? Most universities I'm familiar with are very particular about how thesis should be formatted, especially the front matter -- mine even had institutional templates floating around, in both Word and LaTeX. Edit: One last, last point: Elizabeth makes an interesting distinction between a writing program (where you write your content) and a typesetting program (where you make it look nice). If you share this concern, you could always continue to do your drafting in Word, and then set aside a few days at the end to TeX-ify it (or hire someone to do so). I personally would find it more efficient to use TeX end-to-end, but to each their own. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: The issue here isn't whether LaTeX is hard to learn. The issue is that a LaTeX editor is a terrible writing environment when compared to a word processor. Some people are bothered by this and some are not, and which side you're on is entirely a matter of personal preference. What is not a matter of personal preference is the expectations of your supervisor and your field. Some fields (and some supervisors) regard producing LaTeX-typeset documents to be matter of professional necessity. Others just think it looks nice, or they like the tech-cred pretentions. So it's impossible to give a good answer to your question without knowing what your context is. EDIT: This doesn't add much to answering the OP's question, but judging by the comments there seems to be some confusion about what a word processor is for, as well as about what a downvote is for. Word processors were specifically designed for writing documents, and have features such as outline view, tracking changes, commenting sidebars, etc. Moreover, many writers use formatting features such as highlighting and font color as part of their writing process. TeX on the other hand was specifically designed for typesetting documents, and the introduction of LaTeX and its variants made it a marginally usable system for writing documents. But the standard LaTeX front ends don't have the features of a word processor and many people find having to read around markup cumbersome and distracting. For these reasons, using a word processor is an objectively better environment for writing. Of course, many other people are perfectly happy writing in a text editor and don't mind reading around markup. But this doesn't make you smarter, "more efficient," or a superior human being. It just means that you have a different work process. The point for the OP is that being expected to trade Word for LaTeX is generally a lousy deal, but there might be constraining or mitigating factors in any particular situation. Upvotes: -1
2019/01/24	571	2,305	<issue_start>username_0: I have a question about the proper way to format a title. If I have a slide with the following title, "Motivation". Then suppose on the next slide I have the same title, "Motivation". What is the proper way to number this? For the first slide would it be, "Motivation (1)"? And on the second slide "Motivation (2)"?<issue_comment>username_1: In slideware (PPT) documents, I will use a format like this for titles of things that can't be broken into separate topics and stretch over more than one slide: * Problems with moderators at ASE (1 of 3) * Problems with moderators at ASE (2 of 3) * Problems with moderators at ASE (3 of 3) I do this routinely in the work world and see others do the same. So I think it works and is normal. In general, I try to have different topics, titles. So if you can, great. But there are times where it would be too awkward to do this and it is just better to use the (1 of x) format. For example, if you have a numbered list stretching over pages and not easily separated into sublists. I prefer (1 of x) versus just (1) because audience can see where going. You should also always number your slides on a PPT. But that is different from title issue. Is for whole document and is small and usually at bottom. Will not display in projection mode but is useful when printing the document or working with it. (Of course this does not apply to transparencies or slides in a carousel. Here the whole point is the flexibility to mix/match.) Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: You could number them any way you think is clear and helpful, e.g. "Motivation (2)", "Motivation (2/456)", or use more descriptive titles, or granular subheadings: "Motivation: History of numbering schemes". Note that it's also reasonable to not bother with such subdivisions. If three slides would fall under the heading of "Introduction", then they can all be labeled that - similarly to how several paragraphs in a paper could fall under that heading. If they're paying any attention, people will notice when you change slide anyway, and it's not like "(2)" adds much to the audience. It can be worthwhile to have a running slide number in the bottom corner, if you want each slide to have a unique identifier, but it's no requirement. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/01/24	779	3,204	<issue_start>username_0: I need some help deciding how to cite a paper that is rather similar to my own. I wrote a paper in Nov 2017 and presented it at conference that year when I was 8 months pregnant. Then I went and had a baby. I didn't submit it, because I was a bit overwhelmed and I felt like noone else was doing work on this problem so the paper was "safe." (I didn't get maternity leave so I just had to keep teaching my full load with a newborn - not something I would recommend.) I presented a follow-up paper at Nov 2018 conferences and one of the other papers on my panel was VERY similar to my 2017 paper. It seems somewhat like an extension of my work, although they were not aware of my work. (Which seems a bit ridiculous because we go to overlapping conferences.) At least one of the authors on the other paper is senior/famous. Now, I am pushing hard to submit my 2017 paper to an Economics journal this month. How should I cite/discuss their paper? Right now, I am leaning toward not talking about their paper but instead putting a note about their work in my comments to the editor and letting the editor decide how it should be included. Since seeing my 2018 presentation, they added the following to their paper's conclusions: "During the course of writing this paper, we became aware of a working paper that [general topic] (see ...). [Then they explain in two sentences how their work is distinct, of course making my work sound a bit more basic than theirs.]" Do I need to do something like this in my text? It feels a bit unfair since I demonstrably had the idea first.<issue_comment>username_1: Asking your editor is a good solution to an unusual situation. You could also include a note at the end of your paper citing the more recent work and giving an explanation that is complementary to the note in the other paper. But someone who reads either of the papers would want to be apprised of the other, so the citation would be useful to researchers. I think the priority of your work is clear, from what you say, and is recognized by the other authors, so there is no reason to disguise or omit any information. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would say something similar to what they did. You do need to cite their paper since you know about it (don't need to say your work only came from theirs). It is possible that it may be hard to get what you have done, published, given that the field has moved on. But you probably can. There are so many journals out there. And there will be some differences. And the working paper was running around. But move fast. Time's wasting. Also, let it be a lesson on getting scooped. But I hope the pregnancy went well! I probably wouldn't literally trade my firstborn for a pub count. ;-) But still, you will find in your life that there are times when you can't finish something or do it exactly how you wanted to (for example funding runs out, other things call). In those cases, I recommend to try for a fast, simple publication. Perhaps in a bit lower tier journal. But don't wait. (See <NAME> On Scientific Research for some explanation of this attitude. It is not sleazy but reasonable.) Upvotes: 0
2019/01/25	644	2,671	<issue_start>username_0: So I'm about halfway through my Sophomore year of college at LSU and on my way to a major in Mathematics with about a 4.05 GPA so far. My main objective is to be a desirable candidate for a good grad program. It doesn't really have to be a super top-tier school, but I wouldn't like to do a grad program in Mathematics at a school like LSU; I would like it to be a higher tier than that. I understand that my GPA and internships/work experience in my field are the two most important things for my major. So far, I haven't done any extracurriculars at all during the semester and worked at a summer camp the summer after my Freshman year. I plan on doing a math-related internship this summer. So, how important are extracurriculars during the semester? I find myself not having as much free time as I'd like when school is in session, so I held off on them. Is it important that I do something such as a community service group (which would be my main extracurricular interest) in order to make myself more desirable as a grad candidate? Thanks<issue_comment>username_1: Asking your editor is a good solution to an unusual situation. You could also include a note at the end of your paper citing the more recent work and giving an explanation that is complementary to the note in the other paper. But someone who reads either of the papers would want to be apprised of the other, so the citation would be useful to researchers. I think the priority of your work is clear, from what you say, and is recognized by the other authors, so there is no reason to disguise or omit any information. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would say something similar to what they did. You do need to cite their paper since you know about it (don't need to say your work only came from theirs). It is possible that it may be hard to get what you have done, published, given that the field has moved on. But you probably can. There are so many journals out there. And there will be some differences. And the working paper was running around. But move fast. Time's wasting. Also, let it be a lesson on getting scooped. But I hope the pregnancy went well! I probably wouldn't literally trade my firstborn for a pub count. ;-) But still, you will find in your life that there are times when you can't finish something or do it exactly how you wanted to (for example funding runs out, other things call). In those cases, I recommend to try for a fast, simple publication. Perhaps in a bit lower tier journal. But don't wait. (See <NAME> On Scientific Research for some explanation of this attitude. It is not sleazy but reasonable.) Upvotes: 0
2019/01/25	1,160	4,922	<issue_start>username_0: I requested a recommendation letter to a professor and he agreed to write one for me. However, the application (a Google form) to which he needed to upload the letter required a Google account to sign in. He didn't have an account, so he emailed me what he should do, so I kindly told him that he needed to create one, detailing the steps he needed to take. This is when my professor emailed me back rather harshly, asking why he couldn't just submit using just his faculty email. I had to then email the program, and I was told to ask my professor to send the letter directly to the correspondent. I understand that this is not that big of an issue, but I would like to know whether it was wrongful of me to have asked my professor to create the Google account. How can I be more careful in the future so as to prevent negative responses?<issue_comment>username_1: My best guess, and just a guess, is that he was frustrated with the system that was required, rather than with you. It is probably a mistake for any admissions system to require an email address from a particular provider (unless it was for a job at Google, I suppose). I don't think you made an error, but if you want to ease the waters, go see him and apologize for the hassle of it all. It would probably be a mistake to just forget about it, but also a mistake to obsess over it. Such systems infuriate me, also. Such extra accounts are always a security/privacy issue. Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I don't think it was some awful error. Like you have wounded the man. I DO think in general that you should think about how people can help you and to make it convenient for them. And that what to you as the one who is benefiting (or as a possibly more tech savvy person) is normal may not be for them. Probably you should have asked the program ahead of asking the person how to handle people who did not want to create a login (and given the option ahead of time). The only reason I am belaboring this is it is a bit of a general learning. Applies for customers in the business world, bosses approving expenses, etc. etc. The more you can make it easy in "hassle factor", the better. Make it easy for people to give you what you want! Maybe it shouldn't be this way and only the real big issues should be considered. But that's not how things work. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It is wrong to see this as 'not too big an issue'. Your asking your professor to do some work (which he is expecting), but you are asking him to go about it in a very constrained way. Ideally, you would try to provide a 'low friction' route to get this letter of recommendation, and that would never require him to sign up for another service. It is just about OK for a provider to require `you` to register with their system of choice, since you are free to work with them or to seek another course/employer. This is a bargain between you and them, and their choice about how flexible they want to be. Where it goes wrong is for you to extend the agreement between you and your professor into complying with the 3rd party constraints. The potential triviality of acquiring a social media account in order to fulfill an obligation does not factor into the reasonableness of making the demand. Many organisations have strict social media policies, and for audit reasons should be insisting that formal communications use formal channels. The most significant flaw with the application process is you could have trivially forged your reference, so you should also be thinking now about how genuine the process you're engaged in really is. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: It is an unfortunate situation, and I think you misread it a bit. While your recommender didn't come right out and say it, when he emailed you to say that the submission site required a google account, it was a pretty clear message saying "the site requires a google account, and this is not acceptable to me". You can assume that either he has an account and doesn't care to use it for this purpose, for some reason or other, or that he doesn't have an account and doesn't care to create one. Your correct next step would have been your last step -- to contact the organization and ask for an alternative. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: ### Not this is the ordinary form of a LoR. The ordinary form is a text, which is formulated and subscribed by him. The important thing for the profs is, that the LoR is an official statement for him. It strength is given by that the prof - at least, in theory - pays with his own reputation, if the statements there wouldn't be true. This is why profs don't really like to give LoRs. If someone employs you because of his LoR, and then you don't fulfill the expectations, it will decrease also the credibility of the prof. This is why LoRs are so hard to earn. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/25	1,265	5,432	<issue_start>username_0: To erase any confusion, this question is geared entirely towards requirements and expectations of academicians. I am not asking for recommendations for universities or research topics, nor am I asking about preparation for a non-academic career. Additionally, I am speaking from a United States point of view. Briefly, here is my backstory. A few years ago I graduated with a bachelor's in computer science. During that time I took a part-time adjunct instructor position with a local community college, where I quickly discovered that I loved teaching and the academic environment. In short, I have decided that I would like to make it a full-time career. On to my question/concern... I am currently looking into research-focused masters degree programs so that one day I can pursue a doctoral degree. I have discovered that a lot of the computer science masters degree programs can require a certain level of mathematical knowledge or even taking research focused math classes. Is there anything I need to do in order to prepare for my CS masters degree journey in terms of brushing up on mathematics, or other subject areas for that matter? Is it possible to sign up for a program anyway, and just go back through some of my books and notes on an "as needed" basis? I would prefer the second option, not sure if either is possible at this point!<issue_comment>username_1: My best guess, and just a guess, is that he was frustrated with the system that was required, rather than with you. It is probably a mistake for any admissions system to require an email address from a particular provider (unless it was for a job at Google, I suppose). I don't think you made an error, but if you want to ease the waters, go see him and apologize for the hassle of it all. It would probably be a mistake to just forget about it, but also a mistake to obsess over it. Such systems infuriate me, also. Such extra accounts are always a security/privacy issue. Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I don't think it was some awful error. Like you have wounded the man. I DO think in general that you should think about how people can help you and to make it convenient for them. And that what to you as the one who is benefiting (or as a possibly more tech savvy person) is normal may not be for them. Probably you should have asked the program ahead of asking the person how to handle people who did not want to create a login (and given the option ahead of time). The only reason I am belaboring this is it is a bit of a general learning. Applies for customers in the business world, bosses approving expenses, etc. etc. The more you can make it easy in "hassle factor", the better. Make it easy for people to give you what you want! Maybe it shouldn't be this way and only the real big issues should be considered. But that's not how things work. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It is wrong to see this as 'not too big an issue'. Your asking your professor to do some work (which he is expecting), but you are asking him to go about it in a very constrained way. Ideally, you would try to provide a 'low friction' route to get this letter of recommendation, and that would never require him to sign up for another service. It is just about OK for a provider to require `you` to register with their system of choice, since you are free to work with them or to seek another course/employer. This is a bargain between you and them, and their choice about how flexible they want to be. Where it goes wrong is for you to extend the agreement between you and your professor into complying with the 3rd party constraints. The potential triviality of acquiring a social media account in order to fulfill an obligation does not factor into the reasonableness of making the demand. Many organisations have strict social media policies, and for audit reasons should be insisting that formal communications use formal channels. The most significant flaw with the application process is you could have trivially forged your reference, so you should also be thinking now about how genuine the process you're engaged in really is. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: It is an unfortunate situation, and I think you misread it a bit. While your recommender didn't come right out and say it, when he emailed you to say that the submission site required a google account, it was a pretty clear message saying "the site requires a google account, and this is not acceptable to me". You can assume that either he has an account and doesn't care to use it for this purpose, for some reason or other, or that he doesn't have an account and doesn't care to create one. Your correct next step would have been your last step -- to contact the organization and ask for an alternative. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: ### Not this is the ordinary form of a LoR. The ordinary form is a text, which is formulated and subscribed by him. The important thing for the profs is, that the LoR is an official statement for him. It strength is given by that the prof - at least, in theory - pays with his own reputation, if the statements there wouldn't be true. This is why profs don't really like to give LoRs. If someone employs you because of his LoR, and then you don't fulfill the expectations, it will decrease also the credibility of the prof. This is why LoRs are so hard to earn. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/25	1,334	6,079	<issue_start>username_0: There was a course in our university regarding web design for which we were given a group assignment to build a website using HTML, CSS and PHP (we were allowed to use additional technologies as well if we wanted). However, most of us felt that we were not given enough practical guidance, because this was the first group project we were given with technical aspects at the university level. Though the lecturers tried their best, the workload was too heavy and even they failed to teach anything beyond the examples given in the textbooks. There were sessions to discuss the issues with the teaching staff, but the time windows allotted were not enough as there were too many groups. Under these circumstances, most of the groups were frustrated and it even affected the assignments in other subjects as well. Eventually, the websites we built were evaluated in a VIVA and our website was unfinished at the deadline. (The marks given were never disclosed to the students). When we were given a written paper for the final exam, after answering the questions as well as I could I wrote a note to the examiner at the end of my answer sheet criticizing the subject content being too heavy and the lack of attention towards the groups' progress. I got a good grade for that particular course in the end, but have never received personal feedback regarding the note I wrote. Looking back at the incident, I feel like I should have tried harder for the assignment but I am still unclear whether that piece of criticism was suitable or not, though I believe someone should have raised the issue somehow. The issue is that we keep getting courses with similarly heavy workloads and poor content organization as we progress toward our degrees, but there is no proper objection from the students. My questions are: * Was my action appropriate? * How should I tackle such situations if they arise in future?<issue_comment>username_1: A note in your exam will most likely be disregarded. There are a number of channels for feedback, this will vary according to university. Feedback forms at the end of the course is the most common but you can reach out to your faculty administration and they should be able to provide you a form. You can also try to approach your professor directly: be courteous and to the point. Remember that they're probably overloaded and they're doing the best they can in the circumstances. Having said all this. I have to say that most university courses are meant to be introductory courses. That is the purpose is to give you an overview of the basic theory and the possibilities in a given subject. No course will ever be complete, even if you take advanced courses. In practical courses such as the one you mention your best bet is practical experience: by yourself, through an internship, etc. This is something you can do (by yourself) now that you have been given the overview at the course. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You are entitled to feedback. Keeping the marks secret is never a good idea - even if fairly given, it creates the impression that the university has something to hide. If there is no formal feedback mechanism for course quality, you could have a group of student delegates (don't go it alone and make sure you have the support of the student body, or you alone will absorb all possible bad will of the department) and ask for more detailed feedback on performance; of course, always be polite, to maximise success chances. Also, you could ask - already early in the future courses, where they still can fix it - to fix a situation that has arisen. That said, I am usually in favour of technically demanding courses, and having the students stretch, but the students have to be put in a position where they can take the material taught and run with it. Whether it comes from books or questions answered by a teacher is secondary. I cannot say whether the course was ill organised or simply demanding and I found that tough, but well-organised courses pay off later at some point. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I was a teaching assistant of a web technologies class for many years. We also run group exercises and then had a final written exam. The exercise helped the final grade, but they were not essential to pass the exam neither they influenced the grade too much. Often it is hard to realise the actual workload of an exercise. There are many factors to consider and still this can vary from group to group. As TAs, we realise the amount of work a student has to put in, however, if the exercise is too easy or too small, nobody will learn anything, or the project will be done by one single team member while the others rest. So it is a trade off which is not that easy to consider all the time. That being said, we always welcome feedback from students, especially if it is a specific criticism. If you come and tell the TAs "look, this part of the exercise is not very supported by anything and we needed most of our workload just to find a possible solution" or "look this specific part of the exercise is only tedious and time consuming but we did not learn anything" is better than saying "the workload was too heavy". With this last bit of information the TA can only do so much to understand. Plus, the exam is the very worst place where to put this information. I have seen students writing comments on the exam papers, and I did not like it because you are too biased in that precise moment. I do not know if you wrote it because you were frustrated or not. Plus, exams are not letters. We have emails, you can come to my office and discuss this in person, using the exam sheet is a very lazy way to deal with the problem. I usually just ignored these comments. If you care enough, why don't you write an email to the Professor and the TAs by asking for a meeting to discuss the exam. Alternatively, you could directly express your feedback on the email itself. Just try to be polite and I am sure they will understand your point of view. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/25	2,902	12,162	<issue_start>username_0: I am currently writing my bachelor's thesis, and share advisors with a fellow student, who is also working in the same office as I am. We exchange daily about our progress. I am under the impression that his work is going nowhere. He is working on a topic that has no previous work available, and according to him, direct verification on whether his research is useful is not possible. An indirect approach using yet another students' algorithm showed worse results in combination with the work of the student in question. To acquire this information, both students spent a large amount of time that could have been spent towards writing their theses. He is somewhat backed up by his (our) supervisor, but I feel this is largely because the supervisor wants this research to end up in a peer-reviewed publication, even though there are no results that suggest the research is valid or useful in any way yet. I have the impression that continuing this path will worsen the thesis outcome for my fellow student, as he is facing a deadline to turn in his thesis, but spends a lot of time trying things out and interpreting essentially bad results to show something positive. Since I sympathize with him, I would like to intervene and talk bluntly about the issues written out above. I do understand, however, that it is not my place to correct him, as we are at the same stage of our careers, and I am about as inexperienced as he is. In addition, since our supervisor has a different opinion and more experience, it could very well be that I'll be wrong in the end. What interaction, if any, is ethical and reasonable for me to engage in? I imagine this sort of thing happens more often, even with more experienced academics, as [confirmation bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias) seems to be a somewhat common issue. How are similar problems usually handled in academia? Are people like my fellow student in question left alone to their own judgment, or do co-academics talk them out of seemingly bad ideas? Do people criticize each others' research a lot?<issue_comment>username_1: > > Which kind of interaction, if any, is ethical and reasonable for me to engage in? > > > Discuss your concerns with your peer. > > How are similar problems usually handled in academia? > > > Through discussion. > > Are people like my fellow student...left alone to their own > judgement, > > > Largely, yes, but... > > or do co-academics talk them out of seemingly bad ideas? > > > ...in an ideal world colleagues (who they've discussed their work with) will try to bring them back on track. > > Do people criticize each others' research a lot? > > > Yes! Constructive criticism is central to the research process (unconstructive criticism is unfortunately common). Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You shouldn't interfere. Getting trapped into rabbit holes is part of the research process. Learning how to get of one on your own is part of the experience. It's a bit like trying learning to walk without falling; or walking only on a perfect surface. Sure, someone could hold your hand all the time; point you the obstacles on your way etc. The point of research is to gain autonomy in your thought process. Your supervisor probably knows what's going on but won't step until it's absolutely necessary. If you are asked for help, do share your views. In academia this is handled by the researcher requesting feedback from his/her supervisor, from his peers, presenting at workshops and conferences etc. For now your best help would be just to listen to him, and ask questions about his research without judgment of the results. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It seems your main concern about your colleague's research is that the results are not "useful". I'm not sure what it means to you that the results aren't "useful" - is your colleague doing something that hasn't been tried before? If so, the work may be "useful" even if only to rule out a particular approach, or to clarify problems with a particular approach. For example: suppose I have an idea to use X to address problem Y. It turns out that the state of the art, Z, is a much more efficient and closer to optimal solution to Y than X. However, by trying out X, I at least am able to 1) rule out the approach, and 2) gain some insight into why X does not work as well as Z for problem Y, what features of problem Y suggest it is not amenable to solution by X, etc. These are "useful" results (especially in the context of a bachelor's thesis). Now, suppose I have a colleague who is in this situation, but who is still trying to somehow make X into a good (or better than Z) solution for Y. I would probably (in the course of normal discussions about our research) say something to my colleague like, "I think the most interesting part of your research is what it teaches us about problem Y, why X initially seemed like a good solution, and why Z turns out to be much better than X. If I were in your position, I would focus on that aspect as my main contribution, especially with a thesis deadline coming up." Often, people are so close to their research (whether their results are promising or not) that they may not realize what parts of it could be most interesting to the broader research community. This kind of feedback (from anyone - supervisor or colleague!) can be helpful. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: I would, gently, make your point known. Make it clear your point is in sympathy for him, not in directing him or arguing with him. Perhaps it will help the fellow. Perhaps not. If he doesn't want to listen, back off and just let the guy take his lesson. But I would probably go ahead and give him the heads up. At least he can consider the issue. P.s. I think your instincts are good here. Project selection (reasonable scope, available resources, etc.) is a key to success in research. Just "doing what the advisor suggests" is not independent. You always have to decide if it is a good idea to work on a project someone suggests. Time is finite. Life is finite. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Not getting nice (positive) results during a thesis is, well, not as nice as getting positive results. It often also means more work for the student: after all, no nice results could be due to either * the previously unknown reality just really not being that way\, or the student not being up to their task. As the thesis is part of an exam, the student has (or feels pressured) to make sure the lack of nice results is not ascribed to their inability. Hence the additional work to make sure no examiner gets the wrong idea. But it is perfectly possible to demonstrate sound scientific working (which after all is the exam task) while showing how something does not work. There is IMHO nothing inherently scientifically bad in their thesis as you describe it. BTW, I'm speaking as someone who got a perfectly fine Diplom on a thesis showing how the approach suggested by my supervisor did not work out. By now I can even tell, why ;-) - and it triggered the better part of my PhD thesis and is still a pet rearch topic of mine years later. Bottomline is that in this part of your description *I do not see anything that clearly indicates\\* a need for "correction". There may be a need for encouragement and understanding that that thesis may be even more stressing than other theses are, though. --- That being said, what kind of raises a standard red flag is the approaching thesis deadline*. Most students I've seen got in trouble with this deadline and the writing up of the thesis. Maybe a buddy system in your office could help? As you already update each other regularly, maybe you could bring up the idea whether it would be good for both* of you to remind each other of actually writing your theses? (Regardless of results, e.g. theory can usually be written up rather early.) --- \* It was quite an eye-opener to me when someone from a funding agency once told me that they would fund projects only if they estimated the probability of failure to achieve the proposed [whatever] at least 80 %. At the same time, I'd have said that the inner-academic view of just such projects was that they almost always succeed... \\ Clearly as in I'm sure the problem is with your fellow student's thesis and not triggered by a misunderstanding of what a thesis should be and what the odds of doing sience are. This is partially triggered by your writing * "interpreting essentially bad results": the results may be negative or not be what is desired, but the only way they can be bad here is if they are wrong because of bad science. * "there are no results that suggest the research is valid or useful in any way yet". Usefulness is not a useful criterion to judge the value of the scientific work here. Results can of course be valid or invalid, but it's not the results that can suggest they are themselves valid (by being positive or nice) - validity has to be established independently of the outcome. The important question for validity and the exam is: does the student do sound science or not? Of course, this could also be a bad thesis, just like a thesis with nice and "useful" results that is scientifically unsound. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Your co-ed seems to be passionate about his research, and according to you it is original. His supervisor seems to be satisfied with his work, so far. Positive results are not neccessary for a bachelor's thesis, and results are not usually expected to be published. I don't see a major problem here. Certainly no reason to "intervene"! So if you are interested in his work, ask about it, have him explain it to you, maybe bring up ideas, offer to proof-read whatever he has already. But don't add any pressure. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Other answers have done a pretty good job of explaining that everything you've described is actually valid and useful research (and you've said nothing to suggest that confirmation bias is actually a factor). So I just want to point out another problem you seem to be overlooking in your idea to "step in". The problem is that if your fellow student abandons his project at this point, how is he supposed to complete a bachelor's thesis at all? At this point in the year, I guess he's used up significantly more than half of the time he has to actually do the research for this thesis. Starting a new one now would not just waste the valid work he's done so far, it would also leave him in a terrible position to complete a different thesis. That result would surely be worse than this one. So step back and consider what the real objectives are here. Ultimately, the bachelor's thesis is not expected to change the world. There are two primary objectives: (1) to give the student an opportunity to try his hand at open-ended research where the answer is not already known; and (2) to give the advisor a chance to see how the student does given the project he's working on. This project is all that is needed to achieve those objectives. Trying to change horses midstream would only confuse things, and would not be helpful to those objectives. By all means, discuss his research with your friend, try to understand it for what it is, and try to come up with ideas to make the research even more useful. But don't suggest that it's not useful. You wouldn't be "correcting" him by saying that; you would be misleading him. And certainly don't try to find ways to spin it so that it sounds good; the research will be valid and useful if and only if he is honest about everything he has found. Understanding why this algorithm isn't as good as some other one could lead to deeper understanding and more insight to tweak one of the algorithms so that it's even better — if not by him, then possibly by others who read his results. Or at the very least, his research could let others who are wondering about this approach avoid wasting their time. That's entirely valid and useful. Upvotes: 3
2019/01/25	2,693	11,547	<issue_start>username_0: I recently accepted a tenure-track position at a university and will be on a 1-1 load my first year. My first course I will teach, I will get to modify and alter based on my expertise. In my second semester, I am taking over a graduate course that was taught by a previous faculty member. This course is over a concept that I am extremely skeptical about. The prior professor, who taught the course, is a prominent supporter of the theory and has written articles and books on the subject. So my concern is that my own biases could bleed out into the class. My current plan is the following: 1. First half of the semester: teach the course close the the prior syllabus with some differences. 2. Midterm: present the evidence as to why I am a skeptic. 3. Second half of the semester: students either provide evidence in the form of a literature review supporting or objecting to my skepticism. A little background, I was brought into the department for my computational strength, productive research stream, and subject expertise. The thing is, the subject expertise has nothing to do with this course where I am a skeptic. So I feel a little bit like I would be being unnecessarily disruptive to an already established department curriculum. That said, the faculty member who pushed this subject recently left and I do not know if anyone else in the department is as passionate about it as they were. I hesitate to outright say the topic due to not wanting to be unmasked. But it can be thought of like this: The idea has a solid foundation built on strong empirical evidence and results. This foundation is largely agreed upon by the field. Where this foundation is not nearly agreed upon is a certain abstraction/extension of this foundation. I believe that this abstraction/extension is trivial and also ill-defined. Others in the field believe that this extension is an important area of study.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't see much wrong with your plan. It does of course depend on the subject matter... Trying to be skeptical about gravity (engineer's joke: gravity is a myth, the earth sucks... :) ) is one thing - but skeptical about other "theories" which are held to be "true" until something better comes along, and it normally does, is not a crime. If you explain your position and why, then the students can evaluate their position as per the second part of the semester. It will be more interesting for you developing the assessments to avoid bias... But that will be part of your learning curve. I don't think you have much to worry about - you are already considering both "sides" - if you held the position that the other side did not exist then the students would have an issue. Best of luck. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: What "skepticism" means to an academic is strongly field-dependent. I am a mathematician, and I would have thought that true skepticism is almost impossible: after all, mathematical results are proved and any standard course would be on things that have been proved, reproved and combed over by the community several times over. I could however be skeptical of the future trajectory of a mathematical subfield: i.e., maybe I think it is not worth the students' time to learn it. But this is just a way of saying that I have very little interest in that subject, so...why then would I teach it? I suppose that's one of the luxuries I have as a tenured faculty member in a reasonably large department. So I looked at your profile, and I am interested to see that your field is...statistics. So, hmm: again I wonder what you mean by "skepticism." Do you mean that the course concerns a statistical technique that is mathematically valid but whose usefulness is vastly overstated or is typically applied outside its range of validity, or a statistical practice that is actually not grounded well in theory, or...what? I would think that "belief" has little to do with statistics, but perhaps that is a naive pure mathematician's belief. On the face of it, if the course is in subject X, then spending some of the course covering X, then in the middle revealing that you don't believe in X, then spending the remaining portion of the course having the students decide which is right sounds, well, weird. It is liable to leave them wondering why they took the course at all. Indeed: why is this course being given? You said that there was one "believer" faculty member who is no longer in the department, so...who wants the course now? Inertia is not a great defense for an academic position. As a new tenure track professor in your department, in theory you should have some say in the programmatic offerings and also some responsibility. In practice, the responsibility lies much more with senior people than very junior people. I recommend that you contact faculty mentors and discuss your concerns with them in a mild way, making clear that you will do what they think is best. One idea is to propose replacing the course with a totally different course in a subject close to your own expertise and enthusiasm: other things being equal, that sounds like a much better course. If however the department is really committed to the course: well, you said you would do it, so I would suggest that you really do it, and not include skepticism of X as a main part of the course. You can rest easier at night knowing that you offered the department some alternatives. Speaking as someone who currently has an administrative role in my department: believe me, I am painfully aware that on a wide range of topics, "the buck stops with me." That is my problem; as someone who has not even started the tenure track job, it is not yet yours. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: Regardless of the subject matter, you (and every teacher) should be teaching from a skeptical point of view. One of the most important things students should learn is that no claim should be accepted without justification. Otherwise, it's not education but rather catechism. This doesn't mean you should disparage the previous professor's point of view. It just means you should feel free to present alternative positions and defend them -- or better yet, assign the students to defend one side or other of the situation. OTOH, if the course title is something like 'Effective Use of Astrology in Selecting Short Positions in the Stock Market," then by all means disparage the entire course. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Well, you are admittedly heavily guarding your subject details. So, I'll just make up something that's very controversial, but something we can all relate to. Suppose the course is called "Why God exists", and you are an atheist. Ok, obvious conflict. So suppose you determine that the syllabus of the course includes several topics which define the main course. Perhaps, then, your method of teaching must change. Tell the students outright "You're here to learn why God exists, but I don't believe he does". For some students (and I bet a few commenters here) that can raise the hackles, "How dare you", "Are you here to teach against what I believe", or they conjure up some other ulterior motivation for you. So you cater to that, just as if you are engaging in a debate contest: a subject you must argue for or against, despite your personal beliefs. To do that in a competition is admittedly different than in a classroom setting, but that's the point: you need a method to teach a subject for which you have a bias against. One way is to force the students into a debate by way of essays, demonstrable proofs, physical exertion, or maybe even an actual debate - and all topic by topic according to the subject's syllabus. If you are up front about your bias, your students should not feel that they've been cheated at the end of the course. Or maybe they've changed their minds. Either way can't be bad. But if at the end of the course, they then find out about your bias, then they wonder if they've been taught all that could have been taught. I would offer that you adopt a methodology that the mob uses: keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. Allowing the students to know of your bias can be better than them knowing you are fervently in support of them, because they may want to go the extra step of proving you wrong. I am a martial arts instructor, and this subject comes up all the time. Personal biases - instructor and student - can often collide and become an issue in class. So, make the students prove their point. They'll be forced to research and argue. So it goes something like this: "2 + 2 does not equal 4. Prove me wrong. I can prove I'm right." In order for them to prove you wrong, they'll have to first find out what your proof is: that can only be done one of two ways. First is to research historical ways you might be supporting. The second is for you to tell them. Either way, that research can be very educational. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Your plan is good. However, I might do it slightly differently. I would start by identifying what issues/problems this theory can address/solve. I would also clearly outline the set of possible theories etc. that can also address this same set of questions/issues/problems. Then: 1. I would begin my course by defining the questions/issues/problems and situate them within the broader context of the field. 2. Introduce and teach this theory as a potential solution. I would be clear about perceived strengths and weaknesses. 3. Introduce alternative solutions in the same manner. 4. Have my students take a well-reasoned stand on a particular alternative. Or take a well-reasoned stand on how/why/when to select among alternative solutions. I had to be general because you were general. But i think that this is a viable format for discussing unsettled and possibly contentious areas of resesarch. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I had a seminar where I asked a (speculative) topic to be presented. A student picked the topic, but said, he does not believe in the hypothesis of the paper. I said, fine - present it as accurately as possible, and then the counterargument. Good science is not just about canned facts, but about the process to get to these facts and if the topic is still being researched and knowledge still "in the making", exposing the uncertainty in current knowledge is beneficial to the education of the students. There is otherwise a tendency to accept lecture material as raining down from heaven rather than the compressed understanding of past knowledge by the scientific community (which can, of course, shift). You have the opportunity to make it about the scientific process rather than the particular topic. This is an honest take on scientific education. I assume mostly natural science, but I personally believe the principle should at least to some extent also apply to a well-run humanities stream. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I believe the answer is very simple and deductive. Have your students provide counter-arguments themselves to the exact prior syllabus. That establishes a zero prejudice solution while providing continuity within the course. Any other option obscures or over emphasizes available information. Collaboration can define potential. In truth your very question and your plan of action betray your wish to not inject bias. It just sounds like your using the fact that all theory is inductive in nature to provide a cover for your bias.. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/25	830	3,705	<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently writting my thesis, where are exposed unpublished results that I would like to publish (may be after my PhD defense). Can I directly re-use text from my thesis ?<issue_comment>username_1: It would be better to cite your thesis as you would another work. You can list it in the bibliography as you would any other work, but mark it (unpublished). This is similar to citing the unpublished work of other people, and marking it as (private communication) just to make it clear. Of course, if your thesis is in (will be in) some publicly visible repository, then clearly you should cite it there. On the other hand, if you don't intend to publish your thesis, then the work you derive from it are original/first works and you could, in theory, treat the thesis as a draft, in which case citation isn't really needed. But it could give the wrong impression if someone finds the thesis somewhere, such as a library repository. Note that the reason for avoiding self plagiarism is to let a future reader visit the complete context of a work. Simply reusing, rather than citing, your own words short circuits this. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A finished thesis is a publication so any studies it includes will technically be published when you have successfully submitted your thesis. Finished theses are typically placed in university libraries and digital institutional archives and indexed in scholarly research search engines like ProQuest. That said, there is broad recognition that theses are special kinds of publications and work is often included in a thesis despite having been published elsewhere or may be published after the thesis. There are two major concerns: 1. The first is about copyright. At many universities, a thesis reflecting work does as a funded research assistant will be owned by the university. This may prevent signing a copyright agreement with a journal or publisher. 2. The second issue is around what you call "auto-plagiarism" and which is often called "self-plagiarism" which is a complex and controversial term used to describe attempts to inappropriately get credit for publishing the same material multiple times. The two issues are related by distinct. Although both must be negotiated, neither will necessarily prevent you from publishing material in your thesis as an article after the thesis is done. They likely will constrain how you go about doing so. In terms of copyright, [this page by the MIT libraries about theses and copyright](https://libraries.mit.edu/scholarly/publishing/theses-copyright/) will give you a sense of how to negotiate the situation. It's complicated and may involve asking your university or a journal publisher for special permission. In terms of self-plagiarism, your best bet is to be completely forthcoming at all stages. Explain in the text of your articles that the work in the article was adapted from material in your thesis. Provide a citation! Mention this fact in your coverletter to any journal. Do research first into publishers policies in this regard before you submit. Although the large majority of publishers will publish material previously included in a thesis, there are a small number that will not. [This page by the MIT libraries](https://libraries.mit.edu/scholarly/publishing/theses-copyright/theses-and-article-publishing/) documents the arrangements with a couple dozen big publishers in science and engineering. Many publishers include this information on their websites and in their Frequent Asked Questions documents. Contact a librarian at your university or send an inquiry to a publisher if you have any questions. Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
2019/01/25	936	3,789	<issue_start>username_0: I have an abstract presented by my colleague at a local conference. I got an email from a company called David Publishing Company claiming that they are interested in publishing our paper in the Journal of Materials Science and Engineering A, B they had? Things look suspicious for me and I want to know if anyone has an idea about their legitimately as a science publisher. they claim to have a peer-reviewed process but they charge money as publication fees.<issue_comment>username_1: Their website is dubious: * It contains a lot of typos, e.g. > > About Us > > > David Publishing Company (DPC) (originally as USA-China Business Review (Journal), Inc., USA), founded in 2001, is a professional English-language academic journals and books publisher both in print and online versions, which serves the world's research and scholarly communities. STEM (Scientific/Sciences, Technical, Engineering, Medicine) is our core theme. We are currently receiving the submission of the fields: Account & Accounting, Administration, Agriculture, Aviation Science, Business, Chemistry, Civil, Computer, Earth, Education, Energy, Environment, Economics, Electrics, Electronics, Food, Future Science, Geology, Health, History, Journalism, Law, Language, Life-Sciences, Literature & Art, Management, Materials, Mechanics, Medicine, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Pharmacy and Pathology, Philosophy, Shipping & Ocean, Sociology, Sports Sciences, Traffic and Transportation, Tourism and Restaurants, etc.. After 11 years of development, the company has made phenomenal progress through unremitting efforts. Until 2012, we have scholarly publishing services with more than 150 countries. Besides, the quality of papers has been further improved, which not only enhances the reputation of the journals, but also expands the influences of the company. Thank you for reading at the end of this page. If you are interested in our company and want to learn more, please spend some time on this site or contact us. And if you would like to cooperate with us, as our author, colleague, partner or in any other way, we are glad to hear from you. > > > * Materials Science and Engineering are the names of whole fields. This attempts to serve an entire field as an umbrella journal, which is kind of like having a "Journal of Science". The topic is really broad and it's hard to see such a journal as viable. * The journal's website looks very unconvincing. It says there's a journal A and journal B is because it's been separated into two issues, which doesn't make sense. The list of editorial board members is also very strange, since it gives the country of the editor as opposed to institution, and the journal apparently doesn't have an editor-in-chief. I'd avoid the publisher, especially if they're expecting you to pay for publication (if they're inviting you to submit, I would expect cheaper or maybe even free open access). You could try emailing some of the editorial board members to confirm. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Anyone who contacts you to publish is bad news. My advice is to stick to journals from ACS, APS, and ACerS. Maybe MRS or IEEE. There are a few decent pubs in materials from Elsevier and Wiley, but even then you need to know who they are. Don't submit something to a journal you don't know. A dedicated conference proceedings is a different kettle of fish (like if this compay was retained to do conference proceedings), but even then I would try to give them some portion of or repackaging of work you publish in "real journals". I can't find anything on the web from them either. Which is bad also. (Although if you included any links in your letter that would help us.) Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/01/25	1,278	5,336	<issue_start>username_0: I am an international student in an European country. During midterms and finals, I realized that more than half of the students are overtly cheating. I do not mean just looking other student's paper, but rather very extreme cases like sending the questions to other people to solve, googling, going to the bathroom to check the formulas, etc. Most of the lecturers do not take any measures, all they do is warn them and let it continue. (Some of them even let student go to toilet twice.) I have talked with students from other sections and courses and their observations were the same. Also, I take two classes in which I am the only international student in class, and the local students do not even dare to cheat. They just do their tasks, be in class on time, etc. I am not an excellent student but really try my best. So at some time in my career, cheaters will get better exchanges or intern programmes than me because they are more cunning than me. There are people who spend their days and nights in the library and that would be even more depressing for them. I came from a third-world country where, even if you go to a low-quality university and are busted while cheating, you have no chance to continue your education: not only that, you lose the chance to work in the public sector. (Of course there can be exceptions.) It is counted as a serious crime that never leaves your future life. So what are my options? What can I do about it? Should I write a letter or something to the dean or someone else? I just want to know about the college's academic conduct code (I couldn't find it on their website). I feel like I've been taken for a fool and nearly lost my motivation to study.<issue_comment>username_1: As a student there is little you can do other than inform the instructor and maybe the administration that this is rampant. You don't need to mention names, just the fact that you observe a lot of cheating. The one thing you want to be assured of, however, is that your own position isn't being affected. If grading is competitive in any way this is a serious problem. But otherwise, if you earn the grades you actually get the rest of it is less your concern. If you were an instructor I'd have different advice as I've seen this myself. I once had a group of students who really wanted to help their friends and it got out of hand. People didn't understand that it wasn't right to help weaker students get good grades if it meant the weaker students weren't really learning anything and would suffer later. We never really had a solution other than to try to convince people that is was counterproductive. Of course, it helps if the course is run in such a way that cheating has little effect, say by minimizing exams. But that is a question for faculty and administration to deal with. Just make sure that the system treats you fairly and complain if it doesn't. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I've learned that in some cultures cheating is apparently not regarded as such. And it can be very difficult to wean these students off of, let us say, a collectivist mentality when it comes to working on homework or even taking tests. It's a very tough situation to deal with as an instructor. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Your question is "what are your options". I presume that you came to that university to study and obtain some knowledge rather than fixing the world. Yes, there are lots of universities that turn a blind eye on cheating and a great number of teachers who don't care. Is it the only unfair thing in the world you can think of? Thus, I think you should ask yourself whether the educational program at your institution is decent, and if yes, just do you best to study, i.e., to pursue your original goal. One thing that is hard but necessary to realize is that everyone is running on his/her own lane here. You aren't competing for the gold medal. You are working towards building a solid basis for your future, and university exams and assignments are just benchmarks that help you to measure your own performance. So, why should you care if someone breaks the measuring device and gets an incorrect benchmark for themselves? It's worse for them. If one gets "A" in a Java class by cheating, he/she won't know their real level of Java knowledge, that's it. High grades won't make you a good specialist (and if a certain company hires people just by looking at their university grades, you won't really want to work there). BTW, this is one of the reasons why some of my colleagues ignore cheating completely. They just shrug shoulders and say that it's not of their concern. Got an "A" by cheating and feel clever? So what? It's your life, my job is to give you knowledge and a measuring device, do whatever you want now. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: (1) Inform the teachers and department or administration abut the general problem and then (2) forget about it. Rationale: if you never do anything it will bug you (1). If you expect satisfaction or pursue it or the like, it will distract you from your own studies (2). So report it once. And then move on and just be Zen about it. There is some chance your actions help, even later in time. But don't expect it. P.s. I am proud of you for not cheating. Upvotes: 3
2019/01/26	214	807	<issue_start>username_0: I submitted two papers to a conference on [EDAS](https://edas.info). I checked EDAS and I saw a change. They added this sentence at the end of both papers page submission: > > "You have authored an accepted paper." > > > The results of the acceptance will be announced in 10 days, but I was wondering if I can take this as a sign of an accepted paper? My advisor thinks otherwise, and he says we need to wait. Thanks<issue_comment>username_1: The answer is Yes! Although, you need to be careful that it doesn't mean all of your papers are accepted (if you have submitted several papers). It means, at least one of your papers is accepted. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This is a bug in EDAS and yes if you only had one paper, it means that it is accepted. Upvotes: 2
2019/01/26	1,191	4,992	<issue_start>username_0: I am someone with an undergraduate degree in physics and am currently a over a year into a PhD in maths. However I am not feeling happy for several reasons: * I told my supervisor right from the beginning that my interests were in physics (and very specific areas of physics), yet I have spent a year without doing any physics. * I have been studying a problem that on the one hand seems extremely difficult and on the other contains no physics and doesn't interest me, though I'm worried about souring our relationship if I tell him to his face that it doesn't interest me. * Part of what makes the problem so difficult is that my supervisor has no clue how to solve the problem and suggestions he gives are never useful. In my meetings my supervisors often says things that are wrong and (combined with the lack of ideas on his end) it has somewhat shaken my faith in him. On one occasion he got angry when I disagreed with him on something, even though I was right. I get a slight sense he resents me for this. Instead of being supervised by someone who seems knowledgeable I feel I am for all intents and purposes working on my own. * I am concerned that I have picked an area that doesn't interest me as much as I thought it did. All of these things make me feel depressed and make me want to drop out and start again somewhere else, somewhere I can do research that interests me. I don't want to waste 4 years of my life simply out of a desire to "see it through." If I drop out and apply to another PhD program is the fact that you've already dropped out once damning?<issue_comment>username_1: > > [I] am currently a over a year into a PhD in maths. However...I told my supervisor right from the beginning that my interests were in physics (and very specific areas of physics), yet I have spent a year without doing any physics. > > > Seems like a rather obvious mismatch! Why are you in math if you want to do physics? > > My supervisor has no clue how to solve the problem and suggestions he gives are never useful. > > > Another bad sign. Sometimes it's worth accepting a less-interesting area in exchange for an awesome advisor. But you don't seem to like your advisor either. > > All of these things make me...want to drop out and start again somewhere else...I don't want to waste 4 years of my life simply out of a desire to "see it through." > > > Makes perfect sense. Also consider the quality of your work...once you have a PhD, people will care about your publications and letters -- slogging through a PhD you don't like is unlikely to produce nice publications or letters of recommendation. > > If I drop out and apply to another PhD program is the fact that you've already dropped out once damning? > > > Nope, changing departments is a reasonable reason to drop out. But, it would be nice if you could declare victory -- "I was a brilliant math student who got awesome grades and interesting results, but I realized I like physics better" sounds better than "I got my a\\ kicked at math and physics sounds easier." Consider what you can do over the next few months to salvage your year (publishing, securing letters of recommendation, getting good grades, etc.) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Depending on your particular situation it might indeed be preferable to start a fresh PhD in physics. However, let me also mention that some universities have interdisciplinary PhD programmes. (At my alma mater, the PhD regulations contained a special section on the particulars of such an interdisciplinary PhD — you need two supervisors from two different faculties, the examining committee should have two faculty members from each faculty, etc.) Rather than quitting your maths PhD, it might also make sense to work with a co-supervisor from the physics department, working on a topic which is on the intersection of mathematics and physics (such as mathematical or theoretical physics). I don't know if your current supervisor's research has any relationship to physics, but with all the ideas from physics floating around mathematics (from topology to differential geometry to number theory), chances are that a bridge can be built and this option seems worth considering, especially since in principle you seem to be interested in both mathematics and physics. Whether it's something you would enjoy and feel you might do well in is something only you can answer. And whether your current supervisor would support such a move can only be discussed with them. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Just start afresh if you think you want to.There is no use in doing something you never want to. When you look back in the future, you will always have the regret that you didn't do something you should have done. Secondly, if you think that your supervisor is incapable of his post, then just find a new one for your new Phd and warn any of your known ones to not take him as their supervisor. Upvotes: 2
2019/01/26	875	3,562	<issue_start>username_0: I contacted a professor in a foreign university for a possible research internship in his lab. He is willing to accept me as an intern, but has stated that since he barely knows me and it is the first time I will be working under him, he will not provide any financial support. I have read his publications, his areas of interest match with mine, and I believe that his papers were among the most exciting ones I have read so far. Being an undergraduate, I have limited funding of my own and I don't want to miss this opportunity because of lack of resources. Since he mentioned 'will not fund' instead of 'cannot fund', I feel that there is some scope to convince him. Can someone advise me regarding what I should say to do so, without being rude? I would appreciate any help.<issue_comment>username_1: It may help to look at this from the professor's point of view: * You are not a student at his university (or even a citizen of his university's country), so internal research grants are not an option (indeed, he may face some backlash for hiring a non-student if research slots are limited). * You are an undergraduate, so your ability to be useful to him is very limited, especially at first as you are ramping up. (Undergraduates generally have limited time and skills compared to grad students and post-docs). Given this, his position is quite reasonable: if you want to work "for free", fine; otherwise, this won't work out. To change his mind, you need to reverse one of these assumptions: * You can find a pot of money (e.g., a scholarship) and ask for his support in applying for it * You can prove that you are really useful for the lab, and that paying you a meager salary is more cost-effective than other options. But, for most undergraduate students, this will be an impossible sale, and the professor will quickly tire of saying "sorry, no." In short: I really don't think you'll be able to convince him. Your best bet is to look for scholarships or other funding. If that doesn't work out, you should tell him honestly that while you appreciate his offer, and would certainly accept it even with a modest stipend, you simply cannot afford to travel to and live in the foreign country with no income. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: He does not know you. He does not know how well you work. He would have to give the money to you, who comes with unknown background, rather than to a student from his course who he knows is capable. Now, why would he do this? Interns are often (not always, of course) a time sink. If he accepts you for the internship, then do avoid trying to create a funding sink, when it is clear that he does not intend this to happen. If he already said "No" on funding, do not push the matter. It will look rude, no matter which words you use. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Never work for free, unless its for a charity or a noble cause. > > "... but has stated that since he barely knows me and it is the first > time I will be working under him, he will not provide any financial > support" > > > This is clearly a red flag. Look for some other internship or better not do anything than accepting this offer. Had he stated that he did not have money to fund, then it would be a different scenario, but still I would say not work for free, but you could ask him to support you with a recommendation letter for a possible external funding source that you had identified. Anyway this is not the case, so my advice is , do not accept this offer. Upvotes: -1
2019/01/26	406	1,714	<issue_start>username_0: In my Phd, I was using tools of stochastic geometry for my research. But I realize now that the juice has mostly been drawn of this tool at this stage and the new kid around the block is now Game theory, Machine learning (ML), and AI in my field. I don't have any idea of ML at this stage, but while I am writing my thesis, I am now taking an online course for it. I just want to ask if it is OK to change my tools of research after I have done my PhD with another tool, and if I apply for a post-doc position, how will my recruiters judge me.<issue_comment>username_1: Undoubtedly, to me, the answer is yes. I am free to learn whatever I want, whenever I want, and do the research I want, as long as it is following right scientific methods. I may even think of multidisciplinary research where I can learn other disciplines and integrate them in my research. Science is all about curiosity and continuous learning and exploring. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I am not from CS field, but in general if you are using different tools to address the same / similar research problem, then this should be more than in OK. Even if you think about how you present a job-talk: you can show your results of Phd, to explain why some questions could not be answered and what you did by applying other set of tools. In general, when you switch, I would suggest to think how the themes of Phd and postdoc can be linked in some, even not perfect way. It is not forbidden to have completely two research directions in PhD and postdoc, but you might benefit if you can show that they are related somehow (e.g., you might present yourself as a stronger expert with more publications). Upvotes: 2
2019/01/26	922	3,858	<issue_start>username_0: After completing my Phd in an area in pure Maths and going back to my country, I got a job as a math lecturer at a university, where maths is not the main subject for students there. Maths is like school swimming subject that every student at my university has to learn before moving on to other subjects. I usually teach 35 hours/week. That sounds a bit crazy for many people, but it is normal here when you are living in a small country with a big population. I love doing reaseach. Spending time quitely, reading papers of other mathematicians, taking note, enjoying the findings, these were what I used to have during my Phd in support from a scholarship. The problem is that, I am now teaching students who are really unmotivated. It is understandable because maths is not their main concern. Even though Maths here is quite basic, for example calculus or linear algebra, it seems that it is a big deal for them. The students always feel like they are forced to learn unnecessary, difficult stuff. So their reaction is to almost ignore the subject. They go to class, sleep or talk, and let whatever happens to their exams for the future. It is quite stressful to teach these students. I admit that many maths stuff like, surface integrals or Green formula, are really hard to teach for this kind of students. Because they don't like to hear or know how should a theorem be true. On the other hand, if you just tell them that well! this is a theorem, let's imagine it was true and use it. Then the situation isn't better either. Of course, I am not in a position to determine what I have to teach, what not. All the given content in a subject should be taught for students during the course. These things are bothering me and take me a lot of time. The students may complain if they don't like me. So I should focus on my teaching duty. However, it is killing me since I cannot have time for my reserach. At the end of the day, I am exhausted and feel guity because I have done nothing. My question: do we have any way or tricks to teach unmotivated students to make them feel easy, feel smart, so they don't complain, but in the same time we don't spend total energy for the teaching? If I run my work properly, I still have time and mental energy for my reaseach. Any suggestions, even small, would extremely be appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: Start each session with a quiz. Have students exchange papers to grade. Have full hour tests every 1-2 weeks. Do lots of in class exercises that students work on. (Put the animals to work.) Emphasize calculations and problem solving. Not theorems. Emphasize efficiency in terms of grading exams. Follow the text closely and spend minimal time on your lecture prep. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: to be honest, students will be more engaged if they are able to understand the lessons on a steady-pace not the type of trying to teach all the topics from the syllabus that feels like you are trying to meet a certain deadline and squeezing everything unmotivated students will continue to be unmotivated if they are not able to understand it in a way that they could fully grasp, they just do not have the energy to listen and think about it it is fun to hear a teacher teach to make it understandable than rather hearing a teacher teaching for the sake of teaching students will be eager to learn more, read more and be interested with the next topics if they feel like they understand something about it trying to complete the topics to teach is just so miserable as there's really none that they are able to learn compared to a steady-pace which they could learn even just one thing :) Maths will always be present in our lives, they just need to understand that it is comprehensible and does not mean that it does not have any significance Upvotes: -1
2019/01/26	556	2,383	<issue_start>username_0: I have applied for MASc. (graduate research) programs in Canadian universities and there is a requirement to have a supervisor. My question is: Should I contact more than one professor from the same department of a University with similar interests? What would happen if more than one professor shows interest in me? How would I deny the acceptance of other professors and just choose one without giving a rude impression? Would it be better to be honest upfront and mention about "contacting more than one professor" in the emails? I want to contact more than one professor as I am not sure about the situation of the professor i.e. They might be on sabbaticals, leaves or might not be taking any more applicants, which might cause them to reject me and I won't have enough time to contact another professor (also, I personally feel that this method is rude).<issue_comment>username_1: Start each session with a quiz. Have students exchange papers to grade. Have full hour tests every 1-2 weeks. Do lots of in class exercises that students work on. (Put the animals to work.) Emphasize calculations and problem solving. Not theorems. Emphasize efficiency in terms of grading exams. Follow the text closely and spend minimal time on your lecture prep. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: to be honest, students will be more engaged if they are able to understand the lessons on a steady-pace not the type of trying to teach all the topics from the syllabus that feels like you are trying to meet a certain deadline and squeezing everything unmotivated students will continue to be unmotivated if they are not able to understand it in a way that they could fully grasp, they just do not have the energy to listen and think about it it is fun to hear a teacher teach to make it understandable than rather hearing a teacher teaching for the sake of teaching students will be eager to learn more, read more and be interested with the next topics if they feel like they understand something about it trying to complete the topics to teach is just so miserable as there's really none that they are able to learn compared to a steady-pace which they could learn even just one thing :) Maths will always be present in our lives, they just need to understand that it is comprehensible and does not mean that it does not have any significance Upvotes: -1
2019/01/26	427	1,790	<issue_start>username_0: I was wondering what's the difference between a research grant and a fellowship ? I am currently finishing my PhD and I am looking for funding for my postdoc. I came across a call for proposal of a fundation and it gives details of Regulations about "research grants" and Regulations about "fellowships". Should I ask for a "research grant" or a "fellowship"? Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: Given the explanations in the comments, the choice seems clear. If you can justify a grant that is three times the salary you need, and actually have a way to use those funds in a way acceptable to the grantor, then you want the grant. This might be true in chemistry, say, where you need to support a lab. But if your only real need is to support yourself, say as in mathematics or philosophy, then the fellowship is more likely. Some funds are needed in these fields to support publication costs, and maybe office space, but not likely enough to justify a large grant. You need to have a justification for the money you request, whichever you choose. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Not sure what country you are in, but the usual difference between fellowship and grant funding in the UK is eligibility. A fellowship is for somebody who does not yet have an academic position (that is, they are not a lecturer with an ongoing job). The fellowship supports them to do research that they choose and usually has a strong element of mentorship and other development. On the other hand, a grant is for someone who already has an academic position and will lead the research. The academic wins the grant and then hires postdocs to conduct the research. The postdocs hired do not get to choose their research topic. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/01/26	309	1,346	<issue_start>username_0: I work as an instructional staff at a local university. The program is marketed and hosted by the university and the certificates are granted by the university signed by the department dean as well. That being said, I was hired by and on the payroll of a subcontracting company, which also provides the curriculum. I am also granted access to the university resources e.g. given a .edu email and listed under the university directory as an instructor-affiliate. Does that mean I can list my experience as having worked for the university, the subcontracting company or both?<issue_comment>username_1: I suspect that legally you only work for the subcontractor since the university didn't hire you directly. This is especially true if the contractor supplies curriculum. But in the materials you can also say where you performed your duties, listing the university as the client, but not your employer. The university might object if they don't have a real relationship with you directly and you try to indicate otherwise. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Do whatever helps you the most. Probably listing the university. If you are concerned, you could put (contractor) after the gig. I would not bother listing the specific agency unless applying for jobs running such an agency. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/26	563	2,204	<issue_start>username_0: I am a Pure Physics and Pure Math graduate. I wanted to do Ph.D. in Computer Science on AI. I am currently a research assistant on AI. if my undergraduate is not related to my area interest for Ph.D., will pursuing a master degree in CS increase the chances of Ph.D. CS admission? Or should I focus on research and getting publications and go directly to Ph.D.? Are there any other disadvantages to go to master in different fields? Is it better to stay at undergraduate focusing more in research experience? Related: The first answer said that there are disadvantages getting M.Sc when applying to Ph.D. rather than staying in Bsc, but I guess it doesn't cover the case when the Undergraduate and Ph.D. area are different. [Would getting a faster MSc instead of just BSc affect admission chances for PhD?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/8085/would-getting-a-faster-msc-instead-of-just-bsc-affect-admission-chances-for-phd?noredirect=1&lq=1)<issue_comment>username_1: I assume you mean a master's in CS. This might depend somewhat on where you are, but in the US it would probably have little effect. The way to learn if your background is adequate for doctoral admissions is jut to apply to a program or two. There are aspects of your education that would be good to have when studying AI. In the US, I think that if you could get in to an MS program you could also get into a doctoral program with the same background. It might be different in EU or elsewhere, of course, especially in places that have strict rules. But everywhere, you need to make your best case that you are qualified to begin and are a good candidate for success and that you have shown success in the things you've already done. You will find a lot of competition, of course, but no single thing will be determinative. Make your case. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, pursuing a master degree in CS will increase the chances of Ph.D. CS admission. If you show good research work in MS, then same advisor can help you get Ph.D. admission or other professors in the same or other universities who are doing research on the same or similar topic may accept you. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/26	471	1,970	<issue_start>username_0: I’m currently a high school junior who wants to major in a math field or physics, and possibly astrophysics. At the moment, I’m looking at <NAME> as an option for college, but they don’t have an astrophysics major: the have a physics major that lets a student focus on a specific topic like astrophysics. That allows you to take astrophysics classes while pursuing a physics major but not actually majoring in astrophysics. I would like to attend grad school afterwards for astrophysics as well if I decide to go down that path. Would this not-completely-astrophysics major hurt me as I apply to grad school?<issue_comment>username_1: It's fine and probably even optimal. for one thing, you don't know for sure that you will want astrophysics four years later. And you are even open to math versus physics. Do the general physics degree. Gives you most flexibility. You can take a class or two in astro topics, but pick up general physics degree. You don't even know if you won't like some other area when you learn it more (optics, solid state, etc etc.) But in any case general physics program will serve you well for detailed astro study later. Make sure you get a solid grasp on mechanics your junior year, as celestial mechanics is an application of general mechanics Since you already have some interest in a subfield of physics, I recommend not to major in math. The nineteenth century math (hard calculus and diffyQ computations) is alive and well in physics departments but has been killed, buried, and pissed on, in modern math departments. Also read why <NAME> left MIT math major. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: No, no one cares. Admissions committees are well aware that different programs offer different things and use different names. The only things that matter are that you have a physics degree with good grades from a reputable school, and research experience (preferably in astrophysics). Upvotes: 0
2019/01/26	492	1,941	<issue_start>username_0: Suppose that I have an idea "not fully developed" of course but a sketch somehow. If I want to convince an advisor by it and let him take me seriously. What should I do? My field of study is Mathematics. I only got an intuition that might work or not. Should I make sure that the proposal is valid before I talk to my advisor or what should I do exactly? any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: Clear writing is clear thinking. Go ahead and write it up (see if there is a set format, but if not, do a 1-3 page memorandum). If you do the 3 pager, make sure it is clear AT THE BEGINNING what the idea is. (People have limited time to read.) I recommend to do some minimum of literature research. Does not have to be 100% on the idea itself, but could be closely parallel or smaller steps in same direction. Once you have it written up, others can evaluate it more easily. Doesn't mean it will be a great idea or not, but the act of writing it up, will make it easier to engage with and even to criticize more thoughtfully. Good luck. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: 1. Formalize the problem and identify any trivial cases. 2. Figure out where a result similar to your idea would be published and try to find it. Have a list of the places that you looked and where you didn't find your result. This will allow you to tell your professor something along the lines of "Professor, I checked ...noteworthy journals in your exact area... as well as ...famous textbooks in the area of study... And I didn't find this result." 3. Know why your idea is intuitively correct. Try to find counterexamples. 4. Outline your plan of action. 5. Be able to tell your professor why you want to work with him/her. Is it because you two work well together or because he/she is a major person in the field? 6. Bonus: State why your result would be (or could be) meaningful. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/01/26	1,967	7,128	<issue_start>username_0: From other discussion in Academia SE and other source, I got an impression that redrawing is to avoid Copyright infringement. [link1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16107/does-copying-the-books-figure-for-my-dissertation-fit-the-copyright?rq=1) [link2](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/66042/can-i-copy-an-image-from-another-paper-that-i-am-citing) [link3 not from SE](http://www.protocol-online.org/science-forums-2/posts/9717.html) [link4](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/4881/how-much-do-figures-need-to-differ-to-avoid-copyright-claims/4884#4884) [link5](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/111964/copyright-issue-regarding-creating-an-image-by-using-other-images-taken-from-a-w) I cannot comment there to ask doubt because lack of reputation. My post here is about redrawing schematic diagram/schematic circuit/3D visualization, `not` (re-)plotting data. My question: 1. Do I still need permission from the original paper/author if I redraw schematic diagram/schematic circuit/3D visualization? 2. Why rotating 3D graph is considered OK ? [link4](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/4881/how-much-do-figures-need-to-differ-to-avoid-copyright-claims/4884#4884). I am not sure about "OK" here, is OK=no need for permission? 3. The author in [link1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16107/does-copying-the-books-figure-for-my-dissertation-fit-the-copyright?rq=1) found a better drawing than his/her own that describes same idea. in the comment section, he/she was planning to use his own drawing if the author could not get permission or did not want to pay licence. From here, I got an impression that redrawing is a work around if we do not want to deal with permission/licence. But, is it legit? 4. How about citation? Do I need to cite after redrawing? assume: 1. "fair use" does not apply here. 2. asking legal permission from publisher is not free. I am writing a technical report for a research project, a project before master thesis.<issue_comment>username_1: (Not an expert on this topic, just wrestled with the same questions) I think what you ask is largely covered in the accepted answer to [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/4881/how-much-do-figures-need-to-differ-to-avoid-copyright-claims/4884#4884) question you linked. In particular, > > The new plot [schematic in your case] needs to do one of two things: > > > * present materially different content relative to the old image > * present the same material in a different context. > > > So: * If this is a schematic of a fundamental concept (e.g., Gauss's Law) and you redraw it in a way that is substantively different (e.g., not identical with trivial recoloring, etc.) then you are fine. * If the schematic is of proprietary technology (e.g., an Intel E6590 chip) and you redraw it in essentially the same way with the same context, then it is copyright infringement. * In practice, you are likely somewhere between these extremes, but the specifics matter a lot -- it is hard to define what is "reasonable" and what is not; it comes down to what a judge decides. As for citing, that really has nothing to do with copyright infringement. In the first case, you wouldn't need to cite since you are presenting fundamental information in a new way. In the second case, citing would not be enough (saying thank you as you steal someone's IP does not help). After you are clear on the copyright, you can decide if you have (legally) used enough content that citation is justified. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Question 1 Since you have asked us to assume that fair use does not apply (a big assumption!), your question hinges on "[copyrightability](https://guides.lib.umich.edu/copyrightbasics/copyrightability)." In the United States, one requirement for copyright protection is that the material have "at least a modicum of creativity." (That comes from [Feist](https://www.oyez.org/cases/1990/89-1909), a Supreme Court case about the uncopyrightability of the white pages of a phone book.) The standard line is that facts aren't copyrightable, only expression. Relatedly, the scènes à faire doctrine eliminates copyright protection for tropes and conventions, and the merger doctrine eliminates copyright for very simple expressions of facts. A selection or arrangement of uncopyrightable components is copyrightable, so long as there is creativity in that selection or arrangement. Here's an example from the [Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices](https://www.copyright.gov/comp3/docs/compendium.pdf) (2017): > > The Office may register a work comprised of rocks that are selected, coordinated, arranged, and fixed in such a way as to result in a sculptural work. Likewise, the Office may register a photograph of a rock, a drawing of a hand-tool, or a written expression of an idea. However, the Office cannot register a mere “compilation of ideas,” a mere “selection and arrangement of hand-tools,” or a mere “compilation of rocks,” because ideas, handtools, and rocks do not constitute copyrightable subject matter under Section 102(a) of the Copyright Act. > > > If you use only uncopyrightable components of the original and do not copy a creative arrangement of those components, then you do not need permission (nor do you need to rely on fair use). This is simply something copyright permits, without permission from the rightsholder in the original work. I've based my answer on U.S. law, which is my expertise, but this concept of copyrightability has equivalents in every copyright regime. The details, including the threshold of copyrightability, do vary significantly. For a slightly more international perspective, you might want to check out Copyright for Librarians, [Module 3: The Scope of Copyright Law](https://cyber.harvard.edu/copyrightforlibrarians/Module_3:_The_Scope_of_Copyright_Law#What_Does_Copyright_Law_Protect.3F). So, the answer to question 1 is, "it depends." Sometimes yes, sometimes no. (A lawyer's answer, I know. Sorry!) Question 2 As for question 2, rotating a 3D graph, I disagree with the assessment that that's "OK," but perhaps I'm misunderstanding. Certainly reproducing a 2D graph with a 90 degree transformation would implicate the reproduction right. Perhaps what is meant with the 3D graph is such a rotation as to require creation of new material (e.g., showing only the side that wasn't visible). Question 3 Certainly it is "legit" if it doesn't involve copying copyrightable material. Question 4 Whether to cite the original depends on what your version looks like, as well as the norms within your discipline. In the U.S., citation is not a matter of copyright law. In countries with stronger moral rights regimes (virtually all other countries), attribution can be a matter of copyright law, but if your new figure only uses uncopyrightable components, that still shouldn't be an issue. Expertise: I am a U.S. lawyer who works in an academic library teaching faculty, staff, and students about copyright law. Upvotes: 2
2019/01/26	424	1,846	<issue_start>username_0: My recommender received the list of schools I would be applying to months in advance. She submitted 7 out of 10 letters and then just disappeared: ignores emails and notifications from schools. Why would anyone agree to write a letter and then do that? I have months of research experience under her indirect supervision and took her class too. She does know I have more than 3 referees though...<issue_comment>username_1: You're right that there isn't any particular reason for a professor to intentionally and voluntarily refuse to send letters to certain institutions, especially not without telling you. So I would consider unintentional and involuntary explanations. * The notification emails may not be reaching her (IT failures, spam filters, etc). Try to contact her personally (email, phone, in person) and let her know that the letters are due. * Oversight is a possibility. She might have forgotten about the letters and then gone on vacation where she doesn't see the emails. * She may be unable to work because of some sort of emergency (personal, family, medical, etc). Recommenders are people too, and sometimes things happen in their lives that take priority over your letter. If you cannot contact her yourself, contact her institution or department and explain the situation. It is possible that they will have access to a letter she's already written and can send it out, or that someone else there can write a letter. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Is there any pattern to the ones she didn't submit? For example, are they the most competitive schools? If so, she could be cowardly refusing to recommend you for those programs. Otherwise, I would agree with the other answers and comments; it is probably an oversight or some other factor that has nothing to do with you. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/27	944	4,113	<issue_start>username_0: I just wanted to know if transferring schools during your PhD is frowned upon? I have spent a semester at school X which specializes in a very specific field in my major. After many classes, seminars, and interactions with profs, I've realized that I just don't see myself doing research in this area. Instead I have found school Y which is much more inline with my interests that have been fostered over the last few months. Realistically, would it leave a sour taste in the mouth of the people here if I transferred? And upon notifying my administration of my intentions to transfer (I have received an offer already), would I probably be booted from the program immediately, or would they let me finish the last few months of the semester? I plan on telling the administration before they recruit for next year's PhD classes so that they have an accurate idea of how many students they can take on-board, given funding and budget constraints.<issue_comment>username_1: It won't matter in the long run. There is attrition all the time for various reasons (not liking it, spouse needs to move, etc.) If you are at all worried about them continuing you through the semester (seems like you are), I would just notify them after the semester is done. Really even the number issue with Ph.D.s isn't the end of the world, since new class is a new generation in a sense and like I said there is always some random attrition. Also, if you wait, then you don't have to deal with any unpleasantness during the semester. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: While it's nice that you're thinking about the administrative hassle of you transferring programs, that should really be a second-order concern for you. Students drop out all the time for various reasons, and there will be someone else who'll take up your slot. If you're not in any hurry to move to a new place, then by all means - stay on and wrap up your affairs. It would be nice to check if any course credits you got in your old place would be transferrable to your new degree, that means a few less classes to take and more time to focus on research. I would think about what needs to be done for you to settle in your new place. Moving is a lot of work and you need to settle some admin before you move, so it's probably best to take a few weeks before the semester starts to familiarize yourself with the new place. You should also put some effort into contacting potential advisors and start thinking about what kind of research questions are interesting in field Y. If this is not a big factor for you then staying for the semester should not be an issue. Good luck! Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: There are many reasons to transfer and only a few of them have any ethical complications. If you have committed to complete experiments in some elaborate scientific field and others depend on you doing that, then you need to deal with those promises. But for the most part, you are free to go and your willingness to inform people early enough that the old institution can make a smooth transition is courteous if not ethically required. But there is little in life worse than sticking with something that isn't right for you. You only get one run around the track, of course, so make it a good one. People change as they learn. If they didn't, there would be little point in it. Other people understand that change occurs, so I expect that there will be very little "frowning", unless you are missed. People can be expected to wish you well and, generally, be happy for your growth. You are also early enough in your studies that there should be little impact (absent situations as described in the first paragraph here). But yes, give people early warning so that your place can be filled. I think that any move to "expel" you early would be unethical and, I hope, illegal. There are a few exceptions, of course, if your studies put you in contact with especially sensitive or dangerous information. Those situations are rare, but in such situations, early warning may be especially needed. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/27	513	2,276	<issue_start>username_0: Is it better to indicate 3 interests rather than one? Does it affect who looks at my file or affect my chances of acceptance in any way? For example, suppose I'm mainly interested in combinatorics but also am interested in algebraic topology. If I just put down combinatorics as my primary interest and nobody in the department does combinatorics, will that make the file worse than if I had put down 2 interests?<issue_comment>username_1: If the job has a heavy teaching component then a variety of interests is probably valued. For a primarily research job, however, having interests that are aligned in some way with current faculty will be helpful as it adds synergy. In such a case, specialization would likely be valued over generalization. Do your homework and find out what are the needs of the department you would be joining. I assume that for a post-doc, research is the more important thing, but it should also be compatible with current faculty interests. However, if you are in a particularly hot/new area, then being unique in a department might be an advantage, especially if other members of the faculty were interested in moving in your direction. That would be more likely in a regular position, of course. For the MathJobs database, you have a delicate balance, depending on the job you seek. If you want a research position, don't give the impression that you are a dabbler in many fields, but that you are focused on your primary area. You can also, perhaps, say that you have secondary interests, especially if the support your main focus in some way. But, be honest in all things. It is a mistake to "oversell" yourself. Be sure that you are competent in any field you claim as your own. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: When I, as a faculty member, go to MathJobs to evaluate postdoc applications, the first thing I do is to click a link that sorts the applications by research area. That way, I can efficiently go through the applications in my field without having to scroll through the whole database. As far as I can tell, the sorting is done on the basis of the applicant's primary interest. So the answer to your title is yes, your choice of primary interest definitely matters. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2019/01/27	1,211	4,925	<issue_start>username_0: it is my first time applying to a (pure math) PhD program and I just received my first admission letter (yay!). It says I'm considered for TA and "Teaching duties consist to up to 5 contact hours a week". Before applying anywhere I was under the impression that TA required ~20h a week. My question: Are they not showing some "hidden time" ? or do I have a special offer (=they "want" me)? Or is it normal for this university (GeorgiaTech)? If it can make a difference, I'm 32yo/married so I'm thinking they might also want to be nice with me to accommodate for this "special" situation.<issue_comment>username_1: Actually, five "contact hours" per week doesn't sound like a light load. The assumption is that you will also provide service to those students in other ways as well. A professor teaching two courses in a semester (six-eight contact hours) has a full teaching load and spends more time with "teaching" than standing in front of students. So, I think it is about "normal" for such things, but don't expect that you only need to spend five "total" hours to fulfill your duties. If you are an experienced teacher, the implication might be that they want to give you full responsibility for an elementary course - an instructor, with all that implies. Preparation, teaching, grading, office hours. But, yes, they want you. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: "Contact hours" is standard jargon in academia for formal class time: hours when the instructor/TA and all the students are scheduled to be together. So this basically means you will teach 5 hours of classes or discussion/recitation sections per week. This does not count the time you will need to spend preparing your material for those classes, grading homework or exams, holding office hours, working in tutoring labs, responding to student questions via email or online forum, meeting with the instructor or course coordinator, and so on. (Although you are in "contact" with students during office hours or in a tutoring lab, the term "contact hours" doesn't include informal face-to-face time like this.) Once all this is added up, I'd guess it will be around the 20 hours per week that you expected. This does not seem to be a special offer. I would guess it's the normal offer that all the accepted grad students receive. (In any case, decisions to make someone a "better" offer, e.g. less work for the same money, would normally not take into account their age or marital status - most universities would consider that inappropriate or even illegal. Such decisions would instead be based on academic merit and potential.) As you consider this offer, you'll want to find out what's actually expected of TAs in this program, and how much time and energy TAs typically have to devote to their duties. Most math departments invite accepted grad students to the campus for a 1-2 day visit to help you explore what they have to offer. This would be a good time to ask about TA duties - ask the graduate coordinator about the official duties, and ask the current grad students what they actually experience. Sometimes there is a difference between the two. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I'm a graduate student at Georgia Tech in mathematics. This is the standard offer that we all receive. For most students, those 5 hours include: * 2 recitations twice a week (2 hours a week each) * 1 hour working in the math help centre (which doubles as an office hour) Not included in those 5 hours are all the time you will be spending preparing for your recitation and grading quizzes and exams. Some other things to note: * In your first semester, the school of math only has you teach a single recitation and the extra time goes to two training courses (one for teaching and the other for grad school in general). Those are about 3 hours a week combined (+ a small bit of homework sometimes). * Your first semester you will be teaching at 8 am (this is more of an issue for younger students than yourself, I imagine) * There's been a push to have grad students teach two sections for the same class (with the same instructor) which reduces the amount of time you need to prepare each week. * Because that makes scheduling more complicated, you may end up teaching late at night (5 to 7 pm). Or you could opt not to teach late at night but then you might have to be a TA for two different courses. In my own experience, I haven't found the teaching load to be too burdensome. In part due to the efforts recently to have students teach two of the same class and merging the 1 hour in the math help centre with our office hours (which happened before I arrived). If you have any questions, feel free to email me (you can find my email at <http://math.gatech.edu/people>). You can also email the current graduate coordinator, <NAME> or the TA coordinator, <NAME>. Upvotes: 5
2019/01/27	1,529	6,388	<issue_start>username_0: There are already answered questions on academia.SE about the re-use of already published figures. [Here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/49182/how-to-legally-re-use-images-in-paper-and-still-continue-to-use-and-distribute-t), a IMHO quite simple solution was proposed but triggered the question "Why is not everyone doing it?", indicating that there could be drawbacks. In this question, I would like to base on the mentioned solution and ask detailed questions about its feasibility. Problem ======= Several journals obligate the authors to sign a copyright transfer agreement. If the authors publish a figure in the scope of this agreement, they are in general (this may depend on the journal's policy) not allowed to re-use the figure elsewhere without permission of the publisher. Therefore, if the authors would like to re-use a figure in another journal article, book, etc., these are the ways to go: * don't care about copyright and publish anyway (could cause serious trouble) * modify the artwork and publish a modified version (a gray area and probably tedious) * check what the publisher's policies are (perfectly legal, but tedious and varies from publisher to publisher) * ask for permission (perfectly legal, but definitely tedious) Why is the second option a gray area? If I am not mistaken, one still needs the permission of the copyright holder (in this case the publisher) if the artwork is derived from the original. Of course, if the authors want to plot data (copyright does not apply for data), they can chose to use different colors, fonts, line widths, etc. in their figure. But I guess there is no clear statement when an artwork is so different that it is not derived. Additionally, one has to alter the figure every time, which in some cases simply does not make sense. See also the points made [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/49964/103542) and [here (and the references therein)](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/123847/redrawing-a-schematic-diagram-image-schematic-circuits-to-avoid-copyright-infrin). Solution? ========= The [answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/49182/how-to-legally-re-use-images-in-paper-and-still-continue-to-use-and-distribute-t/85879#85879) could be quite simple. Publish the figures under a Creative Commons license and use them in your publications along appropriate attributions. So why is not everybody doing it? Are there legal issues? Or is the work flow too complicated? From my point of view it is perfectly legal and requires the least effort (well, apart from the complete disregard of copyright). But let us get down to detail. Q0: What is meant by figure when I have software code that generates it? ======================================================================== Personally, I often use LaTeX and TikZ to draw figures. In this case, is the figure (i.e., the output of the LaTeX/TikZ code after compiling) subject to copyright or the code itself? Or alternatively, is it sufficient to share the code on a public repository and use the resulting figure in the publications? Q1: What license is suitable? ============================= A short web search showed that the Creative Commons CC-BY license should be a reasonable choice, as it requires proper attribution but allows re-use under a different license (which I assume will be the case for most journals). Any comments? What about the code that generates the figures? I used GPLv2 in most of my projects without giving much thought to it. But technically, I would like to allow the use of the compiled version in commercial journals, so maybe GPLv2 is too restrictive in this case. Q2: What is the correct attribution in a publication? ===================================================== As already asked [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/64862/caption-for-a-figure-reproduced-from-a-cc-licensed-document), what is the correct attribution in the figure caption, assuming that the figures are published on a repository that issues a DOI? Q3: Is there an existing implementation of such a work flow? ============================================================ Are there any tools that automate version control of the code that generates the figures, deployment of the results to archives such as figshare or zenodo, keeping track of the deployed versions etc.?<issue_comment>username_1: The software used to create a work does not change anything with respect to the its copyright status. I can create a work in Photoshop and distribute it (the work) under CC-0 if I want. The fact that someone needs to have a non-free software to open it isn't important. Where things could get tricky for something like a PS file is if each layer has elements that could be considered fair use within the overall final image may be being distributed in full and hence no longer subject to fair use exceptions. That won't be concern for most LᴬTEX / TikZ stuff You seem to be talking only about the final version of figures, so CC-BY should be fine. If you want to release the LᴬTEX / TikZ code, it seems that Creative Commons is indeed the preferred license type in the community (see TeXample.net which requires user to submit their TikZ stuff as CC-licensed works). If the code is GPLv2, though, the visual result isn't covered by GPLv2. The correct attribution will depend on your style guide. I don't think you would go wrong to follow whatever standard it uses for works of art unless there is a more specific format in your style guide. I'm not aware of any workflows to do this, but they shouldn't be too hard to write if you're using that many figures that it's worth your time. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: > > Publish the figures under a Creative Commons license and use them in your publications along appropriate attributions. > > > Such figures cannot be considered as a research contribution, since they are published elsewhere (under a CC license). > > So why is not everybody doing it? Are there legal issues? Or is the work flow too complicated? > > > This solution may be problematic with any publisher that requires authors to transfer copyright of the entire manuscript. This shouldn't be too difficult to overcome, because inclusion of material owned by others is quite common. Upvotes: 2
2019/01/27	896	3,817	<issue_start>username_0: There are many websites offering pre-submission review services for a fee of several hunderd dollars, e.g., [editage](https://www.editage.com/publication-support/rapid-technical-review.html), [editeon](http://www.editeon.com/presubmission-peer-review), [enago](https://www.enago.com/publication-support-services/peer-review-process.htm) and others. In general this seems like a useful service - instead of waiting several months to get feedback from the journal referees (and probably a rejection), the author receives feedback after a week, and can then improve the paper and submit to the journal. However, just like there are predatory journals, it is reasonable to fear that there are "predatory review services", that take your money and produce a worthless review. So, my question is: what is a way to detect a good pre-submission peer-review service, and distinguish it from a predatory one?<issue_comment>username_1: I think you mean proof-reading. This is totally different thing from peer-reviewing. The peer-reviewing process refers to academics and experts in your fields giving you scientific feedback. This is usually offered through conferences, symposiums, and journals. Anything else is suspicious and you should not go for. While proof-reading is editorial feedback (grammar, spelling, etc.). It is up to your institutions rule whether to allow third-party proof-reading or not. You should look into your institution's rules. There are some who define what a proof-reader can/can not do, while some institutions prohibit this specially for students. UPDATE: After some comments, it is clear to me now that you mean peer-reviews. As I said, this is suspicious. Respectful academics who can give useful review provide this service through known channels: conferences, journals, symposiums, etc. Also, these channels ask these reviewers to confirm they will not disclose your work and they treat it confidentially. Other channels can disclose your work especially if you do not know the committee and if they do not have reputation to care about. My advise: about my self, I will stay away from such shady channels. I only submit to legitimate known channels with clearly defined committee and rules. If something went wrong, there is a chair I can talk to. Otherwise you may find yourself in troubles. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The pre-submission peer review seems to cost about $250 USD for a one week turn around. That is not enough money to find an expert in the field to do the review. It is enough money to get someone familiar with the publishing process in a general field (e.g., biomedical research, engineering, humanities) who knows the core components of a paper (i.e., do you need to include statistics, do the methods seem reasonable, is there an introduction that at least pretends to make sense) and can follow a logical argument. Lots of papers get rejected for these reasons so such a review can be valuable. This is especially true if you do not have any colleagues you can pass the paper by. That said, you would be much better served developing a network of colleagues who you can pass a manuscript by prior to submission then to use one of these services. Prior to using the service, I would ask to see a previous sample of their work. Unlike a predatory journal, which makes publishing somewhere else difficult, using one of these services only costs you money. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: You may want to go to a forum that researchers in your field frequently visit, and advertise that you want to hire a reviewer. This would cut down the cost for middle services, yet increase the likelihood that the reviewers are from your field. If there are many applications you can choose the best offers. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/27	655	2,836	<issue_start>username_0: I submitted a paper to an IEEE journal. The editor provided the following review: > > Based on the enclosed set of reviews this manuscript is not acceptable for publication in its current form, but may be acceptable after being thoroughly reworked. If you choose to resubmit, please send the reworked manuscript no later than 07-Mar-2019, but preferably as soon as possible. The sooner we receive the resubmission, the better the likelihood that we can utilize the same editor and reviewers. If an extension is needed for any reason, please contact ... with an expected date for the resubmission. > Your resubmitted manuscript will require an additional full round of review, but as stated above, we will make every effort to utilize the previous reviewers if possible. Please be sure to mention the original paper number and include a point-by-point response to the reviewer comments in your cover letter and/or File Upload section. > > > Does that mean "Reject" or "Major Revision"? What is the difference between this decision and reject? If I decide to submit the paper to another journal, should I withdraw the paper from the first journal?<issue_comment>username_1: It means that you are permitted to resubmit rather than forbidden to do so. The only difference is that when you resubmit it will be treated as a new submission and start over at the beginning of the process, likely with new reviewers. But they are also warning you that only a major reworking will be acceptable. Hopefully the reviewers will point you in the direction that might lead to success. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Revise and resubmit means exactly what it says: if you revise the manuscript and resubmit it, we will look at it again (hopefully with the same editor and reviewers, but not necessarily). Typically this means the required revisions are substantial enough that it will go to reviewers again. Reject means we do not want to see the manuscript again. More recently reject and resubmit has become a thing. It is like a revise and resubmit, but the journal is going to count the manuscript as a new submission so their rejection rates go up and the time to final decision goes down. Sometimes they try and use the same editor and reviewers and ask for a rebuttal letter, just like a revise and resubmit. Other times it is on you and they treat it like a new submission. This is clearly a revise and resubmit. If you wish to not revise and resubmit you can just submit it to another journal without telling them anything, but it would be polite to tell them that you are not going to resubmit the manuscript. That way they can close out the paperwork on their end. As for concerns about double submission, once a decision, apart from acceptance, is made, you can do whatever you want. Upvotes: 4
2019/01/27	595	2,415	<issue_start>username_0: This might be a bit of an unusual situation. I was accepted to a workshop as a solo authored abstract, but a situation arose in which I was unable to attend. However, the organizer allowed for my colleague and myself to combine our presentations since we work on similar research. What would be the best way to list this on my CV? Just list the final presentation, e.g., > > Colleague and Myself. "Joint presentation on cool research subject." > NSF Workshop, 2019. > > > or should I list the original abstract which appeared the proceedings, e.g., > > Myself. "Cool research project." presented by Colleague as part of > Colleague and Myself. "Joint presentation on cool research subject." > NSF Workshop, 2019. > > ><issue_comment>username_1: It means that you are permitted to resubmit rather than forbidden to do so. The only difference is that when you resubmit it will be treated as a new submission and start over at the beginning of the process, likely with new reviewers. But they are also warning you that only a major reworking will be acceptable. Hopefully the reviewers will point you in the direction that might lead to success. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Revise and resubmit means exactly what it says: if you revise the manuscript and resubmit it, we will look at it again (hopefully with the same editor and reviewers, but not necessarily). Typically this means the required revisions are substantial enough that it will go to reviewers again. Reject means we do not want to see the manuscript again. More recently reject and resubmit has become a thing. It is like a revise and resubmit, but the journal is going to count the manuscript as a new submission so their rejection rates go up and the time to final decision goes down. Sometimes they try and use the same editor and reviewers and ask for a rebuttal letter, just like a revise and resubmit. Other times it is on you and they treat it like a new submission. This is clearly a revise and resubmit. If you wish to not revise and resubmit you can just submit it to another journal without telling them anything, but it would be polite to tell them that you are not going to resubmit the manuscript. That way they can close out the paperwork on their end. As for concerns about double submission, once a decision, apart from acceptance, is made, you can do whatever you want. Upvotes: 4
2019/01/27	1,049	4,545	<issue_start>username_0: My B. Sc. thesis is shortlisted for a young scientist award, which allows me to take part in the respective society's yearly conference for free, submit a full conference paper as well as present a poster. The paper has already been submitted after positive abstract review, I'm currently creating the poster. While selecting publications for the poster, I noticed that I did not cite my own thesis in the paper. I suppose that this happened rather unconcious, probably because I viewd the paper as another version of my thesis - I used the same data and methods, and only created new illustrations and of course rewrote the text. I am wondering: would this be considered self-plagiarism? And could this potentially be harmful or may it be considered to be of low importance. Is there anything I can do about this? My field is earth observation btw, if that is of help.<issue_comment>username_1: It's fine (that you didn't). In general, I would do so, because why not. But at the same time, a bachelor's thesis almost like a draft or a school essay, not a real publication. Even for use of your Ph.D. (which is formally published in that the microfilm is held by Michigan State), I don't think most people would think you were self plagiarizing by forgetting to cite it if you repurpose a chapter as a paper. I would still cite it but more for the reason of (a) someone will get additional info on the broader area of study, to included even non-journal published results, within the thesis and (b) from the principle of self-citing to drive your cite count. But I don't think people will consider it self plagiarism. What people really don't like is publishing the same article twice in different journals. If you self cite, it takes some edge off of that (although you shouldn't do a blatant reprint of more than 50% content even if you self cite to cover yourself). But there can be a fair amount of cut and paste of parts of your work. For instance with self reviews or extension of work or experimental methods. (And yes, you can say "see the methods of paper A" but sometimes that is inconvenient.) Also, I see people tending to do a bit of cut and paste to create conference proceedings papers especially in fields where these are not considered as important as journal publications--you have to give the conference something, but you don't want to waste chance to get it into important journals. So the citation covers that to show you are acknowledging part was published before. Usually I would do some mix/match of previous work and basically create a "publication" that is more like a written version of my slide talk. [I admit this is a little field dependent. Some people have a lot more respect for conference proceedings and consider them real papers but in my field/group, they were not considered that and people would often go to the meeting and even blow off submitting a paper. But this is definitely field dependent.] Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, you should always cite your own work and failing to do so can be called a violation of norms. This (self plagiarism) is, I think, a relatively recent concern, but it is something that everyone should give thought to in their writing. If at all possible, provide a new version of the publication, in which you make the correction before it is published and do something appropriate in the poster as well. Not everyone will complain and some will consider it a minor violation by a novice, but some might judge you harshly. Be aware of that and defend yourself against it. When in doubt, cite it. The purpose of avoiding plagiarism is a bit different than that of avoiding self plagiarism. Ordinary plagiarism is a violation because it represents someone else's work as your own. Self plagiarism doesn't do that, of course, so the purpose of avoiding it is different. When you present something that is derived from earlier, visible, work, and you cut and paste, you are likely to cut, past, and edit a bit. This can subtly change the meaning of things in a way that may not be obvious to a reader. Moreover, the original work appeared in a context including various references and other words that you did not cut and paste. This context is invisible to the reader of the new work. Therefore, when you use and update your old work you cite it in the new work. This permits a reader of the new work to find and analyze the context, just as they would if you were citing someone else's work. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/01/27	2,337	9,705	<issue_start>username_0: I did my thesis using corporate data (I used to work there, they don't give their information freely or sell it), data is from 2009 to 2018. I collect the data, analyze it, everything normal. However, after my thesis was approved and submitted, I saw that the company has modified some of their data from 2009 to 2018, historical data from the past was changed (they have valid reasons) but I am worried that if someone tries to verify the source of my information, they will find different data and think that I commit fraud or data manipulation. My supervisor and many people told me that nothing wrong will happen because my research was in a specified period of time when data was presented like that, they also told me that after a thesis approval, no one verifies data source. They also told me that the verification of data source is done before thesis approval. However I am still worried, because it is not common for a company to modify data from the past. My thesis wont be published because the used data is privated, so they are allowing me to not publish it. Any ideas of what should I do?<issue_comment>username_1: Revoking a degree is rarely done and, then, only for the most extreme reasons such as explicit dishonesty and such. Any results in any thesis are subject to revision as new information becomes available that was not present in the past. It doesn't mean that the work was wrongly done, but only that what is known has advanced. Since you re-did the experiment and came to the same conclusion, you may be able to publish something based on the new results and, when citing your unpublished theses, mention that the conclusions there were verified with new data. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: Rest assured that few people read theses (PhD or otherwise), and as username_1 says, degrees never get revoked for outdated data sources so your degree is safe. However, if you are concerned about people reading your thesis and not being able to reproduce your results - publish an updated version (say, on ArXiv if you're in a rush, or in a journal/conference if you want the paper to be peer-reviewed), explicitly referencing the thesis and emphasizing the fact that your results are on updated data. This is actually good practice that would help future researchers who may care about your work, and save them the trouble of trying to recover your result. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In addition to @username_1's answer: * Revoking a degree is such a serious matter that the revoking committee would have to prove positively that you did falsify data. I.e., in your case, they'd need to show that the data were not as you said it was at the time of your thesis writing. Which, obviously, they can not. * Nevertheless, it is a good idea (take home message for future) to keep a copy of your raw data if at all feasible\. If you are not the owner of the data, you can + ask the owner for permission to keep a copy for the explicit purpose of being able to show original data for your thesis/paper should anything be questioned. + if they don't agree, ask them to keep a copy available in case such a request comes in.IMHO, such points should ideally be part of the thesis contract between you, company and university. But from the science point of view, while of course public open data is nicer, granting access to the data only after an NDA is signed does satisfy requirements to be able to answer questions about your work and possible further questions about the original data. Also, I think @Greg's comment about a note about the correction occuring afterwards is a good idea where practicable: you won't change already deposited copies at the library - but if you have your thesis online, I'd note it there. If you write a publication now, I'd probably use the corrected data and say that thesis [citation] was done on an earlier version of the data set discussed in the paper. --- \* Not even all scientific institutes allow that when you leave them. I have a former employer (research institute) that insists that leaving employees do not take any data with them without written permission (which is not given feely). They do promise to take care of archiving the original data and paper lab books, though. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: > > I did my thesis using corporate data > > > Remember, though, that your research was not the data, but its analysis and conclusions you drew. And since you "did the experiments again and the results match up" - then the thesis is perfectly valid not just at its time of publication, but now as well. > > but I am worried that if someone tries to verify the source of my information, they will find different data and think that I commit fraud or data manipulation. > > > This should not be an issue if your citations were accurate. You should have included the physical document, or the on-line resource, you obtained the data from, and indicated a date of publication (at least a month of publication anyway). If the company now presents different data - it published this data at a later date. edit: If the company does not indicate when publication happened, or if the data is not available from a single source, then you should have included a paragraph (or a small section) in your the thesis explaining how you obtained/collected your data - and when. Specifically, dates of downloading data from internet URLs. Like others suggest, an addendum/errata to your thesis and/or any paper you've published based on the data, mentioning the change, is a good idea. If the changes had affected your conclusions, then it would have been very important (IMHO). > > My supervisor and many people told me ... However I am still worried, > > > You'll have far worse things to worry about in life - so don't worry about this minor issue :-) > > because it is not common for a company to modify data from the past. > > > How do you know that? I'm not sure that's true. Also, it's very common for companies to not archive past data, and in that case as well, a researcher's work may not be thoroughly-verified. > > My thesis wont be published because the used data is privated, so they are allowing me to not publish it. > > > Definitely publish it! Academic work should, and I might venture to say must, be shared and made public. The least you could do is censor out the private data and keep all the other parts of your work. > > Any ideas of what should I do? > > > Take a deep breath and relax! Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I think you're worrying too much. Add a footnote under the data and/or somewhere else saying "Data as supplied at time of writing" (or as of XX/YY/ZZ) and leave it at that. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: If it'll help, imagine that you'd graduated 20 years ago doing a thesis on, say, IBM's sales data. IBM sees there was a problem with their historical data in archives, and publishes a corrected set of sales data. Do you think the university would revoke your degree from 20 years ago? No. Of course not. Because when you wrote your thesis, you were using the information you had at the time, that by all appearances was correct. And the degree was awarded because your thesis came to a justifiable conclusion with the dataset you worked with. The data may have changed 20 years later, but that has no bearing on the work/skill/etc that was put into the thesis. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: Carlos, I am going to ask you a simple question, because it is very confusing that you continue asking for something, for 'advice now'. At the same time, I've thought that an amount of misunderstanding here has been because of different native languages. You are writing in English, but I think you are from Peru. So, is the problem you ask about actually that your thesis 'won't be published', as you've said several times? In other words, are you looking for a way it can be published? A native speaker would understand [won't] to mean absolutely not. If you said [can't], then the understanding would be that if a barrier were removed, it could be published. If you wanted advice to remove a barrier, then you would say 'can't be published because of [the barrier], so please suggest how I could remove [the barrier]'. If what I describe is not your question, then another possibility is that you are worried that someone will attack your thesis, if they don't like something you might say or do because of what you learned in writing it, the analysis. Thus you worry the attack could have some consequence on your accomplishment, your degree. This is where the note I suggested could give you position of better confidence, where your professors write as you indicate they say, that your thesis is valid, on data you used that was valid at its time, and sign it. I called the note a 'certificate', only because it verifies truth, not because it is any special printed kind of paper from any government. It's just truth anyone would understand. I hope that answers your question about what I meant in my answer above. As far as what would adequately protect you if there is a challenge, you must surely use your judgement there. In any culture, there are things which can be risky in some way to do. Then we decide, and certainly may decide not to do them, if the risk is too high. In that case, we move on in our life, and take up another task which is more appropriate to do, no? I wish you well, Carlos, and hope you come soon to a path that will relax you about this -- whether we answering here understand or not isn't the first importance. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/27	2,426	9,983	<issue_start>username_0: I am accepted to a math PhD program and have a visit in a few weeks. I only have a few days to tell the university which professors I would like to meet. Problem: I also still don't know what I would like to work on (which I stated explicitly in my SOP) and the departments has ~100 faculty members. I started to go one by one and see if I like what they do but what would make a good topic? Reading the papers from [professor A](http://people.math.gatech.edu/~ecroot/research_statement3.pdf) things look "easy", I don't know the solution to the problems but I'm in familiar territory: it is number theory, a junior high school could understand the problem, and maybe high school could understand some solutions. The vast majority of the time, for other professors, I don't understand anything at all. Sometimes I have a clear disgust (seeing lots of integrals/computations), sometimes I feel it is too hard (Langland related algebra), ... I wonder how discomfortable I should be with a subject? I would be sad to end a PhD with seemingly "no additional knowledge" (if I choose prof. A) but conversely I would also be sad if I struggle on something too hard for me or for which I have no appetite even after spending time understanding it. Finally I don't have enough time to spend hours on each professor's topic to see if I would like it. What is a good way to approach this?<issue_comment>username_1: Revoking a degree is rarely done and, then, only for the most extreme reasons such as explicit dishonesty and such. Any results in any thesis are subject to revision as new information becomes available that was not present in the past. It doesn't mean that the work was wrongly done, but only that what is known has advanced. Since you re-did the experiment and came to the same conclusion, you may be able to publish something based on the new results and, when citing your unpublished theses, mention that the conclusions there were verified with new data. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: Rest assured that few people read theses (PhD or otherwise), and as username_1 says, degrees never get revoked for outdated data sources so your degree is safe. However, if you are concerned about people reading your thesis and not being able to reproduce your results - publish an updated version (say, on ArXiv if you're in a rush, or in a journal/conference if you want the paper to be peer-reviewed), explicitly referencing the thesis and emphasizing the fact that your results are on updated data. This is actually good practice that would help future researchers who may care about your work, and save them the trouble of trying to recover your result. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In addition to @username_1's answer: * Revoking a degree is such a serious matter that the revoking committee would have to prove positively that you did falsify data. I.e., in your case, they'd need to show that the data were not as you said it was at the time of your thesis writing. Which, obviously, they can not. * Nevertheless, it is a good idea (take home message for future) to keep a copy of your raw data if at all feasible\. If you are not the owner of the data, you can + ask the owner for permission to keep a copy for the explicit purpose of being able to show original data for your thesis/paper should anything be questioned. + if they don't agree, ask them to keep a copy available in case such a request comes in.IMHO, such points should ideally be part of the thesis contract between you, company and university. But from the science point of view, while of course public open data is nicer, granting access to the data only after an NDA is signed does satisfy requirements to be able to answer questions about your work and possible further questions about the original data. Also, I think @Greg's comment about a note about the correction occuring afterwards is a good idea where practicable: you won't change already deposited copies at the library - but if you have your thesis online, I'd note it there. If you write a publication now, I'd probably use the corrected data and say that thesis [citation] was done on an earlier version of the data set discussed in the paper. --- \* Not even all scientific institutes allow that when you leave them. I have a former employer (research institute) that insists that leaving employees do not take any data with them without written permission (which is not given feely). They do promise to take care of archiving the original data and paper lab books, though. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: > > I did my thesis using corporate data > > > Remember, though, that your research was not the data, but its analysis and conclusions you drew. And since you "did the experiments again and the results match up" - then the thesis is perfectly valid not just at its time of publication, but now as well. > > but I am worried that if someone tries to verify the source of my information, they will find different data and think that I commit fraud or data manipulation. > > > This should not be an issue if your citations were accurate. You should have included the physical document, or the on-line resource, you obtained the data from, and indicated a date of publication (at least a month of publication anyway). If the company now presents different data - it published this data at a later date. edit: If the company does not indicate when publication happened, or if the data is not available from a single source, then you should have included a paragraph (or a small section) in your the thesis explaining how you obtained/collected your data - and when. Specifically, dates of downloading data from internet URLs. Like others suggest, an addendum/errata to your thesis and/or any paper you've published based on the data, mentioning the change, is a good idea. If the changes had affected your conclusions, then it would have been very important (IMHO). > > My supervisor and many people told me ... However I am still worried, > > > You'll have far worse things to worry about in life - so don't worry about this minor issue :-) > > because it is not common for a company to modify data from the past. > > > How do you know that? I'm not sure that's true. Also, it's very common for companies to not archive past data, and in that case as well, a researcher's work may not be thoroughly-verified. > > My thesis wont be published because the used data is privated, so they are allowing me to not publish it. > > > Definitely publish it! Academic work should, and I might venture to say must, be shared and made public. The least you could do is censor out the private data and keep all the other parts of your work. > > Any ideas of what should I do? > > > Take a deep breath and relax! Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I think you're worrying too much. Add a footnote under the data and/or somewhere else saying "Data as supplied at time of writing" (or as of XX/YY/ZZ) and leave it at that. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: If it'll help, imagine that you'd graduated 20 years ago doing a thesis on, say, IBM's sales data. IBM sees there was a problem with their historical data in archives, and publishes a corrected set of sales data. Do you think the university would revoke your degree from 20 years ago? No. Of course not. Because when you wrote your thesis, you were using the information you had at the time, that by all appearances was correct. And the degree was awarded because your thesis came to a justifiable conclusion with the dataset you worked with. The data may have changed 20 years later, but that has no bearing on the work/skill/etc that was put into the thesis. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: Carlos, I am going to ask you a simple question, because it is very confusing that you continue asking for something, for 'advice now'. At the same time, I've thought that an amount of misunderstanding here has been because of different native languages. You are writing in English, but I think you are from Peru. So, is the problem you ask about actually that your thesis 'won't be published', as you've said several times? In other words, are you looking for a way it can be published? A native speaker would understand [won't] to mean absolutely not. If you said [can't], then the understanding would be that if a barrier were removed, it could be published. If you wanted advice to remove a barrier, then you would say 'can't be published because of [the barrier], so please suggest how I could remove [the barrier]'. If what I describe is not your question, then another possibility is that you are worried that someone will attack your thesis, if they don't like something you might say or do because of what you learned in writing it, the analysis. Thus you worry the attack could have some consequence on your accomplishment, your degree. This is where the note I suggested could give you position of better confidence, where your professors write as you indicate they say, that your thesis is valid, on data you used that was valid at its time, and sign it. I called the note a 'certificate', only because it verifies truth, not because it is any special printed kind of paper from any government. It's just truth anyone would understand. I hope that answers your question about what I meant in my answer above. As far as what would adequately protect you if there is a challenge, you must surely use your judgement there. In any culture, there are things which can be risky in some way to do. Then we decide, and certainly may decide not to do them, if the risk is too high. In that case, we move on in our life, and take up another task which is more appropriate to do, no? I wish you well, Carlos, and hope you come soon to a path that will relax you about this -- whether we answering here understand or not isn't the first importance. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/28	1,697	7,102	<issue_start>username_0: If I have the option of choosing between a (non-research) internship at Google and a REU program at a non-prestigious university, which one should I select? After graduation, I intend to pursue a PhD in Computer Science, hopefully in machine learning. Which of the two offers should I accept to improve graduate admissions? What if the intern position is directly in what I want to work in, i.e. machine learning? I know research is valued more for graduate admissions, but a machine learning internship at google seems like a valuable asset.<issue_comment>username_1: Acceptance on any program is, or should be, based on your attributes, capacities and skills. Ie it is not where you did the internship, but what you learnt from it... Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In general, an internship at google has a good reputation. If it is in the desired field, it would be my choice. Especially if it is in machine learning, you are in a very good place (assuming you are not just cooking coffee ;-) )! The most important is what you learned during the internship, and this includes cs skills as well as company culture, work ethics, etc. You should consider which knowledge / skills you are lacking and which of the two position helps you in filling that gap. E.g. if you did nearly no research until now, the research group might be a better idea (maybe you figure out that you hate research afterwards ;-) - and/or you are gaining research skills), if you need to learn practical software development and want to know the real world, an internship in industry is favourable. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The answer depends on some factors not mentioned in the question. Some points to consider: 1) I'd say, as a rule PhD programs are not overcrowded, so I am not sure whether "improving the chance of admission" is an issue at all for a reasonably skillful student. (Unless you are aiming at some really high-profile institution and you know for sure that there is a serious competition even at PhD level). 2) However, if you are planning to obtain financial support for your PhD studies, it's a completely different story. Competition for scholarships can be severe, but again, if you know that a certain department offers N scholarships, it does not mean that they only have N vacant places for PhD students. 3) When you apply for a scholarship, regulations vary. Say, at my institution they mostly pay attention to specific predefined points (such as scientific publication record), so Google internship won't help in this case. However, the process is funder-specific, so you'd better find out the prescribed criteria if you can. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Take the internship. It's not so much about whether it helps for graduate admissions or not, but rather how it is going to broaden your horizons. If you do the REU program, when you start the PhD, you're going to be doing similar things. On the other hand taking the internship gives you firsthand experience you cannot otherwise get: * What working in the real world is like * What skills are actively useful in industry * What skills you currently lack, but can learn in a PhD * What kind of job you can do if you get a PhD, but can't do now (This neglects the financial aspect entirely, plus the fact that you're still going to be learning things during the internship which you can write into your application.) These things are likely to change your view of the PhD entirely. In the extreme case, you might find you don't want to do a PhD anymore. Less extremely, you'll have a better idea why you're studying, what you want to learn, and how that is going to help you. tl; dr: do the different thing, because it'll act as a great enabler even if it's not immediately helpful. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: I was exactly in your position a year before finishing my master’s. I was in touch with Google regarding an internship (I've passed their interviews and could've accepted as soon as we matched me with a topic). The timing for the Google internship didn't fit brilliantly with my university schedule (we had the longest semester in Europe back in the time), so I went to talk to my advisor at the time to ask him whether he thinks I should take the internship despite it colliding with three weeks of my classes. I was at the time seriously considering following up my master’s with a PhD programme, and he knew that when I came for advice. His response was that if that's my plan, I would benefit much more from a research internship – and then he proceeded to arrange one for me (and one more the following year; he really was brilliant and dedicated advisor). I agree that through an industry internship you will acquire [skills username_4 mentions in his answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/123916/4249), and I do admit I lack some of them even now. On the other hand, taking the research internships got me into a PhD programme. Some concrete benefits I got from there (somewhat location dependant): * I got into my first proper research group. While my master’s advisor was golden, research is not too strong in my country of origin. * It got me a non-generic, research-oriented letter of recommendation * Inquiring about PhD positions through e-mail has a very low response rate; even if you don't ask about publicly available information and only ask about advertised positions through proper channels. * Politely knocking on somebody's door and saying "Hi, I'm doing an internship in the group down the hall and saw you advertising a PhD position. I was wondering if you have five minutes one of these days to talk about it a bit" had a much higher response rate. * I got coached for the admissions process by my advisers-to-be, as they decided to support me as a candidate following that five-minute conversation mentioned in the previous point. I do have a feeling the benefits were quite tangible as I come from a fairly small country, my master’s university was not particularly famous and there is not much research support. Thus, being at a research institute and in direct contact with several research groups gave me connections and opened some doors for me which would have been much more difficult to achieve otherwise. All that said; taking a machine-learning internship at Google will surely not harm your profile or your CV. Just remember – it is a software engineering internship and therefore will give you those skills; if you want to focus on your research skills it is not a best choice. If you want to experience a bit of everything before committing (to a PhD, say), it just might be. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_6: What Google and Amazon do with machine learning is so far on the "applied sciences" side of things that it's probably irrelevant to your studies. Their AI/ML projects are about throwing existing algorithms at existing data, and very little research is done in-house. [Relevant Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/SimonDeDeo/status/1017616703864307712) Upvotes: 0
2019/01/28	538	2,354	<issue_start>username_0: I am writing a paper jointly with coauthors from another research group. In their contributions to the paper they include a lot of self-citations, many of which are (in my opinion) irrelevant. How do I convince them that this is bad style and that they should reduce the number of self-citations, without creating an antagonistic situation between our groups?<issue_comment>username_1: (Due to reputation<50, I cannot comment) What is the constellation in your group and the other group (PhD student, post-doc, professor, ...) and how well do you know each other? First of all, you have to have a consistent opinion within your group about whether the references are indeed irrelevant self-citations only to pump up some citation counts or not. By discussing this issue with your group leader (assuming you are the PhD student/post-doc in your group), you will get a feeling whether confrontation must be avoided at all cost or your group leader will back you up on this issue. Then, consider politely asking the co-authors to reconsider the references list. Point out to the guidelines of the journal and/or of our university that state address citations. While this answer is not creative and you surely have thought of this one yourself, it is the honest approach which will define the framework for the future publications this collaboration will hopefully yield. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: While you can give your best arguments to the others they probably won't be convincing. On the other hand, I wouldn't worry about it too much since the most powerful advocates for your position will be those who review the paper after submission. Reviewers don't especially like to go through "crufty" papers with a lot of irrelevant stuff. If your co-authors are, indeed, over-the-top on self-citation, it will likely be noted and need to be cleaned up after reviews come in. Rather than cause too much difficulty, let the reviewers be your allies if it is really needed. I would, however, make the argument to your collaborators that a lot of the citations are irrelevant and detract from the main ideas of the paper. You could even send them back a draft in which you have removed the citations you think are unneeded, just so you have a "working document" without those citations. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/01/28	1,854	8,365	<issue_start>username_0: I've been trying to give gamification a go for a while, but I'm struggling on how exactly to implement it. I teach an introduction to programming course, and as I'm part of a team including a couple other teachers and we have too many students, our course is usually divided in two parts: one teacher explains the concepts and then I help students solve problems and exercises. That is 2 classes a week. When the semester is about to end, we have an exam (actually, 3, as the students have 3 chances to pass the exam). No additional activities, no projects, etc., as we usually have about 50 students to grade each semester. I'm already trying a flipped classroom approach by providing videos they can watch at home before they come and try to solve exercises during my class, but still would like to add some gamification. However, I'm struggling on how to propose this to the rest of the teaching staff. I've read a couple of books on gamification, watched videos and read about other teacher's experiences online, and I pretty much have an idea of what I'd like to do, and one of those things is replace grades with "experience points" and levels. The more XP points you get, the more levels you gain. Students that reach a certain level will pass the course. The problem is: how are XP points awarded? In most cases I've read about, every activity is awarded XP, be it exercises the students solve, youtube videos they have to watch, projects they make, quizzes, etc. The thing is: how do you grade (or award XP) all of that? If every activity has to be reviewed by the teacher it would add a huge burden on the staff. Also, when students do their regular exercises, as they are so many, it would be impossible to give them individual feedback on each exercise, so those would not earn them any XP. Maybe some online quizzes could help, but with programming there's a limitation there, it's not as simple as throwing multiple choice questions (at some point they will need to be coding). I know there are a couple sites that offer programming challenges with automated tests, but then there's the thing of knowing which student actually attempted to solve them, and which ones succeeded (I should add that I really need to keep my gamification proposal at $0 budget, as I know there is no way the administration will pay for software licenses or any equipment other than what we already have). I thought of a scenario where the teacher would be some kind of "game master" and the students are trying to level up their characters by defeating "monsters" (exercises) and maybe working in guilds (peer reviewing their work). I pretty much even have a story created and some other details I'd like to add. But I can't do any of that unless we increase a good deal our work time so we get to grade students on many more activities other than just the 3 exams we already have. So how does everyone else deal with this amount of grading?<issue_comment>username_1: This doesn't really depend on gamifying the course, but it would work there as with any flipped classroom situation. I'll assume here that you will drop most "lecturing" and students will "cover the material" when not face to face using some combination of printed and other materials, including, perhaps, interactive materials. Students are, without limit, allowed to work together when exploring course materials and will even have access to some exercises that they might use to help them know when the "get it". The face time in the course will be taken almost entirely with activities that produce some "product", a program or an essay or a proof of a theorem - anything. These products are what is graded and you can use a wide range of techniques to do so, from formal marking to just counting up successfully completed small tasks or having a program pass a test. Note that you can reduce the grading by a factor of two by having students always work in pairs. Pairs share a grade on their paired tasks. Pairs rotate frequently and do peer assessments to help solve the free rider problem. Peer assessment must, however, be made non threatening. A simple peer assessment form asks for (a) your own primary contribution to the work and (b) your partner's primary contribution. It doesn't ask for a "quality assessment" but for a contribution. Of course, you sometimes get "none" for an answer, which gives you a bit of evidence that will accumulate over many interactions. Sometimes you form the pairs, possibly randomly and possibly by design, and sometimes you let them choose partners. Of course, you need to teach students how to both be engaged in a paired situation so that no one is really allowed to be a spectator. Two minds on every task. Pairing has other, more important, benefits than just reducing grading effort, however. It has been shown that students will, when allowed, and especially when paired, answer one another's questions. It isn't often the case that you have a strong student who dominates a weak one (switching helps avoid this) but that one will have a key insight before the other and can share it. In a lab where everyone works alone, it has been observed that many students raise their hand for help and simply wait, passively, until it arrives. Unless there are a lot of lab assistants, it may take a long time for that help to come. In paired situations this rarely occurs, so instructor time is better used and will be focused on more important issues. You can manage the data produced simply by having each pair, for an individual interaction produce an index card with both names and the name of the task. They can produce individual cards for the peer and self assessment. You can mark outcomes on the cards and can also use them to make notations when you interact with an individual pair. These are collected and collated at the end of the exercise. If the course meets for a total of 45 hours over the term, you could have up to 90 such bits of information for each student, assuming you swap pairs every half hour. More than two working together is less efficient and often leaves someone out, but four people who work together, but always pairing can be made to work on larger projects. For a complete discussion of pair programming specifically see the book [Pair Programming Illuminated](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/0201745763). Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm a former gaming engineer (many years ago), now college CS lecturer. Personally, I resist attempts at "gamification" of courses -- in short, it seems to me like a corruption of the gaming concept, and something that weakens both sides of the enterprise. It sounds like you're struggling to get your arms around a desired major overhaul of the course. I think that many "reform" proponents would suggest that you take smaller steps, trying out some small single component in a course, assessing how well that works, and then iterating. Also consider: Will future courses use this gamification approach? Or should you be preparing your introductory students for the expectations of "normal" college courses with which they will be interacting in the future? My top suggestion, as a first step, would be to work in some programming assignments which the instructors do manually grade throughout the semester. Feel free to make the assignments fairly simple and standard; directly from the book is fine. Have programs that take obvious input and output some kind of deterministic result -- write a simple batch file to compile and help test the functionality. Run them through an automated plagiarism checker (Stanford Moss). Also read the code and give feedback/points for proper style. I do this for ~8 assignments per semester, ~25 students per section. If you have double the students, then maybe halve the number of assignments. Personally I think that you've got to commit to some kind of personal assessment of actual code for a proper programming course. Students that don't get that and wind up in my programming 2 course very much struggle at that level. Yes, this is more work than just one or two exams alone. But if students can't write code, then you should probably fail them, and if you want to think of those grades as your academic "gamification", then maybe that will help you out. Upvotes: 3
2019/01/29	627	2,406	<issue_start>username_0: I've been in academia for roughly 8 years now. Wrote quite a few papers. Still, my heart starts seriously racing each time there's an email notifying me of a review for one of my papers. Does anyone have any good tips on how to be less stressed out about this?<issue_comment>username_1: I've been in Stack Exchange for roughly 5 years now. Wrote quite a few questions and answers. Still, my heart pumps each time there's a notification of a comment for one of my posts. No, I don't think you can escape from the fear of being rejected for something you emotionally invest into it. As long as it doesn't affect your health, you may want to feel relax when it's come. Acknowledge your fear, and tell yourself that that fear is not scary may reduce the stress of not being able to control your fear. The fear from the notification is unavoidable, but the stress from not being able to control your fear is a secondary stress that you can control. Take a breath. Accept the fear. If anything, I suggest you to practice [mindfulness](https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition). It's a technique to not being overwhelmed by our emotions, and has been recognized as an effective way to reduce stress. It has been used in many programs and therapies for stressful people. Source: • <NAME>., <NAME>, and <NAME>, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy (Guilford Publications, 2005) • <NAME>., An Introduction to Modern CBT: Psychological Solutions to Mental Health Problems (Wiley, 2011) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I thought it was just me :) Here is a tip: wait until 3 or 4 days before reading the email. (At least in my field), you can know immediately if your paper is accepted or rejected by just looking at the title of the email. * If the paper is accepted, say congratulations to your co-authors, and leave it there for a couple of weeks. Why? because even when the paper is accepted, the reviewer often suggest too many things to correct. For some reasons, I often feel emotionally exhausted that I don't want to do anything with that paper. * If the paper is rejected, of course you are very disappointed. Wait for a couple of days until you can calm down and read the reviews. Of course, my answer is not applicable to rebuttal when you often need to respond to the reviews within 3 days. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/29	439	1,774	<issue_start>username_0: Should a researcher try her best to avoid using existing abbreviations (such as IEEE, WHO, DNA, ANOVA, BMI, CERN, NASA, UNESCO, OPCW, NHS, CDC ...) that are (well-)known in her fields, when creating abbreviations for new concepts (methods, substances, studies ...) in the same field? Or is it OK if the abbreviation for the new concept is just defined where it is used (e.g., in a publication)?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, you should avoid using well-established acronyms to mean something else. I would especially avoid those like the ones you present as examples that are likely more recognizable as the acronym than what the acronym stands for: they are effectively words by themselves with a specific meaning. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes. But then again, no. Depends. If you can easily avoid it, sure - avoid it. It will only cause confusion in the long run. But this confusion is dependent of the previous acronym being relevant (as opposed to known) in that specific field. So if you are creating a new modular iterating algorithm (stupid example, but you catch my drift), and your last name is Brown, it is OK to call it the Brown Modular Iterator (BMI). No one, in context, will think this is the Body Mass Index. A slightly different example of when it is OK (not, mind you, optimal) to use an existing acronym which can actually cause confusion, is when there are specific naming conventions. This is how we have the American Sociological Association (ASA), the American Statistical Association (ASA), and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) - with most societies holding the convention of `country_societyname_association`, and medical societies to the `country_societyof_societyname`. Upvotes: 3
2019/01/29	1,305	5,110	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a first year law student in the UK. For our EU Law class, our professor declared that we must bring an unannotated physical copy of [Blackstone's EU Treaties & Legislation 2018-2019](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackstones-Treaties-Legislation-2018-2019-Statute/dp/0198818564) to our exam and use it. Thus we must buy it. Our Prof admitted that these laws are [free online](https://europa.eu/european-union/law_en). But we obviously can't bring our own printouts to the exam, as the invigilators can't check each student's printout. The professors for my three other classes don't require us to buy any book for the exam, as they'll provide us with the legislation for the exam. 1. Thus why don't the EU Law professors do the same? I wonder...laziness? Our professor ought to provide the legislation, because the book 2. is a waste of money. Statues and legislations change yearly, and this book's going to be outdated. In fact, scroll down the Amazon page, and you'll see that the book has a new edition published yearly. 3. is too eco-unfriendly! 1 sheet/2 pages x 696 pages x 200 students = 69,600 sheets! And the professor has been requiring this book for many years. 4. may be unaffordable. It's £14.99 + £3 VAT, which is under the [poverty threshold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_threshold). I emailed our professor many times, but he never replied. I prefer to stay confidential, and not to confront him or the administration face-to-face. I emailed the administration, but they just keep repeating the professor's order to buy the book.<issue_comment>username_1: As user2768 already pointed out in a comment, the question is not whether the prof can force you (no, they can not), but if it is reasonable / fair to require a specific book for an exam. The answer can depend on many factors: * Is the professor the author of the book? If yes, I would see an issue because this would boost their personal income. This does not seem to be the case in your situation. * Can the exam be completed without the book? E.g. in technical fields, it might be helpful to have a formulary, in languages a dictionary, etc. In most cases, it it just reasonable to use such a book because otherwise you would have to memorize too many facts / formulas, etc. * Is the book a pre-requisite for doing the exam? I did not study law, but from my understanding, one of the natures of law is to derive conclusions based on written text (especially laws). Therefore, it is impossible to do the exam without access to the original law text. So in your specific case, I would say the professor has to require the book, otherwise it would be impossible to do a proper exam. * Is the price / effort unseasonably high? In your case the short answer is "no". In fact it is extremely cheap. * Are there reasonable alternatives to a printed book? Electronic versions of the text would provide an unfair advantage over students using he paper version since they are searchable, in addition it is difficult to guarantee the sanity of the device. One solution might be to provide each student with a computer holding a local copy of the law text and having the internet connection disabled during the exam. The university would need a tremendous infrastructure for that. To make a long story short: Buy the book. And don't throw it away after one year ;-). Maybe you can hand it over to a student next year. One additional idea: If you are having some sort of students association: Ask them to organize a bookshelf for such kind of literature. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In general, it's probably not acceptable for a lecturer to assume all his or her students can buy a specific book. It may be acceptable to expect them to obtain a copy though, especially if they make arrangements with a University or departmental library. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: Let me change the situation a bit. I am another law professor (hypothetical) and I'm about to give you an exam in which you will be asked very specific questions about very specific laws to which you must respond. I say to the class that "You will be permitted to bring a fresh, un-annotated, version of Blackstone to the exam, but no other materials". How would you then respond? My guess is that the prof has actually done the above, but in a particularly clumsy way. He gains nothing from the requirement other than the opportunity to ask you more detailed questions than you would be expected to answer from only your remembered knowledge. But perhaps he also wants to "force" you to spend some time with Blackstone and to be able to use it effectively under pressure, as a lawyer or barrister might be required to do. A lit prof might also want students to bring a fresh, un-annotated version of, say, a particular edition of The Iliad to an exam. Pain in the tookus, of course, but not unethical, as long as s/he isn't the translator of the edition. It may be possible for you to take the exam unaided, of course, but that would be your risk and, I think, a fairly high risk. Upvotes: 2
2019/01/29	782	3,250	<issue_start>username_0: I graduated with Computer Science degree from a Russell Group University(Leeds) in 2016. I managed to find my first job as a software developer 3 months after graduation. I am 2 years into my career development in the industry learning and developing software every month. I am considering going back to University to get masters degree or Phd. My dilemma is weather to go for a MSc in Computer Science or straight go into Phd. I don't thing I can learn that much more from a MSc course just because I can learn anything on the job or read the books at home. However I might have problem with admission straight into Phd because of my grades from my Bsc. I graduated with 3rd Honors degree. I needed to work through my bachelors to support myself which resulted in less time for studying. I have managed to learn everything in order to do my job very well as a software developer(frontend/ backend / best practices/ clean design). Will my industry experience be enough to compensate for bad grades in my Bsc degree when applying straight for Phd or they will tell me I need to do MSc first?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, most definitely your skills to date make you exceptional. They look at the bigger picture of the person whom has applied. I actually have a little experience with the university of Kentucky, and they are investing in the person, the man who and their own future as well. Yes sir you are ok Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In many UK universities, a minimum requirement for admission to a doctoral programme is: * an upper-second-class or first-class undergraduate degree; or * a Master's degree. And even if it is not a minimum requirement for admission, it is almost certainly a minimum requirement if you want a funded place. Significant professional experience may mitigate poor prior academic attainment, but I am not convinced two years would be enough to compensate for a third-class undergraduate degree. If you are happy to self-fund PhD studies, I suppose there is no harm in having a go at applying for a doctoral programme immediately (although I would recommend making at least one application for a Master's, in case nobody accepts you for a PhD at this juncture). But, if you want funding for PhD studies, you will almost certainly need stronger academic credentials than you have currently. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It’s hard to say with a PhD; most people don’t know exactly why they were offered certain positions as it’s a highly individual process, and every application is unique. I’ll just tell you my experience and you can glean from that what you will... I have a pretty good Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree and have worked in both industry and research over the past four years and despite applying to over ten universities have failed to get a funded place. I’m not saying what you propose will never happen, because I’ve heard of a few instances where it has, but I think to strengthen your chances, a Master’s degree won’t hurt. As the PhD application process is very stressful because it’s very competitive and people from all over the world, with the best grades, are applying for very few positions. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/29	797	3,196	<issue_start>username_0: I submitted a paper to a social sciences journal and it has been accepted. However, the publisher tells me it is going to be printed in the next weeks in the 2016 issue. How to make sense of this? Apparently the issue has been delayed a few years. However it will not mention the year 2019 and it is officially a 2016 paper issue. No digital copy since the journal doesn't have a webpage. Can I still put 2019 in my CV? and if I want to present it in an upcoming conference? It is an old journal in French that might had issues with their timeframe, collecting papers, printing, and moreover getting the editing work done on ambitious projects. Is it really an issue when the work was done? If this is part of PhD research, want difference does it make if it is possible to indicate in bibliography that the work was submitted and printed in 2019?<issue_comment>username_1: In your CV, I think it would be proper to put the official date (2016), but also acceptable to note that it was (will be) "published 2019". For presentation at the conference, I assume you need to submit it first. You can send a note to the program chair explaining the situation. It will always be a bit anomalous, but it is what it is. Even in a formal citation you can list both dates - 2016 issue, published 2019. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Chances are, the journal is having trouble filling its issues. It doesn't have enough papers, so issues promised to subscribers were never delivered - the journal now "owes" its subscribers the missing issues and your paper was put into one of these issues. C'est la vie. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I would pull the paper. I would be worried that the issue is never going to be published and that the paper is going to sit in limbo for years. The fact that the journal has no web page, even in the social sciences, is concerning to me. Are you sure that libraries are going to get this newest issue when it comes out for it to be archived? If I were to keep the paper in the pipeline for the journal, I would want some reassurances. I would look at the journal editorial board and review process. If the review process was exceptionally speedy and the initial decision was accept as is (or very minor revisions), I would worry the journal is desperate. A high rate of turn over in editors or reviewers (i.e., different people on every iteration) would also concern me. I would put a time contingency on the copyright transfer so that it expires if the issue is not published in the next few weeks. Then you have all the issues with playing with the timeline. How are people (e.g., tenure committees or search committees) going to know when you did the work. Even saying that it was published in 2019, isn't the issue, committees want to know when you did the work. I can only imagine the headaches that it could cause with funders when trying to explain why work funded in 2018 is in a 2016 issue, regardless of when it came out. Screwing with the timeline is also probably going to mess up a lot of bibliometrics (e.g., 5 year impact factor would only go for citations through 2021 or really a 2 year window). Upvotes: 5
2019/01/29	444	1,892	<issue_start>username_0: I used to have a big concern for a little statistical mistake in my thesis (which wont be published), and now I have overcome that fear. During that time of fear, my parents told me that all the thesis have mistakes. Even teachers, friends, everyone told me that thesis aren't perfect. what do you think? How can a reader verify that a mistake was a honest mistake and not manipulation on purpose?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, many theses have mistakes. Some even have intentional errors. How a given work is judged depends on many factors, too numerous to list. If it was an honest answer then some rework will lead to a more valid result. If that valid result is essentially the same as what you wrote, it will almost certainly be dismissed as an oversight. But you can't change the past. It is what it is. You could, perhaps, produce a publication based on your thesis work in which you cite the thesis and correct the error. Ultimately a reader can accept your work as acceptable if not perfect or reject it. You have no control over that. Someone who tries to reproduce your results and comes up with very different results will probably write about it in their own publication. You should be the one to do this instead. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: To add to what username_1 said, perhaps, if you can't publish the company specific data reanalysis, you could do some paper on the general flaw. (e.g. "regressing presmoothed data artificially inflates the apparent rsq") Or even a different dataset that you analyze properly and then put some warning about how a mistake could be made and then cite\/correct the other paper (even in a footnote...you don't even need to redisplay the data for this sort of "rowback" correction). But at least you are still getting SOME correction out there. \And yes, you can cite unpublished work. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/29	6,320	25,353	<issue_start>username_0: Situation I have an academic conference coming up, and on the registration site we are instructed to optionally enter a personal gender pronoun (PGP) to appear on our name tags. To enter it or not to enter it? --- Thoughts My personal view is the following: if someone does include a PGP on their tag, then I understand that they'd like me to know something about their identity in order to respectfully converse with/about them. In the case that that person does use an non-standard pronoun (if that's the right terminology), then this offers them what is already privileged to those whose gender is aligned with societal assumptions (e.g. a white male who identifies as a man and uses the PGP "he/his", like me) to not have to make their identity a point of conversation at the outset of any interaction. So, I respect and appreciate that the organizing committee is being progressive and inclusive in this sense. As for myself, I don't have any desire to include my PGP on the name tag. I simply don't have a very strong sense of identity, and don't think of the self in those terms. I realize that there is a painfully obvious response to this; I don't have to worry about it because I already conform to societal assumptions about gender anyway. I have the privilege of knowing that no one is going to call me "she" by accident. But, if I ask myself if I would strongly object if someone did... I dunno, I suppose I'd prefer that didn't happen. We can look at another dimension of identity, ethnicity, to try and isolate exactly what I'm saying. I'm Italian, which means I have dark skin and hair. Fairly often in life I've encountered people who make the false assumption that I'm actually Mexican or middle eastern. I may correct them if it was appropriate to do so, but really I've never been offended or uncomfortable by it; I simply don't care enough about identity. If there was an optional field for filling in your ethnicity on a conference nametag, I wouldn't have any desire to complete that either, even though I do know that mine is often mistaken. A potential flaw with this analogy is that gender is ubiquitous in conversation. The same is not true of ethnicity necessarily. Still, all I mean is that I don't feel compelled to broadcast anything about my identity as a pretext to interaction. If someone wants to learn about who I am, they can speak to me. It wouldn't make me more comfortable to walk around knowing that information about my identity can be obtained on sight (be it gender or anything else). --- Note: I do not want to be misunderstood as attempting to assert my beliefs onto others. Even though I don't put strong value in identity, I'm not saying that identity is objectively not valuable; I respect that to some people identity is of enormous value, and I appreciate that those people put their PGP on their name tag so that I can treat them the way they'd like to be treated. --- Question Now, my real question is not necessarily about the agreeableness of the position I've described above (though I'm happy to discuss it). Rather, I'd like to ask if the act of omitting the PGP from the name tag itself, even if well motivated/justified, is inadvertently signaling any disrespect. At the last one of these conferences, the vast majority of people did include the PGP. Now, I don't feel compelled to conform for conformity's sake, but I also don't want to give the false impression that I'm a proponent of gender binarism.<issue_comment>username_1: No, you are not disrespectful. Ideally (not in the real world, unfortunately) the only people who would object are those who would find unreasonable ways to disrespect you. It is good that it is optional, as it should be. Everyone should have the freedom to define their own identity in these matters. If others want to define you, it isn't necessary to assist them. Of course, this is just my opinion. But your own opinion is the one that should matter. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It sounds like if it is optional, then it is just that: optional. If you wrote your PGP as "he/him" maybe that would signal an even stronger belief in binary gender norms. We can respect people who request to be called by a certain PGP. But we do not need to feel obligated to disclose our own view on the subject via means of a nametag. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Not really disrespectful, but perhaps inadvertently signalling that you yourself don't have to worry about such things, because society's default works for you. Or, as often happens, signalling that due to your good fortune you are oblivious to the whole issue, etc. If you'd like to instead signal your awareness, I'd think do indicate your preferred pronouns. (For what it's worth, I need to get around to systematically doing this on my web pages...) Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: > > At the last one of these conferences, the vast majority of people did include the PGP. > > > I suspect your refusal in this might come off more of rejecting the idea of PGPs rather than choosing not to have your own, which is at least mildly rude. You describe yourself as looking like a cishet man (I don't have to worry about it because I already conform to societal assumptions about gender anyway. I have the privilege of knowing that no one is going to call me "she" by accident.), which - fairly or unfairy - I think would make people more likely to interpret a blank gender field as a rejection, rather than "no pronoun preferred." You may have to be explicity about your support for PGPs. I'm curious, what would you do if you were in a meeting and everyone went around and said "names and pronouns please"? Would you still say "I don't care, call me what you want"? > > but I also don't want to give the false impression that I'm a proponent of gender binarism. > > > Putting either binary pronoun down wouldn't be seen as an endorsement of gender binarism. As far as I know, there are not separate pronouns for people who are proponents of a gender sepectrum yet identify as a member of the traditional genders. > > Still, all I mean is that I don't feel compelled to broadcast anything about my identity as a pretext to interaction. If someone wants to learn about who I am, they can speak to me > > > Yet, you do plan on wearing a nametag with your name on it, right? --- On the whole, I wouldn't go so far as to say leaving an optional field blank is disrespectful (if it was mandatory, I would say it was rude), but if only for the first reason, I suggest you do it. Keep in mind that normalizing sharing pronouns is as much for your comfort as for those who feel compelled to share theirs, either because theirs are unusual or because they don't look "typically" masculine or feminine. The reason we go around in a meeting and ask for pronouns is so one trans person (for example) doesn't feel called out because they chose to name their pronouns, but no one else did. You say you don't have the desire to include a PGP on your nametag. Unless you truly desire not to have one, put one on. Maybe try "they," if you don't feel "he" works for you. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_5: > > In the case that that person does use an non-standard pronoun (if that's the right terminology), then this offers them what is already privileged to those whose gender is aligned with societal assumptions (e.g. a white male who identifies as a man and uses the PGP "he/his", like me) to not have to make their identity a point of conversation at the outset of any interaction > > > People with non-binary pronouns do benefit from this kind of measure, but it's also helpful for some people who do have "he" or "she" pronouns which are not immediately obvious. This can include transgender people and those who are just plain androgynous. I used to get addressed as "ma'am" on a regular basis. On one occasion when travelling in the USA they selected me for a random search and called for a female officer, even though they could have just looked at my ticket to see my first name. It still happens occasionally in my forties. I'm not bothered by it, but other people might be, and in my experience the people who make the mistake are often mortified when they realise. Pronoun badges etc. can help avoid that kind of awkwardness. However, if only the non-gender-conforming people are wearing pronoun badges (or stating their pronouns in online profiles, etc. etc.) that can become uncomfortable. Being NGC is sometimes risky - I've been yelled at in public by a stranger who was angry because he couldn't immediately tell my gender, stared at for using the "wrong bathroom", and plenty of folk have had far worse experiences. When other folk also use pronoun badges/etc. it helps defuse this; it establishes the idea that giving your pronouns is a normal thing and doesn't have to flag you as a weirdo. So, if you do choose to include your pronouns on your badge, you will be helping to make things a little more comfortable for the folk who need to include them. But if the vast majority of folk at this conference are doing it, then one more or less is unlikely to make much difference, and it's unlikely that anybody would take it as an affront. What's important is that it's common practice, not that it's universal. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: It seems to me that the way to signal respect is, quite simply, by literally respecting people’s choice as to how they wish to present themselves to the world. So I’d advise you to take care to refer to people using their preferred pronoun as they chose to list it on their name tag (or using common sense if no pronoun is indicated). And don’t insult or think ill of anyone for making a choice that you disagree with regarding their pronoun, or regarding a choice not to list a pronoun for that matter. While this advice may seem too obvious to be helpful, my point is that you are also entitled to the same respect that I just advised you to accord others. When you fill that form, you are choosing how you wish to present yourself to the world. Any choice that you make is 100% legitimate and deserves to be respected, including not wanting to list a pronoun. You don’t owe anyone a reason or an explanation of what (if anything) you are trying to “signal”. And anyone who professes to support other people’s rights to choose a pronoun to describe themselves, by extension supports your right to describe yourself however you choose to. Thus, I don’t see how any such person can take offense to your decision without being inconsistent and somewhat of a hypocrite. It doesn’t mean there aren’t such people who would find a way to imbue your action with a meaning it doesn’t have and take offense, but if there are I’m pretty sure you can safely ignore them, or, better yet, if challenged by them you can easily (and in a friendly way, I suggest) explain to them why they are misguided to be offended. --- Edit: To address some of what’s been said in the comments and other answers, here are a couple more thoughts that occurred to me: 1. Someone (@vaelus) said my answer sidesteps the question since it focuses on whether people should be offended, but “doesn't advise on how likely it actually is for people to be offended.” That is correct. The reason why I chose to focus on this aspect is that there are situations where any action we take is likely to offend or annoy someone. Arguably most of life is like that, since the world unfortunately has many unreasonable people. Here too, I expect that some people will likely be annoyed also by the inclusion of pronouns on name tags, and might specifically be annoyed with OP if they were to take the action of including one. So it’s a Catch 22, damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t sort of situation. Therefore in my opinion the correct way to make decisions about tricky dilemmas like this is to base your actions on logic, and to be at peace with your own choices and be prepared to defend them if challenged. “Will people be offended?” is simply the wrong question to ask. 2. A lot of people are focusing on what OP will be “signaling” with each of the various choices that are available to them. And yet I find it amusing and interesting that almost everyone with an opinion is reading the “signal” a bit differently from everyone else. So, if the signal is such that 10 people look at it and each one is “reading” a different meaning into it (and appearing pretty confident that their reading is the correct one) isn’t that a sign that there actually isn’t any signal there to interpret, or that if there is then it is an extremely weak one at best? (Moreover, this is after we read OP’s very detailed explanation of what their opinion actually is! No signal is even necessary in this case.) So again, I think the focus on the signal is misguided. As @vladhagen said in another answer, the pronoun field is optional, and optional means precisely that. The only signal that not including a pronoun legitimately sends is “I chose to exercise my right not to include a pronoun.” Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_7: I'm not sure how so many people have missed a key part of the question: *OP does not identify as a he/his. OP states so explicitly: > > I simply don't have a very strong sense of identity, and don't think > of the self in those terms. > > > Many answers assume that because OP is at home in a male body (OP's sex), OP must therefore be perfectly fine with the masculine gender (a strange set of ever-evolving societal expectations tied to behavior). But OP has gone so far as to ask this question and explicitly state distaste at writing the "default" pronoun: "I don't have any desire to include my PGP on the name tag." OP has made it clear they identify outside of the gender binary. Now comes the tough part, because we don't have great words for that yet, and of course at this point, we're just left guessing which of the multitude of non-binary genders OP identifies as (which includes the option of not really identifying with any of them). I'm in similar shoes myself: at home in a masculine body, entirely not at home with our society's definition of the masculine gender. I identify as genderqueer, and prefer "they/them". Since OP doesn't seem to identify that way, here are some other ideas for options that don't force much of a gender identity on OP: Human * [Your Name] * Doctor / Professor / Student * Mathematician / Engineer / Researcher * Any / None * Ally * Non-binary * Still figuring it out * You can call me "he" until our society comes up with better words * Gender's complicated * ze/hir, co/cos, xe/xem/xyr, hy/hym/hys The key part is that *you don't have to write down anything you don't identify with. That's the whole point of that space- to respect people's many and varied gender identities, and to explicitly state that we're bad at knowing someone's gender identity just by looking at their physical characteristics and making assumptions. If you spend some time looking up agender pronouns or genderqueer pronouns, you'll see there's still nothing like a consensus around this, so unfortunately, you're stuck making the decision yourelf. The closest thing I can think of to dodging the issue is Human, using your name, or Ally. Human is what I try to use for all new people I meet, and it's worked out well for me for the past few years. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: One of the strongest things you can do as a privileged ally is to use your position of privilege to erode systems of oppression. While being explicit about your PGPs are optional for this conference, that optionality is really only available to folks in a position of privilege. Your ability to say "I don't have to worry about it" is not something available to others. I think that leaving your PGP blank sends a signal that you're comfortable with your privilege. Taking the opportunity to normalize the sharing of PGPs and thereby drawing others into what is "normal" seems to be a signal more in line with the views that you expressed regarding inclusivity. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_9: I highly doubt that anyone will take offense to you not filling out the PGP slot. If I were you and anyone came up to me and started to accuse me of being disrespectful, I'd assert that I intend no such disrespect and write them off as unreasonable (mentally, of course - heaven forbid I end up on Youtube). The conversation shouldn't start up at all if you never bring it up; you don't have to explain why you didn't fill it out, and I recommend that you don't, as no one can object if they don't know why you didn't do it. Personally, if everyone else was filling it out, I'd think twice about leaving it blank, as that might be perceived as inflammatory. The only thing you have to worry about would be other's potential reactions to it; morally and legally, you are in the clear. Be confident; this is only as much of an issue as you and others let it become.* Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: I don't think it's disrespectful to leave it blank. However, it doesn't cost you anything to fill it in, and by filling it in you are demonstrating that you think that it is a reasonable question and supporting the right of others, who may want to write something more surprising, to do so. Hence, unless you feel strongly that this question should not be asked, I recommend filling it in as a supportive / ally action. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_11: For the particular situation you describe, with what I gather your motives are: I would put down a preference for a masculine pronoun. Why?: Firstly, it may do some good. You give a good summary of why asking this question might help (I won't repeat them, but I agree) and it's not going to work if everyone abstains. Secondly, as other have pointed out, it does no harm. It's exceptionally unlikely that anyone would read putting down a preference as being an advocate of any stance on gender. It's not like you went out of your way to insist on a pronoun. Maybe this doesn't signal the interest you clearly have in the issue (and make others stop think about it). However it doesn't give an implication to the contrary and your not going to find a response that does in a drop-down list. Finally, refusing to answer may be interpreted in a number of ways that you have no real control over. I think the question to ask is: "do the likely interpretations line up with the views I want to portray?". This bit is very subjective, but I would say no. I would have thought it more likely that someone would perceive not answering as: "I am not interested in this. (I'll get 'he' anyway)" than "I care, and have thought about this extensively, but I was not comfortable with any of the responses". Worse, within the "I care" group the "why" is equally open to interpretation. I imagine there are as many who are mocking or subverting the intention of the question as those trying to improve it. It might be worth noting here that in polarised issues, people tend to see threats more quickly than allies. I'd be reluctant to assume people will give you the benefit of the doubt in interpreting your stance. So, is it rude not to answer: No, there are a host of reasons not to that are not rude at all and I like to think most would see it this way. But it may well be seen as rude by some, not everyone will have thought about it in the same way. Is it worth it? This has been answered well elsewhere but: Up to you, there are no wrong answers. Controversy time: If it's free text (I'll go on a limb and say it's not) what to put? I would still put he/him. There may will be the magic combination of characters instead that has the desired affect but I doubt it. If this question turns into a complex game with rules and pitfalls and "damn, that's a better answer", people will stop playing. Maybe one day ... but one step at a time. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_12: If it were me, I would just put the name down. I have no desire to participate in the pronoun game or over complicate things. A person's name should be perfectly sufficient for a "name" tag. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_13: My suggestion is that, if you really have no preference, you should enter > > (no preference) > > > on the registration form and leave it to the organizers to figure out how to process this. This may also help clue the organizers in that the way they are doing this may not be a good fit for everyone. However, if there are pronouns you prefer to she, either pick one, or list your top choices, e.g. > > he/they/zey > > > As some people have pointed out, just leaving that question blank could be construed as not being supportive of the organizers efforts. If you actual are opposed to the way this is done, and have a better suggestion, you could also communicate this to the organizers. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: Any time we visibly violate a social norm, other people notice, and will interpret that non-comformity through their own lens of understanding. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whether abstaining from the practice is worth the possible misinterpretations is an individual judgment of conscience and practicality. --- *Leaving the information out is signalling something**, however inadvertently. Exactly what is open to interpretation, but it is* a signal. Moreover if, as you say, the majority of participants are including the information then including the information has become a social norm for this event. That means that omitting the information would violate this social norm, and including it would conform to the norm. In these circumstances, the signal sent by omitting pronouns from your name tag will be much stronger than the signal sent by including the information. As an analogy, consider names. I'm not particularly attached to my given name. I don't hate it and don't have a better name in mind, I just don't identify with it very strongly. If people misspell it or mispronounce it or mistake it for something else it doesn't really bother me. I guess you could say I don't think of myself in terms of my name. But if I'm at an event where given names on name tags are the norm I still write it on a tag and slap it on my shoulder. Omitting the name tag would be confusing and potentially disconcerting to other people who are looking for that information. Wearing a name tag but leaving it blank would be even worse: that clearly looks like a STATEMENT of some sort, even if I only meant that "you can call me anything, just don't call me late for dinner" as my grandfather liked to say. Using my title and/or surname likely looks stuffy. Now, names are not a highly contentious and emotive topic in my area, so at best I would be considered eccentric for omitting my given name, and at worst a crank or a snob. On the other hand, when I do include my name no one assumes that I am making a strong statement in favor of my name or declaring, with <NAME>, "that a person's name is to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language." As one person-wearing-a-name tag in a sea of others, the main thing I've signaled is "here is a person who knows the name tag etiquette of this event, whose name is \_\_\_." In the case of personal pronouns, the topic is currently contentious and emotive. That means that if you omit the information when most others are including it the perceived message is likely to be more contentious. At best people might assume you are oblivious, at worst that you are actively dismissive or contemptuous of the practice. You may find people gently asking if you've forgotten something, or becoming slightly cooler to you after glancing at your tag—or sidling up to you to "commiserate" about the horrible practice of including pronouns on name tags. If you do include the information, you will also be signalling something. If you were the only person at the event to include pronouns on your name tag then that inclusion would be a violation of the event's norms. In that case, the message might be interpreted as a protest against gender binarism or a personal quirk, or could just be baffling for individuals who have never seen the practice. But in this case you would be conforming to the social norm, which generally goes unnoticed—when was the last time you looked up in class and thought "Hey! That person is wearing pants! And SHOES!!!"1? So for the vast majority of conference attendees, the message you convey by including pronouns would simply be "here is a person who understands the name tag etiquette of this event, and who prefers \_\_\_ pronouns." --- 1 Unless, of course, you come from a place where "pants" means the intimate garment worn under clothing or the norm is some type of clothing other than western dress or are a time-traveller from the Victorian era, in which case seeing a (female) student in pants might well be a shocking violation of the social norm. Upvotes: 5
2019/01/30	583	2,324	<issue_start>username_0: This question is inspired by [How to make sense of a 2019 paper published in 2016 journal issue?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/123980/how-to-make-sense-of-a-2019-paper-published-in-2016-journal-issue) From the comments to that question, it's apparent that publishing a 2019 paper in a 2016 issue is inconvenient for the author. This question asks the reverse: what if the journal is so "frontlogged" that it publishes its 2019 papers in 2020 issues? I have handled such a journal at one point. The journal was receiving and accepting lots of submissions, so many in fact that it was publishing issues ahead of time. Previous editors were reluctant to increase the issue count because they feared this stream of papers would dry up, and if the journal ever struggled to fill its issues it would lead to problems like in the linked question, where 2019 papers are published in 2016 issues. The upshot was, by the time I took over the journal it was more than a year ahead of schedule. Is the journal being ahead of schedule a problem for authors? What about librarians?<issue_comment>username_1: It's common to have some delay. 12 months sounds bad to me (as an author). Would think to move (or stop submitting). But it's a sliding scale discontent thing. Might not even notice at first. But sure, it will have some impact eventually. Really, more annoying is not having the acceptance (long review delay). Because once the paper is accepted, one can put it on resume, etc. Plus I guess you can order prerints (do people even still do that)? Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Apart from its positive or negative mechanical effects in gaming the bibliometrics system, it is undesirable because it's basically lying. It may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't like lies, as a general thing. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: In the present day, publication year is essentially irrelevant. What matters for the job market is the acceptance date. Usually publishers put the article online within days of acceptance. At this point people begin citing it. If the paper is not assigned to an issue until the next year, the only effect will be that people citing the paper will be annoyed by copyeditors asking what the publication year and issue are. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/01/30	524	2,203	<issue_start>username_0: In higher education, we know what is a major or a minor. What do we call it when there are only a cluster of courses, say 9-12 credit hours in the same discipline that is not part of a major like concentration or emphasis? The intent is to make them available to non-majors to broaden their credentials. In some professional disciplines like education or social work, the name 'endorsement' may make sense. In other areas, is there a name that is both intuitive and academically sound?<issue_comment>username_1: The following assumes the US. If these courses aren't meant as a package, then they might be collected under a heading like "course offerings for non-majors". If they are meant as a package, and there's a natural order to them (e.g. biology I, biology II), it's often called a sequence for non-majors. I'm not aware of a word for an unordered group of courses meant as a package. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Such mini-programs are sometimes called certificates. Certificate programs are sometimes meant to be completed stand-alone, often by students who are not enrolled in a degree program but are looking for continuing education in a particular area, e.g. to help with their career. However, they can also be taken on top of a bachelor's or graduate degree. They often consist of just a few courses. As an example, you can read about my own institution's [Certificate in Music Technology](http://unco.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/Undergraduate-Catalog/Undergraduate-Programs/Undergraduate-Certificate-Programs/Music-Technology-Certificate-Program), which consists of 12 credit hours. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: As has been noted, if there is a certificate afterward, or some sort of formal recognition, "Certificate" is a common one. "Concentration" is another one I've encountered being used, when it's not a standalone thing, but more of a group of classes that one could arrive at via a number of different paths. For example, we have a group of classes open to a number of different majors that adds a particular flavor to them, without actually changing the major itself, that gives them all a concentration in X topic. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/30	2,270	9,143	<issue_start>username_0: Apologies for the length, I don't know how to make this shorter. I also don't know where else to turn for advice. :( I've recently started an MA in what promises to be a brand new humanities discipline that is not yet well established, and (critically) expects and requires a profoundly interdisciplinary approach. I have a BS, although my undergraduate program of study was effectively interdisciplinary as I took a wide range of classes from various humanities departments, far beyond what was necessary to complete my BS. I'm now living on a different continent and the cultural expectations around exams and teaching here are... weird. Essentially, the exams test almost exclusively for recall rather than understanding, and there is little critical reflection about this amongst staff nor students. It's not uncommon for students at master's level to cram 50-100 pages of summary just in case the exam asks for flawless recall of one particular scholar's jargon-heavy wording of a discipline-specific concept. Students who have grown up under this culture find it to be entirely normal and seem confused when I bring it up as an issue. To make matters more complicated, I get weird vibes off the department head. Being around him there's always a sense of danger. Fellow students talk about being scared of him. His exams are known to be especially nasty even within this culture of recall instead of understanding (an engaged, motivated classmate left his last exam in tears after 15 minutes, and is now convinced they should drop out because they feel like are a bad academic and will never make it). He has some concerning teaching habits and attitudes: * instead of teaching, he simply reads out dense jargon-heavy essays (to a class of 20, many of whom do not come from a humanities background) and doesn't check if we understand (we generally do not) * doesn't let us ask questions during the lectures (likely because he won't get through reading his essay if we do), reacts derisively if we suggest he slows down, does not want us to record his lectures because otherwise "we won't learn to take notes" * deliberately makes his slides cryptic to (in his words) give an advantage to people who attend the lectures * sets entire books as related readings, rather than chapters or papers * appears to take pleasure in setting particularly difficult recall-based exams (a summary we prepared privately ran to 100 pages and the exam had multiple questions testing pure recall of single lines from the pages) His course is compulsory and effectively gatekeeps the degree. This seems fundamentally at-odds to the interdisciplinary, "paradigm-challenging" verbiage that the staff associate with the program. He has a follow-up course in the second semester which he claims is "even harder". I have approached other staff in the department, but they seem to be confused about my issues with this culture of teaching and examination, and see little fundamental problem with it. It's reached the point where I'm considering quitting the program even though it is the only one of its kind with a 500 mile radius of where I live, and it is likely the only chance I have to get an MA without going through a BA undergrad (I'm an autodidact and have read broadly in the 15 years since completed my undergrad; based on my ability to understand and assimilate the theory he's been throwing at us so far, doing a BA would be redundant and a waste of my time). The result of all this and of my conversations with staff is that I no longer trust that the program staff nor the director have my interests at heart. The bad lecturer I describe above would be the only person in the university qualified to supervise the thesis I want to write, but his interpersonal presence raises red flags that bring to mind abusive and/or passive-aggressive people I have worked with in the past. The discipline has a well-known history of small groups engaging in petty, sexist gatekeeping behavior in order to get their particular interpretation of the discipline established, and I start to view this program as engaging in the same pattern of behavior, consciously or otherwise. My purpose for wanting an MA is to obtain access to the research community - on the one hand through socialization (access to people that will help me learn to write good abstracts, and to write and think at master's level); and on the other hand, to jump through an apparently-required hoop, as I have noticed already that some segments of the research community just won't take me seriously if I don't have at least a master's degree. I know this is long but I also know that politics and abusive behavior and manipulation are wide-spread within academia. Concrete questions follow: 1. What are my options here? Have you been in a similar situation? What should I do? Common-sense would advise gritting my teeth and getting through it (it's only two years). Another common-sense would advise getting the hell out of there. Which should I listen to? 2. Would it be advisable to take the staff at their word and write off their odd behavior as evidence of ignorance of how things are done elsewhere (especially w.r.t exams)? At least one staff has expressed openness to my concerns, but I get the impression he is much sharper and more calculating than his cultivated "teddybear" persona would suggest, so I'm not sure if he's just saying that to make me go away. 3. How accurate is my perception of research communities, generally? Is it advisable to attempt to make a career as an independent researcher without at least a master's degree?<issue_comment>username_1: Your experience is anything but typical. What you should do is leave, and find a better place that has a different philosophy and set of practices. It is hard to say what you should do if that solution is closed to you. The best I can say is to find a way to endure it in the short term and work with others in the longer term. The fact that this person is head of department makes it especially difficult to stay, of course. No, graduate education is, in general, nothing like what you describe, though some professors can be very demanding. But "demanding" and "supportive" is vastly different from "demanding" and arrogant. And independent researcher doesn't need much in the way of credentialing, though it is much harder to build up an initial reputation without those credentials. It would be good to get an advanced degree, but not, likely in a situation like you now face. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Sorry to hear that but sadly things like that are very common and practically the average norm around the world. At least I can vouch on such for latinamerica and for some asian countries where the value of memorization of knowledge is considered more important than understanding such knowledge or producing any useful research along the respect for the seniority and ego of senior professors that are normally in unions (and that can be considered real mafia, like in México) and have no incentives to improve but rather to keep the status quo. You aren't there to learn you are there to be taught. That is how it's seen and academia is very stale. If you check around the academia exchange you will see that there are many people wondering your question around the world like: * [At a loss after enrolling into PhD programme](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/138161/at-a-loss-after-enrolling-into-phd-programme/138181#138181) * [One year into PhD, feeling lost and inadequate, Help!](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/96736/one-year-into-phd-feeling-lost-and-inadequate-help?rq=1) * [Just started PhD, feel lost and abandoned](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/117271/just-started-phd-feel-lost-and-abandoned?rq=1) * [I am currently debating whether to leave my PhD program- any advice](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9827/i-am-currently-debating-whether-to-leave-my-phd-program-any-advice?rq=1) * [How to cope with feelings of powerlessness on a PhD?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38217/how-to-cope-with-feelings-of-powerlessness-on-a-phd?noredirect=1&lq=1) And way many more. If you see the answers and comments you will notice that its very unpopular when the reality of the situation is mentioned. People get offended when suffering cognitive dissonance about the realities of academia. The question you should be asking yourself is, what do you want for yourself? If you really want to get a PHD then check your resources and decide on affordability and your own tolerance to this situations. On the good part it's only 2 years, but 2 years where you will have to remember yourself constantly that you are doing this solely for the paper at the end and the rest dont matter, OR if it does mater to you , you could try switching program, but you will have to remember that this kind of stuff does happens everywhere, so you'd have to be careful and research with previous PHDs on that program how it went. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/30	911	3,788	<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student designing algorithms for mathematical problems. I have the very bad habit of loosing my track on research problems. Suppose I am working on problem X, then, in the next week, I will start looking at Y,Z and other problems. Due to this, I feel tired at the end of the day with very less productivity with respect to X. I have always fear in my mind of failing, and that's why I try to look at other problems simultaneously. I don't know if it is okay for a PhD student (after mid-stage) to do this kind of things. Question: How to focus only on the problem at hand?<issue_comment>username_1: Actually, it is probably a mistake to focus too closely on only one thing. Perhaps, though is that you just wander a bit more than you should. But focusing on one thing doesn't work for most human activities or you get "blind sided" by other things. One needs "peripheral vision" in research as well as in driving a car. Other ideas relate to the main thread of your research and you need to be aware of these if you are to avoid a "too narrow" perspective and didactic work. But, it is possible to defer work on those other ideas that occur to you as you go. My personal method, nowadays, is to keep a pack of index cards on my desk and when other ideas come to me that are not related to the task at hand, I write a quick note on the card and return to work. I keep these cards together and can return to them whenever I want a "working break". I can add a few thoughts to a card. As a grad student, I wrote up "interesting ideas that might be pursued" on individual pages and kept these in a notebook. When I finished my degree I had a pile of potential work to be explored. Note that the mind doesn't work especially efficiently if you try to focus it too closely for too long. You can get stuck in what seems to be (and may actually be) a dead end. It is good to give your mind a break. Sleep is useful for this, but so is changing gears. The trick is to organize your work in such a way that you let this happen without wandering down side alleys for too long. Having the "interesting ideas" captured so that they can be returned to later may be enough to let you avoid following those threads too far at this instant so that you can return to the main thread. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: You are "guilty" of a particular type of procrastination (in turn a type of avoidance behavior), in which you avoid working on your (self-assigned) task by working on some other task. Ergo, the usual strategies to counter procrastination apply. There are several examples on this site and elsewhere online; my preferred method is to combine the pomodoro technique with a progess tracker. * Pomodoro technique : Work on your task during limited and manageable time periods by setting a timer, e.g. 25 minutes, then force yourself to take a break of at least five minutes even if it completely disrupts your flow. This limits fear and thus avoidance, and it creates motivation to get back to work after the break. Don't allow yourself to work on your side-gigs until four (or so) pomodori are completed, but then go ahead and indulge. * Progess tracker: Use a 'done' list, an online habit tracker, a spreadsheet or whatever works to track each completed pomodoro. This creates motivation, by seeing your success, in particular if you accomplish not to break a streak, and facilitates habituation. If your problem to focus disappears, you may want to be more liberal with the breaks between pomodori, so they don't disturb your flow, use a single pomodoro just to get you started, or do away with them all together. As a side remark, it's good to work on several projects, but you should prioritize and stick to priorities. Upvotes: 2
2019/01/30	667	2,791	<issue_start>username_0: I am a currently in an MSc program in economics, and I'll be writing my master's thesis in about a year. I have a variety of interests, including game theory, statistics, and trading strategies. I'm also on the fence about applying to PhD programs in economics and finance. My question is as follows: Given that economics is a broadly defined field that, in a certain sense, encompasses finance, how appropriate would it be to write a thesis on, say, the effectiveness of a particular type of trading strategy, or more broadly, on the use of certain statistical methods in finance? Would the department react negatively to my choosing something that is maybe more closely related to statistics or finance than it is to economics? Or would they welcome proposals that are somewhat multi-departmental? Maybe I'm looking at this in the wrong light, but I don't know much about master's thesis expectations.<issue_comment>username_1: How your department looks on any given topic is up to them and no one here can tell you what that would be without knowing (a lot) more. In the US and many other places you need an advisor to bounce such questions off of. If you don't have one yet, find someone who is amenable to your ideas or has ideas of her/his own that you would want to explore. Ultimately, your advisor must sign off on your work. Both at the beginning stage when you make the proposal and at the end when you submit results. Others (a committee) may also be involved, but it is the advisor's job to be your guide and your advocate. Some places (and advisors) will welcome multi-disciplinary work. Others would not. Remember that this thesis is only your first major work. Hopefully it isn't your last. You don't need to try to make an international reputation at this point, but only get yourself in harness to pull for the long term, either in academia or industry. Advisor: good. Winging it: bad. A different answer may be valid in other places, of course, though I'd still recommend an advisor to work with even if it isn't required under the rules. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Trading strategies are a large part of Economics, a large part of Finance, a large part of financial econometrics, a large part in the banking industry. The best idea is to choose something that you're truly interested in. If you write a good thesis you'll get a good mark. Whilst the advisor is important, they are not actually necessary. I know its daunting but I have met many Masters students who choose something different than what their advisor likes. It normally works well if they're dedicated. Also make use of staff at the whole university. Turn up to office hours. Send emails. Ask PhD's someone will help you if you ask nicely. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/30	5,651	23,462	<issue_start>username_0: One of the adjuncts that I work with found that one of their students had posted their assignment on a freelancer website asking for the solution. We joked that he should place a bid and fail them afterwards and had a lengthy discussion about sting operations and entrapment. In the end we came to the conclusion we were not the police and to let the chair know, but ultimately take no action. I was wondering about the ethics of anonymously giving this student a marked solution with the goal of identifying the student and removing them from the class. In particular, I'm imagining we could write a correct solution with some additional embedded information that will be recognizable when the student turns in their answer (for example, extraneous steps that don't break the solution but don't add any value). Some additional clarifications: * Assume that the student clearly only wants the solutions for a grade and is not asking for assistance in understanding the material * This would be done as a private transfer of documents (like email), not a public posting (like a Stack Overflow answer), to avoid issues of other students stumbling upon the personalized solution. * We would provide the correct solution, but with some additional embedded data that identifies the source; for example, metadata, comments, and, in the case of code, extraneous steps that don't break the solution, but don't add any value.<issue_comment>username_1: I think that the legality of doing this would be in question in a lot of places. I doubt that the police could do a similar thing (in the US) without first obtaining a court order, for example. I think the ethics of it might also be questionable, but I think a discussion with an ethicist might be in order. The reason for the requirement for a court order, by the way, is to get an independent, non interested, opinion as to the propriety, as well as the legality. You made the right decision IMO to avoid doing this and to be cautious about it. However, if students are informed specifically or generally that such sites are monitored it might at least cut down on the practice. Of course it would be more useful if such assignments could be marked on those sites when they appear. Ultimately, of course, while we want to "catch a thief" it is better all around if we can prevent the theft in the first place. --- Based on the comments here let me add that I haven't claimed that the activity is definitely illegal anywhere, only that it might be. Moreover, my suggestions to avoid this action is to save people from potential grief that they might suffer by taking an action that "seems fair, but is foul". I try not to recommend risky behavior and generally caution people against it. Your desires may differ, of course. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: What about a constructive approach? Since you are already familiar with the website the student is using, why not show him the way to the solution instead of handing it to him in full? I do not know about the specifics of your situation, but in my opinion you should try to positively influence the student rather than playing a prank. (I'd still find it pretty funny, though.) Sending him a modified solution can create new problems: what are you going to do if half of the class has a marked solution? In my opinion, this approach would be ethically questionable at best, because you are actively helping the student to fail. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: As long as it is completely unambiguous that the student intends to cheat, I do not think it would be unethical to "entrap" them. The important principle is that, in your capacity as the "freelancer" providing the "flagged solution", you do not at any point encourage or incite the student to cheat. When the student is caught, he/she will probably claim that he/she only wanted some guidance, not the solution, and that the "freelancer" misinterpreted his/her wishes. To ensure that you cannot be accused of inciting misconduct, it is important that the written evidence (electronic-mail correspondence is admissible as evidence in a court of law) demonstrates beyond doubt that, after having made a good faith effort to assist the student to an extent that would not constitute cheating, the student insisted, on his/her own initiative, upon having the complete solution. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: It is unethical if you plan to punish them for the offense you are “stinging” them to commit (submitting under their own name an assignment done by someone else). But I think it’s ethical, though potentially still problematic, if you plan to only punish them for the offense they have already committed (soliciting solutions for a homework assignment on a freelancer website), and are only engaging in the “sting” to solve the practical problem of identifying the student who has committed that offense. The point is that there are two dishonest, punishable acts beings discussed here, one that was already committed and the other that is at this point only (presumably) contemplated. The student has already done something that violates most universities’ code of conduct by posting online the solicitation for someone else to do their homework assignment. It would be completely reasonable for you to punish them if you knew who they were. So I don’t see an ethical issue with a sting operation carried out exclusively for the purpose of finding the identity of the offending student, which effectively can be regarded as doing detective work to catch a cheater. You should also plan (and document the plan in writing and/or by telling about it to a trusted party) to give back to the student any money they pay you for the freelance work, to avoid any accusations of acting out of an ulterior motive or having a conflict of interests. As for punishing the student for the (more egregious) future offense, which at this point is still hypothetical, you should keep in mind that without your “sting” the student might well end up failing to find a freelancer to help them cheat, or simply have a change of heart at the last minute. I think it would be pretty obviously unethical to actively assist them in cheating, which actually increases the chance that they will engage in this behavior, and then punish them for that cheating. The student would be very likely to argue that they would not have gone through with the cheating if it weren’t for your “help”, and, while this may or may not be true, since you can’t say with confidence whether it’s true or not I think it’s actually a pretty compelling argument. Finally, I mentioned that even the ethical approach is potentially problematic. What I mean is, first of all, the argument that it is ethical is a bit tricky and I’m not 100% sure everyone will agree with it. Moreover, the sting might violate some policy or be disapproved of by the administration for reasons of public relations or other things not directly related to ethics. And second of all, from an educational point of view your role as an educator is not to set traps but to educate, while still maintaining a minimum level of integrity. Since the student has not yet actually copied the homework, if there is any way you can prevent the copying from happening without a sting, I think that would be vastly preferable. (For example, you could email the class and make it clear you are aware of the illicit use of the freelancer website, and warn about severe consequences for anyone caught using it, and maybe even announce a change in the assignment due to this violation, or something along those lines that could deter the cheater.) Edit: 1. People are saying OP’s proposed sting does not qualify as “entrapment” as it is usually defined. Fine, I edited that word out, but stand behind the rest of what I wrote. 2. People are saying the student has already cheated (or “already chosen to cheat”) and some don’t seem to buy into my distinction between the offense already committed and the one that lies in the future. To drive home this distinction, consider this hypothetical scenario: OP doesn’t do the sting but lets affairs run their course. The student who advertised the freelancer job doesn’t end up hiring a freelancer (let’s say OP can see this on the website). A week later he walks into OP’s office and confessed that it he tried to hire a freelancer and asks for forgiveness. He swears he ended up actually doing the assignment, and even has evidence to prove this - dated emails exchanged with his older brother asking him some technical questions, log files on Dropbox with earlier drafts, etc. My question is: should we punish the student in this situation with the same severity as in the scenario where he did submit the copied assignment, and later still confessed without any prompting? It seems to me that those who think he “already chose to cheat”, effectively branding himself forever as a cheater, should think that the exact same punishment is called for (except maybe that he should also get 0 on the assignment since he never did it, but otherwise the same). And if you don’t think the same punishment is appropriate, why doesn’t that then have implications about the ethics in OP’s question? Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: > > [We] had a lengthy discussion about sting operations and entrapment > > > The distinction between the two is important here. A sting catches someone doing something they were already going to do. Entrapment is where you trick them into doing it in the first place. If you posted an advertisement offering to solve the assignment for them, and some students took you up on that, that would be entrapment, and would definitely be unethical: they might not have cheated if you hadn't posted the advertisement. But in this case, they have already chosen to cheat. The only thing you can change is whether the assignment that they cheated on is easily recognizable as such. In some cases, it's hard to distinguish between a sting and entrapment. That isn't the case here; there's a (presumably) timestamped job posting the proves they were planning to do this before you got involved. You should still definitely run this by the department chair or someone first if you decide to do it, though. It looks similar to entrapment even though it isn't, and it's better to justify your actions before you do them, instead of letting it be an unpleasant surprise when the student complains later. The fact that you'd be getting paid to do the assignment is an issue, as well. Returning the fee to the cheater after catching them probably addresses this issue. (And maybe turn it over to the department in the meantime, to avoid the appearance of potential impropriety.) Edit: A comment requested an unambiguous conclusion, so: My view is that it is ethical, but it's very close to the border, and either encouraging cheating that would not have otherwise happened or profiting from the actions you take would push it over to the unethical side. And because it's so close, it's important to have some amount of transparency (e.g. by telling the department chair in advance) so as to avoid both the potential for and appearance of impropriety. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_6: The usual ethics-is-complex caveat aside: I can't see how this is could be completely free of unethical behaviour. At a very simple level, you are potentially harming this student. By giving them an answer they are more likely to use it, which is bad for everyone. You could argue this is not much more likely but you'd have to be pretty certain and I don't see how you could be. On the 'would they follow through' side, while legal and moral are not the same thing, the universality of the general principle of: 'testing the water is not the same as taking the plunge' in law is there for a reason. As is the less discussed (and maybe less universal): 'if you make it easy/tempting for someone it is less of a crime'. (I expect push back on this but its quite common and I think reasonable.) There's more nuanced things to consider too. Like: Is it ethical for you to be hunting down this sort of behaviour? Is a separate question to: Is the hunting itself ok? You are close to the student and have a position of power. Questions of fairness etc are hard to remove. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: No, it is not unethical. It's the student's fault for using your marked solution when he or she shouldn't have. If the student is honest, nothing will happen; only dishonest students will have problems. Here's something comparable: in 2013, journalist <NAME> submitted intentionally fake papers to several open access journals. He did this as a test to see which are predatory (i.e. they don't perform peer review and just publish anything for money). You can read more about this at [its Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who%27s_Afraid_of_Peer_Review%3F), as well as the results of the sting [as published in Science](http://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6154/60.full). Note that although this operation generated loads of comments and criticisms, nobody faulted <NAME> for acting unethically, including victims that failed the test. They know that if they were acting honestly, they would not have failed. Some of the "victims" who passed were even flattered: > > Other publishers are glad to have dodged the bullet. "It is a relief to know that our system is working," says <NAME>, chief strategy officer of Hindawi, an open-access publisher in Cairo. Hindawi is an enormous operation: a 1000-strong editorial staff handling more than 25,000 articles per year from 559 journals. When Hindawi began expanding into open-access publishing in 2004, Peters admits, "we looked amateurish." But since then, he says, "publication ethics" has been their mantra. Peer reviewers at one Hindawi journal, Chemotherapy Research and Practice, rejected my paper after identifying its glaring faults. An editor recommended I try another Hindawi journal, ISRN Oncology; it, too, rejected my submission. > > > Here is something else that's comparable: [the Sokal affair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair), where a physicist submitted a nonsense paper to a postmodern journal and tricked it into publishing nonsense. This time, the journal's editors were aggrieved. But if you read that article, you'll see why: > > ... Later, after Sokal's self-exposure of his pseudoscientific hoax article in the journal Lingua Franca, the Social Text editors said in a published essay that they had requested editorial changes that Sokal refused to make, and had had concerns about the quality of the writing, stating "We requested him (a) to excise a good deal of the philosophical speculation and (b) to excise most of his footnotes". Nonetheless, despite subsequently designating the physicist as having been a "difficult, uncooperative author", and noting that such writers were "well known to journal editors", Social Text published the article in acknowledgment of the author's credentials in the May 1996 Spring/Summer "Science Wars" issue. > > > In essence, the editors of the journal were acting honestly in compliance with their stated purpose. If they wound up publishing nonsense anyway, it was because they didn't understand quantum physics. Since they're social scientists, nobody can fault them for that either. Bottom line: as long as you set this up in such a way that only dishonest students will fail, you're not acting unethically. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: Are you sure your proof will hold? Assume they turn in this solution. Now you have to proof, they hired you as freelancer and they can claim, that they maybe collaborated with someone who had a really nice solution without knowing of the freelancer. In the worst case, they can insist on "I do not know, why others used `zyjkbk` as variable name as well and I do not care if you cannot proof anything but this variable name". So if you want to proof this misconduct, you better catch them e.g. by using his real name on the website, not by using marked solutions. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_9: On a practical level, I think you should aim to prevent rather than punish as that works better in theory and in reality. In this situation I would publicly show the sollicitation (username_3ymized) as well as put in a really too-low-priced bit (=no hint of profiteering) under your own name&affiliation so they know they're definitely caught. This way you only show one way you're being alert (and your other students may be posting requests on/in another forum/language you're not familiar with). [I would actually hint you check other language requests, if possible using the second not first most frequent further language amongst your students; for example the username_3ymized screenshot shows browser tabs of other-language forums being open (very natural/accidental looking, they're between URL and post!).] Because I actually caught a student trying to consult during an exam notes hidden in the toilet cistern: After lots of blah (read, unpaid hours of work for a whole committee) the student got no punishment at all (I'm convinced because an overseas student in the UK is a well-paying client). Beyond showing the whole class there's nothing to lose in attempting to cheat (further increasing your guard-dog duties you never wanted), even if eventually punished the delay between crime and punishment makes it ineffective as a deterrent; at best warns them to be more clever. The assertion in other answers that the student has already broken the rules doesn't really hold: The dean ruled that even though the student demonstrably hid the notes before and* re-opened the cistern during the exam, since I'd taken away the notes the student hadn't benefitted so no actual unfair benefit occurred and the exam results stand; if anything, they were disadvantaged the second exam due to the stress of knowing they're discovered.* This is the reality in academia: The student has spent 5min posting a request online, maybe wanting to go through with it maybe not (maybe testing you're aware or not?); now a whole bunch of academics with better things to do are spending many hours on this useless non-academic (policing?) task, with a very small probability of effective punishment/deterrent at the end. Students are already wise to the fact that you just take known-good essays, run it 2--3 turns of GoogleTranslate, and edit it to be grammatical again (with the original for meaning) and all TurnItIn/fraud-checking software will at best suggest it's suspect. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: I wouldn't do it. 1. You're putting that answer out there and it may get used or transmitted to others. So you are spreading both the right answer (to cheaters, perhaps not limited to one student) and spreading a flaw (even if the flaw is just fluff in the middle...it is still flawed thinking). 2. Don't think the risk/reward is worth it. It's not that I'm sympathetic to cheaters or endorse liberal student's rights (the opposite). But don't stick your hand into a bee's nest. You don't know how this little drama will progress... --- An alternate approach: Just tell the class that you found the posting. Inform the class that you thought about stinging and have decided not to do it (for now). And that use of such resources is cheating and if ever discovered will result in course failure and school punishment (which can include expulsion). P.s. I know I will get mucho grief for this, but I strongly urge you to consider using in class exams versus projects or turned in homework. Obviously there are some design courses where this is not feasible. But I think exams are falsely deprecated. Students learn a lot in preparing for exams, taking them, and then seeing the corrections. Project work tends to be loved by college teachers since it username_8ws more complex material to be dealt with and because it mimics research they do (or did when grad students). But it is not necessarily as pedagogically helpful in building basic toolkits. (Consider <NAME> spoke glowingly dedades later of the benefits of speed algebra!) Also, it is definitely more prone to outright or borderline cheating. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: One issue I see here, that I haven't seen addressed in the other answers, is that even if you were to inform the proper channels, answer the bid and deliver a "rigged" solution, the student might a) still not use it, or b) modify it before submitting. I would imagine a) as a simple case of cold feet, the developer would still get paid, but the student might have a change of heart in the last minute. b) is more interesting, as the student might use just the general idea, a part of the solution, or even feel that it is too advanced and attempt to strip it down by introducing deliberate flaws in order to avoid suspicion that it is not their own work (assuming still that there is no reason for the student to believe that there is anything wrong with the guy who did the work). The first point is, there is a plausible scenario in which you can't identify the student, but have done their job for them and even gotten paid (I assume that the money wouldn't be kept, but it is the transaction that matters). The second point is, that in this case, you miss the opportunity to educate. If the student isn't identified, they might try again. Will you do the new assignment again and hoping that this time it leads to student? Also, other students are not deterred from acting similarly, especially after the word gets out that someone put the homework assignment on some webpage and got it done by a freelancer. You can't come into class and tell that you found the ad and prepared a sting operation by doing someone's homework, but the offender eluded it somehow, can you? So, for the question about ethics, while the initial motive to catch someone red handed is in my opinion ethical, the result in case of failure is unethical (or "more unethical"). If you fail, you did the homework on behalf of a student (which is worse than if someone else did it), you got money for it (whatever you do with it, the student still paid to get the work done, and it got done without consequences by none other than you, that angle matters in my mind), and you didn't deter similar behavior in the future, neither of the offending student nor of the rest of the class. Which side outweighs the other ethically can be debated, but I think it comes at a great risk, and would recommend against it. Someone might ask: "Should I then do nothing and let them cheat???". If such a sting operation were the only resort, I would seriously consider myself outplayed and do nothing rather than risk being part of it. I would of course keep a lookout when the homework is handed in. I would also proactively tailor the homework so that it depends heavily on the coursework and hope that an outside expert would either have to invest a non-trivial amount of time to familiarize himself with the material (which might be infeasible in terms of cost, however the pay arrangement) or have his solution stand out among the other students'. As a final thought, consider that if you don't answer their ad, no one else might. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/30	775	3,475	<issue_start>username_0: I am a cybersecurity professional well employed. I am almost 50 year old so since my employer would pay a graduate or undergrad degree I thought about going back to school to enhance computer science skills and apply more software development in my career. My background: 18 years experience in various roles in network engineering & cyber security. BSEE, MBA Multiple computer certifications Intermediate level in programming (Python, C) Question is, I am not sure I can be admitted into a masters in computer science if I am not working mostly in programming. Would an undergrad degree be suitable or just take certification training/bootcamps in programming?<issue_comment>username_1: This is about two things: One, what you want, ie think about what the courses offer in terms of the programming skills you want - which will give you the tools? Two, are there any entry criteria imposed by the institutions you are looking at? Not being mean, I was a mature student and the academic entry requirements were "adjusted" with "professional experience", based on an interview with a professor... So, work out what each course offers compared to what you are looking for and, most of all, ENJOY IT !! You could, easily, end up doing both... depending how you want to start. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: If you want to formalize your software development skills and move up in your career, an undergrad degree in CS may be your best option. A graduate degree (without first getting an undergrad degree) would likely be a bad fit. Note that most graduate programs in the U.S. would require an undergraduate degree. Graduate degrees will also be more research oriented and would care very little about your industry experience. I would not look to a graduate degree as your first move. (Although, maybe after doing a bachelor's degree you will want to pursue a master's degree!) If you are just looking to obtain more software skills in order to broaden your abilities in your current role, certification training/bootcamps in programming would be a faster path to doing so. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Actually, the CS undergraduate degree isn't just about programming. True that our students learn programming first so that they can build some interesting things in later courses, but there is a lot more to it. Perhaps you have this skill, certainly you have some of it with your background. But algorithms, and data structures are important as is computability theory and information theory. You already have an undergrad degree and a masters. If you are in the US, an additional undergraduate degree would probably waste a lot of your time. But you might need to fill in a few things. I suggest that you go visit someplace that has good graduate programs and talk with a faculty member or admissions councilor to see where you might fit in and what things you might want to do before you start formally. Some places will have flexible programs in which you can pick up the missed requirements formally. Every place will have different requirements for a Masters. In some you will probably be a pretty close fit already. In others, not so much. But only a specific institution can tell you for sure how you stand and give you an estimate of your probable success. Visit in person so that you can get a feel for the place and they can ask you meaningful questions about background and intentions. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/31	645	2,585	<issue_start>username_0: I have a paper (A) that has been submitted to a journal, but is as yet unreviewed, and another paper (B) that cites A. (The citation is necessary because A includes details of the preparation of a dataset that is used in B. The preparation is not central to B, but it is relevant.) I am about to submit B to another journal for review. I think it would be useful to have a preprint of A available (and cited in B) in case the reviewers of B want to see it. Posting a pre-print of A on ArXiv seems to be the ideal solution. BUT, the paper does not fit any of the subject categories on ArXiv. It is in teh area of renewable energy engineering, while ArXiv is largely confined to Physics, Maths, Computer Science. Should I submit the paper using a subject category that is only incidentally relevant (Physics and Society for instance, or Systems and Control), or is there an alternative pre-print archive with a borader range of categories?<issue_comment>username_1: The archive [engrXiv](https://engrxiv.org/) is dedicated to engineering. Wikipedia has a [list of preprint servers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preprint) where you might find other possibilities, but the engrXiv is the only one dedicated to engineering, as far as I can see. There are other solutions to publish preprints as well: your institutional repository or generic archives such as [figshare](https://figshare.com/) or [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/). Both accept articles and will provide a DOI. Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You don't need an Arxive paper. The world got along fine with this sort of issue well before the development of Arxive. For example: paper A on apparatus: submitted to J. New Apparat.; emphasis on apparatus design, perhaps a little results but not main emphasis. paper B on chemical: submitted to J. Wierd Chem.; emphasis on chemical info, cites previous work as "submitted". [Or many other reasons for paper A and B having some relation, benefiting from citing each other, but also from separation. For instance if they are separate chemical findings but in a similar area by same researchers.] As long as the findings are non controversial, you should be fine. If there is a question of controversy, accuracy (e.g. if you are claiming some really novel method that people many doubt) than sure they may want to see a preprint or even insist on combining the papers. But you can deal with that by just sending a copy of your submission to Journal A. And I wouldn't even do it pre-emptively. Just when/if challenged. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/31	754	3,064	<issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate student. My friends and I found interesting results while applying game theory to biology. However, we have used only one datset and being undergrads can't get access to do experiments to get our own data. should we preprint anyway .Will retracting a paper from biorxiv hurt our future publication chances?<issue_comment>username_1: No, many submit and have to rewrite or withdraw for many reasons. Do you really need to withdraw - this may be an interesting result for people to see even if it was on limited data... Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: No. I would not expect any backlash from having a manuscript retracted at Biorxiv as it is not peer-reviewed in principle, anyway, and given you're not exposed for blatant fraud or other glaring questionable behaviour in the platform. Which would be so foolish nobody has done this yet. Furthermore, I do not think there are any mechanisms for retracting a paper from Biorxiv after publication. And this is important to bear in mind. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: The other answers (and comments) raise some good points, let me put them all together "for the record." First, your best bet is to get some faculty supervision. As written in the comments, "when you are a novice you don't even know which questions to ask." In this particular advice, it looks like you followed the advice to find a mentor "and are grateful for it," so that's great. Second, bioRxiv technically doesn't allow you to retract you paper. As it says on [this FAQ](https://support.jmir.org/hc/en-us/articles/360031369491-How-do-I-remove-my-preprint-): > > As disclosed in the preprint/open peer-review settings when authors submit their paper, preprints cannot be "unpublished". "Publication" means to "make public", and once something is public on the Internet, we cannot go back in time and undo the publication. Preprints (including submitted manuscripts) will remain on JMIR Preprints in perpetuity.... > > > Because preprints do not "count" as formal publication, there is no formal "withdrawal" process. In exceptional cases (e.g. clearly wrong information that constitute a public health concern) we can add a new cover page to a preprint PDF that contains an explanation from the authors explaining why the preprint was withdrawn (explaining substantial errors that would render the preprint unpublishable). The originally submitted preprint will still be part of the PDF, but the withdrawal explanation will be on the first page. > > > Finally, there is a huge difference between a preprint server and a peer-reviewed journal. Certainly, you do not want garbage associated with your name in either; however, technical problems -- such as results that do not generalize to other datasets -- are not really a problem in the former as they would be in the latter. It is expected that a fraction of promising early results (which might make it to arXiv/bioRxiv) die on the vine before the study is completed and published in a peer-reviewed journal. Upvotes: 2
2019/01/31	4,795	19,524	<issue_start>username_0: In the computer science field, an entry-level software engineer in top-tier tech companies (e.g. Google, Facebook, etc.) could earn as much as a 20-year experience professor. And the workload in academia is way heavier. For example, my friends in Google work 8 hours a day and have the weekend while my Ph.D. friends have to work at least 60 hours a week if they want to have a good publication record. They almost stay in the lab all day long and don't have the weekend. And also, given my observation, getting a position at an even mediocre university is even much harder than getting a position at Google level companies, let alone a Ph.D. would take more time on their education. Why do so many PhDs still choose to be a professor while they have the choice to go to the industry?<issue_comment>username_1: Socially acceptable answers: * Becoming a professor is unlikely to be the goal of the majority of Ph.D. students. * Can demand higher salary upon joining company * To pursue their own interests and passion without pressure from company * To teach others and continue to learn. Socially unacceptable answers: * Pathway to immigration into wealthy, Western societies. Count the number of Chinese, Indian and Iranian Ph.D. students in your research field and their overwhelming white, Anglo research advisors and calculate this ratio. * Pathway into high paying companies, especially by people who did not study a lucrative major. I cannot tell you how many people I know from civil engineering or chemical engineering have used their Ph.D. as a way to learn advanced software courses and join Google or a bank afterward. * They cannot cut it in the competitive industry world. Industry routinely does their own research but they usually hire the really big names: inventors, people who have written books, etc. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: > > In CS field, an entry-level software engineer in top-tier tech > companies (e.g. Google, Facebook, etc.) could earn as much as a > 20-year experience professor....Why do so many PhDs still choose to be a professor while they have the choice to go to the industry? > > > First, your assumption is wrong. Most PhDs end up in industry. I don't have any source but I think this is from 90 - 99%. If you limit your question to the 1% - 10% that become professors, they are all very successful, i.e. they have plenty of papers, promising research direction, strong network etc etc. And there is a reason for their success: they have passion, and when you have passion, money is likely not the most important thing in life. Except for machine learning, in most areas in CS, you need to stay in academia to do research. And there are many benefits that you can only have when working in academia. * You take credit for what you have done. Products in industry are developed by a large team, and nobody can take full credit for it. But researchers can take full credit for what they do in their papers. * Reputation: you are invited to give talk, become program committee members, etc etc, and everybody will know you. I would be excited to meet an author whose paper I have read. I'm not excited at all to meet a Google employee. (I'm living in Mountain View, a small city with 80,000 residents, but more than 20,000 Google employees) * Do interesting jobs. You always work on new things in research, while the majority of tasks of a software engineer are maintenance, fix bugs etc. (I'm a software engineer if you are curious) Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: As far as I see it, the main advantage that academia has over industry is freedom. In industry, you generally work on what your employer tells you to work on. As a professor, even at the entry level (assistant professor), you have quite a bit of leeway to work on what interests you, with the constraint that you have to find an agency that will give you money for at least some of it. Many postdocs and even some graduate students have the ability to come up with their own project ideas and pursue them, as long as they are somewhat consistent with their mentors' funding streams. The constraint of being able to find funding is a big one, but I still think that I have much more freedom than my friends in industry. As a professor, I only talk to my boss about what I'm doing once or twice per year. In academia, usually your boss is happy as long as you bring in grants. Another reason to stay in academia is inertia. Once you've spent 5 years getting a PhD, you know a lot about what a career in academia looks like and have resources to help you move forward. Finding how your skills might fit in industry is less obvious and you might not know how to start. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: A few other points. * Not everyone has an enormous industry to fall back on. The body of your post mentions CS, but your title doesn't limit to science fields. There is no high-paying industry for most people in the humanities, subfields of linguistics, psychology, imaging. * Personally, I'm glad I don't work for a private company and "produce value for shareholders." * Many universities are still good places to work in terms of benefits; good retirement, medical, and other perks, especially in public schools that can offer government benefits. My university has a pretty generous vacation schedule, even if a lot of people don't take their days. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I wish I could just "chose to be a professor". But you are correct in your assessment that, for people who chose to stay in academia, money could not be the motivation. But, doing a PhD is not just obtaining another diploma, just another step in one's education. The knowledge (i.e. collection of facts related to your field of study) obtained during a PhD is so specific that it is not easily transferable. The transferable skills a PhD candidate trains for have to do with understanding scientific literature, being able to make connections, conclusions and get new ideas from it. After obtaining their PhD, one should be able to do that reasonably well with literature from any (sub)field related to theirs, after a short period of time needed to come up-to-speed with a new topic. On the other hand, skills required for a software engineer are a different set of skills entirely. A masters education will sometimes familiarize you with the basic tools (programming languages) and concepts needed, but you eventually need to develop skills related to writing legible, repeatable, reusable code, which you mostly obtain by a lot of practice. Judging by some of the industry interviews I had after my PhD (in parallel with the postdoc interviews), I would've probably done much better in them before my PhD, or even before finishing my masters. So, they're jobs requiring different skillsets. I chose Computer Science because it fulfilled me, unlike e.g. medicine or law. Taking this further, I want a research job because it gives me a sense of fulfilment I wouldn't get from a software engineering position. Pure research positions in top-tier companies are quite competitive, so there's a slim chance somebody who can't succeed obtaining a permanent faculty positions will be able to secure a research position in industry. Some of the following points are what is important to me, rather what might be important to everybody, but I heard most of them echoed back to me from my colleagues in academia. Comparing research positions in industry and academia (though my experience in industry is limited to what I got from a few interviews, and then a few months where I was forced to take an industry job while waiting for my immigration documents): * Most research positions are much more flexible with working hours. People understand that, doing creative work, some days you just can't get anywhere, and some days you're on a streak and don't want to stop after 10 hours. People that are really not morning people can occasionally arrive late for lunch, and nobody says a word. In industry, I've heard arriving to work at 9:30AM is considered as having "flexible work hours". * Even in case of very strong research ties to industry, holding an academic position allows you to chose the problems you want to work on (possibly amongst several industry collaborations, but the choice is still made according to your research interests and research group). In industry, you need to work on the problems as dictated by the market, interesting be damned in favour of profitable. * In my academic interviews, people were interested in the problems I was tackling. In industry, people were interested in my problem solving skills. Nobody cared about what I applied them to, just whether I can apply it to the problems they would present me with. * Academic jobs are some of the most travelled jobs out there. During my PhD, I wouldn't be surprised if the amount the University covered for my travels would have easily closed the wage gap to industry. Conferences and professional visits are an integral part of academic research. Travelling with industry always has a promotional purpose. * I feel free to discuss my ideas with anybody, anywhere. I reach best conclusions through discussion. The thought of chatting about a topic, having an idea and having to bite my tongue is a bit terrifying to me. The worst that could happen is somebody poaching an undeveloped an untested idea and researching it themselves - not a terrible loss since I don't get to develop all of my ideas anyway. In industry, one needs to constantly think of confidentiality, and which details of their work they are allowed to disclose. * The goal of publications, as the "tangible products" of academic research, is to share your ideas, results and findings with the world. I enjoy the idea that my work is public and adding to the collective of human knowledge (let's not discuss paywalls right now...). In industry, all the ideas have to be intellectually protected before publishing: patented or whatever. The goal of publishing is not, precisely, to share your approach with the public. It is again promotional; to boast about the results you obtained with your new method; the details of which you might (need to) try and keep vague. In my head, the list of contrasts goes on. It's little things and big things, but all in all, all the freedoms that staying in academic research allows me are worth more than the difference in monetary compensation industry could offer. If somebody wanted me to work a 9-5 job (or generously allowed me to work 9:30 till 5:30), working on their problems which I find marginally interesting, and not discuss my work with anybody not on their payroll (and sometimes not even that if employees are too competitive for promotions), they would have to offer me much more than the industry standards. Since I'm not a research rock star and nobody is going to offer me that, I guess I'll stay in adacemia if I can, and leave an industry engineering job as a fall-back option. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: I've worked in industry science, and in academic science (as a PhD for both - I'm back in academia now). Industry Science * The problems you're working on are tangible and usually very interesting * You have resources available * There are good things about a real HR department (never had a missed paycheck in industry science; never really worked more than 40 hours a week) * Most of your coworkers, even the dumb ones, are pleasant enough at work. * You will spend at least half your work week in meetings. Most of which will be valueless * Corporate middle management is usually staffed by people who are arrogant and self-serving enough to escape actual work, but too dumb to really do anything important. These people will usually supervise you. Daily. Academic Science * The problems you're working on may be interesting or they might not be. Academic freedom is a misnomer - if you want to be successful, you're still as constrained in what you can do as industry science (IMO) * You are more resource limited, but usually have free or cheap labor available * There are good things about a fake HR department (you can finish all your annual trainings in 20 minutes on a computer) * You may spend a lot of time on administration, depending on your role * You may spend a lot of time teaching, but it's generally somewhat rewarding unless you're teaching intro stats to 600 people who would rather be high * Most of your coworkers, even the unpleasant ones, are smart and provide an intellectual environment that's usually positive * You usually don't report day-to-day to a idiot chimpanzee * You can make fun of corporate-speak without having a meeting about being a team player. So I mean... there's good and bad on both sides. The pay gap exists but isn't as big as people think in most fields (when I left my last industry job for this academic job, the salary was pretty much the same). Just do what makes you not want to stab people every morning. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_7: (I had a much longer answer, but realized that it could be condensed. I also noticed your specific field of interest, Computer Science, which allowed further compression.) Computer science != programming. Thinking otherwise is an overwhelmingly common error, especially in industry. If you study computer science and that is actually what you want to do, it is very difficult to find a position in industry. If you study computer science and want to write programs, that is a very easy position to find in industry, mostly because of the error I mentioned above. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: The two main reasons I can think of (thought of at the time this was relevant to me): * Momentum: + You've stamped your name a bit of the world. + You've got to grips with a lot of things unique to this world. Things that might not be valued elsewhere. + You know you are good at what you doing.You don't necessarily want to give that up and jump to something that's realistically a very different skill set. * There are some roads industry doesn't go down: Unless there is a perceived short-term, competitive, advantage in knowing the answer to a question, it's hard to get industry to take the question seriously. This won't affect everyone. Lot's of interesting questions do have answers that are competitive advantages. But there is a reason academics are often considered not to be 'down-to-earth": if it's a down to earth question you want to answer, you can normally get someone to pay you answer it better elsewhere than in academia, so you do tend to leave. If not... you have your answer. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: The pay ain't that much lower in academia as compared to industry in all countries. In several places you can earn say 70-90% of what you would as a junior "newly baked" M.Sc. And then spend perhaps 4 paid hours per day doing what you love most in the world instead of hmm what do I know..., fix someone elses bug (who quit for a long time ago) or writing soul-numbing requirements. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_10: As far as I know in the majority of the cases (not all, of course) people stay in academia without being so deep in reasoning about comparisons between academia and industry. They studied there, they had many friend around them, perceived professors as bosses and, when they find a way to begin that career, they do it. Moreover very often families are proud of them for being “university researcher” and money is no a major problem in the initial period. So they stay there and are very happy of this. A part this category, few people really make a choice and have precise targets in minds; another few people come back to academia after some years of industry; another few people begin to teach back to academia after many years of industry having in mind the idea to boost the preparation of student in a way that industry need, and so on. As a rule the percentage of “stay in academia” is about 1-2%, the percentage of target minded less than 0.1%, that of “back in academia” again 1% or less, that of “teach back” something around 0.01% or less. These figures depend on your country as well. (Btw: I’ve been part of “teach back” people, even if, at the moment, I’m mainly deeply involved in industry projects again and do not teach or research for university anymore). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: I think that most of the existing answers have a flaw: they list out some rational pros of academia versus industry, assume that PhD graduates act completely rationally, and then conclude that many stay in academia for the reasons listed. From my experience at least (mathematics PhD, now software engineer) this is not how it works. I think a huge factor in PhDs staying in academia is simply inertia. At every stage in the career process of an academic, staying in academia is the short term easiest option. When I was graduating from my PhD, it would have taken me two or three weeks to prepare post-doc applications and submit them; applying for industry jobs took three to four months of full time re-training and the significant risk that it actually wouldn't work. In the long term, for me, it was the much better option - but at the point where I had to choose, I was tempted to take the short term easy way out. In mathematics nowadays, most PhD graduates can expect to have two or more post-docs. During this time they will have very little financial and geographic security (you have to move to where the one post-doc you were accepted for is). Foreigners in the United States, like me, also have very little immigration security during this time, whereas good private sector employers will have green cards for their foreign PhD-graduate employees within 2-3 years. Post-doc salaries are about half those in industry for recently graduated PhDs. The fact that, despite this chronic situation in the jobs market, many PhDs continue in academia is a strong indicator in my opinion that rationality is not the main determinant. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_12: Because all our role models are in academia, and academia is what we know. A Bachelor student, Master student, or PhD student will be working in a university environment. He or she will be exposed to successful researchers, internally within their university, externally when they are visiting, or when he or she is visiting a conference or even reading papers. The power of role models is very large. This reinforces the selection bias. When all the role models are within academia, academia becomes the known option. Industry? I don't know anybody in industry, they don't go to conferences and they don't even have employee websites, only vague and general LinkedIn profiles. They probably never come and give guest lectures. They might visit a careers fair at my uni, but hey, I'm a postdoc and already have a job, why should I go to a careers fair, those are for undergrads, right? In addition to what username_3 and username_11 have pointed out, this inertia is not only a matter of sticking with what we have: it is a matter of sticking with what we know: to remain in the protective cocoon of Academia. [![PhD comics cocoon](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uHWXK.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uHWXK.gif) Source: [PhD Comics](http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1077) Upvotes: 3
2019/01/31	783	3,195	<issue_start>username_0: I have been working in a research position in a DOE lab in the United States for the past year or so, and my mentor wrote me letters of recommendation for my graduate school application. I have been, to put it bluntly, worse at my job recently than I had been when he wrote the letter, and I would quite like to leave soon as: * It has always been a poor fit for my interests, and I am rapidly losing the motivation to continue; * I have not been challenged/learned anything new for months, and I do not have the discretion to change this; * I am not vital to any of the ongoing projects in my group; * I have saved enough to support myself through matriculation. I am very worried that, given my recent job performance, if I leave soon, my mentor might try to contact graduate programs to which I submitted applications 1+ months ago to give an update on his impression of my character/abilities/etc. Is this a real possibility? If so, how would graduate schools react, receiving this so long after submission, or if they've already accepted me?<issue_comment>username_1: Anything is possible, of course, but (warning - opinion coming), I think it would be very unlikely. First, I doubt that your mentor would do that, though I don't know the person so can't be definitive. I would not, anyway. Second, if you have been accepted (and told them you are coming) you have at least an informal contract that is unlikely to be broken. In some places it would likely be against regulations to withdraw an offer after acceptance. But again, I suppose it is possible that it would happen. However, you might be questioned by your mentor or others about this, so be prepared to give an honest reply. People learn as they live and they change their minds about things. Other people generally understand that and accept it as long as it doesn't cause disruption. But I think your worry is probably based on very little. (Sorry about all the "weasel words" here.) Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: > > Is this a real possibility? > > > I can only speak for myself, but I would have to be VERY angry before I would take the time and do something as drastic as this. At worst, I can imagine someone rescinding their letter without sending an update, but even that would be far beyond something I would consider doing for an average case. > > If so, how would graduate schools react, receiving this so long after submission, or if they've already accepted me? > > > If the new letter described some really egregious conduct (e.g., fraud, stealing), this would certainly affect the decision. For the sort of minor matters you describe, I think it would reflect poorly on the sender, though whether it also reflected poorly on the student (particularly to the point of changing the decision) is hard to predict. > > I have been, to put it bluntly, worse at my job recently > > > Unsolicited advice: consider leaving soon (or rededicating yourself). It's possible the problem hasn't even been noted yet, and people are unlikely to be offended by your decision to pursue other paths. But if this continues for months, you will likely burn a bridge. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/31	814	3,309	<issue_start>username_0: I'm in my third year, and I was originally planning to graduate end of my 5th year, but now I changed my plans, I'm going to graduate at the end of my 4th year.However, there is a pair of courses called Turkish I and Turkish II that every students needs to take in Turkey in any university, and I didn't take the first one the fall semester. Now, the next fall semester, I'm going to study abroad for one semester with Erasmus (hopefully). If I apply for a Phd program next year, and get accepted, at the end of my fourth year, practically I'm a graduated, expect officially I still need to take Turkish I course, which I'm hoping that I can take it in the summer term at the end of my 4th year (or maybe the fall semester of my 5th year). In such a case, is it possible for my submission to be delayed for one semester ? What are my options in this case ?<issue_comment>username_1: If you are not officially graduated from a degree which is required for beginning a doctoral degree, you can ask your new graduate program if you can defer your start, explaining your situation. In some cases, they will simply say no - some departments have a standing policy that they do not defer unless there is a medical emergency, and otherwise you are just welcomed to re-apply the following admission period (some departments do that only once a year, but some allow rolling admissions or once every semester). On the other hand, in many cases they will allow you to defer and start the PhD at a later date. The main issue here is that some departments have strong policies in favor official cohorts - sets of students who enter all together in the same semester. Other departments have strong policies that you can only start a doctorate in a given semester each year, so you'd have to wait 1 full year to start (so if you planned to start fall of 2020, you'd have to wait until fall of 2021, etc.). These should always be used as a last resort, because departments are generally free to change their policy and often decide on a case by case basis, and that sounds like an unpleasant amount of stress to volunteer to have to deal with (if you can avoid it). If you are still in the position that you have a choice of whether or not you need to be in this position, it is better to contact them in advance to see what kind of option you might have - or, if possible, just don't be in that position in the first place. If you only need one course, check with your University what option there may be to get credit for an equivalent course taken elsewhere, or take an online equivalent, or take a class in a summer/interim period (if your University has such a thing). So you have a number of options, and be sure to investigate the most conventional ones (being able to graduate on time) while checking on the others as a fall-back plan, just in case. Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: See if you can start the Ph.D. on time (sans bachelors) and make up the Turkish in the summers. Maybe grad program will let you enter sans bachelors. Worth an ask. Otherwise good chance you will lose a whole year. It's no usual per the rules, but rules were meant... Plus they know you, want you, and it may even be an irrelevant course to your new program of study. Upvotes: 0
2019/01/31	1,424	5,998	<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student in the field of education at the final year and I received a request from a well known journal (impact factor 1.6). I have published only conference papers. Is it normal to receive such a request? Or am I lucky?<issue_comment>username_1: There are several possibilities. One is that you are lucky. One is that they are desperate (no, not really). But, I think that the most likely answer is that you have been "seen" by an editor via your conference papers and seem to be a good candidate to review a particular work. I would guess that the editor sees a match of interest and topic that points to you. If you have the time for it, it would probably be a good idea to accept, just for the experience. But, no, I don't think it is especially "normal" in most fields. When your advisor is an editor or a close associate of an editor, it might be more common, of course. Perhaps someone like that suggested you. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In my field (biology) it's slightly unusual but quite common to have senior PhD students do peer reviews. Typically they would have published in the field, but it wouldn't be too surprising for an editor to request a review from a student who they knew of from conferences. Good peer reviewers are hard to come by, and a PhD student who is knowledgeable in the field can give a useful review. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Some fields have a very small number of people at that level, so yes it is "normal", while other fields have so many people some good ones never get asked... Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: In my experience, if you have received a request to review for a journal then it could be because of the following: 1. The scope of the paper being reviewed has less number of reviewers available and it is a common practise to reach out to authors who have published work in that area. 2. The journal needed an external reviewer to provide an objective view on the work in focus. 3. Being recommened by someone to the journal for you to be a reviewer for the work in focus. It is not really luck that you got contacted to be a reviewer but I would say it is more becasue of your expertise and/or network. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: For a long time after graduating as a PhD, I thought that every PhD students would have done some reviews, and that it would be fairly common to have reviewed journal papers. Then we hired in my team a young postdoc who had graduated a few month before and soon after I offered him an opportunity to review a paper in his area of expertise. I was shocked to know that it was his very first invitation to review a paper (even for conferences or workshops)! I realised after that that it is not too uncommon to find PhD students that never have the opportunity to review a paper before graduating. I think that it depends mostly on whom you work with (your supervisor and the people you meet / interact with). As a Phd student, I was involved in a European project that allowed me to meet some of the top researchers in my community of research. I also had a supervisor who is among the well known researchers of that community. He gave me a lot of things to review, as well as to his other PhD students. I also got things from other colaborators. After that, I worked in a team where the boss had his share of reviews to do, and he delegated some of them to his students and postdocs. So, all the way untill I got a permanent position, I was under the asumption that every mildly successful PhD students would have made reviews. I always try to offer my students a chance to review, unless I see they are struggling with their own work. Anyway, is it really important to know if it's common or not? If the journal is reputable and you have the time to do it, then do it, and do it seriously. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: It's moderately unusual but not unheard of. It's basically a positive. You are seen as a functioning professional scientist. So, just do a decent review and send it in. Before you know it, you'll have a union card, get promoted, be a PI, etc. But if you are a good graduate student, you should already be becoming a scientific contributor well before you leave the nest. So it's all good. Take it in stride and rock out the review. Onwards. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I think it is more a matter of practice and a little bit of luck. However, reviewing has become a part and parcel of my life as a PhD student with a lot of Conference reviews. Journals send me reviews only once in a while and it usually correlates with (maybe falsely, likely causally) with a submission I have sent which was not accepted eventually. Also, I get conference review tasks regularly and I am yet to get accepted in a peer reviewed publication. It does go to the fact that the area thinks they might use my expertise ( I have significant industry experience and a notable grasp of research concepts , esp. upcoming and complex econometrics and methodologies) I think it helps to subscribe to Industry organisations (not just ones with listserv subscriptions) especially the top 3-4 in your area so that you are visible as a serious member. Once you start as reviewer, I think more work depends on the quality and timeliness of your reviews. Also a lot of selection in this area is based on trust, so the 'evil' tenets of posing beyond your qualification and acting up are a big no if you want to be on the eternal gratitude of editors and conveners looking for erudite reviewers. Also you have to start publishing eventually as your review records get weighed against your choices to publish and your docus/praxis of published work in the relevant areas. If you got to review because your guide/area was processing the conference/journal, then this may turn out to be a one off for you and not get counted by the journal for future reviews. Lastly, most of my colleagues past, pre Upvotes: 1
2019/01/31	1,160	4,898	<issue_start>username_0: Suppose a person got PhD degree by properly submitting his/her thesis on a particular topic. Assume that neither the student nor the doctoral review committee including supervisor knows that the proposal is not a novel. Later at some point of time if it comes to know that the student got PhD without any novelty. Then does the PhD degree get withdrawn?<issue_comment>username_1: No. While perhaps the committee erred by approving such a thesis, the decision would not be overturned. The same is true for novel work that is later found to have errors. Withdrawing a PhD is very rare, and typically only done in response to academic misconduct (or public relations problems...). Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: It would be very rare for such a thing to happen. However, it might depend on the circumstances behind it. If it was nothing more than a misjudgment by the candidate and the committee or some missed (but relatively obscure) information that wasn't included, probably nothing would happen. People would just say "oh well..." and let it go. However, if some misconduct occurred, such as hiding information or plagiarizing other work, then it could result in withdrawal. But then, it wouldn't be for lack of novelty, but for the misconduct. Novelty is a judgement call in any case. Looked at in hindsight something may appear to be not-novel when, at the time, it was. Even at the same moment, different people might judge it differently. If you are the candidate in question, I recommend that you rest easy. Likewise if you were the advisor. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: No. Retracting degrees after the fact is a grave undertaking. If there is no question of acting in bad faith it would be pretty unthinkable. Even if there was question of foul play, in practice it's very unlikely anything would happen. Clearly for something severe enough this might be on the table but lacking novelty: no. It's worth considering how difficult/unreasonable it would be to, ten years after the fact say, reassemble all of the relevant parties and revisit such a claim. And that's all it is, a claim. Especially with something nuanced like novelty, until the parties involved have made their cases and some fairly serious thought put in: it's just conjecture, upon which none would strip a degree. If it was simple, it wouldn't have been gotten wrong at the time. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I know of a case where a person was awarded a Master's degree in math accidentally. He didn't pass his comprehensive exams and (I think) was short some course work. But someone in the graduate office screwed up and stamped a piece of paper with the wrong stamp. And the guy got a diploma. He didn't even know it until at least a year after. But it was determined that he didn't cheat in anyway to cause this to happen, and he's got his degree. (Even though he couldn't integrate his way out of a wet paper bag.) Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I have never heard of this. It would probably require something really serious like discovering academic misconduct, forging data or plagiarism or similar. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: No. A PhD is basically an apprenticeship in research in some field, and the thing that gets you your PhD is the demonstration that you have acquired the skills needed to be an independent (journeyman) researcher in that field. Ideas are constantly being reinvented again and again in many fields, so it often happens that you later discover that someone else has published the same idea. If your examiners were satisfied that you were sufficiently diligent in your literature review, then that is demonstrating that skill. We all miss something occiasionally. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: NO, this is the responsibility of the supervisory committee. In fact, I was told a year or two after the fact that part of my dissertation had been worked out and put in a technical report at Bell Labs. The thought of retracting my degree didn't cross anyone's mind. In fact, it was evidence of significance. If I had concealed the report from my committee, it would have killed my letters of recommendation from my committee members, and generally damaged my professional reputation severely. But as a former director of a graduate program, I can tell you that faculty members would have little appetite to pursue the case, because it would be a BIG time sink with an uncertain outcome, and it could damage the committee members' reputations as well. On the other hand, if the PhD were a public figure and incident were already damaging the department's reputation due to exposure in the press, I suppose there might be some pressure to devote some attention to the case. In the US, the PhD would probably sue, and the university's lawyers would fold rather than litigate, in my estimation. Upvotes: 2
2019/01/31	1,539	6,423	<issue_start>username_0: Related (not duplicates): * [Is it appropriate to cite a paper in a language I don't understand?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/123448/is-it-appropriate-to-cite-a-paper-in-a-language-i-dont-understand) * [Would it be ethical to hire a proofreader for theses and academic articles?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5016/would-it-be-ethical-to-hire-a-proofreader-for-theses-and-academic-articles) One of the things that I have found extremely helpful when writing in a non-native language is to use tools such as Google Translate, where I will first write what I want to say in my native language, put it into the translator, and then revise the translated output based on my actual knowledge of the language. Specifically, I am often able to recognize the correctness of a passage in that language (e.g. word usage, false friends, correct verb tenses, spelling errors, appropriate levels of politeness, etc.) better than I can write fluently from scratch. When doing such a thing in an academic paper, is it generally necessary to either: * Disclose that an automated translation tool was used to assist in the composition of the paper? * Formally cite the translation tool (e.g. Google Translate)? I'm not asking about any specific situation (contact your instructor or editor), but about best practices and general understandings. I'm not asking whether it's acceptable to copypaste directly from the output of an online translator straight into a manuscript, thesis, or course essay (that would be crazy), but whether the fact that one has used a translator in a non-trivial way can be considered unethical. Would the answer differ based on context? For example, my instinct tells me that this would probably not be ok for coursework in which mastery of the target language is a main focus (e.g. you are taking Advanced English as a Second Language and are assigned to write a short story), but would be more acceptable in a context (coursework or journal submission) in which mastery of the target language is not the focus (but rather the medium of demonstrating mastery over or research findings regarding some other thing), such as writing a paper on astrophysics for a journal that requires that all papers be in English (the journal is really focused on your astrophysics findings, and the language is just a standardized medium of information exchange, i.e. a tool to do so). It's already well-accepted that using general language reference tools such as dictionaries, thesauri, grammars, and style guides are not unethical, but it's not clear if automated translation tools are truly analogous to them. In a nutshell, the process I'm speaking of is as follows: * Write my original composition, findings, thoughts, analyses, etc. in my native language, without doing anything remotely resembling plagiarism. * Send what I wrote through a translator. * Use the output of the translator as a framework or draft, going through it and making appropriate corrections (conjugations, false friends, incorrect synonym chosen (e.g. translating "hot" as in temperature as "spicy" or "sexy"), awkward phraseology, archaic language, inappropriate diction, blatant translation errors, etc.), but without recomposing the entire paper from scratch in the target language.<issue_comment>username_1: My opinion (note: opinion) is that you don't need to do a citation here as the words are yours originally and the meaning/essence isn't intended to be modified in any way. However, my opinion, also, is that it might be useful to note that auto translation was done. This is just so that a reader fluent in the translated language might be forewarned that any anomalies of language might be explained by the use of the translator. I think that the workflow in such a case is to tweak the translation in any case as such things are still far from perfect. In this case, especially, it is clear that the translator is just a tool. You state, in fact, that this is your workflow, of course. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In my opinion there are two situations that need to be addressed: 1. Writing an academic paper to be published in a journal. I personally would not cite a translation service that I used to guide my writing. This is similar to how I would not provide a citation for standard uses of C++ or Python in a journal article. It would sound silly to say "I am indebted to Google Chrome and Google Scholar for their assistance in searching the Internet for resources for this paper." The focus of a journal article is not on the writing of the paper as much as it is on what is being presented on the topic. 2. Writing a dissertation/thesis. In my thesis and dissertation I cited every resource that I used. This includes citations for several programming languages and LaTeX. > > This thesis was typeset using LaTeX [citation]. All models in Chapter 4 were fit using Python 3.6 [citation]. All models in Chapter 5 were fit using R [citation]. > > > I feel that the writing of a thesis or dissertation is of larger emphasis than that of a journal article. The purpose of a dissertation is to, quite literally, dissert. Obviously the content needs to be strong and purposeful. But you are allowed much more space for providing every detail from the research process. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: To me it sounds like what your describing is the verification [or re-verification] of what your already know. Obviously, you are not actually relying on google translate in a significant respect, for if you were you would probably paste your whole English text and spit out your answer. This is similar to what I do all the time while chatting in foreign languages (spoken or written). I have a grasp of the language to a good enough degree, but I can not afford to look up each question which may arise. However, most of the time I would be able to recognize right from wrong. An easy example would be forgetting an irregular verb conjugation: I don’t remember, Google does. But more than that, I can easily forget many idioms which I can verify my recollection through Google, which has access to the internet as a whole. Also other services such as Reverso which specializes in this. In summary, the machine is not doing anything you wouldn’t do if you had more time or energy. Upvotes: 1
2019/01/31	2,352	10,005	<issue_start>username_0: The applications often ask for a publication list. If the only publication on the list is a thesis in preparation/preprint, would the candidate's application be rejected because of that? Is it necessary to have more than a thesis to be competitive/considered? I ask this because one mathematician told me that he doesn't care about the number of publications, but about the quality of the work. Then again, 5 high-quality publications is better than 4...<issue_comment>username_1: Publications will always be important. There is no way around this. A strong publication record (or even any publication record at all) is never going to disqualify someone. However, one of the main purposes of a post-doc is to build one's publication record. This is why a post-doc is often done as a preface to a tenure-track professorship. In my case, I had no publications when I completed my PhD. My advisor had run off to North Carolina (my school was in Illinois) and pretty much cut off all contact before I defended. I still was able to get a very good post-doc that led to a "tenure-track" job. (I place "tenure-track" in quotes, since my institution does not give tenure, but they have equivalent promotions and positions). Your letters of recommendation will matter, as will statements of purpose and research statements. Post-docs can often be hired based on potential. An applicant who can speak and write articulately will always be strong candidate if they have good letters of recommendation. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it is extremely important. At a minimum, try to figure out how the thesis can be broken into LPUs\* and published. People want production. Papers are production. Don't let anyone bleating about the purity of science tell you otherwise. I'm here to give you the sitting-in-the-bar truth. People who pat you on the shoulder and say "it's fine" are not doing you a favor by being nicey-nice and not sharing the real skinny. Note, LPUs are not as sleazy as they sound. People very rarely read/cite Ph.D. theses. You need to get your work into journals so that people can benefit from it. A tree falling in the forest, not getting heard, does nobody any benefit. Even if the work is imperfect or incomplete, figure out how to wrap it up into publishable units. LPUs are easy to read, process, review, etc. The same thing will apply in the work world (especially in industry or government, but also academia) if you lose funding on an initiative. PUBLISH your work. Of course, you want perfection. But there is a chronic issue of partial or even completed work never being written up (much of it funded by tax dollars). That the work is not complete or perfect is immaterial (although I admire the drive for perfection). At a certain point, you just have to wrap up. So figure it out, how to do so. There is a famous line in The Hot Zone where a scientist criticizes someone for not publishing a single medical case (i.e. sample size 1!) of airborne ebola in a monkey. Ideally you will BOTH do good work AND publish it. But if you do good work and don't publish, you are useless. If I say a record with no journal publications, I assume either you didn't accomplish anything OR you are bad at writing things up. Of course the latter is "less bad". But it's still bad. Postdocs should be producers. And you demonstrate this during your Ph.D., especially towards the end. You show that you are a producer; get things done; stand on your own; etc. It's one of the reasons why you are ready to leave. You can, right now, at least chop your thesis, into a few separate computer files (of planned papers), put a title on each paper. Now you have some "in preparation" papers. Ideally, I would get some of them out the door, so you can put "submitted, J. Subspec. Math," on your pub list. But at least several "in preps". \Least Publishable Unit Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: Around here (Finland, to some extent other Nordic countries), a mathematics PhD thesis often consists of three or so papers, possibly one of which should be single-authored (this is more common in proof-based and rarer in more numerical fields, as far as I understand). Based on this, someone with no publications would often be a disadvantage. A good thesis might make up for it; monograph theses are still written around here. People also understand that academia differs; for example, I understand that PhD theses in US tend to be systematically less impressive than local ones (due to a shorter time of PhD studies), which is known to at least some faculty. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You frame the question incorrectly. With the great number of applicants per position, rejections do not need a reason. It is the acceptances that need a reason. What will make your application stand out and convince the reviewers that you are going to do great work? Great past work is one such evidence, very supportive letters from people who know you is another, as is (positive) personal knowledge of you. To take the example of thesis-only publication: If the thesis solves a big problem, and experts are already convinced by the outline of the argument that you presented to them, then great! If, as is more common, the thesis is not written yet, and the only people who know anything about the problem and its solution are you and your advisor, the available evidence is much less convincing. As most of us do not make a single field-changing advance in our doctoral work, we must rely on several lesser signals to convey our potential. That is why completing several papers and* having them accepted by journals with harsh standards, and also having good letters of support is the most common way of convincing that you are going to do great work in the future. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: [The following answer is from the point of view of a tenured professor of theoretical mathematics at an American university. I believe that most of what I say applies in many places outside of the United States, but not everywhere, and I will not try to say exactly where I think it applies.] A generation ago the publication culture within mathematics was quite different from other STEM fields. Students leaving their PhDs were not expected to have any publications at all, and I believe the majority of them did not. This phenomenon was pretty extreme, to the extent that for many eminent mathematicians you can see that their first publication is work done at an REU when they were an undergraduate, often followed by a gap of about five years, then their "real" publications begin only after their thesis. A postdoctoral job was awarded mostly based on the relatively brief description of the thesis work provided by the student and (more importantly, I think) the student's thesis advisor. [In my case, I graduated with a math PhD from Harvard in 2003 and my first paper wasn't until 2005. To make sure I wasn't overextrapolating from my own experience, I went back to look at my classmates at Harvard. I found a few cases in which a paper from their thesis appeared slightly before they graduated, but in most cases their first paper appears 1-2 years after graduation.] Nowadays, a few graduating PhDs can still function on the above model, but only under really ideal conditions: top program, advisor with enormous pull who says great things about you in the letter. To get personal again: 1) I am about to graduate my fifth PhD student at [UGA](https://www.uga.edu/). All of these students had at least a submitted paper by the time they graduate; in most cases they had one or more accepted papers. 2) Part of the application for postdoc positions at UGA [of which there are several kinds, but this is a common feature] is a publication list. I have been responsible for making offers to postdocs for a while now, and I am struggling to remember making an offer to someone who didn't at least have a publicly available submitted preprint. Sometimes we have had candidates who were otherwise of interest but it's hard to pull the trigger based on seeing none of their work when there are so many other applicants who have multiple papers. And to get less personal: 3) Whereas 15 years ago good students from top departments didn't need and most often didn't have any preprints, nowadays it is more common for good students from top departments to exit with several papers. I do however want to add an important caveat: more mathematics done is better than less mathematics done. [As is not so surprising!] However, more papers are not better than fewer papers if the more papers don't create the impression of having done more work of significance. In particular, the cultural of theoretical mathematics very much works against the LPU model espoused in another answer: writing too many papers on the same topic "without new ideas" creates a poor impression. If two mathematical journals differ by one tier, than having one paper in the better journal is better than having at least two papers in the worse journal. If the journals differ by more than one tier, having one paper in the better journal is probably better than having any number of papers in the worse journal. The top journals in mathematics want to publish important, substantial, difficult, breakthrough work: if you split one such 40 page paper up into four ten page papers, then you have four papers that each do very partial things and are not going to be published in nearly as good venues. Moreover you will get the reputation as having "more papers than theorems," which is not good. I would say that the following is a good publication model for a new math PhD: have a portion of your thesis already submitted to a good journal and have one other reasonable paper [possibly on a different topic] published elsewhere. More papers than that is not necessarily helpful: the quality of your thesis work still matters more. Upvotes: 5
2019/01/31	657	2,909	<issue_start>username_0: I usually reply to e-mails from students asking for PhD positions to let them know if I am interested or if they are competitive / up to standards for continuing with an application but this tends to be more on the admin / funding and suitability to my lab. Yesterday, I received one such PhD application and the project / research proposal was so outside the "state-of-the-art" (effectively the proposal was to research something that already exists as a commercial product) that I think I should also comment on that. Should I let the student know and give him some feedback (which is going to be on the harsh side) about his proposal. Is it common or should I not bother at all? To be clear, I have no intention of considering the application.<issue_comment>username_1: You will do the student a kindness if you send feedback. Try not to be harsh. Perhaps something like, "Did you know that company X already makes product Y that appears to incorporate what you have proposed as research? That being the case, I'm sorry but your proposal is not suitable for my lab." Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think you will have to balance the fact that the student's proposal is entirely unfit as a research project and the fact that telling the student how to "fix" his/her proposal may come across as soliciting a re-application. If you have no intention of considering the application, I would maybe actually shy away from telling the student how to fix their proposal. I have found that too often such suggestions are taken to mean "please fix this and re-apply." And it could sound strange to say "This is already a commercial product. I am not interested in your application regardless." If the student comes back with a new proposal, then you are faced with the dilemma of twice (thrice) rejecting the student for yet another reason. If you believe that the student could actually become a strong candidate by fixing his/her proposal, then telling him/her how to actually fix their proposal may turn out okay. But this may be a rabbit hole you do not want to go down. --- I will admit that it pains me to answer in this way. As someone who has gone through the graduate school and job application process, I wish that I could always know the reason for being rejected. But having also had to deal with students trying 3 or 4 times to get into a my department's grad program after being rejected multiple times, I have sadly found it necessary to be pretty vague as to why I am rejecting a student, but pretty direct about the fact that I am indeed rejecting them. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Well, your feedback is something to make them do better. You could probably say it less harshly though. And reject it nice and slow. But either way, it will hurt. But well, that's life, at least they learned something from you. Upvotes: 0
2019/02/01	744	3,331	<issue_start>username_0: As in the question, let's say that a paper has four authors. Clearly, all authors contributed something to the work. However, can I deduce that only the first person wrote the physical paper? Or do authors normally write different sections of a paper? For instance, is it possible that author 1 writes the first part of the paper and author 2 writes the second part of the paper? Or, can it be the case that the first author listed contributed the most to the work stated in the paper but did not write the actual paper? Main questions: * Given a paper with multiple authors, on average, how many people wrote the physical paper? * Is the first author always the person who wrote the physical paper?<issue_comment>username_1: This depends on the field and what is customary there. In mathematics you can assume (generally) that all contributed equally. In lab sciences it may not be the case. It is customary in some that the PI who created the lab is on all publications as a co-author but may not have contributed anything to the writing and possibly very little to the ideas. But the PI makes the work of the lab critters possible, so gets on every paper. In some such fields, it is also customary that some fairly low level technicians get on some papers, though didn't contribute to the writing, but they managed the experiments for the actual authors. Ideally, papers in which people don't contribute "equally" (whatever that means) have a Contributions section to detail the contributions of each as well, possibly of some who weren't listed as co-authors. The actual writer of the paper may be listed first or not. Sometimes the PI is listed first and sometimes last. But be aware that intellectual work is hard to measure. Someone may have only spent a few moments thinking about the problem at hand, but provided the crux of the solution that was then written up by others. Flash of insight. Someone who writes a lot in the field in question can probably answer questions about what is customary in that field. In CS we tend to list authors alphabetically and don't worry much about such things. But we also tend to list only people who actually contribute something meaningful. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: No. The first author is often (but not always) the person who has done sufficient work to deserve credits for the contents, but this does not necessarily correlated with the actual writing of the paper. Traditions vary widely with fields but - just like in a parade - the first and last positions are usually the most prestigious, so these are the spots where you should look first a first guess. However, this is not a hard-and-fast rule: I have written papers where I’m middle author because the paper had to be rearranged following revisions and I was best placed to deal with this, or because co-authors who obviously did more than I struggled with English. I myself often work with a true wordsmith to whom I will gladly pass the writing because he can “sell” stuff so much better than I: he is often middle author. Moreover, traditions have evolved. When I was a student the first author was with high probability the writer, but this has really changed as the number of authors has increased and the work of each co-author has specialized. Upvotes: 2
2019/02/01	1,613	6,737	<issue_start>username_0: Sometimes, there are questions on here about undergraduate students publishing research (see [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/117224/publishing-into-journals-as-an-independent-undergraduate-researcher), [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/115100/publish-as-undergraduate-in-elsevier), and [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/90165/publishing-a-very-mediocre-paper-as-undergraduate)). The answers don't seem particularly surprised that this is happening or try to dissuade the asker, they treat it like a normal question. In my entire life, I've never heard of undergraduates publishing results apart from a handful of examples from famous science prodigies. Furthermore, my experience of undergraduate was not conducive at all to publishing. I graduated from a mediocre UK university, and there was no original research done at all. Undergraduate is for getting you up to speed on the foundations of a field, preparing you for postgraduate where you study one sub-field, then a PhD where you push the boundaries of a sub-sub-field. The questions linked above give advice like, "Discuss it with your supervisor". But as far as I'm aware undergraduates don't have supervisors. Is this really as common as it would seem from questions on here? Is it a regional thing? Something that happens only at top universities?<issue_comment>username_1: I suspect what you're thinking of as "undergraduate" isn't what others are thinking of when they say they do research as undergraduates. For example, suppose a student goes directly into a 4-year undergraduate program topped off by a one-year long research project (known as an "Honours project" in some places). The results of this can certainly be publishable. Other possibilities could be, a summer research project, or a direct-to-Masters program like the MPhys. In all these cases, the undergraduate will indeed have a supervisor. Of course undergraduates, being relatively inexperienced, are not likely to get revolutionary results, but they can still achieve publishable results, and that can lead to publications. It's possible, and I'd say quite common for the best undergraduates to have published something before graduate school. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: It's not that hard in some of the experimental sciences, especially if not first author. Assuming you have some relation to a lab group and have a grad student or postdoc running a project and you run a few of his samples. Not really that hard to get included. Yeah...even then it is time away from your real classes or the brewpub. But far from impossible. Edit: saw your comment on the school. Yeah, if it is not a research university, that will of course make it hard to do what I just said. But if you are at Cal or Georgia Tech or the like, not a problem. Especially if you use some savvy to figure out which group to work with, what sorts of things to get involved with. Not cutting edge super math, not building apparatus, not waiting for a Space Shuttle to run your sample. But a group that publishes a lot. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Of course they do. It does happen to undergrads who find research internships or in programs where they can do an undergraduate thesis for instance. It’s not that rare in some fields, but quite so in other fields. One does need a bit of luck though, as not all project will have reached or can even reach a stage where an undergraduate may contribute enough to warrant co-authorship. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It varies from field to field. But some fields this isn't uncommon at all. STEM and social sciences fields are generally easier to publish than in humanities, in part due to it being less subjective about what is worth publishing. It is easier to publish in fields which don't require a lot of experimental equipment(unless one is a member of some very big collaboration- some of the big papers out of the LHC have undergrads on the author lists for example), and so math is one of the fields where it is most common. In various areas of math, some areas are easier for non-experts to understand than other. For example, graph theory and number theory have more low-hanging fruit that doesn't require technical background, while for example algebraic topology has more trouble. At a pure level of anecdote, my first published paper was actually in high school; this is rare but not at all unheard of, and I wasn't particularly brilliant. I got lucky and found some low-hanging fruit that hadn't been noticed. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Most undergraduates do not publish, but it's quite normal for undergraduates who get involved in research to end up publishing. Reasons why few undergraduates publish include: * They aren't interested in research, or are more interested in all the myriad other awesome things you can spend your time on as a newly (semi)independent adult in college. * They are interested in research, but don't manage to find a good mentor (typically a professor) to work with. Nearly all undergraduate institutions have professors doing research, but some institutions or departments within an institution have a lot more going on than others. * They get connected to a research project, but their work isn't publishable. Undergraduates are typically unreliable (see first point), and so often are given high-risk or boring work (a friend of mine got a "research" job one summer crushing rocks into fine powder with a mortar and pestle). * They do publishable research, but it doesn't come out until they are no longer an undergraduate. Even the fastest project rarely takes less than six months from start to publication, and many take multiple years. If a student starts researching in their junior or senior year, even a great project may not result in publications during undergraduate. That said, none of these are particularly insurmountable obstacles, and with the right combination of interest, a good environment, and a bit of luck, it's quite reasonable to have work published as an undergraduate. Some undergraduates even become quite well-published, simply by virtue of having the right combination of skill, luck, and circumstances. For example, this week a colleague of mine mentioned to me that one of his undergraduate students now had approximately a dozen journal publications. Until they said it, I hadn't realized this student's numbers had accumulated quite so much, but it didn't surprise me, since this student is a good contributor to a complex many-person project that publishes frequently. In short: undergraduate publication is statistically infrequent, but entirely normal. Upvotes: 3
2019/02/01	1,240	5,218	<issue_start>username_0: A professor (currently Associate Professor) I used to collaborate with is being considered for the promotion to "full Professor". The Department asked me to write a letter supporting the professor's promotion as former student. I am super happy to be able to support this promotion because I have a great opinion of this scholar and I genuinely think it is fully deserved, but I have few concerns: * I am just a postdoc, and usually referral letters are asked to other professors (ok, it's true I was asked as former student). * I have not been formally student of this person, neither I was enrolled in that university. I was doing my PhD in another university in the same city and just met the professor casually due to common friends and interests. The professor became my PhD co-advisor, but this was mainly to acknowledge the nice discussions and ideas exchanges we had over lunch about my work, more than a formal collaboration. * we did not publish papers together. That told, I am wondering whether I should be really writing this letter, and, in the positive case, what kind of shape I should give to my message.<issue_comment>username_1: The department asked you to write because they want your opinion. Of course they also asked others. If they do not ask you specific questions, then just give the reasons for > > I am super happy to be able to support her/his promotion because I have a great opinion of her/him and I genuinely think s/he deserves that, > > > If they do include specific questions in their letter to you, then answer those, or explicitly say "I cannot answer question 3 because...". Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Since you and the professor collaborated on things and you are happy about the result presumably, just describe the collaboration and what it meant for you. I think that in this particular university teaching and fostering students is valued. In some places it is valued more than research, actually. So, if you think the professor has helped you along toward a career as an academic through your joint work (or otherwise) you can write about that. The fact that you are "just" a post-doc may be an advantage. It will give variety to the professors promotion dossier. Others will contribute from different perspectives. Just be honest. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: There's a good chance that this professor's department's or university's policy is to send requests for letters to every recent student of a faculty member who's up for a promotion. Look for an official document called something like "appointment and tenure policy" on the department's website; if you can't find anything relevant there, go up to the university level or the "school" level and look some more. To give you an idea of what they're like, [here's the appointment and tenure policy document for my university](https://www.cmu.edu/policies/faculty/appointment-and-tenure-policy.html). Don't second-guess whether you were enough this person's student for your opinion to be helpful. The promotion committee thinks so; that's what matters. (Was this person an official member of your thesis committee? If so that's plenty good enough for most departments.) Do be honest about the depth and breadth of your interaction with them. For instance, you could lead off with "I have known Dr. Lastname for 3 years. I was never enrolled in any of their classes nor did I have very much interaction with their research group at $UNIVERSITY, but we regularly met over that time to discuss the research leading to my dissertation on $TOPIC." And then go on to talk about how they helped you with your dissertation. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: This kind of thing is becoming more common. I have heard it referred to as 360 degree assessment. It doesn't replace the more traditional 'top-down' assessment but the thought - I gather - is that it adds extra information and gives a different perspective to the people making the decision. For an example of why this might work: most people are not too reluctant to help their boss. If you are difficult with everyone else though, it's not always the case your boss will notice this and couldn't tell whoever is reviewing the promotion. If there's no other reason to worry, I wouldn't read any more into this than: it's a new thing they're doing. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I've had a professor ask me for a letter before (decades ago). He was up for a major award. I was post bachelors, not even in grad school yet (in industry). Be a big person and just help the fellow out. Don't underestimate yourself or your ability to make contributions, regardless of seniority. Life comes at you fast...in a few years, it will be normal. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I think that if you think he should be promoted and they asked then go ahead even though your experience with them was casual it shows that he influenced your life. It shows that they went above and beyond and he loves to help people. If he has such an impact on you, a non-student just imagine the impact he will have on his actual students. Teachers like this are rare nowadays. Upvotes: 2
2019/02/01	1,977	8,819	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a bioinformatician and former student of applied math. I want help to see if I should change my view). Many academics, including all of my PI's on my major projects, justify their work by saying "We're the first ones to apply fashionable technique T on problem P". This is in situations where P is often well-studied and T was developed and established by other groups. I call it "combinatorial novelty" in the title because the novelty is not in new tools, nor new insights, but rather in new combinations. The justification is essentially "We're early adopters." This would be fine if the studies produced valuable new insight about P. P is important and I'd be proud to make progress on it whether or not I'm using fancy new techniques like T. But usually, our progress on P is weak despite using T, so we need to turn to T's fanciness to justify our work. I see people using this "combinatorial novelty" to make their work seem like a big deal. This seems flimsy, but if every PI I've worked under is doing it, then either it impresses grant reviewers, or it actually is valuable to science and I just don't understand why. Or both. Is this valuable to science? If so, why?<issue_comment>username_1: I think this is difficult to answer in general. While it is probably not very valuable to apply random technique A to random problem B, it is also useful to find new ways to explore existing problems. Sometimes this "insight" is just that a tool from some other domain might be used to generate additional insight. For example, finding a new way to prove an old theorem in mathematics is often (not always) valuable as the new proof may, itself, offer insights. So yes, valuable. So no, not so valuable. But it depends. It would be valuable if it helps other researchers get more insight into a field in general, not just into the problem at hand. But throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks is just throwing stuff at the wall. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: > > Is this valuable to science? If so, why? > > > Because it leads us to understand if tool T works on problem B. How big the "insight" that we gain from this is depends a lot on how different T is to other tools that have already been used on B, or, conversely, how different B is from other problems that T has been applied to. The range here goes from "it is mind-blowing that T could work on B" all the way to "meh, everybody knew that T would work because we use it all the time for B' anyway" - although I will grant that most works following this schema in practice end up more on the rather incremental side of things. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: The wording you use is "Combinatorial Novelty". Interesting choice of words. First, I guess you admit that there is indeed novelty to a work of such kind. And novelty is an important part of academic work. In order for knowledge to progress, new things need to be tried and invented. In academic medium, you also need to either make clear what your innovations are and if you aren't innovating you better cite the original source. I myself look down on anyone who claims that he/she/his group/his company is "the first to...", since in the modern world you require lots of concessions and particularities before indeed you can make such claim. Example : "Our company is the first one to apply this research with only partial public funding into a product released in this region with academic and government advisers". If I hear this, I'm pretty sure someone else already did the thing, in slightly but not meaningfully different conditions. I'm also guessing whoever says this stuff is trying to trick a reporter into writing "this company is the first to develop a product with this technology". Note that your combinatorial novelty is usually far from the scenario above. Also that unlike reporters and marketing departments, researchers usually report much more honestly and are reviewed with more care. Of course, there is much less glory to applying a known technique from other fields into a new context than there is to developing a completely knew technique. Then again, what is more important? Glory and effort or results? If the technique you've borrowed heavily improves the state of the art in the field you work, how would you have found this out if not by trying to apply it? And since you've gone through the effort of learning, implementing and applying a new technique, then publish the damn results! In mathematics it happens that a same technique is rediscovered over and over again by researchers in different fields because said researchers really needed these techniques in the fields they were working (Least Squares method is the example that comes to mind), usually this is restricted to simpler techniques, but imagine a method that would require thousands of lines of code to implement, do you really believe it becomes something so specific it has no further use? Do you think it would be efficient for everyone to develop their own brand of this procedure just to have authorship? There are indeed cases when you might think in advance that a certain technique will surely not improve anything, but likewise, you sometimes have an idea that you think will be a great advancement, but you discover not to be an improvement at all. When that happens, you probably recognize that it was a worthy attempt. But if you were using a technique from other fields you might trick your self into believing that you knew the idea was bad all along. Also, remember that people in academic careers don't always find new exciting results every day, maybe not every year, maybe not every decade. Yet, masters and PhDs and post docs need to be completed in their respective time constraints. It's good that we have methods that reliably generate novelty in a limited time frame. It's also good that something can be done to advance an academic career that could be otherwise halted. It's "better than nothing". It is also important to compare between methods, such that a reference methodology can emerge in certain fields. Sometimes it is the "state of the art technique", sometime its just the "sanity check" one. For portfolio management theory, Markowitz model can be used as a broad reference for comparing against improvements, while constant ratio portfolio usually provides a good comparison. For a research team to develop these kinds of references it is also important to address the same problems with different tools and cultivate a tradition over it. However, no research team should restrict itself to doing only that. And after the simple combinatoric is done and a novelty is published, some effort should be dedicated to tweak methods, adapt techniques such that some new meaningful advancement is at least consciously attempted, rather than stumbled upon by luck. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I think your gut impression is likely correct. If P and T are relatively well known than there is little value (other than for a new student in his learning) in applying one to the other. For instance, using sophisticated crystallography software to solve a crystal structure that was already done correctly using direct methods. I am very much a fan of datapoint science. But ideally, you can do something new (make a new compound, find a boiling point, do a correlation of response to a medical treatment, etc.) In other words I am fine with "stamp collecting". But T on P sounds a bit weak. There are so many cool things to look at, you would think these guys could get a little more novelty (even moderate things). I'm even sympathetic to some "negative" results. But it sounds like these guys are milking things. And then the gushy wording...but don't get me started on hype scientists. I think you have the right instinct. I would just try to figure out something a little bit more interesting. Doesn't need to be discovering gravity. But in your own work, do a little more. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: > > This would be fine if the studies produced valuable new insight about P > > > New insight isn't the only important thing in research. Many types of research have resource limits, including manpower, equipment costs, computing resources, etc. If applying technique T to problem P reduces resource requirements, despite giving the exact same results, that can have profound impacts on future research, whether it's being able to increase sample sizes, free up money for other equipment, or being able to do things at a larger scale or finer granularity. This in turn also makes it more feasible for smaller research groups to start tackling the same problem when they couldn't before because of limited resources. Upvotes: 2
2019/02/01	590	2,596	<issue_start>username_0: I am wondering whether I should include students I have supervised but have quit in my CV, especially for grant proposals where supervision history is assessed. I have a couple of students who could not finish their programme, either because they didn't meet the academic requirements of our university or because of lack of funds. Do you think it would look bad on my CV to include them? If I do include them, should I explain why they quit?<issue_comment>username_1: I think that would depend on how many there are, compared to the successful ones. It would also depend on the reasons and if they would seem reasonable/common to a reader. Certainly having students quit, for whatever reason, isn't a boost on your CV. But if your CV has a section on "Successful students that I've supervised" then it would be natural to include only those who succeed. Certainly students quit for reasons outside the control of their supervisor. People will understand that. However, if too many of your students quit, the reasons given may not be the true reasons. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I would probably include them all if they spent a year with you (post bachelors; less is fine for undergrads and postdocs and visiting scholars and the like). It is normal in some fields for there to be some attrition (e.g. Ph.D. student getting frustrated and bailing with a masters). They still did did work with you (just like an undergrad did for instance). Perhaps you don't have to really dwell on the issue of if they got done or not. Just list them in sections, undergrad, post bachelors, masters (could include Ph.D.s that bailed), Ph.D. and postdocs. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: For grant proposals in particular, this information can be used to assess conflict of interest. In fact, the National Science Foundation (NSF) moved that section off the biosketch to a separate document to make the intent of this section more clear. There, you could also indicate the last time you interacted, which may make the lack of relationship clear. With grants, it is always essential to ascertain the purpose of the information to understand what information to present and how it should be presented. If you are unsure, you can always email the sponsor's help desk. They are typically fantastic in helping you understand the documents you need to assemble. Do not worry that they will assess your questions with your application. PIs frequently worry about that, but that isn't happening. They want good applications that are easy to review, so ask away! Upvotes: 1
2019/02/01	724	2,899	<issue_start>username_0: I'm on the academic job market this season for a position in a STEM field. I've had one on-campus interview and may receive an offer from this school within the next week or so. I've also had Skype interviews with a few other schools, but haven't received any on-campus invites from them. (The Skype interviews occurred about 3 weeks ago.) At this point, should I let these schools know that I've had an on-campus interview? Or is it safe to assume that I've been rejected by them if I haven't received a campus invite already?<issue_comment>username_1: Don't make assumptions. Nearly everywhere will let you know when you are no longer under consideration. You may or may not be high on their list. You could be high and they are just dithering. But they would rather make it definite, just to avoid fruitless communication. But it is probably a mistake to tell them you've had an interview, as it may confuse them about your interest. Wait until you have an acceptable offer before you notify them. Trying to "nudge" them in your favor could work either way, if it has any effect at all. It is a risky thing to do. Nudging might be worthwhile if you are juggling multiple offers. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: A general advice in any job search (academia or civilian world or NFL) is to let the other parties know when things have become competitive. It doesn't guarantee you get something done with the other parties. But it will often move things along. Especially if you are a good candidate and are likely to come off the market. Be gracious about it (just wanted to let you know that I am moving down the path with X...would love to interview with you, T.) But don't hide your light under a bushel. At the end of the day, both sides are seeking to create an auction. Make sure you do the small things you can to make an auction for you. Edit: Just looked at username_1's comment. Yes, an offer is much more powerful and deserving of a nudge. I would still consider if you can do the nudge (gently) with less than an offer. In particular, if you think things will move fast with the other party and you won't have a lot of time to shop an offer. Judgment call, but my gut feel is power for the people. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: > > Never. > > > Interviews are nothing, they don't really mean anything more than "you made the short list". Still a long way from hired... You should only communicate the other committees when you have something concrete, like a written offer. Otherwise, you would be just wasting people's time. Why would a committee member care if you went to interview somewhere else? @username_2 "auction" only works when you have more demand than supply. If you are a one of a kind rockstar of an academic, then sure, that would work. Otherwise, plenty of supply, very low demand... Upvotes: 1
2019/02/01	1,342	5,723	<issue_start>username_0: Currently, here's how Academia works: 1. Study for many, many years, so that you have the necessary background knowledge to embark on your own research. You can still do a bit of research on the side, but mostly you are a student learning the ropes. You are (usually) not paid during this step. Even if you are, it won't be much. 2. Do research. You can (and probably must) still do a bit of study on the side, but mostly you are a researcher contributing to new knowledge in your field. You are paid during this step. This path is only tenable if the first step, the unpaid one, is relatively short, otherwise it becomes economically unfeasible to become an Academic. But in Academia, we build upon past knowledge. Hence, it stands to reason that as time progresses, the time and effort needed to complete step 1 and acquire all the necessary background knowledge also increases. It increases sloooowly, but it does increase. So my question is, what happens when the time needed to complete step 1 has increased by so much that it simply isn't feasible anymore to become an Academic? Hell, what happens when the time needed to complete step 1 increases beyond the life expectancy of humans? Again, this happens extremely slowly, but it does happen. So does this mean that in a few hundred years, Academia will be a dying field, since nobody simply has time to learn all the background knowledge?<issue_comment>username_1: It's already a problem. But problems can be opportunities as well. Perhaps you can think of ways to more efficiently (this is key, key, key...too many academics ignore constraints) convey classical results in your field. I routinely read classic papers or discussions (e.g. book reviews, committee reports) from the 50s (e.g. post Manhatten Project material science) and think...man, those guys were badasses! Oh...and clear writers too. Figure out how to make the knowledge transfer faster. For example write a programmed instruction textbook in a graduate topic. Things are so, SOOOO inefficient now. Yeah, maybe in 300 years even with optimized teaching, things will be too hard. But right now, I just see huge places where people spin their wheels and/or don't even know what they don't know. For one thing "pedagogy" is severely lacking for graduate students (their time is treated as free). Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: There is one thing that you are leaving out and it is critical to understand it. Researchers work at the frontier of knowledge, the frontier is vast and growing, but an individual only works (concentrates) on a very small part of it. Getting to the "research edge" has always been hard, but no one knows everything within the known bubble of a field if the field is at all advanced. For example, it is no longer possible for any individual to know all of mathematics. The last time it was possible was early in the 20th century. [<NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Poincar%C3%A9) may have been the last. There is too much there. But no mathematician worries about that. You can know a bit about a lot of things, but to work in mathematics you need to know a lot about a few things. So we specialize. It is also the fact that the path taken by a researcher to reach the edge (say, in mathematics) isn't the same path that was taken 50 years ago, since much of what has been learned in the past hundred years has been abstracted into the courses that fresh students take. That compression wasn't available in the past when a sub-field was fresh. What you describe as the necessary path isn't wrong, but you don't need to learn everything that it is possible to know in order to be effective in extending the frontier of knowledge. A researcher's path is narrow and deep. You focused on the deep, but it is the narrow that makes it feasible. For completeness, however, I'll also note that there are parts of academia that value the broad as much as the deep. There is room for the people who know a lot (broad) and can synthesize it for students and for the creation of the learning materials that students use to guide their own path. Such people may not be state-of-the-art researchers, but they understand the edge of the known universe well enough to describe it properly. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Even though the body of mankind's knowledge is ever-increasing, the relevant knowledge for pushing a field forward is not increasing at the same rate. In the very early days of electronic calculation, you'd need to understand Maxwell's equations to get a circuit to do what you want. Once that was developed a bit, you could learn to write assembly code, and get a computer to run instructions without having intimate knowledge of electric fields. After awhile, we developed compilers that abstract high-level instructions into something interpretable by the computer, so we don't need to know everything about bit registers to have a functional program. Nowadays, there's lots of freely available open source software, so we can apply sophisticated software to interesting research problems without having the knowledge to write the algorithm ourselves, or how a computer even works. My point is, while understanding the fundamentals upon which a scientific field is built is important, it's not critical to have a deep of understanding of every single step along the way. Scientists need only to understand the present state of their science in great detail, so long as there's a general understanding of how we got to where we are. Interesting stuff happens at the frontiers of science, which is where scientists rightly focus their attention and energy. Upvotes: 2
2019/02/01	338	1,144	<issue_start>username_0: Consider the following sentences: * `foo` is `bar` (see, for example, `baz`). * `foo` is `bar` (see, e.g., `baz`). * `foo` is `bar` (cf. for example `baz`). * `foo` is `bar` (cf. e.g., `baz`). Which of these are valid to use, and which is better? Or - does it depend on what we actually instead of `foo`, `bar` and `baz`?<issue_comment>username_1: The term means compare. So you would normally just see "c.f. X" where X is what you want compared. Like: Foo is bar (c.f. SNAFU). P.s. You may have instances where you want to emphasize that there are many comparisons and thus use the e.g., but I would typically omit it and just give specific comparison(s). Tighter writing. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The recent trend in non-legal English formal writing is to just use the English equivalent of the Latin abbreviation, so compare rather than cf. and for example rather than e.g. This also obviates the confusion about what cf. means and the distinction between e.g. and i.e. On the other hand, using Latin abbreviations like et al. and ibid. for citations makes more sense. Upvotes: 1
2019/02/01	1,337	5,646	<issue_start>username_0: I had an exam yesterday morning which lasted 2 hours. There were two supervisors in the room for about 25-30 students. Before the beginning of the exam and again 5 minutes before the end, they told us not to forget to write our name and student ID number on each sheet (we used our own paper to answer the questions of the exam sheet but they had in reserve in case we had not enough), something which was also indicated at the front page of the exam question sheet. At the end, they told us to stop writing and not leave immediately, that they will now proceed to collect all exams and check that they have all of them, after what we would be allowed leave. To do this, for each student, they stapled his/ her exam question sheet with the other sheets on which he/ she wrote his/ her answers. --- Now here is my problem: while they were collecting the exams, I noticed that I had forgotten to write my student card number (not the name) on one of my sheet. So I quickly took my pen and wrote it on the sheet, something that took no more than 2 seconds. But then, once finished, I noticed that one of the two supervisor was looking at me with an angry frown while the other was stapling a student exam just next to him, so obviously he noticed that I had written something on one of my sheet. They continued to collect all exams like normal. But once they were near me - I was the last student of the column -, the supervisor who had given me the angry frown collected the exam of the student in the row in front of me (there was one student sitting at each seat row end during the exam) and already directed himself with the pile of exams of our column to the main desk where they were gathering all exams, while the other supervisor was still busy stapling my exam. So the second supervisor then took my exam alone in his hand. This supervisor then put my exam on the main desk and then put at least one sheet that I could not identify on top of it (so he did not put it on the exam pile of our column), and so I saw it disappear. They then said we could leave and began to sort the exams in alphabetical order (at least that's what it seemed to me they were doing) --- So my questions are : 1. Will I likely get accused of cheating in a few days? 2. Did the other supervisor take my exam alone in order to put it on the side so they can identify who I am? 3. Should I write a mail to them and explain what I was really doing? 4. If I really get accused, how should I behave? Should I just tell them what I was doing even if they of course can not know if I am lying or not? --- I already talked about it with my father, who is a law professor, and he said I am dramatising the entire thing and that if they really wanted to do something, they would not have let me leave the room. Moreover, he said they could not prove anything, especially given that only one of both supervisors noticed what I was doing (and there is no video surveillance in the room). That if I really get called in the office in a few days, I would just need to say that I was writing my student card number, and that's it. --- I know this is a bit long, but the more I think about it, the more I think something will happen, so I would like your opinion about that matter. Thanks for your help.<issue_comment>username_1: You are definitely overthinking this: in the worst case, they wrote down on their report that you wrote something when the time was finished. This could result in you getting your mark slightly reduced to account for the additional time. I insist that this is the worst case scenario: this is clearly not a case of cheating, in all the exams I attended there are always a few students forgetting to write their student number and adding it at the end, some mistakenly writing their names, etc. It is actually very likely that what you interpreted as a special treatment for your paper was completely normal. In my experience papers are collected in no particular order. Take this angry frown for what it probably is: just a warning that you should follow the instructions. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I surely agree with your dad. Don't over react over the reaction of that one supervisor. If he/she had seen you directly and doubted on what you're doing, on that moment he/she would have called your attention or not let you leave the room, cause definitely they will act on that exact moment. So just calm down for now, and if ever what your overthinking really happens (that they will call you to the office), you have nothing to worry and just say the truth. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It may turn out fine. But we will find out, won't we. However, I have been in very strict military schools where pencils down, literally meant that. And your behavior would certainly be disciplined. For one thing, you could have waited until the instructor got there and then got permission to make the addition (or asked him to make it for you). The instructor can't tell what you wrote, late. Neither can your classmates. Also, I have seen less strict schools where people did not honor the instruction to stop work. Behavior like yours is likely to make other students feel they can continue work and make it difficult to administer exams. I would certainly support the instructors if they make any sanction on you. In addition, the title is likely inaccurate. You got caught "writing", not "writing your number" after the exam. (The instructor likely does not know exactly what/why you continued to write or if it was just limited to the number.) Upvotes: 3
2019/02/02	286	1,212	<issue_start>username_0: I have been invited to a graduate recruitment weekend for a school where I have applied for a Master's, and they are offering to pay my travel costs. Unfortunately, this lines up with a vacation for which I have already paid some nonrefundable costs. I have not yet been notified of acceptance or rejection, and would like to go if it weren't for the conflict. Will it hurt my chances of acceptance if I don't go to this event?<issue_comment>username_1: No. They are used to some people not coming from conflicts. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Perhaps you should ask them how important they consider this event to be. You could also explain your conflict when you ask. But if they use this as an important tool in choosing candidates it might be good to go. Since they are willing to pay, it might be quite important to them. But asking the question will also signal to them that you are interested in the program even if you can't attend the weekend. The money you have spent toward your vacation is [sunk-cost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost). It is generally a mistake to make decisions based on that. What is best for your future? Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
2019/02/02	1,546	6,290	<issue_start>username_0: Lately I have some issues with my academic life and my life. I am not doing anything. literally anything. This week, I was home all day, doing nothing. Just sleeping. I am seeing a therapist, but it is not that helpful. I am going to give you some background. I hope somebody could help me out here. I am a 4th year PhD student. My major is electrical engineering and I am 24 years old. I started my PhD when I was 21 and everybody was telling me that "you're smart ", "you have a lot of time ahead of you", " Just chill", etc. I came to the states, leaving all my family behind to achieve my goals. And look at me now, I literally achieved nothing. (I finished bachelor when I was 21). All my life, I used to do the minimum to get the work done. So instead of going to MIT or Stanford, I ended up in a university with ranking of around 40, which is good for me. With that being said, I gradually started to decrease the amount of effort I put in my work. Getting to my 4th year of PhD, I only have two conference publications. My therapist is telling me that I value the work I do. But I am not organized at all. I don't have a schedule. When I wake up in the morning I don't know what I want to do. When I go to the lab, I stare at the monitor and I don't know where to start. I procrastinate. So I open youtube, Instagram, Twitter, ... . Anything that help me ignore the reality. I am using my phone at least 10 hours per day. I want to change, but something big inside me is preventing me to do that. It hurts me when I see myself, achieving nothing. Sometimes I try to start. I go to a new place. I do some scheduling for what to do the next day. But it remains on the paper. I feel like I don't have the power to continue. But there is a flame inside me, which I know is still alive and I can do it. I am lost. My advisor is kind. He's telling me I need to publish. He told me that I need to graduate next spring (2020). But he doesn't push me or anything. He tells me to go to him if I had any questions, so he could lead me through my work. I really don't appreciate the things I have now. When I look at my situation, I pity myself. I don't know what to do now. I really appreciate your help and answers.<issue_comment>username_1: Your situation clearly requires professional intervention (some of it sounds like burnout). If you don't find your therapist helpful, try looking for others. Psychotherapy is not an exact science and things may only "click" with the right person. Another thing that would be useful to seek support from your family and friends; some external perspectives can be sometimes very helpful. That being said, here are some of my thoughts that you might find useful. First, I think a major problem is your expectation of what a PhD entails. Being smart is sometimes a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for success in graduate school. Partly this is because everyone who's made it are already smart, so it is no longer a differentiating factor, but also because grad school requires a lot of hard work and is in equal part accompanied by a lot of frustrations (some may thus say that grit is more important than intelligence). Doing the minimum amount of work to get by may work for you in college, but what is the point of doing a minimal PhD? Just to sacrifice future earning potentials but with no realistic prospect in the academia (at least in the US)? It's fine if you are not striving to be the #1, but you need to examine (or in this case, re-examine) your values, motivations, and personal preferences, and then commit to doing a PhD only if it aligns with your goals. It may also be useful for you to take some time off to clear your mind, set your perspective straight, or explore alternative career opportunities. If none of this is working for you, here is another perspective. Sometimes we like to think that our behavioral problems all have some mysterious psychological sources, and we'd all be better off only if there is a way to analyze our way to the root of the problem. I think the isolating nature of graduate school can sometimes exasperate this tendency towards narcissistic self-regard. What one has to keep in mind is that ultimately there are issues and callings that transcend individuals and our (arguably trivial) immediate experience. In the end there may be no clear explanations to such psychological problems, or knowing them may not be as helpful as one might think. But so what? In the grand scheme of things what you feel may not matter at all. All of this is to say that you need to start taking responsibilities for, and control of, the direction of your life, and that especially include your emotional/psychological conditions. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It's a common opportunity/risk of a grad program that you have the cover to spin your wheels. I blew a quarter once. A small piece of advice that worked for me. I enjoyed the childish pleasure of seeing my byline on published articles. Maybe you can use publishing to motivate you? My advice is to write up and publish any work that you have/can. Just literally start a computer file, name it, add the various sections as headers (abstract, intro, etc.). Then hit save. You're started now. Then work on WHATEVER PART IS EASIEST. Not in order, not in logical progression. But whatever moves (could be conclusion first). After all, the darned thing is in a computer...you can always edit it! This is so much better than the typewriter era. If you don't have any data, I suggest to write up an outline publication of what you will publish when you get data. You probably know at least enough to do a decent intro section, citing the literature. I have found that having the paper started can actually motivate the experimentation. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: IMO: Notwithstanding that I think you should continue to see your therapist, it sounds like you've finished your PhD, I think write up and finish it now and also look for work in the meantime. Looking for work will help you focus on what you want out of life and anything you still need to get out of your PhD and studies. Congratulations, you've done it. Now write up for no-one else except you and move on to your next step. Upvotes: -1
2019/02/02	1,011	4,248	<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student works in the theoretical computer science. I am facing a difficulty while I have to write my work in a good manner. I try to write but when other students, collegues read my drafts they are not able to understand the idea I want to convey. I have written one or two research paper in my previous years. I try to look at the research papers which I am referring for help, it gives me some help but not that much. The problem I am facing is not able to write the things in a simple way, some time mix the things. To me it appears that writing is much more challenging than solving a research problem. Question : How to write your research in a simple way? Simple just means other people can understand my work and the idea behind it at least.<issue_comment>username_1: Since you are writing in a second language you may need a different work-flow. But first an anecdote. It is an oddity of history that one of the main languages from which English evolved is German (French is the other). But scientific German has a very unique structure that didn't get obviously retained as English arose. So, even though the languages are similar in many respects it is still difficult for an English speaker to understand scientific German while having a grasp of conversational German. It may be the case that something similar is going on with you. It may be that your first language is influencing how you write your second (probably English) and that difference in expressive mode and thought process makes it difficult for native speakers of the second language to get your meaning. It just seems awkward to them, though it is natural to you. I recognize that this may not be the case at all, but if it is, I suggest that you write, first, in your native language directly and then have it auto-translated into the desired, second, language. You are now half done. Since auto translation is imperfect, you will need to tweak the output to refine it. But hopefully, the translator will modify the structure enough into what a native speaker would expect, making it more comprehensible. The vocabulary might be a bit weird, of course, but you can correct that. You could also pay a human translator to translate your native writings into the second language. But if this is necessary, I'd suggest two things. It is unlikely that the human translator is also an expert in your field, so you will need to guide the person. This shouldn't be too hard if you can work directly together, since you speak a common language. But working together is also important for you in the long run as you will learn from the translator how to "think different" about the second language so that you won't need the same services for future work. Thus, the translator will also be guiding you. Maybe auto translation would be the place to start, as it would likely be less expensive. If that is enough then you are done. If not, think about the other. It would depend, of course, on the relative quality of the translation, either by machine or human. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: 1. Use a hierarchical structure that is clearly shown to the reader. [https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Principle-Logic-Writing-Thinking/dp/0273710516](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/0273710516) Make a bulleted outline of each section of work before writing. 2. Be honest and direct. <https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/media-arts-and-sciences/mas-111-introduction-to-doing-research-in-media-arts-and-sciences-spring-2011/readings/MITMAS_111S11_read_ses5.pdf> 3. Look at the "directions to authors" for each journal you submit to and follow them rigorously, like a checklist. 4. Write frequently and get frequent feedback and incorporate it. Look for those who are good writers to review your work. P.s. I disagree with the advice to write in your native tongue and then have a translation made. You will not learn well that way. Stick to your flawed English but get better as you use it. If anything being weaker in English will force you to a simpler sentence structure (fine). Issues with clarity are very likely not the language problem but poor structure or poor logic. "Clear writing is clear thinking." Upvotes: 3
2019/02/02	575	2,298	<issue_start>username_0: I'm on last year of my Ph.D. However, I got an offer from investors for my project and investor required to full-time work in a new company. Would it be an advantage or a disadvantage to have worked for a couple of years, when continuing Ph.D. again later?<issue_comment>username_1: Ultimately this is a personal decision, but I'll offer a few things to consider. Depending on your field and your specific research, taking time out might be a large set-back, or not. The world of research won't stand still while you are away and you might get pre-empted by a delay that might wind up to be longer than you first plan for. Your advisor should also be able to give good advice on this as s/he likely knows the field and what are the prospects of returning smoothly. Your advisor might, also, be willing to wait for you, or not, so it is good to check. Finally, what do you really want to do with your life? If it is to be an academic, primarily, think harder about finishing. If it is to be an entrepreneur, then the degree may not mean as much to you as taking advantage of the new opportunity. The industry experience might have some, but not likely a lot, of advantage in seeking an academic position later. Not a "slam dunk", anyway. Finally, make sure that you understand what the conditions would be if you join up with these investors. Are you a full partner, or are you being used? Either is possible in the somewhat messy real world. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Try to have your cake and eat it too. See if the completion of the Ph.D. can be accelerated (many people spend way too much time on their thesis...just jam that thing out). Perhaps you can start part time with the startup or defer it (or even get some subtle influence to pull to completion because there is a job waiting). I am not an academia lover (the converse), but I would be extremely hesitant about busting out of your Ph.D. a year from completion. That is a lot to walk away from. Wouldn't do it for a cushy industry job and for a startup (higher risk), it makes even less sense. Get that Ph.D. done. How good the Ph.D. is, matters much less than if it is done (very digital, not analog). There will be other startups. But it would be nice to have that degree done. Upvotes: 1
2019/02/02	987	4,265	<issue_start>username_0: In my chemistry undergraduate I did a project with my supervisor, I worked on it for around 8 months. Around a year later they published a paper on this same topic, after my project was handed in they asked for more details about certain elements that weren't clear in my final draft and I helped the best I could. To be clear, none of my data was published in the paper and the research that was published was leaps and bounds more advanced anything I did. But I feel so they perhaps used my research to rule out certain things that didn't work or need repeating. Do you think my name should be mentioned anywhere in the paper as just an acknowledgement?<issue_comment>username_1: What deserves acknowledgment and what does not is vague. It completely depends on the author(s). In my view, what you did definitely deserves at least acknowledgment. Maybe they decided that because they did not use your data, then there is no reason to mention you. Maybe they did not really care about you and what you think, given that this was some time ago. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, I do think that you likely deserve to be acknowledged. But that won't help you if you weren't. I think it would be a mistake to raise the issue with the professor since the past is past and it might compromise your relationship going forward. But, take pride in the work you did and know that others would have done differently, provided that they thought of it. It may have been an inadvertent oversight, of course. I would think that it would be a forehead-slapping-moment if the prof was reminded that s/he should have provided an acknowledgement. However, for future work, mention early on that you would like to be acknowledged in any work you contribute to as it will help you in the long run if you decide to pursue graduate work or an academic career. Note that I'm assuming that the paper has been published already and is not just in the final stages. In case it is not completely finalized, you could ask the prof if s/he thinks you could get an ack for the same reasons mentioned above. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Probably you should have been. Of course we don't have the details, but your account rings true. Realistically, an acknowledgment is not worth fighting for (too small beans). A co-authorship starts to matter. Of course it is something to keep in mind in any future collaborations with this research group. Just make sure you are upfront and follow instructions below, when dealing with these people in the future (since you know you had a slight previously). One lesson to take forward is to try to be on top of these issues upfront and ahead of time. Have seen a lot of questions here (and situations in real life) where contributors got snubbed, etc. It may be a little abrupt but I think it is better to be upfront ahead of time: 1. Try to be the first author. The one driving the bus, primary part of any collaboration. It is a lot easier to shape things when this is the situation. And then you can show how you are fastidious about taking care of contributors as co-authors, acknowledgments, citations to previous work (to include dissertations, unpublished manuscripts, etc.) 2. Write things up (to include projects you have to put on the shelf, that aren't perfect, etc.). It can be very frustrating to have something part way done and then others invariably move things forward. Rarely is it the case that interim publications get you scooped--you have a time and effort advantage over the rest of the field. Also it is more efficient for science. If you end up getting a job at Goldman or the like, people can build on your work, likely produced at taxpayer expense. 3. When working with collaborators, ask "Are we going to get a publication out of this?" "Will I be a co-author?" "Depends on how it comes out" is an incorrect answer. You want to work with people who have a plan. This is particularly important if you will be the secondary author. You have limited time and effort...you need to decide who you work with and that your time is not wasted. The same applies in reverse if you are co-author...you should take care of contributors and make sure they know you will do so. Upvotes: 0
2019/02/02	386	1,310	<issue_start>username_0: I want to show the average response time based on number of tasks on a device on a chart. So the x-axis is "number of tasks" and y-axis is "average response time". My question is which charts I can use? a line chart or a column chart?<issue_comment>username_1: Well, this should give you an idea: [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/h052N.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/h052N.png) Source is <https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/file-863940581-pdf/Data_Visualization_101_How_to_Design_Charts_and_Graphs.pdf> Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Probably an x-y scatter chart with some regression relation (line or curve). You have a functional relationship versus a time series or categories. Also likely many points. All of these argue for x-y versus columns (although not dispositive). In addition to Mike's excellent suggestion, please skim this book, especially first couple chapters: [https://www.amazon.com/Say-Charts-Executives-Visual-Communication/dp/007136997X](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/007136997X) [The book is not perfect. You will need to become an educated user of charts and look at different ideas. But it is very strong on "use this chart for this sort of message" and for conveying things strongly and simply.] Upvotes: 0
2019/02/02	5,646	23,603	<issue_start>username_0: Our department is currently hiring a new faculty member. At the moment, the faculty gender ratio in our department is very skewed, even for our field. I believe that this has a negative impact on the department environment. There is general consensus among the grad students on which candidate we support. This candidate is highly qualified in terms of her research and teaching. Moreover, among all the candidates who have visited, she is the only one who has any experience with diversity initiatives and getting underrepresented groups into STEM. This is very important to many of us, especially since the department is planning to add an undergraduate program in the near future. We are planning to write an open letter to the department in support of this candidate, citing her qualifications as someone who has worked to make science a more inclusive place for women and other underrepresented minorities. My main question is is whether it is appropriate for us to additionally express our desire for a woman faculty member. EDIT: Thank you for all of the answers, it certainly gives us a lot to think about. I would like to follow up on a couple things. * When I say something like "we think the department should hire a woman", I don't strictly mean that the next faculty should be a woman regardless of any other factors. Rather, I mean that the department should hire someone who will be able to relate to the issues women face in academia and STEM, and help champion female students in our department. The average woman will be in a better place to do this than the average man, so perhaps I should have been a bit more precise about what I meant in the original post. * While "diversity programs" designed to get underrepresented minorities into stem are discriminatory in the strictest sense of the word, they are in place to address systemic injustices which have existed for a very long time. The hypothetical examples of discriminating against men and women don't account for the fact that many gender/race imbalances in academia exist because of previous institutional discrimination.<issue_comment>username_1: It is certainly appropriate for you to express your desire for a particular candidate. In addition to writing to the chair of the department, it would also be helpful to contact the chair of the hiring committee (in case that individual is not the chair of the department). If you are concerned about blowback for some reason, it would also be possible to write and submit the letter anonymously. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: > > the new faculty should be female in order to help address the wildly disproportionate gender ratio in our current faculty. > > > This is not a good reason. Gender imbalance is fought by educating everybody (males, females and any possible group) equally and hiring the best people, regardless of their gender, not choosing people by gender; that's sexism. > > The candidate that we support is highly qualified in terms of research and teaching. Moreover, among all the candidates who have visited, they are the only one who have any experience with diversity initiatives and getting underrepresented groups into stem. This is very important to many of us, especially since the department is planning to add an undergraduate program in the near future. > > > These are very good reasons to hire someone, and reasons to be proud being hired for. If I were her, I'd find disrespectful being hired first because I'm a woman and second because of these good reasons. > > We are planning to write an open letter to the department in support of this candidate, citing her qualifications as someone who has worked to make science a more inclusive place for women and other underrepresented minorities. > > > Again, these may be good points to write in the open letter, but the fact that she's a woman shouldn't matter. She's a great candidate no matter what her gender is. I find this logic of hiring women because they are women very sexist, towards both men and women. Towards men because they are at a disadvantage, towards women because you're treating them like kids, giving them a preferential route they don't need. Women can clearly be good enough to be hired just for their skills and not for their gender. Fight for her to be hired if you think she's the best choice. Write the letter and explain why she's the best choice, that she's better than the other candidates because she is better, not because she's a lady. Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_3: If you write such an open letter and she is hired, there is a risk that rumor will spread that she was only hired because she is female and your open letter will help substantiate that rumor. Such rumors are harmful even if she was clearly hired on merit alone. So consider the possibility that your letter does more harm than good. And, if you do write such a letter, make it clear that you think she is the most qualified candidate for the job, not that you think she should be hired for her gender. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: > > We are planning to write an open letter to the department in support > of this candidate, citing her qualifications as someone who has worked > to make science a more inclusive place for women and other > underrepresented minorities. > > > Assuming that you value inclusivity (and most do, although some don't), then supporting her candidacy for her abilities and experience is entirely appropriate. > > My main question is is whether it is appropriate for us to > additionally express our desire for a woman faculty member. > > > Well, that does depend on how willing you are to be called out for sexism. What is the difference between the following two statements: 1. Hire him because we want a man in the position. 2. Hire her because we want a woman in the position. Oh, you can get all sorts of justifications, but the heart of it is that specifying the sex of a new hire as a job qualification is sexist. By definition. Stick with the inclusivity argument. Everybody knows what you mean. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: (The answer is written from a US perspective but may apply in certain other countries as well - hopefully this is of some relevance for OP.) I am not a lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that what you are proposing (taking gender into account in hiring of faculty) would be illegal in any public university in my state, and I suspect it may run afoul of other US states’ and perhaps US federal legislation. See [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_California_Proposition_209) and [here](https://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/guidelines-equity.pdf) for more information. I advise you to inform yourself of the laws and policies where you are before writing any letters. Asking your department to do something that breaks the law is not only completely inappropriate, but it even risks leading a risk-averse administrator to choose (consciously or subconsciously) to take the opposite course of action from what you are proposing, just out of fear that they might later be accused of illegal discrimination, with your letter being used as evidence that they acted out of impure motives. I do think it’s probably appropriate (under reasonable assumptions about your institution’s culture being a relatively normal and healthy one) for you and other graduate students to express your opinions to the department about which candidate is most qualified for the position, based on objective criteria that are unrelated to gender. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_6: You can request that the process is thorough and, for example, short list is open. That is to prevent situation where candidates are all college buddies of some dude (because they went to all-male college or whatever). You can influence the search processes, but hiring should be merit-based, and gender-neutral. However, in my opinion, "[manels](http://allmalepanels.tumblr.com/)" appear because of lack of outreach and openness rather than "we couldn't find female candidates". So when people say > > you should hire more women > > > what they mean (IMHO) is > > check your process so that you don't follow implicit and explicit biases > > > For example, does your college provide day care? Or parental leave? Is there some controversial situation that is unresolved? (see what's up with [my school](http://usc.edu)) And of course, you as students have (limited) power to nominate more candidates you deem high-quality. Nobody can stop you from telling your deans or professors "you should also consider X, Y, and Z because we love their work" Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I can see this from two perspectives: 1. The college benefits from recruiting. If the female candidate in question can help with STEM recruiting of females, it will bring more applicants (and money) to the college. The college could also then (later on) boast to be "in top-5 colleges for graduating female STEM grads" or what-not. (E.g., the college I go to boasts about being in the top-5 most diversified colleges in the US due to all the exchange students it brings in.) 2. The college is about cranking out research, not balancing gender gaps. As such, they won't care about what gender someone is, or what value they bring to gender diversification initiatives. They're just looking at everything from a research puppy mill perspective, and will hire whatever workhorse they think can crank out the research. (As a side note, while researchers get stuck teaching, teaching is not their main job. So, a researcher that can teach well is probably a secondary attribute the college considers, but not as highly as, say, students would prefer. Some colleges don't care about a researcher's teaching ability or past experience. It's all about research with them. All of this really hinges on what the college values: research vs. bragging about what they provide for the students.) Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: There is general agreement that more women in STEM would be a good thing. There appears to be considerable disagreement about how to achieve this. However, I would like to address the idea of the open letter specifically. > > We are planning to write an open letter to the department in support of this candidate, citing her qualifications as someone who has worked to make science a more inclusive place for women and other underrepresented minorities. > > > My main question is is whether it is appropriate for us to additionally express our desire for a woman faculty member. > > > I may be slightly too risk averse, but I believe writing an open letter in support of a particular applicant (regardless of race, gender, etc) is ill advised for the following reasons: 1. It is not clear if this candidate wants/needs your support. I presume the fact you are aware of her candidacy implies she has made the short list for the post on her own merits (if gender was a factor in this decision is unknown). 2. The existence of such a letter and a (relatively) wide potential readership could be interpreted negatively by some groups. In my university it is not unusual for even trivial matters, such as the name of a student event, to make national news if it can be construed to be controversial. She may not want to have her name associated with such a potential controversy. 3. If she is hired your letter may be pointed to as evidence of bias in the hiring process even if there was none. In an extreme case it could even lead to a lawsuit. The university would have to be very careful about how to respond to the letter and may decide it is safer to avoid the candidate. 4. Your motivations for writing the letter may be questioned by some groups. Did you write it out of a genuine desire for more female faculty members or was she a friend/connection of yours and you're trying to manipulate the hiring process? (I think your intentions are genuine but others may see things differently) If you would like to write an open letter advocating for more women academics in your department and highlighting the importance of making STEM more inclusive I think this could be a positive thing. But I don't think you should identify a particular candidate in the letter. If you want to advocate for a particular candidate you should do so privately to the hiring committee. You could write a letter directly to the chair or discuss it with them in person. I also think this would be more effective. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_9: Please, do yourself a favor and skip the [sex, gender, skin pigmentation, ...](delete as appropriate) of the candidate at all. It does not matter whether the candidate wears skirt or trousers. It does not matter whether the candidate prefer a night with a man, woman or both. The other qualities do matter: their qualification, their teaching and mentoring skills, their research work, their managerial skills... If you mention or even highligh their sex, the message you actually deliver is: > > We want her beacuse she is a woman. Period. No matter how bad she is compared to other candidates. > > > Your message, on the other hand, needs to be: > > The candidate we are supporting is the best candidate in the list. > > > Build the open letter on truthfully higlighting why you think the candidate is the best. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: This only applies in the United States. > > Our department is currently hiring a new faculty member. At the moment, the faculty gender ratio in our department is very skewed, even for our field. I believe that this has a negative impact on the department environment. > > > It is illegal to consider gender. You could find that if a man were hired, they would alter the environment in the same way you are imagining a woman would. What should matter is whether or not prior or existing hiring practices were/are discriminatory, which resulted in a skewed gender ratio. For example, it can be illegal to hire by word of mouth if that method results in an all male or all female environment. Did you put the desire to alter the departmental environment in your advertisement for the position? If you did, then people of both genders would respond on how they have skills to do that. If someone has certain skills that were not advertised for you cannot assume the others lack them if they do not believe they are supposed to show the skill. Are you hiring based on criteria you did not place in the ad? > > This candidate is highly qualified in terms of her research and teaching. Moreover, among all the candidates who have visited, she is the only one who has any experience with diversity initiatives and getting underrepresented groups into STEM. This is very important to many of us, especially since the department is planning to add an undergraduate program in the near future. > > > This is an appropriate reason to support a candidate if you placed in the advertisement. If you have an ad that says we are hiring based on X, Y, Z and you support them because of A, then you may have a problem. Did you ask the other candidates if they had experience in this? They may, but may have felt it not relevant to the advertised job. In Watson vs Fort Worth Banking and Trust, the court held that if discretionary criteria were used then suit could be brought under equal employment laws if there was a disparate impact. This sounds like disparate impact to me but in the opposite direction of usual enforcement. > > We are planning to write an open letter to the department in support of this candidate, citing her qualifications as someone who has worked to make science a more inclusive place for women and other underrepresented minorities. > > > Also appropriate, although weird. By the nature of an open letter, it is open, which means it can be used by losing candidates in lawsuits for improper hiring practices. > > My main question is is whether it is appropriate for us to additionally express our desire for a woman faculty member. > > > It is illegal for anyone with the power to consider a candidate's appropriateness to consider gender. If you are considering gender and you have a vote, then you are in violation of US civil rights and employment laws. > > When I say something like "we think the department should hire a woman", I don't strictly mean that the next faculty should be a woman regardless of any other factors. Rather, I mean that the department should hire someone who will be able to relate to the issues women face in academia and STEM, and help champion female students in our department. The average woman will be in a better place to do this than the average man, so perhaps I should have been a bit more precise about what I meant in the original post. > > > This is gender discrimination. The illegal assumption is that men are unable to relate to women and their issues. It is not legal to assume that a woman can do something better than a man or a man better than a woman. You are confusing skill and knowledge with gender. You are assuming that men are unaware of their environment or the work or professional issues women face. You are also assuming they cannot encourage women into STEM. The US Department of Education is investigating complaints on this under Title IX currently. > > While "diversity programs" designed to get underrepresented minorities into stem are discriminatory in the strictest sense of the word, they are in place to address systemic injustices which have existed for a very long time. The hypothetical examples of discriminating against men and women don't account for the fact that many gender/race imbalances in academia exist because of previous institutional discrimination. > > > In Wards Cove Packing Co. v Antonio, the court ruled that you cannot consider the cumulative effect of past practices, but only specific policies. So if discrimination existed in the past resulting in a current imbalance, then prior women who were not hired may file suit, but it is against the law to now discriminate to fix a prior policy. Affirmative action for students comes under a very different legal structure than employment discrimination and rely on different parts of the legal code. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_11: In current circulation, the common phrase people throw around is "We need more \_\_\_\_ in (advanced positions)" or "more representation for \_\_\_\_\_ in (advanced positions). This is a result, obviously. Meaning starts to get lost when people interpret the statement as implying "we need to correct for (discriminating criterion) when we position leaders", which is not what people mean when they say that at all. The means to achieve that result is not discrimination based on sex or race or what have you. That said,... Mentioning gender at all is a sure way to spark backlash. If you're not hiring her specifically based on sex, don't mention it. The key is to mention in this letter the results she will achieve for the company. Refrain from all speculation on why she will achieve this. Your letter could go something like this: > > We believe she should be hired, as she is the best candidate for the job. Among other merits, she has experience with diversity initiatives and getting underrepresented groups into STEM. > > > You should not write: > > We believe she should be hired because we need to support underrepresented groups in STEM. > > > That'll seem like you mean that you're hiring her due to her status as underrepresented. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: > > My main question is is whether it is appropriate for us to additionally express our desire for a woman faculty member. > > > Let's make it simple: Do express that desire, but put it in a different letter. (And don't send the two together...) Also, considering the harsh responses you've gotten here, instead of suggesting a sort of a counter-bias, claim that your department currently has a bias which must be corrected. That is, don't sail against the wind, but with it: Counter-bias for women is controversial, but bias in favor of men is unacceptable. Correcting the latter is, in practice, somewhat of the former. I wouldn't make personal accusations in such a letter, but would suggest forming a committee to review and suggest changes to the hiring process. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_13: > > > > > > My main question is is whether it is appropriate for us to additionally express our desire for a woman faculty member. > > > > > > > > > It is not appropriate. Full stop. How can you think it can be? (Being a female is not related to competences or work done or brilliant mind or attitude... or whatever! What kind of job selection could be that which starts from such a factor? Think twice!) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_14: There are several examples worldwide of the best Universities posting academic jobs that are only open to women (most of the best unis in Australia have done this, including the Math department at the [University of Melbourne [Australia]](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/may/19/university-of-melbourne-mathematics-school-advertises-women-only-positions), and the engineering department at the [University of Adelaide](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-22/university-advertises-women-only-engineering-positions/10151496)). This is not a common practice though in most countries. Its generally only done when the department has a rather extreme gender imbalance. The practice has been shown to drastically increase the quality of female applications for the position compared to open job advertisements. Women on average tend to apply less to positions where they don't feel they match the job description perfectly. For example, a male mathematician who works on partial differential equations that are often used by biologists, but who doesn't specialize in biological applications, is much more likely to apply for a job listed as "A/Prof in mathematical biology" than a similarly qualified woman. This is a big issue because academic committees often don't realize exactly what they want from the ideal candidate until they see the applicant pool. Often, great applicants don't fit the job description perfectly, and they get offered the job. That said, I wouldn't author an open letter to the department requesting them to hire the female applicant. Instead, I'd write a confidential letter to the hiring committee offering strong support for this candidate. The letter should carefully explain why graduate students think she is the best for the position, and why the gender balance and inclusivity of the department has an effect on the department's performance. Most departments would take this letter very seriously, and it could sway the committee towards the candidate in the case where the decision is very close. Note though that an open letter is not appropriate because many aspects of a job search (in many countries) is confidential and releasing the identity of candidates is a big no-no, and in some cases even illegal (depends on the country). If they don't hire the female candidate, I think it is absolutely fair to schedule a meeting with the chair of the department (and potentially even higher up the academic administration) to discuss your concerns. They are legitimate. And any department worth a grain of salt would take these concerns seriously. Upvotes: 1
2019/02/02	1,250	5,013	<issue_start>username_0: I know that there is such thing as "intellectual incest" and that many universities are against hiring their own PhD graduates for their faculty positions. But what about the movement from being a Post Doc to a Tenure Track Faculty at the same university? If a person did his PhD at University A, and did Post Doc at University B, would it be possible for the person to get hired as a tenure track faculty at University B straight from his Post Doc position? and if yes, why doesn't the "intellectual incest" apply in this case? Thank you,<issue_comment>username_1: I think this might vary by institution, but for most, at least in the US, there wouldn't be any problem with such a move. Of course, you are unlikely to get any advantage in your application and regulations most places will require that you be treated like any other. I know of one situation like this in which the university really wanted to keep a post-doc so wrote the specification for the tenure track job that matched him nearly perfectly. Nearly everything except the Father's middle name. They sent out the required national search and got back three candidates (among many others) that seemed to be a better fit (on paper) than he was. But he got the job in the end. So, not impossible (most places) but likely no advantage either. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: 1. If you are a superstar, people will tend to want you regardless of "incest". Too strong/loaded a term in my opinion. It's not like we are talking about that strong of a legal position or social taboo. Just that schools want to get fresh blood and not become 100% bound into one way of thinking. But "freshbloodedness" is a factor, not a go/nogo. [For most people, it is likely a go/nogo in terms of practical statistics. But not in the sense of a rule that is impossible to break.] 2. On a departmental level, an occasional person having some experience from the school is not the end of the world. Not like their whole program has no fresh blood/ideas. And having a superstar might outweigh the fresh blood concern. 3. You still have experience from outside the school, based on your grad degree, so it's not like you are 100% "family". But even in that case, there are occasional times when schools decide to let someone go direct from Ph.D. to tenure track at the same school, without even a postdoc (elsewhere, or even at the school). Rare, of course. But if you are a superstar or in demand because of an expanding field with few experts... 4. A lot will depend on the specifics. For example, does it create an issue of too much weight or internal competition (e.g. two professors doing East Elbonian mosquito protein research)? Or can you do something differentiated enough from your advisor? Or perhaps are they even looking to grow scale in a particular hot topic (e.g. climatology 20 years ago)? Is your advisor about to retire. Etc. 5. But trumping it all will be how much of a superstar you are. Nothing wrong with asking of course and putting them as one part of your 150 letters (perhaps even having a couple conversations given you are on site). But I would rate likelihood as low unless you are pretty darned special. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: (I am acquainted with mathematics...) To supplement the other reasonable answers, it may be worth noting that there are generally several times more post-docs available (at R1 universities and high-end R2s) than there are tenure-track jobs at those universities. In my observation the ratio is something like 4 times more post-docs than tenure-track. So, roughly, only a smallish fraction of those post-docs will get tenure-track jobs at comparable institutions. To get one at the same institution is, in fact, even rarer (statistically), because one tends to move to "somewhat lower status" institutions... in part because the high-end R1 postdocs who do not get high-end R1 tenure-track jobs do often get lower-end R1 TT jobs or high-end R2, squeezing out the people who did post-docs in those places. Of course, it is not so stupidly simple as this, but statistically it is approximately so, and for obvious reasons. For individuals, of course, things can be wildly different. So, yes, it is "possible", but statistically the chances are not so good. That is, the majority of post-docs at a given place would not turn out to be competitive for tenure-track jobs there. But, emphatically, this predicts very little for individuals. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It's not common, but it is definitely possible. In North America, in mathematics, I'm aware of concrete cases where * Professor works at the university where they got their undergraduate degree; * Professor works at the university where they got their Masters degree; * Professor works at the university where they got their Ph.D.; * Professor works at the university where they did their postdoc. In all cases they did "the rest" at other universities. Upvotes: 1
2019/02/02	794	3,353	<issue_start>username_0: I read on the Internet that most degrees in psychology and medicine are revoked because of data manipulation/fabrication. In other areas like engineering, degree revocations only happen due to plagiarism. How can data manipulation misconduct only be detected in medicine or psychology, but not in the other fields of investigation?<issue_comment>username_1: I think that part of what you see is due to the fact that in some fields it is more necessary to actually look for problems than in others. Thus, in medicine, for example, people's lives may depend on the accuracy of results, so people are more inclined to want to either investigate the accuracy of the claims or to replicate the studies. Faked data becomes obvious only if you look. If opioid research is faked, for example, bad things happen to a lot of people. When bad things happen, other people want to know why. In other fields, where the consequences may not be so dire, there is (a bit) less incentive to go looking for trouble. If few are looking, not much will be found. On the other hand, people who find themselves plagiarized are generally happy to raise the issue, but I think that happens in all fields, but is also fairly rare. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Data fabrication is fairly rare as it is (though not rare enough), so maybe you need a more systematic data collection approach. For example, the [Schön scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%B6n_scandal) ("biggest fraud in physics in the last 50 years") was a really high-profile data fabrication case from the hard sciences. It led to Schön's PhD degree being revoked. However, what you observe may be because of a variation in the incidence of data fabrication between fields (e.g. due to the financial interests involved, "fuzzier" data making people think they can get away with it), or because of a variation in willingness to report misconduct. This has already been discussed on this site in [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/12776/17254). For example, there is some [evidence](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0005738) that misconduct is reported more often in medical fields than in other fields. > > Once methodological differences were controlled for, cross-study comparisons indicated that samples drawn exclusively from medical (including clinical and pharmacological) research reported misconduct more frequently than respondents in other fields or in mixed samples. To the author's knowledge, this is the first cross-disciplinary evidence of this kind, and it suggests that misconduct in clinical, pharmacological and medical research is more widespread than in other fields. This would support growing fears that the large financial interests that often drive medical research are severely biasing it [50], [51], [52]. However, as all survey-based data, this finding is open to the alternative interpretation that respondents in the medical profession are simply more aware of the problem and more willing to report it. This could indeed be the case, because medical research is a preferred target of research and training programs in scientific integrity, and because the severe social and legal consequences of misconduct in medical research might motivate respondents to report it. > > > Upvotes: 2
2019/02/02	1,384	5,703	<issue_start>username_0: This is something I don't understand: how come many degrees have been revoked due to plagiarism after approval if Turnitin and many other software against plagiarism exist? For example, there was a case in my country where a politician got his degree revoked when it was found that he copied from other student's thesis, the thesis of that student was in her college repository, how come anti plagiarism software didn't detect the fraud before approval?<issue_comment>username_1: Turnitin and other tools are mainly (exclusively) Internet based plagiarism tools. They check if a submitted piece of work contains passages that match those found elsewhere on the Internet or previously submitted to the tool. There are many sources that are not on the internet and created before such tools and technology existed. Any plagiarism from those would not be detected by things like TurnitIn. In particular the historical (i.e. before 21st century) thesis archives of most university libraries have not yet been digitised and made Internet browsable. If someone just copied one and handed it in as theirs, then the only protection from plagiarism is the knowledge and experience of the examination panel (who would be expected to be familiar with prior works). A further reason might be that not all institutions require the submission of a thesis in machine readable form. You can only use Turnitin on document files like word or PDF. You cannot (easily) use such tools for physical paper copies of a thesis. Some universities might still take submission as a bound book making detection mechanically difficult. Further, they might just not subscribe to TurnItIn et.al. as they might be too expensive and rely on the old human element instead. This is why, when such blatant copying is later discovered a degree might be revoked. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Turnitin is not a fire and forget tool, it requires significant human effort to go through the results and separate serious plagiarism from sloppiness from outright false positives. Doing it retroactively is even harder because you have to carefully check who copied who. Also turnitin only looks for straight text copying, it doesn't look for the (IMO more serious) stealing of ideas. And of course it's not omnipresent either, lots of stuff (even stuff that is online) isn't in their database. For normal students noone cares enough to do the work of trudging through old thesis looking for plagarism, famous politicians and other people who lots of people have a grudge against are another matter. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Actually, it is not just politicians. The media only report on politicians, though. I work with the VroniPlag Wiki academic group, there are over 200 published documentations of plagiarism, and many of these degrees have been revoked: <http://de.vroniplag.wikia.com/wiki/%C3%9Cbersicht> (sorry, in German, but you get the gist). As others have noted, Turnitin and other systems are just a tool, not a litmus test for plagiarism. They can only find what their algorithms can find in the database they have been able to populate. There are very many false positives and even more false negatives. The reports are very difficult to interpret, to boot. For your particular question, I know from my work testing plagiarism detection systems that very many repositories of dissertations are not indexed by the software. One reason is that they are very difficult to traverse (and each has a different structure). There only tend to be the dissertations stored in the databases that have previously been checked. So in your case, if the student's thesis A was not checked, it was not in the database when B was potentially checked. But if a human reader sees that the topic is the same and then compare's thesis A with thesis B, they can quickly see and document the overlap. And of course, not all theses are checked, for various reasons, not all of which are academic in nature. If you want to know more about the work that goes into documenting plagiarism in (oldish) theses, I blogged about that ages ago: <https://copy-shake-paste.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-find-plagiarism-in-dissertations.html> (in English). Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: It is a controversial question (especially, if it refers to politicians). The issue of academic misconduct is an everlasting problem. A lot of famous people and thought leaders (including [<NAME>](https://unicheck.com/blog/martin-luther-king-plagiarized?utm_source=community&utm_medium=academia&utm_campaign=plagiarism&utm_content=answer)) plagiarised and used other people’s ideas in their papers. Previously it was: 1. hard to detect plagiarism, as there were no such innovative technologies and software; 2. the requirements were not so strict towards the authenticity of the papers. With the lapse of time plagiarism detection software was developed. Nowadays, no software can detect any type of cheating and has access to all the repositories available. It is just impossible as there is no common international repository for all academic institutions. Each university has its database and access to it is not granted to any third-parties. The leading academic plagiarism checkers like Turnitin, Unicheck, have access to many private databases, improve their algorithms all the time and deploy new innovative products (authorship verification by Unicheck, or iThenticate by Turnitin). Still, the cheating methods are also ‘improved’ and changed every day. To combat academic dishonesty on time, the mixture of actions has to be applied where plagiarism software is only one of them. Upvotes: 0
2019/02/03	409	1,914	<issue_start>username_0: I am applying to a top tier ML/Data-Science Conference and I feel that I might have a higher probability getting accepted in the call for workshops over the call for papers. Can I submit the same idea/algorithm to both the call for papers and the call for workshops?<issue_comment>username_1: Well, since papers are generally for finished work, and workshops are for improving work in progress, it might be looked at as an odd situation. If you submit a paper for what you have done already and a workshop proposal that is related, but, perhaps, an extension to the other then it would be more natural. So, in the exact form you suggest, I'd recommend not, but a variation might work out for you. A workshop is also valuable in that it would put you in contact with other researches with similar interests. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It really depends on the conference and the workshop. Some workshop chairs (myself included) will not accept papers that are already accepted to the conference itself. This is because of a preference towards showcasing works from sister conferences. However, the practice is not in itself frowned upon in my field. Workshops often set the workshop submission deadline after the acceptance notification deadline of the conference itself: this is done in order to ensure that people who submit workshop papers don't retract them because they can't travel without an accepted paper in the main conference, and to let people submit their work there. Thus it's not really that common (at least in my field) to see close deadlines for the conference and colocated workshops. Multiple submission policies are generally spelled out very explicitly in the submission guidelines. Read them carefully and see if they answer your question. If not - the best thing would be to email the conference/workshop chairs and ask. Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]
2019/02/03	505	2,183	<issue_start>username_0: I'm considering entering into a terminal masters in mathematics program. I was wondering if after completing the masters, if most US PhD programs will accept the masters graduate classes I took as valid credits or make me re-take the courses at my new PhD institution.<issue_comment>username_1: You will probably need to retake the standard courses, although you might have the option to test out of them. It's unlikely that the program will accept transfer credit, but of course you need to check with them. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: To amplify the points in @ElizabethHenning's answer: in the U.S., in my experience in mathematics, in Ph.D. programs it's not so much "course credits" that are required, but some sort of "proof of reasonable competence", by local standards. That often certainly includes options to take an exam to prove competence (which would be helped by having your prior coursework), or sometimes by completing a (local) course with reasonable grades. Here's the key point: why not give "competence credit" for courses taken elsewhere? For one, if you want to claim that those external courses were sufficient for you to be competent, then you shouldn't object to demonstrating it in a half-day exam. Second, at best it is very difficult to compare courses at different universities, all the more so to compare coursework done abroad to U.S. coursework... so, given the difficulty of comparison, we're back to just demonstrating competence on a half-day exam. The "credit hours" themselves are usually not an issue in Ph.D. programs in the U.S., although a typical expectation is that people do register for some courses... since without sufficient registration advanced courses are often shut down by bureaucratic constraints. Advanced courses often do not have burdensome homework or exams, and are not meaningfully graded, so there's hardly anything to object to. That is, in part, the question is a little misguided... and, no, coursework does not usually transfer in the sense of "fulfillment of requirements"... but you often can take a competence exam to fulfill requirements. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2019/02/03	2,210	8,990	<issue_start>username_0: Whenever I receive an exam paper, I usually stare at the cover page. I use the word "stare" instead of just "see" because the cover page is translucent and I could faintly see the page behind if my eyes focused on the paper. I am able to read part of the questions by doing so, although most of the words are still obscured by the text on the cover page. The thing is, I'm not sure if this counts as cheating. By "staring", I obtain some knowledge of the questions before the paper begins (albeit only partially), which may be counted as unfair. However, this is done merely by looking at the question paper which all candidates do before the exam begins. It seems virtually impossible to detect and in some cases is unavoidable. I have seen no academic policies regarding this; most papers I receive only instruct candidates not to open the paper before the exam begins. I don't know if I'm simply overthinking this or if it is a genuine ethical issue. I abide by all examination regulations, and never thought of this as "cheating" or disallowed until recently. I would definitely appreciate it if someone could help me out here - I've been fretting over this for days. Thanks in advance!<issue_comment>username_1: > > I don't know if I'm simply overthinking this or if it is a genuine ethical issue. > > > You're overthinking this. You are complying with all instructions, and I presume are not even intentionally exploiting any loopholes. To the extent that simply looking at the cover page allows you to guess the subject of the first question, that is a defect (if it can even be called that) of the exam. A good exercise to test for ethics is to consider what the reaction be if you were publicly known to have "stared at" the cover sheet. Can you imagine anyone at a disciplinary board doing anything other than laughing at the triviality of the "offense"? Whether you should attempt to avoid seeing through the cover sheet or whether it is "fair game" is perhaps a more complex question -- however, I suggest you find more significant matters to spend your mental energies on. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Yeah, it's cheating. Whether you slide the page or not is irrelevant. You are deliberately accessing extra information. It's not inadvertent since you stare hard and long to try to read through and get extra info early. Might as well lean back in your chair to peek at cards. Or look at someone else's test while they take it. Doesn't matter if the steps to prevent it are not ironclad. You know you aren't supposed to look at the questions early. But you do it. You are starting the test early by looking at the questions early. Blatant cheat. At VMI, they would drum you out (literally). Heck, trying to justify it would add equivocation on top. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It's a matter of spirit and letter of the instructions. According to the letter of instructions, you are not supposed to open the first page before instructed. This, you follow. According to the spirit of the instructions your prof wants to have a unique starting time for the exam across the students being examined. This, you violate (or try to) by intentionally trying to see what the questions are. Now, if you chance to see something once, it is not your fault if you utilise this, as an exception. You can not unknow. But you are basically taking explicit advantage of the weakness in the exam - you essentially try to hack the system by prying through the sheet. A good exercise to test for ethics is to ask what would happen if your technique becomes commonplace (for more information, see Kant's philosophy). Of course, the response could be that the examiners really print one extra empty page to be placed between the cover sheet and the questions to prevent this. So, hundreds of extra empty sheets would be printed, just to prevent one of the many possible cheating strategies, yours. Note that, once your strategy becomes commonplace, mere instructions not to peek will not help; you may be sufficiently "lawful" to follow explicit instructions, but others may not be - the intermediate sheet will become unavoidable. Your hack has affected (here, in a wasteful way) how exams are being carried out in the future. Note that your hack has in no way demonstrated your ability to cope with the material. It would be different if, for instance, you would just find an extreme shortcut to solve a problem. Another, much more interesting ethical question would arise if, say, for an exam about cybersecurity, a candidate would break into the lecturer's secure computer and steal the answers - after all, they demonstrated proficiency in the topic of the lecture, even if not precisely according to the marking scheme. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Of course it is cheating. Just because you physically can do something does not mean that it is allowed. Because that's all there is to it, right? Your question is, "I can do this, therefore I think it is not cheating, is it?" Now let's dissect your question. > > By "staring", I obtain some knowledge of the questions before the paper begins (albeit only partially), which may be counted as unfair. > > > You should have stopped there. You are sugarcoating this. It is unfair. Have you thought about students with visual impairments? Or have you just thought about yourself? > > However, this is done merely by looking at the question paper which all candidates do before the exam begins. > > > So? Even if the technique for cheating is simple, it's still cheating. Even if everyone is technically able to do it, it's still cheating. If I give my students an assignment to do at home, they are all technically able to go online and plagiarize something. > > It seems virtually impossible to detect and in some cases is unavoidable. > > > Are ethics determined by whether you can get caught? Can I commit murder if I am 100% sure that I will not get caught? A surgeon can easily "slip" and kill someone, without anyone knowing better if they are good, and there is no way to avoid it. Do surgeons have a license to kill? This is a bullshit excuse. You're better than this. (And since I know the kind of people who frequent this website: no, I am not comparing cheating to murder. I am giving an example that proves that, obviously, "I won't get caught" does not let you off the hook, ethically.) > > I have seen no academic policies regarding this; most papers I receive only instruct candidates not to open the paper before the exam begins. > > > It is almost certain that your university has a global policy that says cheating is forbidden. They do not need to list every single way that a student could cheat for this particular way to be forbidden. What counts is the end result. Have you purposefully obtained an unfair advantage? Yes. Therefore it's cheating. End of story. Imagine if the policy written on the paper had been to keep your phone in your pocket, not explicitly "the use of your phone is forbidden", for some reason. Imagine you had an old-fashioned phone with a physical keyboard and a phone that vibrated in Morse code to read out SMS you receive. Do you think you could successfully argue that you have not violated the policy if you start sending questions to an outside party? After all, you have followed the policy to the letter, and everybody could technically do it... But it's still wrong! And it falls under the global policy about cheating. What's written on the exam paper is just a reminder about a particular aspect of this global cheating policy. It doesn't mean that anything unwritten is fair game. > > I've been fretting over this for days. > > > Perhaps this could have been an alarm signal for you. Continue to fret over this. And try to think if you are committing other unethical acts. You're a university student, not a child anymore. You're supposed to know right from wrong. Act like it, or one day, you will find yourself on the wrong end of the law. Having a "gotcha" attitude is a surefire recipe for trouble. --- And for the other answer who suggested that the disciplinary board will laugh at the triviality of the offense: do you live your life only considering what you will be punished for? Shame on you. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Having set exam paper, marked them, invigilated exams and run a large graduate school at a prestigious uni I can confidently say: Don't worry about it. If you prepared for the exam, like, at all, then whatever you might be able to glean through the (cheap-\*ss thin, apparently) paper will be pretty much what you were already expecting. Having said that... I did in fact worry a bit about matters such as this, and so we put a lot of text on the cover sheet (this text we called the rubric, that might be a UK thing) making sure that any leak through was scrambled. Upvotes: 0
2019/02/03	648	2,858	<issue_start>username_0: I am working independently on an idea, and to test its conceptual feasibility, I have done a bit of math, and it seems to check out. The idea is in the area of web engineering, or web science. Now, in order to simplify the math, I've had to make several assumptions, which may or may not be valid in the real world. Is this a problem? I'm trying to make the calculation as realistic as possible, but I've noticed that it can quickly get out of hand in terms of complexity of the problem. However, I believe that the concept has value in that it is a novel way of approaching an existing problem, and it could have the legs required to flourish in a theoretical sense. EDIT: Just to be clear, the simplification I'm referring to replaces non-linear functions with linear functions, so that the math is simpler.<issue_comment>username_1: The only way to know an answer for this is to write it up and submit it to a journal or conference. You will get feedback from reviewers and the editor. I can't guess how they will respond and it will depend on the solidity of your ideas and how you back them up. If you are already well established it might be more likely as your reputation for past success might make people less willing to question your concepts out of hand. But if your resulting paper seems unusual to an editor it might not get much traction. But writing it up formally will probably help you firm up the idea and give you ideas for completing it. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: A [proof-of-concept](https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/proof_of_concept) is usually considered to be an experimental implementation. Your analysis might be publishable, but don't call it what it's not: the reviewer may probably object. There are other, less objectionable, ways in which you can title and describe your work: find a suitable alternative. As for the simplifying assumptions, yes, they can be an issue: at least, try to approximately figure out what can be the worst-case scenario if those assumptions don't hold, and address these limitations in your manuscript. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: From your description ("I have done a bit of math, and it seems to check out"), it sounds like you have ended up in an entirely ordinary and reasonable piece of theoretical/analytical research. Indeed, such research can be almost precisely characterized (informally) as doing a bit of math and seeing if it checks out. The question of publishability then boils down to whether your simplifying assumptions are considered reasonable (which you can argue and test by comparison with prior work, both theoretical and experimental) and whether the conclusions reached by checking it out are interesting and significant. Bottom line: go forth and publish (in an appropriately scoped venue)! Upvotes: 3
2019/02/03	587	2,359	<issue_start>username_0: In mathematics or (mostly) computer science, there is a gap between the literature and the standard textbooks. Many good research papers are also abusing the notations either with or without mentioning them explicitly. Is there any standardised mechanism or authoritative body that deals with this issue? If not, how to deal with it?<issue_comment>username_1: I am not sure if you are really looking for a way to cope with varying notations, but mostly these are necessary to name all the values involved in a document. Often, different topics deal with different sizes, all of which need a unique identifier. The best way to cope with this is to adapt to it. In my field it is common to introduce every variable explicitely before using it, so when I fully read a document, I just need to make sure to not miss these introductions. If you have trouble remembering, it may help to write them down for each publication etc. you are considering. I had a problem where an author used M and N the other way round than I would have. I failed to reproduce some results, only to realize I had not properly read the paper. This was my fault though, the author is free to define their own notation as long as they tell the reader. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: What is notation? It's really just a way to say things, in much the same way as we use words to express concepts in sentences. Now, think about how we use language. <NAME> said "[Say it ain't so](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoeless_Joe_Jackson#Black_Sox_scandal)" to Shoeless Joe Jackson, which is not correct English but everyone understands what he was saying. Jaz-Z says "[And I ain't tryin' to see no highway chase](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jayz/99problems.html)" and gets told "Well, you was doing 55 in a 54", neither of which is correct Oxford English. But everyone knows what he's tellin' us! Notation is the same way: We use it to communicate, but it is not necessary to stick to a rigid use of it to make ourselves clear to our readers. What is necessary is that every educated reader understands what we're saying, but this allows for some "abuse" of notation, which is really typically just a convenient way of expressing things without having to go into great formal detail that does not actually illuminate anything. Upvotes: 3
2019/02/03	1,723	7,044	<issue_start>username_0: My PhD work is on modeling a 3D printing process using a commercial FEM software. But I am not confident with basics of finite element theory, non linear Finite element analysis to be accurate, which I learnt by self study. My work was mostly application of established models, so I didn’t have to do any numerical work in my research. It's my final year (starting to write my thesis) and I am not happy with my level of expertise. I am freaking out. What do I do? Sad part is I am in 6th year of PhD.<issue_comment>username_1: It's not optimal but quite natural that during your PhD you always push forward and only learn what you really need at that moment. I assume you are going to write an introduction and a theory chapter. Use this chance to catch up with what you feel you missed. Do some exercises, work on proofs of important theorems in your field. I guess few weeks of concentrated labour will make you feel much more confident regarding the basics. It will pay off when it's time to defend your thesis! Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Nobody knows everything. In many fields it is impossible to know everything about that field. In mathematics it was possible for an individual to know everything up through the end of the 19th century, and a few people did. [<NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Poincar%C3%A9) was a likely candidate. But after that it soon became impossible as there was just too much. Computer Science has probably passed out of the era where it was possible to know it all, but it was (possibly) somewhere around the end of the 20th century. There is a psychological effect called [Imposter Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) in which you don't believe that you are as good as others know you to be. It affects many people, including many academics. Learning is a life-long activity. I suggest that in the short term you just get on with it and write the thesis, working as you normally do, which I'm sure includes study. In the longer term you can, as you would likely do anyway, work to fill in those bits that you think you are missing. But don't delay your work now until you think you are ripe. That point may never come, even though you are perfectly capable at each point at which it matters. The feeling may never go away. But if you know it for what it is, it needn't inhibit you or become debilitating. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: You say you're about to write your dissertation: do you really know how LaTeX works? Or the TeX that underlies it? Or the OS of your computer under that? Or do you just know how to use them? Same applies to your FEM program, or to any tool in any field: you don't need to know how the tool works, internally.or how to build one. You just need to know how to use it to get results. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Just write up the details of the applied work you did. Sure, you see a gap in your fundamental understanding, but so be it. There are analytical chemists who do good applied work but don't understand all the hairy physics math behind their instruments also. Sure, ideally they would. And to some extent they should. But that's just not the case. Don't make excuses. Write up what you did. Sit down and type. ;-) Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: A little humility at the start of what may be your first real research project may not be a bad thing. Crossing the bridge from hard problems in textbooks to a research problem can be a difficult journey. With textbook problems, it is at least reasonable to assume that the question makes sense and has an answer. With a research problem it may take a few months before you make sense of the problem, and you don't know whether there is an answer. "If you know what you're doing, how long it will take, or how much it will cost, then you're not doing research." But you should try to get over feeling "unworthy" of a Ph.D. Presumably, some group of people feels you have the potential to write a decent thesis, or you wouldn't be a position to try. It would be a fine thing if you win a Nobel Prize for your work, but the objective for now should be less ambitious. You need to find a worthwhile unsolved problem, get to understand what is known about the general area that's relevant, and start figuring out how you can know what's true and what's not. The amazing thing is that it's not usually possible to know how important your discoveries may turn out to be. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: Some elements you do need for your thesis are: * To be able to identify that you have done something novel * Why it is novel, i.e. understand and articulate what has been done before * Ideally some notion as to why it works. * Where there is room for improvement So, I suggest you focus on the main story you have to tell and make sure you can defend the arguments presented. That does not require an in-depth understanding of all the foregoing theory, but might well require articulation of the core principles. If you have a chapter of background material, clearly you need to understand it. You do not need to understand all the related theory work. You might well now see that there are various areas to further study later if you stay in academia. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: As long as you show you have a general understanding of Finite Element Method and build a story around your application of it, you should be in a strong position to defend your work. To be more specific - you already mentioned that your work is application of established models. This is absolutely fine if you provide appropriate references. Also, as others have mentioned, you are not expected to know everything so don't be so hard on yourself. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_8: Your adviser's job is to tell you if you are not ready to do this. That is the adviser's job -- we're not even talking about a "psychological support" role but a simple professional judgement about whether you are capable. If your adviser cannot even do that, find to another adviser. A good adviser is fact one thing that you cannot do without. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: > > But I am not confident with basics of finite element theory > > > You've got several options 1) Get direction from your current advisor as to how to fill in the gaps 2) Take a class on this topic 3) Get a co-advisor specifically to fill in these gaps Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: Freaking out might be a healthy feeling at this stage. I am not sure if that helps, but I was in your position once and I got my PhD after three years. I remember telling a friend the same thing as you just said (except the technical details were different), and he told me that everything would be alright because you're feeling that way. I am sure the things you just mentioned are not simple concepts and reaching the level to make novel contributions is not an easy road, but you'll get there eventually. Upvotes: 0
2019/02/03	1,120	4,177	<issue_start>username_0: As generally expected the doctoral review committee has to evaluate the PhD student by asking questions, by debating etc., Faculty in doctoral review committee can give soft suggestions and are capable to provide grade for student for that particular semester and can even fail the student. All the above are not insulting since all are dependent on performance of student. But how to respond to the intimidating comments by faculty in the committee that are harsh and targeting personally, which are not deserved for a doctoral student? > > Example for harsh suggestions includes follows: > > > 1) Don't roam outside too much, sit and do work silently; > > > 2) Better to eat less and work more; > > > 3) It is not worth for you to do this degree; > > > 4) Can't you understand the content that bachelor degree students can > understand? > > > 5) The work done by you in this semester can be done by masters > student in a week. > > > etc.., > > ><issue_comment>username_1: Avoid getting spun up into a fight. Or saying poor me. Or conceding global negatives about yourself. Just ignore the gratitous observations on you. Concentrate on the content. Fix any issues with your work (or your response to questions). Get corrections done. If a re-exam is done, make sure you can cover questions that were a problem last time. [Even if the observations were to be "right" (and they may not be), it's not like you can flip a switch and radically change your capabilities at this stage. Concentrate on the objective which is passing.] Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Sometimes simple and direct (but very polite) answers are the best. > > 1) Don't roam outside too much, sit and do work silently > > > I find it easier to concentrate when I roam outside in my spare time. > > 2) Better to eat less and work more > > > I unfortunately cannot work more if I am hungry. > > 3) It is not worth for you to do this degree. > > > That is sad to hear, but I find it pretty amusing to pursue a PhD and I will continue to do so. > > 4) Can't you understand the content that bachelor degree students can > understand? > > > I might have a lack of knowledge or practice, but I am pretty sure I will learn what I have to, and fulfill the requirements soon enough. > > 5) The work done by you in this semester can be done by masters > student in a week. > > > I really wish I was as talented as one of the masters students that you know. I will try harder, though. It should also be noted that these comments are merely subjective and have no weigh unless backed up with concrete proof. The proof is usually an evaluation of the student through comparison between the duties (or promises) and the achievements. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I don't know what is the norm in your institution, but I would characterize comments 1-3 as highly inappropriate and unprofessional. The committee should not comment on a student's work and social habits, their eating habits (this would be considered taboo in many places), or offer dismal views on their prospects after a PhD. In my department, making comments like this towards a student will, at the very least, be cause for a very unpleasant talk with the department head, and will require a written apology to the student. Criticism on your progress or your understanding is definitely acceptable, but can be conveyed in a more conducive manner (e.g. by not comparing your understanding to that of undergraduates - offensive to both you and to undergrads). That said, if you receive these kinds of comments, you should speak with your advisor and see what you can do to make things work better. Comments 4-5 are simply a rude way of saying that you aren't making sufficient progress. If you feel comfortable with your advisor, and assuming a culture of abuse is not prevalent in your department, you may raise this issue with them. I for one would be furious to hear this and would probably confront the offending committee member myself. If not - try to contact student affairs. Abuse towards students should not be tolerated. Upvotes: 1
2019/02/03	527	2,224	<issue_start>username_0: I would like to ask about a situation when a research done as a part of a master's thesis at one institution is submitted for publication and published while attending a subsequent PhD program at another institution (US university). The content of the paper is mostly unrelated to the subject of study in the PhD program, and it is not supposed to be used towards earning a PhD degree e.g. by including it as part of the PhD thesis. 1. Is there something unethical about this? (I personally do not see any problems, but it seems better to ask anyway.) 2. Is this common, uncommon, rare? (It seems to me that such situations ought to arise whenever there is a master's thesis work that is to be published, because I imagine that rewriting the thesis into a journal paper form would be usually done only after the thesis defense, hence usually during another PhD program. Yet I do not know of any such cases personally.) 3. In that case, should one list as the affiliation the present institution (i.e. the university of the PhD program), or the institution where most of the work has been done?<issue_comment>username_1: 1. It's fine. Similar things will happen after the Ph.D., after job changes, etc. Your current advisor doesn't need to be listed or involved in the process for work done elsewhere. 2. It is frequent (but unfortunate) that people write the thesis first and then produce articles. However, I think it is better to be publishing along the way. And this is not unusual at all either--so you are a little wrong that it is never done. All that said, converting thesis chapters into papers is very normal and fine. 3. List the previous institution first with a footnote or parenthetical for current affiliation and contact email. Do not list the old email. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There is nothing unethical about it. I did it, and my Masters paper appeared in the same issue of the same journal as my first PhD paper. So it’s also not that uncommon. My Masters paper coauthors were still at the Masters university where the research has been conducted so there was some acknowledgement of that place, but I gave my present affiliation (at the PhD school). Upvotes: 0
2019/02/03	1,597	6,527	<issue_start>username_0: When I was in community college (2016), I wasn't on good terms with the school. I was harassed occasionally and complained about it very forcefully to representatives of the administration. I passed my classes, but didn't do homework and had an average GPA. In my last semester, I decided to stop going due to continuing issues with the faculty. After a few months, I got a diploma in the mail. I called them and asked about it and they said it was all on the up and up, and that the VA representative had taken it upon himself to transfer some of my military experience into credits (my remaining requirements were very basic, like P.E.), which is what pushed me over the edge. I still have a hard time believing that I could graduate without knowing it. The VA rep was new and had recently replaced the old one, and I'm stoked he took it upon himself to transfer those credits over, but I am curious if this is a normal thing? Has this ever happened to anyone else? Am I worrying too much? I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I also am afraid there could have been some mistake. The reason I'm worried about it now is that I want to go back to school for a CS degree in the near future now that I've matured a little and have a better idea of what I enjoy learning. If there's any chance I need to be worried about my previous degree I want to know about it.<issue_comment>username_1: > > I still have a hard time believing that I could graduate without knowing it. > > > Me too. I would request a transcript and perhaps investigate to see whether "transferring military experience to credits" is something that routinely happens. It would be nice to document your concerns and get a written response from the college saying that everything is on the up-and-up. When documenting everything, I suggest not going into detail about your issues with the teachers; that is a separate issue. > > I am curious if this is a normal thing? Am I worrying too much? > > > I can say that it is entirely abnormal for well-ranked, 4-year colleges in the US. However, community colleges are a different beast. While I can't say anything for sure, I can speculate: * They may have wanted to boost their graduation rates, and looked for "almost-done" students that they could convert to "done" * Perhaps your VA rep is just an awesome guy who helped you out. * Maybe there were legal issues with the harassment case. * Or, it's possible that something improper was done, and it will eventually cause problems for you. Short answer: I suspect all is OK, but I would still try to document what happened and get the college to state in writing that your degree was not awarded in error. Edit: I do agree with the other answers that you should proceed with your application to 4-year schools; don't let this slow you down. I just think it's worth protecting yourself...for example, the diploma-generation system could be different than the degree-verification system, and they might disagree about whether you finished...best to have the whole thing documented in case something comes up. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think it is generally a mistake to kick a sleeping tiger. What will you gain if you are told it was a mistake? I'd ask for a formal transcript and see what it shows. If all looks well, then use it to apply to a four year program and see what happens. My best guess is that you will have no particular issues about this, other than a poor gpa. If you then learn there is a problem you can seek ways to overcome it. If you get in, all is well and it won't come back to haunt you in the future. Just apply yourself more diligently in the future. If you dodge a bullet, don't ask for a re-shoot. For less violent imagery, maybe you just won the lottery. Spend it wisely. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: It's a great story in that it happened without you having to do anything. It's not that unusual to get some field credits for military service. During outprocessing, they counsel people coming out to try to get some credit for A-schools, etc. Varies what you can get but not surprised that it helped you at the juco, getting the associates. The one thing I have seen more often is the service member needing to be on top of things to get the credits. Little bit of a learning here--what if you had not had someone looking out for you--how many people are not getting all they can get. Good luck, going forward. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: If all you were missing is stuff like PE, I don't find it weird to have military count and seeing you finish. Many friends didn't have to take university PE because they were climbing, doing martial arts etc. Additionally, once we were changing system from the old one to Bologna, some were asked to just submit whatever minor thing relevant for the minor courses to get the lowest passing grade, or even had irrelevant stuff like PE and humanities ignored, so they could finish before the deadline. All as a courtesy of the students' office and nice people working there (Students graduating or not wouldn't change a thing for them, university or anyone else.) If the new guy is nice and wants to help students, he will sort out such minor things and let you finish, considering you were nearly done. Even if there is nothing he or college would gain from that. The only really weird part is that they just sent you diploma - in all cases I know, the final interaction had to come from the student, even if it was (paraphrased) just to sign the paper. But well, you got diploma, consider everything done and be happy you have that paper. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I'd like to point out that you don't need an Associates Degree (AA) to get into a 4-year college. A high school diploma is sufficient. The fact that you have an AA shows that you can start and finish courses like an adult, and that counts well in your favor. But the 4-year college won't care so much about the degree itself, but only the individual credits they transfer in. If there is a PE course they don't like, you just won't get credit for it. (This is unlikely, since in the current climate, colleges want to push through as many students as they can as quickly as they can. They'll give you any credit they can get away with.) If something wonky happened and somehow your AA is revoked, you won't get kicked out of 4-year college. Because it wasn't a requirement for admission. Upvotes: 0
2019/02/04	670	2,859	<issue_start>username_0: What are some characteristics of top quality research work in math? What do papers in top notch math journals have in common?<issue_comment>username_1: Since you ask about top quality research, I'll say some things about the extremes. Perhaps you can extrapolate a bit from the extremes to come to an understanding. The first kind of superlative mathematical work is one that settles an old problem that many have worked on unsuccessfully in the past. The second sort, though it may take a while to recognize it as such, is a paper that opens an entirely new field of mathematics. Sometimes the originator may not even recognize his/her work as a fundamental advance. So, really good math papers are those that, perhaps, approach one of these extremes in some way. An old, settled, result proved with a new technique might be interesting if the new way of proving something lets others think in a new way about other problems. Non mathematicians often think of mathematics as a bunch of facts. Early learners in mathematics think of it as proving theorems. But before you can have a statement of a theorem you need the insight to see what might be true and provable from what is already accepted. Some of those insights turn out to be valid, others not. But it isn't about the facts, nor about the proofs of the facts, but an exploration of what might also be true and provable. If you can do that, you are doing real mathematics. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In my opinion the main factor of a good research paper is the high number of citations. It shows that the paper has been read and further developed by other mathematicians. This is my true story. When I was near the end of my undergraduate and looking for a supervisor for my Phd study. At that time there was a guy, who advertised himself and by many other people, having high-profile publications. He had papers in Inventiones of Maths, Advances of Maths, Pacific Journal of Maths,... These are considered as high-quality journals for many mathematicians. However, there was one thing that bothered me at that time, no one cited his papers, except for himself. I took me two years to figure out that all of his papers are false. Believe me or not. He worked on an area that was old and not many people are working on this. More importantly, his papers all contained mistakes, and be incurable. This is a good lesson for me. The first time I met him, I asked him some basic questions about distribution theory. It was easy for me to reliaze that he is not sure about even some basic maths, which is standard for any analytics. During my Phd, I had a good time to spend time reading other people's work. And I come to realize that so-called high-ranked journals might not be parallel with the quality of their papers. Upvotes: 0
2019/02/04	506	2,030	<issue_start>username_0: I have recently asked my professor to write a LOR for my taught master program application. We are not so familiar with each other, but at least I have attended one course of him (got A grade) while my final year project literature review was also supervised by him (luckily A grade also). Originally it went quite well, the prof said yes to be my referee. But then it turned out like the application system is super weird, the LOR submission can be done by the applicant itself (simply uploading the signed LOR) or the referee can email the LOR directly to the uni. When I told my prof, he replied me like 'I have never given students LOR and I don't believe in any application handed in by applicants, so I will email the letter directly to the uni' I am now so scared of getting him angry. Will I give him a bad image,turning out write me a negative LOR. Shld I find another referee in case somethings goes wrong at last?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think that there should be any issue. Your professor is right - most LORs are submitted directly by the referee to the university (to avoid the risk of falsified references). I would thank the professor again, say something like "yes, I thought that it's kinda weird that the system asked me to submit the reference. It makes much more sense that you do it" (putting you and the professor on the same page, while placing the blame on the system rather than on yourself). Generally speaking, it would be good to have a few referees to rely on, but I don't think that this incident "burned" one of your referees. Good luck! Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: "He will email the letter direct to the Uni", that's great, he will do your reference. This is not about if he is upset or angry with you, but he sees a relevant way of providing a reference that has not been "tampered or altered" by any one else. NOT accusing you of course, but it has been known and your prof would like to minimize the possibility. Upvotes: 3
2019/02/04	1,910	8,180	<issue_start>username_0: I am considering applying for graduate school at some point, and I am wondering how academia looks upon contributions to Wikipedia. Essentially, the article will be a dedicated to a very specific subfield of the physics of spin glasses, with seminal papers written on it in the 1980's. It has somewhat of a "cult" status within a small subset of the field, and the inspiration for writing it is: (a) This aligns strongly with techniques I aim to use for my further research, so it seems like a good way to share what I know with the community. (b) This seems like there is a legitimate need for advanced undergraduates/new entrants into the field who want a surface level introduction to this technical area. Of course I am not the authority on subject by any means but nevertheless I feel that there is something here to contribute. My question is mainly whether or not this could be used to my favour in future graduate admissions processes, or even academic applications beyond that? Assuming of course that I have written it at an acceptable level to the "real experts" who might read it. EDIT: Just to clarify, I am in no way under the impression that this would replace legitimate academic work (hence in a CV this would go under "other interests",etc.) - indeed it should not. I am simply wondering whether it would be an added bonus (and if so, to what extent) that academia looks favourably upon.<issue_comment>username_1: The notion of authorship in wikipedia is rather antithetical to the notion of authorship in "standard" academic works. Wikipedia articles don't have "bylines," and the point is that anyone in the world is welcome to make constructive edits and/or additions to an article at any time. Even if you feel that you are the primary or sole author of an article at time t\_1, at some time t\_2 > t\_1 this may no longer be true. Finally, the ethos of wikipedia is such that other wikipedians would not necessarily be happy to see a given person claiming "credit" in this way. If you are motivated to write such a wikipedia article, I suggest that you give it a go -- it has the potential to be both a learning experience for you and result in something of interest and use to many people. However, if you want academic credit I suggest you write something more substantial, formal and/or independent. As the head of a graduate admissions committee (albeit in mathematics, not physics) I would be more impressed even by a sequence of blog posts than by a wikipedia article. Still probably not crucially impressed by the way, but more impressed. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: As someone who contributed to various Wikipedia articles myself (though almost no one knows this :-)), personally I like the idea and would encourage you to contribute to Wikipedia, as I have encouraged many of my students in the past. It’s fun, helps the world and is a great learning experience. As a general rule, these sorts of contributions are something that can show you are enthusiastic about a subject, and about learning and sharing your knowledge with others. If someone who is applying to my graduate program is an experienced Wikipedian, definitely I want to hear about it. With that said, I feel like you are putting the cart (way) before the horse. You should contribute because you want to contribute, and you should write something in your CV because you have done it and it signals something good about you. Planning to do X and then add that to your CV so that people will think you are the kind of person who likes to do X is a bad idea, because it doesn’t work - people who do that always end up looking not like people who like to do X, but like people who did the minimal amount of X to make it just slightly less than pathetic to include X on their CV. In your case too, as @Pete and @knzhou said, no one is going to be impressed by a single Wikipedia article (which may very well get deleted for lack of notability, or edited beyond recognition, by the time anyone bothers to look for it - another issue you need to be aware of is that writing for Wikipedia is a communal activity where both the credit and decision making are shared among large groups of people, making it hard to use as the basis for CV-bragging activities; but that’s a secondary issue). Anyway, hope you do decide to do it, and good luck with your grad school applications. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It seems to me there is nothing new about including information about publication in non-academic outlets. I would suggest you apply the same reasoning to this decision as you would if you had published an article in a magazine, or on your own blog. One of the main benefits of publishing in a non-academic outlet is your ability to reach the general public, or at least those outside your field. If you publish an op-ed in the Washington Post, it will reach a lot of people who don't read physics journals. If you publish something on your own blog, it might reach a lot of people, or it might not. In either case, lack of review by qualified experts might be a knock against its credibility, or it might not. So, can you demonstrate that there there was some review of your text, and/or that it reached a lot of people? Wikipedia has internal peer review processes, though the definition of "peer" is vastly different from how academia defines it. Did you put your article through one of those, like the Good Article or Featured Article process? If so, include links to those reviews. Did you consult with a faculty advisor prior to publishing the Wikipedia content? If so, say a few words about that process. Did you get significant feedback, positive or negative, after publication? If so, comment on that. Can you demonstrate significant readership of the article (and readership stats on Wikipedia content are easy to come by)? Present and comment on that. Above all, assume that your audience may have some skepticism around Wikipedia. Anticipate and address their concerns. Don't just include the Wikipedia article and expect them to take it as a positive; give them a real, and defensible, justification of why it's a positive reflection on you. Disclaimers: I have a bachelor's degree, from before Wikipedia existed. I've done extensive work around Wikipedia with academics, building the first project for the Wikimedia Foundation supporting the use of Wikipedia as a teaching tool, speaking at Harvard, Princeton, North Carolina State University, and others. I've worked in partnership with the University of Mississippi to secure and fulfill a multi-year grant centered on getting academics to write Wikipedia articles, and on proposing a grant proposal with similar goals for a partnership lead by the University of Michigan. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I donno. Think a more popular article might actually be more interesting and favorable than the spin glass subculture thing. Using Wiki to write a highly technical article (a subset of spin glasses) seems a little off to me. Like you can't do it well enough to publish a real review in the real literature? And then it's not really showing evidence of science popularization since you are picking such an arcane and difficult topic. (Don't get me started on obscure Wiki math articles, written more to inform the writer than the encyclopedia reader...sigh.) This is not meant to combat all the excellent answers which were much more positive. But just something to consider. (I think Pete's answer is more positive, but he also warns you of the skepticism and even mild annoyance which Wiki may elicit.) Maybe it makes more sense to give some general claim on your Wiki writing ("started 5 physics articles and one GA" or whatever). And to do it in a general context of your popular interests in physics (tutoring, reading popular books, etc.) I just worry a little about referring to some wiki spin glass article like it was a "real" publication, that it may come off odd. Just a thought though. Oh...and avoid getting banned/blocked or having mean things written on your Wiki wall page. Social media can be a bitch. Upvotes: 1
2019/02/04	1,616	6,962	<issue_start>username_0: In a conference in the CS field, what sort of changes are acceptable from an author of a paper in the camera-ready version over the submitted version? Can the author add few new related findings?<issue_comment>username_1: The notion of authorship in wikipedia is rather antithetical to the notion of authorship in "standard" academic works. Wikipedia articles don't have "bylines," and the point is that anyone in the world is welcome to make constructive edits and/or additions to an article at any time. Even if you feel that you are the primary or sole author of an article at time t\_1, at some time t\_2 > t\_1 this may no longer be true. Finally, the ethos of wikipedia is such that other wikipedians would not necessarily be happy to see a given person claiming "credit" in this way. If you are motivated to write such a wikipedia article, I suggest that you give it a go -- it has the potential to be both a learning experience for you and result in something of interest and use to many people. However, if you want academic credit I suggest you write something more substantial, formal and/or independent. As the head of a graduate admissions committee (albeit in mathematics, not physics) I would be more impressed even by a sequence of blog posts than by a wikipedia article. Still probably not crucially impressed by the way, but more impressed. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: As someone who contributed to various Wikipedia articles myself (though almost no one knows this :-)), personally I like the idea and would encourage you to contribute to Wikipedia, as I have encouraged many of my students in the past. It’s fun, helps the world and is a great learning experience. As a general rule, these sorts of contributions are something that can show you are enthusiastic about a subject, and about learning and sharing your knowledge with others. If someone who is applying to my graduate program is an experienced Wikipedian, definitely I want to hear about it. With that said, I feel like you are putting the cart (way) before the horse. You should contribute because you want to contribute, and you should write something in your CV because you have done it and it signals something good about you. Planning to do X and then add that to your CV so that people will think you are the kind of person who likes to do X is a bad idea, because it doesn’t work - people who do that always end up looking not like people who like to do X, but like people who did the minimal amount of X to make it just slightly less than pathetic to include X on their CV. In your case too, as @Pete and @knzhou said, no one is going to be impressed by a single Wikipedia article (which may very well get deleted for lack of notability, or edited beyond recognition, by the time anyone bothers to look for it - another issue you need to be aware of is that writing for Wikipedia is a communal activity where both the credit and decision making are shared among large groups of people, making it hard to use as the basis for CV-bragging activities; but that’s a secondary issue). Anyway, hope you do decide to do it, and good luck with your grad school applications. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It seems to me there is nothing new about including information about publication in non-academic outlets. I would suggest you apply the same reasoning to this decision as you would if you had published an article in a magazine, or on your own blog. One of the main benefits of publishing in a non-academic outlet is your ability to reach the general public, or at least those outside your field. If you publish an op-ed in the Washington Post, it will reach a lot of people who don't read physics journals. If you publish something on your own blog, it might reach a lot of people, or it might not. In either case, lack of review by qualified experts might be a knock against its credibility, or it might not. So, can you demonstrate that there there was some review of your text, and/or that it reached a lot of people? Wikipedia has internal peer review processes, though the definition of "peer" is vastly different from how academia defines it. Did you put your article through one of those, like the Good Article or Featured Article process? If so, include links to those reviews. Did you consult with a faculty advisor prior to publishing the Wikipedia content? If so, say a few words about that process. Did you get significant feedback, positive or negative, after publication? If so, comment on that. Can you demonstrate significant readership of the article (and readership stats on Wikipedia content are easy to come by)? Present and comment on that. Above all, assume that your audience may have some skepticism around Wikipedia. Anticipate and address their concerns. Don't just include the Wikipedia article and expect them to take it as a positive; give them a real, and defensible, justification of why it's a positive reflection on you. Disclaimers: I have a bachelor's degree, from before Wikipedia existed. I've done extensive work around Wikipedia with academics, building the first project for the Wikimedia Foundation supporting the use of Wikipedia as a teaching tool, speaking at Harvard, Princeton, North Carolina State University, and others. I've worked in partnership with the University of Mississippi to secure and fulfill a multi-year grant centered on getting academics to write Wikipedia articles, and on proposing a grant proposal with similar goals for a partnership lead by the University of Michigan. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I donno. Think a more popular article might actually be more interesting and favorable than the spin glass subculture thing. Using Wiki to write a highly technical article (a subset of spin glasses) seems a little off to me. Like you can't do it well enough to publish a real review in the real literature? And then it's not really showing evidence of science popularization since you are picking such an arcane and difficult topic. (Don't get me started on obscure Wiki math articles, written more to inform the writer than the encyclopedia reader...sigh.) This is not meant to combat all the excellent answers which were much more positive. But just something to consider. (I think Pete's answer is more positive, but he also warns you of the skepticism and even mild annoyance which Wiki may elicit.) Maybe it makes more sense to give some general claim on your Wiki writing ("started 5 physics articles and one GA" or whatever). And to do it in a general context of your popular interests in physics (tutoring, reading popular books, etc.) I just worry a little about referring to some wiki spin glass article like it was a "real" publication, that it may come off odd. Just a thought though. Oh...and avoid getting banned/blocked or having mean things written on your Wiki wall page. Social media can be a bitch. Upvotes: 1
2019/02/04	1,525	6,380	<issue_start>username_0: I've recently started doing postdoc in an European country. Since the first day, I am having problems with working in the lab environment. The research group is too individualistic (there is no shared protocols, project and any kind of support) and some people are behaving in quite toxic ways. One of the lab members doesn't even look or talk to us (me and another student) since we arrived here. He ignores and turns away whenever he sees us, as if we are not worth it. The main problem is the postdoc though. He is too assertive, aggressive and sort of being a bully in lab meetings, trying to get involved in every project and confront you without significant reasons. He even interrupts when he thinks it is boring and not delivered very well or wants you to prove (show RAW data) when he doesn't think it is enough. The PI does nothing and she is so dependent on him, lets him to be a co-PI or the kind of bad boss. So, basically, I don't know what to do. I know that I can't stay it more and be productive here, but I am in a small country, where all the academic world knows each other. Do you have any suggestions about finding another position or doing applications at the same university? If you could give some ideas, I'd be very grateful. I totally feel paralyzed.<issue_comment>username_1: It is unlikely you can fight this culture, and academic settings have practically no good ways to address bullying of this nature. If you find what seems to be one, look for evidence that it has worked for past students. Recently. Alternately, make the bully your friend. This is not advisable. Alternately, work with people the bully cannot impact, which is a version of leaving. This may be unavailable, depending on your situation. Calling out this bully may help, but if it does not it will make you a target. Again, it is highly unlikely your institution has any kind of meaningful recourse available. Your best strategy? Leave. Keep your head down, and start planning your exit now. After you have an exit, cite the bully as the reason to both your PI and HR; it may help others. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is a shame that you received no other answers; I have to record my disagreement (and disapproval) of the answer provided by [Industrialacademic](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9181/industrademic) and I will try to provide my own. 1. Securing a position in academia, even a first postdoc, is an achievement which everyone can be proud of. After so many years of learning and preparation, this is finally the time when you are not only producing new knowledge, but also are recognised and payed to this. Academic jobs market is extremely competitive and should be proud of yourself that you are on top of this competition. Getting there takes a lot of time, effort and commitment. An advice to leave without a proper fight is in my opinion extremely immature and ill-considered; it ignores the sacrifices you made to get the position you wanted and the responsibilities that come with it. You should not leave because of a single petty bully. 2. Our academic training prepares us to deal with high-level abstractions, tons of literature and terabytes of data. It does not teach us how to deal with rudeness, aggression or neglect. It is OK to feel insecure, lost and paralyzed when these things first happen to you. You don't know what to do, because, ideally, you don't have to. There is no place for rude and humiliating behaviour in civil society, particularly in workplace, and academia is not an exception here. A statement that academia is somehow more prone to bullying can be only explained by very limited experience outside academia. 3. So yes, bad things should not happen, but unfortunately, they do. Bullying still happens in many countries, job sectors, environments. It does happen in academia, too. What can we do when it happens to us? 4. Before anything remember that you are not alone. Universities do have systems in place to help any student and staff who feels uncomfortable and threatened in their workplace. These people are not immediately obvious, but it is easy to find them as soon as you decide that you need to. 5. However, before you do, take a deep breath and try to make a clear record of the situation. Is this person really a bully? Cultural norms may differ from place to place, and many things which are "normal" in some country can be considered extremely rude in another. Examples include putting feet on chairs and tables, pushing someone's shoulder to say hi and bye, cleaning nose in public, cutting fingernails in public, asking personal questions, asking difficult questions, interrupting someone's speaking — add yours! If a person is doing something that is offensive or unpleasant to you, it may be not because they are a bully, but sometimes, perhaps, because they have a different understanding of a norm. It may be hard to talk with them about it directly (although it is often the best way to clarify things), but remember that you are not alone and you can seek help here. Just don't assume bad intentions when there are maybe none. 6. Your supervisor seems to "ignore" the problem, which may or may not be so. She may have a different perception of it, and genuinely be unaware of your feelings. You should consider making an appointment with her and formally discuss this. She may be the best person to correct the unwanted behaviour. It is quite possible that she is also not happy with this behaviour, but for some reason prefers to let it slide as soon as no-one is harmed. It is true that people often do not start the fight only because it is a right thing to do. People sometimes need better reason, and you should make your feelings known to give her this reason. 7. If talking to your PI does not change things, go to the Head of Department and talk to them. It is their job to help you solve the problem. They may need to use their power on your PI, but in many cases it is not necessary, as there are already systems in place to delicately solve such issues. But if you remain silent about the problem, these support systems can not help you. tl;dr: Academia is hardly a paradise for anyone; it is definitely not a paradise for bullies. You are not alone. Talk to your PI and HoD to seek help and solve the issue. Good luck. Upvotes: 2
2019/02/04	749	2,856	<issue_start>username_0: arXiv does not allow PDF and other file types on the same submission. My (many)coauthors are not tex savvy, and want the paper describing the database to be in PDF format so that their (also not tex savvy) community can access it. The database is 4 files, csv & json, and small, within arXiv size limits. The coauthors want their preferred word letterhead, which would be a long process to recreate in tex of any flavor. I see three paths forward: 1) put the paper describing the database into tex format without their letterhead, or reducing it to an image. Be done. Incur an unknown level of coauthor confusion and wrath (they are oddly worked up about this). I would value easy (converters that work?) solutions in this vein. 2) Have two arXiv submissions: a) the pdf of the paper b) the csv data dictionaries (2) and json databases (2). Reference b in a. 3) Write the arXiv folks asking for an exception. I'm not sure they do this. What is my preferred submission strategy? Any other path forward? Educating my coauthors sounds slow and hard, so yes, I know it is an option, but I'd rather not.<issue_comment>username_1: I see a fourth way forward. You could upload the database to a separate [repository](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/52032/17254) and cite that in the paper. (E.g. Zenodo allows multiple files, but putting them in an archive file might be beneficial.) Then submit the PDF version of the paper to arXiv. > > 1) put the paper describing the database into tex format without their letterhead, or reducing it to an image. Be done. Incur an unknown level of coauthor confusion and wrath (they are oddly worked up about this). I would value easy (converters that work?) solutions in this vein. > > > Well, don't do that unless you can get your coauthors onboard. If you can convince them, you can try Word -> TeX converters. Some possiblities can be found [here](https://tex.stackexchange.com/q/27731/128923). The letterhead might have to be handled separately, possibly as graphics that you then auto-vectorize in Inkscape or similar tools. > > 2) Have two arXiv submissions: a) the pdf of the paper b) the csv data dictionaries (2) and json databases (2). Reference b in a. > > > I don't think arXiv allows a separate submission for only the data. Hence suggestion #4 above. > > 3) Write the arXiv folks asking for an exception. I'm not sure they do this. > > > I have never heard of them making an exception, but I have also not heard about anyone asking for one. However, even if exceptions could be made, that rarely translate to "a quick process". Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I bit the bullet and spent three days building the letterhead in TEX. I then requested, and was granted, a size exception. It solved my problem, but was not ideal. Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
2019/02/04	1,528	6,588	<issue_start>username_0: I am a student willing to apply for top 10 universities(MIT, Stanford, etc). I have recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering field with GPA 4.5/5. I have read about important factors for applying and I found out that these factors are the most important factors ( from most important to least important) 1. GPA 2. Recommendation Letters 3. GRE Scores 4. Research/Getting Papers Published 5. Industry Internships 6. Being a TA (Main Question) I want to how much GPA is important for example a person with GPA 4.8 is far more likely to be accepted than me or not. for example, students with GPA above 4.5 are all the same. and my second doubt is about the rank of papers. If you publish a paper in famous journals is it that much unimportant to them? what about doing something extraordinary. I am developing an AI program that is really professional and I am writing a paper related to this program. I want to know how much these sorts of activities are important for them.<issue_comment>username_1: I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that all of it is just as important as the rest of it and all is just as unimportant. I don't think that admissions committees work the way you may think. It isn't a matter of filling in numbers on some sort of spreadsheet. Universities in general, and the best ones included, are looking holistically at a candidates record and other statements to look for evidence of success. They are also trying to balance, in an imperfect world, the credentials and statements of the large number of people in a very competitive applicant pool. Everything you list will be considered and "more is better" here as you know. But, given that the pool is so competitive, it might be nothing more than a simple statement in a statement of purpose that puts one candidate over the top. That said, negative evidence can work against you, but that is more to help the committee whittle the pool down to manageable size so that they spend time on those most likely to succeed at that institution. Some parts of it are less "rational" than others. If one of your recommenders is well known to the committee, their words may carry more weight. If some previous student from your institution has done well at the institution that alone can be a big factor if the recommender makes comparisons between you. Everyone need to make their own case for admission and for the likelihood of success. The competition is broad and deep. Make your case. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it's useful for this question to step back and think about it from first principles. What a top graduate program wants in a graduate student is high likelihood of becoming a leading researcher in the field. There are some exceptions, but for most applicants at most leading departments, this is the only consideration. The problem with putting this forward as a criterion is that no one can predict the future. You really don't know whether you're going to become a leading researcher, and neither do the people reading your application. Everyone is trying to make their best guess based on the information available. At this point, someone is going to ask for a data-based solution, but the problem is that there really isn't that much data. There aren't that many leading researchers, the factors that make leading researchers likely change quite a bit over time, so the kinds of people that did well twenty years ago might not do so well now, and the variables probably interact with each other in complicated, nonlinear ways that are hard to tease apart statistically without large amounts of data. This means graduate admissions boils down to a committee of people reading applications and making their best judgement as to who is most likely to become a leading researcher. You can now ask the psychological (or maybe sociological) question about what factors professors on admissions committees think correlate with probability of becoming a leading researcher, but there seems to be quite high variability between individuals, and you don't know who is sitting on admissions committees that year. Given how difficult it is to determine how all these proxy measures work, I think it's best to believe that admissions committees will get it right and look at what they're really trying to measure - your probability of becoming a leading researcher - with the caveats that you should consider the judgement of other people you trust to have an informed opinion (your current professors) and that your own judgement is highly likely to be biased by imposter syndrome and or the Dunning-Kruger effect. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: 1. You are not going to find some detailed regression equation with parameters for each of our six factors. Actually you have done a decent job to list these and I figure the order is roughly correct. (although some of them may function a bit more like a floor than just a linear factor). 2. Given that, my impression is that the 4.5 (like a 3.5 for 4.0 normal grading schemes) is fine. The key thing to understand is that applying to top research grad schools is a bit different than applying to top undergrad programs. The odds are more in your favor, now. And they are more about getting good candidates to do the work than about perfect little cherubs trying to be Harvard undergrads. Of course higher is better. But I don't think 3.5 is an issue if you are good at science. I would let them know the class rank if you come from a school with tougher grading standards. Also the major GPA, if it helps you. 3. Journal published at is not really so critical at all. After all we are at the 4th level factor. And I suspect much lower than first 3. It's nice that you published at all, but lots of good people haven't. Add onto that likely not being first author, or even if you were, probably significant support from others. All of it to mean that a fancy journal won't save you from bad records on first 3 (grades, letters, GRE) which will be seen as evidence of aptitude and conscientiousness. P.s. Of course if you are concerned you are not as competitive, apply to several good schools (more than if you were competitive). Also, while I think you are right to target a top school--it does matter--it is maybe not quite as important the "ranking" as in MBA schools. I would consider to look at top 30 also and have a safety school or two, especially if you can find a reason for one that appeals to you (location, scientist, etc.) Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]