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2020/01/18
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<issue_start>username_0: I am supervising a PhD student, enrolled at another University, where the co-supervisor is employed. We developed some useful software in her thesis and published 3 papers. In this development another member from the other university also participated. Now she will defend her thesis and leave, and it is not clear yet whether they will be interested in further development of this software.
I am really interested in this and I am the only one who knows how to use it in different contexts so I can foresee that I could get 30 publications with this tool in the next 5 years. I have the feeling (and I could obviously be wrong) that since the PhD student will leave, the colleagues from the other University will not work anymore on improving the software. But if I get new publications with the software, they have the right to be included as co-authors on all the papers even if they do not anything at all.
We are friends and we work together very well, but I think this is unfair. And I do not know how to present this situation to them. If I tell them exactly like this I feel they will get upset. So I am lost and I do not know what do here. Most optimal situation I can think is that on each new paper, tell them that I need to add some minor features to the paper (so that we work) and then I can feel they have the rights to be co authors of the paper. Are there better ways to handle this? I feel that we should have settled everything from the beginning, but it is now when I realize about this.<issue_comment>username_1: Many fields have rules for deciding who should be an author.
See for example <http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html#two> for Medicine.
This sets out four criteria which must be met to be an author.
Using those criteria it seems that if your colleagues don’t want to engage further with the software and resulting papers then they won’t meet criteria 2 and 3, and possibly not even 1. They won’t want to be on the hook for criterion 4.
It seems to me you need to find a similar set of criteria which are acknowledged by people working in your discipline and use those to have a conversation with your colleagues.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't see the problem here as one of co-authorship, but one of potential plagiarism. That is easy to avoid with proper citation. But it depends, also, on what you intend to do in the papers.
In a similar case, suppose you found the software and the original papers online or elsewhere and you do some derived work. The originals were done by people who are strangers to you. You cite the original and acknowledge the people who form the foundation. *But you don't have to invite the strangers to be co-authors.* I don't necessarily see a difference here.
If they don't participate in the new work they aren't co-authors of it.
But, it might be worth some effort to try to convince them to participate fully and, thus, become co-authors.
It would be a different case if you were re-writing the original papers.
As for the software, you have to be sure that you have an appropriate license to extend it. If you haven't ceded ownership to someone else, then you have joint ownership among the three(?) of you. Get their written permission to extend it, and list everyone as co-authors (co-creators) of the software. But the software and its use are separate things. If you find novel uses of the software without the help of the others, they aren't co-authors of the resulting papers.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/01/19
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<issue_start>username_0: For a PhD student in my University, there will be a doctoral review committee presentation for every six months.
Course work is for first eighteen months.
But from fourth semester, student has to present his research work. In general, the presentation includes the summary of research papers studied in the semester, details of research papers published by student, if any and **the novel ideas on which the student worked in that semester.**
The committee contains three persons and presentation goes off record. Then there may be chance of copying the novel idea by any committee member. So I'm wondering whether it is a custom only in my University or in other universities also.
So my question is that is it customary to discuss or present novel ideas in front of doctoral committee in atleast many of the Universities?<issue_comment>username_1: I have been faculty in a program that did something like this. But the presentations were more open. Other doctoral students and many involved faculty.
Ideally it shouldn't be a problem. People should be able to give candidates advice after seeing what they are working on and thinking about.
However, if it is a problem, and you have reason to fear people will steal ideas and develop them before you can, then you are in the wrong university with the wrong faculty and I advise you to make a fast exit. It is really an unethical atmosphere if this does happen.
Back when I was a grad student we had a small seminar with a few students and some faculty. There were only six or so of us. But we discussed things pretty openly. There was no problem and no fear that there could be a problem.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, it's completely normal for a committee to review a PhD student's research. Research includes novel ideas.
The committee may help you improve your ideas. Usually faculty have more ideas than they need and, as a result, have no need to steal any.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have submitted my paper to a conference A, where it has been presented and is included in the proceedings and is yet to be published online and would be completed in few months. How do I cite this paper in my follow up work to be submitted to another conference B, whose deadlines are way before the previous work can show up online?<issue_comment>username_1: I have been faculty in a program that did something like this. But the presentations were more open. Other doctoral students and many involved faculty.
Ideally it shouldn't be a problem. People should be able to give candidates advice after seeing what they are working on and thinking about.
However, if it is a problem, and you have reason to fear people will steal ideas and develop them before you can, then you are in the wrong university with the wrong faculty and I advise you to make a fast exit. It is really an unethical atmosphere if this does happen.
Back when I was a grad student we had a small seminar with a few students and some faculty. There were only six or so of us. But we discussed things pretty openly. There was no problem and no fear that there could be a problem.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, it's completely normal for a committee to review a PhD student's research. Research includes novel ideas.
The committee may help you improve your ideas. Usually faculty have more ideas than they need and, as a result, have no need to steal any.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: My ideal experiment to test my hypothesis would involve launching a large apparatus into deep space - and would cost millions of dollars, which I dont have.
Instead, if I develop a software model/simulation to test my hypothesis, is this an acceptable alternative? (in order for my ideas to be published and accepted by the scientific community).<issue_comment>username_1: This is impossible to answer without reading the actual paper, but I will do my best to give you an indication.
If the hypothesis is exciting and the simulation is well-executed and also gives the expected results: probably publishable. Otherwise, probably not.
Given that you need to ask this question here, it looks more like a "no", but don't let me (or any other random person on the internet) stop you: if you think it is publishable you should definitely try it. In the worst case it does not get published and you have learned something.
Also, you should ask this question to your supervisor (if you have one), or try to find someone to work with who has experience publishing papers: support from someone with experience publishing will probably be very helpful (read: necessary) to get your paper into a journal or conference.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This is *highly* dependent on what field you're in. I'm guessing physics from the question, but even so it depends on your subfield.
Still, as a general matter of scientific methodology: there have been plenty of papers - including many good ones, and many famous ones - that have raised hypotheses and presented models, without also including experiments. This may be because the experiment would be extremely difficult, because the topic itself is inherently theoretical, or simply because the authors are not in an experimental department. There are plenty of journals that specialise in such theoretical results, where such a paper could be submitted.
However, what you almost certainly *can't* claim is that by running your model you have tested the hypothesis. If your hypothesis is about something that would happen in the real world, then it's not tested until someone has done the experiment to test it. That doesn't mean you can't publish the hypothesis, and use the model to back it up. The model may suggest the hypothesis is true, but by the standards of almost every subdiscipline, it wouldn't count as testing the hypothesis.
(The only exception I can think of is if your hypothesis is about how a particular type of model will behave when simulated, rather than being about the real world per se. In that case it can be reasonable to say you tested the hypothesis by running the simulation. But since your said your hypothesis could in principle be tested experimentally, I assume that's not the case here.)
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a Masters students in mathematics at a University in Asia.
I am applying to European Universities for Phd position in number theory.
I am interested in Analytic number theory and wanted to do my Masters dissertation in it, but no one in my university works in analytic number theory.
But fortunately, 1 professor from another Institute agreed to guide me . So, he has given me a research paper to study when I went to his institute to discuss with him but we couldn't discuss more about msc dissertation as he was very busy.
>
> My question
> 1. what is exactly expected in a masters dissertation by European Universities in pure mathematics for admission to a PhD program?
> 2. Am I expected to prove new results?
> 3. If I am unable to prove new results then how many papers I am expected to read given that I have 4 months of semester for dissertation along with 3 compulsory courses?
>
>
>
What will European universities expect of me in my masters thesis?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> what is exactly expected in a masters dissertation by European Universities in pure mathematics?
>
>
>
The answer will vary university to university. I suggest you short-list some candidate universities that might accept you and look at their dissertation requirements.
>
> Am I expected to prove new results?
>
>
>
That's a possibility, but not mandatory.
>
> If I am unable to prove new results then how many papers I am expected to read given that I have 4 months of semester for dissertation along with 3 compulsory courses?
>
>
>
That will depend on your dissertation topic, and could be as low as zero.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I think the most important thing is that you do well by the standards of your own institution and that you get good letters of recommendation from professors there.
Note that standards for a masters degree vary around the world. In some places very little research is required and the degree is based mostly on coursework. The "thesis" might be little more than an intelligent summary of some subfield. Perhaps something like a literature review for a doctoral dissertation. Other places the requirements are more research directed. While published papers are required in some places, it isn't universal.
But, it is in the nature of mathematics that if a research program is strictly time limited then what can be expected is also, necessarily, limited. Some problems remain unsolved after 100 years. Insight can't be scheduled.
Then, the question is, how will an admissions committee in a given place, say Europe, evaluate candidates from such a wide variety of programs and backgrounds.
Normally, it isn't a question of counting papers. Normally, it isn't any single thing. The admissions committee will be looking at what they hope is a complete record that indicates both the necessary background *and* a high likelihood of success in a PhD program at their university. Lots of things contribute to that. If you have done a dissertation, it will be a plus. If you haven't, but have done other "interesting" and relevant things, then those things will be a plus.
In the US this would be much less of a problem, of course. But, flexibility is required everywhere or a university would be forced to exclude too many good candidates based on things that matter less than qualities such as demonstrated focus, hard work, preparation, and potential.
Do good work by the standards of your own university, even if it isn't yet in the narrowly focused field you want to study for the PhD. Develop some insight, generally, into mathematics and especially number theory. Get good letters of recommendation.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: For a little background- I'm a 3rd year engineering student, planning to do masters in pure mathematics. I've been studying abstract group theory and real analysis, although I'm extremely interested about these kind of thinking and reasoning what worries me is that during my high school days there were a lot of problems where we didn't have to do a lot of reasoning rather we had to come up with clever tricks to reach a solution. Honestly I wasn't good at this and thought mathematics isn't much fun.
So my question stems from this worry that how much of pure mathematics research is about learning abstract topics and do reasoning with them? Or is it mostly coming up with clever tricks from scratch?
In a way I want to ask what kind of skills are absolutely necessary for professional pure mathematicians?
I know perhaps it has to do with the problem one is working on but if it's possible to answer generally, please do.<issue_comment>username_1: It is not really clear to me where you draw the line between "reasoning" and "trick". I can assure you, though, that pure mathematics gets very abstract and very theoretical very quickly.
What skills are necessary: First of all, you will be frustrated very often and you need to "like" that (a mathematician is somebody wants to be frustrated, rather than bored). Many theories take years to understand (at least for most human beings), and you may spend months without really understanding anything.
Secondly, you need to really enjoy that "pure reasoning" because the reason you look at a particular question is usually just that it is "interesting", not that it has any connection to "reality".
Let me add two further pieces of advice:
* Pure mathematics is an area that is very hard to enter as an "outsider", and there are reasons why many trained mathematicians change to computer science or engineering, but very few go into the other direction.
* It is not likely that you find a job in pure mathematics later on. The area is really competitive. That does not mean that you will be unemployed, but your future job will probably not be doing research in pure mathematics.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm a pure mathematician, and my first impression is that your question seems to be assuming a dichotomy in pure mathematics that isn't really there. The vast majority of pure mathematicians, it seems to me, at times have to deal with abstract structures and do the sort of "thinking and reasoning" with them that you've seen in your analysis and group theory courses. On the other hand, in a comment to another answer you defined *tricks* as "coming up with clever ways to prove certain things/attain certain results." My assertion is that according to this definition, virtually all research in pure mathematics involves the application of tricks. After all, there's only so much you can do that is of interest to the mathematical community that can be obtained purely by combining known results and definitions in straightforward ways.
Nevertheless, I should point out that pure mathematics does indeed lie on a spectrum when it comes to abstract reasoning versus clever problem solving. The former approach to mathematics is perhaps best epitomized by <NAME>, who "[avoided clever tricks that proved the theorem but did not develop insight. He likened his approach to softening a walnut in water so that, as he wrote, it can be peeled open 'like a perfectly ripened avocado](http://www.ams.org/publicoutreach/math-in-the-media/12-2014-media).'" At the other extreme are mathematicians like <NAME>, who largely worked on concrete problems that one could solve using 'clever tricks'. (Although it should be pointed out that, as <NAME> noted in a comment, when one uses a trick more than once it becomes a method. Erdos' [probabilistic method](https://www.cut-the-knot.org/Probability/ProbabilisticMethod.shtml) arose this way.) There is a nice quote about this approach to mathematics in Gowers' essay [The Two Cultures of Mathematics](https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~wtg10/2cultures.pdf):
>
> At the other end of the spectrum is, for example, graph theory, where
> the basic object, a graph, can be immediately comprehended. One will
> not get anywhere in graph theory by sitting in an armchair and trying
> to understand graphs better. Neither is it particularly necessary to
> read much of the literature before tackling a problem: it is of course
> helpful to be aware of some of the most important techniques, but the
> interesting problems tend to be open precisely because the established
> techniques cannot easily be applied.
>
>
>
Having said all of this, I'll reiterate what I said at the beginning of my answer. This is largely a false dichotomy, and the vast majority of mathematicians have to use both clever tricks and abstract reasoning in their research.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: Welcome to the forum! A mathematician, I forget who, once jokingly remarked that applied maths was like the dark side, because applied mathematicians had more money and dressed in cool clothes, whereas pure maths, well, you get the drift, I'm sure. (I think he was joking, at least).
Studying pure maths can be extremely satisfying, intellectually if not financially, but it can also be endlessly frustrating; pure maths is actually intensely practical in nature - there is always good, practical reasons for why a concept or a method has been developed, in my experience, but it can often be hard to see, if this isn't pointed out clearly, and good mathematicians can be amazingly poor at communication. The solution to this is to keep asking until you are completely satisfied.
As an engineer you will have experienced that you are not expected to actually understand maths at a deeper level - you need to know how to use the tools, not how to manufacture them; thus, you learn to rely on the results: the theorems and the formulas. In pure maths, what you need to learn is the methods - often the proofs are more important than the theorems. This is so you can go on and discover new theorems and/or develop new methods.
So, to sum up, slightly tongue-in-cheek, engineers/applied mathematicians are the tool-users, whereas pure mathematicians are the tool-makers.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Although this is not directly answering the OP’s question (I agree with a previous answer that the question presents a false dichotomy of mathematics), my answer aims to shed light on what mathematics is and is not.
Mathematics is an art-form and at the heart of this art-form is proof.
Whereas science relies on evidence and the scientific method, mathematics relies on argumentation to establish results.
The only requisite imposed on these arguments is that they logically follow from agreed-upon axioms. This is where the creative aspect of the art-form appears: many mathematicians place a premium on proofs that shed light on the problem and make connections to other areas of mathematics (Google the phrase ‘a short proof of’ or ‘an elementary proof of’) and it is quite often the case that there are many proofs of important results (for example, the infinitude of the prime numbers or the fundamental theorem of algebra).
These skills can only be acquired and honed in much the same way that a painter or musician acquired their skills: practice. Prove everything.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The best short answer I can give as to the nature of pure mathematics and what pure mathematicians actually *do* at the highest levels is exemplified, perhaps best, by <NAME> in proposing a set (23 or 24, depending) of problems worth studying: [Hilbert's Problems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert%27s_problems).
He looked at what was known to be true in math around 1900 and what was not known. From all of that he looked for things that were interesting and worth studying. He had no proofs of any of the things he was proposing. Of the problems, some are still unresolved 120 years later. Some have been proven impossible to resolve. Some have resulted in (proved) theorems. Some have partial results.
Look at what is known and where the holes in knowledge are. Think about what is interesting and *think about what is worth the effort of further study*. Then, get to work to determine the truth of what can be learned of those things. Some of this study results in proposed Theorems. Some of those can actually be proved.
Mathematics is a search of the unknown and an attempt to make it known. But there is also a filter of "meaningful or interesting" things that might be worth studying.
Tricks and methods and proofs and all come later. Sometimes much later and sometimes not at all. It is *pure mind stuff.*
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: What is your purpose with your pure math study?
If deepening your math knowledge, that's OK. Still, you can have struggles as your classmates will be having math bachelor degrees, they know a lot more about mathematics and see mathematics from a different angle than you. Proofs everywhere.
Pure math students live 24-hours for mathematics, it's their religion.
Pursuing a pure math career is a risky business. Especially if you are after a PhD. You need to absorb large chunks of mathematics and find some research topic that is interesting, doable and yet contains novelty.
But if you successfully attain a master degree in pure math, it's definitely a good starting point with your engineering degree to an applied math or computer science phd.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/19
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<issue_start>username_0: I teach several courses for computer science undergrads, including algorithms, programming and game development. In all my courses there are weekly homework assignments. I encourage my students to do the assignments in teams of 2 or 3, both to practice team-work and to learn from each other's ideas. Most of them indeed submit in teams. I have learned from my students that, in many teams, there are "dummy members" - team members that just write their name on the page without spending any work. The other team members are OK witih it, since it does not cost them anything - they do the assignment anyway, so they do not mind helping a friend. Additionally, these "dummy members" sometimes help them out in other courses.
I thought of several ways to prevent this "free riding". One is to require students to present their homework in front of the class. The "dummy members" will probably fail this presentation. The problem is that, in a large class, it takes a lot of time and it is logistically complicated. It also puts some students into too much mental stress.
Now I have thought of a new idea. In every weekly assignment, there will be 7-8 different questions to choose from; each team of n students will have to choose and solve n+1 questions. So a lone student will have to solve 2 questions, a pair will have to solve 3 questions, etc.
On one hand, the number of questions per student decreases with n. Therefore, if all team members share the work equally, they have an incentive to form large teams.
On the other hand, the total number of questions increases with n. Therefore, a dummy member is no longer a "free" rider - he/she costs the team by adding to their work load, so they have no incentive to let him/her write the name without working.
What do you think of this scheme? What other ways are there to encourage teamwork while discouraging freeriding?
The number of registered students is about 40-60 per class, though only about 20-30 come to class - the rest prefer to learn from home.
CONCLUSION: I have just finished teaching a course in game development based on the n+1 scheme. To further discourage free-riding, I also gave a bonus for students presenting their homework in front of the class. I explicitly said that the bonus is given only to the presenter and not to his/her partners. My idea was that, if only one partner works, then this partner will present and get the bonus points. To my surprise, almost all presenting students explicitly asked me to share the bonus points equally with their partners! For me, it is a strong evidence that there was little free-riding. It is highly unlikely that a student who did all the work alone will agree to give away the hard-earned points to a free-rider.<issue_comment>username_1: I assume that your goal is not just to catch and fail the free riders but to see to it that they actually do the work that will result in learning.
However, I'll note that having a goal of "sharing the work equally" is unattainable except over time and/or averaged over many different interactions.
The most radical suggestion here is to flip the classroom so that people do the active work of learning under your observation. Rather then passively "consuming" information in a group and then working to solidify it outside your view, the opposite occurs. Now, you can watch how people are contributing and you can encourage a true exchange of ideas and sharing of skills.
Note that for large groups flipping is much harder, requiring space and possibly help. But working in groups is easier to monitor than individual work in a flipped classroom, no matter the scale. People help one another and so there is less burden on the instructor and any TAs
But another idea that is less radical is to have students simply do peer evaluations of all group experiences. Students are reluctant to bad-mouth their friends, of course, so you need to use a scheme that they will consider "safe" in their social interactions. In pairs, you can ask two questions. First, what was your partner's chief contribution. Second, what was your own chief contribution. These are done separately. Note that both questions are positive and are less subject to simple opinion.
In larger groups, say five, I would ask to name the three most important members of the group and to also say why for each of them. The question about your own contribution is also needed. Note that a student who is *never* given praise is probably contributing less. But I didn't try to reduce these comments to numeric scores.
Knowing that others will have something to say about your contributions encourages them, I think.
To make this work you need to have a hand in forming groups so that the same people don't always work together. Different tasks can use different ways of forming groups, but some of them need to be under your control, even if it is just random assignment.
I would have students answer these questions on index cards so they can be sorted. Now you can look at a set of comments about each student and make judgements as needed, but you also get an idea about who needs coaching.
My own experience with this is positive. In one case, as student who was not standing out in the classroom was said by his peers to be an outstanding contributor to their project. I wouldn't have noticed it but for these comments and thought he was a bit of a slacker. In this case the work was done outside my view and so would have missed the interactions.
---
Note that both of these suggestions are for group work. One of my chief goals for groups was that team members could help each other learn. Not everything a student learned needed to come from me.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I’ve never heard of such a scheme, but it’s a cool idea and potentially worth trying.
One drawback I can think of is that it puts weak students at a disadvantage\* that could be seen as unfair since it compounds the disadvantage they already suffer from by being weak - a kind of “the poor get poorer” effect. If we imagine a weak student who isn’t lazy or a free-rider but is simply not very good at solving problems and thus isn’t expected to make a large contribution to the group’s problem solving efforts, we can expect that stronger students would not want to include such a student in their group since by including the weak student they increase their expected workload. (That is, although your scheme is designed to make large groups more “profitable”, in this particular situation the effect will be reversed). The weak student may therefore end up being forced to be in a singleton group by themselves, and therefore having to solve 2 homework problems per week when stronger students only have to do 4/3, 5/4 problems etc since they share the effort with other (also strong) students in their group.
That’s the general idea - this could make for a fun game theory model to try to analyze. But probably we won’t know how it works in real life until you or someone else tries it.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: [The department I am applying to](https://icme.stanford.edu/admissions/application) doesn't explicitly require a resume (and doesn't even recommend it), but there is an item named "resume" in the "supplemental material" dropdown menu which I have overlooked. I realized that I didn't upload the resume only after the application has been submitted. I have contacted the admission office, but the auto-response says "We cannot update submitted applications with new SOP or CV or other information."
There is some information in my resume which isn't mentioned in the SOP, e.g. my experience as a teaching assistant. While I have requested a professor from my home university to include the TA experience in his recommendation (because I am his TA), it is said that most institutions in the U.S. don't read letters from Chinese professors. Besides, I suppose a resume serves a nice overview of my previous preparation, so I feel like the absence of a resume is going to hurt the probability I get admitted. On the other hand, there must be some reasons why the resume is made optional, unlike most institutions.
Should I be concerned? Is there anything I can do at this point?<issue_comment>username_1: It seems as if you have done all you could. If they won't accept supplementary material, then they won't. I'm not sure about the comment on not reading letters, though. It seems like it would be a flaw in the system as long as the letters are in (readable) English.
If you get past initial screening you can raise such thing in interviews or in future correspondence, of course.
And, take more care in the future, of course, though it doesn't help at this moment.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There is a power dynamic in the application process that any applicant needs to be conscious of. There are only a small number of positions for a large number of applicants, which grows to be a *very* large number at elite institutions. In other words, there is a significant power imbalance to the detriment of the applicant.
The consequence of this is that the institution that offers the position sets the terms of engagement. Defying or even questioning these terms of engagement is a surefire way to get excluded from the process, and thus rejected for the position. Practically speaking, this means that if an institution asks for information in a particular format, you'll need to be prepared to change everything in order to suit that institution's needs.
A second question is as to what needs may result in a format that excludes a resume. While the specific answer will depend on the institution in question, a general reason is that *reviewing resumes takes a long time*. Institutions that receive a large number of applications therefore often try to standardize the application process in order to save money. This can mean that they standardize sections of the resume submission process, or do away with resumes altogether.
As an applicant, this type of standardization is frustrating because it makes the application process more stifling, more time-consuming, and more dehumanizing than it already is. This is the price job applicants pays for the power imbalance.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> We cannot update submitted applications with new SOP or CV or other information.
>
>
>
Unfortunately, this means that you will not be able to update your application due to the regulations of admission. Thus, overthinking it will not help but to make you uncomfortable.
Regarding to your situation, there are two possible scenarios I can think of:
1. The application interface in the website is standard for every department. Therefore, it might be the case that the committee will discard all the resumes uploaded to the server. In this case, nothing changes for you.
2. Although it states otherwise in the website, a short resume might be OK for the admission committee, for the purpose of demonstrating relevant skills of yours that you had to skip for CV and SoP. If you have none, then again, nothing changes for you.
I personally think that the first scenario is more likely since it is not explicitly recommended. Considering both scenarios above, you are only worse off if you have been in some off-topic projects, which demonstrates your abilities and/or skills that **might be** relevant to the position you are applying to.
However, if you really want to learn if you are in a disadvantage, I'd suggest you ask one of the committee members.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been looking into master's programs in Spain. 95% of the Spanish programs I've been seeing tend to meet in the evening, with times like 3-6 PM or 6-9 PM. It's not clear to me whether this is particular to the courses I'm looking at, or a national, or international phenomenon. I only have educational experience in the Americas -- in the U.S. and Chile, in which places class meetings were nearly always in the morning or early afternoon -- and had never heard of this before. I hazard a guess that it's a European norm, but this is the vaguest of suppositions.
**In which fields or areas are late afternoon graduate courses normal?** I can guess that this makes education more accessible to the employed, but the disadvantage to parents is significant.<issue_comment>username_1: Europe is not a country, but a continent. There is a lot of variability inside Europe. So no, it is not a European thing.
All Bachelor's, Master's and PhD courses I teach (in Germany) are between 10:00 ad 16:45. About 15 years ago I taught a course (in the Netherlands) in the evening for a part-time Bachelor's program aimed at people who work besides their study. For obvious reasons those programs tend to organize their courses such that they happen in the evening. However such programs tend to be the exception rather than the rule in my field (sociology) and the countries I am familiar with (Germany & the Netherlands).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Several countries in southern Europe have lunch, dinner and working times shifted toward later hours with respect to northern European countries or the US.
For instance, in my university, in Italy, lectures are scheduled from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm, both for undergraduate and graduate classes, and in the past I also taught up to 8 pm. Other universities have similar schedules.
In Spain, lunch time is frequently around 2 pm and dinner time can be around 9-10 pm, so lectures 3-6 pm may not be uncommon, and considered "early afternoon", and also 6-9 pm can be accepted.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: At the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, we have some courses that start at 8:00 AM. So I suppose it depends on university, course, semester. I prefer evening courses rather than early ones. But I don't know how are the schedules in USA.
Upvotes: -1
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2020/01/20
| 1,579
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<issue_start>username_0: I am in the fifth year of my PhD and seriously depressed. In my first year of graduate school I was not funded. In my desperation for funding I chose an opportunity that came my way even though I did not like the topic. The research I would say is pretty mundane, I was providing experimental support for an FEM group. I did t have any freedom until the end of my 4th year. Also my advisor was the co-PI and the project was not in his area of expertise and he had no clue about the work being done. Whenever I get lost and ask him for advice, he would commonly uses the phrase “Do what the industry sponsor wants, keep him happy ”. I literally felt like a contract employee and not a PhD researcher. As expected the work did not yield any papers. My lab mates working on other topics (areas of my advisors expertise) get to present at academic conferences and are writing journals. When I point out this fact I get chided for comparing myself with others and that my work is “unique”. At one point my advisor himself said that the project was ill conceived. You can understand my frustration.
Now I am depressed, lost, and hardly do anything. I wake up, go to the lab and pass time. I absolutely hate my “thesis”, I don’t have anything meaningful or useful for my future career. I don’t even know the purpose of my thesis topic. initially I was scared to leave, now I feel it is too late to leave.
please advise me on what to do? Thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Now I am depressed, lost, and hardly do anything. I wake up go to the lab and pass time. I absolutely hate my “thesis”
>
>
>
This is the problem; you are stuck in a vicious cycle. You need to meet with your advisor and come up with a solid plan - including a timeline - for what will happen in the next year or two.
Given that it has already been 5 years, I suspect this plan should involve you finishing your current work, writing a dissertation, and graduating. But, you and your supervisor could also choose a different direction (i.e., starting a new topic or choosing a new advisor).
>
> I don’t have anything meaningful or useful for my future career. I don’t even know the purpose of my thesis topic.
>
>
>
At this point it's probably time to decide what your career goals are and make sure your plans are aligned with reaching those goals.
* This could mean spending 1/3 to 1/2 of your time learning skills that will be useful for an industry career, and spending the rest of your time preparing for graduation. Given your level of burn-out, I suspect this is the wiser course, but I'm just guessing.
* Or, it could mean switching topics / advisors / institutions so that you will be competitive for academic positions in topics that interest you more.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I am not a psychologist, and even if I was I woudn't try to diagnose over the internet, but this:
>
> Now I am depressed, lost, and hardly do anything. I wake up go to the lab and pass time. I absolutely hate my “thesis”
>
>
>
Sounds like you should seek professional help from a counselor. Even if you are not clinically depressed, a good counselor and help you work through your feelings and difficult decisions you have to make. They might help you decide to leave your PhD, so they might help you decide you should finish it having come this far, and help you develop strategies to get it done as quickly and painlessly as possible. I can't speak for your school, but we have a university counselling service here that can provide up to 8 sessions to any student or staff member for free. Have a look if your school has anything similar.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm going to take a slightly different approach, but bear in mind that the other answers are very right. A PHD program is challenging, and as with anything else in life taking care of your health (and mental health) should be a top priority.
That being said, my answer assumes you have evaluated that and are still intent on continuing. The challenge of a PHD program is supposed to come from working on ground breaking problems, not from your advisor's lack of support. Without further details, it's hard to say, but it does sound like he's prioritizing his career (finishing an industry sponsored project) over yours (publishing papers, working on interesting topics). And he's apparently far enough out of his areas of expertise that he can't effectively guide you. That is a recipe for frustration. Been there, done that, with an added helping of arrogance and failed commitments on the side. So, what can you do?
If there are resources offered by your graduate school that would be a good place to start. I'll list some things that helped me, although I may not recommend all of them for your situation.
1. Treat it like a job. You seem to be giving yourself a hard time since the research isn't working out how you think it should. Just put in the hours and emotional commitment that you would for a job and trust that eventually your advisor will hold up his or her end of the deal and help you defend.
2. Get a solid timeline. Already mentioned in the other answers, but I'm repeating it here since suggestion 1 doesn't really work if it turns out the research you're working on won't lead to a dissertation. At the very least you should have an approximate timeline, what problems and approaches will go into the dissertation, and what scope of work you are expected to do, and what will happen if the project continues to fail. And get it in writing.
3. Work with your committee. As with suggestion 2, make sure your committee is clearly aware of what work you intend to do. Make sure they consider it notable enough for a dissertation. Then, give them regular (monthly) updates - what progress has been made, what issues you've encountered, what problems need to be solved, and follow up on the rare suggestions they may give.
4. Take responsibility - unfortunately it sounds as though your professor may be incapable of supporting this area of research so you will need to take the initiative on ideas and experiments.
Those are just some suggestions. I would strongly encourage you to consider what exactly you want from the program, and whether you can complete it with the current level of support from your advisor (*edit*: and take a week or two off to vacation, spend time with family, or whatever makes you relax before making any choices). Depending on your goals, you may very well be better off switching advisors and research areas.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/20
| 561
| 2,374
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<issue_start>username_0: Due to lack of foresight, I did not take any graduate level advanced mathematics or numerical analysis course. Nor do I have good grades on the subjects during my undergraduate studies.
However, I have 3 publications in Q1 interdisciplinary journals (not mathematical or numerical analysis journals) which required the application of the mathematical and numerical analysis concepts. Though, I mostly used commercial software in my research, I self studied, relearned all the required fundamentals from different sources (books, online courses, documentations).
Can the lack of credit based graduate coursework be a huge bottleneck in my future faculty applications? Can it be compensated by published works?
Is there something I can do in the next 1-1.5 years (before I start applying to places), that can put me in a better position?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Can the lack of credit based graduate coursework be a huge bottleneck in my future faculty applications? Can it be compensated by published works?
>
>
>
I am not sure about positions at a SLAC or for a more teaching-oriented position, but for your run-off-the-mill tenure-track at a research university nobody will care in the first place what courses you took, or which grades you got. And if the department indeed thinks that specific knowledge is crucial to your position (e.g., because of teaching needs), I would expect that you can at least make a convincing case during the interviews that your published research demonstrates your mastery in this field.
So I would not say that anything related to graduate coursework can *ever* be a "huge bottleneck" for the kinds of positions that I am familiar with, and even if a specific position requires knowledge that is not visible from your transcript your published research should be a rather convincing argument.
Also, just to echo mmeent's comment:
>
> "I've never seen a faculty application ever ask for grades or transcripts."
>
>
>
Me neither, and I have applied to north of 50 positions on 3 continents.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: At certain American institutions, and especially community colleges, you will need a certain number of credit-hours of graduate course work in a certain field to get a job. Probably no exceptions are permitted.
Other institutions will not care at all.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/20
| 850
| 2,992
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<issue_start>username_0: A famous person in my hometown claimed that she was awarded a "1.5 Ph.D. degree" by her thesis committee in a famous law school in London in the early 1980s (which was noted on her diploma, according to her memoir) -- is there really such a thing in academia?<issue_comment>username_1: **No.** It is difficult to prove a negative, but the idea of a "1.5 PhD" seems far-fetched on its face. Negative search results on the internet coupled with the lack of answers here over the past six months further indicate that the answer is no.
Where did this crazy idea get started? Apparently, from some claims made by the President of Taiwan. As stated in [this report](https://taiwanenews.com/doc/Lin_report_OCT2019_Eng.pdf) by a faculty member at the University of North Carolina:
>
> [President <NAME>] also claimed that the committee decided not just to award her a PhD in law in 1984, but also to add the remark “she has extraordinarily strong academic background in international trade” to her PhD diploma. She went on to say that the thesis committee lionized her work as “worthy of 1.5 PhD degrees.”
>
>
>
There was some controversy in 2019 about whether Dr. Tsai had earned a PhD at all (in fact, the linked report concludes in the negative). However, the London School of Economics [confirmed](https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2019/j-October-2019/LSE-statement-on-PhD-of-Dr-Tsai-Ing-wen) that she was "correctly awarded a PhD in Law in 1984." The LSE did not mention anything about an "extra half PhD," nor is there any proof that the faculty added any remarks to her diploma (indeed, adding remarks to a diploma is not a typical practice).
I suspect that what happened is that her advisor made the remarks when introducing her at the defense, and she simply paraphrased and/or embellished those comments. Indeed, some commenters suggest that the introductions at public defenses tend to have "gushing praise," to the point where suggesting she deserves "merely" an extra half-PhD could be considered rather faint praise. I suspect this varies culturally; no one made such remarks at my defense or at others I attended (maybe we are just slackers...).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: No, generally speaking - not a thing.
**However**, in many ex-Soviet countries [a post-PhD degree called Doctor of Sciences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Sciences) exist. This is not to be confused with German "Dr. ..." system which is equivalent to PhD. So in Russia, for PhD the requirement would be having just 2 publications (3 for social sciences) while for Doctor of Sciences it is 10 (15). There you have it, "PhD 2.0". On top of that, there are precedents of PhD dissertations being so good a Doctor of Sciences degree was awarded for them instead even though other formal requirements were not met. So there is some far-fetched existing base for that (well, probably not particularly *that very*) claim, after all.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/20
| 493
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD candidate now writing my thesis.
I have recently submitted an article to a very good journal (for a particular yearly issue). Along with the article, authors were encouraged to send "cover images" for the issue. I enjoy drawing and illustrating, so I did. First the paper got accepted (with minor revisions) and a couple of weeks later I got an email from the editorial board saying my image was selected as the cover image of the issue.
I got really excited at first, but a couple of questions come to mind now:
1. Since authors are encouraged to send their cover images, is the selection based on paper quality or just image quality/beauty? I'm OK with being recognized as a scientist that can draw (ish), but I'd rather be a good scientist whose work "made it to the cover".
2. Does it have any academic value to be on the cover of an issue? Aside from being featured in the issue (which should generate a broader impact based on bigger exposure?), is it valuable/acceptable to add a line to my CV?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, it is a plus, and yes, you can add it to your CV. But it is (and should be) just one thing among many. It, alone, won't get you a job or a promotion, but it adds to the list of things that are positive about your contributions. The academic value will be positive, but small.
The paper is more important, of course. The image might induce a few more people to read your paper; a good thing.
Congratulations.
But your sense that you want to be known for the quality of your papers is the right attitude.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Several reputable journals I am familiar with ask authors to submit cover images. Once they receive the cover images, they ask the authors to pay a fee for the image to appear on the cover.
For people who know about this process, awareness that the authors may have paid a fee to appear on the cover decreases the prestige of appearing on the cover. People who do not know will be impressed.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/20
| 968
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<issue_start>username_0: I know it has been asked several times on here whether giving a professor a gift is appropriate or not. The general consensus seems to be that it is unethical to both give and receive the gift [[1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/137706/is-it-unethical-to-give-a-gift-to-my-professor-who-might-potentially-write-me-a)] [[2](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23884/is-it-ethical-to-accept-small-gifts-from-students-and-how-small-is-small)] [[3](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/28149/is-it-appropriate-to-buy-a-thank-you-gift-for-a-phd-supervisor)]. However, I have a bit of a nuance that I would like to inquire about.
This past fall semester I requested to meet with a professor who I both enjoyed and respected and ask them for advice about the graduate admissions process.
I asked, out of curiosity, if letter writers minded submitting ~8 letters or if the work would bother them. They answered (roughly), "No. We enjoy helping students. If you want to be nice, you can get them a starbucks gift card or something after they've submitted the letters."
At the time I had no intention of asking this professor for a letter of recommendation. However, it ended up that they were one of my 3 letter writers. I want to write each of my letter writers a thank you note, but now I am faced with the predicament of whether to follow their advice or not.
I have been thinking of reasons for either getting or not getting the gift.
*Reasons to get gift:*
* I will never have this professor again for classes, so there would not be any thoughts of favoritism.
* Buying a $10 gift card would not be a significant financial burden on me.
* I would be going along with their advice.
*Reasons to not get gift:*
* There is a slight chance I may ask this professor for another letter, so giving them something of monetary value could call into question any future letters they write for me.
* It could still be seen in a negative light given some stigma around giving faculty gifts as a student.
I understand I am probably overthinking this. I would like to show my gratitude to this professor in an ethical and professional manner without burning any bridges in my young career at the same time. *Should I still refrain from giving gifts to professors? If so, should I address their previous suggestion, or just ignore it?*<issue_comment>username_1: You are probably overthinking it. I guess the intent of the professor's comment was really, "It isn't necessary, but at the outer limits, something of inconsequential monetary value".
Would you consider giving a gift to the professor in other circumstances, not related to academia? If not, then it isn't needed here. Express thanks in an email or with a greeting card (again, the outside limits).
There is one sort of gift, however, that is appreciated in some circumstances. If the student comes from a different country, especially one with a different culture, then a small token from that place might be treasured. Something that might be picked up at a tourist kiosk, say. I've accepted and retained a few of these. They have almost no monetary value, but represent a connection that the student values. I can see one of them, now, from where I sit.
I once went out for lunch with a bunch of students from a foreign land. They wanted to buy my lunch. I thought it more appropriate that I pay for their lunch. But sometimes you have to accept something because the gift is heartfelt and it would be insulting to refuse it. That isn't the case as you describe it.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Why not consider something nice, but with no monetary value, such as a handwritten message on a carefully selected card?
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/20
| 1,360
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently received a decision letter calling for minor revisions prior to acceptance. One anonymous reviewer was extremely knowledgeable and provided many helpful suggestions to better explain and clarify my work which I have implemented. However, the other anonymous reviewer simply listed seven papers to include, suggesting I make a "theoretical comparation" and to "plesea [*sic*] compare them."
I noticed all seven papers listed had one author in common, and none of them are relevant to my work. Given that their review was two sentences with typos followed by a list of papers, I assume they spent little time on my manuscript and perhaps are trying to get their own papers cited.
How can I best politely reject these suggestions? May I address them all together? Could I email the editor with my concerns? Can I request another reviewer to assess my paper?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> The editor said I must carry out the essential revisions.
>
>
>
Citing unrelated work is not an essential revision. Only cite what's relevant and explain in your reply why you choose to cite some papers but not others.
You are not obliged to follow all suggestions from the reviewers, in particular not those instructions that make your paper worse rather than better. When in doubt, discuss with the editor; in many journals the form to submit your review has a field for replying to the editor (sometimes called a cover letter). Raise the issue there.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Think of the review process as a debate between you and the reviewers, with the editor as jury. You would like to convince the reviewers, but ultimately, you want to convince the editor. The editor has called in the reviewers as domain experts so will listen to what they have to say. But ultimately the editor makes up their own mind. It's just that the editor is most likely to give their go-ahead if you and the reviewers come to an agreement. But it's possible that the editor decides to publish even if a reviewer is not positive.
Also, consider that editors are basically the experts on the subject of "reviewers".
I would write three responses. The responses addressed to the reviewers are also passed through the editor (after all, the reviewers are anonymous).
* One to the first reviewer, thanking them for their good advice and noting how you'll apply that. This helps to show to the editor that you're taking the review process seriously.
* A second one to the second reviewer where you explain why you don't think those seven papers are relevant to your paper. Don't put any accusations here, just give your considered, good-faith view on the relevance of those seven papers.
* A third note to the editor only, where you express concern that the second reviewer's review was rather short, that you don't really see the relevance of the papers, and that you noticed that they all have a common author. Ask for the editor's advice on how to proceed.
At that point the editor will probably take a second look at the rather poor quality review, and compare the author list of the proposed seven citations to the name of the reviewer. And advise you on how to proceed.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Include any relevant references, and thank the reviewer for them (for the sake of goodwill try to find at least one that's somehow relevant, even if it's a bit tenuous). Explain in your response to the editor that you are reluctant to include the others as they do not appear relevant.
The editor may insist that you include them anyway. In that case, you will have to choose whether to include them or withdraw your paper.
But most likely, the editor will take a look and agree with you. People trying to boost citation counts through reviews is not uncommon, but most editors I know take a fairly dim view of it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: This answer might not be liked by most, but I would advice against rejecting reviewer's suggestions at this point. It's best to consider benefits and risk of your actions and by setting yourself against the reviewer you may just be making things much harder for yourself.
Instead, do as asked and and add couple of citations to suggested papers and try to get your work approved. After that, if you sill feel like it, you can bring up your concerns as suggested by other answers, but while having a much less to lose because your paper is already approved.
In other words, minimize your own risk and pick a battlefield that is advantageous for you.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I am writing this as a follow-up given the popularity of this post.
Following the recommendations of the top answer and its comments, I wrote to the editor thanking them and the first reviewer for their invaluable feedback. I then mentioned my "confusion" with the second reviewer, pointed out the author in common, and summarized why I felt the papers suggested were irrelevant to my work. I included a point-by-point response for both reviewers' comments where I said specifically why I found the papers suggested to be irrelevant and addressed the other reviewer's apt suggestions.
The editor recently accepted my paper, and I noticed that the final comments from the reviewers only included the first reviewer. I don't know what this indicates, but I am glad it turned out well! Thank you all for your help with this!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Your issue seems to have been resolved satisfactorily, but as a general matter coercive and unreasonable demands for citations should always be flagged and reported. In fact, if these demands occur at an editorial level or have strong editorial support, they suggest a citations / impact factor racket and should be brought to the attention of the publisher or scientometrics firms like Clarivate.
This is not as uncommon as people think: See [this](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00335-7) somewhat amusing account of an Elsevier editor who was busted recently for his shenanigans.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/20
| 1,059
| 4,370
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a second year fully-funded PhD student in a stem field at a large American public university. In my department, most students spend the first two years (and sometimes three years) only doing coursework and working on the qualifying exams. This is unusual in other programs, but here it is normal. Consequently, I do not have a research advisor and have done no research since I came here. Since I've passed my qualifying exams, I am now at the point where I am expected to find an advisor.
Here's the problem... I never liked research as an undergraduate. I absolutely hated it, and I even had multiple "prestigious" experiences at different institutions with different research mentors and groups. The only common denominator is me and I don't think I can blame my former research mentors for why I was miserable. I applied to PhD programs after my undergraduate career because it was suggested to me and I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I was also advised to apply to PhD programs and leave with a master's degree if I decided I don't like it (since masters programs are unfunded).
I want to leave with a master's degree and move on with my life. I don't know how to explain this to my department. I fear they will try and force me to leave without a master's degree even though I have met the requirements. I also fear how they will react in general... I'd rather not burn bridges or experience intense pressure to stay. I have never heard of someone quitting after passing the qualifying exams, so I imagine the department will find this to be very bizarre.
Any suggestions on how to navigate this situation are appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: Since you have funding, find a job first, then leave.
It is not rare for PhD students to leave with a master's degree. Most departments will not be surprised. They may prefer you complete your PhD, but there is no reason for them to make a big deal about it. Since you are not doing research, they may be pleased to take your funding and use it to recruit a student who will do research.
If you want, you may be able to get your master's degree first, and then announce your departure. If they ask why, say it is so you have the option of gaining teaching experience at a community college.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I want to leave with a master's degree and move on with my life.
> I don't know how to explain this to my department.
>
>
>
Directly, as though the department chair were an actual reasonable human being and not a soul-sucking tentacled horror from the nether dimensions.
>
> I fear they will try and force me to leave without a master's degree even though I have met the requirements.
>
>
>
I would suggest starting by finding out the *mechanics* of getting the master's degree. Perhaps if you do nothing, the degree will magically appear in your academic record, but more likely there is some paperwork that you have to fill out. Find out what that paperwork is. Fill it out. Collect the necessary signatures, and submit the completed paperwork to the relevant campus office.
You don't have to tell them *why* you want the master's degree. In my experience, it's quite common for PhD students to pick up a master's degree along the way to their PhD, either as a backup if the PhD falls through, or as a boost on their resume when they look for summer internships / employment. Once the master's degree paperwork is done, inform the department that you will not be returning next term. Finish your classes, look for jobs, and move on.
But at a more fundamental level, you really don't have to defend your decision to leave. You did not promise to *complete* the degree program. You did not sign a contract. You are not an indentured servant. You do not "owe" the department. Your departure will do the department no permanent damage. Yes, a few people may be disappointed by your departure, but *they'll get over it*.
>
> I have never heard of someone quitting after passing the qualifying exams
>
>
>
For what it's worth, I left my first PhD program with a master's degree after passing my qualifying exams. (Admittedly the circumstances were different — I left to join a different PhD program — but I was far from the only person in that department to leave after passing quals.)
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/01/21
| 2,753
| 11,593
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a final year undergraduate student and had worked on a very fundamental project(there is no available literature on this field presently) during my sophomore year. The results obtained were quite interesting but there was no available literature to back up my results. My supervisor suggested me to submit it to a conference and get reviews on the work.
I did the same and when I submitted the final paper, I got a strong accept with quite positive feedback. I presented the paper at the conference and was also appreciated by my conference chair who said that it was an interesting finding. However, while working on the journal version recently, I discovered a severe error in my paper which completely invalidated the claims I had made in my work.
The conference was highly reputed and delegates from all over the world were present. I feel really ashamed of presenting the wrong work at such a big stage. I discussed this with my supervisor and he told me that we will decline for publication by stating the reason when they will send the copyright form for inclusion in the digital proceedings. This gave me a sense of relief.
However, I cannot stop thinking about having presented the wrong work and seems like I should not have gone for it in the first place. Please suggest me what should I do. I have a deep interest in research but I am in constant fear that my habit of premature celebration will land me into trouble someday.<issue_comment>username_1: Relax. You're not the first person to [make a mistake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retractions_in_academic_publishing#Retraction_for_error), and people are not likely to know that you had been celebrating (besides, even if you were ... so what?). The fact that you found the error yourself is furthermore a good sign, since it means you're taking your work seriously and subjecting it to the scrutiny it deserves.
Take a look at [this](http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2019/11/dark-energy-might-not-exist-after-all.html). The first direct evidence for dark energy goes back to the late 1990s, when two groups claimed to have discovered it. This was a big deal since dark energy supposedly makes up ~70% of the energy content of our universe. After follow-up work confirmed it, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the discoverers.
And then in 2019, we get [this paper](https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2019/11/aa36373-19/aa36373-19.html):
>
> Thus the cosmic acceleration deduced from supernovae may be an artefact of our being non-Copernican observers, rather than evidence for a dominant component of “dark energy” in the Universe.
>
>
>
In other words: the paper claims the discovery was wrong. Let's say that again: this recently-published paper claims that the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded *incorrectly*.
Imagine you are one of the three 2011 Nobel laureates in physics who's been celebrating for 8 years, and this result turns out to be robust. Is your reaction:
* Yay! Our knowledge of the universe has advanced yet again! Or is it:
* Oh my God, people are going to look at me and think I'm an embarrassing failure. I've been celebrating for twenty years, given plenty of talks discussing my results, even won a Nobel Prize, and my work is wrong. Panic!
I think most people will think the second reaction is pretty silly. If you think so too, then listen to your supervisor, who's a much more experienced academic than you and should know what to do. Perhaps there's something you can salvage from the work, which might make it less interesting but still a solid result, for example. Or perhaps the method you used can be adapted to a different problem. Either way, you've learned something. If you stay in research, you'll be meeting this kind of issue often, so don't worry too much about it.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: There is one other thing you can consider doing, after getting agreement from the conference committee.
You can put a note in the paper for publication, noting that you have found a serious error and explaining the nature of the error. Don't bother with apologies and such, but just point out where the paper is wrong.
This assumes, of course, that you don't have a correction. If you do, then a corrected version for publication would be better.
As your advisor notes, withdrawing it from publication is also a good plan, but a notice that you can honestly evaluate a failed result is valuable to those who have already seen the work (at the conference) and might want to see the outcome.
But yes, relax. Any errors here are shared with a lot of people.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Let's see:
* You wrote a paper of sufficient writing quality that it was chosen for presentation at a conference and publication.
* None of the peer reviewers noticed anything wrong with it.
* None of the people in the audience questioned it.
* Your supervisor saw nothing wrong with it.
* You gave an excellent presentation.
* You found a flaw in a paper that had already been accepted for publication.
* You had the integrity to withdraw your paper from publication.
That's a long list of things to put on your "plus" list.
Most undergrads don't achieve even one of them.
None of them should be seen as a negative.
---
Be warned that you'll become more jaded as you progress.
I remember as a grad student being asked by my supervisor to review a paper that had been sent for him to review. It was well written and obviously the result of a lot of hard work, but I found a fundamental oversight that would have allowed the entire problem to be reduced to something very trivial.
We told the publishers about this, and they wrote back requesting that we recommend it for publication anyway. My supervisor said that the author could publish another paper later that would re-analyze the problem and present it differently.
That's one (of many) reasons I eventually didn't bother finishing my own PhD.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Your list of accomplishments is still very impressive, and I would moreover add that this is *extremely* common, even for very established researchers. I don't know your field, but in computer science my empirical belief is that the majority of papers contain mistakes; usually minor and hopefully simple fixes, sometimes more major fixes that don't invalidate the whole paper, and occasionally something major that invalidates the paper.
Such mistakes are not a serious cause for concern as long as you acknowledge them professionally, which you have already done.
For instance, in theoretical computer science, <NAME> [raised a lot of buzz](https://www.quantamagazine.org/graph-isomorphism-strikes-back-20170105/) for [posting a proof of a major open result, then later retracting it saying the result was not true, and then later reinstating the claim and saying he had a fix](https://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~laci/update.html). All this was posted on his personal webpage and went out as news to the entire computer science community; you can imagine the embarrassment he must have faced when having to announce that this major result everyone was excited about was wrong! Yet he still announced it, and he is still well regarded by the community.
People understand that sometimes results can be wrong for subtle reasons -- that's the whole point of doing research, to find errors, fix them, iterate, and progress. If everything were already known and certain, there would be no work left to do!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I agree with the other answers, but think that it's worth considering what it's worth to have your contribution out there for others to benefit from--the whole point is to make each other smarter!
As perhaps an extreme example, if this were medicine, and your imperfect paper could jump start others in saving lives, then surely it would be moral to make the world better by publishing despite the flaws. Presumably your case isn't as extreme, but if the next opportunity to share your value with the world isn't for another year or so, then getting people moving in the right direction is still probably better than withholding valuable information or ideas.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Others told you already that it is not uncommon to have mistakes or errors in papers.
I go a step further: consider that scientific work means being right at the edge of what is currently known. **Honest mistakes will happen** every so often, and maybe more often in science as a consequence of venturing into the unknown\*, and without any particular fault of the one who makes them. In the sense that good scientific work may still fool you at some point and only later on that will be realized.
\* and the additional "complication" that AFAIK there is no known procedure to ensure that all potentially important influencing factors have been considered. It's a genuine professional art to not miss important influencing factors.
---
**So the task at hand is to deal with the mistake and learn from it.**
That being said, I've once been in a similar situation. Just that I found my mistake (which was of the embarrassing sort that could and should have been avoided; and could have been caught early on had I formulated better unit tests than I had - but *in hindsight* it's easy to see how the testing could have been better.) With the difference that I found my mistake after manuscript submission.
The procedure then was to retract the manuscript with a letter explaining that a mistake had been found so that we please ask to retract the manuscript. IIRC the editor responded that if we hand in a corrected version until $deadline it would be considered a resubmission - otherwise (later) we'd be required to submit as a new paper. That was all, and I can tell you that it's not particularly painful.
Also, as a reviewer I once received an email just a few days after the manuscript came (so long before the review deadline) that my review was not needed any more. No reason was given, so I don't know whether the manuscript was retracted or whether there was another reason.
Lessons learned:
* gained experience in formulating unit tests.
* **retracting a manuscript because a mistake has been discovered** is more or less a standard procedure and a proper step for dealing with a mistake.
---
### My recommendation to OP:
* correct the mistake and then submit the paper. If it's too late for the proceedings, submit to a journal.
* if your presentation slides/poster is publicly available, put a warning slide/notice on it that a mistake was discovered and later on that a corrected version was submitted: $link-to-paper.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Well, no one got up and pointed out the mistake during the presentation, so you were spared that embarrassment. You should retract the published paper officially, via the editor, offering profuse apologies. This is the only course of action that will not come back to haunt you, and even if they remember this, they will remember you doing the right thing. If you can come up with a version minus the flaws, they may be prepared to publish that one instead. This depends a lot on the mode of publication, since open access online only is obviously a more flexible medium then a print for all eternity on acid free paper.
About premature celebration. Get into the habit of always thinking: "Right, I can be pretty sure there is at least one thing wrong with my calculation / paper / code. Now, how can I find it?"
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: In making an application to a Master's program, would I be wise to seek recommendations from academics, practitioners, or both in balance? Or would any credible letter meet the required threshold? Or does this not matter?
I can easily imagine that for PhD programs the balance would be tipped towards letters from academics.<issue_comment>username_1: Normally, you should prefer academics, but you want the people who can most honestly attest to your accomplishments *and* the likelihood of your future success.
However, if the MS is focused on things outside the normal academic tracks, on, say, industrial practice, then a letter from a practitioner who also has the ability to fairly evaluate you would be fine. But for academic subjects or in a field that can lead to a doctorate now or later, academics would probably be better.
But also note that you are appealing to an admissions committee that has a certain background and certain views. You want that appeal to be successful. Thus, if you expect that they all have an industrial focus, then someone (again, who knows your abilities) from that industry would be good.
For doctoral level admissions, you are right. The balance tips more firmly toward academics, but exceptions occur even there.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> In making an application to a Master's program, would I be wise to seek recommendations from academics, practitioners, or both in balance? Or would any credible letter meet the required threshold? Or does this not matter?
>
>
>
At the very least, you should have a letter from at least one academic.
Even if you are fifteen years removed from academia, hopefully you can find an old professor and re-connect with them (in that case, I would send them a lengthy e-mail providing some context on the connection you used to have, some of the courses you took, your resume, and a draft statement of interest). I've occasionally connected with professors I had fifteen years ago, and they're usually happy to chat and kind of remember me after having their memory sufficiently jogged.
The rest of your letters could come from practitioners. Some schools will have different letters of reference templates for non-academic letters, but if not, make sure that they focus on academic skills: writing and communication, research ability, and likelihood to complete a graduate program.
We might accept somebody without academic letters, but we would probably put more conditions on the acceptance and/or recommend a probationary status.
(These recommendations are for a humanities program with no real industrial equivalent. Your experience might vary in a more applied field.)
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/21
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<issue_start>username_0: I have read whatever I could find online about W1 (junior) professorship in Germany, and to me it seems it is somewhat close to a full time lecturer and the tenure possibilities are slim if none, all the more slimmer at the same university. However, the person who has invited me for an interview said this is rather because they are legally required to do so, but there are tenure possibilities. I will ask him for more information, but 1. I do have a tenure option at other university (and another country), however the university is not at all in a good ranking, I also have an invitation from a couple of really good universities but I will need to decide soon so I don't know if I will be able to act upon those.
First things first, I don't want to be a lecturer - meaning that I don't want to focus on coursework but research, I heard that junior professors can have students and a research group? But they also teach a lot of entry level courses? so what are these "tenure possibilities" exactly? Does he mean a remote possibility in 6 years? Or does he mean somewhat something close to a tenure-track? What are tenure chances?<issue_comment>username_1: It depends: There are W1 professorships with a tenure track, and there are those without. If there is a tenure track, then that is usually prominently advertised, and more importantly, in writing. If there is nothing about tenure in writing, then the safe assumption is that you won't get tenure, and you will have to leave after 6 years. Verbal assurances that you might get something aren't worth much.
As to the teaching load, there are those that focus on allowing the person to qualify for a "real" professorship (W3), i.e. either as an alternative to a Habilitation or as a possibility to write your Habil. There are others were the position is used as a form of cheap labor for teaching. W1 positions with tenure track tend to fall in the first category, but there are also W1 positions without tenure track that fall in the first category. In that case, the W1 position is a stepping stone that helps getting a W3 at another university. Again, if it is a W1 aimed at allowing the inhabitant to qualify for a W3 professorship, then that is prominently mentioned and in written form. Only verbal assurances would make me worried.
If you know someone who work at a German university that you trust, you may want to let that person have a look at it. For an outsider it can be hard to read between the lines.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If the announcement of the position says that it's a tenure-track position, then towards the end of the 6 years there will be a formal evaluation procedure and if you pass that you will get tenured. If this is not mentioned in the announcement, then there is no formal procedure foreseen. That does usually not preclude getting tenure at the same place, but it requires that the university / department has a professor position available, or at least funding to bridge the time until one becomes free, and that someone in a suitable position such a department or institute chair takes the effort to initiate the process, and that the department / faculty agrees to appoint you on that position. Overall the chance tends to be slim.
In most cases junior professors will be expected to build up their own research group. There may be startup funding and they should acquire additional, external funding. Nevertheless, the degree of independence can vary from place to place (even within the same university), and is according to my impression less than a typical assistant professor position in the US or similar academic systems.
Even if there's no formal tenure track in many cases, a junior professorship is typically a very efficient stepping stone towards a tenured professorship, potentially in a different university though. In my experience a large number of junior professors (maybe around 90 %) are successful in eventually getting a tenured professor position, in many cases already 2 - 4 years after starting the junior professorship.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/21
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<issue_start>username_0: In the question: [Lengths of review process of mathematical journals](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17615/lengths-of-review-process-of-mathematical-journals/17617) a nice question was asked and answered: how to compare journals in terms of time for the review processing. The article cited in the answer is quite nice <http://www.ams.org/notices/201310/rnoti-p1390.pdf> but is from 2013. Seven years after, are there some similar studies which can tell what kind of backlogs/ times needed for mathematical journals to accept / reject articles? A young mathematician asked me this today and I gave him the link, but a more recent one would certainly be more helpful.<issue_comment>username_1: A general source for many, many domains beyond just mathematics is [SciRev](https://scirev.org/reviews/), a site where authors submit reviews of their experience with the peer-review process at many (hundreds or thousands?) of journals across many disciplines. If you click on the "All reviews" tab, you can then search for journals by name or discipline; it includes many subfields of mathematics.
For me, the most useful feature of SciRev is that I use it to track my personal peer-review process, and then when a final decision is received, I can conveniently submit a review of my experience with that journal.
However, the downside of a site like this is that it is entirely self-reported, so without a large number of submissions for a given journal, you cannot consider the averages reported there to be scientifically valid. That said, it probably has reports for more journals than a scientific study like the one you originally mentioned, so it can at least give an indication of delay times.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The American Mathematical Society provides regular (annual, I believe) on journal backlog times. The latest can be found here: <https://www.ams.org/journals/notices/201910/rnoti-p1713.pdf>
Depending on your subfield it may not contain data on all relevant journals, but it is quite comprehensive. The reports are published in the November issue of the Notices of the AMS, which is also available online.
The data in the report is based on information provided by the journals itself.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/01/21
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a decade of experience as a network engineer. At this point I'm consulting large ISP in a network design role.
I am thinking about applying for a Master's in computer networking without a Bachelor's degree.
Any recommendations on how to approach admission?<issue_comment>username_1: Within the UK all degrees will have entry requirements for a course, and I expect this is the same throughout Europe although I suggest you check for yourself. As I dont know the exact situation for the entry, ie university or country, I will answer in general terms.
Typical entry requrements are based on a progressive points system, where your previous qualification accrues you a certain number of points and these points can be used as validation of your suitability to be on the higher level course. Within the UK, we use UCAS Tarrif Points to acheive progress through the undergraduate (UG) phase and the UG degree award for suitability of Postgraduate progression. Note: Some UK Universities also offer access through the UCAS Postgraduate scheme, although this is not widely used by all institutions.
In non-typical situations as yours where you do not have the preceding qualification level, so therefore, do not have the correct number of points or potentially the preceding degree award, you can demonstrate your suitability by evidencing that you have professinally worked at a very high level. Then usually, the university will conduct their own assessment of the qualifications you do have, the level of your subject knowledge, the relevance of your work experience and your academic potential. It might also be that you have to submit a pre-entry assessment of some sort, so a demonstration that you can perform to the epected academic level. This non-typical route is more common in situations where the applicant is considered a "Mature Student" ie has had time in the workplace and is returning to education.
So, to answer your question directly, I would contact the admissions office of the relevant universities you are interested in and be clear that you would have to take a non-typical admission route, and enquire directly as to what their requirements would be in this regard. It might help to have examples of your work already in mind, case studies perhaps, that you can discuss with admissions, but bear in mind they will be non-specialists and will have to refer your query on to the course managers or similar.
HTH.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Adding to the 'where are you' question - in many universities in Australia what you would do is apply for entry to a lesser postgraduate degree (eg Graduate Diploma) and, if you got sufficiently high marks, you could switch to the masters program after a year. Are you wanting to do a research masters or a coursework masters? Since it's network engineering, I am guessing it is coursework. If so, this type of conversion is fairly common.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/21
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<issue_start>username_0: **Context:**
As a researcher you need to read many research papers by others. In the case of mathematics, a paper consists of:
1. Results (theorems, lemma, propositions)
2. Proofs that consist of the technique or method by which the researcher obtaining their result.
Clearly, results can be used without learning the proof. However, understanding a proof may help you develop future results (but not necessarily always).
Ideally, it is best to learn the proof and techniques used in detail in order to fully understand the reality.
**Question:**
Do researchers (graduate students, professors, research fellows) in mathematics have a detailed understanding of the proofs/techniques outlined in contemporary journal papers? What is the convention in math?
*Please note that my issue is not whether the proof is correct or not, I want to know what most academics do in the most of the cases when a result is published in a peer-reviewed journal paper. Do they read and understand the proof or they just skip the proof and remember the result? (provided that the proof technique is not out of the box)?*
**Example:** I was reading <NAME>'s book on Fermat's Last Theorem, he wrote that only half dozen people understood the proof of <NAME>. (The number maybe slightly erratic since I read the book long ago.) But the modularity conjecture was proved by him at the same time, I guess this is quite important. This made me think how much actually people understand contemporary work? How much it is actually important? Mathematics is a very very technical subject now a days.<issue_comment>username_1: The answer, of course, is that it varies with each reader and with the specific needs of each reader. For many people, a skim is sufficient for most papers. The question is "does this seem reasonable" and if so, there may be little need to go into the details.
This is especially true about proofs. If an overview of the proof suggests that the techniques are standard for the field, and the results don't seem to clash with what the reader knows, then it is unlikely that the reader will spend the time on every detail.
The exceptions, of course, are many. Students want to learn new proof techniques that they are relatively unfamiliar with. Surprising results require a close look. Long standing problems, when finally proven, also require a close look.
And, in many cases, the way something is proven is more important than the result itself. If a skim of a proof suggests that there is something new here, then experienced mathematicians will want to examine it in detail as well as look for gaps and errors.
But if you are a student, or otherwise feel the need for an answer to this question, then I'd suggest that you err on the side of completeness. Keep your skeptic hat on until you are satisfied.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: From personal experience, I read a few papers very carefully and understood the proofs in full detail. For most papers a rough look at the results was sufficient. It depends mainly on the goal of reading the paper.
The ones I read very carefully were usually the ones where I wanted to apply the technique to a similar setting for my own research. In order to do that it is not sufficient to know the result in the paper is true, I needed to understand the nitty-gritty detail of the proof to see where I could just use what is there and where I needed to adapt something to fit to the new setting.
For most of the various other situations where I looked at some paper just reading the big theorems and maybe skimming the proofs was usually enough.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends. If I'm just browsing MathSciNet or the arXiv to see what's out there, I'll read a large number of abstracts but few papers. If I find a paper that looks like it might be related to my research area (in a broad sense) then I'll likely read the introduction but nothing more. If I see a paper that looks like it might make use of techniques that could be useful in my research then I'll read the introduction and skim the proofs. If a paper contains a theorem whose proof I need to modify or extend for a paper that I'm currently working on then I'll likely read the proof very carefully.
To put the above in context, I'm a professor, and thus have to teach, write papers as part of my research program, serve on administrative committees and meet with students. This takes up a lot of time! And any time I spend reading a paper is time that I am not *necessarily* spending on any of the aforementioned responsibilities. Therefore, if I think that a paper might be valuable for my own research or that of a student, I'm much more likely to spend time with the paper and perhaps read through the actual proofs than I am a paper that isn't really related to my research at all. (Even if the latter paper is more 'important'.)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: In my opinion, your question contains a false assumption. You say that it is not about correctness, and that one can safely use the results of peer-reviewed papers, but reality shows that still enough papers are published that contain at least in details some flaws, need extra assumptions or similar stuff, and if this happens you are also in the boat! Hence, if I want to use a result and am not sure that it is correct (may it that I know that close colleagues who I trust have verified it or I know that the relevant experts really have read it) then I check it myself.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Like anyone else, mathematicians by and large read papers selfishly, i.e. to the level needed to advance their own thinking, and no more.
So if the result matches my intuition, I may or may not even read past the initial statement in the introduction.
If it seems to open up intriguing vistas, or is a bit surprising, I will read enough to understand the method of proof, to "visualize the scaffolding" so as to be able to consider whether this scaffolding could be broadened in some way.
If it's surprising, unexpected, or I find it suspicious, I will read deeper into some areas of the proof, basically to figure out where my intuition needs correction.
I will read technical parts of the proof in detail if and only if I feel those technical elements are important to the above aims (e.g. they introduce a methodology that I would like to apply, *mutatis mutandis*, more so than the actual result, or I can't figure out why my intuition is misleading without digging into technical details); if I feel a sense of responsibility (reviewing a manuscript pre publication, or the paper is surprising and published in a journal where I'm not sure I can trust the review process); or -- rarely but sometimes -- the exposition is so elegant, I don't want to put it down.
(All of this written in the present tense; however, I'm actually no longer active in pure math. However, it describes what I *did*, what I continue to do in my new area, and what I believe many other math academics continue to do.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Usually, I read all the paper I cite when I write a paper. However, the word "read" does not have the same meaning in function of the kind of citation. The more the reading of a paper can help to enlarge the vision of a field and improve the understanding, the more carefully I will read it.
One can also not read all the paper he cites in detail.
The hierarchy (to my mind) is as follows.
1. We cite a paper in the introduction in order to talk about more or less closely related works. In this case, one can only read the abstract or the main results of the paper.
2. We cite a paper in which a quite similar work was one, but using different assumptions and we want to compare them. In this case of course we have to read in detail the results and the examples of applications. And also the idea of proof, which can help to understand more deeply the differences between the other assumption.
3. We used a result in an other paper P during a proof. The contribution of this paper is not decisive, in the sense that for example, if the result of the paper P is wrong, the proof can be saved without more assumption. Just that the use of the paper P made the proof shorter. In this case, we can read the ideas of the proof to be convinced that it works.
4. We used a result in an other paper P during a proof. The contribution of this paper is important; for example, if paper P is correct, then one can prove a result under the assumption that a random variable has a finite moment of order two, but without this paper, one need moments of order higher than two.
In this case it would be wise to read the proof into details.
5. We used a result in an other paper P during a proof. The contribution of this paper is crucial, in the sense that if paper P is wrong, then all the paper that we are writing is wrong. Then one should read into details the proofs and also look at the references therein to be sure that everything works well.
Overall, we always have to read with criticism, in the sense that we should not take anything for granted. I mean even a paper written by big names or accepted in a good journal, whatever it means.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/21
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<issue_start>username_0: I am in the final stage of completing a thesis.
Context: I propose a new knowledge representation to tackle information overload in science (E-Science, scientific communication, linked data). Specifically, I created a knowledge representation of scientific problems.
In the introduction, I motivate the need of the new artefact based on two things:
1. A general need for digital knowledge representations for automatic reasoning, being able to filter out relevant aspects of scientific work to make them findable,
2. The unavailability of a knowledge representation for a specific aspect of scientific work; namely, scientific problems ("challenges", "gaps").
Other approaches that present a digital knowledge representation of aspects of scientific work were included as related work, but they also exemplify that the aspect I focus on is missing.
Do I incorporate this related work in the introduction, or present them in a separate related work section?
Would it be better to state "To this day, no representations of scientific problems exist" in the introduction and show the other approaches in a separate related work section, or is it nicer to show these other approaches in the introduction first (by including a subsection with all related work - separate subsections per approach - what would the title of this subsection be?), to then base the motivation of creating this new representation in an "approach" subsection which contains the research questions?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Do I incorporate this related work in the introduction, or present them in a separate related work section?
>
>
>
**That's a matter of taste**. As a third option, you could include related work in each research chapter.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The structure of your paper should make it attractive to read and easier to understand. So keeping to the common structure in your field is usually helpful, but not a dogma that should be obeyed when it's not useful.
Introduction -> Related Work -> Main Contributions is a pretty common start for CS writing, so making it a separate section would be the default option.
However, if you have to lean heavily on a literature discussion to motivate the need for your work, it can make more sense to pull them together into a single chapter, perhaps with subsections.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/21
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<issue_start>username_0: A colleague just told me about a paper he submitted to a conference, I'd love to have a look at his work out of curiosity.
How can I ask without him thinking I'm off to steal his ideas or something?<issue_comment>username_1: If he is a colleague, he is unlikely to think that. Just express your interest and ask for an early look. If something in it seems interesting to you contact him again and see if you have the possibility of collaboration on an extension or similar work.
It is how collaborative relationships get formed. Just do it.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I would have tried to discuss the work that he has done. This could be a very informal discussion over a coffee or a walk. Then, I would have asked if he could share the manuscript with me. If you both are going good with each other in professional sphere, it's not a difficult demand to fulfill.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Just ask him or her. I’m not sure how you can steal the ideas of someone who will make a public presentation on these ideas. Moreover, your colleague presumably has proof that has submitted this so there can no issue as to priority.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/22
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<issue_start>username_0: I might have the opportunity to submit a paper to an academic journal and also submit my code for it as well. However, I tend to do my projects across different coding languages because sometimes i'll be working in one language and then find a particular package available in another - so I work back and forth between languages.
I am just concerned that if I submit my paper and I am asked to supply code for replication purposes that it would be frowned upon that all the code is not central to one language. For example - I might do some of the project in Python and some in Matlab, and I would have to submit code for both languages.
Has anybody had experience with this?<issue_comment>username_1: The reason to ask for code is that the journal cares about reproducibility and quality of the science. The language of the code does not matter much, and normally it does not matter if two languages are used. A journal also accepts papers that use both fluorescence and mass spectroscopy, and there is no reason why they would refuse the use of two programming languages.
Of course it may be possible that your particular journal has additional requirements for code. If that is the case they probably say so in the author guidelines (you can check their website). If not, you can submit your code and they will let you know if something needs to be changed.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think it would be foolish of a journal to require that all the code be in the same language. It would mean, in your case, submitting code that was *not* used to derive the results. Translating code from one language into another is fairly well automated, but the results obtained may not be identical, due to different libraries associated with the languages.
Moreover, if translations are done by hand, then errors may well be introduced.
Journals *should be* agnostic about these things. But it is possible that some journal would have a restriction. You could then decide to go along, or try to publish elsewhere. It would mean, of course, validating the new version of the code and rerunning all the simulations/experiments etc.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/22
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<issue_start>username_0: In my field at least, a lot of people sign their papers with just their initials. For example, the author list would be "<NAME> and <NAME>". Why do people do this? It seems that it's just a recipe for creating homonyms-related problems. I can't see a reason to not include the full first name in the publication.<issue_comment>username_1: I suspect many contemporary authors use initials because it has become a long-standing tradition in academia. In other words, if it was good enough for A. Einstein, it is good enough for me.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/A5psr.jpg)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: One possible explanation is that people who reference papers tend to abbreviate authors' names even if they are given in full in the paper (to save place in the references section). Then when it comes to writing your own name as an author of the paper, they follow the same process out of habit without thinking much about it.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: There are many reasons not to include a full first name.
* You don't like or identify by your first name.
* The journal format demands it.
* You are trans-gender and have changed your first name, but not the initial or your surname.
* You are a minority in your field and hiding your first name means hiding clues to your minority status and possibly increasing the odds of your work being taken more seriously. (Mostly, hopefully, this reason is now outdated.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Not sure that was a valid reason 30 years ago, but it is somerimes difficult to determine where the first name stops and where the last name begins, especially when authors are from a different culture.
For example: in certain Asian cultures (e.g. in China) it is normal to write [one's family name *before* one's given name](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/docs/default-source/default-document-library/nameformatexplanationguide.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjeoa2-wJfnAhWSTN8KHWmWD4EQFjAPegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw2BuKw0oJbfL9qsB65ZyfrW). If you add "middle" names on top of that, things can get *very* confusing. If as a Westerner you're not familiar with common Asian last names, you might end up referring to a peer as "Dr. Firstname" instead of "Dr. Lastname".
It is also not uncommon for some names to be used as given and/or family names. A good example would be the name *Martin* in France: it is the most common last name... but it's also given as a first name. Consider literature Nobel prize laureate [<NAME>](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1937/gard/biographical/&ved=2ahUKEwj6g_TzxJfnAhWBmuAKHRsfBRMQFjAVegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw2LQ41T6y7K8H4V7M3ux9yg): is Martin a middle name? The beginning of a double last name? Hard to tell if you don't know the author.
This type of issue pretty much disappears if one chooses to abbreviate given names and only write their last name.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: This is an example of a [social norm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_norm), which is a type of behavior that, once it becomes accepted by a group of people, perpetuates itself through group members’ tendency to adopt others’ behavior, perhaps out of a desire to not want to stick out or to be seen as unconventional.
So in my opinion, one good answer to “why do people sign their papers with just their initials?” is “because this is the norm in their field, which has developed because scholars of past generations adopted this practice.”
As for why this happened historically, it could have been a random event, or journals demanded it, or some famous scientists decided it was a good idea (e.g., to put the emphasis on the content of the research rather than the ego/personal brand of the author) and advocated for it, or some combination of the above.
By the way, social norms are all around us, so this idea answers many questions of the form “why do [members of group X] do [Y]?”, in particular in the context of academia.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I've never spent a conscious thought on this so far, but where I am for most business communication *F. Lastname* is just as common and acceptable as *Firstname Lastname* to address/refer to someone. In addition, *F. Lastname* (even if you have further given names) is acceptable and normal for most signatures.
However, looking though a bunch of papers, I do have the impression that this less the authors' choice than a style choice of the journal. (And some use both: full Firstname Lastname under the title and F. Lastname on the header of subsequent pages). At least for the last papers I submitted, the journal web page asked given and family name of all authors.
---
That being said, we frequently use *F. Lastname* for posters and presentations and their abstracts (possibly giving *Firstname* of the presenting authors so people have a chance to know how to address them): I'm often involved in rather interdisciplinary studies so there's frequently a whole bunch of authors that needs fit into a restricted space.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: Having used "<NAME>" on some of my earliest papers, I can explain one motivation. These were joint papers with my undergrad teacher <NAME> who (like many Eastern Europeans, as far as I know) usually used only initials, "<NAME>". I just matched that for the sake of uniformity. In my later papers, I used "username_7".
I might add, just as an example of the confusing things that can happen, that for the first eight years or so of my life, I was "<NAME>" but was called "Andreas" (or the diminutive "Anderl" because I was a little kid). When I became a naturalized U.S. citizen, this phenomenon of being called by my middle name so confused the officer from the Immigration and Naturalization Service that I had to become "<NAME>".
As long as I'm describing confusions: I've been told that Vietnamese names have the family name before the given name (as in Chinese and Hungarian), but in connection with titles (like Dr. or Prof.) one uses the last name, not the family name. Thus, for example, President Diem of South Vietnam was <NAME>; his brother, the archbishop of Hue, was <NAME>; his Vietnamese name was <NAME>.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/22
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<issue_start>username_0: I tried to contact my classmates to ask for their notes, I email 5 of them and none of them have replied back.
I have a high GPA and this course is my last course at the university, I really want to get a perfect mark.
I was wondering if you could please tell me how can I study this course remotely?
How should I approach the instructor? It would be ok if one classmate could record the class voice weekly for me, but no one would do this for me.<issue_comment>username_1: Talk to the instructor, ask them for advice.
Ideally you would have done this before the semester started knowing that you would have this arrangement, but at least the instructor was made aware ahead of time through your supervisor.
They are unlikely to be able to offer support that takes a lot of additional effort on their part because this special arrangement is due to your needs (placing the burden on you), but they may be able to facilitate note sharing, suggest an appropriate additional text, or possibly share some additional lecture notes or outlines of their own.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Let me add a long-shot possibility. Some universities have a way to record or even live-stream lectures. If you haven't explored this, you might see if it can be done. There might be a special office, audio-visual, or such. Even audio might be a help to you if you also have lecture slides.
Failing that, the professor might be able to record audio and send it to you or upload it to a web page. The quality would likely be better if there are professionals involved, of course.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/22
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<issue_start>username_0: I've been a member of TPC (Technical Program Committee) of some famous conferences for few years. But this year, I, along with many, were not invited.
Wondering how is TPC selected? I guess the TPC chairs select those? But TPC chairs are actually the same as before!<issue_comment>username_1: They are selected by the conference chair to be on the technical program committee. People on the technical committee may suggest other people. Some times they will ask past authors of the conference to be on the committee.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If the sponsoring organization, say ACM, is wise then it will seek a mix of experience and fresh faces on the overall conference committee and subcommittees. This assumes that the conference is part of a continuing series, such as SIGPlan.
The conference chair is generally very experienced and has a wide circle of collaborators, many of which are friends. They choose a few trusted people, mostly experienced, to form the core. Those people suggest others until all slots are filled. The ACM usually (I think) has an organizational representative at the meetings that create the committees to assure that some new people are brought in and general rules are followed. This is to assure continuity for the future so that newcomers get the experience to carry on in future years.
Something similar happens at each major level. The program chair selects a few core people and they nominate and discuss others, with an eye to a mix of experience and new members.
One of the last jobs of the committee for a given year is to start the selection process for some future year (one or two years in advance, say). By the end of one conference the core group for the next (year or so) is largely or completely in place.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/23
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently I worked as a teaching assistant for a digital logic course. The topic for the day was full-adder. Professor explained the full concept of the full adder, along with question and answer session and then it is now the turn of TAs to clarify doubts of the students. One student asked me the question: what is the architecture of full adder circuit using currently in the most advanced CPU of laptops. I really had no clue about it.
But a new doubt raised in my mind that how should a professor react to such questions?
The professor may not know every aspect and every trend in the subject (s)he is teaching. If (s)he says that I don't know, then, the respect for the professor may go down. Else if (s)he says that it is beyond the scope of the course then the research aspirancy of the students may go down. Other methods are providing references later by saying I will send it to you/class later etc., but still, it is like saying I don't know, but indirectly. Because if one the student asks a question, then many people want to know the answer immediately from the professor. I feel that the professor should at least answer the question in a very short form.
So, the final question can be divided into two parts:
1) How should a professor react to the most advanced questions from
their students of a basic course, if (s)he knows the answer?
2) How a professor has to react in the classroom for the advanced questions that (s)he doesn't know the answer?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> 1) How should a professor react to the most advanced questions from her students of a basic course, if (s)he knows the answer?
>
>
>
I would distinguish between reasonable and obnoxious questions.
* If the question is reasonable, then I would give a concise answer and encourage "offline" follow up. The question in your example seems reasonable -- it's essentially "how wide is the gap between what we're learning and what's actually used?"
* If the question is obnoxious (e.g., student is just trying to show off), then I would consider giving a *very* concise answer (one sentence), or else explaining that you don't think the question is a good use of the available time (and, optionally, encouraging follow up in office hours).
>
> 2) How a professor has to react in the classroom for the advanced questions that (s)he doesn't know the answer?
>
>
>
I'm not sure one has any choice but to say "That's a good question, but I have no idea" or "I have no idea, and I doubt it matters for the purpose of this exam."
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I would suggest two principles: *build and reward engagement*, and *speak to the whole class*.
*Reward engagement*: Someone asked you a question about something related to the course material you're presenting? Awesome! That student is engaged and interested! That's great to see. I recommend you choose an answer that rewards rather than penalizes that -- so a tone of enthusiasm and delight that they asked, rather than annoyance. You can also reward asking questions by making them look good of everyone else -- maybe you find the gem of insight in their question and articulate it for everyone's benefit, or something. For some students it can be intimidating to ask a question in front of everyone else, and it can often be hard to get students to feel comfortable doing that, so finding ways to set a tone that encourages that will help shift the classroom atmosphere towards more interaction and engagement.
*Speak to the whole class:* Remember that you are primarily there to help the whole class. You're not just answering the person who asked the question; this is an opportunity to find a way to respond that will be relevant to the whole class. The student asked about some real-world application of what you're teaching, or is reaching for a way to make a connection between what they're learning and something practical? Excellent! That's a fantastic opportunity right there to take a step back and see how you can make that connection apparent for the whole class. If you do that right, I suspect that might be beneficial not just for the one person who asked, but for many people who are motivated by the idea that what they're learning is used in real products, or in devices they use every day.
If the student asks a narrow question that's probably only of interest to that one student: you can give a very concise, one-sentence answer ("it turns out that modern CPUs something different than what we saw in class, to minimize energy consumption"), tell them how to learn more ("you can learn more about this in our class on digital architecture" / "come visit me in my office hours and I've love to tell you more" / ..), and use that to bridge to a subject that will be of interest to a larger fraction of the class ("it's a good question because it highlights power consumption as a critical issue for processors, and that's something we'll return to in week 10" or something).
If the student asks a question that might be of broader interest to the entire class: pull out what makes the question such a great one ("ooh, I'm so glad you asked, because this is really cool") or show appreciation or enthusiasm for their question or otherwise signal encouragement, and then answer in a way that'll speak to both the asker and the rest of the class ("this is really cool, this design we're showing you in class today was first introduced in the 8086 in the early 80's and now is used in every modern CPU", or whatever).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> 1) How should a professor react to the most advanced questions from
> her students of a basic course, if (s)he knows the answer?
>
>
>
It depends on how long it would take to explain the answer. If it is a matter of a minute or so, the professor can just answer. If it is going to be a lengthy digression, wasting the time of most of the class, these days I suggest giving a few key terms for web searches.
For example, for the question about adders I might say something like "That is a very interesting topic. Start by searching for carry lookahead.". That will get the student to articles that contain references to fast addition variations. I would not try to answer it in class. Fast binary addition was an 80 minute lecture in a course on computer arithmetic I took as a computer science graduate student, with understanding of full adders and general principles of processor architecture assumed.
>
> 2) How a professor has to react in the classroom for the advanced
> questions that (s)he doesn't know the answer?
>
>
>
Begin by saying "I don't know". That will always get far more respect from those whose respect is worth having than pretending knowledge one does not have. If it is relevant enough to make it worth discussing in class, add "I'll get back to you later" and look it up before the next class. If not, "I am afraid that is outside the scope of this course.".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: @username_1 makes good points, but I want to focus on this aspect of your question:
>
> The professor may not know every aspect and every trend in the subject he is teaching. If (s)he says that I don't know, then, the respect for the professor may go down. Else if (s)he says that it is beyond the scope of the course then the research aspirancy of the students may go down.
>
>
>
University is not like high school. University students are adults, some of them are coming back to study after some years working in industry. You can no longer expect that the student knows nothing and the professor knows everything.
A part of that, is that students start asking *hard* questions. Because by the time they get to university, they already know the answers to a lot of the easy questions. It's no longer a loss of face for the teacher to say "I don't know that right now", because they're no longer basic high school questions to which the answers have been mostly the same for years. Questions like "what is the state of the art" or "how about this corner case" are hard but potentially interesting questions.
I think as a professor it's wise to build a bit of room in your curriculum, to handle questions like this. If a student asks a hard question that you think is interesting to the whole class, then you can say "good question, I'll come back to that next class" and use the time you set aside. If nobody asks a good question, then you can use the time on something else.
So I don't think saying "I don't know" necessarily reduces respect for the professor. A professor who pretends to know things he doesn't, or who dodges questions, is going to look foolish. A professor who essentially says "I want to give you the best answer, please wait" shows that he's taking the student seriously.
In a fast-moving field like computer science it's entirely possible that a student has cutting-edge knowledge on some specific thing. Maybe the student has a side job at a tech firm or reads a key tech forum where new developments are discussed. One of the most *inspiring* things a professor can do is to happily acknowledge that the student knows something there that the professor doesn't yet know. This shouldn't really undermine respect for a solid professor because such a professor probably has much deeper and wider knowledge about the field as a whole. But being taken seriously like this as a student is a really inspiring feeling.
Upvotes: 4
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2020/01/23
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<issue_start>username_0: First, some context: I'm a PhD student, and this term, I'm running a bunch of seminar groups for first years (I believe these are what would be called "discussion sections" in the US - essentially, each group is 20-ish students out of a much larger course, and I'm doing stuff to support the lectures. I'm marking, but not setting, the assignments). My previous teaching experience has all been with what I believe would be "upper division" courses in the US, and thus far I've tried to approach this in essentially the same way, but there are some pretty significant differences that lead me to think that I'm not using the time well. Specifically:
* In previous teaching, I've been able to rely on students (at least after a little prior prompting) turning up with questions that we can discuss, being able to tell me which parts of the course they're struggling with, etc. and dealing with these issues has taken up a large part of the available time (essentially, because dealing with the things that they're definitely struggling with seems more reliable than me trying to guess what they're struggling with). This doesn't seem to be the case with these students.
* Previous students have been able and willing to get involved in discussions, either in small groups or all together, and have even started such discussions. The default expectation from these students seems to be that they can sit there and do very little and I'll somehow pour mathematics into their brains.
* Previous courses have all been heavily proof-based, and I've spent a good part of the available time helping with details of proofs that students have not been comfortable with, providing alternate proofs, and trying to drill down to the underlying concepts. This course, thus far, consists entirely of matrix algebra, and the expectation seems to be something far more computational.
As far as what I've done so far, besides the usual start-of-course administrative stuff, is briefly summarise the content of the course thus far, provide a couple of worked examples, and get them to work on some practice questions (theoretically in groups, but I haven't managed to overcome their unwillingness to talk to each other very successfully yet), while I walk around and provide support. I also experimented with asking a question involving slightly more thought ("so we've seen that it is not always the case that AB = BA, but we've also seen that this does hold when either A or B is the identity or zero matrix. Can we say any more about when AB = BA does or doesn't hold?"), which they found significantly more difficult than I had anticipated, and needed a lot of help to even start.
In general, this doesn't seem like that effective a use of the available time: in particular, there's very little that I've done that couldn't have been done by handing them a textbook with plenty of practice questions. I also haven't gained much information about concepts that they struggle with - most of the errors that I've found, both in their assignments and in the class, are purely failures of mental arithmetic, rather than any conceptual issues.
Essentially, I'm looking for ideas of how I can adjust my teaching to make it more productive. Ideas for encouraging more active participation would also be much appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: If you were the professor for the course, I'd give a different answer, but consider the following.
I'll assume that you have the same group for each meeting, rather than a random selection of students that changes randomly over time. This lets you set expectations and a general flow.
One problem you may be encountering is that the students haven't yet learned how to learn. They haven't learned how to take notes and study properly. It is a lesson that needs to be taught, actually. Many students at this level have had an easy time of their earlier education. For some, at least, this is now changing and they need better procedures to capture and retain learning.
If you aren't getting questions, then ask a lot of questions yourself. They can be simple or complex. One of the simplest is to ask the class for volunteers to answer "What was the most important point in the professor's previous lecture?". Ask if anyone has anything to add to that. Evaluate and supplement any answers.
Use metaphor and examples to explain/illustrate things rather than being pedantic. Try to give them insight. While precision is good, it sometimes masks what is really at the heart of things. Why do some mathematical systems obey the commutative law and others not?
It takes some experience, but you can turn some things into games. Even competitive games. I once created a Jeopardy like game for teaching key ideas. It was a computer program that automated the questions. "Square Matrices for 10, Professor username_1". Teams were formed and the students had fun trying to outdo other teams. This might solve your "working together" issue to some extent.
But just repeating what the professor said isn't likely to be effective. If they don't know what the professor did say then they need some instruction on effective note taking. Also on lecture summarizing, etc. Show them what tricks you used to learn hard stuff.
In fact, if you want an "ice breaker" question, ask what it was that the professor didn't make clear enough in the previous lecture.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: One tiny suggestion that works wonders: Instead of asking "Any questions?" ask "What questions do you have for me?" This is an invitation for questions. I tried this out this semester and have been amazed at how many more questions I get because they feel that it is okay to ask questions.
Another suggestion is help them get to know each other. I put people in random pairs in exercise sessions either with a bunch of lengths of string that I hold in my hand. Everyone grabs one side and works with the person on the other end of the string. Or we use Memory cards, or pairs of playing cards to choose partners. By the end of the semester they know about a dozen others and feel much more at home in class and ready to learn.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: If I'm understanding the context correctly, this is a group of students who are first-year undergraduates, probably mostly engineering majors, taking a linear algebra course that comes in their lower-division math sequence after a year of calculus.
Re this specific type of course, this may depend on the text and the professor, but usually they start with a lot of very concrete calculations. Students spend a vast amount of time doing stuff like multiplying two matrices whose components are given as integers. Only later in the book, and the course, are they introduced to things like the axioms of a vector space. This approach, for better or for worse, seems to be pretty standard, and I guess is meant to make the class easier for the students by delaying abstraction until they have enough experience to make sense of the abstraction. If this is an accurate picture of the course you're teaching, then there is a limit on how much you're going to be able to deviate from that structure.
In general, what you're trying to do is referred to using terms like "active learning" or "interactive engagement." You can google on these and related terms. A good survey paper is Freeman et al., "Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics," <http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/05/08/1319030111> .
Students at this stage are generally not an the intellectual level where they can come up with their own interesting, abstract ideas or profit from unguided discussion. Successful active learning techniques usually involve very structured activities that set students up for success. Almost always, the activities an instructor comes up with end up being much too hard for real-world students, who are beginners who are approaching things as beginners. For this reason, it can be very helpful to find other people's published activities that have already been classroom-tested.
In your example where you asked about what matrices might commute with other matrices, I would make this into an exercise where they start out with some concrete examples, which they compute in randomly assigned groups. Then, once they have some examples, you give them a really easy, concrete task. E.g., if they've already established that the 2x2 identity matrix commutes with some other matrix B, ask them to find *one* other matrix that commutes with B.
Another style for creating active learning exercises is Mazur's [peer instruction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_instruction) method, or similar methods such as think-pair-share.
A lot of these methods involve group work. Often one possible big advantage of group work, compared to a dialog between you and the class, is that it creates a situation where students are expressing their own ideas in their own words, to each other, about concepts. In my field, physics, there is a great deal of research showing that this is a crucial ingredient for achieving better conceptual understanding in a freshman course: words have to come out of the students' mouths, and the words have to be about concepts (not the details of an algorithmic computation). Make sure that you know what the students are saying in their discussions, by walking around the room and by asking them to write specific things down.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/23
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<issue_start>username_0: I am going to attend a conference as I have been selected to a voluntary position and it is mandatory to meet up with the organizers. At this conference, my abusive ex-supervisor is chairing sessions and probably he is going to attend, he does not know I will be there.
I hate him so much as I was forced to leave because he was racist and narcissistic, travelling to another country with harsh conditions, it is a long story. Now I am working on the same topic with another nice supervisor.
No one knows what happened, but I am afraid of this encounter, I am so emotional and I hate him although he apologized via email after I left couple months, but I still have a grudge since he delayed my academic progress and I cannot tolerate with that, how I should react, ignore him completely, he is very awful person.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, ignore him as much as you can. But focus on the task at hand in your work. In professional company attacks reflect badly on the attacker, so work to ignore any negative messages from him. You want to be the good person.
If you can arrange to meet with the organizers as part of a group, of volunteers, say, it will help.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: As well as the good advice to ignore him as much as possible, I suggest you have already worked out what you will say when you meet him. This will help you feel in control and less emotional as it is likely you will see him at some point. Don't approach him, but you may be in a situation where you can't avoid him. Even something blunt like "I'm really not interested in talking with you, please don't talk to me". If you ignore him then he may think you didn't hear him or whatever. Be clear and firm. You may also need a follow up in case someone else overhears and asks, something like "I worked with him for X years and it was a bad experience"
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The best revenge is living well. You have a good start on that working on your topic with a nice supervisor, and attending the conference as a volunteer.
Ideally, treat him as just another academic you happen to know, about on the level of a professor who taught one of your undergraduate courses. I understand that may be difficult, but it tells him that his treatment of you was just a minor roadbump in your life. He is too unimportant to be even worth your anger. For a racist, seeing you happily getting on with your life will hurt far more than if you let him see he still has emotional power over you.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: The feedback given here I think is helpful and mostly agree with. It's important to take what is said here and aggregate it in a way that your response to this person's presence is in line with your values.
You can only control things in your own experience, so intentional thought and intentional behavior. Your automatic thoughts, your feelings, and everyone else experience is something you can't control - and that's okay! It is what you do with these automatic thoughts and feelings in response to other's actions that is key and will help you come out on the other side of this.
It is helpful to have a few things lined up to say when (if) you come across this person. These statements should create boundaries and, again, should align with what you value. But don't try to plan out potential conversations - you've got no idea how he's going to react. Just keep in mind, and keep redirecting to, your vision on how you'd like to present yourself in this space.
Lastly, to re-iterate what Greg said above - I hope that you know that no one, ever EVER deserves to be treated in such a manner. It must have been extremely difficult to work through all of that, and I hope that you have given yourself credit for continuing to move forward with your work and what you care about. I wish you the best and good luck at the conference and all of your meetings! I hope the location is somewhere fun!
(Can you tell I've spent a serious amount of time in therapy? Ha!)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: While Patricia's answer may work for some people, it would not work for me. I do not like explicitly acting as if something did not affect me, if it did. I think the best advice (for people like me) is the one given by Elizabeth in a comment:
>
> Ignore, ignore and ignore.
>
>
>
As far as possible, at least. If they did not show me respect in the past, I have no obligation to show them the same amount of respect I may show other people, even if I still show the basic courtesy any other human deserves. Although I strongly encourage you to try to let go of the grudge, it is perfectly understandable if you want to minimize the possibility of getting emotionally affected by any meeting with him. And the best way to do that is to subtly avoid him. As long as you also minimize disruption to your own life (don't let your actions revolve around avoiding him), it should be fine.
Also, in case you don't want to talk to him, and don't want to tell this to him to his face, and he comes to you to attempt to talk, you can simply hold up your hand in a more or less universal 'stop' gesture. It should work for almost everyone, with minimal fuss, especially if you smile while doing so. After all, you would be happy to avoid a potentially uncomfortable talk, and he would probably be happy to just back off.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/23
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<issue_start>username_0: If I request say 3 months summer salary at the rate I'm being paid by my academic institution, where would that money come from?
(a) Would I be paid directly from NSF?
(b) Would the NSF pay my institution, and then my institution funnels that money to me?
(c) Would my institution pay me directly from its budget?<issue_comment>username_1: The money will come as a grant to your institution, from which you can take summer salary.
Note that if you are in a position where “summer salary” is relevant, you are probably subject to the NSF limit that you can only have two months a year on your NSF budgets, and also that for many (most?) programs, you are unlikely to get more than one month a year on any single grant.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: To answer the technical content of your original question: While you write the proposal, technically it is submitted by your institution to the National Science Foundation. If it is funded, then the NSF gives the requested money (or any other amount the NSF decides on) to your university, which then pays it to you. So this corresponds to your option (b).
But let me also comment on a separate issue: The fact that you ask this question here suggests to me that you're trying to navigate NSF rules on your own, without letting anyone more experienced at your institution guide you. This is not a winning strategy. NSF rules are plentiful, and you're going to run afoul of many of them if you don't rely on the help and support of experienced grant writers and administrators at your university. There will be many things you don't know you don't know. You will also find it difficult to write successful proposals if you don't ask others with experience for help. Reach out to others at your institutions and see that they can walk you through things such as the question you asked, or the issue with the 2-months rule mentioned in comments on username_1's answer. You will be more successful that way in the long run!
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/23
| 1,016
| 4,345
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<issue_start>username_0: In the not-too-distant past, I was teaching a course on cognition and language. One class focused on language and communication in different species. A student later emailed me to ask a number of clarifying and follow-up questions. One of which was "If God wanted animals to communicate, why wouldn't He just have them talk"? This student was an international student from a country where religion is a much more prominent component of public life, so - for lack of a better phrase - I took it as a good faith question that would have been pretty normal back home. I don't think it's my place to put forth my theological views, I don't teach anything close to religion/theology, so I answered the questions that I could and ignored the religious question. Is there a better way to have handled this?
Thanks<issue_comment>username_1: You were correct in not engaging in religious argument in an academic setting. But a valid answer, that is probably acceptable to most people, whatever their faith, is, "I don't know. Your question is outside the realm of science."
If further asked, "What do you believe?", you can say that it is a private matter.
Unfortunately too many religious discussions end up [here](https://amultiverse.com/comic/2013/09/13/how-monkeys-get-made/).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Many secular universities have theology faculty. You can suggest that your students ask them theological questions. This is the same as if I, a physicist, when asked about human perception of sound, suggested that students ask you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Answer: "I have no idea why you are bringing this up here. Speculations on motivations of hypothetical omnipotent beings are not part of this lecture".
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: My experience with this sort of issue has been in teaching astronomy classes for gen ed students in which we deal with the Big Bang. In this context (which differs somewhat from yours), I think it's a good idea not to completely shut down questions about religion.
* A student who is a business major may have very little understanding of how science works and how it's different from other ways of knowing things. They only learn this if we give them a chance to see the contrasts by actively discussing them.
* Shutting down discussion of such issues can seem authoritarian to students. This makes them feel that they are just being told contradictory things by two different authority figures, e.g., their priest and their professor.
* Many students have mistaken ideas about their own religion's doctrines. E.g., they may believe that the Catholic church opposes the Big Bang theory, denies evolution, or teaches that the soul begins its existence at conception -- none of which is true.
* Science can be confusing and counterintuitive. It's counterintuitive that humans can evolve from microbes. It's counterintuitive that the Big Bang can be an explosion without a center, and without any preexisting time or space. The risk is that they will see these ideas as absurd on their face, while religious teachings seem to address the same questions in a way that makes more sense.
However, I would not suggest spending a large amount of class time on this sort of thing. After teaching the astronomy class a couple of times, I put together a handout addressing these issues, and I just handed it out without soliciting discussion.
Since you're teaching a subject that naturally touches on evolution, you will probably want to work out some responses for this sort of thing that come off as evidence-based rather than authority-based. For the specific example you give, I would try something like this: "You're asking a question about God, but for the most part, science and religion have separate spheres these days. The scientific question that would be of interest here might be this. If it's an evolutionary advantage to have sophisticated language like human language, then why hasn't such language evolved in all species?" Then you can address this question, which is an interesting question involving evolutionary biology. You can point out that evolution isn't directed toward an end, that some higher molluscs have visual communication systems that do things that ours can't, that not all animals are social, and so on.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/01/24
| 1,278
| 5,534
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<issue_start>username_0: I applied for some PhD's in differential geometry in the UK, and I was offered an interview this coming Wednesday and they said this in the confirmation email:
"The interview will be conducted by *insert prof name* and myself and
should last around 30 minutes
In the interview we will ask about relevant courses you have taken, we will
explore your knowledge and understanding of these courses, and we will
discuss your motivation in applying for the *insert department name* PhD. We will also ask
some technical mathematical questions about topics you have covered."
Any clues what I should expect and how I should prepare? How much can they rip me apart in 30 mins?
It’s also worth noting that I did my undergrad in theoretical physics; would this imply that the technical questions refer to undergraduate questions or to the Masters programme I’m currently enrolled in (which allows me to study both pure and applied maths)?
Furthermore would the relevant courses taken mean the ones I’m attending currently for my Masters programme (given I did submit a list of the courses I attended last term and the ones I’m attending this term) or, again, would it refer to stuff I have independently studied in my undergraduate, which was a point I mentioned in my application?<issue_comment>username_1: I am a first year PhD student in theoretical computer science (formal methods), which is close enough to math that I think my experience my be relevant. (Also my undergrad is in math.). When I applied to programs I did multiple interviews like this. In my experience the technical questions pertained to:
* literature written by or related to the work of the professor I applied to work with;
* potential research topics;
* my academic background and coursework.
Other than Oxford in the UK all my interviews were in the US so this may differ country by country but I suspect the following:
* any courses you have taken in any previous degree are open for discussion;
* any research topics you have studied in the past or worked on professionally are open for discussion;
* research topics and literature pertaining to the professor you might work with will almost certainly be discussed.
As such, my best advice is to read papers by the professors you want to work with, and read some of the papers they cite. If you can explain a result to the interviewer and show how this relates to your own interests it will go a long way.
My experience was that these were not like job interviews - they were not very intimidating. However this might be different in the UK. I felt like my knowledge of academic literature was very useful in these interviews, but my knowledge of specific mathematical or computational facts was not. For example, I was not asked to define a Buchi automaton or solve a differential equation or do a whiteboard programming exercise, but I was asked to explain some results from various papers and how they related to my interests.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Any clues what I should expect and how I should prepare? How much can
> they rip me apart in 30 mins?
>
>
>
My number one tip: don't go into it expecting to be ripped apart, they're academics, not leopards! :)
Seriously, though, every PhD interview I had (UK, cosmology, three years ago) was very friendly and relatively informal. Some were more informal than others, and I think it's no coincidence that I accepted the offer from the place where I had the most relaxed interview experience. Remember that not only are the interviewers looking to see if you're a good fit, you need to find out if the department is a good fit for you. I highly recommend talking to their current PhD students if you get a chance!
Since they say in their email that they will ask about relevant courses, think about which of the courses you've taken are most in line with the PhD project(s) you're applying for. The technical questions I was asked were all closely related to cosmology, even though I'd taken courses on solid state physics, electromagnetic theory, a whole bunch of solar physics courses... you get the picture. At the time I didn't have a strong cosmology background so I didn't know the answers to quite a lot of things, but I used my general physics knowledge to try and reason things through, explained what I was thinking and was honest when I didn't know the answer. They're not expecting you to know everything about your topic of interest already, they're far more interested in seeing how you think and communicate.
However, the majority of all the interviews I had focused on the research I was doing for my Master's dissertation. I talked about my work in detail, as well as the relevant literature. I think my ability to discuss the basic ideas in a very recent paper that was relevant to my project (and also why I didn't completely agree with it) left a good impression with the panel. If you've done any kind of research project or dissertation before, expect to spend a lot of the interview talking about it, so make sure you know it inside out.
In summary:
* Look forward to the interview as a chance to discuss your subject with experts, and to look around a new department.
* Be prepared to stand at the whiteboard and explain your work and thinking (practice doing this with a friend if you haven't done it before, good communication is key).
* Know your subject well and have a good idea of the relevant literature to the projects you're applying for.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/24
| 370
| 1,061
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<issue_start>username_0: For example, we use pp. 4-7 for pages from 4 to 7 and ch. 2 for chapter 2, but how should we cite a subsection of a book when a chapter is divided into multiple subsections, e.g. 2.1, 2.2, ... in a way that's compatible with IEEE writing style?<issue_comment>username_1: Going by this [description of the IEEE citation style](https://pitt.libguides.com/citationhelp/ieee), you would just cite the page range, like this:
>
> Chapter in book
>
>
> [2] <NAME>, “Random patterns,” in Computers and You, <NAME>, Ed. New York: Wiley, 1994, pp. 55-70.
>
>
>
It doesn't seem to be necessary to give the exact chapter/section number.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> how should we cite a subsection of a book when a chapter is divided into multiple subsections, e.g. 2.1, 2.2, ...
>
>
>
Rather than citing the entire book, e.g., [1], you can cite a particular subsection, e.g., [§2.1, 1], [§2.2, 1], ..., meaning section 2.1, 2.1, ... of [1]. With Latex, you can use `\cite[\S2.1]{X}`.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]
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2020/01/24
| 1,101
| 4,411
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<issue_start>username_0: Can political escalation between Iran and the western world affect Iranian students in getting admission from university in Canada, Australia, and European Countries?
After two years of hardworking, TOEFL exams, publishing articles in journals, etc. I am ready to apply for many universites to pursue my PhD, but I am wondering if it would be successful or not. The political escalation between the Iranian regime and the western world is escalating on a daily basis and universities may reluctant to accept applications because of sanctions or any other reasons. Even they issue the admission the embassies may cause some trouble for students. I don't know what to do???<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Can political escalation between Iran and the western world affect Iranian students in getting admission from university in Canada, Australia, and European Countries?
>
>
>
I will go ahead and disagree with Buffy, many other on this page and get plenty of downvotes. The truth is yes, it can very well effect your chances. Here is an example,
<https://nltimes.nl/2019/10/17/amsterdam-univ-scientist-fire-rejecting-turkish-student>
This was just one extreme incident where nationality based bias was explicitly mentioned. I am pretty sure anyone can get away with implicit bias to a certain extend. The very sad truth is some people get railed up in politics and start to overlook people or institutions based on their governments decisions. I was talking about a fairly old Romanian mathematician and he impilictly mentioned similar issues. Romania, as you well know, was very much in the USSR orbit. From what I understand, he or people around him had various issues regarding their country of origin and he was still troubled by the fact. I have also heard (from the 2nd or 3rd hand) that goes along the lines "students from X country can't do well here" allegedly uttered by an admission offical for a doctoral program. There are also some alleged bias for certain ethnic groups for undergraduate admission in US. Court on that is still going on I believe. I have also been personally warned by an American mathematician saying something along the lines of "you will have a harder time getting admitted because of your nationality".
>
> I am ready to apply for many universites to pursue my PhD, but I am wondering if it would be successful or not.
>
>
>
You should apply. These are relatively fringe cases. Although it is possible that a bias exists, it is less likely for an entire admission board to be biased. You might not get into a program that you normally get but that is life. We can't give up on our aspirations because of some sugar coded facism. If you have the financial resources, I would advice you to apply more places. Most schools publish names of their graduate students as well. You can check and see if they have students from Iran or another Islamic country.
>
> universities may reluctant to accept applications because of sanctions or any other reasons. Even they issue the admission the embassies may cause some trouble for students.
>
>
>
I have no opinions on this point.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **Yes, unfortunately, and there is precedent (although not specifically with Iran)**. In Canada, we had a problem between our government and that of Saudi Arabia. The government of Saudi Arabia chose to restrict how their students could study here ([explanation here](https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20181107072128708)).
So to the question: is it possible? Yes it is and has happened before. However, as @Buffy said, the actions of governments and those of individuals are not the same thing. I know that Canada, at least, does not restrict entry **specifically for being from a particular country**. It is, admittedly, more difficult for residents of some countries to gain entry here than it is for residents of other countries. However, so far as I know, in modern (post cold war) history, Canada has never closed its doors completely to students of another country. The USA, again unfortunately, [has done things like this very recently](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51210953).
My advice (and I hope that of others) is to proceed as though this isn't happening. Apply to the universities you want. If nothing happens to restrict you, then not applying is a bad decision.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/01/24
| 945
| 4,242
|
<issue_start>username_0: I received a decision notice on a paper this morning. Reviewer 1 gave a positive review, suggesting relatively minor cosmetic adjustments, etc. However, the editor was apparently unable to obtain a second review, replying:
>
> ... the Editors have decided that your manuscript cannot be accepted for publication in XXXXX, as we have been unable to secure enough agreements from peer reviewers to examine your submission.
>
>
>
I admit that I'm puzzled by this response, and am curious what if any response from me could be useful. Is it possible that the paper was just not a good fit for the journal? If so, I wish the editor had rejected it right away. I'm curious if anyone has another explanation or suggestions for steps forward. And if the step forward is just "find a different journal" that's kind of what I'm expecting at this point.<issue_comment>username_1: It seems to me that the editor asked people to review your article, but not enough people were willing to do so. Apparently, the editor thought your article had enough of a chance not to give you a desk-reject, but your article (or your abstract) was not exciting enough to convince potential reviewers to review it.
Maybe it is not the article/abstract, but your article is dealing with a very narrow subject, thus limiting the potential reviewers. You had the bad luck that all of those few potential reviewers were all busy.
I don't think there is much you can do, other than have a good look at the abstract, and see if it is excessively boring. If that is not the case, then you probably just had bad luck.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This is a little unusual, and it's hard to know what happened. I have seen many papers accepted on the basis of a single report, even if the editor solicited more. One possibility is that the editor contacted potential reviewers who declined to provide a full review, but did make negative comments. It is also possible that the editor has some concerns about the manuscript, and felt that the one positive report did not adequately address those concerns. Finally, the editor may have felt that the number of unwilling reviewers was unusually large (if the paper is so great, how come nobody wants to review it?).
The whole thing is obviously somewhat unfair -- the whole point of the referee process is to provide useful feedback, and this did not happen in the present case. Most reputable journals have an appeals process. While you may not be successful in getting the paper published, you may at least get more useful feedback.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: A similar thing happened to me. It's possible that, had reviewer 1 written a substantial report, the editor would have asked you to revise and resubmit. But precisely the fact that, as you suggest, it was positive but also rather superficial didn't help your case much.
In any event, the lack of available reviewers is useful information: it might indicate that you were targeting the wrong journal, for example.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Based on my experience in academic publishing, I'm guessing that the editor invited multiple reviewers, most of whom declined but one agreed. The one who agreed wrote the review you received. The editor discerned that it's not particularly deep - as you write it's mostly cosmetic - and so was not willing to accept it based on the one review. However, since the reviewer had already written the review, the editor decided to share it anyway (they could equally have said "reject because insufficient reviews" and not sent the review report).
Another possibility is that a reviewer gave confidential information that led the editor to reject. This could be when the reviewer declined to review (e.g. "I'm too busy but at first glance this manuscript looks like a simple extension to a known experiment leading to unsurprising results, so is not a good fit for your journal") or there might be a confidential review that the editor isn't sharing.
If you really want to publish in the journal, you could write back to the editor saying you're willing to wait while they find reviewers, but otherwise yeah, submit to another journal.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/01/24
| 2,189
| 9,137
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have a student who wrote a final paper for a class in a masters program. He was disappointed with his grade. His paper had extensive copying, so I had a zoom call with him explaining why that was a problem, and then both my teaching assistant and I gave extensive written feedback on his paper, final grade of 69. He has written several times about it, claming that we took points off unfairly. I re-explained why points were taken off, and where, He writes back "but I thought the grading rubric meant..." or "I explained this, here is what I meant", etc. After five go arounds, I said I had nothing further to say, so I would no longer reply, and he would need to raise this with the department if he would like further review. Today, he sent me an extensive email again re-hashing points that I have clarified and explained again. I should add that he has a history of grade grubbing. Since I told him in 2 emails that the mattter was closed, and I would no longer reply, do I need to reply? Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: No, you don't need to reply, but you should make sure that you retain all evidence for your decisions in the event the student complains to some higher authority. Retain the email thread as well.
You've already said it was closed. Stick with that unless your chair or other such people force it to be reexamined.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: No, you don't need to reply. You might find out the name of the person above you to whom he would logically escalate this and send them a heads up.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: No. Stop engaging the student unless absolutely required to (by the Dean or the chair), and stay away from arguments. When the student states “but I thought...” the answer is “I’m sorry but you thought wrong”. If the emails persists answer politely but firmly as you suggest: “Sir, all has been said and there is nothing for me to add.”
Let the student escalate, i.e. let him waste his time (and possibly $$) on this: presumably there is a formal appeal process in place to review marks if the student disagrees with the instructor and no understanding can be reached. (Here it starts with Chair then Dean then academic appeals committee). Because you want facts to drive any appeal, keep all correspondence and email threads, and start a timeline of past events: even if approximate it is useful to recall when this or that meeting took place, and who was present. Ask any teaching assistant to also keep correspondence on this matter, in case it is needed.
If you have to meet the student, write a short memo summarizing the discussion and promptly send it by email to the student so there is a contemporaneous record of the discussion.
Unfortunately some students think that if they ask sufficiently many times the instructor will eventually give in. Others think a submitted mark is the start of a negotiation. It is true that the path of least resistance might look like acquiescing to the student but in the longer term if you are known to flinch others will try their luck.
I found it good practice to keep an appointment calendar where the names of students that come to my office, and the date of their visits, can be recorded. I don’t do this for regular office hours but if a student is possibly problematic I insist that he or she make an appointment. This way, it is very easy to check if said student has indeed discussed the situation with me at some point in the past: it is very useful if the appeal starts some time after the final marks are published.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Pdf everything and share with your chair. Ask your chair what to do next. Tell the student that you are escalating the discussion to the chair and sending the chair a copy of the email correspondence, the paper and your analysis. Also, depending on your country,your institution may have a process for grade appeals and you should tell the student to pursue that. Also, in many cases on a US campus you can contact the office of student affairs if it seems like the student is behaving in an out of control or harassing way. Those people are experts at talking to students who interact inappropriately with faculty or other students.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: No, you do not have to reply.
You do not have to confirm receipt of further emails in any way. In fact, my department staff usually recommends in cases like these that the faculty member just stop interacting in any way. Total radio silence is acceptable and recommended.
You also do not have to provide information or assistance in how the student could contact your superior or engage grievance procedures.
You do not have to touch base with your chair or superior at this time. In my experience, the chair appreciates faculty who can "handle" this without escalating and making more work for the chair. There are a legion of students who want to complain about grades, and the chair doesn't have time to handle them all.
As others have said, keep your documentation and be ready to provide it to the chair if the student does engage them (without your assistance, again) and the chair then asks about it.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: While you’ve received good advice about how to proceed in the current situation (<NAME>’s answer is the best one IMO, and I say this as a former department chair who would indeed find the “heads up” email pointless and unnecessary), to avoid similar situations in the future, don’t repeat this:
>
> After **five go arounds**, I said I had nothing further to say, so I would no longer reply
>
>
>
(emphasis added). You should have cut off the exchange after one or two go arounds. Grade grubbers perceive a willingness for an instructor to enter a prolonged debate with them as a sign of weakness and that the instructor may eventually cave to their demands if they keep arguing long enough. In the future, my suggestion is, do not even enter such a debate - state the reasoning for your grading decision if one is called for and refuse to get drawn in to any further discussion on the topic.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> Since I told him in 2 emails that the mattter was closed, and I would no longer reply, do I need to reply?
>
>
>
You should have stopped after the first time. As long as you are not good to your word, there is a point in him continuing to pester you. Keep a copy of all of your correspondence, and in future if you say you are not going to reply any more, do not reply any more.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: I'm not sure why you graded the paper at all if you found evidence of plagiarism, which I assume is what you meant by "extensive copying". At most schools, you're required to report this stuff.
Personally, what I would do is respond to the student by telling him that his emails have prompted you to take another look at his paper and that unfortunately, in this new examination, you discovered extensive plagiarism and have reported him to your honor council or academic conduct officer, as appropriate at your school.
Don't like the 69? NP. Here's a zero and a misconduct report. Have a nice day.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_9: To **add** to other answers, I would set a rule in my e-mail client to detect a message from this student. The actions would be
* auto-reply with something briefly reaffirming the instruction to stop the harassment; and stating that you didn’t read it.
* Mark the message as read
* move it to a folder with the others.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: You might reply with a one-liner like "Thanks for your mail. I have nothing to add to what we have discussed earlier", which will work as an acknowledgement receipt, which is in a way also fair and might be preferable to plain silence.
In my view an interesting underlying question is whether you should continue **reading** and considering what the student writes; I would say yes, since he may realize to be wrong and apologize or announce further initiatives.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: What may help is to write an email were you put everything in a broader perspective. The student is enrolled at university to study. Grading of work to judge if the student has mastered the topic well enough, while a necessary part of the system, is not what it is all about. The attitude of the student is self-defeating regardless of whether or not the student is able to get higher grades than he/she should get.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_12: Focusing on whether to escalate yourself: Some people have said "your department chair doesn't want to know". Others have said "As a former chair I would rather have it come to me from the faculty member than from the student".
In the UK I would definitely send a heads-up to my head of department or similar. Maybe this differs between academic cultures. But in general I would advise that if you new to this, and are not sure, then it's worth escalating - both to make sure that somebody more senior is aware, and potentially to get advice on how to handle it.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/24
| 1,327
| 5,310
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<issue_start>username_0: <NAME>'s [slides (PDF version)](http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/avigad/meetings/fomm2020/slides/fomm_buzzard.pdf) at a recent conference have really unsettled me.
In it, he mentions several examples in what one would imagine as very rigorous areas (e.g., algebraic geometry) were the top journals like *Annals* and *Inventiones* have published and never retracted papers which are now known to be wrong. He also mentions papers relying on unpublished results taken on trust that those who announced them indeed have a proof.
He writes about his own work:
>
> [...] maybe some of my work in the p-adic Langlands philosophy relies on stuff that is wrong. Or maybe, perhaps less drastically, on stuff which is actually correct, but for which humanity does not actually have a complete proof. If our research is not reproducible, is it science? If my work in pure mathematics is neither useful nor *100 percent guaranteed* to be correct, it is surely a waste of time.
>
>
>
He says that as a result, he switched to formalizing proofs completely, with e.g. Lean, which guarantees correctness, and thus reusability forever.
Just how widespread is the issue? Are most areas safe, or contaminated? For example, is there some way to track the not-retracted-but-wrong papers?<issue_comment>username_1: Journals *don't* retract scientific papers because they are *now* known to be wrong. If this were the case, they would have to retract a zillion papers from the past because, well, science evolves: new findings disprove old ones, old mistakes get corrected, and new ones are introduced.
And this happens in mathematics too.
[This answer on MathOverflow](https://mathoverflow.net/a/291895/84320) makes a reference to the paper [Errors and Corrections in Mathematics Literature](http://www.ams.org/notices/201304/rnoti-p418.pdf) which analyses the number of published corrections in mathematics literature, divided by field. The fraction of *errata* is less than 1%, but indeed this doesn't count all the undiscovered mistakes and those discovered which will never receive an errata.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I would say this is a common, but not fatal, issue. I think most mathematicians are aware of several papers in their field with serious errors/gaps without retractions/errata, and over time at least the wrong papers which are important get discovered. (e.g., see [this MO post](https://mathoverflow.net/q/35468/6518) for temporary counterexamples---there aren't too many that went unnoticed for too long). There are also some grey areas where most people aren't sure if they can trust certain papers or not, and in certain areas/topics it's more of an issue than others.
The culture in mathematics is that retractions are typically for academic dishonesty, and incorrect papers either get corrected (or at least have their flaws exposed) in other papers or with errata.
What to do:
* for an individual paper, check its review on MathSciNet, and check papers that reference that paper: if many people use it freely, it's probably okay, but if someone later found an issue they will often mention it in another paper. if the paper has a corrigendum, it will be linked in MathSciNet.
* if you start reading the paper and for this or other reasons become suspicious, talk to experts---usually if a paper is important and there is a serious issue, experts become aware of the situation relatively quickly
* check if the author has errata/comments on their webpage
* some authors are more reliable than others, and they get a reputation for it; this is something you typically learn over time from your own research and talking to experts.
* don't panic: if you happen to use a result that was wrong and don't realize it (or publish a paper yourself with a major error), that's okay. it happens from time to time and you can't check everything. you might discover the error later or someone might point it out. in any case, you are often able to then write another paper correcting the situation.
* don't contribute to the problem: put errata for your own papers on your website and if there is a major error not corrected in a later paper, publish a corrigendum
* (optional) keep track of known issues in a personal notebook along with their resolution. i do this because there are quite a number of papers in my area with errors/gaps and i have a bad memory. i contemplated making this public and letting other people contribute to this list, but i haven't so far mainly because i'm not sure i want to put in the effort to update it and make sure it is fair to all parties involved. however i have shared this list with some people individually.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: >
> Just how widespread is the issue?
>
>
>
This is not the be an exact answer to the question but a mention of some related famous anectodes and a mention of a research field dealing with the issue. [This](https://www.ias.edu/ideas/2014/voevodsky-origins) write-up by Voevodsky gives several examples of wrong proofs being belief to be true for many years. He eventually "pioneers" a research field called univalent foundations which aims to create a computer asisted proof checker (or create proofs that can be checked by computers).
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/24
| 1,649
| 7,125
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate mathematics major. During office hours I asked a question to a professor which was not a homework problem, but which was related to a homework problem (and I had made the connection clear). He answered my question fine enough, but at the end he said, "My office hours are for students to ask about [course he is teaching] only," and he said my question was not relevant to the course.
So, I asked (as politely as possible), who in the department should I ask if I have a question (as he was clearly implying not to ask him anymore)? He said, ask your teacher if the question relates to his class, but not otherwise.
Obviously I understand the importance of self-study, but am I expected to not ask anyone for advice on any questions that aren't word-for-word out of the textbook or problem set?
**What is the typical attitude of professors toward students asking somewhat tangential but not totally off-topic questions?** Is this normal behavior? I want to have realistic expectations for my professors in the future. I'm an underclassman and relatively new to the field of mathematics so maybe I just have wrong expectations right now. Hopefully some of you who are more experienced in academia can help me out here.
Edit: There was no one else in line after me to see the professor at office hours.<issue_comment>username_1: It is hard to make a firm judgement here, but it does seem to me, like I think it does to you, that the professor is dodging a bit. Maybe a lot. But there could be many reasons for it other than a dislike of you personally.
My own practice would be to accept any and all questions and, if I can't answer them, to say so but try to point the student to a source for an answer. But I was (mostly) never inundated by students during office hours, requiring me to ration my time.
But if the professor is untenured then time may be a very scarce resource and he may just need to get back to his own work, giving teaching a lower priority than it (perhaps) should have. The same is true for a top level researcher or one who has a lot of grad students with research to manage. Undergraduates often get the short straw, but this is an institutional problem.
But, I think that you have a right to ask any professor of math any math problem that occurs to you. The worst that should occur is that you are pointed to some resource. But you might also be told that you don't yet have the preparation to grasp a full answer and there isn't time, here and now, to develop it.
But there is another possible issue if it is just this professor. Some professors are on the autism spectrum and have a hard time in personal interactions. Maybe he just interacts badly with everyone and wants to retreat into a private world. Not ideal, of course, but some people like this have other qualities that compensate.
I would recommend, however, that you don't give up seeking his guidance altogether, but restrict it to courses you are taking with him. Seek other, perhaps better, guidance elsewhere.
But, yes, you should be able to ask any math question of any math professor, though you may need to find an appropriate time to do so. Some professors will let you schedule an appointment for discussions. You might also be successful joining with a couple of other students for a joint appointment on some topic of mutual interest.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: As a former mathematician and academic, the interaction you describe strikes me as unusual. Certainly not the norm, and not in general what you should expect! Most of us, I suspect, learned most of the math we know via self-study, with the benevolent guidance of mentors as we went along. And as pedagogues we generally like helping people explore their interests in math, even when only very loosely connected with the matter at hand.
That being said, it is worth noting that university professors' time is pulled many ways, and in many cases their formal incentives are not at all aligned with spending their time opening the minds of random students on random math topics. At research universities, their career success depends on research productivity, and they may have little time for teaching to begin with, and helping students learn outside of the curriculum may not be high on their priorities. At more teaching-focused colleges, one hopes the desire to help would be strong(er), but teaching and administrative loads may be higher and they may feel their time is limited. In either case, if others are waiting for office hours they may feel those whose questions are directly related to the curriculum take precedence; and if their office hours are poorly attended (perhaps for a reason....), they may start feeling entitled to be using that time for lecture prep or something else unless someone comes with a directly relevant question. In my opinion, they shouldn't, but they may.
The basic advice of "find someone else who is less of a grumpster" applies. Beyond that, whether with this individual or someone else you approach, there are certainly things you can try to increase the positive response you'll get for "extracurricural" questions:
1. Make an appointment / "ask whether you can ask" and indicate roughly what you want to talk about, and recognize you know it's past the curriculum itself. Be willing to come another day.
2. Demonstrate enthusiasm and curiosity, avoid projecting entitlement. Professors want to stimulate the former, but we're pretty jaded about people who come across as if they feel they have a right to answers to whatever level of detail they feel like, or get irritated that the question they asked has a more complicated answer than they were clearly hoping for.
3. Do some reading/research beforehand, and indicate you have done so. There is a shift from highschool, where you are taught, to university (undergraduate and graduate), where you are being helped to learn. Show you are making that shift!
All of the above may well be things you are/were doing, and you just have a grumpy professor. Sorry about that. But I'm summarizing them anyway, since any academic or ex-academic will have stories of students whose keenness was infectious, as well as those whose non-stop, entitled questions were a pain in the neck!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: It’s not normal, and your question was appropriate. Your professor was being a bit of a jerk and is not at all representative of mathematics professors. If it were my office hour and I was not busy answering other students’ questions about class material, I’d welcome questions on any subject whether related to the class or not. Other professors might prefer not to get into prolonged discussions about other topics; that’s reasonable if they say that politely, but even so that doesn’t mean you did anything wrong by asking the question.
By the way, no offense, but your question is too long. Try to cut down the length and focus on what’s important - perhaps you will find then that people become more receptive to your questions and don’t respond irritably.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/25
| 1,014
| 3,797
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<issue_start>username_0: I have already read [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/143363) and its answers. However, I believe my question is slightly different.
I was born in Iran but I am from a religious minority called Bahai faith and the followers of the Bahai faith are persecuted in Iran. I was excluded several times from high school for my religious beliefs and I could not study at a university for the same reason. I came to Australia as a refugee (I am an Australian citizen now) and did my undergraduate studies in Australia.
Given the current political state of Iran and USA, will I face difficulties for admission to universities in USA and visa because I was born in Iran?
I find it really unfair. In Iran, I was treated like a dirt since I was not a muslim and now I should be treated the same by USA authorities simply because I was born in Iran.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> I was born in Iran but I am from a religious minority called Bahai faith and the followers of the Bahai faith are persecuted in Iran. I was excluded several times from high school for my religious beliefs and I could not study at a university for the same reason.
>
>
>
Let me assure that a very high percentage of Americans will NOT know what Bahai faith is. Way too many people don't know the difference between Iran or Iraq, an arab or a farsi, the Shias or the Sunnis, a Kurd or a Turk. Let alone the decades of political issues around these races and sects.
>
> I was excluded several times from high school for my religious beliefs and I could not study at a university for the same reason. I came to Australia as a refugee (I am an Australian citizen now) and did my undergraduate studies in Australia.
>
>
>
This is something you can work with. You can say in your statement of purpose that you are from a discriminated minority from Iran and that you have a refugee in Australia. Racism is racism and there is no real way around it. Your status in Australia and the fact that you have/will have a diploma from an Australian University will likely help you through lesser cases of bias.
>
> I find it really unfair. In Iran, I was treated like a dirt since I was not a muslim and now I should be treated the same by USA authorities simply because I was born in Iran.
>
>
>
That is pretty much how it goes. I would advise you to not get too hung up on it. I don't think any part of the admission process in US is "fair". I think it is only reasonable to "value peoples achievements" based on the conditions they are surrounded. You would probably end up in a better program if you were a white, rich American with the legacy status from a fancy univesity. Don't let your admission results dicdate your sense of self-worth.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I think that as far as paperwork goes, your Australian citizenship will ensure you have very little trouble.
Regarding racism, I think the point that Boaty made above was that your explanation about your being Iranian but Bahai will really not change people's attitude or conduct towards you. Reason does not work with racists or bigots.
On the positive side, you will find *many* people (especially in academic contexts) who will be welcoming and non-judgmental.
The extent and frequency of the racism that you experience will partly be a function of how identifiable you are as a minority. If you have a skin color that lets you "pass", do not have a beard and so on, you will attract less of it.
Similarly, geography is an important variable too: If you are in a small town in the middle of Idaho, you are obviously more likely to be treated with suspicion and hostility than in Berkeley, CA.
Overall, my advice would be to not worry about it and have a great time.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/25
| 1,843
| 8,104
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a student and another student asked me to study together for an exam and I agreed. But when we started studying he didn't know much about the subject, and I had to explain to him how to solve the problems and waste a lot of time in doing so.
Should I keep studying with him?<issue_comment>username_1: Ask yourself what you are getting out of it. If nothing, then give it up and just advise the student to study harder.
But it is just possible that you are benefitting from the experience. Having to explain things to others firms up your own understanding in many fields. Many professors have had the experience that teaching a relatively low level course for the first time gave them a deeper understanding. Even something like, say, calculus.
One of the most important aspects to learning is *reinforcement and feedback*. Depending on the other student's questions and issues, you may be getting both from the interaction.
Think about it and also think about your best use of the time. Active learning (as in such a scenario) may be more effective than passive (reading notes, say).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: This is not a clear case of a hard YES or NO answer.
Let's start with the question: Why should you continue?
You could continue studying with him and approach the study periods as though they are lessons to you about how to work with peers who do not have the same levels of interest, skills, comprehension, or aptitude as you have. This may be your first time in such a situation. It will not be your last time in such a situation. In the future, you may not have an option to leave such situations.
This approach will test your patience (as you have already noted). More importantly, this approach will test not only whether you have learned the material but also whether you can teach/communicate the meaning of that material to someone else with the expectation that you will not learn anything new about the material in return.
To be clear, I stand by the mantra that, what you *think* you know about something is only truly tested when you have to communicate it completely to someone who does not know it. You should make your own judgement about how this mantra comes to play in your case.
To what extent then are you prepared to continue in the study group when continuing may give you absolutely no new insights about the material that you are studying but when continuing could give you new insights about how to communicate what you already *think* that you know about the material yet continuing will definitely test your patience?
Now ask: Why should you not continue?
You should not continue when you have exhausted the above analysis to the point that you have determined that your return on investment is too low compared to the effort, time, and patience that you must invest during the study period.
This is only a shameful decision to make when it is done flippantly or conversely, when you blame the other student for *YOUR* choice.
So, when you decide you will stay, do so with an appreciation that the investments that you must make go beyond just learning the material, they include learning how to teach it. Also, the returns that you will get will perhaps not include learning more or new information about the material at hand versus learning how to communicate and teach what you already think that you know.
Alternatively, when you decide you will leave, do so with an appreciation that you owe the other student a respectful closing statement. An example might be: I have to stop working with you in the study group because I am not well-enough prepared to spend the time needed to teach you in the way that you seem to need.
In either case, I strongly recommend that you visit your course instructor for two reasons. First, for any course material, the highest level of understanding that students have generally never fully exceeds the level of understanding that a course instructor has. Secondly, you will do well to ask your instructor for advice about this situation. He/She may be able to point you to better resources (on-line Web tutorials, university study mentors) that you can suggest to your classmate to help him as supplements when you continue in the study group or, more importantly, as replacements when you leave the study group.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Your choice.
Of course, you knew that. You might also suspect things could turn to your benefit, but believe such a payoff is unlikely. If you're looking for an excuse to help, to see if such a possibility exists, then let me provide you with a scenario. True story, involving me, where I fit the description of the other person in your story.
I went to a class. This was after I had been away from college for years, and this was the last quarter I could graduate under the old catalog, and was the last time this class was offered. I attended class and paid attention during the class. Yet I made an error that could well have been fatal to my efforts: I didn't take notes. I was naturally gifted with a talent of picking up an understanding of material quickly, doing well on tests, and memorizing some details rather well.
However, this humanities class ended up having a take-home exam which was a tremendous portion of the grade, and it asked for tons of nitpicky historical facts like dates and cities and other minor details. There was no way I would have passed this on my own.
Yet I had a savior... partners were allowed in this monstrosity of an exam, and here was an elder gentleman who was a fellow student and who was impressed with how attentive I seemed in class. He decided to partner with me.
I worked with him at the school and in his house, and it took us 3 or 4 days to fill out all the numerous questions that were asked. It became very evident that the only way either of us could pass was based on the notes he took. He quite literally saved me. But this was not unethical cheating - the rules totally permitted such "partnership". Surely, it was lopsided. I really only managed to contribute to one question the whole time. (There happened to be one question, out of the whole bunch, where my sharp memory did recall an obscure detail.)
So, he improved my score dramatically. What did I contribute back to him? Just one detail, which he somehow missed in his notes. The end result is that I graduated college. For him, the end result was his score was improved, by one correct question (out of probably hundreds).
I can also remember being in the shoes of being the knowledgeable one, when I was assigned a partner whose knowledge and skill were clearly inferior throughout the whole class. We were supposed to make a computer image, yet I decided we could go above and beyond by making an animation. It was wonderful, except for one part which was broken. I wasn't finding the cause as a deadline was closing in on us, yet my partner stunned me by successfully noticing a problem. He saved both of us.
So, getting back to you... would it be worthwhile to help, even if the overall result ends up being only a very slight benefit to your grade? (Not to say that those results are guaranteed... he might surprise you, and help a lot, or just not help at all.) Whether you deem such a slight bump to be worth your effort is a judgement call that would reflect how much you value your grade.
Also, there's the concept of you helping someone else. Maybe you doing such a good deed would just be a positive thing, simply for humanitarian reasons. Is that something you would like to invest in? Maybe the only benefit to you will be when someone else learned how nice you were. Maybe nobody will ever learn of that, but you yourself will know that you helped someone. Is this worthwhile?
If you were looking to see if excuses may exist on why to keep helping someone, I've just provided you with some. Ultimately, though, I agree with Anonymous Physicist's comment. There isn't a single answer which logic dictates to certainly be right. In the end, it's your judgement call.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/25
| 1,346
| 5,552
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a 3rd year PhD student (started in fall 2017) in Canada in Materials Engineering. I have completed my qualifying exam and proposal last year. I am soon to publish my first publication in a decent journal. However, I am not feeling enthusiastic about my research and future prospects. I joined my PhD to pursue research on a particular topic, which has good prospects in industry and academia. But, after a year, I had to pivot to a different topic loosely related to my original interest area due to the lack of technical support from advisor and collaborators. I have struggled to find motivation since then.
My advisor is very supportive and encouraging. But, his expertise is not in my field of research. That was the main reason for my pivoting from the original research topic. During meetings, he just provides direction and superficial comments about my research. That makes me feel extremely isolated in my research, and all my work is almost independent.
My groupmates are all working on different research areas, and thus are not able to provide any technical support either. I have 2 more years to go (my advisor does not allow students to graduate before 5 years). I am confident that I can publish 2-3 papers more during the period.
I eventually want to be in academia. But, I don't know if my profile will be any good post PhD.
I don't know if I should just continue doing what I am doing now and graduate by 2022. Or I quit this PhD without anything to show. I already have a master's degree from India. What should I do?<issue_comment>username_1: You seem to be pretty close to the end. The topic of your dissertation doesn't require that you never study other things. You future is for you to decide.
Many people change fields quite drastically after finishing a doctorate. I switched from math to CS because of the job market. I knew nothing of CS, nor even programming until I'd finished the doctorate.
My suggestion is to push through it, but keep your eyes (and options) open for the future. Make a lot of contacts and some collaborators while you have the chance. After a while you will be responsible for your own future. You may well be able to return to your original ideas.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I'd suggest staying on and getting your degree. The reason is that a materials science PhD can be valuable even minus the thesis because of the training you get *en route*.
In a typical US / CAN materials program, for example, you would likely have trained to use at least some experimental tools (SEM, TEM, EBSD, XRD, OIM and so on).
These can be *very* useful for postdoc positions and are sought after outside academia as well, e.g. in industry / national labs. I've never heard of an unemployed transmission electron microscopist.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: A deliberately blunt answer from someone who started in academia, pivoted, then worked in industry, and has now pivoted fields again and works in a mixture of academia and industry.
**Suck it up and get your Ph.D.** It sounds like you're doing just fine, progressing along. It's not exciting you, but what my trail (listed above) has taught me is that one spends a lot of time doing not-so-exciting stuff even in the context of a long-term exciting career path. It's not clear to me -- at least on the basis of what you say -- that the grass is greener on the other side; and you don't have a specific other side in mind anyway.
It sounds like you're making good progress, merely feeling others are getting more direct guidance. Again, to be a bit overly blunt: the **Ph.D. is about learning how to be an independent researcher**. You're just having to do it a bit more and a bit earlier than most. In fact, in most fields only a few decades ago, academics-in-training were arguably expected to be far more independent and self-sufficient, with their advisors advising rather than directing or employing. In many fields, the rise of the directive, in some cases micro-managing, lab director/advisor role, with graduate students and postdocs working on that director's/advisor's agenda with rather limited independence, has arisen primarily out of funding challenges, plus the degree of specialization needed to reach the edge of existing knowledge. So working on something where you drive the direction, and your advisor advises where they can, could be rather refreshing.
This doesn't mean coast along and let the situation manage you. You're clearly not happy, so that's a good motivator to start thinking about what a research direction change, whether before or after your Ph.D., might look like. Or what post-Ph.D. career options might be inside and outside academia. Start building a broader set of relationships to open such doors.
But there doesn't seem -- based on what you say -- reason to jump tracks immediately; to contemplate leaving without a "Plan B". If and/or **once you have a Plan B**, and it starts looking attractive compared to the Status Quo, then you can consider the tradeoffs. Right now it just feels you're in the doldrums.
If it later turns out a concrete non-academic Plan B is right for you, great. But I've found even outside academia, the **credentialling effect** of having a Ph.D. is fairly strong throughout the duration of one's career in many professional or professional-related fields, so it ought to be a pretty compelling concrete Plan B to encourage you to jump ship part way through if things are actually going quite well.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/01/25
| 1,217
| 4,984
|
<issue_start>username_0: Life doesn't allow for a redo. I have been a decent student in my undergrad and got placed in a reputed company right after graduation. However, research and academia always inspired me. I got into a prestigious school in India for my master's and decided to work on a particular field as part of my thesis. I did not go for hot topics because they didn't interest me.
Subsequently, I went ahead and joined for PhD in the US, on a similar field as my masters. However, after 2nd year, I realized the importance of working on hot topics and how conventional topics struggled to secure funding and permanent positions after graduation.
But, the ship has sailed and I have completed my PhD and soon to start a postdoc. But, I have come to a realization that I have made a career suicide by pursuing post-graduate studies. There's nothing permanent and decent-paying out there for me.
I shouldn't have pursued post-graduate studies. And I feel lost. I don't know what to do next.<issue_comment>username_1: You seem to be pretty close to the end. The topic of your dissertation doesn't require that you never study other things. You future is for you to decide.
Many people change fields quite drastically after finishing a doctorate. I switched from math to CS because of the job market. I knew nothing of CS, nor even programming until I'd finished the doctorate.
My suggestion is to push through it, but keep your eyes (and options) open for the future. Make a lot of contacts and some collaborators while you have the chance. After a while you will be responsible for your own future. You may well be able to return to your original ideas.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I'd suggest staying on and getting your degree. The reason is that a materials science PhD can be valuable even minus the thesis because of the training you get *en route*.
In a typical US / CAN materials program, for example, you would likely have trained to use at least some experimental tools (SEM, TEM, EBSD, XRD, OIM and so on).
These can be *very* useful for postdoc positions and are sought after outside academia as well, e.g. in industry / national labs. I've never heard of an unemployed transmission electron microscopist.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: A deliberately blunt answer from someone who started in academia, pivoted, then worked in industry, and has now pivoted fields again and works in a mixture of academia and industry.
**Suck it up and get your Ph.D.** It sounds like you're doing just fine, progressing along. It's not exciting you, but what my trail (listed above) has taught me is that one spends a lot of time doing not-so-exciting stuff even in the context of a long-term exciting career path. It's not clear to me -- at least on the basis of what you say -- that the grass is greener on the other side; and you don't have a specific other side in mind anyway.
It sounds like you're making good progress, merely feeling others are getting more direct guidance. Again, to be a bit overly blunt: the **Ph.D. is about learning how to be an independent researcher**. You're just having to do it a bit more and a bit earlier than most. In fact, in most fields only a few decades ago, academics-in-training were arguably expected to be far more independent and self-sufficient, with their advisors advising rather than directing or employing. In many fields, the rise of the directive, in some cases micro-managing, lab director/advisor role, with graduate students and postdocs working on that director's/advisor's agenda with rather limited independence, has arisen primarily out of funding challenges, plus the degree of specialization needed to reach the edge of existing knowledge. So working on something where you drive the direction, and your advisor advises where they can, could be rather refreshing.
This doesn't mean coast along and let the situation manage you. You're clearly not happy, so that's a good motivator to start thinking about what a research direction change, whether before or after your Ph.D., might look like. Or what post-Ph.D. career options might be inside and outside academia. Start building a broader set of relationships to open such doors.
But there doesn't seem -- based on what you say -- reason to jump tracks immediately; to contemplate leaving without a "Plan B". If and/or **once you have a Plan B**, and it starts looking attractive compared to the Status Quo, then you can consider the tradeoffs. Right now it just feels you're in the doldrums.
If it later turns out a concrete non-academic Plan B is right for you, great. But I've found even outside academia, the **credentialling effect** of having a Ph.D. is fairly strong throughout the duration of one's career in many professional or professional-related fields, so it ought to be a pretty compelling concrete Plan B to encourage you to jump ship part way through if things are actually going quite well.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/01/25
| 1,351
| 5,788
|
<issue_start>username_0: Recently, after the acceptance of a paper, the journal said some sentences were exactly copied in my manuscript. I was shocked as I was the first author. Later, we found that during the preparation of the revised manuscript, one of the co-authors exactly copied two sentences from a reference. This brought fear in my mind if I had ever been a co-author in an unintentionally plagiarized paper. I got access to the Turnitin from a friend at a different institute and checked all my previous papers.
I realized that 8-10 years ago, a visiting student in my lab had significant portions of the published papers plagiarized. The data and analysis were correctly done in my supervision, but significant parts of introduction, methods and some places discussion were plagiarized. I had read and edited the drafts of the papers, but I didn't realize that he had copied text from other papers. Generally, most sources are cited. The student already earned a PhD based on the work.
At that time, no-one in our country had access to the plagiarism detection software from institutions.
What should I do now?<issue_comment>username_1: You should contact the official at the visiting student's PhD institution who is responsible for academic integrity. They should investigate the student's thesis for plagiarism, potentially leading to the revocation of the PhD degree.
For the visiting student's publication, you should contact the journal and let them decide what to do. I would guess they would decide to issue a correction.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Move on. In the abstract, of course, we should care about these things but, in reality, a paper that has been out there for 8-10 years has passed the statute of limitations. It is exceedingly unlikely that anyone will go back and check papers that old -- indeed, even if someone finds textual overlap with other sources, it will require quite a lot of work and human intervention to determine who copied from whom.
The point for you to take away is this: You learned a lesson to be more careful in the future. That's a good thing from your perspective, and it will make sure that you won't get into a potentially embarrassing situation again in the future. In the meantime, relax.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: The fact that you ask the question at all after all this time is impressive and speaks for itself. I would go with the advice given by @username_2 although, of course, strictly speaking it would be the right way to report the issue and accept the consequences.
Let's say you would have commited some sort of offence in the 'real world', like shoplifting something small 10 years back without having been caught. Let's further assume you know it has been filmed by a camera, so there definitely is evidence and you were only not caught because for some reason nobody looked at the video. Would you report it? You maybe should, but many people would say it would not be wise given that the consequences of what you have done are small. Additionally, as far as I know, such as 'minor' issue falls under the Statute of Limitations after five years in Germany (where I live). So you could talk about what you have done without fearing any (legal) consequences. I am not sure if such a concept exists at all in academia, but this concept makes sense so me. Nobody was hurt, and the damage is also rather small. Staying in this picture, something more severe like murder would be a totally different story.
So the answer to your question is given by answering another question: Where would you put your case? Do you think it is so severe that after such a long time it is still necessary to report it yourself, without anybody else even taking notice? Does it press so hard on your conscience? If so, go ahead and report it. However, my advice is different. We are all humans, and we all make mistakes.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Check if your institution have guidelines on plagiarism and follow them. If not, maybe discuss with some of your colleagues how you've been duped and recomend them to check their coauthored work. After all, your primary concern is about not falling victim of a plagiarism accusation in the future, so the best insurance for that should be some moral grandstanding.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I strongly recommend to contact the editor of the journal involved and explain the situation. Yes, this may lead to a retraction or expression of concern, but that is still better than to sit on this information, and ( more likely than not ) someone else finding out. For guidance you can check the retraction policy of the publisher. Certainly the larger publishers ( Wiley, Springer, Elsevier, etc ) have this information online. Full disclosure - I work for a publisher.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: No, there's no "statute of limitation" on plagiarism. It's a lot like murder in that way. I've had people complain to me that they had their work plagiarized by papers that were published 10 years earlier - it happens and the likelihood increases with time as the papers are there *forever*.
You report it to the journal where your work was published; that's it, no other options. If in doubt, check out this web site: <https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines>
The editor will evaluate the level of plagiarism and if it exists, will determine the appropriate course of action. It can range from publishing an erratum to a full-on retraction of the paper.
In the future, before submitting a paper, always run it through plagiarism detection software or at least do a literature search on your abstract to see what else is out there. You'd be surprised how much plagiarism gets caught by very simple means.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/01/26
| 564
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate mathematics student in the United States. I'm applying to many REUs in a certain topic. My only coursework in this topic is a graduate-level course I took last year. However, for some reason, none of the students in the class have received a grade. The professor who taught it has a history of turning in grades long past the deadline, and it's very difficult to get her to submit even after consistent reminders (this is the first time it's run this close to the deadlines).
Suffice it to say that the missing grade is not due to a poor performance or incomplete coursework (as far as I know), but just because the professor hasn't graded the final exam yet. Chances are the grade will not be posted before REU applications are due.
So, **what is the best way to explain the blank spot on the transcript in my REU applications without sounding accusatory or sketchy?** I feel like blank grades have a hint of "plagiarism/cheating investigation pending" or "incomplete coursework" that could tank my application if I do not explain it correctly and in a place that is easily noticed by application readers.<issue_comment>username_1: If the suggestion of <NAME> doesn't work for you, then include a note somewhere saying that the professor is late in assigning grades to the class as a whole and that questions about that should be directed to the chair or the dean. Give an email address for that person as well as the name.
You don't need to accuse the professor of anything and there are several valid reasons for grades being late, whether they apply here or not. But the administration can verify your claims and should be willing to do so.
Just state the facts and point to an authority who can verify them.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Transcripts do not indicate pending investigations (and in some places that might be illegal). You do not need to worry about that.
Incomplete grades are indicated on a transcript as incomplete. They are not indicated by blank spaces.
The only possible explanation for a blank grade is that the instructor did not assign a grade. There is no benefit to pointing out this fact - basically you are pointing out that your instructor is irresponsible, which implies you were not taught responsibly. The best course of action is to not mention the blank grade. This at least leaves open the interpretation that the instructor was prevented from submitting a grade for reasons beyond their control.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/26
| 1,217
| 5,262
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<issue_start>username_0: My Uni is in Minnesota and classes started a couple weeks ago. I'm taking a class for my undergraduate degree. I knew it was going to be writing intensive from the syllabus. Every week we're going to have at minimum one short writing assignment due. In the syllabus he said we would be graded on:
* Structure/Organization
* Word selection and sentence structure
* Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization
* Content
My first two writing assignments were bad, 60% on them. His feedback was:
* I didn't cite my sources
* "Your grade is based on how you compare with your peers"
First of all, I didn't use any sources because they were basic questions that only required critical thinking and my opinions.
Second, is grading my work compared to my peers something that is actually done? It seems bizarre to me, I've never heard of something like this being done before. I have absolutely no control over the other people in my class. It's frustrating that in a class with 20 writing assignments, I'm getting docked points for something outside of my control.
If this wasn't such a writing intensive course I wouldn't be as upset. Is this normal to deduct points because someone subjectively wrote better than me?<issue_comment>username_1: So if the marking scheme and the assignment instructions required sources, even simple mundane ones, then you should have included them. This is usually an exercise to get people into the practice of using and recording correctly the sources used.
The "grading against peers" is how your submission "stacked up" or compared to the other submissions. The professor was looking for certain items, which were compared to your peers. This means your peers either completed more, or possibly they completed them to a higher standard.
This means that you have to improve **your** performance and you should make sure you read the assignment in detail to make sure that you have a clear understanding of the items or parts that have to be submitted. One method I used was to make a list.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Sounds like you're in a course which is [grading on a curve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grading_on_a_curve). The idea here is that everyone's score is going to fit a Bell curve with a predetermined mean. This means there won't be any "Christmas-comes-early" results where everyone scores A's, but also no "what-the-hell-everyone-is-failing" panic attacks either. Grade inflation is unlikely in a class that's grading on a curve, because there'll only be so many students who get A's.
If you're in a class which is grading on a curve, then yes: it's normal to "deduct points" because someone wrote better than you. "Deduct points" in inverted commas because you don't actually lose points, you just get a lower grade.
If you want to score well in such a class, you'll need to outperform your classmates.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I think you need to ask for clarification. Does this literally mean you are being compared to the peers in your small class? Or does this mean a general comparison to what the writing of a freshman university student should normally be? I think the latter would be very common in any writing courses.
If you want to perform better, I would make an appointment and ask the professor to walk you through an A assignment and describe what it does that you need to incorporate in your future work.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: There is a lot wrong with competitive grading, including grading "on the curve". It is used frequently, however.
First, every student needs and deserves to be evaluated based on what *they* accomplish, not on what others are able to do.
Second, a curve makes some assumption about a "class" representing a population. But that is a foolish assumption. Even a class of hundreds is a poor representative of all students. Not only is every student different, every class is going to be different. If classes are fairly small they could vary drastically from term to term. I taught for a long time. Sometimes I'd have a class where nearly everyone was beyond excellent with only a few exceptions. Other times I've had a class where everyone struggled.
If you have a group that is measured on some set of criteria, someone has to be last unless everyone scores the same. This is true even if you have a class of, say Nobel Laureates or the equivalent.
In your case, the first criticism is valid, but the second should not have been an issue. Probably there were other deficiencies. Perhaps the professor was just being lazy and didn't want to bother giving you the feedback that will help you improve.
Yes, you want to improve, but if the criteria is changing or impossible to know, then it is impossible to know when you have done enough.
It should be a principle that everyone can earn top marks and also that everyone can fail. But the instructor is responsible for giving everyone feedback that enables improvement, even if they are already at the top of the scale.
---
There is another issue in your specific case. You list the grading criteria from the syllabus and the comments of the professor seems to deviate from that unless competitive grading was mentioned elsewhere.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/26
| 1,495
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<issue_start>username_0: Research student in Japan here.
Recently, my professor (Japanese but studied in the U.S. for long) introduced me to his friend who was a guest lecturer. I got the guest’s contact information and communicated with him through e-mail. When I reported that at the next weekly meeting, my professor gently advised me that it is generally considered “rude” if I didn't CC my professor when I contacted someone he introduced me to.
But that confused me, because back in another university in the U.S, when I CC’d my professor to contact another researcher, my American professor told me nicely,
“Let me give you a general advice. Professors don’t want the inbox clogged up. You generally always want to save your professor’s time. Simply report to me in our weekly meeting when there is a meaningful progress”
In both scenarios, I met the guest lecturer in person, and I was given their contact info directly from them, not through my professors.
While I will follow my current professor’s direction (to be safe), I was genuinely confused by what is the norm or standard in these situations.
Can anyone tell me what is the norm?
I assume it is safe to CC professors from now on?<issue_comment>username_1: Most faculty are curious and would like to know what their students are doing, therefore you should CC them. If you CC them, they don't have to ask you if you sent the email. If you CC them, they have the opportunity to clarify what you have written.
Some faculty consider deleting an email to be an unpleasant chore. If your supervisor is one of those people, do not CC them.
Otherwise it is a matter of individual preference. Few people consider it rude to CC or rude to not CC.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As a professor, I suspect it's fair to say that there is no "norm" about this (in my culture at least). Both your professors' remarks are reasonable ways to think about being cc:ed on an email.
When in doubt, I recommend doing the cc:ing, after comparing the potential downsides: needing to delete one email (several seconds of thought), vs. being unsure about how one's student is doing (a more lasting mental state).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I think there is no norm. I can understand both positions, as
a) I don't like to be included as recipient of many emails, as I don't like to follow every detail but want to get an overview. So I'd like to be informed in weekly meetings.
b) When I forward the contact of a friend or an old contact, which I value, I don't want that a student messes up with inadequate questions or at worst rude requests.
People tend more towards a) or b), also depending on the topic. You need to find out what to do depending on the topic and the professors you interact with.
As you know now that it is a deliberate topic, ask next time whether the professors wants to be included. From that you can derive if you need to include your professor for less controversial topics.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I think you must act on the situation. If you meet your professor from university CC with him, but if it's another professor don't do this!
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: How about ask? After the introduction you could just ask your professor if he would like you to CC him, in case of reaching out to the contact.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I think it depends on the situation. You may ask first if it is okay to send an email, so it is not necessary to include in CC your professor.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_7: As @username_1 wrote, most faculty personnel are curious and would like to know about what the student is doing. But in addition to this, I think there is an extra element. I'm extending my answer to a broader question "when do I have to cc?" rather than answering to this case only.
The list of many activities can be categoriesed in several ways, but for the scope of this answer I will use a subjective metric: **important** and **not so important**. On **important** matters such as purchases or potential collaboration with a visiting professor, always cc your supervisor because many issues may arise that you were not aware of. For instance, if a purchase is made there may be errors in the purchase such as incorrect amount, quantity or other errors.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_8: I'll mention another option that no one else has yet: the BCC (blind carbon copy) option. Putting someone as a CC recipient on an email is a good way to indicate that they're being included more for informational purposes, rather than expected to actively participate in the conversation. Putting someone as a BCC removes them one step further from the conversation - the other recipients can't see them, and they will not receive further emails from people hitting Reply All to the email chain.
If you are copying your professor mainly to inform them that you're making contact, and don't want to weigh them down with a potentially lengthy exchange of introductory emails, BCC is a good option - it will keep everyone in the loop about the lines of communication that have been opened, but will prevent cluttering the inbox of the BCC recipients. In general, I don't think there's a single right answer for how closely an advisor might like to be involved in your day-to-day communications, so it's probably best to learn individual preferences of whether the person would prefer to be a recipient, a CC, a BCC, or not included at all.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: My advice is to send two emails. One to the contact establishing the connection. The other letting the contact provider know that you appreciated the assistance and that you have followed up. This avoids the question of CC’ing and communicates to all parties. Additionally, since each email is addressed to the specific recipient they will not feel they are just observing a conversation (such as the US professor situation).
My personal preference would be to be CC’d. Though the biggest issue in this scenario is being removed from the ongoing conversation that may arise in the email chain.
In the US, my experience is that this is quite a significant issue for business organization and communication. The true issue at hand is email mailbox organization and a lack of tools in email UI.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/26
| 687
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<issue_start>username_0: My university has signed a cooperation agreement with a different university overseas, and we are encouraged to find potential collaborators in that university. I looked at the university's website, but could not find an easily searchable index of the faculty members by their research topics (I can go to the homepage of each and every faculty member and check, but they are very many).
Is there a way to do such a search in a tool such as Google Scholar? In particular, can I search in Google Scholar for papers with certain keywords, with the constraint that one of the authors should have a specific affiliation? Such a search could lead me to a very focused list of potential collaborators.<issue_comment>username_1: Web of Science can do this to some extent.
1. Go to Web of Science and search the keyword in "topic".
2. After getting results, refine by funding agencies and look for the institution you want.
I'm not sure how comprehensive this is, though.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There are likely not all that many departments at the other university where possible collaborators could be located. Assuming they are in a part of the world where departments and people have websites, go to the website of the possible departments, and then the websites of faculty in that department. This way, you are not limited by the vagaries of having to find the right keywords to search, but instead get an overview of what people in that department do -- and maybe find someone who is not doing *exactly* what you are doing but instead could use the knowledge you have because they don't already have it themselves.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: It sounds quite strange to sign collaboration agreements without any feeling of what is going on on the other site. Get the text of the agreements. Presumably some discussions on potential collaboration areas were part of the negotiations, contacting the people signing the agreement (and/or the people involved in negotiations) would be the first step. First locally, then (probably through them) their counterparts.
Contact the chairmen of the possible departments over there, they should be the most interested in getting the collaboration go forward. They should be able (and interested) in putting you in contact with potential counterparts.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I think "being on the ground" makes it really easy to find the right collaborator! Find whoever runs a seminar series in the appropriate department (i.e. you're in math, look for an appropriate math seminar) that you'll want to visit and would be interested in giving a seminar talk. Most people will enjoy the ease in planning something that plans itself. Make sure the talk gets advertised to the right other departments, and try to talk to people when you're there. There's a very good chance that whoever is interested in your work will make it to your talk. Otherwise, someone in the audience will tell you who you need to talk to, and you can probably meet them that day and well, it all starts there.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/26
| 1,324
| 5,728
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<issue_start>username_0: I started my postdoc 5 mounts ago and I am totally unsatisfied about it. To be honest, since the first weeks I understood that I was going to be unhappy here and I had immediately the temptation to leave. When I came here nothing was as expected.
I hate the working environment. My boss creates a very toxic environment. Even if it is a woman, she is sexist and deliberately ignore the needs of her female postdocs treating them like secretaries. She periodically select one male postdoc to rely on that gets credits (and name on publications) for everything doing existentially nothing, beside chatting with her. She does not listen to the girls, she does not meet them (in five months I got just 1 face to face meeting), she does not reply to their emails, she behaves in a very unprofessional way, she does not lead the group professionally.
I am enrolled in a specific project and I have to tolerate that her favorite guy has to do the intermediate between me and her (I asked to be "included" in issues related to my project but she keeps talking just with him) and getting name on my publication for doing nothing even if he is not formally in that project.
She already put his name in 3 publications of my colleagues where he **did absolutely nothing**.
From my colleague experiences, I have got that she behaved liked that for her entire career and I don't think that it is going to change. Many postdocs left because of this situation. The favorite guy is younger, less experienced than me and other postdocs and he is very dangerous since he enjoys to get the credit from someone else work and making the other colleagues looking lame. Recently, one colleague that he dislikes did not get the contract renewed and we all think it is because of his influence.
I also hate the life out of work. People are very racist, sexist, not speaking in English and it is very difficult to be integrated. Bureaucracy is slow and sanitary system is terrible (you can literally die before they take care of you). I don't like even the city that it quite but incredibility boring.
My boss is well known, and even if she is horrible inside, she is excellent in external relationships and from outside she looks great. This implies that **I am really afraid of leaving in bad terms and have bad references**. I like doing research. I left my boyfriend, my family, my life and I refused permanent positions to come here and pursue the academic career. Now **I feel in trap**.
I discussed with my phd supervisor and he suggested me to stay here at least one year to have something done and leave with solid reasons. I honestly fear for my mental health. Plus because of the dysfunctions of the system here (slow bureaucracy, limited access to the facilities, etc...), I am learning new things very slowly compared to what I could do somewhere else. In the end, I don'think that I will gain so much valuable experience here, beside the fact that I should stay in a toxic environment.
How can I leave soon and in good terms? Should I start to apply somewhere else or wait as suggested by my previous supervisor? Should I tell to my current boss that I want to leave or wait until I have an offer? Should I gave fake reasons (e.g. personal reasons for moving)? How can I manage the situation without destroying my future career chances?
---
Thank you both for your suggestion. I actually considered a professional help and contacted a psychologist a few time ago but I cannot effort the prices.
I have been living from almost 5 years far from my family and lived also abroad elsewhere for short time (6 mounts) but I have never felt like that. I passed trough all difficulties earlier because I was very happy about my professional life and very proud of my achievements. I had to face a lot of problems and difficulties but I was willing to do that because I was seeing a reward for it. Here, being invisible at the eye of my boss and seeing my work not appreciated is leading me crazy.
Plus, it has been relatively easier in other places building social relationships and having a life after work. Here, I have an unpleasant life both at work and after work.
I believe I am not exasperating the situation at work because many postdoc left because of the boss behavior (actually I know three of them that got clinical depression during their postdoc). Maybe I am complaining too much about the life after work and I can work on that but difficulties withing the working environment are concrete. The point is that I don't want that this experience burns my future chances, so I want to find the best way to leave as soon as possible in good terms.<issue_comment>username_1: I am no professional, but after reading your post, I think that you should get professional help as soon as possible.
You basically complain about every single aspect of your life. The issue is not only with your head. You also dislike the environment you are in: the city, your colleagues, bureaucracy, and even the health care system.
In my experience, this is a dangerous situation and can lead to severe depression. And thus, the need for professional help.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Clearly there are two sides to your problem:
* The toxic professional environment
* The fact that you resent every aspect of your life where you are currently, from being away from your loved ones to not speaking the local language.
Everything tells you that this is not what you want, it's just a bad fit. You've been there for only a few months so no regrets, just move on. You can indeed say that you leave for personal reasons in order to make things smoother, that's half of the real reason anyway.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/27
| 282
| 1,236
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an international student who's currently in a bureaucratic mess regarding my work permit application. I will get my permit possibly in February end. I completed my PhD thesis submission in December. Now, my PhD supervisor offered me a postdoc position soon after my defense, but I cannot officially sign a contract till I get my work permit. So, I don't have any official offer letter with me at the moment.
Should I be worried that I currently have no letter indicating the appointment and how can I handle the situation better?<issue_comment>username_1: No, you should not be worried. It is perfectly normal for official offer letters to be delayed. Ask your supervisor if they submitted the necessary paperwork. Ask HR what needs to be done.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: My guess is that this will be a 3-step process:
1. you get an offer letter that is conditional on you having a work permit
2. you use this offer letter to get the work permit
3. once you have the work permit you sign the offer letter
As you would be without any permit (maybe even without visa?) it is perfectly reasonable if you check the status of the various steps and ask people nicely to speed it along.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/27
| 974
| 4,246
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been reading a research paper for my university course. The paper is the PhD thesis of a student of Berkeley mentored by a reputed engineer. I strongly feel that an expression mentioned in the thesis is wrong, although it has been mentioned only once in paper and his analytical and simulation results agree everywhere, I doubt my speculation
My doubt is whether there is a chance that the equation may contain a typing error and what I think is correct and my expression has been used in calculations or since this is a highly cited paper , there cannot be any typing error and my doubt is futile. I mean have such typos ever crept earlier in such reputed publications ?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, and there are a lot of reasons for errors. There is also a large machinery for keeping errors out, but they fail regularly enough. Sometimes the error is a misunderstanding by a copy editor. In printed work, even by the printer's employees.
But the biggest issue is probably how hard it is for people to proof read their own material. I struggle with this constantly in my own writing. Once you put a mistake into a paper, you are likely to read over it when proof reading. You tend to "see" what you think should be there, not what actually *is* there. One of the purposes of intelligent reviewers is to catch such things. But we are all human and the mistakes we make we often repeat.
If the "error" isn't thought of as serious to understanding by a reader, they may just ignore it. Or even, might "see" what they expect to see in such things as formulae. Especially if they are commonly used.
There was once a version of the Bible printed in which, among the other commandments it was stated: *Thou shalt commit adultery*. See: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_Bible>
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: No work is perfect; mistakes are everywhere: **There's a reasonable chance the equation contains a typo**, especially since a different, presumably correct equation is used elsewhere.
You can confirm in various ways. I suggest you start by looking at publications that followed the thesis. You may find the author has already corrected errors. Next, you could email the author: Open by summarising your interest in the equation, explain that the equation is used differently and you suspect a typo, and ask whether that's the case.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Things like that easily happen as the other answers already say. I would like to add one example: The only error I encountered so far in my own diploma thesis is like that: I started with an idea and first implemented the calculations numerically in a way that the underlying equation was hidden quite well. When I wrote up the thesis, I tried to extract the equation and swapped one variable with another. The calculations were still correct, of course. I only found that out recently because I needed the equation again. Nobody of the people involved at the time noticed, probably also because the equation was embedded into a text describing the general idea correctly.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> since this is a highly cited paper , there cannot be any typing error and my doubt is futile
>
>
>
While generally true, bear in mind that in the end, the scientific papers are still written by humans, and humans make mistakes all the time, even when burdened by responsibility and reputation. Happen people were perfect, there would have been no vulnerabilities with things we create.
I'm not entirely familiar with the world of PHD academia, yet I'm highly invested into cyber-security. And in cyber-security, there is a common misconception that if something has been secure for a long time (like Windows XP) and/or something is obscured to be attacked (like speaking in French for the means of privacy), then it is secure. Neither is true. And from my own perception, there are both of these misconceptions present in the world of academia (overly trusting the seemingly time-proven sources; overly trusting the academia papers, where it is obscure to get a permission to write one). I hope some of my insight helps you change your perspective if you deem necessary
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/27
| 1,269
| 5,299
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an international Physics PhD student who is currently finishing his second year successfully, with one publication and others in preparation. However, I have a problem that has not let me sleep properly since day 1 and I need to vent it out with you.
When I applied, for some stupid reason I mentioned on my CV that I was a teaching assistant for two terms (in an area I am pretty good at) when in reality I was not. I won't go too much into details but I attribute this behavior to extreme low self-esteem and mental health issues that I have had since I was a teenager due to a very traumatic period in my life and more than lying with ill intentions to the admission committee in order to get an advantage I was lying to myself. I did not even realize what a horrendous mistake I had made at the time, and it also did not help that nobody from my former lab checked my CV before I sent it. As a result I have been in therapy since 1 year ago to understand the causes and threat my compulsive lying and me and my therapist believe that I have made important progress.
I don't think the lie was important for my acceptance (the PhD is 100% research based without coursework and teaching duties) and scholarship and every other part of my application was 100% truthful (1 publication at the time, top 5% of my cohort, outstanding letters of recommendation, internships, academic awards, etc) but I still can't get over what I did as I feel extremely bad as a person and also fear every day that I will somehow be caught and get expelled or get my degree revoked in the future. My supervisors are the most competent, intelligent but also the most kind and loving persons I have ever met, so while I have wanted to come clean for a long time I don't want to disappoint them. Besides, I have improved immensely as a person while living abroad in this beautiful country and have never been as happy in my life; I honestly think that getting expelled would have horrible consequences for my mental health, future dreams and finances and God knows how long it would take me to recover completely if ever.
What do you recommend me to do in this case?<issue_comment>username_1: Two things.
You are correct to talk to a personal counselor about this issue and your feelings.
Second, forget about the past as long as you don't need to lie again to go forward. If you are questioned about it, you should be honest and apologetic, but there is no need, really, to bring it up and complicate your life. If you have proven yourself worthy after a couple of years, the past will be held less against you even if it does become public.
Many people have things in their past that they are ashamed of. If they can learn to avoid past errors and also feel good about their own self-worth, they have made progress.
An alternative is to talk to a trusted faculty member about it and ask for advice. I don't think that it is essential to do this, but if there is someone in your circle who knows how you behave now and how hard you are working to improve, then such a person might be able to offer help and also to stand up for you if questions arise in the future.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I appreciate the question.
I think we can all agree that you should not have lied on your graduate application. It is to your credit that you recognize this. That said, as a frequent thesis advisor and the recent head of Graduate Studies in my department, I feel that the main victim of this lie is...you. If a student of mine told me they had done that, I would thank them for telling me, confirm that they should not have done it, make sure they understand that they must never falsify any academic documents again...and then get on with business.
Cutting the funding of a successful student for this kind of indiscretion that occurred before their arrival is, **for me**, just not a reasonable thing to do. It is an interesting thought experiment to wonder what percentage of the graduate students in my department had an undergraduate indiscretion as bad or worse than this. Rough guess: somewhere between one third and one half? It is all but impossible to know and also very subjective.
You have to deal with your bad behavior in the past. An unfortunate fact of the matter is that it is often not possible or not optimal to **directly fix** past bad behavior. That can be an unsettling thought -- for me too, by the way. Based on the sleepless nights you describe, I am really glad that you are talking to a therapist about this and figuring out what you can do *indirectly* to move on with your life.
Here's an idea: you say you are doing very well in the program. That's great. Is there some optional service task you could take on in the program (or the department or the school or the profession)? I think that could be beneficial, both in reality and in your own mind. That way, when you think about the bad thing you did two years ago, you can also think "Yeah, I feel bad about that, but I feel good about X that I am doing now." By the way, if you do it, you certainly **should** put it in your CV, but if (and only if) it seems helpful for you to be a bit modest/understated about it, you could pitch it that way.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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2020/01/27
| 871
| 3,854
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<issue_start>username_0: Some time ago I met someone at a conference who was doing research in an area that I was just beginning to delve into. We've had a few (minimal) e-exchanges since, and recently they suggested we "work together on something" - the "something" being the project I'm developing, I think.
I like the idea of working with this person and even sharing authorship on the project I'm starting, but I'm still somewhat new to the research side of academics and - based on the mixed experiences I've had collaborating with people I don't know well - I feel very cautious about jumping into a collaboration with someone whose work I don't know well (they're still a student and don't have much out there yet) - and more importantly, whose work ethic I don't know at all.
Does anyone have an approach to potential collaborations - particularly with people you don't know well - which may help to minimize the possibility of things going awry?<issue_comment>username_1: It is good to be wary if you don't have much experience with the person and their basic ethical patterns. On the other hand, collaboration is a good thing generally if people contribute on an equitable (not necessarily equal) basis.
It depends on how much risk you are willing to take here and how important this particular project is to you. Once you agree, and the other person contributes anything, it will be difficult to back out. If success in this project seems vital to your future, I'd suggest not taking on much risk here. If it is "just another paper among others" then you can afford to take a chance.
But, I'd suggest that you work out the issue at the beginning of the project and not hope for the best. In particular: Will you be co-authors of the work? Who is the first/primary author of the resulting paper, assuming that is a consideration? Or, will one of you be the author and the other get appropriate acknowledgement? How much effort is each willing to put into the project. If it is a major effort for one party but just a minor (hobby) project for the other, then misunderstandings are possible. Are you willing to do the work yourself if the other party quits? Will you still be OK with co-authorship in that case?
Think about the worst case. Is that acceptable? But think about the most likely case, given what you do know about the other person.
Lots of questions on this site arise because participants didn't set up parameters and understandings at the start. The writers are mostly unhappy with the outcome and wonder how to recover. There are usually comments that indicate these things should have been worked out early and it is too late, at the end, for a happy outcome.
However, I think that most collaborations are more successful and can lead to long term productive relationships. Valuable, but with both upside and downside potential.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: username_1's answer already makes a key point: discuss the potentially thorny issues at the start, not at the end when you feel the sting.
I'd like to add to that: put some work into getting to know this person. Rather than agree to a collaboration right away, gather some information first;
* Look up this person's previous publications. What's the quality like?
* Look at their academic profile - how productive is this person? Where do they work? What previous topics have they worked on?
* Find out if you have any shared acquaintances that can tell you a bit about the person. Has this person done any collaborations with people you know? Does your supervisor or any of the senior academics in your department know them, or know something about their institution?
* Get to know them in person a bit before saying yes. Are you planning both to go to any conferences? Are they living nearby enough to go for coffee?
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/27
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<issue_start>username_0: My situation:
I applied to school A (R1 school, US News ranked, aligned research) and is nominated by POI for a competitive Fellowship. This fellowship covered tuition + stipend for a couple of years and comes from the school itself (not department). The fellowship offer is only through email, so no official signed letterhead yet. Since the Fellowship is competitive, POI urged me to accept it "within the week" otherwise it will go toward somebody else (one week after Fellowship decision). However, I:
* Have reservation about the research group (haven't visited the place, only Skype called, their pressure for me to accept, outcome of graduates)
* Still waiting on other schools, which are very promising (contacts with POI, recommended for admit) yet entirely unsure of fundings.
I know that according to the April 15 agreements, I can accept then reject the fellowship before the deadline without personal repercussion. However, I want to know:
* How much am I screwing up the POI if I accept the fellowship then reject it later? I am afraid that an email confirmation then rejection would make his research lab and department looks bad to the school for losing potential spots.
* With question #1 in mind, should I do it? The April 15 agreements seems to be set up for these situations, but is it selfish for me to jeopardize other people chances?<issue_comment>username_1: The April 15 agreement is irrelevant. You didn't agree to it. The university may or may not have agreed to it, but they are not following it.
If you have reservations about the outcomes of their graduates, you should turn the offer down.
Do not accept the offer and then rescind your acceptance of the offer. You can ask them to give you more time. They may say no.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: *Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’*
It may be legal to accept and then reject the fellowship, but it does not make it right (in my opinion). Academia is still very much built on trust and goodwill. People who choose to scheme their way through loopholes in the regulations may benefit in a short term. But people who stand behind their word deserve ongoing respect and make for leaders of very strong academic teams.
Don't do anything to people that you wound not enjoy done to yourself. If you are having second thoughts about this option, leave it and wait for something else which may be going your way.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It is simply not true that if you accept the offer now, you can reject it later without *personal* repercussions. According to the [Council of Graduate Schools' April 15 Resolution](https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution), you are under no legal obligation to respond to the fellowship offer before April 15, 2020. But from an *ethical* standpoint, if you accept the offer, you have responded, which means you've given up the right not to respond. As others have written, academia relies on trust and good will, and people have long memories.
It would be perfectly reasonable for you to thank the POI for their unofficial offer, express your *interest* in the fellowship, tell them that you are waiting to hear from other schools (and official offers) before making any final decisions, but of course you will answer before the April 15 deadline. In other words, **tell them the truth**.
If the POI insists on an earlier deadline, you are well within your rights to push back, but I would actually take that as a sign that you should walk away.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/27
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<issue_start>username_0: In some months my contract at a research university will end.
During my employment I have developed tools and methodologies that are of interest to the research group.
At present, I am the only person in that group that has in-depth knowledge on several topics.
Nonetheless, my employment will likely not continue.
My priorities are to finish up research papers, so that I can apply elsewhere.
I expect to be asked to hand over the knowledge that I developed.
Now my question: To what extent should I cooperate?
One the one hand, cooperation seems like the decent thing to do.
I am dependent on my employer's recommendations, and do not want to burn bridges.
On the other hand, I would abolish my employer's need for me, which feels like self-sabotage.
I have offered on several occasions in the past to hand over that knowledge and to collaborate.
Now, frankly, my highest priority is to get output, and not train somebody (or multiple people).<issue_comment>username_1: Right now you are feeling "indispensable", although since you're leaving this position, you're apparently not *that* indispensable.
Hoarding knowledge to protect your position is an old technique, but as an academic, I would say that it's backwards thinking.
For one, your goal as an academic should be to grow all of humanity's knowledge. So as a matter of general principle, you shouldn't be hoarding.
But there's also something in it for you: if you developed a genuinely useful tool that other academics will want to use, write a good paper about it and get it published beyond your current institution. Such "utility publications" can accumulate very large numbers of citations and make a name for you in academic circles. For example, [CRISPR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Doudna#CRISPR-Cas9_genome_editing_discovery) is basically a "tool" but it's considered an absolute breakthrough in molecular biology.
Done right, sharing your knowledge can boost your career to new heights, while hoarding knowledge will at best keep you at your current level.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, I'm afraid you do need to hand over all work product that you created while employed. You were part of a team and if you try to subvert the team by withholding things that arise from your employment on the team you are trying to blackmail them into keeping you employed. I smell a lawsuit here.
But you should cooperate fully just as a way to boost your own future career. How do you want to be spoken of in this field? Do you hope that people will want to collaborate with you in the future? What value will your tools have if no one wants to come near you in the future.
And without you or your contribution, the team will find someone who can provide an equivalent service. You may feel indispensable, but you are not.
Sorry to be so harsh.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: * In the end, you'll have to decide for yourself.
* Properly handing over is decent, required by employment contract, and probably best for you (via professional reputation)
* As you are already recognized for your helpfulness, don't sabotage that reputation.
* Don't be surprised if your supervisor isn't interested in a proper handover, though.
---
Long version: Here's what'd do/did do.
>
> To what extent should I cooperate? One the one hand, cooperation seems like the decent thing to do. I am dependent on my employer's recommendations, and do not want to burn bridges.
>
>
>
Cooperating is not only the decent thing to do, properly handing over your work is also one of your duties as employee.
>
> On the other hand, I would abolish my employer's need for me, which feels like self-sabotage.
>
>
>
Overall, I don't think so - I think good cooperation is also in your direct own interest.
* Sure, there may be (are) employers/supervisors out there that decide on the basis of such need.
My experience with academic employers is that they'd rather abandon the tools, though.
The more so, the less they can judge the importance and quality of the tools (see also [Why do many talented scientists write horrible software?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/17781/725) - which does not imply anything about the quality of *your* tools, but this is roughly what I'd expect someone *without in-depth knowledge of your code* to estimate).
This means: even if they objectively need you they are unlikely to realize how much\*.
*Meaning your actual advantage on keeping that knowledge for yourself is probably close to zero.*
Now consider the potential advantages of leaving with good cooperation:
* This is part of building up your professional reputation. Of course, you may decide for a path of least resistance and not throw in more work than you can get away with. But if you want to build up a recommendation of integrity, being dependable and reliable and writing reliable software etc., this is a chance to get a step further in that direction.
* Your next employer/supervisor may be interested in your attitude towards collaboration - after decently handing over your work, you have a "hard data point" that you can refer to.
* Academia is a small world - your employer's recommendations (or warnings) possibly won't end with the letter of recommendation you get now. People talk at conferences, etc.
* My experience of employers abandoning tools is that this can actually be
to the extent that they may not even want the work handed over. In that case, you'd win two ways: you did the decent and correct thing and offered handing over. And you don't even need to actually give up your advantage in knowledge.
One anecdata point: Personally, I can say that I have ongoing collaboration with a group I left almost 10 years ago, and other former employers/groups are now my customers (I'm freelancer now, though still associated with academic research projects).
And I have customers of whom I know that they'd not hire me if I had not that professional reputation of integrity.
>
> those that can make hiring decisions have indicated that they would keep me because of experience and general helpfulness, if not [...] complications.
>
>
>
Don't sabotage your helpfulness!
---
\* I'm speaking as a chemist who programs as part of my work. If you are computer scientist in a CS group, the chances that your good code is recognized as such may be much greater for you than for me. Similarly, my supervisors would have been more likely to recognize the need to keep someone looking after instrumentation that they understand better than they understand software quality.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: There are already several good answers. Cooperating is indicated here. People in your academic area will talk to other people. And you will eventually want a job or a grant or a LOR.
There is one aspect I didn't see covered. If the university has left the knowledge transfer very late, and they are expecting you to spend your own time after the end of the contract, then that's out of bounds. You can and should expect to be paid during the time it takes to prep and give the knowledge transfer.
Maybe you can be kind and cooperative about it. If it's an hour or two that might be forgivable. Especially if you have a good relationship with the people at the university that you worked with. Even if it's a day, it might be OK, if you are generally feeling good about the experience.
But if they are wanting weeks of your time after your contract, then they need to show you the money for your time. It is a very bad precedent to work for nothing.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/28
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<issue_start>username_0: I was recently interviewed for a TT position, and was asked a question "`how to develop yourself into a national or international research leader`". It looks quite a big question. I stumbled on it, and so want to seek some ideas or inspiring thoughts to answer this questions effectively.<issue_comment>username_1: It depends a bit on your field, of course.
But the general idea is to write a lot of good papers that attract a lot of interest. Produce a lot of good doctoral students. Do a lot of collaboration. Build a large and vibrant circle of such collaborators.
Depending on the field, it might mean attract a lot of grant money to support a lab and/or doctoral students. It might mean presenting at a lot of conferences. It might mean being on a lot of committees (conference, professional organizations, etc.) Contribute enough so that you get invited to contribute.
But the problem is the balkanization of academia. You might be the very top person in some small niche that your maximum circle of collaborators is less than a dozen people. This can be true in math, for example. So, you need to have a somewhat wide set of interests to which you can comment (and attract students, collaborators, money, etc).
Sleeping, not included. Sorry. But you don't have to do it all in one or two years, either.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Both my wife and I (in different very fields) have both bumbled around doing our best to achieve this, as well as been guilty in posing the question during recruiting.
The question operates on 2 levels.
First, **how do you actually do it**. This involves multiple elements:
1. Tailoring your research area(s)/question(s) to have national/international interest. There are many ways to do this, and the goal is not to trade off your research independence for reputational accolades. However, you do need to be focused in the right areas at the right time, and adjust the messaging of your research (at least) for what are topics of live interest. You can cynically call this "fads in academia", but it is real.
2. Actively collaborating. Too many junior academics treat others as either immediate-term team members/collaborators, or otherwise as competitors. You need to form a looser circle of collaborative relationships with others who work in your and related fields, where you can spark ideas, not just co-write papers. These then become the people who invite you to give talks, to write chapters for their edited books, refer students to you, etc., and thus your national/international research reputation follows.
3. Publish and present tactically. Too many of us choose where to submit papers based only on prestige/impact factor (or likelihood of acceptance, hassle factor, and peer review delays...) and attractiveness of the conference location. While these are important, as you mature as an academic, you need to begin to have a portfolio of publications/presentations, which cover top-level research prestige, broader dissemination, outreach to related fields, and (in some fields) public engagement. There are many ways of doing this, but don't just stumble through one paper at a time.
4. Get grants. Enough said -- though worth mentioning that while the process to apply is often byzantine, random, and can be demoralizing, getting funding liberates your time to be able to do more of the above, and is a good litmus test/forcing device to keep on top of the above -- as enabler -- too. In particular, any time I've reframed my research (item 1 above), it's generally been under the pressure of having to submit a grant proposal!
Second, during recruiting, the posing of this question to you is a bit of a signal and **litmus test**. It's a signal that we the hiring committee want applicants who will do more than publish *x* papers per year and fulfill departmental teaching and service requirements. And it's a test not as much of are you there yet -- your CV and letters will indicate that -- but have you started thinking about these issues in a way in line or ahead of your academic cohort.
Therefore, when faced with the question, a good answer would include:
a) A positioning of your research within your field, nationally and globally. Can you articulate how this relates to topics of interest by others? (viz 1)
b) Some evidence of having a research plan for the future. What would you like to do and why? Why is it exciting to other people than just you?
c) Especially if you're too academically young to "have a lab" or equivalent, can you show how networked you are with national and international leaders in your field? Can you show any evidence of developing a followership of juniors (and/or peers)?
And, of course, artfully point to badges of excellence in your research, and of awards/achievements/leading publications you have scored. Not as boasting of your accomplishments, but as demonstrating that you have the platform/runway on which to build -- if you're hired.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 3
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2020/01/29
| 3,313
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<issue_start>username_0: On several occasions of my first-round faculty interview, I was asked about the diversity questions, such as:
>
> "How do you work with diverse students?"
>
>
> "How do you contribute to the university's diversity mission?"
>
>
>
I want to seek some insights into the questions. Which aspects I need to cover to deliver a winning answer?<issue_comment>username_1: It's not "delivering a winning answer", any more than "delivering a winning answer" would make sense when talking about teaching and/or research and/or mentoring.
That is, the question should be about what you have thought about, or acted upon, to move forward in social issues in the U.S. Yes, in some regards, it is U.S.-centric, though I am sure analogous issues exist everywhere.
In the U.S., the bias against women and non-white ethnicities in STEM (Science, Tech, Engr, Math) fields has existed for decades, and continues to be a problem. Meanwhile, the undergrad student population, and, in happy circumstances, the grad student population, has shifted to be significantly more representative of the actual population of the U.S. This does matter at least for the state universities (even while, ok, the state funding is rapidly declining...)
So, apart from truly being willing to think about and deal with a more diverse student population, at least in math there is interest in knowing what you may have already done to work for this... and, as a milder condition, how open you are to spending some energy on this.
Yes, traditionally, in the U.S. as in many places, such stuff was irrelevant (supposedly). Now, belatedly, and, formally, rather abruptly, "we" are trying to catch up to decent behavior.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: If I were an interviewer, I would ask these questions differently. However, what I would want to hear is something like the following (and hoping you mean it, of course).
That in response to the diversity debate, you have become more conscious of your own biases and in your role as a teacher you try and compensate for them by giving people against whom you have biases based on their background, gender, color of their skin, religion (whatever it is) the benefit of the doubt - being aware that your biases as a teacher will have an impact on the learning and other opportunities of your students.
Also that in compensation for collective biases, you believe non-white-male candidates for positions like teacher-assistant (and everywhere up the chain) should actively be sought out.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> On several occasions of my first-round faculty interview, I was asked about the diversity questions, such as:
>
>
>
> >
> > "How do you work with diverse students?"
> >
> >
> > "How do you contribute to the university's diversity mission?"
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
Well, how *do* you work with diverse students? *Do* you contribute to the university's diversity mission?
If you can't answer those questions right now, then perhaps the sad answer is that, right now, you're *not* contributing to a mission the university has decided to care about.
>
> I want to seek some insights into the questions. Which aspects I need to cover to delivering a winning answer?
>
>
>
Like username_1 says, it's not about about memorizing a "right" or "winning" answer, but about demonstrating that you care about these issues and have been thinking about them.
I don't mean to slam you here. Asking what aspects you need to look at is a good question. I'll try to help.
**So, how do you work with diverse students?**
Things to think about: what kind diverse students have you come across? Which ones haven't you come across - or haven't noticed? If for example you say "I've never had a trans person in my class", are you sure? Maybe they weren't out. *Awareness* of diverse students is an aspect here.
Do you have biases? (Be honest with yourself. Ask friends who aren't afraid to tell you things you're not happy to hear.)
What kind of issues do diverse students face in your field? Are there poorly represented groups (like women in STEM fields)? Note that some issues are due to prejudice, but others are more justified/neutral. For example, foreign students can be at a disadvantage because they don't have native mastery of your local language, or have trouble adjusting to the local academic culture. That doesn't mean anyone is evil, but it *is* an issue to pay attention to.
**How could you contribute to the university's diversity mission?**
If you've identified issues, then it becomes easier to come up with contributions.
* You might serve as a role model yourself, if you fit into a traditionally disadvantaged group.
* You might pay extra attention to (subtle) discrimination in the classroom and deal with it.
* You may have done research about didactic technique to help foreign students adjust better.
Etcetera. The point is not to have a glib answer, but to actually be working on these issues. That takes a significant amount of work and soul-searching. Discuss with your peers. But also go out there and seek conversational sparring partners in "diverse" groups and ask them about their issues. It can be easy in the ivory tower to not see any problems, you may have to go outside looking for them.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: If you do not toe the line, you will not be admitted. Understand that the above question is to weed-out individuals who do not lean as those in power lean.
Students and faculty who do not "see" the diversity issue, and understand "their own" biases will be shouted down and closed out.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: I disagree with aspects of other answers and would like to give an answer for people like myself.
First: I absolutely do think that it is legitimate to ask for the *"winning answer"* in an interview. That is exactly what an interview is about. It is a competition for a job. It is perfectly reasonable to ask how to win this competition. I will also say that telling a lie in an interview, or misrepresenting your beliefs is not something that I consider a good strategy, even though it may sometimes be a winning answer. That is because you might not like what you have won. You might in fact live in agony, misrepresenting your beliefs for as long as you hold that tainted prize.
Now for the political part. I am a person who dislikes the extreme camps that sadly make the loudest contributions to the political debates about what is labelled as "diversity". Sadly, I am also afraid to speak about this without hiding behind an anonymous account, because quite frankly I find the climate of this debate threatening. From both. sides. I explain all of this because any answer to this question will depend significantly on *your personal political opinion*, and I feel that mine is a little underrepresented.
Here is what I would say:
>
> Of course I follow the public debate about various topics that fit under the umbrella term "diversity", but I am afraid that I consider it largely unhealthy and already dangerously escalated. I believe the best contribution towards a better future is to exclude myself from this debate and point out that it is heated, emotional, unreasonable, and unproductive. Instead, I will demonstrate tolerance and openness in how I speak, act, and generally present myself. I will not participate in projects when in my opinion, they serve no purpose other than to politicize the issue further or escalate it further. What I will do, however, is to strongly support constructive and productive suggestions to improve life on campus for minorities, other women, white heterosexual men, or really *anyone* for that matter - as long as it does not impose on others, or limit their ability to live and learn in peace.
>
>
>
Of course you can phrase it differently, but the key point is: I think it is fair to not have an extreme opinion on the matter. I think it is fair to feel threatened by the way this debate is conducted. I think it is fair to just want to live and let live, in peace, and help students learn. Being "on the sidelines" is the only reasonable thing to do in a war where both sides shout very aggressively that they want peace.
This might not be the winning answer. But if it is your opinion as well, then you might want to give it anyway.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: A "winning answer" is much less important than having a proper and effective teaching strategy.
I give the same opportunities to every student, but I don't assume they are all alike or have the same needs. Every student is different and most of them are different from me. I won't assume that they learn just the same way that I learn. I will respect their personal goals.
I work to understand the individual needs of the students and to work to teach every student in front of me. In particular, I will try to tailor my interactions with students to their needs regardless of their current knowledge or their background.
I will treat every student with respect, treating them as individuals.
Note that "diverse students" don't have "special needs". They have the same needs as every other student.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: You are being tested on whether your beliefs align with the status quo. They are looking for answers that reflect the mantra "diversity is strength".
If you believe along these lines just answer truthfully and you will do fine.
If you do not fully believe in your countries flavour of identity politics, you have two options:
* Answer truthfully:
This would be the right choice if you do not like lying, debasing your opinions for others, or believe words have a higher meaning. This will likely result in not getting hired but you get to keep your pride.
* Answer deceptively:
Do some research on the basic talking points and how you would answer such a question. Political correctness is ever changing so for good reference, see the left-leaning replies to your post. You may get hired but you will also have to constantly be aware of what you say in the faculties social circles and may result in more stress compared to finding a job at another facility.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Building on username_6's answer
>
> I won't assume that they learn just the same way that I learn
>
>
>
and username_3's insight
>
> *Awareness* of diverse students is an aspect here
>
>
>
I want to attempt to create a framework for a "winning" answer, regardless of your personal experience or the specific policies of the interviewing institution.
Delving into the [chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/103861) and [meta](https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/q/4653/111468) post, it is obvious that questions concerning diversity in higher education are mired in politics. However, I think a thoughtful answer to these questions need not *directly* mention personal or systematic biases, as others have suggested. In my experience, questions regarding diversity are meant to gauge an interviewee's understanding of how identity affects the ways in which different people process the same information.
That said, here are some terms that are sure to score some points with the interviewer:
**Intersectionality**
Recognize that each student is an amalgamation of identities, and that those identities have different weights that contribute to their understanding of and interaction with the world around them. Moreover, each person's identities interact with one another in a way that produces a unique person with unique pedagogical needs.
**Shared Experiences**
For a long time, many institutions of higher learning were culturally homogenous, meaning that the teacher and students had a greater overlap of shared experiences, and thus a more uniform understanding of the world. With greater mixing of cultures, the average overlap of common experiences between a teacher and students decreases. A good teacher will be aware of this and think critically about the assumptions of shared knowledge that are incorporated into her or his lecture and course materials.
**Equity and Inclusion**
There is a perception-behavior link between a feeling of belonging and academic engagement; see Steele and Ambady 2006 ([PDF](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj3w9zdkaznAhVyUN8KHaOhBlIQFjAAegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.stanford.edu%2Fgroup%2Fipc%2Fpubs%2F2006Steele.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2muFzF1EUnPChRVt6cVzS6)). True equality, either of [opportunity or outcome](https://werd.io/2018/equality-of-opportunity-vs-equality-of-outcome), is difficult to achieve, but a teacher's equitable engagement with all students is the first step in combating [impostor syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) and promoting a sense of belonging.
Is teaching to a diverse group of students as easy as teaching to a group of students that closely share your worldview? No.
Is it worth it to contemplate the needs of students who are substantially different from you? Absolutely.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/01/29
| 644
| 2,659
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<issue_start>username_0: I have received an e-mail from "Advances in Engineering". Is it a predatory-platform? Is it reputable?
...
Dear Dr. XYZ,
We are pleased to inform you that Advances in Engineering selection committee identified your paper “Another XYZ” as a key scientific article contributing to research excellence. We would like to write a feature about your paper and highlight it in our next edition of Advances in engineering news series.
AIE highlight papers of exceptional scientific importance to a broad science and engineering audience (for the latest edition <https://advancesENG.com>). The feature is intended to globally disseminate research excellence across academia and in the wider community, and to inspire new research directions.
AIE reaches a global audience of 850,000 professors and scientists per month who seek the key research news and accomplishments in engineering. Papers featured at AIE gain extensive visibility and increased citations.
If you accept our special invitation, our professional writers will write a high quality feature draft about your research paper (significance of the work done) and then share it with you for final approval.
AIE is not-for-profit focused on serving research excellence. However, there is a small nominal fee for featuring key scientific articles at AIE ($75 USD total fee) to cover AIE writers’ time in preparing the feature. We can send you an official invoice and we will feature your research within 14 days.
At AIE, we highlight the researchers work at the cutting edge of science, those who are developing the innovations that will lead to a brighter tomorrow. I look forward to hearing from you.
Respectfully,
ZYX
ZYX, PhD MBA
VP Scientific affairs, Advances in Engineering
38 Auriga Drive, Suite 200. Ottawa, ON K2E 8A5, Canada<issue_comment>username_1: It is predatory, in the sense that they seek payment for services that are not useful. It is not, however, a journal.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A human writing to you about your research would say something about your research and say how it contributes to research excellence. Spam bots tend to use a general template and refer to your research in a way that is easy to automate, for example, copy your title in verbatim.
>
> We are pleased to inform you that Advances in Engineering selection committee identified your paper “Another XYZ” as a key scientific article contributing to research excellence. We would like to write a feature about your paper and highlight it in our next edition of Advances in engineering news series.
>
>
>
This clearly falls to the spam category.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/29
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<issue_start>username_0: It gives me the impression that an 'endowed' (named) postdoc is more prestigious than ordinary postdoc (e.g. grants postdoc). My question is how important it is compared to other factors (e.g. publications, the brand of the university, etc) if one wants to find a TT position in an R1 research university.
'endowed'(named) postdoc: for example, Ritt assistant professor in Columbia, Dickson instructor in UChicago<issue_comment>username_1: Very few postdoc positions are endowed, and most of those are at universities that are already very good. As a consequence, the *practical* implications of being on such a position are relatively small: If you get one, you're pretty much by definition already at a good university, and the delta in prestige is pretty negligible.
What matters are (i) your publication record, (ii) which institutions you've been at, (iii) your letters of recommendation (all not necessarily in this order). What kind of postdoc position (endowed, grant-funded, teaching-supported) you had is not a relevant decision criterion in my experience.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Can you say what gives you this impression? Because I’ve been around for a while and have never heard anything like what you are describing (in fact I’ve never heard the word combination “endowed postdoc”, so although I get what you’re referring to, I think it’s best not to use this term).
If I had to guess, I think you’re conflating prestige with practical matters that are unrelated to prestige. Getting teaching experience is somewhat important for people who want to get a TT position at a good US (among others) university. But that has nothing to do with prestige, who the position is named after, or where the funding for it comes from. For example, an NSF postdoc is considered more prestigious than most of the postdoc positions you’re referring to as endowed, and, while it comes with reduced teaching responsibilities, is not mutually exclusive with having them. Other prestigious postdocs that don’t meet your definition of “endowed”, and don’t have teaching duties, are postdoctoral fellowships at places like MSRI and IAS. Anyone considering between such a position and another one that does involve teaching would need to carefully weigh their options based on many parameters, including prestige, the teaching experience they will be gaining, and various other things. In many cases it will not be an obvious choice based on a simple rule of the form “position X is always better than position Y”.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: I am not aware of a prestige difference. At the institution where I was a postdoc, however, I have noticed at least three practical differences:
* As a named postdoc, I was employed by the University and thus, in particular, had health insurance. At least one NSF postdoc during my time was, IIRC, classified as a contractor and had to rely on his SO (who was working in the industry) for health insurance.
* As a named postdoc, I taught 3 classes per year, as opposed to NSF postdocs teaching 2 classes.
* As a named postdoc, I got $55K per year, as opposed to (IIRC again) $53K for NSF postdocs.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/29
| 491
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<issue_start>username_0: **The background:** I work in a quite narrow field in physics. Recently I submitted a comment on a published paper. Before doing this I discussed my remarks with the authors directly and they gave me some interesting suggestions and comments. In the end they suggested to publish as a rapid communications instead of a comment. However, I was more convinced that it was something it should be corrected and replied that I find a comment more suitable (assuring them this is of course nothing personal). However, a bit after this my doctoral advisor said: "feel free to submit but please remove my name (you can acknowledge me for useful discussions and proofreading)". I have a feeling this is related to the fact that he has some limited contact with the authors.
**My questions:** Did I make the right decision of submitting? Will there be any consequences in the future (regarding Refereeing). I really have nothing personal against they authors (which are in fact very competent authors who have published many interesting works).
I would like your opinions on this situation.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> my doctoral advisor said: "feel free to submit but please remove my name (you can acknowledge me for useful discussions and proofreading)"
>
>
>
Co-authors may remove themselves for many reasons, e.g., they don't feel that co-authorship is merited, they aren't confident in the results, ... You cannot infer their removal is "related to...contact with the authors [whom you critique]." Given that your advisor has suggested an acknowledgement (for their contribution) will suffice, I suspect they don't feel co-authorship is merited. But, you'll only know for sure by asking your advisor.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes you made the right decision of submitting a comment to the paper. Publicly commenting papers happens much too rarely, for reasons that may be at least partly technical. (Compare publishing your comment to writing here at StackExchange in terms of time and effort.)
As for future consequences, nobody knows. But if your comment is good, journals editors could get the idea of soliciting you for reviewing papers.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/29
| 606
| 2,522
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<issue_start>username_0: What should I do if I am asked to review a paper that should have been reviewed by an ethics committee, but was not? Assuming the paper is missing the statement that it was reviewed, and the paper clearly states that data was collected from human subjects.<issue_comment>username_1: Your first step should be to contact the editor with your concerns. It may be that the research falls under one of the exceptions for which IRB approval is not needed. See, [www.eandireview.com](https://www.eandireview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=184&Itemid=138), for example, though there are others. Both NHS and NIH list some exceptions.
However, even if an exception applies but you think that the research was, in fact, unethically conducted, then you may refuse to review. It is your duty, actually, but you should't do so silently. In fact, it might be best to point out your ethical concerns in a review.
I'll also note that retroactive approval is generally against the rules: explicitly disallowed. So, sending the paper back to get a review that isn't already in place is not an option if it were required in the first place. The purpose of the IRB is to protect human subjects, not to check a box. So approval needs to come first.
But the problem may simply be one of presentation in the paper as noted by Roland, and a simple edit would correct it. But it is up to the editor to communicate that to the authors.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it's quite a leap to jump from the fact that there is no such statement to the conclusion that it has not been reviewed. You should ask for clarification on that point in your review, rather than outright rejecting it.
Also, there are different rules in different countries, and the notion of an IRB might not exist, or the procedure may go by a different name. In our department, for instance, a formal process of ethical approval was only implemented a couple of years ago.
So, short answer: ask what ethical procedure was followed, and how that relates to the obligations in the country and/or university the researchers and the participants are based.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I'd review it as normal, but add a note (to the comitee, perhaps also the author) stating concerns about the need to involve the ethics comitee, with a short but clear explanation as to why I think it is required.
Rationale: I might be mistaken, perhaps it is being reviewed by said comitee in parallel, ...
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/29
| 861
| 3,150
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<issue_start>username_0: I am working at a German research institute as a HiWi.
HiWi jobs pay hourly wages based on the education level of the employee.
For instance there is a "without bachelors" and "with bachelors" wage.
Prior to taking the job, I was told that I would be paid the hourly rate "with a bachelors" because I have a B.A in Economics from North America.
Im am currently studying a B.Sc in Molecular biology.
Now the institute says that there is a law which says that they will not recognize my North American education because Im currently studying a B.Sc in Germany. Thus, they are only paying me at the "without bachelor's level".
Does anyone know of the laws surrounding these issues.
Thanks,
D<issue_comment>username_1: Usual disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.
What the institute says is completely wrong: there is no such law.
The salary of Wissenschaftliche Hilfskräfte (HiWi, student doing scientific work) varies by state and by university, and it is **not regulated by law**. As explained in Chapters 3.3 and 6 of [this document](https://www.gew.de/fileadmin/media/publikationen/hv/Hochschule_und_Forschung/Broschueren_und_Ratgeber/RatgeberSHK-WHK_A5_web.pdf) (unfortunately, information about this is only available in German), these student employees are in most cases not even included in the worker unions, and tariff negotiations do not apply to them (the only exception being Berlin). This means that these salaries are almost exclusively decided by the employers.
The only available "official document" are the *Richtlinien der TdL über die Arbeitsbedingungen der Hilfskräfte* (*Guidelines of the Tariff Association of German States about the working conditions of the assistants*), which are just **guidelines**, not a law. These guidelines [only provide a *maximum* salary](https://docplayer.org/57940151-Richtlinien-der-tarifgemeinschaft-deutscher-laender-ueber-die-arbeitsbedingungen-der-wissenschaftlichen-und-studentischen-hilfskraefte-vom-23.html) (not a minimum), and distinguish between three groups of students. The highest salary group is for students with a Master's degree. The second-highest salary group is for students who, among other options, have a
>
> Bachelor-Abschluss
>
>
>
i.e., a Bachelor's degree. There is no clause that says that currently studying another Bachelor's degree disqualifies you from being in this group.
This said, getting your foreign Bachelor's degree recognized might take some effort, but I would at least ask them what law they are talking about.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If your job is in the Biology department, it could simply be that an Economics degree does not count towards prior experience in the field and therefore doesn't raise your wage. That's at least how it works with full-time "Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter" job positions.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Germany maintains a list of accredited foreign universities from which degrees are recognized; you can find it on <https://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html> . I would first advise you to check if your American university is there.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/29
| 1,155
| 4,983
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<issue_start>username_0: An engineering graduate with a below average grade, being in industry not related to math, for almost 10 years, with no previous publication record in any field, while still working full time, publishing a single authored research paper in a reasonable mathematics journal with zero guidance from anyone. Is this a significant achievement, and would this be a substantial factor for getting a PhD position in an applied math department at a US university or European university with good reputation or if not a reasonably good university?
Edit: (added as per suggestion)
Journal Name : [Journal of Applied Analysis](https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jaa)<issue_comment>username_1: Writing single-authored papers in math is extremely common, much more so than in other disciplines. It's not considered a significant achievement on its own in the context of applying for jobs.
Writing a paper before the beginning of a PhD is however certainly a big plus for you. But how much this will help depends on the journal: if you had the misfortune of publishing in a bad journal, I am sorry to say that this will actually *hurt* your application. It also depends on your field: I'm in pure math, but maybe in some areas in applied math it's expected of applicants to PhD positions to already have papers. Your question is a bit too general.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Most applicants to a mid- to upper-tier math Ph.D. program will be coming directly from an undergraduate program, and the core planks of their application will be their grades, letters of reference from professors, and (in many cases) good performance on mathematics competitions. Some but very few will have published papers in peer-reviewed journals. All of these will be viewed as predictors of future, to be developed, mathematical research ability.
Your application will be unusual in many ways, your work experience, the absence of some of the typical predictors (grades, etc), and this paper (congratulations, by the way!).
To the extent a committee singles out your application for discussion, your paper should go a long way to reassuring concerns you may be a risky admit. Someone should say, "the grades are poor, but they clearly demonstrably can and want to do math research. Why are we trying to predict the potential of future research ability when we have evidence of it already being in place." However, you still run 2 risks:
1. Your application may be rejected out of hand due to the usual metrics, esp. grades, field of study, etc. and not get serious thoughtful consideration at all
2. The committee may be risk averse, and if it can fill its spots with "typical" candidates, they may do so, especially if they have recommendations from math professors they know, good performance on the Putnam competition, etc.
As to your publication being sole-authored, as others have written, in math this is not at all unusual. Sole- or 2-authored papers are the norm. In your case, there is still benefit that it demonstrates you did the work on your own, rather than being a hanger-on in a team effort. However, given the unusual situation, frankly you would be equally well-positioned with a co-authored paper with a research mathematician *with that co-author writing you a letter of reference describing how you were the lead author*.
In any case, you have something good, so congratulations. And you know what you want, so go for it. Given that, a few suggestions to put your best foot forward:
* Is there any professional mathematician you have talked to about your paper, who helped you with something, who you've collaborated on about something else? It would be very helpful for you to have a letter of reference with *discusses* and puts in context your research accomplishments, in addition to just the paper itself.
* Broadly speaking, when I am on a committee, I know direct-from-undergrad applicants, no matter how excellent, are a blank slate. So I expect them to have not much idea exactly what they want to do, to not know what they don't know, so to speak. The more an applicant is mature/from industry/track change, the more I expect them to have a plan, a research idea, to have done background reading, etc. All of these are indicia they have thought through what they want, that they have learned skills from their life experience so far, and that they are pivoting with forethought rather than to get out of a dead-end - and might give up and pivot away from us with minimal provocation. With your paper to open the door, more so than others I would think you have a lot to gain from identifying specific individuals at specific universities you'd like to work with, and reaching out to them directly (with your paper) prior or in parallel to the normal application process
Good luck!
(My background - Ph.D. in pure mathematics in the US, then pivoted to industry, now straddling academia and industry in a multi-disciplinary field)
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/30
| 1,024
| 4,615
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a beginning researcher in a particular real-world application space of machine learning, with papers published in the application space, but not in machine learning itself. I have identified a paper that is important to my program of research to replicate, have dedicated myself to its replication for a longer period of time than I wish to admit (even anonymously), and failed.
I am asking this question anonymously, and not identifying the particular application space of the paper (beyond the much larger "machine learning" domain) because the community of the application space is relatively small and I do not wish to identify myself or the authors of the paper I discuss below.
Some salient details:
* I'm aware that some papers in machine learning are viciously difficult to replicate, even under the best of conditions. It is easy to find discussion forum comments such as "I tried to replicate X, spent months on it, got nowhere," or "I was only ever able to get Y to work by doing thing Z that wasn't in the paper."
* Despite that, the machine learning community thrives on Github implementations by original authors, and Github re-implementations by students. This research group has to my knowledge never published any code from any publication, and while some re-implementations of various papers from this research group exist, this one has none.
* It seems, at a minimum, certain key details are absent from the paper such as hyper-parameters, learning rates, and other customary details. Although in other respects the reported architecture is quite detailed, this does cause me to wonder if the model is unusually sensitive to the hyper-parameters, or if some other small detail has been left out.
* A typical piece of advice given when I ask other researchers about this is to e-mail the original authors. I have done this, as politely as possible (making the explicit assumption that I'm just missing something and asking very specific questions, i.e., about the hyper-parameters directly, so as not to waste their time) several times, and gotten no response at all, even offering to post my own re-implementation on Github, to their credit. (I've sent enough e-mail that I fear one more will make me look like a stalker.)
* Another typical piece of advice is, "Can you fix it and publish the new and improved version?" Believe me, I have tried, both minor variations on the paper, and updating it with more recent machine learning techniques, with no useful results. I have nothing publishable for my efforts.
Here are two final factors which complicate the matter even more in my mind (and which I think cause this not to be an exact duplicate of prior questions):
* Although the lead author and their research group are well-regarded and well-published, this particular paper is published only on Arxiv There is no peer review, no conference or journal, and there is an "at your own risk," factor involved.
* Despite this, the Arxiv publication is gathering citations from other refereed publications, although it is not obvious to me whether the citing works' authors have been able to (or even necessarily tried to) replicate the results, either.
What can one, and what should one do, when one is Nobody from Nowhere as far as a research community is concerned, but is beginning to suspect that a cited but not peer-reviewed paper cannot be replicated?<issue_comment>username_1: I would suggest focusing far, far less on this non-peer-reviewed paper.
Publish the results you have. Use methodology that is as sound as you can achieve with the data and tools that you have. Cite previous work that agrees and disagrees with what you find. Contextualize your findings in an understanding informed by an entire body of work, not just individual papers.
The only time it makes good strategic sense to focus on replication of a particular result is if that result is influential and relied upon in practical use. A discerning reader of the literature will approach any single finding with appropriate skepticism.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> What can one, and what should one do, when one is Nobody from Nowhere as far as a research community is concerned, but is beginning to suspect that a cited but not peer-reviewed paper cannot be replicated?
>
>
>
You could publish what you've discovered. One criticism you may receive is: The original work isn't published, so your results aren't interesting. You could defend against that, e.g., by explaining the interest others have in the original work (as illustrated by citations).
Upvotes: 0
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2020/01/30
| 523
| 2,280
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<issue_start>username_0: I am looking to leave my career in computing and go back to university to study a History MA.
The trouble is I only have a 3rd class degree in Computing from around 1990.
What would you recommend I do to get myself back in the saddle, and to make myself more attractive to MA courses?<issue_comment>username_1: I wouldn't expect your degree in computing from three decades ago to have much impact on your application for a postgraduate degree. You can confirm by contacting a perspective university. (I doubt university websites will be particularly useful, since they probably won't consider your situation.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There are some options in the UK, such as the [Open University](http://open.ac.uk). I'm also interested in learning more about History, and found some interesting looking courses at the University of Oxford's [Continuing Education](https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/search) department.
Perhaps you, and future courses you apply to, would be able to gauge your interest and ability if you did one or more of these modules.
This applies more generally, as well, and could be achieved through online learning courses, for example.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: To be accepted in *any* masters program, you're going to need at least one professor that will look at your application and say "*yes, I'd like to supervise this student*".
Normally, the admissions committee would be inspired by letters of recommendation from your undergrad profs, but in your case you'd be better off with letters from your current employer saying how dedicated and hard working you are.
Have you published any blogs etc. that demonstrate how well you can write? Do some of them discuss specific topics in history, showing your interest in the subject, and your knowledge and ability to analyze the facts and study their relationships?
But if you are able, the most helpful thing would be to visit the university and sit in on some classes. You might find it so boring that you'll change your mind. Or, you might find it so interesting that you'll discuss things with the professor. If you can impress a prof or two, that's where your most effective letters of recommendation will come from.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/30
| 1,465
| 5,440
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm publishing my first ever paper in my career. Given my name is <NAME>, how should it be broken into the first name and last name?
Also, what should I write when asked for the [Initial][Surname] format?
---
NB: Aaron is my name, Sabu is the name of my father and John his father.
Also, I do not have a proper surname since it is not part of our custom.<issue_comment>username_1: Actually, you have a lot of freedom to do it as best pleases you. You could even create an alter ego (as I have here) under which to publish.
But there are two constraints.
The first is that you probably want to choose a name that you will be happy with over your career, so that people won't get confused by seeing different names from the same author.
The second is that you want people to be able to find and connect with you. Mostly that will be via email, I suspect, but if someone calls up your university and asks for you by your public persona name it should be easy to reach you personally.
If you just use the name you have used here, few people outside your own culture would even notice and just assume that your "family" name is Sabu. Some names in Western European culture arose in just that way. Others arose from peoples occupation (Taylor and Smith, for example). But people might also want to refer to you as Professor Sabu, rather than Professor Aaron, which you might prefer.
But, don't worry that there are conventions that restrict your choices here. Assume that you have control over your own name.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Aaron is my name, Sabu is the name of my father and John his father. Also, I do not have a proper surname since it is not part of our custom.
>
>
>
I suggest adopting Sabu as your surname, Aaron as your given name, and John as your middle name, or some variant of that. I think this is advisable, because you'll regularly be asked for your surname and given name, and sometimes your middle name or it's initial. Such an adoption will simplify administration. That said, I appreciate that you might want to follow your customs, rather than those of others.
In terms of publishing,
1. Pick a name you'll use *forever*.
Your name is your brand. It's how you'll be identified.
2. Pick a name that is unique (or at least rare, especially to Google).
A unique name is easier to find.
You might decide upon <NAME>, <NAME>, or <NAME>, for instance. Google each and see if it is unique or rare.
---
From [comments](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/143603/choosing-my-name-for-my-first-publication/143606?noredirect=1#comment381234_143606):
>
> As [pointed out](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/143603/choosing-my-name-for-my-first-publication/143606?noredirect=1#comment381231_143604)...there is no obvious choice that will send the message that you want to be called Aaron and cited as Aaron et al. That choice just doesn't fit well in the conventions of the Western naming culture, unfortunately
>
>
>
I disagree, <NAME> or <NAME> could be used (an initial could also be dropped). Citations will appear as Aaron et al. and there seems only to be an option of calling the OP Aaron.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: @username_1's and @username_2's answers raise good points to consider when choosing.
I'd like to recommend in addition: Get yourself an [ORCID](https://support.orcid.org/hc/en-us) and use it. An ORCID is a unique identifier that you can keep, however you may later on decide to change your name again.
ORCID allows several names, they say the only one really required is the first names (which can also be multiple first names) in order to also work for cultures like yours. So you could leave surname blank and actually keep your name as it is.
You can also specify how you'd like to be cited (I'm not sure how many look this up, though. But literature data bases should hopefully get that right), and you can even give also-known-as names.
As a side note: while it's good to think a bit which name you like to use, it's not that you cannot change it if it turns out not to work as well as you thought. If you use an identifier like ORCID, this won't even lead to confusion whether it is still you.
(And people in western culture do change their surnames as well, e.g. when getting married or divorced.)
---
It's not that western cultures don't know patronyms (usually with some change, e.g. prefix or suffix meaning son/daughter, diminutive or genitive). In many western countries they meanwhile became family names but AFAIK in Iceland it is usual (and Denmark possible) to give children a proper patronymic or matronymic name. They put the patronym/matronym as surname - so if you don't know the name of the parent, you don't notice the difference between a proper patonymic/matronymic or one that meanwhile became family name.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: A surname is used to identify family. From your tradition, you get your fathers name and his father's name to identify family - as far as I can understand.
I suggest that you merge your two last names with a hyphen: **<NAME>**. In that way you pay respect to both your father and grandfather, and you will have a unique name. I am sure you can live with this *forever*. Which, as User2768 pointed out, is a nice perk for a chosen name.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/01/30
| 320
| 1,264
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<issue_start>username_0: I completed one of my theses under the co-supervision of a (back then) PhD student. Said person has since completed his degree and is now officially "Dr. supervisor".
Since I want to reference his supervision in my CV, I was wondering whether I use the formal title that he holds now, or whether I reference him without a PhD, which was his status *during* the supervision?
I am pretty sure that this is more a non-issue for my specific case, but I can see this being a more common problem elsewhere, especially when listing references online.<issue_comment>username_1: 1. FYI: I did not reference the name of my ~~supervisor~~ advisor at all in my industry-targeting resume. I do realize this may be different in CV-land.
2. I personally wouldn't use any honorifics in the CV. (Next you'll be asking about assistant versus full professor!) Just convey the information, the name. I would opt for FI, LN. I.e. Advisor: <NAME>. Keep it tight, man.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Given that this is Germany, where titles are a serious business, you might consider doing both.
... Herr Somebody (now Doktor Somebody).
It is partly for identification, I think, and the current title might be helpful.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/01/30
| 465
| 1,985
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<issue_start>username_0: I was part of a small group preparing an overview paper for a special issue, and we missed a final deadline. All except one of us completed our assigned tasks; the last person had not touched her files for months and was frequently unresponsive with no explanation. To complicate matters, she is a senior member of the community; I'm a mere postdoc, and other members are somewhere in between.
I'm confident I did everything I could to see this paper completed on time, as well as the rest of the cooperative group members. I've mostly accepted the pending consequences with the journal and my reputation. I'm also determined to not work with this senior member again. But should I express my disappointment with her directly, or just cut my losses and move on?<issue_comment>username_1: From your description ("final deadline") it sounds as though there is no way to fix the situation with the paper. Moreover, you say have decided not to work with this person again (which seems reasonable).
So there is most likely no benefit to be had from expressing your disappointment directly. Frustrating as it may be, cutting your losses and moving on is the better option.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I guess it depends on whether the person knows about how you (and others) feel about their behavior or not.
**Case A) You are not sure.**
When it can't harm you in the future I don't see a reason why you should **not** provide feedback.
*As you said in one of your comments yourself: it could help others who have to work with this person.*
**Case B) The person is aware (but does not care to share a "sorry guys")**
In this case I don't see how expressing your feelings can change anything to the good (e.g. for others).
*The person already seem to have a strong opinion about this and got all the information required to understand the situation and say sorry if the person cares enough (or has the guts to do so).*
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/30
| 961
| 4,008
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<issue_start>username_0: Professors of my institution use PowerPoint presentations or written papers or some other aid material for delivering a lecture in the classroom.
But doesn't it indicate less expertise?
I have this doubt because it will be easy for an expert professor or well-prepared professor to handle a class of a couple of hours with his preplan instead of using some reference material.<issue_comment>username_1: I'm not a big fan of power point, but then, I'm not a big fan of lecture in general. But others are fine with it. It has become common practice for many.
It gives the professor a way to think about the lecture, and the course, as a whole so that they are assure that (a) no essential points are missed and (b) that misstatements don't accidentally confuse students or mislead them.
But no, it doesn't imply less expertise. For some, though, it might imply less comfort with speaking in public generally or, at least, extemporaneously.
There are some famous examples of professors getting off track in lectures and, for example, forgetting essential steps in a math proof. But that need not mean less expertise, but just distraction caused by other thoughts intervening.
I usually encourage professors who want to use powerpoint (and can't be convinced otherwise), to distribute the decks in advance.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: My evaluation of PowerPoint is that it seems to be intended to make presentations as boring as possible. Every slide with a title, all the same font, all the same format, bullet point text, etc. and etc. It's more suited to presentations of accounting stats than anything else.
But generally, I like prepped slides of some sort for any kind of presentation. When I do lectures though, I also keep written notes. Usually the notes have extra stuff that is not necessarily in the slides. Extra details, extra explanation, answers to predictable questions, bibliographic notes, etc. etc. And I nearly always prep with the idea that these extra notes can be handed out, at least to the "keeners" in the audience.
On the other hand, I do have fond memories of the prof who taught me quantum mechanics in the 4th year of my BSc. He would put his notes down on the table at the front of the room, and turn to the board and start. He could fill 8 very big blackboards with equations, by hand, in impossibly neat script, from memory, in 45 minutes. While explaining the material "over his shoulder" in great and clear detail. We joked we needed water cooled pens to keep up with him. I can still remember when we were doing the ground state of the Helium atom. The class had those up-down chalk boards. And he pulled the board down on the left to erase board-full number 1 to start writing number 5. And EVERYBODY in the class shrieked "NOT YET! NOT YET!" because they were still copying board number 1.
That's a prof who knows his material.
There is probably no "one size fits all" solution here. Not everybody is the kind of person who can do that. I do suggest that PowerPoint needs to have a lot of support to be anything other than a sleeping pill. But prepped slides are probably required for most people.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: If I am delivering a lecture just once, then I might use slides (but never PowerPoint) to show in pictures what I could never say in words.
If, however, I am giving a course that
1. I shall give again, maybe many times
2. includes complicated algebraic derivations that the students need to think about,
then there is a case for some kind of handout that they can keep and I can use to make sure I cover everything that I wish to cover.
But far more important than these considerations is to hold the attention of your audience. You will not do that with formulaic PP presentations any more than you would reading without slides from a prepared text. Given that you are human then you must engage the human beings in your audience. PP or not is a secondary issue.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/01/30
| 610
| 2,678
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<issue_start>username_0: The Problem: I'm trying to finish up my teaching credential this semester, but one of the last classes I need isn't offered by my campus. But they say if I can find an online version of the class offered by another CSU (California State University) campus, that I can take that.
But all the CSU Campuses have their own internal course numbers, so to find out which class is equivalent to the one I need, I've been checking the catalogs, looking at the requirements, finding the course that looks close and checking the course description for a similar one to the original.
But this takes an amazing amount of time. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but it seems like there has to be a website with a table or lookup of equivalent courses on other campuses.
Something like Physics 4A at campus A is equivalent to Physical Science 200 at Campus B.
Does this exist? If so where might I look?
In case someone has some very specific information I'm looking for the equivalent of CI 161 from Fresno State being offered online on a different CSU Campus.
---
Additional
My advisor was able to find a teaching science middle school class, class that will be equivalent enough for the teaching high school science class. I still think a website that gave equivalent classes would be so very useful to students. I wonder if it's out there somewhere already.<issue_comment>username_1: Check this out:
<https://www.collegetransfer.net/Search/Search-for-Course-Equivalencies>
You can click the "Advanced" tab to search for specific course equivalencies.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: My department has a transfer credit evaluation committee whose job is to decide which of our requirements are satisfied by classes taken elsewhere (usually other universities, not just other campuses). On that basis, I guess that your department has a similar committee. If you had not bothered to check for equivalent courses but had just taken one and thought it would be equivalent (not a recommended course of action) and had then come back to your home campus and announced "I've fulfilled all the requirements; give me my diploma," then there would be some person or committee whose job is to say "Whoa; who says that this course satisfies our requirement? That's for us to decide, not you." I suggest that you ask enough questions (of your department chair, or dean, or secretaries) to find that person or committee and then ask them what courses would satisfy the requirement. In other words, get an authoritative answer from someone who has the real authority to approve (or disapprove) using a course from elsewhre to fulfill your requirement.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/01/30
| 3,179
| 13,613
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently started my first postdoc, after completing my phd in a different field. I managed to come up with some results that I hope to publish at a reputable conference. All the work, including the creative/theoretical part, as well as the programming part was done by me. My plan was to have me and my advisor as the authors of the paper. However my advisor insists that a colleague from a different university, who contributed nothing to the work and does not even work in the exact same field should be added as a third author, with the task of writing the introduction and related work section. I have no idea what my advisor's motivation for this is.
While I feel adding a random person as an author unfairly dilutes my contributions (especially since my advisor is already essentially a courtesy co-author) I could live with being pragmatic about the situation and submit the paper with a third author, even though I feel that writing opening sections to a paper without being involved in the actual scientific process does not justify authorship.
The issue is that person is completely incapable of grasping my work. They understand neither my theoretical arguments nor what my experiments do (and more importantly do not) show. This is at least partially due to the fact they lack a working knowledge of things like probability theory (on a very basic level, e.g. what is a random variable?) that I use in my work.
Worst of all they are not capable of writing somewhat precise English which means that nothing they write is actually usable. I frankly have no idea how they managed to obtain a phd.
I believe that to have a realistic chance to have my work accepted I need to write the sections that were assigned to the third author myself (which I don't mind doing). But how do I handle this situation socially? I feel like now that this person is officially on the author list I cannot simply delete and rewrite what they wrote before submitting, i.e. even though I consider them a "fake" co-author they are now a co-author that needs to clear the final version of the paper.<issue_comment>username_1: Without knowing what your advisor's motivation is, this question is difficult - not to mention dangerous - to answer. For all your know, you could ignore your advisor's advice, write the paper yourself, get it accepted, and then end up with an academic misconduct case leveled against you because you used something that the other person did in some obscure but vital way. For example, maybe your advisor gave you some results to start you off, and those results were obtained by the other person.
If after acquiring the facts you determine that your advisor is asking you to add an author unethically, *then* you can do something about it, but it's not a good idea to act without the facts. Determine the facts first, then worry about what to do next.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Hmmm. Socially:
If you have already agreed to it then you should just go along, graciously. In particular, don't take any action that makes vindictive people (who have power) want to sabotage your future. It is only one paper. There will be others. A paper is a good thing, even under such circumstances. If the advisor has some standing, that might actually be good for you.
Ethically:
Try to work to disassociate yourself from these people (leeches?) going forward. They are acting in their own interest, not yours. Advisors shouldn't play such a game. Find more honest and ethical collaborators.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: I agree with the other answers, just adding my answer to this part of the question:
>
> I believe that to have a realistic chance to have my work accepted I need to write the sections that were assigned to the third author myself (which I don't mind doing). But how do I handle this situation socially? I feel like now that this person is officially on the author list I cannot simply delete and rewrite what they wrote before submitting, i.e. even though I consider them a "fake" co-author they are now a co-author that needs to clear the final version of the paper.
>
>
>
I think you're right: given that you accepted this person as a co-author in order not to offend anybody, it would be counter-productive to risk offending them by unilaterally deleting their part.
However since it's your advisor who insisted on having this co-author (and you've already been kind enough to accept), maybe you could go through them: you could tell them that this person's part is "improvable" (if you use this word try to convey that it's an understatement!), that you're worried that this could harm the chances of getting the paper accepted (this is an important argument), and that you don't mind doing this part yourself and keeping the person as co-author... And tell your advisor that you're not comfortable saying this to the third author yourself as you don't know them personally (hinting that it's the advisor's mess, not yours), that's why you ask them (the advisor) to deal with this diplomatically since they have a closer relationship with the co-author.
This way you don't offend anyone, and hopefully your advisor will realize that it's the least they can do in this situation.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Have you asked your supervisor? Instead of asking us, talk to him. He might have good reason. Even if not, then you know some reasons.
Regarding his incapability to write the assigned section, also talk to your adviser how to proceed. You might write it and let the fake author still remain as an author. It might not feel right, but removing an author usually burns bridges (unless suggested by the removed author himself).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Your advisor being a co-author is completely normal. He goes as last author. Everyone knows what that means. After all it was he that wrote the grant proposal etc.
Your advisor is probably trying to get the citation count of a friend of his increased nefariously. I'm going to go against the grain and say unless your advisor volunteers a sensible answer, talk to a department chair, as it's not a good situation to be in. This may blow up in your face, but if it does it's exceedingly unlikely that you wouldn't have been looking for a new job anyway sooner rather than later.
Id also take this as a bad indication of your advisor and quietly look for another job whatever happens.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I would never go along with this. It is obviously unfair to you. Ultimately, your job as a post-doc is to publish well and signal to potential employers that you are a highly capable job candidate. Your advisor is asking you to do something that runs counter to that goal.
Not only would I not do this, I would seriously question my advisor’s motives and consider whether or not my advisor makes decisions with my best interests in mind.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: It sounds as though you work in the field of statistics. Typically, in this field we start with real world problems and try build statistical models that will answer this question.
One aspect of statistical research that was not evident to me in grad school but is quite evident now is that a good deal of the work is actually **finding** interesting real world problems and turning those in questions that can be answered by our new, awesome statistical model. Often times, an advisor will do a lot of work setting up a real world problem as a statistics problem and then pass the rest to a grad student or postdoc.
Note that in this process, outside researchers play a very important role; they provide us with real world problems! The field of statistics in a vacuum is quite boring, but interesting models are created from outside researchers coming to statisticians and saying "The standard methods that I'm aware don't work well for this type of data, what can you do?". A lot of back and forth happens between the outside research and the statistician and sometime later, a paper is produced.
My point of all this: there is an innocent explanation for your advisor's behavior. It is possible that they've had long discussions with this outside researcher which ultimately motivated the work you did. In such a case, including them as a co-author is very reasonable. Of course, there's also the not-so-great explanation that they are just trying to help a buddy before their tenure review too.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: What would happen if you just kept sending their parts back for revision until it was at least middling acceptable? Keep a paper trail of all correspondence should something blow up. But in this case all you're doing is requiring rigor. The injustice is something you may have to get used to until you are running completely independent (whatever that means!). And I'm not saying to accept overt academic dishonesty, just to be clear.
Try to put all the questions of "should this person even be here"--they clearly should not--aside and say "if this was a student of mine what would I require of them on this paper" and just enforce academic rigor.
This approach could have the advantage of discouraging future fake collaboration, and you have the defense from a social perspective that you are "only requesting that the writing be rigorously correct". This will probably work better if you try to pull your emotions out of it as completely as possible and pretend you are a third party evaluating the work (otherwise your animosity is going to show through in how you word requests for revision, is what I'm saying here). "This sentence is unclear" "This actually implies the opposite of our conclusion, can you fix this part" "I'm concerned with the phrasing here". As neutral as possible. *It will be much more painful than doing it yourself and it still won't be as good as what you would have done*. But it will be better, and if the pain feedback loop works, your advisor will know what your standards are next time and maybe pick a better "collaborator" or at least be prepared for a lot of revision requests.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: It looks like a situation in which one has to cry that the king is naked, but everyone might just as well not do it. And there's an element of conflict to manage, of course. My two cents.
You could also submit 'as is', and then see what the reviewers say. After the first round, your co-authors will probably have a lot of ideas about how you will have to fix the shortcomings in their parts. Then, perhaps, you will be able to plant your heels on the ground. And this may help you keep your potential overconfidence in check.
On another tack, in general, I think that a statement in the acknowledgement such as *Author X has done x, Author Y has done y, Author Z has done z* is perfectly acceptable. For example, I found a forum post in the Elsevier environment <https://www.elsevier.com/connect/clarifying-attribution-in-a-digital-world>: the keyword there is **clarifying attribution**. It can even help readers interested in x, y, or z seek contact with the right person for questions tangential to the article (for which the corresponding author is the contact person).
If the statement has to boil down to *Author Z has written the introduction*, this might stimulate a moment of self-reflection and the retraction of the idea (out of restraint and shame, if present). There should be a form to fill when an author withdraws after submission, which has to be signed by all initial co-authors to avoid ostracism; don't know whether your co-author would admit such a retreat. Else, the statement will be left to the scrutiny of the the editor/reviewers, assumed they cast their eyeballs on it.
And, as a corresponding author, it is your role to make sure that the manuscript has been approved by all co-authors. That is to say: editors and reviewers do not want to be bothered by what happens behind the scenes, nor should they. On the bright side, Author Z should not bother the editors and reviewers if he does not like the stand of Author X. The dirty linen have to be washed in the family first.
Socially, you will not be the pliable postdoc that they would have wanted to have. They will be clearly disappointed by having chosen the wrong person.
---
Ethically, serious editorial policies oppose **guest and ghost authors**, that is false positives and false negatives for the test question *Who is the originator of this content?* An interesting reading is the Vancouver recommendations <http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf> of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors --- it may provide ammunitions to your short- and long-term positioning.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Good grief. Academia is absolutely among the worst in having people completely overstep their authority.
This is going to be hard, because it goes counter to what you've been taught. But simply establish it this way:
1. You cannot allow a 3rd party in there that has done no other work.
2. You are the final arbitrator of who becomes added to your own paper. I'm sorry, but your advisor simply doesn't count.
You'll discover (hopefully not the hard way) that
1. There *is* no other way that won't leave you feeling like you've been had.
2. There *is* no other way, period.
I wish you well. But *how* to stand up to others who wish to steal both your thunder and self-respect is going to be part of what you gain in life as a tool. A tool no less important than anything else you learned in school.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/01/30
| 2,748
| 11,637
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have made a campus interview. I want to send a "thank you" email to research committee. Is it make sense to do ?<issue_comment>username_1: Without knowing what your advisor's motivation is, this question is difficult - not to mention dangerous - to answer. For all your know, you could ignore your advisor's advice, write the paper yourself, get it accepted, and then end up with an academic misconduct case leveled against you because you used something that the other person did in some obscure but vital way. For example, maybe your advisor gave you some results to start you off, and those results were obtained by the other person.
If after acquiring the facts you determine that your advisor is asking you to add an author unethically, *then* you can do something about it, but it's not a good idea to act without the facts. Determine the facts first, then worry about what to do next.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Hmmm. Socially:
If you have already agreed to it then you should just go along, graciously. In particular, don't take any action that makes vindictive people (who have power) want to sabotage your future. It is only one paper. There will be others. A paper is a good thing, even under such circumstances. If the advisor has some standing, that might actually be good for you.
Ethically:
Try to work to disassociate yourself from these people (leeches?) going forward. They are acting in their own interest, not yours. Advisors shouldn't play such a game. Find more honest and ethical collaborators.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: I agree with the other answers, just adding my answer to this part of the question:
>
> I believe that to have a realistic chance to have my work accepted I need to write the sections that were assigned to the third author myself (which I don't mind doing). But how do I handle this situation socially? I feel like now that this person is officially on the author list I cannot simply delete and rewrite what they wrote before submitting, i.e. even though I consider them a "fake" co-author they are now a co-author that needs to clear the final version of the paper.
>
>
>
I think you're right: given that you accepted this person as a co-author in order not to offend anybody, it would be counter-productive to risk offending them by unilaterally deleting their part.
However since it's your advisor who insisted on having this co-author (and you've already been kind enough to accept), maybe you could go through them: you could tell them that this person's part is "improvable" (if you use this word try to convey that it's an understatement!), that you're worried that this could harm the chances of getting the paper accepted (this is an important argument), and that you don't mind doing this part yourself and keeping the person as co-author... And tell your advisor that you're not comfortable saying this to the third author yourself as you don't know them personally (hinting that it's the advisor's mess, not yours), that's why you ask them (the advisor) to deal with this diplomatically since they have a closer relationship with the co-author.
This way you don't offend anyone, and hopefully your advisor will realize that it's the least they can do in this situation.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Have you asked your supervisor? Instead of asking us, talk to him. He might have good reason. Even if not, then you know some reasons.
Regarding his incapability to write the assigned section, also talk to your adviser how to proceed. You might write it and let the fake author still remain as an author. It might not feel right, but removing an author usually burns bridges (unless suggested by the removed author himself).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Your advisor being a co-author is completely normal. He goes as last author. Everyone knows what that means. After all it was he that wrote the grant proposal etc.
Your advisor is probably trying to get the citation count of a friend of his increased nefariously. I'm going to go against the grain and say unless your advisor volunteers a sensible answer, talk to a department chair, as it's not a good situation to be in. This may blow up in your face, but if it does it's exceedingly unlikely that you wouldn't have been looking for a new job anyway sooner rather than later.
Id also take this as a bad indication of your advisor and quietly look for another job whatever happens.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I would never go along with this. It is obviously unfair to you. Ultimately, your job as a post-doc is to publish well and signal to potential employers that you are a highly capable job candidate. Your advisor is asking you to do something that runs counter to that goal.
Not only would I not do this, I would seriously question my advisor’s motives and consider whether or not my advisor makes decisions with my best interests in mind.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: It sounds as though you work in the field of statistics. Typically, in this field we start with real world problems and try build statistical models that will answer this question.
One aspect of statistical research that was not evident to me in grad school but is quite evident now is that a good deal of the work is actually **finding** interesting real world problems and turning those in questions that can be answered by our new, awesome statistical model. Often times, an advisor will do a lot of work setting up a real world problem as a statistics problem and then pass the rest to a grad student or postdoc.
Note that in this process, outside researchers play a very important role; they provide us with real world problems! The field of statistics in a vacuum is quite boring, but interesting models are created from outside researchers coming to statisticians and saying "The standard methods that I'm aware don't work well for this type of data, what can you do?". A lot of back and forth happens between the outside research and the statistician and sometime later, a paper is produced.
My point of all this: there is an innocent explanation for your advisor's behavior. It is possible that they've had long discussions with this outside researcher which ultimately motivated the work you did. In such a case, including them as a co-author is very reasonable. Of course, there's also the not-so-great explanation that they are just trying to help a buddy before their tenure review too.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: What would happen if you just kept sending their parts back for revision until it was at least middling acceptable? Keep a paper trail of all correspondence should something blow up. But in this case all you're doing is requiring rigor. The injustice is something you may have to get used to until you are running completely independent (whatever that means!). And I'm not saying to accept overt academic dishonesty, just to be clear.
Try to put all the questions of "should this person even be here"--they clearly should not--aside and say "if this was a student of mine what would I require of them on this paper" and just enforce academic rigor.
This approach could have the advantage of discouraging future fake collaboration, and you have the defense from a social perspective that you are "only requesting that the writing be rigorously correct". This will probably work better if you try to pull your emotions out of it as completely as possible and pretend you are a third party evaluating the work (otherwise your animosity is going to show through in how you word requests for revision, is what I'm saying here). "This sentence is unclear" "This actually implies the opposite of our conclusion, can you fix this part" "I'm concerned with the phrasing here". As neutral as possible. *It will be much more painful than doing it yourself and it still won't be as good as what you would have done*. But it will be better, and if the pain feedback loop works, your advisor will know what your standards are next time and maybe pick a better "collaborator" or at least be prepared for a lot of revision requests.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: It looks like a situation in which one has to cry that the king is naked, but everyone might just as well not do it. And there's an element of conflict to manage, of course. My two cents.
You could also submit 'as is', and then see what the reviewers say. After the first round, your co-authors will probably have a lot of ideas about how you will have to fix the shortcomings in their parts. Then, perhaps, you will be able to plant your heels on the ground. And this may help you keep your potential overconfidence in check.
On another tack, in general, I think that a statement in the acknowledgement such as *Author X has done x, Author Y has done y, Author Z has done z* is perfectly acceptable. For example, I found a forum post in the Elsevier environment <https://www.elsevier.com/connect/clarifying-attribution-in-a-digital-world>: the keyword there is **clarifying attribution**. It can even help readers interested in x, y, or z seek contact with the right person for questions tangential to the article (for which the corresponding author is the contact person).
If the statement has to boil down to *Author Z has written the introduction*, this might stimulate a moment of self-reflection and the retraction of the idea (out of restraint and shame, if present). There should be a form to fill when an author withdraws after submission, which has to be signed by all initial co-authors to avoid ostracism; don't know whether your co-author would admit such a retreat. Else, the statement will be left to the scrutiny of the the editor/reviewers, assumed they cast their eyeballs on it.
And, as a corresponding author, it is your role to make sure that the manuscript has been approved by all co-authors. That is to say: editors and reviewers do not want to be bothered by what happens behind the scenes, nor should they. On the bright side, Author Z should not bother the editors and reviewers if he does not like the stand of Author X. The dirty linen have to be washed in the family first.
Socially, you will not be the pliable postdoc that they would have wanted to have. They will be clearly disappointed by having chosen the wrong person.
---
Ethically, serious editorial policies oppose **guest and ghost authors**, that is false positives and false negatives for the test question *Who is the originator of this content?* An interesting reading is the Vancouver recommendations <http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf> of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors --- it may provide ammunitions to your short- and long-term positioning.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Good grief. Academia is absolutely among the worst in having people completely overstep their authority.
This is going to be hard, because it goes counter to what you've been taught. But simply establish it this way:
1. You cannot allow a 3rd party in there that has done no other work.
2. You are the final arbitrator of who becomes added to your own paper. I'm sorry, but your advisor simply doesn't count.
You'll discover (hopefully not the hard way) that
1. There *is* no other way that won't leave you feeling like you've been had.
2. There *is* no other way, period.
I wish you well. But *how* to stand up to others who wish to steal both your thunder and self-respect is going to be part of what you gain in life as a tool. A tool no less important than anything else you learned in school.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/01/30
| 521
| 1,993
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am writing my Master's thesis on topological quantum field theories, and would like to cite the following paper:
* arXiv version: <https://arxiv.org/abs/q-alg/9503002>
* Published version: <https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.531236>
The published version is from 1995, while on arXiv there are two versions, one from 1995 and one from 2004. Which one of the papers should I cite (published or arXiv)? And how should I cite them?<issue_comment>username_1: I think best practice is to include the arxiv identifier for any paper you cite anyway, so the bibliography will include both the publication info and a link to the arxiv. In that sense you don't have to choose just one. If it's say in the introduction and you're writing "The stabilization hypothesis was introduced in [BD]" there's no need to specify which version you're referring to. However, if you want to refer to a specific theorem number then you might want to clarify if the numbering disagrees in the two sources. Similarly if you want to refer to something that's only in a later revision then you have to be clear. So you could say "Theorem x from [BD] (which appears only in the arxiv version) says..."
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In this case it seems like the only change between the 1995 arXiv version and the 2004 one is that some missing figures were added. You can see this in the arXiv comments field (Also note that v2 is still dated 1995). Therefore you should go ahead and cite the published version.
If in the future you find a published paper with unpublished addenda then you can either cite both versions or cite the published version and mention the differences in a footnote. But it's always a good idea to cite the published version so people know it has been peer reviewed. I would find it quite odd to see an arXiv paper from 2004 cited in a paper (pre)published in 2020 because then I'm worried that that paper was never accepted.
Upvotes: 3
|
2020/01/31
| 795
| 3,290
|
<issue_start>username_0: I want to know whether there is any **necessary** entity (quality/property) in the traditional **classroom** teaching that cannot be done without a physical classroom with intended students. Please keep aside the administrative responsibilities such as minimum teaching hours in classroom, availability in office, maintaining attendance of students etc.,
Afaik, most of the tasks that a professor (any lecturer) can do in the classroom can also be done without classroom with assembled students, nowadays, with high availability.
For lecture, a professor can publish her recorded video lectures to students. For query solving or interaction, she can use the Q&A site for her students. Announcements can also be streamed in a similar way. I'm referring to the sites such as Google classroom, piazza, slack, etc.,
In such a case, I'm getting the doubt whether there exists a necessary entity that a professor cannot provide without (her direct presence) a classroom teaching.
If such an entity exists, then what is that?<issue_comment>username_1: Although I think this question is both too broad and is just asking for opinions, I answered part of it in a [related question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/69231/how-to-politely-and-logically-explain-that-i-dont-want-to-receive-notification/69260#69260):
>
> The fast development of the technologies involved has meant that we regularly experience new waves of communication trends whose popularity waxes and wanes. It often moves so rapidly that a medium is defunct before any study of its usage is ever made. I've been using waves of leading edge communication technologies from the mid 1970's. For me there is much deja-vu; I am reminded of <NAME>'s fascination with the latest media of the day in education. He too though that the embracing of the latest technology would be the solution. I am also reminded of fashionable predictions of how 21st century eduction would be performed using modern media. Each time a new technology becomes fashionable, be it computers, email, web pages, cellular telephony, smartphones, wearable computers or social media they are projected as the ultimate solution to any perceived ills of the education system at any particular time period.
>
>
>
Also there are many relevant answers in this question: [What is the point of a lecture when you have a textbook?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/52678/what-is-the-point-of-a-lecture-when-you-have-a-textbook)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Have you ever taught? When you explain something to a class, have you ever seen understanding happen in students' faces, or confusion? When the former happens, have you stopped your speaking and prompted the student to continue your thought and make it their own? Or in the latter case, have you stopped and asked what was unclear, had a discussion about it, and then tried to explain it in a different way?
None of this happens in an online setting: You give students a textbook chapter to read or a video to watch, but it's not interactive: You can't catch students where they need to be caught to learn efficiently because you don't have the personal interaction and contact. Personal contact really is a very powerful thing.
Upvotes: 4
|
2020/01/31
| 586
| 2,497
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a junior at a large state university. Lately, as you all have probably heard, the coronavirus is spreading like a wildfire and we all should be scared.
My instructor is from China, and my school is also filled with Asian students. How do I ask for excused absences so that I can stay at home for the lectures so that I won't get the virus from my instructor or my Asian classmates? Do I contact the chair of the department that's offering the course or the dean of the school? Would it be better if I ask to switch to an online class instead (it's already after the add/drop period)
Some suggestion would be helpful.<issue_comment>username_1: You should do none of these things and we should not all be scared. This would be panic reaction.
You have not said in which country you are studying, but the Health authorities of most governments have issued official advice to their citizens which you should follow. Most institutions, such as universities, will also have issued official advice which you should also read and follow.
If you are in the UK the Department of Health has provided advice to UK universities.
If you wanted personal action, using hand cleansing gel dispensers provided by the university will reduce incidents of cross contamination and ensure regular hand-washing is your best defence.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: "We should all be scared" [citation needed]
However, some concern is reasonable. For this reason it is likely that your university has developed policies around this topic. Ask your contact point at the university (e.g. a student service centre or similar). Please be careful to avoid racism against people who look Asian.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If you have a special need, such as an immune deficiency, and must avoid all potential sources of infection, then your university will probably have some procedures to accommodate you. If you have deep psychological fears of disease then your university may have a counseling office to help you deal with your fears.
Otherwise, the other answers here, counseling you to relax should be considered as good advice.
Note, of course, that authorities are dealing with the problems of international travel by isolating travelers who might have become infected so that the problem is contained. It isn't Asians you need to be concerned with in any case. It is those frequent international travelers who don't comply with quarantine guidelines.
Upvotes: 3
|
2020/01/31
| 1,414
| 6,302
|
<issue_start>username_0: During my Ph.D. work at a university, I followed up on someone else's doctoral work (I am no longer associated with that university). This person provided me with the source code for his work. I subsequently discovered that this source code is a slightly modified copy of some publicly available sources, which have a GPL license. The modifications are mostly some instruction toggling/rebracketing and variable renaming. Just a few instructions contain slight modifications (that I personally do not find any more justifiable than the variable renaming). Moreover, in the versions that this person gave me, the authorship headers of the original authors are replaced by his own and the copyright mentions of the university in question are also added. The GPL license notice, which is present in the original sources, is removed from all but one package.
I had reported these observations to my supervisors (who also supervised the work of the person in question), but they sought to suppress the matter and warned me of legal actions if I reported this matter any further (hence I am not reporting it directly to the university, which by the way does not seem to have an ethics committee). I'll note that these observations in the source code are part of several issues that I observed in this person's work (that involves several publications and his doctoral dissertation; I'll probably ask for advice regarding that in separate questions).
Is it legally safe if I publicly share the source code provided by this person along with the links to the online available original sources? The code was transferred to me by this person through a sharing link that is no longer available. I can only prove that I reported my observations to my supervisors as well as to this person (he responded by reaffirming that the source code was developed at the university in question and refused any further communication). I'll note that an engineer at the university trans-coded some of the source code in question for use in a commercial product for which the university had a collaboration with a private firm.
Update:
-------
I am also a co-author of this person in a couple of publications. This collaboration was supposed to be a sort of transition/continuation, at the beginning of my doctoral program and the end of his, of his reportedly high-functioning work. When I discovered several anomalies, I requested my supervisors to get these publications retracted. My detailed response is at the [PubPeer page of one of these publications](https://pubpeer.com/publications/A4AA4DAC550DE014EC874D3EAC95F0#11). In my response, I have also shared some of my email exchanges with my co-authors. These exchanges lend support for raising the issue about the source code, without actually sharing it.
I was quite shocked when this person suggested that he not only did not have to acknowledge the use of the existing ideas/solutions but also considered their mere mention to be optional (his exact words: "You do not have to acknowledge but you can cite them"). Concerns about the acknowledgment of the sources, the soundness of ideas, and various peculiarities in results are raised on [the PubPeer pages of his several publications](https://pubpeer.com/search?q=Sharib+Ali+AND+Walter+Blondel+AND+Christian+Daul).
Considering my question about the legal aspect, the comments about this being a legal question are right. However, I would also like to know if publishing this source code would be objectively helpful (a part of it was given to me with the GPL notice intact). Some comments on the above-mentioned PubPeer pages compare long extracts and a large number of equations from the publications to point out something that can be noticed in a glance by comparing the source codes.
Thanks for the discussion in response to my query! Depending on the input in the comments, I might post this part as a separate question.<issue_comment>username_1: With the caveat that I am not a lawyer, the answer is "no".
You have:
* code A, which is GPL-licensed
* code B, which is a derivative work of A and not GPL-licensed.
The GPL license requires that all derivative works are also GPL-licensed. As B does not carry the GPL license, it is a copyright violation and (depending on jurisdiction) it is probably illegal for you to distribute it.
If the changes needed are small, your simplest way forward would be to take code A, and modify it yourself as needed to make code C, while *keeping it GPL-licensed*, and release that.
EDIT: As noted in the comments, it is possible that A had two licenses: The GPL, and another license granted specifically to the author of B which permitted them to change the names and redistribute without GPL. This seems very unlikely, but you should consider the possibility if considering accusations of any sort.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: What that person did, was not just plagiarism, but also copyright infringement. They took a GPL licensed work (legal), modified it (still legal), published it, but not under the GPL license (copyright infringement), and claimed it as their own work (plagiarism).
If you wanted to be nasty, you could tell the original author of the code about this, and if that person decides to sue for copyright infringement, that university and everyone involved is in deep trouble. I would be curious to know whether anyone ever managed to get their thesis revoked, not for plagiarism, but for copyright infringement plus plagiarism.
No, you are absolutely not allowed to use this software in any way, shape or form, unless you get the permission of the copyright holder. Or if the person producing the modified code gives you another copy *including the GPL license*.
I cannot understand how a university would have allowed this. Quoting some text without reference is bad enough, but actively removing copyright notices, license information, and author names, that's an entirely different level.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: As I haven't seen either code, and as a university professor myself, based on what you have mentioned, I would recommend that you consult with the GPL licensing authority.... They can decide about the proper respond both legally and ethically
Upvotes: -1
|
2020/02/01
| 813
| 3,360
|
<issue_start>username_0: Background:
I hold citizenship of a country included in the Exchange Visitor Skill list for J1 visa holders (my research area, biological sciences, is on the list as well). My postdoc project is funded by NIH/NSF grants to the lab (not in a university). I completed a Ph.D. in a major US university last year, and my work authorization is under the F1 OPT. In light of diminishing faculty openings, I do not have a strong preference for staying in academia long term.
Details:
I started my current (and first) postdoc position a few months back, and this position is funded for the next few years. My advisor has been great, and she is supportive. I am also satisfied with the progress being made in the project.
Due to the increased visa denials, I was advised to wait for the next visa and not leave the US during the OPT period. The HR informed me that J1 is the only option as per the organization policy, and my advisor is powerless even if she wants to help. I did not know that non-University entities could sponsor J1 and thought H1B was the only choice (a significant reason for choosing this position; my bad.)
If I take J1, I will be subject to the two year home residency rule (which is the worst; the economy in my home country (a banana republic) is in shambles). Being on OPT would make it extremely risky to leave the US, and the status of the OPT STEM extension is uncertain. These factors make me want to look for new opportunities with H1B sponsorship. However, the fact that my advisor has been supportive and having to leave after a few months without any publication makes me feel incredibly guilty. I would appreciate perspectives on this issue.<issue_comment>username_1: Talk about it frankly, with your supervisor.
A supportive supervisor is able to understand your situation, and due to his experience in the field may even help you out.
You say you have no publications, but you probably already some preliminary results or findings: these will probably be assigned to the care of another postdoc if you quit.
*In my opinion* good ethics would suggest that you then spend a small amount of your time helping them getting up to speed on your results. If you abide by this, I think there is no need to feel any guilt.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Being a postdoc is a job. You are not a slave for academia, nor is your reasearch so important (no offense) that you have to continue it no matter what happens to your life. (Nobody's research is.)\*
You are a professional and should act as such. There is nothing to be guilty about. Any reasonable person knows and understands that there are reasons which end one's participation in a project even if there is no "outcome" of the project. Probably your supervisor would feel more guilty if you feel the need to stay just because of them.
I do not mean to be harsh -- it is only human to feel guilty about such things. What would you do if your were the supervisor?
Talk about your feelings with your friends -- emotional questions like this are better discussed with trusted people than on the Internet.
\*Just for completeness, given the recent situation: If you were an absolute key person in the research of coronavirus and countermeasures, maybe it could be argued that you should stay until you transferred all your knowledge.
Upvotes: 3
|
2020/02/01
| 994
| 3,907
|
<issue_start>username_0: This is a question about the Harvard referencing system.
I've written a paper and cited two publications, each with a single author, both published in the same year. These authors are unrelated - one is a man and the other is a woman - but they have the same surname and the same two initials. They do have different first and middle names, but neither has a second middle name. So it's as it were <NAME>, 2012 and <NAME>, 2012.
How do I handle this? I'm guessing my inline citations should be either (Smith, Alice, 2012) or (Smith, 2012a), but can't work out which. Or maybe it's something else. Plus in the bibliography, should they be listed by alphabetical order of author first name? Chronologically?
Many thanks for any help.<issue_comment>username_1: The guidelines to the venue you are submitting to must be your guideline. After all, the title of the paper is what distinguishes one author from the other. And this information is present in the bibliography.
For the in text references, neither [University of Leeds](https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/50/leeds_harvard_introduction/3) nor [The University of Melbourne](https://library.unimelb.edu.au/recite/assets/documents/pdf/harvard-notes.pdf) has any suggestion for such situation. However, both use the style (Smith, 2012a) and (Smith, 2012b) for same author, different publications. So, that is not correct.
Personally, I would go with adding a footnote at every page that the citation occurs, maybe with a Google Scholar or personal website page.
Writing the full name would not be a generic solution as there might be two different authors with same name and same surname.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes - the style is determined by the publication venue.
As someone who works with a bibliographic database (Mathematical Reviews / MathSciNet), I find brief citations systems that use last name + initials "quaint" at best. Yes, a human can possibly sort out whether <NAME> refers to <NAME> or <NAME>. However, if both are occurring in the references of the same paper, there is a good chance that the two Smiths work in related areas, making the identification of author with paper not so easy. There are harder cases to separate. In our database, we have over 100 names of the form Li Li and over 300 of the form Wei Wang (not counting names such as Weifang Wang). A favorite example of our catalogers are the two researchers named <NAME> and <NAME>, both of whom work at Universidad Nacional Noroeste in Buenos Aires, who work in similar areas, and have coauthored at least 75 papers together.
I have very mixed feelings about bibliometrics, but many departments and deans do not. Trying to match <NAME> to the correct author for an *automated* publication count is going to be a challenge. Similarly, an automated match of the citation will be tough. Some citation styles for journals are particularly brief, something I associate with physics journals, but they occur more broadly. An example is the [AIP "by number" style](https://aip.scitation.org/jap/authors/manuscript): initials and last names of the authors, the journal name, volume, first page number only, and year. AIP also allows a fuller style that uses the authors' initials, last names, title of the paper cited, journal name, volume, first and last page, and year. The brief style coincides with listing references in the order they appear; the full style is for when the references are alphabetical.
As an author, you are at the mercy of the journal style. If you have a choice, as with the AIP example, I recommend going with the longer version. If you are a publisher of journals with minimalist reference style, I recommend that you give your authors a break and consider switching to a longer style.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2020/02/02
| 1,506
| 6,728
|
<issue_start>username_0: I was initially in the field of pure math, but I successfully transitioned to being a researcher of machine learning with much less effort than I expected. My strategy was, instead of learning CS and ML from scratch, to read many interesting recent ML papers and, whenever I encounter with unfamiliar concepts or papers that are cited and seem to contain the information necessary for my understanding, I tried to find the relevant documents online to understand it.
While there is a vast amount of knowledge accumulated in ML, this unstructured way of pursuit strategy of knowledge turned out to be sufficient for me to cover the important information to contribute to the current state of research in a way I like, probably much more efficiently than by learning in a more structured way. I call this "backward learning strategy."
I think this may be similar to how researchers learn when they transition from an area to an area after PhD. Of course, feasibility of this learning must be dependent on the field. Even for pure mathematicians, one cannot understand an arithmetic geometry paper without at least having learned AG in textbook-level. However, it was not difficult for me to understand a paper on a certain kidney disease after reading some relevant papers, without much knowledge in medicine.
Unfortunately, I've not been able to find relevant information about this strategy online. I want some paper references for this learning.
Edit: Asking for anectodes may be not suitable for this site, so I changed it to paper references instead.<issue_comment>username_1: Documentation I don't have, but anecdotes, sure.
Actually, I'd be surprised if what you describe as "backward learning" isn't pretty ubiquitous in mathematics for new researchers, say doctoral students. Another name for it might be "just in time" learning, or "just enough".
Suppose a doctoral student is trying to get going on some problem suggested by an advisor. The advisor gives the students a paper or three that might be promising for extension. Those papers might have been authored by the advisor.
But the advisor had a certain history of learning and a certain base of understanding when the papers were written that the student is very unlikely to match. Even though they have taken advanced courses in the general area, this is different and very specific. So, to understand that paper(s), the student looks, also, at the papers referenced there, or even just their abstracts. If that is enough to provide a base, then fine, but one level is not always sufficient. I'd suggest several levels is *usually* required. My own doctoral research required me to work through a forty year development of the topic, just to be able to state a problem.
Forty years might not be much in a sub-field that isn't very active, of course. But the student needs enough of that backward look until most of the things stated in the papers are actually captured in the typical course. Or, if not captured, derivable from them in a straightforward manner.
However, once you become thoroughly familiar with some highly specialized topic, you have gained a lot of knowledge that isn't in text books and probably isn't worth putting in text books due to its specialized nature (and appeal). So, such a person can continue to move forward without so much backing up as was first required.
And math papers are written for other math experts, not for school kids. The jumps between steps can be quite large. So, a working mathematician will fairly often ask "where did *that* come from" while reading a paper. They may just assume the jump is valid, but if not, then it requires a deeper look and perhaps going backward to specialized sources (i.e. the referenced papers).
So, pretty common in math, I think. With no basis for saying so, I'd guess it is similar in other technical fields as well. The basics that you find in text books can be pretty far from the research frontier in math and maybe other fields as well.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: To give an analogy from your own current field of ML/DL, this is the essence of transfer learning.
You train a model (~learn particular background and acquire skills) for a certain task (~a certain field). You then use this learning to solve a related, but different task (~a related, possibly applied, but not wholly different field) without re-training your model (~ learning the background/required skills from scratch).
It isn't surprising that 'learning' is common to the human and the machine, because ML is essentially mimicking human learning patterns.
If you are interested in a more neuroscience/sociological academic understanding of this, I'd refer you to researchers like [<NAME>](https://www.edge.org/conversation/mirror-neurons-and-imitation-learning-as-the-driving-force-behind-the-great-leap-forward-in-human-evolution). He calls it 'imitation learning' and relates it to the structure of neurons in the brain (mirror neurons to be precise) and suggests that the primary way of learning is to see something, imitate it and emulate it. The 'emulate' part is essentially what you are doing by applying skills developed somewhere to a different task/field.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes, it's called "learning." Mathematics is highly atypical because we currently structure mathematical training as a pipeline as though this were the best or only way to go about it. (I would argue that it's not even a good way to go about it, and it certainly isn't true that it's necessary to have plodded through Hartshorne in order to begin reading papers in algebraic geometry.)
The only research on *learning* in the manner you describe is likely to be some learning-styles research on "holistic" vs. "sequential" learners. There seems like there might be some differences among students' comfort with these two approaches, but like all learning-styles research this needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
On the *teaching* side, however, it has become very voguish lately to use "backwards design" when creating courses, where an instructor starts out with a set of learning objectives and then, well, works backwards. I don't personally know of any examples of college- or grad-level mathematics courses doing this right. I know I have seen studies done on the efficacy of this approach in other fields, including STEM fields, but I don't have any references to point you to at my fingertips. Probably the best-studied examples are in foreign language instruction, where it has been well-established that an immersive approach is vastly superior to the old-fashioned vocab-and-grammar approach.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/02
| 694
| 2,559
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<issue_start>username_0: I am writing a scientific paper and I won't be able to go in the details of a certain topic.
I am considering to write something like: "The topic XXX is beyond the scope of this paper.".
I know that this is a common practice in research and it will not be a problem to write such a phrase.
However, since I think that it is a good idea to direct the reader towards useful literature about the XXX topic. For this reason, I was wondering how to write that in English. The alternatives I have in mind are:
1. A complete survey of the topic XXX is beyond the scope of this paper [1,2,3].
2. A complete survey of the topic XXX is beyond the scope of this paper and the reader is directed to [1,2,3] for further details.
3. A complete survey of the topic XXX is beyond the scope of this paper and the reader is referred to the literature for further details [1,2,3].
\*where [1,2,3] are just examples of the referred literature
Unfortunately, I don't like any of them so far but I prefer 3. Could you help me with finding a solution?
Thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> A complete survey of the topic XXX is beyond the scope of this paper
> (see [1,2,3] for an overview).
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Ideally you'd be able to point to a survey paper.
>
> For a more extensive survey of topic XXX, see [1].
>
>
>
That's a bit more precise than saying "start reading [1,2,3] and you'll be able to figure it out from there".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Short and sweet: "XXX is out of scope here, more details can be found in [1, 2, 3]." Or perhaps "XXX is out of scope in this paper, an overview is [2], some details can be found in [1, 3]."
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: All of your suggestions seem fine to me, except for
>
> A complete survey of the topic XXX is beyond the scope of this paper [1,2,3].
>
>
>
This looks like you want to express that references [1], [2], and [3] explain or maybe conclude that the preceding statement (topic XXX is beyond the scope of your paper) is true.
The intended meaning could be figured out, but it would still come across as very sloppy writing, as if you were not sufficiently interested in putting together a reasonable text.
If you are fighting for the last few characters due to space restrictions, you can still move the referencing bracket a little bit forward in your sentence for things to make sense again:
>
> A complete survey of the topic XXX [1,2,3] is beyond the scope of this paper.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/02
| 717
| 2,874
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate who will be applying to graduate school in the fall.
In my academic career, I have published 1 paper in a not so well known journal ([International Journal of Applied Pattern Recognition](https://www.inderscience.com/jhome.php?jcode=ijapr)) and I believe the paper is sub-par, especially compared to the rest of my CV. Should I still list it in my CV when I apply for graduate school?
I am worried that the paper might stick out like a sore thumb in an otherwise adequate list of experience and accolades. But on the other hand, since I do not have any other papers, this might be an additional evidence of research experience, especially since I published it at the beginning of my sophomore year (I doubt the admissions committee will look too deeply at the dates and come to that conclusion though..).<issue_comment>username_1: Perhaps your dim view of you paper isn't because it isn't good, but rather a reflection of your growth in the field since you wrote it. You have more knowledge and higher standards now. Your old work may seem naive now, though it didn't then, and it might not to other readers.
Yes, I'd list it in grad school applications. As you say it shows some understanding of what research entails which is pretty rare among undergraduates in some places such as the US.
And for most people, your first paper is never your best. It would be a disaster if it were.
Many writers, not just scholars, look back on their early work with a bit of horror. "How could I have been so bad and still succeed?"
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **Is the journal peer-reviewed and does it have even a small degree of scientific respectability?**
If the answer is no, maybe you should consider leaving it out.
If the answer is yes, keep it.
>
> This might be an additional evidence of research experience
>
>
>
It is.
>
> ...I published it at the beginning of my sophomore year (I doubt the
> admissions committee will look too deeply at the dates and come to
> that conclusion though..).
>
>
>
Publishing in a peer-reviewed journal while being an undergraduate is rather rare, so this could be a big plus for you. *Make* the admissions committee to "look into" the dates, by, say, including a mention of the paper in your Introductory/Intentions letter (or how they call it these days), not as bragging but, possibly, linking it to your desire to go further in your studies (like "it was an experience that made me appreciate...", etc).
The above mention of the paper could be useful even if you decide to keep it out of your CV otherwise. Mention the publication, mention perhaps that you do not consider it "serious" or "scientifically worthy", but again, mention the experience and how it did help you vis-a-vis scientific study and research, irrespective of the end result.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/02
| 1,338
| 5,973
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm an incoming PhD student. I did some research during my undergrad and master. One of the things my advisors told me was to read papers but not too focused on "technical details". This did help me navigate literature faster by just skimming for the "main ideas" in the paper. But is this the right attitude when the purpose of reading papers is to learn techniques (e.g. how to prove certain bounds, how to analyze certain matrix operations)? I felt that understanding an overall "strategy" or "essential ideas" has not been very effective in advancing my own research. That is, I'm still not very good at doing those type of complicated analysis and my research effort remains "elementary". It's like taking a math class without doing any homework: I feel that I know what is what but tend to struggle when actually sitting for an exam and solving problems.
What is the most effective way to cultivate technical abilities as a researcher, without the aid of textbooks and problem sets?<issue_comment>username_1: Textbooks and problem sets *are* the specialized tools to teach you technical abilities.
Research papers may describe a technique, but they're often more focused on proving that the technique is sound, or a promising direction for research. Teaching you how to use the technique is not their primary aim. That's probably why your professors told you not to get stuck on the technical parts.
The time-tested ways of learning technique are textbooks, exercises, and taking classes where a teacher guides you through the material. Nowadays of course there also online courses, which makes it easier to do during hours that suit you.
One of the key advantages of a textbook, or a course or problem set, is completeness. If the author knew what they were doing, the programme will give you a thorough and complete set of skills.
Compare this to trying to learn from the examples in individual papers, or learning by tackling each problem as it appears (the classic self-taught programmer). The self-taught method *doesn't know what it doesn't know*. If you missed a key insight while trying to learn techniques from a stack of papers, because it wasn't explicitly used in those papers, you might never notice.
That said, not all textbooks and courses are equally good, and some are good for some students but not others. So look for one that actually works for you.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In my experience (in the field of statistics - but I suspect it is of wider application) you need to switch between two modes. Sometimes, all you need is to skim a paper for its main ideas. But sometimes you will never understand a paper unless you try to reproduce its results. The reason for that is that published papers tend to be highly compressed, leaving out major steps in the argument. Unless you try to reproduce those arguments in detail I think that you will not fully understand the authors' work.
I have found that sometimes I cannot reproduce the work in a paper because I do not sufficiently understand the theory. There is nothing wrong with consulting a textbook - even a first year undergraduate textbook - just because you are now a PhD student. I even had to buy a second-hand copy of such a textbook, having long ago thrown out the copy of the same book that I bought in my first year of undergraduate study.
I have certainly worked through set exercises to help me understand basic theory. You should feel no shame in doing so.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: When you were an undergraduate, studying (I assume) math, the advice you got was good. Read a lot of papers, somewhat superficially, to get an idea of what it is possible to do and how to go about it generally.
But now that you are in a graduate research program you need to do more. The basis you get from textbooks isn't enough to get you to the research frontier in mathematics. It won't get you very close, actually. So, to approach the research boundary of what is known, you need to read (a few) papers fairly deeply. For advanced work, elementary, textbook, techniques may not work. So, you need to delve into the proofs of things to see if there are new and interesting techniques that you need in your own toolkit.
But, as you read a paper there are some things you need to ask yourself, beyond the question whether everything is correct. The big question is whether the paper is complete and is the last word on a topic, or can it, perhaps, be generalized in some interesting direction.
Another big question is whether the techniques used in the paper (not the results themselves) can be used and modified (extended) to solve other similar problems. In this sense the proofs in a math paper may be more important than the theorems. And it is why some new proofs of old theorems are extremely important. The proofs open up new areas of exploration.
Another area of research can be opened up by comparing two papers and examining whether there is a possibility to combine what the two say to come up with something new and interesting. This may or may not require a deep reading of the papers, of course.
To do math research requires insight. Basically, it means being able to find things that *might* be true but haven't been proven true. Various limitations of logic make this harder than it might seem. So, when reading a paper, another question to ask is "What led the author(s) to think this might be true?" Why did they think it something worth time studying? That can lead to insights.
But, math research, of its nature is narrow and deep. So, you often need to do deep dives into ideas to discover whether there is something hidden but worth exploring. What works for a textbook learner doesn't get the job done for a researcher.
Caveat: This applies to mathematics and some theoretical aspects of other technical fields. I'll make no claim about "technical fields" in general.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2020/02/03
| 507
| 2,035
|
<issue_start>username_0: I've submitted a paper to a computer vision conference (a top one), and recently recieved reviews from the reviewers. An issue was that one of the reviewers provided an incorrect review (i.e., a review meant for another paper than ours).
At the moment, I do not know which Area Chair (AC) manages my submission. All I can do is to contact the Program Chair (PC). Should I contact PC about this before submitting my rebuttal (i.e., responses to the reviews)?
The context is that my advisor told me that if I contact PC for this reason, it might be interference. So I was kind of scard and this is why I ask a question here. Also, it might not be completely obvious to others that the review is an incorrect one (althoguh it is completely clear to me).<issue_comment>username_1: >
> I do not know which AC manages my submission. All I can do is to contact PC.
>
>
>
Therefore...
>
> Should I contact PC about this before submitting my rebuttal
>
>
>
**Yes**, or more broadly: use whatever contact information you have for the organizers. There is no point in rebutting an editorial mistake.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> My advisor told me that if I contact PC for this reason, it might be interference.
>
>
>
Your advisor is mistaken. If you had contacted the Program Committee chair trying to influence the refereeing process - yes, that would have been inappropriate. But it is actually very common for authors to contact PC chairs, for a variety of reason:
* Problems with the paper submission system.
* Delays in replies.
* Requests for clarifications regarding the call for papers.
* Questions regarding the submissibility of papers
* Requests for deadline extensions (not saying that these are granted though...)
so it's not considered inappropriate in general.
Also remember that *program committee chairs typically don't referee/review submissions themselves*, so you're not contacting the person who's reviewing your work, nor interfering with that review.
Upvotes: 4
|
2020/02/03
| 2,335
| 8,797
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am facing a problem, the article seems a very important reference that everyone talking about the subjects is citing it. However, looking at these articles, they can't give a reference or link to the cited article. Even I use the volume number, article number to search on the net, I still can't find it.
For example, [this article](https://journals.jps.jp/doi/abs/10.1143/JPSJ.66.541), only the second reference doesn't have a pdf link pointing to it. I think the author may be like me can't find the article, but sees others citing it in a very important position, so he also cites it. I can't exclude the possibility that the author reads a paper-based version.
When you search the citing article, many of them can't give a link to that paper, and I can't find it either. **Should I cite it anyway?** Because from the inspection, this paper seems an indispensable reference when talking about the subject. On the other hand, I can't find it (even on the official site) and I didn't read the abstract or even the title. I think this is not quite equal to the case where the article is behind the paywall, because behind the paywall you at least see the title and abstract.<issue_comment>username_1: Don't cite it without reading it, but get help finding it. You can consider asking a librarian for this kind of help.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I would definitely try contacting your librarian at your university library. University libraries collect physical copies of papers and they might have this one. Librarians are also a lot more versed in navigating the various search systems and they will probably be able to find this paper, if only as a hard copy. It is also possible that your university does not have the paper, but they could contact different universities to get it.
I would definitely recommend to no cite what you haven't read, especially if you don't even know the title of the paper.
Edit: As others have also noted, it might be good practice in your field to in fact cite the paper, but with the caveat that you cannot find it, as suggested by [username_3's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/143741/should-i-cite-an-article-that-i-cant-find/143757#143757). If this is common in your field please do this.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: **If you absolutely can't find the original work, a viable solution is to reference the original work "as cited in" the secondary work (e.g. Smith, 1960 as cited in Doe, 2000). Many style guides contain explicit instructions on how to do this.**
First a caveat: yes, you should generally do your best to find and read the article that you want to reference, including by getting help tracking it down (for example, by asking a librarian). This is especially important if there's a risk that the original work has been cited incorrectly.
However, in some cases, this might not be possible, for various reasons. When that happens, you can reference the original work as cited in the secondary work that you have access to.
For example, here is what the APA [says on the subject](https://apastyle.apa.org/learn/faqs/cite-another-source):
>
> **How do you cite a source that you found in another source?**
>
>
> Use secondary sources sparingly, for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable through usual sources, or not available in English. Give the secondary source in the reference list; in text, name the original work and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if Allport's work is cited in Nicholson and you did not read Allport's work, list the Nicholson reference in the reference list. In the text, use the following citation: Allport's diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003).
>
>
>
[Similar conventions appear in other style guides](https://libanswers.snhu.edu/faq/120545), such as MLA and Chicago.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: Do you know any of the authors citing the papers?
* You can email them and ask where to get the paper or whether they can sent it to you.
* If you have an adviser, ask them. Maybe they know about the paper or one of the authors citing the paper.
* If you know from current or former members of your group citing the paper, you might find it in some repository or shared paper storage place.
As others mentioned, the library is very useful and helpful.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: I'm going to go against the grain here a little bit. I will preface my answer by saying I don't know anything about your field, so everything I've found is based on the information you provided.
**Yes, cite it, even if you can't find it**
If it were a relatively recent paper (~5 years old) or is controversial, you should absolute not cite it if you have not read it yourself. However, the paper you're looking for (or at least, the examples you provided) is an English translation from 1965 of a paper published the previous year, entitled "Inhomogeneous State of Superconductors" (or ["Nonuniform state of superconductors"](https://www.osti.gov/biblio/4653415-nonuniform-state-superconductors)). It appears to be in an issue not available on the journal's website, but many more from the [same](http://www.jetp.ac.ru/cgi-bin/e/index?a=s&auid=124873) [authors](http://www.jetp.ac.ru/cgi-bin/e/index?a=s&auid=124643) are available on the site to give you a scope of their work adjacent to this apparent seminal work. It also appears that the work in that paper was among the first to describe a [now-validated component of superconductor physics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulde%E2%80%93Ferrell%E2%80%93Larkin%E2%80%93Ovchinnikov_phase); this, I would imagine, makes it something that would appear in textbooks, which generally classifies information that doesn't require citation. You can get the gist of what's in the article by what others who cite the article say about it (you can determine that from [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=11528639866375668706&as_sdt=5,34&sciodt=0,34&hl=en)), or by [the article](https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.135.A550) by other researchers that found the same results.
So why cite the seminal work if you haven't read it and you got the information about it from another source, especially if the information may not need to be cited at all? Sometimes citations are simply a nod of understanding or recognition to major works in our fields. You would be ethically safe not citing these authors at all (unless you're addressing something very specific about their paper), but it's sort of a sign of respect to cite them anyway.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_6: ### Apply the principle: "When in doubt, explain your choice."
You'll need to devote a sentence or two to say where you've actually found the point you're citing; where it cited from; and the fact that it the indirect source is difficult to obtain.
If you do that - everyone will understand:
1. What the reality is.
2. What you did.
3. Why you did it.
... so there's no misrepresentation and nobody can fault you.
If you can't spare the space, then [@username_3's suggestion](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/143757/7319) is also fine, in my opinion.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: I would suggest pursuing an Interlibrary Loan to get the article from another library. These can take a couple of weeks to come through. As others have noted, librarians are remarkably capable of hunting down copies of sources that are tricky to obtain.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_8: I recommend the following actions:
1. Make a reasonable quest to find the article, including contacting a library. However, I do not feel hard-to-find papers deserve too much tracing effort, unless your purpose is to be exhaustive.
2. If the paper seems to be very important/relevant, cite it in the text by explicitly referencing the source of the reference, e.g. a popular handbook and/or survey article and explicitly stating "not read at the time this article is going to press."
3. If the paper seems to be of some minor relevance, as with point 2 above, but in a footnote rather than in the main text, again stating you haven't read it.
4. If the paper seems of minor importance, don't cite it.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: >
> I can't exclude the possibility that the author reads a paper-based
> version.
>
>
>
It's absolutely this one, for sure.
I cite a 1948 paper in the Journal of Navigation in many articles. It is not found online anywhere, not even in abstract form. So in those articles you see a citation like the one you point to, the original cite with no PDF or URL.
In case you're wondering, I contacted the author via email after poking about on FB and he photocopied it and mailed it to me.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/03
| 2,170
| 8,197
|
<issue_start>username_0: In historical research I came across a novel question and, after investing time in it, I have an answer. This helps my original project, but the explanation to the novel question is so substantial that I would like to publish it separately.
It is well known that X did Y. The thesis of the proposed article is that Z explains X's decision. Unfortunately, I can't point to any publication that asks why X did Y, and Z has no obvious relevance to present day issues.
Why should reviewers want to see an article addressing an unknown problem? What can I do to justify the project?<issue_comment>username_1: Don't cite it without reading it, but get help finding it. You can consider asking a librarian for this kind of help.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I would definitely try contacting your librarian at your university library. University libraries collect physical copies of papers and they might have this one. Librarians are also a lot more versed in navigating the various search systems and they will probably be able to find this paper, if only as a hard copy. It is also possible that your university does not have the paper, but they could contact different universities to get it.
I would definitely recommend to no cite what you haven't read, especially if you don't even know the title of the paper.
Edit: As others have also noted, it might be good practice in your field to in fact cite the paper, but with the caveat that you cannot find it, as suggested by [username_3's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/143741/should-i-cite-an-article-that-i-cant-find/143757#143757). If this is common in your field please do this.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: **If you absolutely can't find the original work, a viable solution is to reference the original work "as cited in" the secondary work (e.g. Smith, 1960 as cited in Doe, 2000). Many style guides contain explicit instructions on how to do this.**
First a caveat: yes, you should generally do your best to find and read the article that you want to reference, including by getting help tracking it down (for example, by asking a librarian). This is especially important if there's a risk that the original work has been cited incorrectly.
However, in some cases, this might not be possible, for various reasons. When that happens, you can reference the original work as cited in the secondary work that you have access to.
For example, here is what the APA [says on the subject](https://apastyle.apa.org/learn/faqs/cite-another-source):
>
> **How do you cite a source that you found in another source?**
>
>
> Use secondary sources sparingly, for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable through usual sources, or not available in English. Give the secondary source in the reference list; in text, name the original work and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if Allport's work is cited in Nicholson and you did not read Allport's work, list the Nicholson reference in the reference list. In the text, use the following citation: Allport's diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003).
>
>
>
[Similar conventions appear in other style guides](https://libanswers.snhu.edu/faq/120545), such as MLA and Chicago.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: Do you know any of the authors citing the papers?
* You can email them and ask where to get the paper or whether they can sent it to you.
* If you have an adviser, ask them. Maybe they know about the paper or one of the authors citing the paper.
* If you know from current or former members of your group citing the paper, you might find it in some repository or shared paper storage place.
As others mentioned, the library is very useful and helpful.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: I'm going to go against the grain here a little bit. I will preface my answer by saying I don't know anything about your field, so everything I've found is based on the information you provided.
**Yes, cite it, even if you can't find it**
If it were a relatively recent paper (~5 years old) or is controversial, you should absolute not cite it if you have not read it yourself. However, the paper you're looking for (or at least, the examples you provided) is an English translation from 1965 of a paper published the previous year, entitled "Inhomogeneous State of Superconductors" (or ["Nonuniform state of superconductors"](https://www.osti.gov/biblio/4653415-nonuniform-state-superconductors)). It appears to be in an issue not available on the journal's website, but many more from the [same](http://www.jetp.ac.ru/cgi-bin/e/index?a=s&auid=124873) [authors](http://www.jetp.ac.ru/cgi-bin/e/index?a=s&auid=124643) are available on the site to give you a scope of their work adjacent to this apparent seminal work. It also appears that the work in that paper was among the first to describe a [now-validated component of superconductor physics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulde%E2%80%93Ferrell%E2%80%93Larkin%E2%80%93Ovchinnikov_phase); this, I would imagine, makes it something that would appear in textbooks, which generally classifies information that doesn't require citation. You can get the gist of what's in the article by what others who cite the article say about it (you can determine that from [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=11528639866375668706&as_sdt=5,34&sciodt=0,34&hl=en)), or by [the article](https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.135.A550) by other researchers that found the same results.
So why cite the seminal work if you haven't read it and you got the information about it from another source, especially if the information may not need to be cited at all? Sometimes citations are simply a nod of understanding or recognition to major works in our fields. You would be ethically safe not citing these authors at all (unless you're addressing something very specific about their paper), but it's sort of a sign of respect to cite them anyway.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_6: ### Apply the principle: "When in doubt, explain your choice."
You'll need to devote a sentence or two to say where you've actually found the point you're citing; where it cited from; and the fact that it the indirect source is difficult to obtain.
If you do that - everyone will understand:
1. What the reality is.
2. What you did.
3. Why you did it.
... so there's no misrepresentation and nobody can fault you.
If you can't spare the space, then [@username_3's suggestion](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/143757/7319) is also fine, in my opinion.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: I would suggest pursuing an Interlibrary Loan to get the article from another library. These can take a couple of weeks to come through. As others have noted, librarians are remarkably capable of hunting down copies of sources that are tricky to obtain.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_8: I recommend the following actions:
1. Make a reasonable quest to find the article, including contacting a library. However, I do not feel hard-to-find papers deserve too much tracing effort, unless your purpose is to be exhaustive.
2. If the paper seems to be very important/relevant, cite it in the text by explicitly referencing the source of the reference, e.g. a popular handbook and/or survey article and explicitly stating "not read at the time this article is going to press."
3. If the paper seems to be of some minor relevance, as with point 2 above, but in a footnote rather than in the main text, again stating you haven't read it.
4. If the paper seems of minor importance, don't cite it.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: >
> I can't exclude the possibility that the author reads a paper-based
> version.
>
>
>
It's absolutely this one, for sure.
I cite a 1948 paper in the Journal of Navigation in many articles. It is not found online anywhere, not even in abstract form. So in those articles you see a citation like the one you point to, the original cite with no PDF or URL.
In case you're wondering, I contacted the author via email after poking about on FB and he photocopied it and mailed it to me.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/03
| 691
| 2,943
|
<issue_start>username_0: Recently, I found that my friend published two journal papers. He listed my name as a co-author without my permission.
He used to send me a draft of the 1st paper, and wanted to add me as a co-author. After reading the manuscript, I found that this paper has a lot of serious problems. Thus, I told him that he needs to address these issues, and tell me how to solve them before submission. However, he submitted anyway, and did not tell me. In this final version, some major concerns have not been addressed yet. I am the 4th author of this paper.
The 2nd paper is about XXX. I clearly told him that I do not want to do any XXX-related research due to my religious belief. However, he added my name on this paper without my consent. I am the 6th author of this paper.
The editors of these two journals are his friends. Thus, he listed me as co-author since he wants to increase the global impact of these two journals. These two journals are not good. Thus, they did not send me emails about the co-authorship while submission.
As a co-author, I will be responsible for the content that I published. In my opinion, the 1st paper does not meet the academic standard. The 2nd paper is against my belief. I really do not want to be a co-author of these two papers.
Can anyone tell me what I shall do next? Since these two papers have been published, can I contact the editors to remove my name from these papers? Or even withdraw these two papers? Will this ruin my friend's academic life?
..................................................................
Thanks a lot for your help. I really appreciate!
If I withdraw these two papers, will there be some bad records online, e.g. records which show that my two papers have been withdrawn. Or can I just report that I am not the author of these two papers on pubpeer?
Thanks again!
..................................................................
My friend has contacted the editors. My name has been removed from these two papers.
Thanks a lot for your answers and suggestions. I realy appreciate!<issue_comment>username_1: Your academic standing should be your primary concern, so if the quality of paper 1 is so poor contact the editor(s) and get the paper withdrawn or your name removed.
For paper 2 if it offends your beliefs such that you want to be disassociated with the paper, again contact the editor(s) and get the paper withdrawn or your name removed.
You have to decide if the issues warrant your subsequent actions, we cannot decide, but worrying about the effect on your "friend" is secondary.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: This is serious scientific misconduct
=====================================
You **should** contact the editors for these two journals, and ask for a **retraction** or even a **withdraw**.
**Then** you send your case to [Retraction Watch](https://retractionwatch.com/) for further impact.
Upvotes: 4
|
2020/02/03
| 2,169
| 9,435
|
<issue_start>username_0: Is it typically preferable in academia to pursue postdocs in institutions other than the one one has received a PhD from? I have heard on the grapevine that this is the case, but is there anything to back up this assertion?<issue_comment>username_1: The extent to which it is frowned upon differs greatly by discipline and country. At least having been in different departments/universities is usually beneficial for young scholars. Departments differ quite a bit, so having been in different departments/universities/countries broadens the range of experiences. This is usually taken into account by hiring committees, but again, the extent to which that is the case differs substantially.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Here is a perspective from pure math, which is probably applicable to some but not all other disciplines.
It’s not really about “pursuing” or about “frowning upon”. You “pursue” a postdoc to broaden your mathematical horizons and develop yourself as a researcher in an environment where you are exposed to new ideas. Doing a postdoc at your PhD institution will not achieve those goals, and hence as a secondary effect won’t help you get a tenure track job, since everyone you are competing with will have been working on developing themselves in that way. So, to an almost perfect approximation, no person driven by a rational objective will “pursue” such a thing.
Consequently, no one will need to “frown upon it” either, since there isn’t a problem of fresh PhDs asking to do a postdoc at the departments they graduated from and needing to be frowned at. By and large, almost everyone at that stage knows that what’s best for them is to do a postdoc elsewhere if they want to stay in academia, or to get a much-better-paying-than-a-postdoc, non-academic job right away if they don’t.
In other words, a useful way of thinking about it is that a “postdoc at your PhD department” is (at least in the context of pure math, as I said) a kind of category error. The concept “does not compute”, so to speak.
(Source: personal experience in academia.)
**Edit:** some people (who are not mathematicians and don’t share my understanding of math research culture) insist on claiming that doing a postdoc at your PhD department is “frowned upon” even according to my own analysis. It seems to me that this is an argument about semantics, and as such, I don’t find it that interesting or essential. But for what it’s worth, I’m willing to concede that one can view it as frowned upon according to a reasonable interpretation (though one that differs from my own) of those words.
Even if that’s the case, that does not affect my main argument, which is that for a mathematician to do a postdoc at their PhD department would be counterproductive from both a career and personal development point of view, and would largely defeat the purpose of doing a postdoc at all and miss the point of what postdocs are for. And this is true to such a large extent that almost no one will be interested in pursuing such a thing, and were they to try, their department would be very unlikely to offer them the opportunity to do it in the first place, except perhaps under very rare sets of circumstances. Call it frowning or whatever else you like, it simply is a thing that doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I think the issue is less about *frowning upon* post docs at the same institution you graduate from, but rather the *missed opportunities*.
Working with a different group of people increases the pool of folks you have that are willing to vouch for your abilities. It increases the pool of people you are likely to collaborate closely with.
Moving to a different institution gives you some new perspectives, including different approaches both to academic research and to all the peripheral goings on at a university.
Even just living in different cities might help you decide what things are important or at least relevant to decisions you make about where you want to take a job, both in terms of academic and local culture. Academic jobs tend to be more fixed than industry ones - there are fewer opportunities to move around later.
All these things can be beneficial to your future academic career.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I echo the comments by others that it is more about *missed opportunities* than explicitly *frowned upon*. Through a post-doc at another institution, you have the opportunity to build your network, to get the seal of approval on your CV that some other institution thought you are good, and -- perhaps most importantly for your next job -- an additional set of senior peers to write you letters of reference going forward.
If you continue at the same institution, you miss these possible benefits. Is it a tragedy? No. If there is a compelling reason to continue where you are -- exactly the right facilities, colleagues, etc -- all this pales in comparison to doing good, increasingly independent research as a Post Doc. If this is your best bet forward to do that, go ahead. If you're not sure, broaden your horizons.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: There are benefits if the institution is large enough to extend some breadth to your work without the burden of the politics of the department. Also, being at the same institution allows you to finish up anything that you might want. I believe that career goals and politics are more of a factor of the success of a postdoc than perception.
Personally, I did my doctoral work in circuits at a large institution; however, I did my postdoc in cryptography and RF circuits with the E&M technical interest group at the same institution. We were able to leverage the resources that I knew about on the circuit side without any issues because the department is huge.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: The key points we look at in a postdoc is the future ability to develop an *independent* research program - independent of your thesis director. It is easier to demonstrate this if you change institution but if you continue to publish with your former advisor that is of no help. On the other hand, *if* you remain at the same place but develop independent collaborations, then that’s perfectly fine.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: In some disciplines it is expected to do a postdoc elsewhere, at least in another laboratory but often at another institution or country. The benefits to this are:
1. You will have access to new equipment and gain technical expertise with new techniques
2. You will spend time with a new mentor and be introduced to their network
3. You will see how different labs operate differently
A postdoc is often regarded as training for becoming an independent researcher. As such the more different experiences you have, the better it will inform your decisions when the time comes to run your own lab.
A wider ranger of experiences is also beneficial to establish an independent research direction. It will be difficult to get grant funding if you are too close to your previous supervisor. Why would they fund you to do it, if they are still there and have more experience? If you have a different focus or move to a different country, you will not competing directly with them for funding.
In smaller countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, most PhD graduates are expected to go overseas for their postdoc and most faculty applicants are expected to have experience and contacts overseas. This is not expected as much in non-English speaking countries such as Japan or Korea where many graduates choose to stay in their home country (study or postdoc overseas is still encouraged and their are alumni societies to support this). This is less necessary in places such as the US or EU where there are many opportunities but you may still need to travel to another city depending on the job market in your field. Unfortunately, many people have to relocate during their academic career whether they want to or not.
I would say it's *beneficial* to postdoc somewhere else, rather than "frowned on" not to. There are many valid reasons not to relocate such as family commitments, culture shock, and illness. However, depending on the opportunities in your area, it can be disadvantageous not to. For example, if other graduates can successfully land a position at a prestigious institution overseas and you did not (whether by choice or not).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: Whether it is actually the case or not would depend upon the culture and the persons deployed there. One bad apple can rot a whole bunch. It should not be the case since the focus should always be what benefit a person's contribution would bring to the wider humanity (though often this is debatable at the time and new approaches are frequently met with opposition and ego...)
If the question is personal to you I would weigh up the options. Depending on the weight "frowners" could bear upon you it might be self-destructive to remain if you could leave and get fresh air a new place. I would definitely aim for an upward climb no matter what field you are in. Sometimes negativity from others can be a reflection that you are actually on the right track but you must protect yourself wisely too.
Use your common sense, your gut instinct and remember in the end your own judgement is what counts.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/03
| 713
| 2,839
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm doing my MS in Astronomy and Astrophysics so almost all of the literature I need is readily available on NASA ADS website (ui.adsabs.harvard.edu) with links to downloadable PDFs and HTML articles. But sometimes I come across conference proceedings, or some old articles where only abstract is available for reading but it DOES contain what I'm looking for.
Since I can't read the whole thing, is it okay to cite that?
Apart from the original links to downloadable PDFs, if something I want to cite is in the abstract but I want to dig deeper and the paper is not available for download in any form, should I look for other papers that have same information and are available or can I use sci-hub. And how fair is it to use sci-hub?<issue_comment>username_1: It is a bit risky to cite papers having seen only the abstract. You might be able to contact the original authors in some cases for more complete versions.
But, the safe and approved way to get access to papers that aren't easily available online, or available only by conflicting with with ethical considerations, is to go to your local library and ask the librarian there to get you a copy. Academic/university libraries are best, of course, but most libraries have some sort of access, directly or indirectly to nearly everything.
Moreover, a research librarian at a good library is a tremendous resource for finding obscure things and even related things you don't know exist.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> should I look for other papers that have same information and are available
>
>
>
That too; but it doesn't replace reading the actual paper you're citing.
Something else you could do is contact the authors and ask for a copy of the paper.
>
> or can I use sci-hub.
>
>
>
Yes, I suggest you use SciHub.
>
> ... how fair is it to use sci-hub?
>
>
>
It is morally and ethically justified; and its use is by now [ubiquitous](https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/whos-downloading-pirated-papers-everyone). This use is also probably legal in most countries, although in many countries it is in somewhat of a gray area (and perhaps, in some countries, strictly illegal); but promoting the use of Sci-Hub or similar initiatives is important to degrade the usurious restrictions on the sharing of scientific information which publishers have enforced for so long; as free access to papers becomes the norm, it becomes ludicrous to try and prevent it, and complete legalization will likely follow.
Note that you do not have to explain how you got access to papers you are citing; and I've not heard of anyone being asked to do so.
There are other posts here on Academia.SX which regard this question; see the [scihub](/questions/tagged/scihub "show questions tagged 'scihub'") tag.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/04
| 1,400
| 6,146
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<issue_start>username_0: I have completed M.tech and submitted my thesis. A year later I realized my thesis was used to publish an article which was a replica of a section of the thesis. Even the values were the same. I was shocked and contacted my supervisor/Guide and the other author to which they responded that it was not a preplanned act. I requested a correction as it was my work. Still, they were unwilling and told me that they won't. I contacted the editor and requested for addition and provided proof(thesis). The journal editors withdrew the article.
I then published a book based on my thesis. Again after a year, I found out that they had published two more articles merely taken from my thesis as such! All this while they didn't even bother to add me as the author.
I feel this is highly unethical and despite the fact that it was my work they didn't add my name at all! One of the journals replied that they agree that the article was taken from my thesis and there was significant overlap, they can provide a correction in the author list or retract the article.
I am confused should I accept the correction as suggested or go for retraction? If I go for correction will they continue this? Should I retract? will it affect them badly?
SORRY for making it lengthy, please forgive and thanks for reading guys. Please advise.
edit:
If I chose to retract but still want to publish papers (from the thesis with reference to the pre-published book) will this retraction affect my publication?
edit2:
These papers were published by a pHD student(1st author) & my supervisor/guide as the second author. Thanks for the replies, As of now the article is not yet retracted. The Journal editors suggest to either opt for correction or retraction. They told will inform Institute if I chose to retract.
edit3:
Thank you all for the answers the paper had been retracted but unfortunately, another paper had been published by the same authors with the same issue. Hoping I could get the strength to continue this fight, which is going on like forever!!
requested for plagiarism check of new one<issue_comment>username_1: See note and caveat at the end.
I suggest that you have a retraction done. You didn't participate directly in the preparation of the offending paper, so adding you as an author is a bit fishy. Moreover, adding you would connect you to people who seem to have no ethical boundaries. I'd guess that you don't want that association.
If the retraction is issued, especially with an explanation, it will be a warning to the others not to continue to abuse you and your work.
Once retracted, you should be free to use your own work in any (legal) way you choose. Especially since any copyright assignment by the others would be cancelled as well, since they had no right to issue it.
---
When I wrote the above, my assumption was that the "other" authors here were not personally known to the OP. Clarification has made that assumption false.
So, let me add, primarily for others who might, in future, wind up in a similar situation that it can be extremely dangerous to one's career to accuse your advisor of wrongdoing. My normal advice in such situations is to try to work with the advisor long enough and politely enough so that you can get away and out from under any influence they might have over your career. The exceptions might be for the case in which the transgression is extremely blatant and for the case in which the person has already developed an independent career. The first case is still dangerous, of course, but necessity may require it. In that case, however, you need allies so that you don't become the focus of hate directed by a powerful person. Another way to say it is to take a long view about your career. Any given paper is only a small pert of your reputation. Optimize for the future, not necessarily for the present.
I think the OP here, however, is already in the second situation, having shown independence and development past the degree. I'll therefore leave my original answer in place.
Note that the ethics is the same, whether the transgressions are by people known to you or not. But self preservation is often necessary for a young researcher until that certain level of independence is achieved.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to the advice being offered to retract (rather than correct) the journal article, I suggest that you contact the officials at the university where you did the thesis. I imagine that the legal office at the university will be especially interested to learn about violations of copyright by their faculty. Should such information become "public knowledge", the faculty, department, and perhaps even the university may be put on record officially or by unofficial word of mouth that they should be held ineligible for external funding. Indeed, when your thesis was supported by a national funding agency in the US, I believe such violations of copyright could even lead to requests for a return of the sponsor's funds.
Your first contact with the legal offices should be to summarize your case and ask for insights on how they would handle it going forward.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: These kind of situations are always critical. Ethics gives us rules of conduct that in same cases we realistically neglect.
I have no idea about what the boss and the at that time PhD student can do and cast on your current career. But as you already correctly have interphered with their plot of publishing the work of others under their names, go ahead and prompt the retraction of all papers involved.
There might be a good portion of their papers resulting as plagiarism, if this was they normal conduct.
I would even check if the same has happened to other thesis as well.
Note that I would have been more cautious without the previous retraction.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: If your own supervisor is plagiarizing your work, then that's a major ethics violation. Get the article retracted, and inform the Head of Department, or higher up, in writing of your concerns.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/04
| 649
| 2,936
|
<issue_start>username_0: We have a paper that is a second round R&R at a Journal that is a cognate field which is less technical than ours. The editor has been extremely conscientious and supportive through the process, but has made several suggestion that reveal he doesn’t really understand some of the deeper methodological details of our approach. In particular they are concerned that X could be playing a role but this is definitely not the case.
I don’t want to respond saying X can’t explain our results because textbooks prove otherwise. We could probably handle this but this is the second round in which they have suggested X is an issue/explanation, despite us gently explaining in our first round response and adding a footnote explaining why X was not an issue. So we need to find a better way of persuading him that this isn’t an issue.
In particular, I am interested in solutions that avoid the need to explicitly contradict him.<issue_comment>username_1: I think you just lay out the facts as you see them, pointing to supporting evidence as necessary. If the editor can't be convinced then how you say things isn't going to matter much. Let the facts speak for themselves. Point up the flaws in X as applied to your work. And if you need to reference textbooks, do so, even citing page numbers.
You may lose the battle, but it may not be winnable at this journal. If the reviewer is wrong, but is someone trusted by the editor you have a losing situation. If you sense that then withdraw politely and go to another journal.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In most cases when you get an editorial/referee comment that is a misunderstanding of the paper, it behooves you to add something in the paper to address this possible misunderstanding. The fact that you have already added a footnote dealing with the matter, and this is insufficient, means you will have to consider expanding this to a larger explanation in the body of the paper. Unless you think it would detract from the quality of your paper, I would suggest expanding your footnote into one or two paragraphs in the body of the paper, explicitly raising this objection and putting forward the evidence that X cannot explain the results. There is no need to be concerned about trying to avoid contradicting the editor --- if he is wrong, your argument *should* contradict him.
Ultimately, either the editor will accept the explanation in your paper, or not. If you have gone to the trouble of addressing the argument explicitly, and the editor is still not convinced you are correct, he can at least be assured that the argument is there for the reader to consider. Hopefully this will be enough to get your paper through peer review, but even if you don't, it might make your paper better to add this point as an explicit argument in the body of the paper, which will be a benefit if you submit to another journal.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/04
| 1,398
| 6,211
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<issue_start>username_0: Background information: Field: Neuroscience (neuroimaging); Country: India; currently: grad student
Working in a country that may not always have a lot of financial resources, we usually face problems like not having funding to pay for journal charges or the scarcity of funds that allow students to travel to international workshops or conferences etc. This, in turn, pushes the student down in terms of their networking, the number of papers/citations etc. (a slightly weaker CV as compared to other students who may have had these resources). Consequently, when the student next applies for some award or grant, they may get rejected over another candidate who may have had a stronger CV/more publications/better networking, etc.
Essentially, what I am trying to communicate is that I feel that there is a cyclical situation of starting with scarcer resources which in turns keeps getting scarcer (something like a poverty cycle perhaps).
Question: What would be some concrete ways of breaking this (perhaps perceived) cycle?
PS: I understand that my position, compared to many other people, is one of privilege. I also understand that academics have broken free of far worse situations and have gone on to have outstanding academic careers. Not trying to draw any comparison but rather looking for concrete advice!
An example:
* Since the field is fairly young and not that many well-established researchers work in the country, it is important for students to attend workshops/training elsewhere
* Not being able to go to conferences means that the only way to present your results to the community is via publications (and in turn you don't really get any feedback or get to network with the experts who frequent some of these conferences)
* Not having funds to pay for publication charges can sometimes prevent you from submitting papers to certain important journals which in turn reduces visibility of your work
* Not being as well trained as your peers, with poorer networking, and with papers not in the most important journals in the field, you end up not building a strong reputation
* and ad infinitum<issue_comment>username_1: I hate to give the "book answer"
However, the biggest limitation of people seeking higher education is if they can't afford to.
Remember, in many countries, including the US, the majority of people only make enough money to make it from one paycheck to the next. They don't have the time or money to seek higher education. It is not their fault. They aren't lazy. They aren't "not saving money". They have no money to save, no more time to spend working.
To make matters worse: things end up costing more for people working paycheck to paycheck because they have to chose the low up-front cost instead of considering long term costs.
The ONLY way to solve this problem is to insure people are paid enough to live. Not just survive, but to live.
Even if college is free, these people CANNOT go to college, because they still won't have money to eat.
We must solve that problem if we are to have a more educated population.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: One possibility IMHO is to try to use the Internet to your advantage. In my field (bioinformatics/statistics), there are a few online communities (discussion forums, Twitter) with relatively low barrier of entry. But once in an online community, how do you make useful contact with others - especially those that can "lift you up" (who may easily turn out not to be from the top western universities, but skilled and friendly people from all walks of academia)?
My answer is: be useful. Can you spend some time answering/helping beginners on the forums? Can you proofread and (*very politely*) suggest improvements to educational materials someone posted? Can you write a tutorial for some tool/technique you've learned? Are there calls for open online collaborations you can join? Can you code and fix bugs/improve documentation in popular open source packages in your field? ... Note that there might be hidden norms on how "good members" of the community should behave and especially if you look foreign it may unfortunately be easy to end up being judged negatively for a good-faith effort - so some social knowledge/skill may be needed.
If the community is healthy (which unfortunately not all communities are), this lets you develop some "currency" in the community and you become more likely to get help yourself when you need it. Once you are not a "nobody", you are more likely to succeed when you ask some members of the community explicitly for mentorship or for consulting and becoming a co-author on your upcoming paper or for joining a multi-lab effort to collect a larger sample of subjects for a study. And if it fails (and it can fail), your effort made the world a better place and that's also not nothing.
My experience with this approach is that being the first person to enter a subfield (Bayesian statistics) at a somewhat lower-prestige Central European institution with basically zero contacts, it was not that hard to get (over a few years) into productive contact with some of the top researchers in the subfield while only attending a single in-person event - you are definitely facing a tougher "prestige gradient" than me and being white and having a western-sounding name surely made my life easier, so my advice may not apply to you or may not apply completely. I still hope it is a useful suggestion and I believe it is actionable even with relatively low resources.
Also my field is less dependent on expensive equipment/reagents/... so keeping up with the top research is easier. And all of this requires quite a lot of time, which you might not have.
You are facing a tough challenge but I hope you succeed!
P.S.: One thing I *don't* want to suggest is to "compete for attention" of prestigious colleagues. This is IMHO both unhealthy and unlikely to work well. Instead, I think there are many ways in which a good-faith effort to help the scientific community in your subfield can help your career/connections as a side effect. This is a game many can play and all can win without somebody losing.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/04
| 824
| 3,105
|
<issue_start>username_0: In short, How does one go about hiring a professor or someone really well established in their field for a private tutoring session?
I tried looking online but can’t find much, mainly websites for tutors that are practitioners or “experts” as in with with *n* years of experience at best. This doesn’t cut it at my level as I am a researcher with a PhD and already have published papers on my topic.
However, I am very passionate about my subject and always looking to grow. So I do have questions, very technical (in my case computer science) and would happily pay a fee for consulting with a professor in the field.
Any advice?<issue_comment>username_1: Unless you are in a place where professors are greatly underpaid and generally abused, this seems like a quest that is bound to fail. People are busy and they aren't normally driven by money (other than large pots of grant money).
What I think you want, instead, is a collaboration. That can be started with just an email, provided that you have something to contribute yourself. This requires you to do a bit of research to find someone with common interests to form a two-way partnership.
Perhaps the story of [<NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan) and his relationship with Hardy will be instructive.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Write to them and ask. There's no other way about it. They might be willing to talk to you, or they might direct you to someone who can (since you did say it's technical).
<NAME>'s "[Talk to a Scientist](https://backreaction.blogspot.com/p/talk-to-physicist_27.html)" is the only initiative I'm aware of where the scientist publicly sells his or her time. As far as I'm aware it's aimed at members of the general public (as opposed to PhD-level researchers), but they only say they don't solve homework problems and don't review written material, so presumably they would also be willing to talk to PhD-level researchers. The rate is US$50 for 20 minutes. However, they don't cover computer science.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The price for this service is a cup of coffee and generous flattery. An introduction from a common friend wouldn't hurt, but you can get away without one.
How you do it is this;
1. Find a paper that is close to the topic you want to ask about.
2. Find out where the author of that paper works.
3. Plan a day trip (during the working week) to the city nearest that institute, say city X.
4. Write an email to the author that goes like this;
>
> Dear <NAME>,
>
>
> I really enjoyed reading your paper on Y.
> As it happens, I'm going to be in the city of X some time next week.
> This is a bit cheeky of me, but is there any chance I could meet you for coffee? I can come out to the University.
> I'd be thrilled to chat with you about Y.
>
>
> Many thanks, AnarKi
>
>
>
They might say "no, sorry, too busy", but I've had this strategy work more often than not. I have never had specific questions I wanted answered, but it's fun to meet people you admire.
Upvotes: -1
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2020/02/04
| 1,935
| 8,017
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have worked for the past year as an intern in a company that is partly based in my university. I have been receiving a scholarship for my work.
We agreed on how much time I was going to spend at the company and how much money I would receive. My scholarship amount was determined by the time I agreed to work monthly, at least that was how it was explained to me.
During the interview for this position, we agreed that I would do my bachelor project here, which basically means I will do the research they need and then write my bachelor thesis about it. This is a win-win for everyone, because instead of working ON TOP of school, I would work for the company AND work on my degree at the same time. The company benefits from this because it allows me to spend more hours weekly working.
My work on the bachelor thesis is about to start, which means I will be able to spend about twice the amount of time in the office than before. My boss and coworkers expect me to be more often in the office.
I would like to get double the scholarship, but I heard from someone who was in the same position as me in the past that his scholarship did not increase and he was told that he would have to do the work for his bachelor project anyway, so even though he spent more time working, he received the same scholarship.
This is basically free work for the company. I don't like working for free. Is this normal? I will try negotiating, but what should I do if the boss doesn't change his view? One thing I was considering was that if they don't increase my scholarship, I would spend the same time in the office as before and do the rest of the work at home/elsewhere, which is more convenient for me.
Everything is already agreed, I can't change my bachelor project (do a different one, for a different company) without delaying my degree by at least half a year, so basically the company now holds my academic progress hostage, which from what I have heard is the situation of some PhD students.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think you have a lot of leverage here other than by disadvantaging yourself.
First, scholarship money is not always abundant and people like to spread it around to help more people, rather than to concentrate it.
And, you are getting something for your work, beyond the money. You are getting a degree. It isn't that they get your work for free. You made an agreement, I think, if I have a accurate reading here. Live up to it.
I think your statement that the company is holding you hostage is misplaced. In fact, they are helping enabling your future. Even just providing a project that you can develop into a thesis should be worth something to you.
I suspect that starting over with a different situation would be worse for you in every way: time, money, and more.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: **Bottom line up front**: I agree with username_1. If you were my intern and sent me some version of the above question as an e-mail, I would probably not react well. Detailed reasoning below....
>
> I don't like working for free.
>
>
>
As I understand it, you are perfectly willing to do a bunch of "free" work in exchange for a bachelor's thesis, and you're willing to do a some paid work at the agreed-upon rate. I'm not sure why combining these two separate projects into one big project changes anything. The work required and outputs earned are the same.
>
> This is basically free work for the company.
>
>
>
I seriously doubt it. As one data point, I can usually do things at least 100x faster than my interns (literally). In fact, with the time I spend explaining things, answering questions, and providing mentorship, I would probably save time by doing the intern's project myself. One of the only reasons we bother with having interns is because we hope to recruit them after graduation. This may or may not be true in your case, but it's probably why the company does not see this as exploitative.
>
> During the interview for this position, we have agreed that I would do my bachelor project here....Everything is already agreed
>
>
>
If you had agreed to do the paid work and then the situation changed, that would be one thing. But you already agreed to do this; nothing has changed. In this case, trying to renegotiate a contract would be inappropriate. That said, it's true that your negotiation was a year ago, this gives you a little leeway.
>
> which basically means, I will do the research they need and then write my bachelor thesis about it...the company benefits from this because it allows me to spend more hours weekly working.
>
>
>
It sounds like a big chunk of the "extra" hours (maybe not all of them) is writing up your results for your university's thesis. Certainly it is not reasonable to expect the company to pay you to write this thesis.
>
> One thing I was considering...I would spend the same time in the office as before and do the rest of the work at home/elsewhere, which is more convenient for me.
>
>
>
I'm not clear on whether you negotiated hours when you started. If you've already agreed to a particular schedule, you should keep it. Perhaps at the end, you'll be able to ask for some work-at-home days when you are focusing on the university thesis document. If you did already negotiate hours and now your boss is trying to increase your hour count, then it might be reasonable to (gently) push back at the change in terms.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I think that the other answers are already adequate, but would like to add one point: Think of working for the agreed upon amount of money as an *investment*. You are investing into your future in the form of a possible place to work after graduation. Or, if you choose not to work there, into letters of recommendation from your current supervisors about your work ethic and abilities. Having been in the workforce for twenty years now, and having largely followed this kind of philosophy, I have found that these kinds of investments into relationships (with companies, with people, with projects) tend to pay off in many different ways and to a degree often vastly larger than the original investment in time and money: Job offers, more money, more responsibilities in projects, etc.
On the other hand, if you are recalcitrant about a few extra dollars or a few hours of work time, you might find yourself in a position where the company doesn't want to hire you after graduation, and your supervisor doesn't want to write you letters of recommendations once you leave either. Are you really that much better off in that case, having possibly earned a few extra bucks?
(I recognize that only people can invest who can afford to. If you actually *need* the money to survive and only have the choice between asking for more money or taking on a second job -- which is also time not spent on your project --, then the situation is different. This would be something I would talk to your supervisor about: They will understand your choices. But if you can live off the money you already get from the project, it may be worth making this kind of sacrifice for a year.)
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I don't think you have much leverage, given most people have no internship at all. I suspect you are also overvaluing your work. My advice is buckle down and just do a good job.
Note: I'm usually one of the "power to the people" types who advises negotiating salary and the like. Now, when you are on the full time job market, fine. But here? Company is probably already looking at you as a little bit of a luxury.
P.s. If you really wanted to seriously negotiate, you would need to have some alternate offer or the like. You don't. Ergo, no leverage.
P.s.s. You might ask, I guess. Perhaps they will pay you some hourly rate and they are a big company and don't think about it. But I wouldn't drive it too hard, unless you really have an alternate option. (A walkaway option.)
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/02/04
| 951
| 3,959
|
<issue_start>username_0: So, I am an undergraduate student taking partial differential equations. This class can be so stressful at times because I do not understand the lecture material, and thus it makes it hard to do homework. Moreover, we have a quiz every Friday based on the homework, and homework is due on Friday.
So far, we are going over 1D wave equations and I do not understand any of the lecture material at all. Moreover, If I do not understand the lecture material I can't do the homework that is due on Friday. Other students in that class are lost too. It just doesn't make sense that this course is required for undergraduate level in order to graduate.
What do I tell my professor in his office hours if I do not understand the homework at all? I am nervous because I do not know how he will react, and I did not put any solution down because I am clueless. How would you react if you were a professor and I went on Wednesdays to your office hours and homework and quiz is due on Friday?<issue_comment>username_1: You have two questions here. What should you do and what would I, the professor, do.
You should try to express your problem as honestly as you can, provided that you think you can trust the professor to be professional. If you know other students in the class with similar issues, you could even go as a group and just say you are lost and don't see a way to get "found".
What I would do, on the other hand, is ask you a bunch of questions to see why you have these problems. Perhaps I've pitched the class at too high a level, making assumptions that were unwarranted. But perhaps you are just not prepared, or overworked, or not working effectively.
But PDE is a pretty common required course for a math major. However, it is a jump, I agree, from some earlier courses. Perhaps there is a bridge that you don't see or that the professor should have provided.
But if you don't go see him, alone or in a group, it will just get worse.
One thing I might do is give you a lot of extra homework but with simpler problems to help you get in to the groove.
I've had students essentially camp out in my office to get a lot of help and they wound up doing well. Not every prof will be happy about that, of course.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: To address the part of the question "what do I tell the Professor" to help with the problem "I do not understand the lecture material":
1. Clear your head
2. Start reading your notes, word by word
3. As soon as you get confused (even a little bit), stop reading. On a piece of paper, write down what you are confused about, and why.
4. If you can, skip over the confusing part and continue with step 2. If you have hit a brick wall and can't understand anything that follows, stop.
Take your piece of paper to the office hour and work through it with the Professor. This will give you both a better idea of precisely what you are confused about, and how to resolve it.
Hopefully, when confusion about the lecture material is resolved, the homework will start to make sense.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If the professor is worth his title to any degree, he won't get angry with you for saying you don't understand. A good teacher would appreciate the student coming forward and making those concerns clear instead of just hiding them.
As far as what you can do, it's best to come with specific questions. There's not a whole lot someone can do for "I just don't get it", but if you have specific questions on how certain things work or certain topics from the lectures, even if they're still fairly broad, it's a good start.
Also, see if your university has additional resources you can use (tutoring, TA, support centers, extra reading, etc.,) It might seem like a hassle at first, but these extra resources have saved me personally a couple of times and are definitely worth the effort if you want to augment your lectures in the future.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/05
| 1,279
| 5,539
|
<issue_start>username_0: How do you deal with the constant flow negativity from an advisor? Examples:
1. How worthless I am, how I am the worst student he ever had. Absolutely good for nothing.
2. Whatever I am doing is meaningless, trivial, or pointless.
3. I never did/can-do anything correct.
4. I just don't have the potential, and there is just no scope for growth. Maybe in some other universe, I might have excelled, but not in this one.
5. The fact that I chose the wrong career; instead, I should do something more simple and enjoy life for a change.
6. I should just quit my program.
7. He won't embarrass himself by writing a letter for me in the future.
What do you do when you start to believe in all of his statements, and they start to become self-fulfilling prophecies. Especially how worthless I am...<issue_comment>username_1: I can't judge whether the advisor is making a correct evaluation and being a jerk about it, or just being a jerk.
But, at a minimum, you need a different advisor. It should be someone who has some faith in you and encourages your best work. Staying where you are, under this advisor, is unlikely to result in success.
But you have to evaluate your own position and whether any of the statements have any validity. If they have some, then what can you do to improve the situation? If they have some validity, then what is the cause of it? Lack of preparation? Poor work process? Undiagnosed illness? There are lots of possibilities.
In the worst case, you may need to abandon your program, at least for a while, but no one here has the perspective to recommend that.
And, not that it helps, perhaps your advisor just doesn't belong in any advising situation. You probably have little chance of fixing that problem.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: This is not right! I don't see **any** underlying support in the advisor's attitude. Don't be afraid to take whatever action necessary to get yourself into a situation where your personal skills are given the opportunity to develop. It's your life and it's short. You can excel when you find the right way for yourself. Have some courage to not fit into anyone else's box. You are unique.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Firstly, on behalf of university academics, I'm very sorry you are being subjected to that kind of talk about your performance. What you are describing is not constructive criticism, and it is not a good way to give feedback to a student (even if their work is actually terrible). It sounds like your advisor is acting out of frustration, and has lost the perspective necessary to give constructive assessment and advice in the way he should. Thus, at a minimum, you should find yourself a new advisor who can give constructive criticism on your work. If you have trouble finding someone else to supervise you, you should speak to the Graduate Program Coordinator (and then possibly the Head of Department, if necessary) about the criticism you have been receiving, and ask to have someone else allocated to you. Aside from any deficiency in your own work, that kind of interaction shows a deficiency in the supervisory abilities of your supervisor.
Now, while the feedback you are getting is certainly not how it should be framed, it is nonetheless indicative that your work is not of sufficient quality at the moment. You should grit your teeth and take that feedback on board, and rationally assess its factual validity, setting aside the rude aspects of the way it was delivered. You will need to assess whether or not you have the skills to continue your program effectively under another supervisor, or whether you need to do some bridging work first. It would benefit you to get a second opinion on this from another academic in your area if possible, to identify any present deficiencies in your work. I certainly disagree with the view that "there is no scope for growth" in your work --- that is essentially antithetic to the very notion that education is possible.
My advice in this situation would be to speak to your supervisor and Department Head to start the process of finding another supervisor, and see if you can get a second opinion on where you stand in your program, (e.g., are you behind, and if so, how much), the quality of your work, and how you can go about developing your skills to complete your program. Higher-degree candidature has periodic formal performance reviews, so you will also be able to get some feedback at your next review, but you should not wait until then to act. After considering how you are travelling, relative to requirements to complete your program, you will be able to make a decision about whether you should continue or not.
Finally, try not to let this kind of feedback negatively affect your own assessment of your own quality as a person, or shatter your confidence. A person is not at all "worthless" or "good for nothing" merely because they are struggling ---or even totally unable--- to complete a higher-degree candidature at university. Higher degree candidature is difficult, and it takes a lot of time and skill-development. It is not suitable for everyone, and even for those that manage to do it, they always start off from a place of incompetence and progress gradually towards competence. (That is the whole reason we have education programs over years and years.) We all start off learning to colour with crayons at pre-school, and it is a long and arduous journey through to the upper-echelons of tertiary education.
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<issue_start>username_0: The title pretty much says it all - it's a 2.5 hr class and he thinks it's 2 hrs. The first 3 classes have been rushed and I want to tell him - but when I mention it to my classmates they tell me it's not our problem and adamately say not to mention it - I don't think anybody wants the class to be any longer than it is. What should i do?<issue_comment>username_1: Who said it was 2.5 hrs? The schedule? It is not uncommon for professors to reserve a longer time than is always necessary, just to give themselves a bit of lee-way, in case they sometimes need a bit longer. A 2.5 h time-slot it not necessarily a commitment to hold class for that long (but check your institutional rules if you feel cheated). The first class of a term is also often shorter.
The above is true at least for the Australian National University.
In any case, if you will ask him, it pays always to be polite and not to come across as though you are accusing him of intentional wrong-doing; but rather as if you are ignorant of their traditions.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I don't think anybody wants the class to be any longer than it is
>
>
>
Really? I would be surprised if this statement were true. If I paid to see a movie and the theater stopped showing the movie half an hour before it ends, I would be upset that I did not get the experience I was paying for.
Similarly, it seems reasonable to assume that possibly you (since you are asking the question), and almost certainly at least some of the students in the class, are interested in learning the material the class is meant to teach, and in getting the full experience rather than an abbreviated version. Even for students who are not interested, it’s wrong to say that it’s “not our problem”. It sounds completely conceivable that you will be tested on the full material of the class despite the fact that the professor will teach it in a rushed and difficult to understand manner (as you say has been happening in the first lectures) because of his misunderstanding about the lecture time. It’s also possible that once he finds out about the mistake later in the semester he will end up scheduling additional lectures to make up for the lost time, which would end up inconveniencing you and the other students and making your life more difficult than it needs to be.
As for what you should do, that’s for you to decide. But what would strike me as most impressive personally is if you Do The Right Thing (whatever you decide that is) based on your own convictions and not listen to peer pressure from your social group.
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a PhD student in mechE. After paying the first year tuition out of pocket, I accepted a PhD project due to desperation for funding. However, after an year I realized that I hate the project. Here I made a mistake of not leaving/changing the project, I just waited out hoping I would like the project. I also asked my advisor a couple for a different project and he did not want to change my project due to sponsor obligations. For some reason I couldn’t assert myself and stayed on. However my hate for the project only grew with time and now I am in my fifth year. I have reached a stage where I absolutely hate the project and don’t know what to do. I can hardly do any work. I feel like quitting everyday and still feel it is wrong to quit this late. I have a very substandard thesis. I am lost and feel stuck, please advise on what to do. Thanks<issue_comment>username_1: It is never too late to quit. It is better for you to avoid wasting more time and also for the funder because other candidates could be able to work in your position more effectively. If you are completely sure that you do not possess the enthusiasm required for this topic and you are still not even close to obtaining the PhD. degree, just leave.
However, in some cases depending on the contract, the students might be obliged to recover the funding in case of an unsuccessful research period. This is a tougher situation, but in either case, you should communicate your problem with your supervisor and funder, and you need to work it out together to minimize both your and the funder's losses.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: DISCLAIMER
----------
I serve as a mental health 1st aid officer at my school. I received basic mental health training but **I AM NOT A PSYCHOLOGIST**. During this role, I have assisted many PhD students going through the same dilemma.
---
PROBLEM
-------
I totally sympathise with you. One thing to consider, however, is whether you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed. PhD is a long and tough journey. ***The more you know the more you know you don't know.*** This is normal. This is OK. During a journey, the candidate suffers a lot, and many teeny tiny triggers can accumulate very quickly into pushing any PhD student over the edge. Some personal issues do contribute to the stress as well. Writing anxiety, home sickness, work-life balance and upsetting news overhyped in the media are all factors that can manifest into feeling insignificant and depressed.
I noticed you are working in mechanical engineering (last year). A common case I witnessed with engineers, is that they enjoy the technical work more than anything else (a.k.a writing). Building cool stuff or writing a fascinating and concise piece of computer software is just euphoric. There is a chance that you experience these feelings because writing is due. There is also a chance that you feel the thesis is sub-standard because you wanted to go back and build new cool things. Basically, you need your euphoric fix.
---
ADVICE
------
**My advice to you is not to rush.** Buy yourself some time to figure out what the root cause is. You can consult a therapist or a life coach (you should have access to this service via your university). There are few steps to rewire your behaviour into accommodating the current inconvenience until you finish.
1. Take some time off (1 week would do). Just treat yourself in doing what you love. No work stuff. Play video games, travel, read poetry, etc. Whatever makes you happy.
2. Do not feel guilty for wasting a week not working and do not let anyone to make you feel guilty about it. You needed this time off. The project needed you to take this time off.
3. Go back to your thesis with a fresh attitude (not feeling guilty or late).
4. If you are experiencing the same feelings and still thinking about quitting. List the cool research or engineering ideas you would rather do instead of working on that project you hate. Pick one that takes `N` days and do it (don't work on weekends). Maybe you just need that euphoric fix. Set `N=4`.
5. Go back to your thesis again. If you still hate it, this time work on the project for at least `5-N` days.
6. Repeat from 2 with `N=N-1`.
---
IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE
------------------------
a. Your post-grad degree is just that. A degree. You have your entire life ahead of you after you finish.
b. The steps I listed above are from my supervision experience. While I consulted with a psychologist in designing these steps, they do work on case by case basis and are not scientifically tested. Think of these steps as a life hack.
c. If you feel like not getting from bed in the morning for two days in a row, seek medical help. It is probably nothing or just a dietary deficiency but you better check.
d. If you are an international student, explore the possibility that you may be feeling homesick. Do not get defensive or shy to admit it. It is real and it happens to almost everyone.
e. I am not advocating sticking in a program that does not work for you. There is no shame in quitting. However, if you are quitting I advise you to do it for the right reasons. Please be careful of the legal consequences, if any. Also please consider the career interruption period (5 years) on your CV.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: The important question at this point is, how close you are to finishing? Fifth year sounds like right at the end to me. I agree, that if you feel this stuck (everyone has such a phase at some point, but yours sounds more severe), you should cut your losses. But the best way to cut your losses at this point might just be to hand in a mediocre thesis. After all, one way to get rid of the project is to simply finish it.
But in any case, think about why you want that PhD in the first place. If you just want it to get a better job in the industry, quitting it is definitely not the end of the world. You might not get your dream position, but as a mechanical engineer you won't end up unemployed even with just a Bachelor's degree. If you really want to do research, just not on this topic, then I fear the only way is forward. Without a PhD, opportunities are rare and at this point you are unlikely to find any funding for another five years to start a new PhD on a different topic. Think of the few more months of hardship as the price of admission. It might feel like hell, but it will be over at some point.
And finally if you feel like things are getting to much out of hand, don't hesitate to consult a professional. Even just talking through the details with a therapist might be incredibly helpful in ordering your thoughts and keep you from taking any rash decision, one way or another, which you might regret later.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I think one important point is being missed here.
There's the **project**, and there's the **thesis**.
These are really two separate issues, but that is often forgotten. If you're not satisfied with your thesis (whatever state it is in), it is entirely up to you if and how you wanna proceed with that. There might be expectations from other people, but no one can force you to get a PhD.
The project on the other hand is a very different animal. By signing a contract you agreed to do a certain job. **Getting a PhD is not part of that job**, but lots of other things are.
So my advice would be to try and separate these in your head (and in your emotional state). If you hate the project, then from now on it's just an uninteresting (but time-limited!) contract you have to finish. You do the work, you get paid. That's it.
As for the thesis, once you manage to emotionally and intellectually decouple that from the job, you might find salvageable material in there. Maybe set it aside for a while, forget about it, get some distance. Then look at it again later, you might see new things in it from a fresh perspective. Always remember that no time is ever truly wasted. Everything is a learning experience, particularly those things that feel like failure initially.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Preface: this is narrow focused and might barely be above being a comment, but I feel like it deserves being presented at the very least as a corollary answer to one like [@username_2's](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/143842/13407).
Consider seeking some professional help
---------------------------------------
If you are feeling too overwhelmed to make a decision and concerned that you might not be making a sound one in regards to how the situation is making you feel right now, then it can be incredibly helpful to get some help from a related professional, and there's nothing to be ashamed of in doing so. Ideally, find a clinical psychologist. Pay attention to their focus and methodology (for example, if you're more comfortable with the concepts behind cognitive behavioral therapy, seek out someone who practices that). Be prepared for the possibility of not hitting a perfect fit for yourself (and it's fine to ask for a referral if that's the case), but also give things a little time.
My concern is that some of the things you are describing *could* turn out to be warning signs (this is *not* an attempt to diagnose you over the internet from a single post, but definitely me saying that if *you* are feeling like you need help, then please get it), and you may have put yourself in a position where your feelings towards certain aspects of your project are being overrun and confounded by others, and equally may be spilling out into other aspects of your work in general. Particularly if things or aspects of your work which you previously enjoyed or found satisfying no longer are. But even if that's not the case, the situation you are describing is the type that can make it difficult to make a well reasoned decision for anyone, and that's where it can be ideal to have a third party to help work through it with you.
You could continue to work on unraveling this yourself (and there's great advice being given here where you've already reached out for help), but it's also **exactly** the sort of thing that a psychologist is extremely well suited to **help** you address, particularly as it relates to helping you pinpoint related feelings and in turn work through your own decision in relation to the options you have.
One way to look at this is that, much like when one pushes through the pain in sports and causes themselves an injury, you may have done something similar by continuing on this to the point where you are now finding it difficult to even do any work at all. Just like there's nothing to be ashamed of when seeking professional medical attention for other areas of your body when they're interfering with your life, there's nothing to be ashamed of with seeking appropriate help when the trouble you're facing is psychological in nature.
Whatever academic choices you make going forward, it's important that you make sure you put yourself in a good place mentally to make those choices in ways that are true to yourself. It sounds like you are overwhelmed and struggling with finding related clarity to work through what choices to make, and that's very much the type of thing that a Psychologist can help you with. It's possible that with some work, you could more narrowly determine what specific aspects of the project are the ones you specifically hate, and either find ways to make them bearable in conjunction with the wider project, or find other avenues to take (which other people have already noted well). If you're concerned about seeking out someone who can relate to your academic predicament, a clinical practicing PsyD or PhD of Psychology is also someone who has been through a rigorous academic and professional process to not only achieve their degree but also their license.
As @username_2 noted, as a student you should be able to seek related counseling through your University's health or counseling services (the one at my University is also more than happy to refer out, if that is a concern), but note that if you are not comfortable with that option for any reason, you can also (in the US) use the [APA's locator service](https://locator.apa.org/) or contact your [state association](https://www.apa.org/about/apa/organizations/associations) for a referral. There are also other avenues for referral, such as your physician (assuming there's someone you see regularly). The APA also has a page dedicated to advice on [helping choose a therapist](https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/choose-therapist) (with a lot of more general related advice/explanations).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: I think you should talk to your advisor and try to figure out concrete, achievable roadmap to finishing. Most of the time when I was feeling what you are describing in grad school, it was because I wasn't getting anything done, I didn't know what my next step would be, and it felt like treading water-- slowly exhausting myself without making progress towards the shore.
Your advisor will understand. We all hate our work sometimes. You don't like doing this project and you'd like to stop. There are two paths out of that, quitting or finishing. **Plan your final push** and start checking off the boxes that lead to freedom.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I've never worked on a PhD thesis, or even a Masters degree. I don't know how difficult either are, but I can assume they are extremely difficult, time consuming, and that's why they deserve so much respect. Take a moment to realize that you have already done what most people haven't in getting a Master's degree. Take another moment to understand that you are almost done with something that ever fewer people attempt.
Now the hard part
=================
I've been in the IT industry for over 25 years. I've rarely had a job I liked and I've never had a job I like 100% of the time. Either the managers didn't know what was going on, upper management was clueless, people in general were mean for no reason (including customers), or the project was uninteresting or not in the areas I wanted to work. This, unfortunately, is life. You'll likely be working on things you can't stand more than you work on things you like.
I'm not telling you to "suck it up" or "deal with it", I'm telling you to recognize it now so you can better handle it and work the problem later. You might be stuck in your current project, but later on you'll have more choices.
What I want you to do is to take a step back from your problem, try to understand what it is *exactly* you hate about the project, and figure out what, if anything, you like about it. Put it all down on "paper", if you have to. Do a pros vs cons worksheet. Get things into order so you know what you're looking at and categorize things so you can understand them. Now work the problem.
Rank those things in order from most important to least, and also rank them in best to worst. Figure out how to minimize your time doing the things you hate, unless they are required, and maximize doing the things you like. I'm not advocating you shirk your responsibilities, but I am advocating you look at things critically and figure out how to improve your situation.
What will help with all of this is figuring out **why** you feel a certain way about a task. Do you hate working in the units you're required to use (mm vs inch, ml vs oz, whatever). Do you hate a computer language or the tools, or some of your co-workers, the end results of the project, or just exactly whatever it is. Now, do you need to change your mind about something? For example, if you hate working in the metric system, you'll likely need to change your mind, since most engineering is done in metric. If you really dislike someone because of their nagging, is it because they are trying to get you to work to your full potential or are they just a busybody, and if they are the former, are they giving the advice in a positive or negative manner, and if it's positive, are you taking it as constructive criticism or just criticism? There's endless possibilities here and only you can answer all those questions.
For later
=========
Once you get out into the workforce, you'll have more freedom to work on what you like. However, job descriptions aren't always correct, they don't describe how toxic (or not) the work environment is, and they likely won't tell you how all the projects are going to be utilized. And once you start a job, that job description is going to change. It might take years or there might be a drastic change shortly after you join, and maybe that change wasn't something people expected at the time you got hired.
You will need to use the skills you are learning now about undesirable projects to decide if you are going to stay with the company, the department, or if you're going to change jobs. There's always the question of money, but with an advanced degree, you should have a better time with that than most people.
Understand that you have decisions to make, understand the decisions based on the checklist I suggested you make, and then make your decision based on what you can live with.
For now
=======
Getting an advanced degree is a great thing, but it's also a choice. You can continue working on it now, get it out of the way, and push through the negative until you get the results you want. Or you can quit, have a good job, a good life, and maybe take it up again later. But realize that "later" may never come. Even if it does, you might get into that project and not like it either, feeling as if you're wasting your time doing *another* thing you hate.
It's completely your choice what you do, but I'd suggest you stick this out and finish your doctorate. Get the professional mental help you need, if necessary, which it sounds like you do. There's nothing wrong with getting your mind right and nothing wrong with getting help to do so. username_2's excellent answer goes into this, so I won't.
What might also help is getting your mind off work. Get a hobby, if you don't already have one, or restart a hobby, if you've put it to the side, and do that instead of thinking about your thesis and your job all the time. Burnout is all too common. It happens all the time in people working a regular "9 to 5" job, and I hear it's also really common in people getting degrees. I got fairly burnt out just trying to get an associates, but that was also while I was working a full time night job. I didn't recognize it at the time, but I also got burnt out trying to get my bachelors degree, and part of the reason I didn't finish it. (Money was the majority of the reason I didn't finish.) I really wish I had finished it. It would have helped me a lot and I wouldn't have had to go back to school for that associates.
Once you get your degree, take some time off. username_2 suggests you take time off now, and I totally agree with that. You'll also need time, once you're done, to get your mind off the project, realign it with your future, and just de-stress in general. Too many people don't take time off work, which leads to being burnt out. They feel they need to always be working or it'll never get done, their job will be on the line, their boss will hate them, or any number of other reasons to fear not doing their job. The thing is, the job will be waiting when they get back, it'll never be done regardless (unless they really are fired), and if their job is so toxic that their employer doesn't want them to take time off, they need to find another job. So take care of yourself. Learn that now and you'll be ahead of the majority of other people.
And the break after your degree doesn't have to be long. It can be 1-2 weeks, or it can be 1-2 months. It depends on your mindset as well as your finances, but only you'll know that and only when it happens, so don't worry about that now. Just look forward to it.
Finally
=======
Again, only you can know what you really want to do. You have to figure out if you're going to stay or if you're leaving. Hopefully I've given you some food for thought on how to figure that out. I also hope I've helped you understand that this is a learning experience in how life works, and to learn from it as well, so you can handle it when it happens in the future, because it will happen again, unfortunately.
I wish you the best! Good luck! And work the problem.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: You haven't explained what your project is. It may be exceptional, but just not to your own personal liking. When you are young it is much harder to appreciate the mundane. You may end up looking back at this and feeling silly for feeling this way
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: Gather information by reading this important book: [*The Joy of Burnout: How the End of the World Can Be a New Beginning* (<NAME>, PhD, 2003)](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/0955545609).
Essentially, if you don't stop this project, your body will force you to stop.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: I think this is common for many PhD students. I felt similarly when I was near the end of my PhD. It is so much work, and you give up so much. It can be difficult to maintain your enthusiasm for so many years, in the face of so many rewrites of essentially the same stuff. The thesis process is so iterative. Often, the mundane research process does not match the lofty expectations we had for the project either, due to lack of funding, time, or myriad other reasons. Perhaps you can stick with the project but look at it from a different angle, or add or remove elements to fine tune it more to your liking. Remember, this is just one project and it is subject to various school rules that won't apply to other projects. Once you have your degree you will most likely have more leeway to design your projects as you want, within the guidelines of good/valid research of course. In the end you have to decide what is right for you, but I elected to stick with mine. I put in too much time and money to throw it all out. I am glad I did. I reached my goal of getting my PhD and I now have the experience I need to work on any other project I want.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: From point 9 of Google's philosophy "[You can be serious without a `suit`](https://www.google.com/about/philosophy.html)". It revolutionised office culture. It helped put the focus on the content of work, rather than needing to wear a suit or formals and a tie to work, just because people assumed it was necessary, but it actually wasn't necessary.
When writing conference papers, I've noticed not just a whole lot of rules, but also the fact that different publishers have different standards, so if my paper gets rejected at one place, I'll have to put a lot of effort to edit it to meet the standards of another journal/conference. I know there are paid software that can do the conversion automatically, but that's a different topic.
**Downsides to insisting on a very formal version of a paper:**
* The plethora of rules are **daunting for newbies**.
* Rejections based on not conforming to these rules can **dampen the
spirits** of genuine researchers who **may just give up** on submitting
their work.
* Formatting is a nightmare that **consumes a huge amount of time** and
even experienced researchers hate it when **text blocks jump** to areas
of the paper they didn't intend.
* The rules and formatting issues actually do **distract researchers from
the actual content**.
I agree that some basic guidelines are required for a paper. For example, the various sections that help a researcher present their thoughts in an organised manner, some basic rules about the allowed list of fonts, the number of pages and image formats allowed. These would be a casual version of a paper, where there are some sensible guidelines, but it does not get daunting, and allows researchers to focus on presenting their research well. But the current extremely formal requirements to follow a certain bibliography style, the two column format etc. are in my opinion, overkill. **As long as a paper follows some consistency and is coherently and neatly presented, it should be allowed**.
**What are the downsides of writing a casual version of a paper?** *Ultimately, we as a scientific community respect the ideas that are presented. Why be so finicky about the formatting, if it's going to consume a disproportionate amount of time and if it does not really contribute to research?*<issue_comment>username_1: The way you present yourself may not have any bearing on the quality of your work; but the way that you present your work directly speaks to its quality.
I would expect 'typesetting' to be done by the publishing body itself, and not by the author. 'Style' is another matter, though it's fairly straightforward to follow one Style manual or another. If following a Style manual puts you off submitting, then you're in the wrong business! ;-)
Researchers who read articles need to get to the information they need quickly. Some degree of uniformity helps (though of course different countries and publishers all use different styles).
Having whacky fonts, inconsistent or unfamiliar referencing styles will confuse and irritate the reader.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: You've actually asked a very relevant question. Simplification and standardisation is indeed what everyone wants, but when the [Asch effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments) tends to [institutionalise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutionalisation) everyone into a state of [learned helplessness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness), the prevalent opinion will tend to stick to tradition. Moreover, we have a [mandatory xkcd](https://xkcd.com/927/) for standardisation.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hTeJE.png)
**To answer your question, some of the downsides of a casual style would be:**
1. The lack of consistency could confuse readers. For example, lawyers
use the phrase "suo-moto" even though it's not English, for the sake
of not creating any ambiguity when referring to an action that
someone took on their own cognisance.
2. Authors could end up unknowingly use an inconsistent style in the
same document.
3. Without a standard set of rules, the reviewers will have some
ambiguity on whether certain styles could be allowed or not.
4. When published along with other papers, there would an aesthetic
issue with one paper looking different from another paper.
Apart from these (and a few points others have mentioned in the comments), I don't see any other problems with following a casual style. Scientific research is presented in a certain format for a logical reason. The title and abstract make it easy for people to identify the work and quickly decide if it's worth reading. The introduction presents the gist of the topic and work. The related work section ensures that the author compares the work with other literature. The results and discussion sections ensure the results are articulated well and the conclusion helps summarise the importance of the work. As long as work is presented neatly and scientific ideas are communicated well, there really is nothing wrong with allowing a more casual format which only requires the author to follow some simple logical rules.
**In the words of <NAME>:**
>
> At the heart of science is an essential tension between two seemingly
> contradictory attitudes -- an openness to new ideas, no matter how
> bizarre or counterintuitive they may be, and the most ruthless
> skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths
> are winnowed from deep nonsense.
>
>
>
This quote is as relevant to research work as it is relevant to the art of presenting research work. It takes courage to question existing practices and it's common to be ridiculed for it. I completely agree that the rules and standards currently created (although for good reason), are indeed cumbersome to researchers worldwide. I've read many such complaints on the internet for many years. I do hope change happens, and I'm glad you asked this question. You aren't the only one who has wondered why research publication couldn't be simpler than this.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I’m currently receiving my bachelor’s degree in Sociology from am American university and have no clue how the process for applying to Master’s programs in Germany works. I’m not sure if it’s okay to email professors directly about their research as it would be here. I guess my questions are:
1. Are they generally okay with responding to international students who want to work with them on their research (I do intend to clearly state that if it’s some kind of process- like an application- I would gladly apply)?
2. Is it appropriate to request a meeting with them (or with the department manager) to get a tour of the department/meet some of the professors and/or students?
3. How would I address this professor in an email? Her webpage says “Prof. Dr.” so should I use that title? I saw somewhere that Herr might be appropriate? In America, we just say “Dr.” or “Professor” that’s why I’m asking.
In America, there’s this unspoken rule that asking for meetings/ reaching out via email will help your chances when applying. At least, the professor will remember your name/face, especially if your research interests coincide with theirs. Also. This program is in English, so there’s no worry about proficiency in German (yet).<issue_comment>username_1: I looked for a PhD in Germany several years ago and I was told it was quite normal to email professors directly. Your success rate may vary but I did receive a good number of responses within a reasonable timeframe, even though I did not end up with any offers. It may help your chances if you express genuine interest in with their work and outline what you would like to work on.
I wouldn't advise requesting a meeting out of the blue, it's better to exchange some emails to see if you are a good fit for each other. Replying to long emails with many requests is also quite exhausting so you're better off breaking it down to several exchanges.
Germans do like their titles but a simple 'Dear Prof. X' should suffice, particularly since you're an international student and the conventions in English are different.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Generally, there is nothing wrong with sending e-mails to professors which demonstrate some interest in their research, also in Germany (where I work). It could help you get in contact with research groups you are interested in. However, it could also happen that you will get no response.
One reason is that most students starting with a Master´s program will not make contact to the professors, you just enroll and that´s it. During the typically two years of the studies, you will get to know the professors and other people involved in teaching and research. Then, as soon as you have to do some research related thing (some small project or your Master´s thesis), you make contact asking professors or other approriate staff if they would support you with this. Again, trying to make contact earlier probably will not harm, but do not expect too much of it.
Tours with individual students who are early in their Master´s program are unusual in my experience. But if you show some genuine interest, it might happen. Again: There is no harm in asking! There might also be some organized tours in the beginning of your studies.
As far as the title is concerned, I would always go for the formal version which is "Prof. Dr." (unisex) in your case. Many people will not even notice if you write "Herr" (for men) or "Frau" (for women) or only "Prof." (unisex), but enough professors will, so it is better to be on the safe side. I recommend to drop the formal part only after some personal contact which justifies it, *e.g.* if the professor offers you to address them with their first name.
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It would however be strange to use "Herr" or "Frau" in an e-mail which is otherwise written in English. Use them only when you write in German.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: You might already know this, but just to be sure, keep in mind that the US and the German system are structured differently. In Germany, Master's and PhD are almost universally distinct, successive programs. I.e after you finish your Bachelor's, you apply for a Master's program, where after two years of coursework (and a small thesis at the end) you get your Master's degree. With that in hand you then apply somewhere for a PhD which will consist of a few years of research and a proper thesis, but generally no coursework.
As a result, applications for a Master's is rather similar to the application for Bachelor's, i.e. acceptance is mostly depending on your grades (in this case those you had in the Bachelor's, which obviously is required to apply) and you are not expected to decide anything about research yet, since there won't be any except for maybe your Master's thesis, which usually is constrained into 6 months, so just a short project, for which you generally only start to contact people maybe a year into the program. So emailing professors directly is a bit unexpected, since it is unclear what you would want of them. If they are not in the admission committee, there is nothing they can do, and if they are, then you are approaching them through the wrong channels, which could be interpreted as trying something improper. In any case, most programs are quite open anyway, i.e. they effectively take any applicant with the right Bachelor's degree (usually determined via a list of courses that need to be in there) above a certain grade average.
In contrast to that, applying for a PhD afterwards is different in the opposite direction. The focus is solely on research, so you are expected to contact a professor. In fact there usually is no program to apply to, instead you directly ask a professor, if they want to take you as a student, the two of you have a small chat about possible topics and then the rest is just the paperwork (Which is sometimes the only point where you need show your Master's degree). Keep in mind that this depends on the amount of funding and other students the professor has though. If it is a professor that knows you from before, this can be an extremely short, informal process.
With regards to funding keep in mind, that while studying is basically free in Germany, that is the rule only for EU-citizens, if you are not, there might be fees for your Masters. They will generally be smaller than in the US though. You also might not be eligible for any living allowance (Bafög) as a German student might be. In contrast to that, as a PhD-student you are usually paid and expected to do some teaching in return. Sociology is however one of those topics notoriously short on funding, so don't expect to much, but beware of any promises in the form of "work for free now and I'll get you a position later". If you can get any kind of scholarship (German, European or possibly even American), try to do so, professors love people who bring their own funding.
Finally, those are the standards, there are many non-standard programs, even some "graduate-schools" which try to incorporate parts of the American system, but they all differ in what parts, so it is impossible to say anything about them, except read their descriptions.
Edit: As mentioned in the comments, during the Master there is also sometimes the possibility of doing some extracurricular paid research as a Hiwi (Student helper). But those positions are often not advertised and sometimes only offered directly to some of the better students in a class, so there is no use in looking for them at the point of admission. However they can be a great stepping stone into a PhD with the professor you are working for.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: IMHO you probably have the wrong impression of the master application workflow in Germany (which you already said might be the case)
You are confusing two things:
1. Enrolling in a program [as in "How to do it"]
2. Finding a professor to do research with [If you're looking to see if a certain program is for you then ignore everything about point 1]
**For the first point:** you do NOT want to contact professors, they usually cannot help you with it. Who you need to contact is either the universities international coordination office (or however that's called, but most Unis have a small department especially there for onboarding or helping international students). If your Uni doesn't have such a thing (which would be weird), you need to contact the specific departments "examination board" ("Prüfungsamt" in German, I don't trust Google Translate here). Or some other counselor related to your subject of choice.
However any helpfully inclined professor probably can tell you the correct person to talk to.
**For the second point:** Since you mentioned wanting to research etc. I sense that you also want to get to know a program or at least one prof before choosing to enroll in a specific masters program. For that you can absolutely email a professor whose work interests you. For elite programs with very limited spots this MIGHT help you a bit in actually getting enrolled, but for any bigger program I doubt it'd make a difference.
Just don't be too sad if they don't reply, some (I'd say like 10%?) are just too busy with their current students / research etc. to talk to random Bachelors around the world.
Upvotes: 2
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