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<issue_start>username_0: Is it positive to get the first reply from potential PhD Supervisor such as this:
“Thank you for your interest in our PhD programme. I take it that you have looked at our admission criteria. If not, I suggest you do so. Otherwise, it will be nice to discuss your research idea.
I am a bit confused as to how to correspond to this reply, whether he interested or not?<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.
---
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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2020/02/05
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm not in academia currently, but a former professor from grad school has asked me a few times if I would give a talk to his classes based on my professional experience.
I have said yes the past two times because I like this professor and was honored that he would ask me; I also enjoy teaching, and felt that speaking to his class would be an interesting opportunity. But, I also looked upon it as a favor because as a non-academic, these things aren't going on my CV.
He's now asked me a third time, and I am wondering at what point it might be appropriate to ask for a small stipend. The presentations last about 30-45 minutes with questions, and I do put a considerable amount of effort into preparing for them, plus the time spent travelling to campus. I'm not sure if I would describe myself as more of a visiting speaker or a guest lecturer in this situation because the talks are less about me and more about the field I work in. The classes are at well-known law schools; by contrast, I have received stipends in the past for speaking at events at much smaller colleges.
Is it customary to receive a stipend in this situation, or should I consider this more of a favor to a colleague?<issue_comment>username_1: Some years ago, as a senior employee of a public sector body with no teaching or 'outreach' responsibilities, I accepted an invitation to "give a talk" at a business school. It turned out that I was expected to run a two-hour session for the MBA class.
No fee was offered. At that time any fee would have gone to my employer so I had no particular incentive to chase the school for a few pounds, and my employer, quite uninterested in any fees I might earn, would have thought that there was a benefit in influencing some MBA students that my organisation had such brilliant teachers as me... or if the students did not think I was brilliant, then the loss to the organisation would be minimal.
But if I were asked to do give a talk, now that I am no longer employed by such an organisation, I would go straight to the point " Are you offering a fee?". Then make the decision on the basis of the answer to that question.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes it is reasonable to ask for some form of compensation. It could be monetary or some privilage or networking benefits or even a nice dinner invite (as Jon mentioned). As professional ettiquitte, the professor should have asked you about compensation or at least asked about your comfort level. This should have been done for the very first lecture.
Asking now is awkward, but you can still ask tactfully. There's no shame in doing so. I'm quite sure the professor can easily request the administration to either waive your parking fee or pay it on your behalf. You are a guest.
Also learn the art of saying "no". I recently said no to a neighbour who asked if I could give a talk at her kid's school. I asked if I'd be paid for it. She said "no", and I just said that if there's no payment, I'd not be interested. There were no hard feelings afterward. It's understandable if someone does not want to spend time and money for free and get nothing in return. Moreover, I've noticed that people who don't value others time and money tend to take you for granted.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I would look at this from the perspective of the professor inviting you. Most of the people a university invites to speak are professors (or postdocs/ phd students) from other universities. For these, giving the talk is beneficial career wise so there is no additional speakers fee. But they have to travel to the university, very often from out of town. This means there is no easily available budget for paying you to speak but there usually is a budget for your travel expense. Usually this also covers inviting you for a meal.
So I would recommend asking for travel expenses. They should definitely pay for your parking ticket and if you come by car there is probably some fuel money or something like that as well. If you are interested the professor will probably also offer to take you out for dinner afterwards. This should be easy from their perspective. Asking to be paid for the talk as such could be a lot more complicated. If you want that to make it worth your while be prepared that the answer might be no.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/06
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<issue_start>username_0: My colleague and I have developed a software tool and intend to release it open-source.
This tool is specifically for tasks in my field but we think it would be helpful for the wider community. Our institution will permit us to release it provided we get appropriate credit.
Thus, we wish to publish it in peer-review. Is peer-review publication of domain-specific software available? If so, what is required to publish it?
In this case we intend to publish the method and tool on it's own merits without supporting data or an application.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, Open Source software can be published. What's required varies depending on the venue.
There are general journals that focus on the software *process*. The idea is to encourage better software development gets the credit it deserves. Examples of journals with this approach are the [Journal of Open Research Software](https://openresearchsoftware.metajnl.com/) and the [Journal of Open Source Software](https://joss.theoj.org/).
Then there are domain specific journals that have specific software paper policies. An example would be the [AAS Journals](https://journals.aas.org/policy-statement-on-software/) which state
>
> AAS Journals welcome articles which describe the design and function of software of relevance to research in astronomy and astrophysics. Such articles should contain a description of the software, its novel features and its intended use. Such articles **need not include research results** produced using the software, although including examples of applications can be helpful.
>
>
>
(Emphasis mine to link to a point in the original question)
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Sure it's publishable. You write up a paper detailing what is in the code, how to use it, examples, potential problems, and so on.
Here's an [example](https://arxiv.org/pdf/1807.04037.pdf), and here's the [Github link](https://github.com/auckland-cosmo/PyUltraLight) to the source code.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes. Software can be published as an open source tool with a peer review process. Several tradition-styled academic journals exist. Given the OP's [profile](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/58300/tom-kelly), here are some journals that publish R packages, genetics tools, or environmental software:
* [The R Journal](https://journal.r-project.org/)
* [Journal of Statistical Software](https://www.jstatsoft.org/index)
* [Environmental Modelling and Software](https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-modelling-and-software)
* [Molecular Ecology Resources](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17550998)
* [Source Code for Biology and Medicine](https://scfbm.biomedcentral.com/).
Also, some government agencies have formal peer review processes for software and code for public release (e.g., the [US Geological Survey](https://www.usgs.gov/products/software/software-management), the [US Department of Energy](https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/peer-review)).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: [SoftwareX](https://www.journals.elsevier.com/softwarex):
>
> SoftwareX aims to acknowledge the impact of software on today's research practice, and on new scientific discoveries in almost all research domains. SoftwareX also aims to stress the importance of the software developers who are, in part, responsible for this impact.
>
>
> To this end, SoftwareX aims to support publication of research software in such a way that:
>
>
> * The software is given a stamp of scientific relevance, and provided with a peer-reviewed recognition of scientific impact;
> + The software developers are given the credits they deserve;
> + The software is citable, allowing traditional metrics of scientific excellence to apply;
> + The academic career paths of software developers are supported rather than hindered;
> The software is publicly available for inspection, validation, and re-use.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The answer to your question in the narrow sense is "yes". However, I'd like to answer what I perceive as a gist of your question. Because the short answer to that is **yes, but**.
Software or method?
===================
Basically, the situation as I infer it, is: You have some problem. Typically it emerges from some applications, such as biomedicine, material sciences, chemistry, etc. Solving the problem might involve some lab work, but it does not suffice. To actually solve the problem, you need some software. Now, you wrote the software and ask how is it publishable.
The major point is that classical computer science and close fields (mathematical software, for example) has been for very long focused on **methods**. It's not about why, it's not about how technically, it's about the theoretical way to solve the problem. Now, this does not mean that there is no implementation, backing up the theory. In an overwhelming majority of cases there is one. But publishing the code, especially as a separate entity is a relatively new (but welcome!) development.
There were times, when reproducibility in computer science meant: take a BSc student, give them a paper, let them implement it for months, now you have an implementation that you can compare with your own approach.
>
> The languages die, but ideas don't.
>
>
>
I can name two understandable reasons for such a strange (for outsiders) mindset of a computer scientist. Firstly, for a long time the actual idea *what* to do, the thing we can concisely formulate as an algorithm or describe in a paper, was much shorter than the actual low-level code implementing the idea. There is a lot of bookkeeping, technical overhead, and maybe even some ingenuous tricks – interesting on their own merit, but not contributing to the general high-level idea. Computer science was and in part still is focused on such bird-view ideas, though ingenious hacks are also publishable nowadays.
The second reason is that the practical details of the implementation age ungracefully. This includes some technical solutions and also the programming language the implementation is written in. Stretching a bit, it's both easier and more eternal to describe a way to compute a singular value decomposition in terms of linear algebra calculations than an ancient Fortran implementation of DBDSQR.
The trend described above is changing. I see more and more papers that refer to GitHub repos with the accompanying code. This is good. It serves the reproducibility. Less poor BSc students having to implement other's papers. But what people still publish in CS are more high-level descriptions, theoretical considerations, and results of practical evaluation. But not the code as is.
---
Notice, that your fellow biologists, geologists, chemists, and so on might very well appreciate the working product. "Clone this github repo and plug in your data" works as a charm.
Still, *if* there is a high degree of scientific novelty in your software *and if* you want to publish it in a computer science venue in a broad sense (there *are* some journals for publishing code, as other answers state), you might be much better off, if you **publish the method and accompany the method description with a link to GitHub**, where the actual software is deposited.
Oh, and there is the third component: the data. Again, there are some journals where you can publish scientific datasets. But the general development is to put the data into a repository (such as Dryad or Zenodo, it's separate question, really) and link it in the paper.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/06
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<issue_start>username_0: I am teaching an obligatory course to undergraduates. There are about 160 registered students, divided into four classes of forty. Each class is three academic hours.
Last year, my lectures have been videotaped and put on Youtube (with my consent). The students probably liked it a lot since over 80% of them stopped coming to the class and just watched the lectures from the convenience of their homes.
This year, I have to teach the same course again, and it seems to me a waste of time to say the same things again when they are already videotaped. So I thought of making it obligatory for all the students to watch the videos of last year before class (or just learn the material from the textbook, if they prefer). Then, I could use the class-time more efficiently, e.g.:
* Answer specific questions of students about the material;
* Give personal feedback to students regarding their homework submissions;
* etc.
The problem is that the 20% students who do prefer to learn in class than at home might object to this, since this puts a lot of extra-load on them – they have to watch a video rather than just sitting in class.
So my question is: how can I efficiently use the class-time, while still being fair to all kinds of students?<issue_comment>username_1: In the US, a class that counts for 3 credit hours normally meets for about 3 clock hours per week. It is often one hour at a time over the course of the week, though it might be otherwise. The typical student in such a course is expected to spend an additional six hours per week on the course, for nine hours total. I'll assume similar expectations for Israel, though I don't know.
You have an opportunity here to "flip" the classroom, though with a few caveats. To flip it, the students would spend their time as follows. About 3 hours per week watching the videos and taking notes. About 3 hours working independently in studying separately from the professor, and about 3 hours in a face to face situations.
A good use of the last segment, in a field like CS, is to have the students work together in pairs and small teams on exercises related to the lectures in the most recent video(s). If you use too much of that face to face time with questions then there will be little time for active work, so a better plan is to have a way, such as a mailing list by which students can ask their questions as they arise while watching the videos or afterwards. To make this as efficient as possible, the students are encouraged to answer each other's questions online and the professor need only enter the conversation when there are misconceptions expressed.
But, much of what would be "homework" is done with the professor (and TAs) present to offer advice to the teams. Teamwork (and pairing) is most effective here since the small groups can often answer their own questions as they arise so that the prof need not answer every such question or deal with every difficulty. The goal is that very few groups are truly "stuck" at any moment, which is normally not the case for students working singly.
So, an hour of watching videos, an hour in "class" working problems and the remaining hour is for other exercises or readings. This balance can give the required *reinforcement* and *feedback* that most students need in order to learn. The mailing list ties it all together and lets the students make progress at nearly any time of the day or night without overly burdening the professor.
Also note that with a mailing list, any question asked and answered is seen by every student. This alone is an advantage, especially when students "don't know what to ask" or are too shy to bring up what they see as their own failings. Other social media might work, but I found a simple mail server to be a good tool.
The main caveat is that a 50 minute video is a bit long for concentrated study. Better if they can be broken up into 10 minute segments. Even a recommended pause after 10 minutes or so for reflection is a better solution than a long video. Then, the student watches for a few minutes, perhaps formulates questions for the list or for later study, and then repeats. All of this prior to the face-time that will provide reinforcement of the ideas.
If the students work in groups in the face-time periods, you may need to define the groups or at least guarantee that they mix it up. This helps avoid slackers. If you need to "mark" or "grade" participation, then you also want to consider peer evaluation within the groups. But the "extra" hour (not watching videos and not face-time) can also be used for graded work if you need that.
Another caveat is that you need some assurance that none of your students will be much disadvantaged with the system. People with sight or hearing difficulties might have a different response than those with more normal facilities, depending on what accommodations can be made.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Since some students will not want to watch the videos, and they are not obligated to, you should teach the class as though the videos didn't exist.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/06
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<issue_start>username_0: Since I finished graduate school (statistics), I have been pursuing research. This is on my own time, separate from my work in industry, and while my company does not interfere with my work, they give no financial support.
I now want to publish a paper in an open-access journal. (I know to look out for predatory OA journals, and the ones I'm considering definitely are not.) However, the open-access fee comes straight from my pocket and is not a trivial amount of money.
What could an independent researcher like me pursue as a funding source to cover the OA fee?
I did find [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9611/applying-for-research-funding-as-an-independent-researcher) question, but I am interested in the OA fee in particular, not compensation for the work in general (wonderful as that would be).<issue_comment>username_1: As a formerly independent researcher I have looked into this matter before; regrettably, the answer is disappointing: Funders usually require an affiliation with a research institution. (Yes, it is paradox that 'open science' generates new exclusions, leaving certain segments of science behind; this entrenchment of new inequalities due to open access-movements was recently called '[academic colonialism](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.04.001)', though this term may go too far.)
Anyway, there may be an alternative route. So-called [transformative agreements](https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2019/04/23/transformative-agreements/) between scholarly publishers and (country-level) consortia allow researchers from all institutions covered by the consortia to publish Open Access (OA) for free.
Now if you are well-connected to researchers at research institutions which are eligible for this waiver of OA publishing charges because they are part of the consortia, then you may ask them whether you can "borrow" their institutional affiliation. That way you would be able to publish OA without any costs. This does succeed sometimes - because research institutions also have an interest in inflating their publication statistics.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: * Pick a cheaper journal
* Ask for a discount, such as "PLOS Publication Fee Assistance Program" <https://plos.org/publish/fees/>
* Many new journals are free for a limited time
* Use a free repository (usually not peer reviewed)
* Ask your colleagues for help. I have published open access for free more than once because a colleague had a way to get fee wavers.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/06
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<issue_start>username_0: For my first course on CS topic (first course on the topic and not the first overall), I used the university evaluation system to ask students about their feedback.
In addition to responding to questions by giving rates, the students were also asked to specify what they liked and what they didn't like. There are some comments that are obviously wrong but among which, there are comments that the students believe are true.
One common comment is that the slides contain many formulas and they claimed that most of them are not necessary because they didn't understand the lectures. In contrast, they could understand the topic from youtube videos without all these formulas.
I wanted to teach the topic from the right perspective of master university level. but it seems that the students prefer animated lectures, which are useful to understand the overall idea but not the core of the topic, especially because math/algebra is important in this course.
I am wondering whether I should satisfy the students' opinion or I should keep the current way which I find more useful to reach deep understanding.<issue_comment>username_1: I advise that you consider every comment as having some validity. But they may be just preferences for what they wish you had done, not actually valid objections to how you teach.
But some of them might indicate that you could be more effective in general. I agree with what I think is your sentiment that a lecture isn't an entertainment, though some students wish it were. But, it is also possible to be too pedantic in lecturing so that students are pushed into detailed explanations that obscure deep insights into the topics.
I also agree that in certain CS courses, as well as math and some others, it is important for the students to have the formulae and to be able to access the detail, but you can also ask whether that is best done in lecture with slides or writing on the board, or, alternatively, with handouts that can be studied as leisure. But in either case, the students need to be given tasks that reinforce the key ideas and feedback so that they don't draw the wrong conclusions or miss important points.
But, the main value of such written comments is that it gives you the ability to evaluate what you do and ask whether some alternative might be better.
One of the best ways to check whether you are effective is to also look at student grades along with the comments. How is the group of students doing overall? Are you happy with that? How are the low performing students doing? Can that be improved by changing pedagogy somehow? Are the best students being challenged or are they just skating along without effort?
Ask the questions. None of them, or any of them, might induce you to change how you teach, but it is worth asking the questions.
---
Since some of your comments suggest you may be too pedantic (valid or not), take a look at [this question from CSEducators](https://cseducators.stackexchange.com/q/4717/1293).
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Satisfying student opinion is not the objective here. However with these comments look for anything that is consistent about what they didn't understand, and then have a think about whether there is anything that you can do, to help more of the students understand that next time. There's probably a few comments in there that are helpful, and there probably are things you can do other than dumbing down the lecture.
If a large number of the students fail to understand the algebra can you introduce the topic with numbers rather than letters for example ? This can help some students. Yes this may make more work for students, but if they understand it better they may well prefer.
Also bear in mind that going through algebra can be better done as a homework exercise or in notes than in a lecture.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: There are objections you should ignore and ones you should pay attention to. These are ones you should pay attention to.
It's a very standard, normal problem that you are prone to. You want to be rigorously correct, perhaps even defensively (!) and are not considering the human element. I see the reliance on slides (rather than chalk) along with pre-checked formulae as indicative of this problem. Which again, is a very common issue.
Note, I'm not saying disregard correctness. The more you can be correct the better (it is very distracting if a lecturer has a high error rate). But you also ABSOLUTELY need to consider the HUMAN element.
How do you excite, engage, motivate, and TRAIN your students? How much can they absorb? Can you keep them engaged by varying between derivations and examples (and believe ME, examples from homework and similar to test problems ARE motivating). Also have at least SOME in class drill. Even a couple trivial problems will engage the students and...well wake them up. (They are not silicon, are not angels, are not robotic. Are flesh and blood, with limits on their power of concentration.)
You have 50 minutes in a lecture and are using up 30+ (typically) people's time. That's a heavy investment of manhours. Make them count.
Go look at HOW to teach (and not just theoretical or scientific treatments, but practical lessons of good teachers). Not just WHAT to teach. HECK, look at the damned Youtubes. Maybe something useful in there (not on the content, only, but on how to teach). Go watch the Conrack movie (now there was a teacher's challenge).
But the good thing is...you CAN evolve. Can try different things. I remember my first set of feedback. Lot of comments about me being too stern. Other teachers had an issue with discipline or the like...but I had control from the start, without even needing to emphasize it. I actually thought about what I was doing and toned it down a bit. Realized, I COULD. But a little more touchy feely and joking around. And second semester went even better than first (which was not bad, itself).
So, yes, DUH. You should absolutely consider this feedback. And yes, you should change.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I spent many years of my professional life discussing how to present complicated ideas. The first rule that I developed was: "Any comment, however stupid seeming, should be taken seriously". In the OP's context that means try to understand what the student comments are getting at, even if the students who are commenting cannot explain it. Something you said evoked that comment. If you don't like that comment say something differently next time.
The second rule is: disregard any specific suggestion for how you might say it differently. Only you know what you want to say. Your students do not.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Teachers tend to overfit to written answers, and underfit to ratings. When you receive feedback, ask yourself after the sample size. If the general ratings of your course are positive enough, you should be proud of your teaching achievement. This does not imply that other criticism isn't justified, but it should fortify your belief that you're on the right track. If 50 students give you 5/5 stars, and one student writes a long negative paragraph, it optically looks as if the negative judgment is a big deal but in practice it might not.
You write that the comment about many formulas is a common comment. That is an important signal. The free-from text part of the feedback becomes very valuable when several students describe a common theme. This provides evidence to me that the student body as a whole is reasonable in complaining about the formulas. Whether this means that your course needs to tone it down, or prerequisite courses need to ramp up the mathematical rigor, would still be a fair question to ask. So your final question cannot be answered by any external person: do you think that your course should challenge along this axis? Only you can set the learning goals of your course.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/06
| 667
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<issue_start>username_0: Video in reference: <https://youtu.be/dUwN6GI-0EQ> after 4:05
In a Cambridge (model) interview, someone was asked to sketch a graph of sin(x)/x. The intention was clearly that they were not to have seen this function before. When watching, I immediately recognised this as sinc(x) (a function sometimes used in electrical engineering). They were then told not to evaluate this function at 0 because it's difficult, however I knew how this could be done. If I was in this position, would it be acceptable to pretend like I could derive everything I knew about this function already to impress the interviewer, or important to say that I have already seen the function before.<issue_comment>username_1: I really don't think the interviewer cares one way or another whether you've seen the problem before. She just wants to know if you can solve it, and to hear how you go about it.
In the video, she does say "the function that I'm going to write down, you've probably not seen before"; but I interpret that as just a way to reassure the student that the problem should be possible to solve whether she has seen the function before or not. It's so the student doesn't panic or get stuck trying to remember the function, rather than actually trying to solve the problem.
So I don't think there is any point in either pretending the problem is new to you, or in announcing that it's familiar. Neither will significantly help or hurt you in itself. If you know how to solve the problem, solve it and move on.
On the other hand, it probably wouldn't be helpful to just draw the graph from memory and say "here it is, done". The interviewer is almost certainly more interested in having you demonstrate that you understand the concepts and methods used to solve the problem, than in seeing if you know the solution. So you would be wise to work through the problem methodically, explaining what you are doing and how you know to do it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **NO.** What you are describing is dishonest behavior. It is absolutely, categorically, *not* acceptable to behave dishonestly in an academic interview.
And if you think you can get away with it, I think you’re severely underestimating how easy it would be for the interviewer to notice your pretense.
Don’t do it. It’s a terrible idea.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: This happened in my Cambridge interview. I think you are presupposing that it is necessary to either come clean or deceive. I don't think it would play out like that unless they explicitly ask "have you seen this before?" (which in my experience they wouldn't bother asking). I would just answer all the questions you can to the best of your ability. They aren't going to say "You've seen it before and didn't say so, so you cheated".
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/07
| 294
| 1,159
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<issue_start>username_0: Is there an accepted order in which "List of"s should appear in a thesis?
For example, I have a section dedicated to "List of (Code) Listings", another for "List of Figures", and another for "List of Symbols". Is there a preferred order in which these should appear in the document?<issue_comment>username_1: Ask if there are local guidelines. Check earlier theses. Go to the library, rummage in books in your general area and see what order(s) they use, select one that you like. After the above, ask your advisor for approval.
Don't overdo it, too many "list of ..." may look bad.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: For Ph.D. theses, some universities (including mine) care about some aspects of the format in minute detail. They should have an office where such things are checked. Find that office and ask.
If the university doesn't care, then ask your adviser whether anyone cares. If your adviser cares, obey. If your adviser doesn't care but thinks someone else (with some authority in the matter) does, then ask that someone else.
If nobody cares, just do whatever looks reasonable to you.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/07
| 611
| 2,498
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<issue_start>username_0: I have proofs that run on for up to 10 pages. To aid in readability, I would like to discuss my theorem, and the lemmas that support it, without the noise of these lengthy proofs. Can I move the proofs to my lemmas, theorem, etc., into an appendix? Or somewhere else more appropriate?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Can I move the proofs to my lemmas, theorem, etc., into an appendix?
>
>
>
Yes - this is often done in journal articles. You might want to put a sketch of why your claims should be believed in the main text, with a pointer to the full proofs in the appendix.
But, you have tagged this *thesis*, so it would be worth discussing this with your thesis advisor, as they may have a different opinion for your particular field or their particular preferences/style.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Personally I feel that the appendix is only a place for the busywork kind of proofs. Examples would be something like long, tedious, but unsurprising calculations, or a specific variant of a well known theorem you need, that can't be found anywhere but is immediately obvious from some simple modifications of the original proof. In short, only the stuff that everyone would believe to be true from the get go and that just needs to be there to form a foundation for something more important somewhere else in your paper. In short, the stuff that generally no-one reads.
Conversely, if there is any "novelty" in your proof, it should never be in the appendix.
That being said, there is still no need to put proofs directly after the statement. It is quite common to discuss a set of theorems, lemmata in one section and then only do the proofs in the following sections. If you look at research papers, you will often find a section called "Proof of Theorem ...", where the Theorem number is smaller than the number of the section.
But if you do so please take care to minimize confusion, i.e. clearly reference forward and backwards. If it is badly executed, this style can be extremely annoying, as one always has to hunt for the theorem statement or the proof.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If you have "ten page proofs", perhaps you should see if it makes sense to break them up into shorter lemmata that can be reused or at least help structure the mess. Some detailed, case by case checks, other tedious busywork or programs to do the above can be relegated to an appendix, but ask your advisor beforehand.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/07
| 1,505
| 6,647
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<issue_start>username_0: TLDR at the bottom.
Odd situational question for everyone (or maybe not) since this is out of scope for me. Hoping to get a clearer insight from a more experienced crowd about research, plagiarism and copyright. Unfortunately, I'll have to be vague about specifics and names. Apologies for the long post but I hope someone has some insight.
Just for background information but the theory has been around for almost 100 years but different concepts/ideas are used to prove or further research the theory. I'll start the timeline in the year 2000 just for convenience but information is easily accessible at this time.
Researcher A uses proven concepts that have been used in different fields of study but not widely used specifically in their field however it's not known whether or not they're the first to use. The concept used by Researcher A was discussed on a community forum in 1996 (4 years prior) and on another forum in 1998 (2 years prior) to researcher A starting their own initiatives in 2000. A also made their concept and findings publicly available on their website and started self-publishing a book in 2004 in relation to their findings, 4 years after they first started.
Researcher B is new to the field and comes across the concept from researcher A via their website around 2005 and becomes interested in the concept. During this time they're also reading other researchers' findings (100-year-old theory so lots to catch up on). The more B learns the more they find that while the concept may be feasible, researcher A's findings, definitions of the theory and methodology are flawed so B stops referring to A's research a few months later and starts to conduct their own research. In order to do this, B builds up the concept's methodology from what they believe should work after months of research. Because of the flaws that they found with A, B never read the book that A made either.
After B conducted their own research and findings they also release the information publicly and have changed the methodology of the concept. It's shown that both A and B while using the same theory and similar concept have different results and definitions for the theory. A also congratulates and supports B during this time and admits that their findings and methodology are different from B's. After 3 years of research (2008 now), B decides to publish their findings in a book. While writing the book they never referred to or looked at A's findings but did cite any work that they did look at when writing. A is now claiming that B has plagiarized and infringed on their copyright because of 2 of 6 the definitions written in the book have similar passages referring to the concept; the concept itself is somewhat limited as it's limited to 2 variations for each aspect (so if there are 3 aspects there are 6 definitions). However, these definitions which are similarily written are used for different aspects of the concept which results in people achieving different results for the theory more than half the time. Also since it's a limited scope there's only so much you can write that differs from others' writing.
As far as I'm aware you can't copyright an idea which is the concept in this case and even more so since it's been around even before A started. However, I'm not too sure about the plagiarism. A is demanding to be acknowledged for their work however they didn't contribute to B's research nor were they the originators of the core concept. They just happened to popularize it a little and were B's introduction to the concept.
Has B plagiarized A? Does A deserve the acknowledgement for the aspect definitions despite them being different and resulting in different results? Or just acknowledgement for getting B started on this concept? Or none at all?
TLDR: A accuses B of plagiarism and copyright infringement. B was introduced by A to the concept/idea but never used their information due to inaccuracy. Concept/idea has been around before A started just not as popularized.<issue_comment>username_1: Honestly, there's too less info provided here for strangers on the internet to guess and come to a conclusion. I'd recommend talking to your research guides to look into the content and sort out the matter. After-all, it's a few definitions, and you have branched off to create fresh research on your own anyway, so your research isn't in danger. "Pick and choose your battles". Some battles may not be worth the time and energy.
Think about it this way: If you lived in a jungle and heard nothing about Newtons laws but you came up with those laws and definitions on your own and came to the city and tried publishing a book and then Newton accused you of plagiarism, what would be the right course of action? Unless you have hard evidence that you had not heard of Newtons laws earlier, nobody would believe you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Independently of whether you like the treatment of the theory by A (maybe it's incomplete, low-quality or even partially wrong), you have come across the theory through A. At this point, it is a matter of integrity to give credit to A for this.
Yes, the theory has been around before, and OP can develop their own derivatives, that is perfectly fine. It is not entirely clear now to me whether OP's definitions were derived/motivated by the definitions by A, or were developed completely independently. But, in any case, knowing about even a parallel (and not contributing) development, it is good form to cite it. People discovering things in parallel should give each other credit (check for a classic example for a case with a major dilemma the case of Darwin and Wallace).
I frankly find it difficult to understand why people insist on *not* citing others, despite the former clearly having delved into the work of the latter as a basis for their own, and insisting these others didn't contribute. Personally, I think it is at least appropriate to criticise them with open visor (but professionally) for lack of precision, lack of contribution or whatever one finds objectionable in the other person's work, than just silently drop them.
What is described here is not plagiarism in the strict sense, as far as I understand and assuming the description is accurate. Instead one could call this "diminishment or withholding credit". In this case this is credit for recognition of the importance of the problem, even if not dealing with it to the satisfaction of whoever cites them.
**TL;DR:** OP asks: "Or just acknowledgement for getting B started on this concept?" - Yes, at the very least.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/07
| 479
| 1,951
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a class that I have to research a topic on. It can be anything and all I have to do is inform the class about the topic. It's not super intense research, just a small amount, enough for a 5 minute presentation.
However, before, I had a research project that took up almost a whole school year about a topic we chose. It's a topic I'm interested in and I was wondering if it counts as self-plagiarism if I reuse sources from the old research project? Not all of them just a handful. It's almost all just facts and not much of my own analysis so would it be counted as plagiarism?
Does turnitin count it as plagiarism if they find 2 papers using the same sources? The thing I'm concerned about is we have to do an annotated bib and I took the sources from an old annotated bib. However the info paragraph I basically rewrote it all and its a lot more simple than my old one, which has a lot of specifics. Also all the sources I am using are on my old annotated bib.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, they will be flagged by Turnitin. However, why don't you just cite your own research? In that case, it's not plagiarism because you cite your own work correctly.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Self plagiarism is when you use your old work without citing it. It can be avoided with citation, just as you would if the original was from another author. So, in this case, it would probably be considered to be self plagiarism.
However, you have another problem in that the professor may have wanted you to do something new, not to recycle work from the past. In that case, you could wind up in trouble even if you use proper citation of the older work. That would avoid self-plagiarism, but might not avoid sanction from the professor.
Ask the professor if it is appropriate for you to draw on old work for this. We can't answer for them, but do this before you make assumptions and end up in trouble.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/07
| 511
| 2,183
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<issue_start>username_0: *Some* of the work I did during my undergrad research (before my PhD, 4 years ago), exactly *two figures*, have been used in a recent paper. My ex-adviser (at the time of my undergrad research) is co-authoring the paper but she did not tell me about it. We kept being in contact after my undergrad research and we had planned to write a paper, then I started my PhD somewhere else and it did not succeed.
As I keep having good relationship with her, I don't know if I should do anything about it.<issue_comment>username_1: You should have been cited, at least, if the old figures were used and you created them. There may even have been a copyright violation here as figures are sometimes (often?) considered to be a "complete" work for such purposes.
You could ask for an explanation. You could express disappointment for the lack of acknowledgement. I can't predict the outcome, however. It might be an apology. It might be rage. What should happen is a correction, but that doesn't seem very likely.
I'm assuming, of course, that the figures really were re-used, rather than just being similar and generated from the same data.
But you have to judge whether to rock the boat a bit. It is your right to do so. If you need her as a source for your future advancement, then tread carefully.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: From my point of view this depends on how substantial these figures and the work you put into them were. If these are standard figures that I'd have done myself anyway, or figures I had encouraged the student to do, I wouldn't feel bad about using them in my publication, at least after it's clear that there won't be a joint paper about this work. I'd probably still tell the student in advance that I plan to do this and mention the student in the Acknowledgements, however I don't think the student can claim an "intellectual right" on such things.
If it was your idea to do these figures and there's some of your own original thought and proper research work (on top of doing what you had been asked to do) in them, the situation is different. However in this case I agree with the answer by username_1.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/07
| 682
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been granted a Marie Curie fellowship recently, and as some of you might know, one of the requirements is a PhD **or 4 years of equivalent research experience** ([This question is related to that](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/140971/why-is-the-marie-curie-individual-fellowship-only-for-experienced-researchers)). Now, the contract issued from the host institution and the paperwork from the funding administrator set my role as Post-Doctoral Researcher.
Given that I don't have a PhD and applied based on the research experience item, I don't feel it is correct to have that title. Actually, I think this could be misleading and don't know how could this impact my career/reputation.
Should I ask to change this title? Does it matter in the end? or as long as I disclose I am "PostDoc researcher" because it was the title given for the role?
[Here is another related question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/34768/postdoc-without-phd)<issue_comment>username_1: You can ask, of course, but you need to be able to suggest an alternate title. To the institution it is the slot that has the title, actually. You just fill that slot. I doubt that you'd be very successful in getting a change. You are small and the institution is large - with a lot of inertia.
But, I wouldn't worry about it. It is a descriptive title for what you do: you research with the skills of someone with a doctorate. The institution considers you to have equivalent skills for the job. In fact EU seems to be of the same opinion, given the requirements.
But, in a CV or similar, make the distinction, that you held a title, but not a degree. In a few years, no one will care anymore.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In my experience, "postdoc" isn't even treated as a title, and what your contract says is your job title is kind of irrelevant, because you can write it up however you want on your CV. My contract says I'm a "scientific researcher," but I have what is generally considered a postdoctoral position (because it's after the doctorate), and I alternate between both descriptions depending on the context. Outside of academia, no one really knows what "postdoc" or "scientific researcher" mean anyway, so I call myself a "mathematician"-- a title which isn't written on any official documentation anywhere. Furthermore, no one is going to address you by the title on your contract. No one has ever referred to me as "Postdoc Moonlet" or "Scientific Researcher Moonlet." The only title I use sometimes is "Dr." (which is ok, because I have the degree to back it up).
As long as you're not telling people to call you a doctor, I don't think there's anything to worry about.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/07
| 336
| 1,543
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<issue_start>username_0: Does a research paper automatically get published for the public to read on the journal website if accepted?<issue_comment>username_1: Some publishers will put things online and others will not. For an individual case you need to consult the publisher. Some suggest, or even require, that the author publish to a repository. Some publishers will even forbid it. Ask an editor or consult the publisher's website.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: That depends on the journal. Some do put accepted articles onto their websites. In most cases, however, the article must first go through some kind of editorial process where the style of the manuscript is adjusted to the requirements of the journal -- for example, many manuscripts are submitted double-spaced, with figures at the end of the manuscript, and this will be converted to single-spaced, maybe double-column, with figures embedded in the text.
But then there are also journals that do not have websites where all articles are posted.
Finally, "publicly posted" can mean quite a lot of things. Some journals actually post a PDF of the article for everyone to read. This is often called "Open Access" these days. On the other hand, most journals are closed access: They will typically post the title, authors, and maybe the abstract of a paper publicly for everyone to see, but the body of the paper is only available for people who either pay for it, or who are with institutions that have (paid) subscriptions to the journal.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/07
| 1,072
| 4,402
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<issue_start>username_0: How important is teaching as a graduate student if I want to then pursue a career in academia. A top program I have been admitted to does not require teaching and I will be fully funded by being a graduate research assistant. Will it hurt my prospects of getting a tenure-track position if I have little to no teaching experience?
I am aware that to get a tenure-track position at a top program, a postdoc is almost always necessary.
--edit-- To address some of the points below, this is for graduate school in the US, with the desire to stay in the US if I were to pursue a tenure-track position.<issue_comment>username_1: If this is the US or in a place with similar traditions, then nearly all academics teach. Some more than others and some only at advanced levels, but generally, we teach.
If you are good enough to be hired primarily as a researcher at an R1 university in the US then the hiring decision won't hinge much on your background as a teacher, but for most other academic jobs it will be a consideration, perhaps an important one.
So, it is a good thing to get some experience with it, though it is time consuming the first few times. Post doc positions don't necessarily provide any teaching experience, though some do.
Observing your own teachers gives you only a bit of the knowledge you need to put a course together, deliver it, and keep a bunch of students happy.
But all universities have a complex mission, and teaching the next generation of scholars is a big part of it.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This depends by area of study and geography. In the area I did my Ph.D. (pure math), most new job candidates have taught (i.e. been the primary lecturer) for several courses, though the importance of that varies on the type of institution they get their job at. In the applied area I have pivoted to, many applicants have no teaching experience at all; some have been TAs in a course or two. In my wife's area (social sciences), having some teaching experience is frequent enough to differentiate you as a candidate, but not the norm.
Rather than the usual "tell us more about your area and we'll tell you" approach, I'll put it differently.
1. Approach it **empirically**. Look up 5-6 junior faculty in your field whose career path you would like to emulate. Find their CVs online. Did they have teaching experience prior to their 1st postdoc (or other post Ph.D. position)? What else is interesting about their CV?
2. Think about **flexibility**. Regardless of whether you *have* to, wouldn't you like to *try* whether you like teaching and whether you're good at it? In the case you pivot to a nonacademic career (which is increasingly common even for people who think they're going to become academics), wouldn't it be a good experience to have on your resume?
Finally, consider the specifics of options you have. Some "teaching" opportunities for Ph.D.'s are awful; underpaid with lots of busy work and very little independence. Others are super. And there are periods during any Ph.D. program when you need to put your head down and read, or do demanding empirical research, or just write; and there are periods where, let's face it, you are pushing your cognitive limits and need to take breaks anyway, and there's no reason you couldn't fit in teaching (and learn some valuable time management skills at the same time). So **if you have the privilege that teaching is not a necessity but a privilege, be choosy of the specific opportunity and timing when to do it.**
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Take this from another angle, the comments about this issue by <NAME>. Presumably somebody with a foundation-building Nobel in physics should be able to write his own ticket. If he did not want to teach, he could just go sit in his office and think about nearly anything he wanted to.
But he wanted to teach. Indeed, he made a lot of effort to try to teach his students to a high standard.
For him, teaching was something that filled the gaps when his research was not producing huge gratifying results. At least I'm doing my students some good, even if my research is frozen. It helped his attitude and his morale. And that would help him through those dry periods that everybody gets.
So look at teaching as something that can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/07
| 495
| 1,988
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<issue_start>username_0: I am working with a visiting scholar from China, and part of my collaborative process is to use a shared document through the cloud based LaTeX service called Overleaf. The scholar I am working with said that she cannot use Overleaf because she is Chinese and that China doesn't allow "Google."
I know that there are Chinese researchers that use GitHub, for instance, so cloud based storage can't be completely out. It's hard for me to get a straight answer, since her English is spotty. I'm not sure where the connection between Google and Overleaf is coming from.
Is there a limitation on the usage of Overleaf and similar services imposed by the Chinese government?<issue_comment>username_1: No. I have no idea what is going on. The Chinese government blocks Google but does not forbid its citizens from using Google abroad, for example. There is no law forbidding the use of Google or Overleaf, and the government could not care less.
I'm not sure what they are up to or if there is a misunderstanding.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Many chinese universities use overleaf templates for their documents, as does mine.
See for example ( I am not a student of fudan though):
<https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/fudan-recommendation-letter-template/rvptymhypfkz>
Judging by the extensive collections of chinese uni templates on the website (<https://www.overleaf.com/latex/templates/recent/page/12?q=formal+letter&page=2> check here for a long list), I don't think overleaf is censored.
I will update this post once I enter China in a few weeks.
Update:
I am inside China now and can freely work on overleaf.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: There is no limitation. I taught two courses this year to students in China and we required them to prepare documents in Overleaf, so they can *use* it — we required it for our course! I'm not sure what the connection is with Google, or if there is a connection at all.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/07
| 884
| 3,705
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<issue_start>username_0: Whenever one searches for publications on Google Scholar, some of the authors of some publications are clickable (underlined / hyperlinked), but others aren't.
What determines this behavior? Is there a way to manage this as an author?
I have a few publications that are in my profile, but I am not clickable as an author in some of them when searching for the publication.<issue_comment>username_1: Some authors have published their Google Scholar profiles and other authors have not. If you click on an author's name and the author has a profile, then you'll see that author's profile information.
You might think that Google Scholar would show you the list of all publications by authors with that same name, but there are so many name duplications that this isn't done.
If you have a public author profile, then it should be possible for anyone who accesses one of your publications to click on your name and get to that public profile.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In order to get a clickable link in an author's name in Google Scholar results, three main conditions must be met:
1. The author must have created a public profile in Google Scholar.
2. The profile must be verified with an academic email account.
3. The profile must be up to date (only documents that have been added to the profile will appear with a link to the author profile in a Google Scholar page of results).
If these conditions are met and still the link does not appear, the cause might be that Google Scholar is not able to match the name of the author in the profile, to one name in the list of authors of the documents (the names might be just different enough). But I don't remember seeing cases of this.
Hope this helps
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: The reason for this is there is a major bug with Google Scholar that just doesn't pick up some names; yes of course I am one such academic, but if you search you will find numerous examples.
So unclickable names may be because the authors profile is not set to public, or the simple bug described below.
Naturally other answers will all be about making it public etc etc, but in fact, after many hours of investigation, there seems to also be a simple bug that no one has a solution to. Of course I have reported this to Google with out response. It seems to be because whatever you do some names are **not indexed**; so the profile exists, but is just not linked.
Try mine for example; search for my name you find my papers, but no indexed (clickable) name and no profile. One can only find this with a direct link, which one can of course put on your website etc
[RBJ profile](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LMnR82wAAAAJ&hl=en).
Another example is here [Another example](https://support.google.com/websearch/thread/53989406/public-google-scholar-profile-not-findable-as-a-profile?hl=en), but there are many.
The reason for entering this as an answer, rather than a comment is that there are many academics, and authorities that judge academics by their Google metrics and simply do not understand that these unfixable bugs exist. "S/he can't be a reputable academic because doesn't even have a Google Scholar Profile". Metrics are never a great way to assess one another anyway, but it is essential that everyone recognises Google Scholar is buggy and unreliable.
Please don't anyone respond with "click make it public". Obviously we have all done this. I am astonished that people assume, despite evidence and people's experience to the contrary, that this is the one computer system that has been invented without bugs.
[screen shot of the public tick](https://i.stack.imgur.com/PnvZl.jpg)
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/07
| 211
| 936
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<issue_start>username_0: How to upload my journal articles to Google Scholar and get it appeared immediately?<issue_comment>username_1: Log in, go to your profile, click the "+" icon, and select "Add article manually". Then fill in the details and it will appear on your profile immediately.
However you cannot upload a pdf to Google Scholar or anything like that. Google Scholar is not a repository. And the citations will only appear after the crawler finds it on the internet.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You can not upload anything directly to Google Scholar. However, if you upload your document to an appropriate repository that assigns you a doi (a preprint server, zenodo, OSF, etc), it will appear on your GS in a matter of days. If you have in mind something like an accepted version of a paper, it will depend on how much time the editorial team requires to assign the doi and make the document public.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/08
| 407
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<issue_start>username_0: I am being considered for a doctoral position and after what I think it was a very good interview, the project supervisor asked me for a copy of my MSc. thesis. Even though the results of the thesis have not been published yet, he assured me full confidentiality, so I sent the thesis for his appreciation.
Two days after sending the document, I have realized I have sent the wrong version of it. These version was very close to the final one, but with a few minor mistakes, such as grammar and a few misplaced commas, one legend that was partially wrong, and differences in text colour also in one legend.
I really want the position, and I am very afraid these minor mistakes will make me come across as sloppy.
Do you think I should send an email explaining the situation and, likewise, send the "good version" of my thesis? I am also very afraid that this will make me come across as sloppy. After all, I did not make 100% sure I was sending the proper updated version.
What would you do in my situation?
I really appreciate all the help!!!
Thanks!!<issue_comment>username_1: Even final published theses can, and do, have errors.
Don’t worry, if the errors are typos etc you will be fine, however if there is a serious error in the theory or analysis then that may be different.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I think most people have done this at some point, it is unfortunate that it happened when applying for that position. I would send him the updated version with a small explanation stating that it corrects some small grammar/color/graph/ect issues. If he hasn't already read the paper, I'm sure he would like an updated one.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm pursuing a Ph.D. in a computer science-related field (more particularly, in Artificial Intelligence). During my studies, I was involved in several projects, some of them got published in top-tier conferences. I'm ought to submit my Ph.D. thesis this year and was wondering what's the role of theses these days in CS.
Generating a polished thesis would take at least two months. However, collecting the work we've already published into a huge Latex file with a shared (newly written) introduction and discussion would take one week. I believe I can use the spare time to advance my research even further or start new collaborations.
If that matters, my career plans are to start a postdoc position, followed by seeking an academic position.
So, **is there any significant downside to hastily constructing a "sandwich thesis" as opposed to carefully polishing a cohesive document?** Assume that my committee would accept both.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Who cares about your PhD thesis?
>
>
>
At least your supervisor and your examiners, and potentially anybody seeking to evaluate your work in the future.
The primary reason to be careful with your PhD thesis is to avoid giving a bad impression to your PhD committee. Even if the content is solid, it would be unfortunate to be given major corrections or a lower "cum laude" honor (depending on the local usage) just because a committee member felt that you didn't do much effort with the dissertation.
It is true that most dissertations are not going to be read by many people, but your PhD dissertation is going to be a quite important part of your profile for your whole academic career. A reviewer for a hiring committee might have a cursory look at it, a student considering working with you might be curious about it, etc. Of course it's unlikely to be a major issue, but is it really worth the risk? Even simply for yourself, isn't it worth spending a bit more time in order to have a document you can be proud of in the future?
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Nowadays some universities offer a "cumulative dissertation" (putting your papers together in the journal style with a introduction at the beginning of the dissertation) additionally to the traditional thesis publication format. I would ask your supervisor, if he allows and recommends this based on your publication track (number, extent, content, depth, siginificance, originality of your publications), as only he can likely make a good judgement here.
Apart from this, if you really think/know not much people will care about the context, background, methods of your research, this might be a reason to favor the cumulative dissertation. But I read during my PhD many PhD thesis of predecessors in the field to grasp above three points, as in papers details often have to be left out. Some thesis get also published as book by springer & co.
I don't think it can be a downer pursuing professorship and the institutions you apply for also allow a cumulative dissertation.
The PhD thesis gives you also a training effect to publish books or review articles, because of more similar format style like a journal article or letter. And to become a professor such publication contributions to the community can be very advantegeous to get tenured.
A PhD thesis also gives people an inlook how you were/are working, how did you approach a scientific question. As many papers are the work nowadays of many co-authors and collaborators and many PhD's are produced, a non-comulative PhD thesis might become very "trendy" and advantageous again to have over competitors.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: A thesis is a whole different document than a collection of papers.
Over the course of your Ph.D., you have arguably worked (and published) on a number of different projects and topics that are likely to be only sparsely related to each other. While your narrow academic community will certainly draw more benefits from your papers than from your thesis, *you* will learn a lot by writing a thesis.
Writing a cogent thesis that seamlessly connects the dots between the different topics on which you worked is *hard*. But it helps you immensely in rationalizing about your specific contributions, how it affects your field, and more importantly, what you have accomplished and how *you* can move on with your life. Is this field worth exploring? Were the techniques you used useful? Are there other promising approaches? Is the problem still relevant? What did you personally gain from everything you did? Are your multiple projects consistent with each other? Would you recommend people continue working on what you worked on? How? Are you contributing to society in a meaningful way? Are you advancing knowledge? How? Are there specific avenues that you didn't pursue (perhaps for the lack of time or previous knowledge) that look promising? Thinking rationally about these issues will train you in skills that will be relevant to your future, *especially* if you want to continue being a researcher. A great way to think about these things is by writing them on paper, which is what you will likely do for the rest of your life (as grant proposals, executive reports, white papers, etc).
Remember that working in the lab and writing papers is only a very small part of your training as a Ph.D. student. In fact, in a few years you are, statistically speaking, likely to *never* work in the lab, write copious amount of code or write papers in full again for the rest of your life. But you will have to continue thinking rationally about *your's* and *everyone else's* reseach and work, and that's what you learn by writing a thesis.
PS: There are also additional benefits to writing a good thesis, such as providing additional methodological details that might be useful to the community and (most importantly) to your labmates and to the people who will use the same equipment/techniques as you did in the future.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I would recommend the latter option, but taking the introduction a bit more seriously. One week seems awful short to do a good job. Think about it carefully and spend two or three weeks to write a good introduction for a broad audience which includes more background.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: The main issue I see with this plan is that the papers you already have worked on have been collaborative efforts with other people (your use of 'involved in' and 'we've'). The PhD needs to be your own work, to demonstrate that you personally can work to a level required to attain a Doctor of Philosophy in your field. This means producing innovative research independently of others, despite working in a team environment.
In Australia at least, there is a growing trend for PhD by Publication. I suggest you speak to your supervisor about this (or find out what the local version of the term is; you didn't specify your country of origin). The logic behind it is that if you have a number (typically three) publications which have been written by you, and independently peer reviewed by reputable reviewers, then this amounts to the PhD. This typically means publication in Q1-rated journals; conference papers typically are insufficient without a formal peer-review.
Students like the PhD by Publication approach because its hard for the examiners to refute anything which has been peer reviewed already. Some supervisors also like it, although others like mine see it as the lazy route, both for the student and for the examiners, as some of the latter may not even read those peer reviewed parts. Personally I tend to agree with the latter: in a 3 year PhD, it means getting a fully peer reviewed publication produced every 12 months. Typically the first 12 months are spent reviewing literature and deciding where your project will fit within the greater field of research, so it's hard to produce good, PhD quality research in the first year, although it sounds like you are nearing the end, so this may not be relevant.
In a traditional thesis (at least in Australia), you are required to include a List of Publications which you have worked on (this is independent from the usual bibliography section). The administrative staff at my university have recently made it a requirement that you must include the percentage of your contribution within this list, which needs to be quite detailed: you must list that you contributed 10% of the introduction, 20% of the content, 5% of the results, 10% of the conclusions, etc. The point is that they really want to make sure that what you have included in your thesis is 'your' work. This can also have consequences for the bulk of your thesis. In my case I'd written a paper on process control, and collaborated with another author who'd added some computer simulations. Although the system itself was entirely my work, I had to completely rewrite it and rearrange the model for the thesis so that it was distinct from the paper, to remove any question that I'd included research that wasn't my own in the thesis, or plagiarized a published paper (even one I'd collaborated on). The thesis certification page at the top of the submitted thesis includes the words 'This thesis is the work of *authorname* except where otherwise acknowledged. The work is original and has not previously been submitted for any other award, except where acknowledged.'
So in short, simply collecting your team's work into one huge latex file is unlikely to qualify as a PhD thesis.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Short version : no one. How much you care for it is something, but the supervisor or the examiners couldn't care less. I'm a math and computer science major from Romania if this info is worth anything to you.
I say all of this because I've experienced it . So , I've been working on my application for the thesis for a year , a hole year. The application wasn't some website like the majority of my schoolmates did, it was an app that could read a barcode with the help of a usb scanner. I've built everything from scratch with libraries, made it so there were almost no bugs, worked like a charm and did more than half the app before finding a supervisor. He didn't look through the code, not even a glance. I other words he didn't care about the code.
On the written part I've worked about 2 months . About this one too i was pretty proud. All the parts fitted together nicely and didn't have filler info. The supervisor read through this, several times.
On the presentation day, the examiners flipped through the written part just to see if i got any interesting images , asked something about the part of the app that involved that USB scanner and the code of the reports and that was it. Next. All the work i've done over that year was reduced to them to just two chunks of code. Nobody cared that the app was nearly perfect, nobody cared about the written part.
So my advice is don't put too much work in it if you intend to leave the project just as the thesis, ultimately nobody will appreciate for what it truly is
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: I agree with other commenters that, in general, not a lot of people will care about your thesis, per se. However, you need to also consider what job you are wanting in the future.
If you are applying for academic jobs, it will likely be under much greater scrutiny, particularly by your potential postdoc advisor (I always read the thesis of postdoc applicants to my group and I know many other professors do the same). For one, it will demonstrate whether you have the tenacity to conduct long, well thought out research. Second, it will demonstrate whether you can effectively communicate that research. Third, it will demonstrate if you know how to write a thesis and, therefore, have a chance of mentoring your future students through the process. Note that even postdocs are asked to mentor students through the process, particularly in larger research groups. If you have not gone through the long, meticulous process of writing out the thesis, you will not be qualified to do this.
Your statement "Generating a polished thesis would take at least two months," gave me pause. Yes, that is true. Probably even a bit longer than that. But this is what a PhD actually requires. Getting the degree demonstrates that you had the tenacity to go through it. And there is nothing wrong with NOT wanting to go through it! But if you don't want to put in those few months, then maybe you might want to consider going to work in industry with the master's degree?
You might find universities that accept stacking several research papers together into one thesis to be acceptable. My university does not, however where I got my PhD did. At the same time, while it was an *accepted* format, I knew someone who used it and their committee tore it apart and they basically had to rewrite the entire thing after their defense. The reason for this is that most professors wrote their dissertations in a time before universities considered it an acceptable format. So they didn't consider it a worth while option, even if the university did choose to accept it. I would make time with your PI and committee to discuss the format, if it is an option for you, before you make this decision.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: Let me answer by focusing on the **purpose of the thesis**, derived by the purpose of a PhD.
*Disclaimer:* This is an opinionated answer, I haven't done research in CS, and I don't have supervised PhD students — so take my word with caution.
[I believe](https://pastel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02148441/document) (p. xiii) that:
>
> The purpose of a PhD is to train a research student as an autonomous scientist and a good researcher — i.e. as someone deserving the grade of Doctor.
>
>
> The objective of a PhD thesis is hence to demonstrate to one’s peers that its author can be considered in this way by reporting the successful completion of a high-quality piece of research.
>
>
>
Side note: don't get me wrong. *“Successful”* is here about the *completion* of the project, and not the *research* itself: I do believe that if the research question was relevant regarding the literature review and the experiment well designed and implemented, the project *is* successful even despite null/non-significant results.
So is a sandwich thesis OK?
If it consists in multiple papers about research *you* have done (i.e. you are not simply the co-author that have crunched the numbers, or written the paper without doing the experiments — the point here is to **demonstrate that you master all the various aspects of being a researcher**: crunching the numbers is one of them, but writing is another, as well as formulating a research question, designing an experiment, etc.), I would consider so.
In such case, I would stress the importance of the global introduction and conclusion, which should highlight **how your separate papers contribute to an homogeneous research body** (i.e. you're not only grabbing low-hanging fruits in minor papers, but you are able to have a coherent research agenda on the medium/long term).
But as others have answered, your thesis will be one of the key elements used to assess your qualities/skills as researcher in the first years of your career. So **delivering something half-baked might not give the best impression**.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: Depending on field, there can be substantial downsides, because academic papers and PhD theses are fundamentally different beasts.
There are certain things that people just don't publish in academic journals, but that is nevertheless useful information. Experimental or theoretical failures is the obvious one that everyone knows about - it's much harder to publish an article about "I tried this and it didn't work", than "I tried this and discovered something cool". Further, journal papers (which are not called "letters for nothing") often have stringent word, page, figure, and even citation number limits, forcing academics to pick and chose only the most critical information to include. That excluded information is often to be found in PhD theses, where those limits don't apply. If it isn't, then it's lost forever, pretty much.
Speaking for my own field (experimental atomic physics), I go looking for academic papers when I want to study advanced scientific topics - because there is nowhere else to get most of that information - but when it comes to technical details, long-form PhD theses are second only to informal, personal discussions with other people doing *nearly the exact same thing as you*.
"Technical details" is, itself, quite a loose term, but for me that has included things like:
* Specific part numbers - "Part X from company Y achieves the best performance of all 18 options we tried"
* Unexpected failure modes -"this type of glass suffers from thermal lensing, so you have to have windows made from this other type of glass"
* Undocumented specifications - "Part A from company B is specified to do P, but can also do Q"
* Unknown suppliers - "samples from "
* Techniques that didn't work and so were not published
* Techniques that did work, but weren't published - you'd be surprised how many of these there are.
* Alternative solutions to expensive hardware - "you could buy the all-singing-all-dancing computer controlled widget from company X (that you don't have the budget for), or you can build your own with an Arduino, this code, and half a day's soldering"
* Simple solutions to problems that nevertheless would take a considerable amount of time and error to identify yourself - "you need a 4th order high-pass filter for this signal because a 2nd order can't solve interactions with this other effect"
Off the top of my head, my own thesis cites something like 40 other PhD theses for useful information that saved me time, energy, and my supervisor's funding. That was out of 250-300 references in total, so 15%; the vast majority of the rest would have been journal papers.
Nobody likes *writing* a PhD thesis - and it's true, very few people will ever read them compared to, say, <NAME> or <NAME> - but it is a valuable source of information which never makes it into published papers. Think about all the things that you have learned over the course of your PhD - if you never write it down, you may as well have never learned them.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Let assume that a manuscript needs to be revised after referee's report. If there is no reply from the author of manuscript, what happens? What are the rules and next steps in such cases?<issue_comment>username_1: The publisher can take no steps toward publishing if they don't have the consent of the author(s). The paper would just sit in limbo until contact is made.
I assume the editor will try to make repeated attempts to contact the author, but it may not happen immediately.
I assume, here, that the author has not yet passed copyrights to the publisher, so they have no rights in the paper at all.
But an author would also be mistaken to interpret no response as the same as a withdrawn. The editor should be informed if the paper is withdrawn.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If there's no response from the author(s), the manuscript becomes dormant. The status stays as "revise" indefinitely, until one day the journal decides to perform spring cleaning and remove all these dormant manuscripts from the system.
An actively-curated journal might have automated systems where, if the revision is not received in the designated time (many revise decisions say they're expecting the revision at \_\_ date) then they send a reminder, followed by updating the status as withdrawn.
Either way a paper whose authors aren't responding won't be published.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends on the journal. The journals I've been associated with have an online system that gives authors a certain deadline by which they have to submit a revised manuscript -- I suspect that the deadline is often set at 6 months. Authors are reminded of this deadline by an automated email a certain time before the deadline expires. Authors can ask for an extension, and it is routinely granted.
If an author does neither, then the manuscript is moved into an "archived" state where the database still has it, but it is not considered a "live" or "active" manuscript. Unless someone takes action, that is the final resting place of these manuscripts.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying to a thesis-based Master's program where the professor hires the students in their research group. I've interviewed the professor on skype and we have emailed each other after the interview half a dozen times. Now, after a few months, I asked him when the admission decisions are sent and he wrote me:
*Dear X, I am currently reviewing all the people who showed interest in my research group. The results will be announced after I am done with this in the next month. Thank you for your patience and understanding*
So, does this mean I am still being considered for the research group or is this a polite rejection?<issue_comment>username_1: While it isn't possible to be certain, I'd think it was not a rejection. There is little reason to "string you along" if you've been rejected. It wasn't especially positive, of course, but there might be several reasons for that - especially if you haven't met in person. He may just be responding to an email, not to you as a person.
But, if you have other options, keep them open. As they say in baseball: It ain't over 'til it's over.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There is no hidden information in the message.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: After receiving my Ph.D., I then became self-employed and as a job-seeker. So I use my spare time to continue doing research in the field of my dissertation on my own and came up with some results that I view as an extension of the results which are not included in my thesis nor published anywhere. Here is my question
>
> Is it ethical to submit these results as a sole-author paper and perhaps list my advisor name in acknowledgment section for thanking him to bring me into the field ? or should I contact my advisor and asking his permission for publication?
>
>
>
p.s. I do theoretical research, so there are no experiment issues or budget concerns.<issue_comment>username_1: If you did it on your own, you can and should publish it as sole author.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: You don't need to ask permission for your ongoing work. It is entirely appropriate to extend what you have done and publish it. You should be sure to cite the older work as needed to avoid questions of self-plagiarism, of course.
An acknowledgement of your advisor for their past help is a good and appropriate thing to do, but not necessarily required. I would do it unless there were some specific reason not to do so.
Asking them if they want to participate can also be good, but not at all necessary. It is good simply because having collaborative relationships is good. If you decide to do that, then co-authorship would be a consideration, of course. But sole-authorship is also proper and is eventually the place (nearly) every researcher will wind up.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: In scientific research there are a number of problems today:
* Studies that aren't reproducible.
* Studies and papers that are criticized for their methods, conclusions, or bias.
* Industry-funded studies that are discounted due to accusation of conflict of interest.
* Individuals and groups who are defensive of their work due to their personal and/or financial investment, and are inherently not open-minded toward critical feedback.
* Even if researchers are open to critical feedback and scrutiny, it may still be infeasible to re-run a flawed study due to logistics, financial, and time limitations.
From my experience in engineering, arguably the most valuable ROI effort in a large project is getting early peer review *before* significant investment is made toward an approach.
If a group of peer reviewers had a chance to give their feedback on how a study was going to be performed, then the results are more likely to be valid, and the reviewers are more likely to accept whatever the results will be.
I am not a reseacher and am completely unfamiliar with the process of publishing a study or a paper. However, the only peer review I have heard of is where only final results are reviewed. I am curious:
1. Do journals, institutions, etc. have processes that require peer-review of initial proposals and procedures before a research study is allowed to commence?
2. If not, why not?
I suspect that such a process would have the potential to greatly increase the quality of studies, and prevent much wasted effort where studies are published that never gain acceptance (presumably due to quality problems but perhaps for non-technical reasons as well). Curious to hear others' thoughts.<issue_comment>username_1: Principles of academic freedom usually leave it up to the individual researcher to decide what to study (within ethical limits). They may certainly be judged (for promotion, tenure, raises, etc) based on whether their research is successful, but there's no "prior restraint" as it were. So an institution usually won't require this sort of pre-review. It is certainly wise for the researcher to seek advice regarding the feasibility of their planned study, but if they don't think it's worthwhile, or want to go ahead even if the reviewers think it's a bad idea, that is their prerogative (and their time wasted if it fails).
On the other hand, if they need *money* to do their work, there are certainly elaborate peer review processes for grant proposals. It's considered fine for a researcher to risk wasting their own time with a poorly planned study, but not for them to risk someone else's money.
For studies with possible ethical concerns (e.g. human or animal subjects), there will be an ethics review required before the work begins. This will mainly be aimed at whether the techniques are ethical instead of whether the overall study is likely to succeed, but one consideration may be whether the study's benefits outweigh potential risks to the subjects.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, some 225 journals do operate under such a model, called [Registered Reports](https://cos.io/rr/). As you suggest, the approach has a lot of advantages. The tagline is:
>
> **Registered Reports: Peer review before results are known to align scientific values and practices.**
>
>
>
Clearly, this is not yet a majority view, but as a methodology it is in the ascendant. The umbrella term is [preregistration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preregistration).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: While only a minority of scientific work (I imagine mostly medical science?) is done under quite the conditions that you describe, there are two other things that help:
1. When funding organisations decide who to award grants to, the grant proposals are usually subject to peer review. I imagine that this is, in effect, quite similar to what you were thinking of.
2. IN some areas it's common for large projects to have a steering group of other academics and/or representatives from industry that the PI reports to every so often, and which will offer advice. It probably isn't peer review in quite the way that you were thinking, but it does serve many of the same functions.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/09
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<issue_start>username_0: I am prepareing response to answer selection criteria for a academic job in a university in Australia where the last question is
**Enthusiasm for addressing research questions relevant to human health and wellbeing.**
Anyone please tell me the points how should I write that?<issue_comment>username_1: The existence of such a question implies to me that the university, or perhaps just the department, has made some commitment to advancing human health and wellbeing. Perhaps this is a shared goal of many (most?) of the existing faculty.
The question may or may not be one that will be decisive in choosing a candidate. But it seems to be asking whether your personal goals are in alignment with that shared goal.
Perhaps you have thought of this sort of thing in the past, and perhaps your natural inclination is to support it. But it is also possible that you've never considered it and think it is irrelevant. I doubt that anyone would be likely to actively oppose it, however.
But, I always suggest that you answer honestly. Even if your answer is just "I'll have to think about that for a while as the question hasn't come up before" it could be enough. Answering "Stupid, Stupid, STUPID." won't get you the job, I think. And if that is, in fact, your first thought, then you might not be a good fit with the others, even if you get the job.
I find the question thought provoking, if nothing else. In some fields, it is an important question also - medical fields, for example. In CS and mathematics it is a bit more speculative.
But even in AI, a commitment to "do no harm" is worth the effort it takes. Some machine learning algorithms have proven problematic in the recent past, having been trained on a too-narrow or even racist base.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is sort of a poorly-constructed question, because there are only three possible answers.
* **My past work demonstrates my enthusiasm.** I've previously published these papers, these hobbies, these courses, etc. with the specific goal of using AI to improve human health/wellbeing. Nice if you actually do have evidence of this passion, but most applicants (even qualified ones) will not.
* **I have no concrete evidence, but I nonetheless claim to have this enthusiasm.** Virtually all students will give this answer. It's hard to know how much pandering or grandiose word-smithing is appropriate (though most students do too much, and the result is cringe-worthy).
* **My interest is in X; to the extent that we can study human health with X, I am enthusiastic about it.** I personally would respect you for being honest, but presumably they wouldn't have asked the question if "little/no enthusiasm" were the correct answer. So, it's important to phrase this answer carefully.
Anyway, back to your question....
>
> how should I write that?
>
>
>
* If you actually have evidence of this passion you should discuss it. Weak evidence (i.e., hobbies) is okay, but don't exaggerate.
* Otherwise, you can state your enthusiasm without providing evidence. But, I would try to give an honest and straightforward answer -- recall that this is a professional document addressed to a stranger. Also, there is no need to max out the word count.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Read this: [Why publication in an academic journal matters](https://www.usb.ac.za/usb_food_for_thought/why-publication-in-an-academic-journal-matters/)
It says:
>
> It is through publication that the research, including its scientific
> and practical contributions, is disseminated to others in a particular
> field.
>
>
>
Ironically, how can you disseminate research when they put a high paywall right between you and the paper?
And in today's Internet world, can't anyone just publish anywhere?<issue_comment>username_1: In my opinion, the [link posted by OP](https://www.usb.ac.za/usb_food_for_thought/why-publication-in-an-academic-journal-matters/) gives an overly simplified picture of academic publishing:
* It presents Journal Impact Factor as a metric which reflects the quality of a journal/researcher, but doesn't mention any [of](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/2034/93566) [its](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/31044/93566) [shortcomings](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/142921/93566).
* It doesn't mention the recent trend towards [open-access publications](https://academia.stackexchange.com/search?q=open%20access)
>
> Ironically, how can you disseminate research when they put a high paywall right between you and the paper?
>
>
>
Traditionally "dissemination" was meant as "dissemination in the academic world", and it was assumed that academics have access to any publications they want, their institution having subscriptions to any relevant journals. There has been a backlash against this view for various reasons, most notably the fact that research is often funded by taxpayer money but the results are not made available to said taxpayers. Nowadays many funding organizations require that the outcomes of the research are made available through [open-access publications](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access).
>
> And in today's Internet world, can't anyone just publish anywhere?
>
>
>
Sure they can (and they do), but without a peer review process there's no evaluation of the quality of the research. That's why there is still a need for reputable selective journals/conferences:
* Reputation is crucial, because that's how the community knows which journals are fair and rigorous (as opposed to [predatory journals](https://academia.stackexchange.com/search?q=predatory), for instance)
* Strict selection through the [peer-review process](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_review) ensures that only papers which satisfy the quality standards of the journal are published.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There are a number of reasons to do so, never mind the existence of self-publishing on the internet.
Some of the reasons are institutional. If you don't publish in reputable journals you probably don't have any future in most of academia. You will be judged, at least in part, and *largely* in some situations, on your journal/conference output. Some of this is just inertia, of course, but much of it is really valid.
[Your answer to another question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144009/75368) on this site expressed skepticism of the review process. I think that view was too dim. People, even if unpaid, consider it their professional duty to contribute to the community by making a good faith effort in reviewing. Journals normally use several reviewers for a given paper so that the occasional poor job can be discarded. One person reviews papers so that other people will be willing to review their own papers fairly and honestly. The review process does two things. First it helps authors improve papers even if they are already pretty good. Second, it keeps junk papers out of the mainstream.
So, authors and the community at large get a benefit from the publishing process that wouldn't be in place if everyone just self published.
But there are other reasons as well, some of them going back to fair and independent review. In a world in which there were no gatekeepers on publishing (and there really aren't now - since you *can* publish on your own) every reader of every paper has to work hard to validate everything that is said. The effect of this varies by field.
In mathematics it is fairly easy to write a paper that doesn't hold up, but "sounds good" due to the use of specialized mathematical symbols and terms (jargon). If I find a paper online, I have to work pretty hard to determine if it has value. If I find it in a good journal, I have some assurance that others, with skills like mine, have already done this and have found it worthy. So my task is eased and I can be more productive myself. Errors occur, of course, so mathematical skeptics are welcome.
In some other fields, especially those relating to health and public policy, a lot of garbage gets published in the "popular" press. The anti-vax community, for example, has caused a lot of harm. Without the vetting process that occurs in reputable publishing, where people independent of the author have an important judgement, the garbage will start to obscure the gems. Enough of that happens already.
And comments on self published work are just about worthless as a judgement. The reader of a bunch of comments has few ways to judge the veracity of the commenter. And bots and trolls are rampant in flooding the space with mis-information on some topics.
A third issue is that if you only publish yourself, then it will be hard to find you. And even harder for people to make a judgement about whether what you say has value or not. An internet search on most topics will turn up a lot of things, of course, but it is, again difficult to sort the treasures from the trash. If I already know and respect some individual, then it is easy to find their work online. But not so easy to find the work of a recent PhD who doesn't yet have a body of respected work (probably in journals and conference proceedings).
Publishing is a public good. It isn't paid for with public money, however. This is both good and bad. Having it be a private undertaking keeps the possibility of governmental interference (censorship) out of the game, but also requires that the money come from other sources: subscriptions, author fees, etc.
So, publishing is an effective and *sufficiently* efficient (for now) way to make one's work known to a community who might need to see it and may use it to advance the state of the art.
And, for most researchers the "high paywall" doesn't really exist. Many people use grant funds to obtain the materials they need, as well as to pay page fees required by some journals. But even a poor student can obtain free access to nearly everything just by going to a decent library and asking for a copy. You don't even need to go physically anymore. An email to the librarian may be enough if you are an enrolled student. The libraries pay the fees if needed, sometimes using public funds. This avenue may be open to nearly everyone, actually, provided that you have access to a library that, itself, has academic connections.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Because a journal *validates* and collates results. It’s a form of guarantee that the results are probably correct, and it’s usually an entry point to other results in the field. Both aspect add value by minimizing time wasted in searching and collating results by yourself.
You can publish on your own in your own website, but who’s gonna find your papers? And moreover, even if people find your papers, who has the time to read not only yours but the 100s if not 1000s of other manuscripts on a topic by self-published authors?
People bash paywall access - granted I think in some instances they are too high - but it remains that running a good journal takes resources if it is to be done with the level of professionalism that reflect the professionalism of the authors. There are various schemes to get around paywall access, the least expensive of which is to politely ask the author (or another third party) to send you a copy if you don’t have access, or if you can’t find it on the ever expanding repositories.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/09
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm not sure if this is entirely the correct stack exchange for my question, but the career stack exchange seemed to have a different focus from what I'm looking for. My question is: Can I work in engineering (Aerospace), specifically in modeling/simulation/analysis, without an engineering degree?
There is a fair bit of background for this question so be warned. I am sophomore Aerospace engineering student currently working through my 4th semester. I'm taking 16 credit hours. My classes are fairly challenging for me, as would be expected, but I can and do get A's in them so far. I work for an Aerospace engineering company for about 30 hours a week with school, I've been with this company for about a month. I've been hired on as year-round intern to do (obviously basic) modeling and data analysis. My problem is that I really like doing the modeling/data analysis, and in school I have a hard time caring about my non-math and non-numerical methods classes. If I switched to a math major, I would have a halved class load, and I would be able to take only courses on modeling and data analysis.
The obvious solution here would be for me to switch to CS, but every time I import 'system' into Python I die a little bit. Its not something I personally enjoy, so I would like to avoid that if possible. Basically, I want to focus on becoming more skilled at what I enjoy doing without doing unnecessary work. But I don't know if I can continue doing what I enjoy in my future career without a degree that says "Engineering" on it. I don't have enough information to make this decision so I'm hoping for advice from those that do. .<issue_comment>username_1: Note that in many places, engineering is a licensed and regulated profession. One of the requirements may well be a degree from an accredited engineering program. That depends on local laws, of course.
The aerospace industry employs a lot of engineers, of course, but not everyone there needs to have an engineering degree. It may well be that, depending on laws and the policies of an organization, modeling of various phenomena may not require such a degree. In fact, as a guess, it may well be that engineers (licensed) may only be required in the actual design and development process.
And, it might all be that a degree in math or statistics or CS might be a better qualification for some of the tasks required in the industry.
However, you are in an excellent position to learn the specifics for your case just by asking someone at your current company. You can get some pretty good advice by going to the employment office and just asking for a bit of guidance. Professors in your current program are also well positioned (or should be) to answer this question in light of local laws and such.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It doesn't matter whether you have an engineering degree or not if your future is to be in math modelling.
In fact your 2 years in engineering school is more grounding in physical sciences than most math BS graduates who move into modelling possess.
There are pros to switching majors:
* You'll be better at modelling than engineering graduates applying for the same graduate jobs but less capable than math majors from the start of their college education - though the latter will lack engineering knowledge
* Your internship employer will be delighted as you'll be more use to them and need less math mentoring
* You say you prefer the math side more so you should in theory - if not in actual practice - be happier
The cons are:
* The math workload will increase a lot
* You may have to do (due to curriculum/staff limits) math courses that seem to have no relevance to engineering - discrete math topics like number theory, topology, groups, categories, etc - and your success with continuous math may not be replicated with these topics
* Math students are not anywhere as outgoing or direct as eng students and it will be harder to connect with them - you might feel a bit shunned by some of them, a sort of air of inverted snobbery
* Math study is much more individual and less group/cooperative than engineering. This leads to more individual competitiveness and a measure of isolation. Fellow students will not want to help as much as eng students and, where they do, their communicative skills will usually be less and their tendency to patronize more. In eng many projects are done in groups and solving problems is about forming a sort of hybrid mind. It's a beautiful thing to discover how much further a combination of minds can go compared to the sum of individual minds. Math doesn't offer much opportunities for this sort of thing.
It all comes down to what you like to do and the kind of people you like around you at work: do not underestimate this factor as it's the difference between happiness and unhappiness to many of us.
Good luck in your decision.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: This pop up after 3 years. I've noted @username_1 answer which covers most part. @username_2's Math angle is also in line
Noting the disjoint in the question's title and the *content*, I'll chip in the following.
>
> ... *my future career without a degree that says "Engineering" on it*
>
>
>
1. Depending on countries/institution, a degree can have '*engineering*' appended to it.
2. Also, some organisations and countries can allow job title/nomenclature with '*engineering*' affixed.
3. In some countries, the word '*engineering*' or '*engineer*' are regulated not only to practise but also in job title (so can't even refer a job title as one)
4. In some places, although '*engineering/engineer*' is regulated, the word '*engineer*' can still be affixed to a job title without the job itself regulated; hence one sees software engineer or systems engineer being use (without *restriction*).
So, depending on the organisation or country, your future career (in Aerospace engineering) is *fail-safe*. However, without being an engineer (licensed/registered), you won't be able to ***signoff*** a design/project/report.
---
On a sidenote, just as @username_2 has said, engineering students are *grounded* (or should I say drilled) in physical science. I recalled having to take a modern physics course (essentially quantum mechanics) during my undergraduate engineering program!
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: What I learned from the careers of my graduating classmates from my Aerospace undegrad course along with my colleagues is that the title of 'engineer' can mean a mulitude of different things depending on the context. It may mean someone directly involved in design/construction of systems or someone who focuses mainly or more abstract modelling on the investigation of smaller subsystems.
Having the Bachelors in Aerospace/Mechanical engineering in Australia for example allows one to apply as a professional engineer with the governing body (Engineers Australia). Many of my old classmates have gained this qualification when they are working on mechanical designs that need to be signed off on (Airbus/Boeing etc) or are involved in Maintanence.
On the other hand, only a very small number of academics within my department which focus on aerospace simulation/modelling have applied for this recognition as a professional engineer. Unless you need to sign off on designs, it's often unnecessary.
As such, many people with focuses on modelling both within and outside of academia don't need this accrediation, and don't neccesarily require the Bachelors undergrad at all, with some utilising only skills from a math/physics major.
I was in a similar position to you in my early years of study, where I only wanted to study the 'mathy' parts, and considered swapping majors, but I stayed in engineering and found that extracurricular study along with carefully selected majors gave me enough analysis ability to do the work I liked. (Although I must note I did have a minor in math as well). Perhaps you could consider a short graduate program in math after your undergrad to add some skills, in that case you'd have more options open to you in case your focus shifts over time.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been nominated for a community contribution award. I was thrilled to be considered for this award. The conference also has workshops hardcoded to my research.
However, while discussing with my supervisor, he seemed hesitant that my travel could be financially supported, and he said if it a publication, it would be better.
He asked to send him email, it seems disappointing his reaction seemed disappointing. He said you cannot travel to all-conference, although I did not travel to any conferences since my PhD start?
My question: Should program financially support my travel to present at workshop plus being award nominee?<issue_comment>username_1: Sadly, what the university *should* do, what it *can* do, and what it *is willing* to do might all be different.
In a perfect world, yes, they should fund you. However, there may be limited funds or even regulations that bind their decision. Also, your relationship with the supervisor might be an issue if they don't think that this is worthwhile for you or them. Or even, if it would be your supervisor providing the funding under a grant, the grant itself might have rules. Finally, note that not every university will provide funds for students in any case. It might be harder to justify an unusual expense than a common one.
It wasn't exactly clear if you sent the email you were already asked to send and were then refused or if you haven't done that yet. Don't push the issue to the point that your advisor is angry and unyielding, but a formal request is probably appropriate. But try to make your case on the merits of the award, both for yourself and the university. And, there may be things of direct interest to your current studies at the conference also.
And if you have to self-fund for this, it may still be worth it for you in the long term if you use the time well at the conference to extend your circle of contacts for the future.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Specific rules for specific purses
----------------------------------
Most sources of money that could be (or are) used for funding travel have some specific conditions attached. For example, most of my travel is supported by research grants which have allocated funding to publish and present results of that research project - and for eligibility it does not matter if the goal of some travel is good or valuable in general, it matters strictly whether it fits *that particular* purpose and it would be literally illegal to fund travel for some good cause that doesn't fit the criteria. This is what I think I'm hearing from your supervisor, that they have in mind some funding source which could be used to fund that travel if and only if a publication is involved.
A university is likely to have some other, general funds available which could be tapped for generic purposes that are valuable to the university (e.g. this community award) but it's very likely that these funds are more (administratively) difficult to access, it's not something that your supervisor can approve themselves, and it would have to be escalated a few levels up in administration - at which point, depending on your institution, all kinds of political factors/issues/relationships might be decisive.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: Apart from being an academic, what can a Discrete Math PhD do?<issue_comment>username_1: Short answer: Everything.
Long answer:
Mathematicians are often not (solely) hired for the graphs and algorithms they know, but for the skill to logically dissect a problem, come up with a solution, consider all possible cases, etc.
With discrete math, a career in software development would be possible for example. Look for R&D departments or positions and they might prefer a PhD with strong background and some coding skills over someone who has developed for years but is not able to turn a Wiki article on some algorithm into proper code because the math is lacking to understand it.
If you don't mind extending into statistics a little bit, data science and machine learning would open up, where also a lot of mathematicians are wanted currently.
The problem solving skills I mentioned above are also often liked by consultant agencies, where they care not so much about what you know (as you will need to learn and use their products either way mostly) but rather that you can take a client's problem and solve it. Also these guys really like PhDs, as that looks cool and they can bill you out higher than someone without one (even if your PhD is not that relevant to the client).
So, medium long answer: There are a lot of options, you simply need to get out there and look for them. You will need to do some convincing of the form "yes, I am missing these two skills you require, but I can more than make up for it by ...", but then you should be able to get into many fields.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_1: **Logistics**, **routing**, **navigation systems** would fit the bill (I've heard that TomTom has a lot of discrete math people, for example).
You may also move in the direction of discrete optimization and then you may sell yourself doing **operations research**.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: If I have a bachelor degree in Physics, how should I write it in a CV?
What is the correct form between the two:
1. Bachelor of Physics
or
2. Bachelor in Physics?
The same thing goes for the master degree, right now I have written master of science in physics of materials, is this correct or should be better to just write master in physics of materials?<issue_comment>username_1: If this is for formal use then state it exactly as it appears from your university and give any translation that is logically correct. *But BS in Physics* or *BSc (Physics)* or *Bachelor of Science (Physics)* or similar would all be universally recognized in the English speaking world.
For informal usage (i.e. no legal implications whatever) then either of your suggestions would be fine or something such as I wrote above.
For extremely formal situations, use what the university uses and let the reader translate it. Probably name the university, as well.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As [username_1's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144054/20058) says, *BSc in Physics*, or its variants, are OK.
However, if you want to have an official English equivalence of your title, ask to the student's office the [Diploma Supplement](https://ec.europa.eu/education/diploma-supplement_en), which is a bilingual document (Italian and English) aimed at better describing your academic qualifications in an international context, explaining also some details of the local educational system.
For instance, for a master's degree in engineering (sorry, I don't have one for a bachelor's), a diploma supplement from my university reports:
>
> Master's of science—level of the Bologna process in Electronic
> Engineering
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: None of my first three (UK) degrees formally name the subject at all: Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Arts. And in due course, I hope, my Doctor of Philosophy degree will be similarly silent (and I think it should be: why should research degrees be shoehorned into some librarian's classification system?).
You just have to explain in your CV what is was you actually studied.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/11
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<issue_start>username_0: After 1.5 years of hard work on a project, my former supervisor sent our paper to a journal. After about 10 hours, they sent the following response:
>
> After careful internal editorial consideration of your manuscript, we regret to inform you that we have decided not to pursue further peer review. We receive an extensive number of quality manuscripts each week and must make difficult decisions regarding which to progress in the peer-review process. Generally, no editorial comments are available for papers that are not sent for external peer review.
>
>
>
My professor said that these kinds of things are happening frequently nowadays.
I supposed that is because of sanction (we are Iranian). **Is this likely to be the case?**
We are ordinary people with an academic background who caught up in tensions between countries and do not know what to do. I am going to pursue my Ph.D. in a university in Europe, Australia or New Zealand. In the admission board, they may look at my published papers sections on my CV, and with these kinds of behavior from international journals, I do not know what to do.<issue_comment>username_1: Within the last two years, I have been involved in the revision of several papers (for [IEEE](https://www.ieee.org/) & [ACES](https://aces-society.org/) publications) that had affiliations with Iranian universities. The review process (from the point of view of a reviewer) did not differ in any way from any regular paper, as well as the final result.
In that regard, I am unaware of such sanctions implications; however, my experience is limited to only a small number of titles and is not representative by any means.
I would certainly first assess the basics, such as:
* if the template, author/editorial guide of that specific journal are followed
* if spelling and grammar are checked
* if the submitted paper is well aligned with the journal focus, and it is clear from the abstract/conclusion of the paper
* if the novelty of the paper is clearly identified
Regarding the Ph.D. application:
* having publications in international journals is good; however, is not mandatory
* a good statement of intent & thesis can compensate lack of publications to a certain extent
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It's unlikely. See [this question from 2013](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12369/elsevier-actions-following-us-sanctions-on-iran). If you're an employee of the Iranian government then US editors and reviewers can't handle your papers, but even in this case it's overwhelmingly probable that the editorial board will have non-US members who can.
It also seems unlikely this is what's happening in your case, since if they are rejecting your paper based solely on your country, they ought to have said so, just to stop you from submitting more papers to their journal in the future and giving them more work to do.
I think the null hypothesis - that your paper isn't "good enough" for the journal - is the most probable one.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Speaking as an associate editor of a US-based journal that receives many international submissions, I can tell you that:
1. There are absolutely no guidelines or even informal suggestions that any paper should be handled differently based on the nationality of the authors or their institutions.
2. I have never heard of anyone making editorial decisions on such a basis or suggesting that they should.
3. In my own opinion, which I believe is shared by most or all of the other editors, to do #1 or #2 would be highly unethical.
I couldn't even tell you, without going and checking one by one, whether any of the papers I have handled recently had Iranian authors, because it absolutely doesn't matter.
**Edit**: following up on @username_2's answer below (which links to some older information), it seems there is a very slim and rare legal basis that would hypothetically prevent *some* editors from handling *some* manuscripts from Iran and other countries under US sanctions. It definitely **does not** apply to the case discussed here, and **would not be grounds for rejection** since practically any major journal will have editors who are not bound by this restriction. The most clear and recent explanation I could find is [here](https://www.elsevier.com/connect/how-sanctions-laws-affect-publishing-ofac-provides-new-guidance). The current rules are the result of [a 2004 lawsuit](http://www.aupresses.org/policy-areas/intellectual-freedom/suit-against-ofac-regulations) that overturned much more restrictive rules in place back then.
**Further edit**: It seems that there [is a recent instance](https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/12/12/reversal-article-rejected-due-iran-sanctions) of misinterpretation of the laws mentioned above, which led to rejection of a manuscript purely on the grounds of one author having an Iranian affiliation. Eventually this was resolved and the rejection decision was reversed. Note that in that case, the authors were specifically informed that the decision was based on US sanctions (albeit misinterpreted), and the decision was not made by or communicated by the journal editors.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> I supposed that is because of sanction (we are Iranian). Is this likely to be the case?
>
>
>
It's unlikely. Most good journals receive *many* submissions, more than they can plausibly even review. Hence, journals employ a pre-filtering process, where the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor screens the paper and then decides whether the paper at least looks like it could have sufficient merit to go through the considerable trouble of peer review. It sounds like in your case the decision of the editor was negative, your paper was *desk rejected* (rejected without further review).
This is not an uncommon occurrence. At one journal where I am in the editorial board the present desk reject rate is 50% (half of the papers get rejected without review). From the remaining papers a little above a third end up accepted, typically after 2 rounds of revisions. From what I understand these numbers are not uncommon for a well-established mid-ranked journal.
Nationality of the authors does not directly play a role in either of these decisions. However, I would be lying if I did not say that desk rejects are significantly more common for middle or far eastern countries, such as Iran, Pakistan, or China. This is mostly because more authors in these countries submit papers that are blatantly outside of the scope of the journal, very poorly written, very poorly formatted (e.g., figures that are entirely unreadable), which do not follow at all the reporting conventions of the journal, or where there appears to be very close to no novelty in the work.
In conclusion, I understand that it's tempting to blame your rejected manuscript on a systemic injustice, but it's far more likely that your manuscript has some evident issues that made the handling editor wary to waste the reviewer's time (a resource that all journals have preciously little of nowadays). The good news is that often a re-write of the work from ground up can fix the problem (in my experience serious presentation-level issues are the most common reason for desk rejects), but there certainly also is the possibility that your work simply does not contain sufficiently interesting research for a paper.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I think it is unlikely to be the case. Several times a year I receive emails from editors that essentially say "could you please take a quick look at this paper and recommend whether it should be reviewed or not?". I often reply right away, when it is clear that the paper is not a good fit (topic-wise, quality-wise) for the journal. I imagine that when the editors have expertise close to the topic of the paper, they would make the call themselves.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: This is a very important issue that some researchers in Iran have dealt with. I would like to share here my own experience and knowledge on this.
I remember that last year I was at a conference in Europe with an Iranian colleague of mine, who is a full professor in Iran (University of Tehran). He told me that recently they have a problem with the submission of their papers in high-rank journals, such as some Elsevier journals. He was complaining about the fact that immediately after the submission, let's say after 1 day, they usually receive a letter from the editor declaring that the manuscript will not go through the peer-review process and has been withdrawn.
I became curious about this issue and asked some of my colleagues who are editor-in-chief of high-rank journals and all of them said that there is no protocol for this and none of them has ever considered nationality as a factor to judge a manuscript.
However, recently I noticed something in the publishing agreement that I received, after the acceptance of my manuscript, from an Elsevier journal. The title of one of the articles of this agreement is **Author Representations / Ethics and Disclosure / Sanctions**, which contains a paragraph that reads
**If I and/or any of my co-authors reside in Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Burma, Syria, or Crimea, the Article has been prepared in a personal, academic or research capacity and not as an official representative or otherwise on behalf of the relevant government or institution.**
So my understanding is that if we exclude the scientific issues, which may have caused the rejection of the OP's manuscript right after the submission, the reason for rejection could be hidden in this paragraph of the publishing agreement. Since your affiliation (or your co-authors' affiliation) is a university in Iran, the editor wanted to avoid further consequences.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: US sanctions against Iran concern [specific sectors of economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctions_against_Iran#UN_sanctions_against_Iran) which does not include education in general. So as long as the paper is not directly related to government, arms / nuclear / petroleum industry, banking, international trade or insurance, and authors are not affiliated to a company which deals in those sectors, sanctions don't justify a rejection.
It doesn't mean that the rejection is not motivated by the political situation indirectly. For instance, the editors may be overly cautious and prefer to reject Iranian papers anyway, they may also have personal reasons and prejudices. Understand however, that those are just plausible theories which are not supported by the answer you have received in any way.
Double check if your paper follows all publication guidelines. If you can't identify a flaw, you can try to ask the editors for more feedback, but there's no guarantee that you will get some. If you decide to write them, just ask if they can point out major flaws in your work. Don't write anything that can be interpreted as an assumption that your paper was rejected unjustly, otherwise your chances of getting honest feedback will drop from slim to none.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: I believe that if your paper were blocked because of sanctions, you would simply be told so, as there would be no reason to keep it secret.
The type of letter you received is pretty typical of a journal that employs a two-stage review process. The first stage is to determine if it will be sent out to referees, and the second would be what we think about as a "typical" review.
Many of the high-profile journals that use a two-stage process say so in their authors sections.
If I received a letter like that from a journal that, to my understanding, does not use a two-stage process, my question would be "was my manuscript handled just like any other manuscript.?"
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: According to ResearchGate, Rudin had about 30 ish papers and 500 ish citations.
How come so few? I thought he was this legend of maths.
Here's his profile:
<https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/21400404_Walter_Rudin><issue_comment>username_1: This answer will be a bit orthogonal to the question. But Rudin's place is due to more than the number of papers written and citations.
According to the [Math Genealogy project](https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=8419), Rudin produced 24 successful PhD students and has 125 "descendants". These numbers are pretty big. Some of his students were, themselves very productive.
A professor can be a collaborator, but not an author on a pretty large number of papers, and this is pretty typical in math.
Note also, that in mathematics it was then not normal for a professor to be listed as co-author on their student's work. I think that is still pretty standard, actually.
So, the number of citations isn't necessarily the only measure of influence.
---
But as to the question itself, mathematicians have moved on to other, newer, areas since his time. In some sense this is, or can be, due to success in solving outstanding problems, leaving only the hardest questions still open. So people work in areas in which it might be a bit easier to be "productive".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't know what ResearchGate is doing, but Google Scholar shows many many more citations: <https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C6&q=walter+rudin&btnG=>
For example, "Principles of mathematical analysis" has more than 10,000 citations. "Real and complex analysis" has more than 16,600. "Fourier analysis on groups" has 3,500. These are all exceedingly large numbers for mathematicians.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I want to pursue a PhD at an institution in Japan that I don't know first hand. As lab websites or personal webpages don't really reveal the personalities of professors, it isn't easy to know in advance which professor's working style and personality could match my own.
Are there ways to determine whether a professor will be a good match for me?<issue_comment>username_1: In the US, typically, you would speak to current graduate students about their working style. In general, a cold email usually acceptable, but don't pester.
However, you might run into very different cultural expectations if you aren't yourself Japanese, so I would take their perspectives with a grain of salt.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Asking current PhD students as <NAME> recommends is a good source. Another source I like are the PhD thesis of former students. These usually contain extensive acknowledgements and thankyous to the supervisor. Various information about the style of supervision can be gotten there. Note that only positive things are mentioned, so also look out for things supervisors are not thanked for.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Like with so many things in academia, the key is knowing the right people. Do any of your current or previous supervisors know someone at that institute? Or have even met the professors you are talking about at a conference or somewhere else? If this is not the case, they might know someone who does, and so on. These connections are important, especially since applying for a PhD with connections is most definitely beneficial.
Don't be afraid to ask people you know for help, they will understand your situation and will most likely want to help you.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I would note that when you ask the students, you need to read between the lines to a certain extent. Just as letters of recommendation are always positive, but supervisors will look out for what is not said in them, you should apply the same principles when you are assessing a supervisor.
Let me give an example: I was interviewing for a postdoc in the US, and the supervisor had the students and postdocs take me out for lunch. Over lunch I asked how hard people worked, and were they well looked after. The answers were the expected - they were well looked after, the boss had high expectations, but supported them well to meet these expectations, they worked long hours, but they wanted to. Then I asked them what they liked to do outside the lab. Silence. Apparently noone had any hobbies. Eventaully one of them ventured that they drummed in a band, but later came up to me and asked me not to share this with the supervisor. Perhaps it was a joke that went over my head. Perhaps it there were other things going on. But I wasn't going to take the risk of ending up somewhere where people didn't want their supervisor knowing they had a life outside work.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_5: If you can, try to find out who was the most disgruntled member to leave the lab, and ask that person. If that student says things were okay, or you get the impression this person might have be the source of difficulty, it's a good sign.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: Some conferences select articles for publication in a journal. In my CV, I have a section "Peer-reviewed journal" and another section "Conference". Where should I put such articles?
* Only in "Peer-reviewed journal": why not, but then the conference contribution will be missing
* In both sections: it is factually true, but in way, artificially, increases the list.
A similar question has been asked [1] but I understand there is a difference here: only the best conference submissions are selected for publication in a journal. It is not an automatic.
[1] [Should a conference paper in a journal be considered a journal article?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/49923/should-a-conference-paper-in-a-journal-be-considered-a-journal-article)
**Edit** Requested clarifications:
* Field is mechanical engineering, where journals are more important than conference (generally).
* The conferences have their own proceedings, plus a few papers are selected for an independent publication in a journal (that has somehow partnered with the conference).<issue_comment>username_1: Depending on the field, and the importance of conferences there, you could list them in one place (the more important one), and note the other.
For example, under conferences: `"Bitcoin Hopping", Third Witty Conference, 2018. Published separately in Witty Journal, 2019.`
But if journals are more important in the field, then in the journals section: `"Bitcoin Hopping", Witty Journal, 2019. Also presented at Third Witty Conference, 2018.`
Alternatively list them both separately in their own section but cross reference them: You then have two lines, but it is clear that it is one paper.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: **Tl;dr**: Put (published) conferences papers that are subsequently published as journal articles in both sections of your CV.
A journal article is a publication, as is a conference paper, regardless of whether the article was derived from the paper. Each publication is a contribution to science, so list both on your CV, they're both accomplishments. You can sort manuscripts by prestige of publication type, e.g., book, book chapter, journal article, conference paper, unpublished peer-reviewed manuscript, other works, work in progress, etc., optionally omitting some categories and providing incomplete listings for others (e.g., you might want to list only key works in progress). You can also cross-reference to avoid artificially inflating your accomplishments. For instance,
>
> **Journal articles**
>
>
> [1] anderstood (2020) *A*, Journal, 1(2), pp1-10.
>
>
> [2] anderstood (2019) *B with C*, Journal, 5(7), pp59-76. Preliminary results appeared in [3].
>
>
> **Conference papers**
>
>
> [3] anderstood (2018) *B*, Conference, Published, pp20-27.
>
>
>
*Note*: I presume that journal articles derived from conference papers must add new material. This mightn't be the case for unpublished conference papers. In such cases, you could list both manuscripts and cross-reference, but it depends whether the unpublished work carries prestige, i.e., whether it is considered a (sufficiently large) accomplishment, which is field dependent.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Is there any API that allow to get article information (in JSON or BIBREF format) using article DOI? I need: article title, authors, journal name, year of publication, volume (number), page numbers.
Is there a script written in PHP?<issue_comment>username_1: You are looking for <https://doi2bib.org> . It shouldn't be very hard to extract the actual bibtex entry from the html you get from that page.
If you want to see how it works under the hood, take a look at the sources here: <https://github.com/davidagraf/doi2bib2/> .
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: For Crossref DOIs (110 million+) there's a public API - <https://api.crossref.org/> that returns JSON
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: If it does not need to be pure PHP there is a javascript library: Citation.js <https://citation.js.org/> it allows you to convert information from one format into another. Maybe it fits your specific usecase.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm an undergraduate engineering student at a top state university. I want to do high-quality research to build up my experience in preparation for graduate school (MS/Ph.D.). My research is out of pure interest, not volunteering or doing it for credit hours.
My goal is to go to a top 5 graduate school in my field. I have some experience in research since I worked on a research project last summer. I published a paper as a second author on that to a conference and it was accepted.
I found two research projects currently and they're equally as good but I'm having trouble deciding which one would help me the most due to my lack of experience. It would be super helpful if those of you who have been through this process can provide some advice.
Project 1
* Professor went to a top 5 graduate engineering school.
He is currently in my engineering school but not in the same
department as I am.
Open-ended project. The project hasn't been worked on much in recent
years so I have full choice over the direction of the project.
Collaborate with one graduate researcher on this project.
Prof. said I have a chance to publish papers since it's open-ended
and I end up discovering something novel.
The project is directly related to my field and future research I
want to pursue.
Professor: h-index: 23, Citations: 2123
Project 2
* The project is an application of my field, but the work is still
related to future research I want to pursue.
The professor is in the College of Science which is a difference
since I'm in engineering and he does not have specific knowledge
about my field.
I'm assuming this means not many connections in my field.
The project is interesting, a novel application of the research in my
field.
Work with 7 other undergraduate researchers from different majors,
and two graduate researchers.
It recently received a huge check from NSF.
Professor: h-index: 21, Citations: 1299<issue_comment>username_1: You are looking for <https://doi2bib.org> . It shouldn't be very hard to extract the actual bibtex entry from the html you get from that page.
If you want to see how it works under the hood, take a look at the sources here: <https://github.com/davidagraf/doi2bib2/> .
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: For Crossref DOIs (110 million+) there's a public API - <https://api.crossref.org/> that returns JSON
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: If it does not need to be pure PHP there is a javascript library: Citation.js <https://citation.js.org/> it allows you to convert information from one format into another. Maybe it fits your specific usecase.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I am setting up an Overleaf account to work with my Zotero account and ran into an annoying issue. I have one folder within my Zotero library which contains all the references I want to use in a paper, but Overleaf didn't give me any options when linking to Zotero and has created a references.bib file which contains references to every single source inside my Zotero library. This is annoying because my library is quite a bit larger than the folder I want to use as my set of references.
>
> Is there any way to use only a single Zotero folder as a source of references for an Overleaf project?
>
>
>
Thanks for any help or suggestions you may be able to offer!<issue_comment>username_1: My approach is to select my folder and then manually select the items that I want to export to Overleaf. That might be the entire folder, in which case I can press `Ctrl` + `A` to select all items; or it might be most of them. I then select "Export Items" and upload the resulting `.bib` file to Overleaf.
You can see an example here (selected all but one item I didn't want to cite):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XxAte.png)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: One faster workaround that allows specifying a single folder of your library is using the [`automatic export` of Zotero's `Better BibTex` plugin](https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/exporting/auto/) and the [`New File -> from External URL` feature of overleaf (e.g. over google drive)](https://www.overleaf.com/learn/how-to/How_can_I_upload_files_from_Google_Drive%3F).
This will still require a manual refresh of the file after changes but it will be *much* faster.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Currently, no you cannot import just one folder from Zotero to Overleaf and use that for the references. I have actually asked Overleaf for this directly in the past, and they have logged it as a feature request in their system. I would suggest emailing their support email to express interest in this as well, so that hopefully that will show there is enough interest for it to be added.
Until then, the workarounds given above will have to suffice.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I just setup Zotero for myself and was not fond of having all my references being added, even though I would only cite a few. Fortunately, I was able to take advantage of the Zotero API and Overleaf's option to add a file from external URL.
To get a URL for your collection, you will need your userID and a key for API access. You can get both from <https://www.zotero.org/settings/keys> (userID will already be listed, and create a new private key - remember to copy that key somewhere).
Then assuming that you already have a collection / folder created on Zotero with references / items listed, go to `https://api.zotero.org/users//collections?key=` (replace the values as indicated), and find your collection by checking for `data.name`, and then copy its key. Finally, now your collection would be at `https://api.zotero.org/users//collections//items?key=&format=bibtex` (replace values, and format as desired - refer <https://www.zotero.org/support/dev/web_api/v3/basics>). You can use this URL on Overleaf by pressing "Upload" and "From External URL".
The disadvantage to this, however, is that you will have to manually refresh from Overleaf to reflect changes but that has not been a major inconvenience.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have made a very good contribution in my PhD and just graduated two years ago from a top university with honors.
Today, I revised my PhD manuscript and surprisingly found several grammatical errors, informal sentences that I don't feel comfortable with now, and honestly also found two technical errors (they are correct in my published papers but not in my PhD manuscript). I am really disappointed, and feel like "I don't deserve to be graduated from a top university" with a PhD manuscript that contains a lot of grammatical errors and several informal things.
When I wrote the manuscript, I was happy with the informal things I added, but today I feel really sad by having them in my manuscript since I think they decrease the reputation of my work.
Although that after my defense the committee gave me one month for the minor corrections, but I don't think I have really benefited well from this opportunity. Is this normal? Any suggestions?<issue_comment>username_1: Ok. Let the past be the past. You weren't perfect then, you are better now. Maybe not perfect yet, but neither am I, or anyone. The very fact that you can recognize past errors is a sure sign that you are now better at this than you were as a novice scholar.
As the comments note, there is little chance the problems will be noticed, or even that they will matter if the *are* noticed.
There is a phenomenon among writers that is worth noting. Many people, writers of all kinds, sometimes feel embarrassed by their older work. Even poets. It is a sign of growth, not of failure.
In Tai Chi we say "One day's practice, one day's progress."
---
A couple of additional thoughts.
It is immensely difficult for most people to proof-read their own writings. You tend to see what you thought you wrote, not what you did write. An external review is a great way to improve any writing. See, for example [Ezra Pound and the drafts of *The Waste Land*](https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/ezra-pound-and-the-drafts-of-the-waste-land).
Also, you would be in far worse shape if you ignored past errors and insisted, insisted, that they were *PERFECT*.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Congratulations on your Ph.D. Don't stress over the minor errors.
A Ph.D. is a mark that you are capable of absorbing the state of the art in a certain (sub)field and contributing novel knowledge. Your dissertation documents this, as well as shows you are capable of communicating about it. It seems you ably did all this.
A Ph.D. dissertation is not meant to be perfection and rarely is. As you progress in your career, academic or otherwise, your future work will invariably eclipse it. It is a rite of passage, not your lifetime supreme achievement.
Some Ph.D.'s eventually realize their dissertation contained substantive errors. Not typos or suboptimally written phrases, but methodological or logic errors significantly affecting the validity of the results. In some fields where there are different schools of thought, successful Ph.D. dissertations may well become controversial, and their flaws more apparent over time. This is all part of the academic process.
Even those of us spared of the above will generally wince at something when rereading our dissertation years later. It may not be a grammar error or maladroit sentence, but very often some of what we wrote seems -- with the benefit of hindsight -- very naive, or at least very earnest and self-important. That's more wince-worthy than a typo or weird sentence!
The Ph.D. and the dissertation in particular are part of the learning curve. If you continue down an academic career path, what took you several years the first time around will soon take you several months, and be better. That's normal.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: First, if these mistakes were left unnoticed by the thesis committee, don't expect people to give much concern about them. Especially if you wrote your PhD in a foreign language to you. Though, if people in the committee did notice such mistakes and pointed them to you, you had the obligation to correct them (although for typos and grammar, this is more of a moral obligation than a strict concern).
Regarding technical issues, keep in mind that making imperfect claims is a part of the scientific process. At some point people believed in [Phlogiston Theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlogiston_theory), people also believed that the speed of light was relative to some observer, and we don't review PhD thesis from a century past and go around revoking dead people's titles. Science is, at all times, just "the best we can do", it is not "perfection" nor an "absolute truth".
Finally, I would rarely actually read a PhD thesis in full. I'd normally prefer papers in journals. Even those are subject to mistakes, even in equations.
All that being said, there is a matter of how much you pride yourself in the actual thesis. Right after earning the title, it might have been the biggest accomplishment in your life, but as others pointed out, in an academic career it is bound to superseeded by later work. Even some of the most notable works of all time are rarely read by academicians (not accounting for historians), and when researchers do read works such as Newton's *Principia Naturalis* or Euclid's *Elements of Geometry*, it's an adapted version, which was translated, proof read and filled with editor notes to point relevant stuff for the modern reader.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: As the other answers say: don't worry about it. The thing is, in the early years of school, writing, spelling and similar elementary skills are what you should learn, so of course that is what you are judged on at that stage. Later on these things are not important - you are evaluated on the content, not grammar, spelling or handwriting. And in your PhD, you are still learning: the focus is now on learning to do research, and how to fit into the academic millieu in general. I have seen a fair few academic writings, and you wouldn't believe the atrocities that are committed against Her Majesty's English on a daily basis :-) - but that is OK, because these people are scientists, not the Poet Laureate, and they produce good, scientific research.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I recognize my questions have some overlap with [this one](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/100254/turning-down-an-accepted-tenure-track-for-a-better-one) and [this one](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16063/what-is-the-best-way-to-turn-down-a-postdoc-offer). I feel those are largely talking about different things, though.
I am in a situation where I have been offered a non-tenure track faculty position at my current university. This is also the institution in which I did my PhD, but the tenured faculty I would be working for is not the person I did my PhD with; I have been working with them since finishing my PhD though. So I feel a great deal of appreciation for the institution and the faculty member I'd be working with.
However, there are a few issues with the position, and I am considering a competing offer in industry that seems to better fit my personal goals. I (and some mentors without a dog in the race) feel that I would grow more in my area of research in the industry job. The non-tenure track position has been very hard for the faculty to fill, and they tend to lose whoever they hire to industry anyway because industry offers far better compensation. If I accept the industry job and turn down the faculty job, I will still be working with the faculty for a few months. I am not worried about the faculty seeking retribution, or that I will be burning a bridge, especially because I have been open about other offers and my goals from the beginning. Despite that, I still feel a sense of guilt considering the industry offer, and I think that might be clouding my judgement in the decision of which offer to accept.
So the question is as stated in the title, but I can be more specific. I recognize this may not be a question that can be answered with concrete steps, but **what I am looking for is how to decline the faculty job in a way that will be palatable and not seen as greedily choosing industry over what I'm offered here.**<issue_comment>username_1: Why guilt? You have a right to work to maximize your future as you see it. I don't see any basis for guilt. I hope it isn't a feeling of "letting them down". The position is hard for them to fill because it isn't sufficiently attractive to candidates. That is their problem, not yours.
Think about where you want to be in, say, five years. And 20 years. Then think about a path to get there.
There are some non-tenure track positions that offer enough security and enough benefits for the right person. But not all do. For example, Professor of the Practice positions at Duke, CMU, and Stanford (& probably others), while not, technically tenured, offer a career path for teaching faculty. But other non-tenure teach positions offer no security and no real job satisfaction.
No Guilt.
If you need a way to decline "gracefully", it is enough to say that the job doesn't align with your current goals.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Feeling of professional guilt is justified when you made a promise and broke it. Here you haven't done anything of sorts.
When asked about reasons why you decline an offer, use your own language:
>
> Thank you for considering me. I have another offer that seems to better fit my personal goals. I and some of my mentors feel that I would grow more in my area of research in another position.
>
>
>
The fact that job is not filled is 100% responsibility of the administration. They don't know what they are doing or lack resources to fill the job.
Use the "default" approach here. Imagine that non-tenure job is offered 1000 miles to the east of your current location, and industry job is located 1000 miles to the west. Pick the one that suits you better.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If they really wanted you (or anyone) enough, they would make the position more desirable (tenure, pay, etc.). They do it for other positions.
Don't you worry yourself a bit. Be pleasant on the outside, sure. But realize this is a business situation. You have competing offers. Take the one that does more in terms of pay/etc.
Also, often to advance in life, you need to move around some. That's nice that you have a cozy situation there and people that value you. But move on and do it elsewhere. It's not unusual for companies or organizations to pay more for someone external than someone internal.
In particular, it is completely normal for someone in your situation to move on (recent grad). If anything hanging out at your school is more the oddity. So nobody will care that you moved on. Will wish you the best.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a student who keeps answering other students' questions before I could even start explaining. What should I do in this case? Should I ask them to come meet with me? If so, how should I convey that it is not ok and it is not their job.<issue_comment>username_1: This would, I think, depend a lot on how the "answering" student goes about it. Just interrupting a request to the professor is disruptive, but some people do this sort of thing by reflex. But yes, a quiet word is in order. Ask them to meet with you. But decide first on what you would like them to do to correct the action.
If the answers they give are generally correct then it is a different situation than if they are mostly irrelevant, I think.
One thing that such a student fails to understand, of course, is that often the best answer is a minimal answer. An answer that lets students develop insight, not just get answers. Saying too much in answering a student question may be worse than saying nothing.
One option is just to require them to remain silent, but another is to ask (require) them to raise a hand before saying anything and first getting permission. But yet another, that might be useful, depending on the student, is to require them to write out an answer when they feel the need, rather than to blurt it out verbally.
But the behavior can be a symptom of many things. Some are insecurities on the part of the student; a need for affirmation. Some would just be showing off for the professor. Without knowing what it is, it is difficult to formulate an exact solution.
You have a right, of course, not to have your course disrupted by outbursts, but think a bit about whether the disruptor has needs that also need to be met. So, as part of your quiet word with them, ask first why they think it important to do that. Depending on your view of the student, the question might be direct, or you might want to be a bit more subtle about it.
And sometimes it is actually useful to have students volunteer answers to the questions of others as long as you maintain control over the process. If one student is dominating a conversation, it might be counterproductive for others.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There are two main components to be handled:
1. The question
2. The answer
For (1), you can either choose to say
>
> Please ask your question after I finish this part
>
>
>
or take the question right away.
For (2), I usually prefer to ask the classroom
>
> Is there anyone who wants to answer this question?
>
>
>
If someone volunteers, and in your case someone always does, then I let the one who asked the question listen to the answer. Then, the important part comes:
>
> Did you understand the answer?
>
>
>
or rather, as @Bob Brown pointed out,
>
> Is there anything I should explain in more detail?
>
>
>
If the answer is understood, then everyone is happy. If not, then I proceed to explain the answer in my own way.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is that the students understand as much as they can, regardless of the person explaining. Of course, it is sometimes annoying for a student to interrupt your answer arrogantly. But you can always turn this situation into your advantage. Remember that there will be a question where someone else wants to answer, and then your lecture becomes interactive. Interactive lectures, in my opinion, are the best to follow and the most enjoyable ones.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In many classes, there are a few students who participate way more than others. I would recommend doing two things in this case.
1. Have times when it is appropriate for students to answer each
other's questions. It wasn't clear from your question whether your
class has that, but if it doesn't, consider adding it. Everyone
benefits -- some students get their questions answered, others get
to think through the material more deeply, and everyone realizes
that they can think and learn on their own, without everything
coming from you.
2. Make the student into an ally. Pull them aside after class and say that you appreciate their enthusiasm and engagement. Then, make your request -- in your case, say that you need a chance to answer student questions without them jumping in. Don't sound like you're asking for a favor, just making a polite request, preferably with a reason. "I need you to not jump in when another student asks a question. It's important that I can address some subtle issues that can arise." End on a positive note, maybe appreciation or recognition of their interest.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Ask them/ tell them to sit at the back of the room.
It's always more effective to change the situational dynamics rather than to try to change the person. Some people will automatically try to join a conversation if they are in the middle of it. When out of the line of sight, they are less likely to interrupt.
It doesn't always work. But telling people to be silent doesn't always work either: this is an alternative strategy.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I have had this problem, and I was vaguely warned beforehand.
Nevertheless it came as a surprise that the pupil was one I knew before. She still hadn't got a job. No wonder why.
And the warnings were about "being too talkative", "taking over class discussions", "irritating the other pupils".
So, here it goes, refering to this pupil of mine:
Your student *may* be "on the spectrum". Highly intelligent, with a dash of Asperger. Brain the size of a planet. A know-it-all who can behave in an unknowingly arrogant manner. (And "Hi IQ Aspians" are often likely to have an uneven study motivation).
However, unlike others they may be more receptive to getting the situation if you describe it not as a struggle for being the top dog, rather "I prefer you let me lead the lessons, as you interfere with the other's learning process by taking over both student and teacher role. I know you know this subject by now, so just let's just roll through this course".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Just put down the interrupter. Well thanks Hermione. Boy somebody likes to jump in an answer. Well now, not everyone is taking the class for the third time. Stuff like that.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_7: I used to be that student. @username_1's answer covers most of it, but one scenario she has not mentioned is much simpler, and was the reason I did this: impatience.
When the question was trivial and the answer obvious, I wanted to move the course along so I would blurt it out in hopes to nip it in the bud.
Of course I now know how misguided that behavior is, but it seemed logical at the time.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Let them keep answering IF the student consistently gets the answers right. It helps the student learn and spurs class participation. Learning happens best when it is a two-way street.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: There's not enough information in the OP to know if this is the case, I'm adding my answer in case it may help others.
I was forced to take a class for a subject in which I was already proficient (introduction to programming). As the course progressed, I noticed my teacher would answer other students' questions with answers that were correct, but long-winded with lots of background that ended up confusing some of the other students.
E.g. on a question about why 3 / 2 returns 1 (instead of 1.5), he began talking about floating point numbers, and how because of the way they're represented in memory, you can end up with errors, including a tangent on binary numbers (which wasn't on the syllabus). While it was interesting context, he never ended up answering the original question, nor explaining what the student could do to solve the problem. We'd often run out of time in class.
Some of the students would ask me the question again in private, confessing that they didn't understand his response. Even though I knew it was rude to do, I'd sometimes interject before he had a chance to respond so that I could explain the concept to the whole class at once, instead of multiple times individually.
A very convoluted way to agree with @user2768's comment that sometimes a fellow student is a better judge of the level of knowledge the other students have. It might be worth paying attention to the answer they gave compared to the answer you gave / were intending to give.
---
In my situation, I did try to talk to the teacher about it, but he was adamant that there wasn't a problem.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: There's nothing wrong with students answering each others' questions. It helps them "own" the subject rather than see it as something you dispense. However in this case it seems to be unhelpful to the other students as well as to the teacher.
The disruptive student seems to be frustrated that the pace of the class is too slow for her. She seems to be well above average ability and quite capable of studying on her own, and may have failed the class first time because of boredom.
I would set her some extension work to do during class, with a view to entering for the examination early or entering at a higher level.
I would compliment her grasp of the material during class. This acknowledges the effort she has made and lets other students know that her answers are reliable.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: I remember a situation where this happened in class. The teacher put down the interrupting student in class for everyone, rather angrily. He told the student something along the lines of "Sure, you might pass the class without problems, but that doesn't mean everyone here will".
I think a more charismatic, friendly approach could work, even if you do it publicly in class. Let's take a very structured nonviolent communication approach:
1) Observation: Hey , i can't help but notice you keep answering questions i pose to other people.
2) Feelings: I understand this feels like you are showing commitment, but to others, including myself, it can come across as disruptive
3) Needs: Other students need to be allowed to take the time to process questions, because that is a vital part of their learning process. If one person answers everything, this doesn't benefit the course.
4) Request: So while I appreciate your active participation in class, can you please try and tone it down a little when I ask questions to other people?
If you feel like this type of issues is something you have difficulty with in your class, I recommend trying to find a NVC course in your neighbourhood.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: I have been a teacher in university, so I completely understand what you are saying.
And I have also been the average student annoyed by "that kid" who is always showing off and answering everybody else's questions to the teacher. I would have loved if someone made that kid shut up.
So please, do something about it, not only for you sake, but also for the happiness of everyone in your class.
One way to approach this is talk to the student privately and ask her/him to, instead of talking, first raising her/his hand and ask: "Professor, may I answer this?". So each time you can make the decision.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_13: Recruit them as extraofficial help. Task them with answering questions in the online fora (official or non-official). Talk to them and work out some etiquette on answering questions in class: give others time to think the problem through, let others answer first, in general, be polite to co-students.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_14: There are a few things that one can do live, in the classroom setting, to mollify this situation; these are things that I do with success.
One is that in certain situations where it is natural to do so, you can direct your question, and your attention, to a specific student. Your eager student may want to jump in, but when your attention (i.e. your line of sight) is directed to a specific student, it may be more obvious to the eager student that they should hold back. If this is too subtle for the eager student to perceive, you can also be ready to glance at them and, with a friendly expression, make a little hand gesture requesting that they hold back for a bit. As this scenario progresses, it may well happen that no-one else can come up with an answer, and then you can redirect the question towards your eager student.
Another issue here is that directing questions to specific students can be done in a way which makes it really obvious that THAT student has the floor. For example, perhaps you first say to the students "Which problems on the homework assignment do you want to hear about?" And after <NAME> says "problem number 1 please", during the discussion of problem number 1 you can direct your questions to Joe: "What would happen in this step if you tried that?" Your eager student might still try to jump in, so you might want to be prepared with the "glance-smile-hand gesture" strategy.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/13
| 2,179
| 8,797
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<issue_start>username_0: When discussing the ability for a faculty candidate to find a job, SE users often say that the quality of graduate research overshadows the prestige of the school at which they received a graduate degree. As viewed by a a hiring committee, what are characteristics of "high quality" research?<issue_comment>username_1: It's published in a reputable journal or reputable book press. "Reputable" means it has a reputation for having some quality control, as opposed to a predatory publisher.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Ultimately quality is a judgement call that every reader gets to make.
For example, a paper in mathematics might be considered to be "high quality" to half a dozen people worldwide who happen to be interested in the main result of the paper (or other work). Especially if the question has been open for a while. But other mathematicians may just say "meh" because that result neither interests them specifically, nor advances their own studies.
Reviewers at journals and conferences need to be able to make such judgements and, generally, they do a good job and we respect those judgments when we find published papers. But not everything that is published is of high quality.
But, some of the criteria that reviewers and others will use are as follows.
Is the solution correct? And reproducible?
Is the problem long standing? Or does it break new ground?
Does it open new areas of research?
Is it novel in some sense? Or just an easy derivation from what is already known?
Could I have done this easily? Or does it surprise me in some way?
Is the result widely helpful to either researchers or society as a whole?
Note that all of the above are judgement calls and all imply some scale with, not interesting at one end and very interesting at the other.
But I think the real intent of what you have read, is that it is more important what *you* do in your research than the general reputation of the place in which you do it. Reputation is based on many things, not all of which are directly relevant to the quality of research. In particular some places that seem quiet generally may be hotbeds of ideas in some niche of some field.
And note that hiring committees may rely on the judgements of others, such as the work being published. They might also rely on just the judgements of writers of letters of recommendations if those writers themselves are in a position both to know and to be honest. But they might also, in some cases, rely on their own judgement. "Well, yes, this is interesting, but not interesting to us at this time."
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The UK has an [official answer](https://www.ref.ac.uk/publications/panel-criteria-and-working-methods-201902/) that might be of use. In particular, the general criteria are:
>
> • scientific rigour and excellence, with regard to design, method, execution and analysis
>
> • significant addition to knowledge and to the conceptual framework of the field
>
> • actual significance of the research
>
> • the scale, challenge and logistical difficulty posed by the research
>
> • the logical coherence of argument
>
> • contribution to theory-building
>
> • significance of work to advance knowledge, skills, understanding and
> scholarship in theory, practice, education, management and/or policy
>
> • applicability and significance to the relevant service users and research users
>
> • potential applicability for policy in, for example, health, healthcare, public
> health, food security, animal health or welfare.
>
>
>
There are also specific criteria for each quality level for the various panels (which I have merged):
>
> In assessing work as being four star (quality that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour), sub-panels will expect to see evidence of, or potential for, some of the following types of characteristics:
>
> • agenda-setting
>
> • research that is leading or at the forefront of the research area
>
> • great novelty in developing new thinking, new techniques or novel results
>
> • major influence on a research theme or field
>
> • developing new paradigms or fundamental new concepts for research
>
> • major changes in policy or practice
>
> • major influence on processes, production and management
>
> • major influence on user engagement
>
> • outstandingly novel in developing concepts, paradigms, techniques or outcomes
>
> • a primary or essential point of reference
>
> • a formative influence on the intellectual agenda
>
> • application of exceptionally rigorous research design and techniques of investigation and analysis
>
> • generation of an exceptionally significant data set or research resource.
>
> • a primary or essential point of reference
>
> • of profound influence
>
> • instrumental in developing new thinking, practices, paradigms, policies or audiences
>
> • a major expansion of the range and the depth of research and its application
>
> • outstandingly novel, innovative and/or creative.
>
>
> In assessing work as being three star (quality that is internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour but which falls short of the highest standards of excellence), sub-panels will expect to see evidence of, or potential for, some of the following types of characteristics:
>
> • makes important contributions to the field at an international standard
>
> • contributes important knowledge, ideas and techniques which are likely to have a lasting influence, but are not necessarily leading to fundamental new concepts
>
> • significant changes to policies or practices
>
> • significant influence on processes, production and management
>
> • significant influence on user engagement
>
> • novel in developing concepts, paradigms, techniques or outcomes
>
> • an important point of reference
>
> • contributing very important knowledge, ideas and techniques which are likely to have a lasting influence on the intellectual agenda
>
> • application of robust and appropriate research design and techniques of investigation and analysis
>
> • generation of a substantial data set or research resource.
>
> • an important point of reference
>
> • of considerable influence
>
> • a catalyst for, or important contribution to, new thinking, practices, paradigms, policies or audiences
>
> • a significant expansion of the range and the depth of research and its application
>
> • significantly novel or innovative or creative
>
>
> In assessing work as being two star (quality that is recognised internationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour), sub-panels will expect to see evidence of, or potential for, some of the following types of characteristics:
>
> • provides useful knowledge and influences the field
>
> • involves incremental advances, which might include new knowledge which conforms with existing ideas and paradigms, or model calculations using established techniques or approaches
> • influence on policy or practice
>
> • influence on processes, production and management
>
> • influence on user engagement.
>
> • providing important knowledge and the application of such knowledge
>
> • contributing to incremental and cumulative advances in knowledge
>
> • thorough and professional application of appropriate research design and techniques of investigation and analysis.
> • a recognised point of reference
>
> • of some influence
>
> • an incremental and cumulative advance on thinking, practices, paradigms, policies or audiences
>
> • a useful contribution to the range or depth of research and its application.
>
>
> In assessing work as being one star (quality that is recognised nationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour), sub-panels will expect to see evidence of, or potential for, some of the following types of characteristics:
>
> • useful but unlikely to have more than a minor influence in the field
>
> • minor influence on policy or practice
>
> • minor influence on processes, production and management
>
> • minor influence on user engagement.
>
> • providing useful knowledge, but unlikely to have more than a minor influence
>
> • an identifiable contribution to understanding, but largely framed by existing paradigms or traditions of enquiry
>
> • competent application of appropriate research design and techniques of investigation and analysis.
>
> • an identifiable contribution to understanding without advancing existing paradigms of enquiry or practice
>
> • of minor influence.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1
|
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| 656
| 2,664
|
<issue_start>username_0: Which professors are involved in the tenure decision? Is it all tenured professors, or also the one still on tenure-track? If only tenured, which is the date in which they get tenure that matters? For example, I am in my second year of tenure-track position, will a person who is in his/her third year of tenure-track position have a word about my case? Basically, there is person I am doing all my best to get along with, but on his/her side it is just not happening. I have great relationship with most people, but this person just doesn't like me. I tried so hard to talk with this person and makes things right. In which cases will this person have a word to say?<issue_comment>username_1: You should ask your department chair, as practices can vary.
Usually, all promotion decisions are voted on by faculty who have already received the promotion. So for tenure, only tenured faculty will vote.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In the U.S., it seems that only already-tenured faculty vote on the tenure-or-not of tenure-track faculty.
But/and if the person you don't get along with gains tenure a year before you do, yes, they could vote on your case.
But, still, approval for tenure (at the department level) does not require unanimity, only some sort of super-majority, perhaps 2/3.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Echoing others, you should consult your faculty manual as every university tends to be a bit different. At most universities it is just tenured faculty who vote on tenure cases, and often a constituted committee (at our university, we elect our departmental committees from the tenured ranks; we want a majority of full professors but a few associates can serve).
That said, your department chair (or whoever chairs your departmental tenure and promotion committee) and the dean of your school/faculty, or whoever chairs the next-level tenure and promotion committee, will be attentive to these sorts of dynamics. Tenure cases and votes are products of careful consideration, both by committees as well as by your external letters. I have sat on tenure and promotion committees (in Canada, but our system is basically the same as the American one), and I would like to think that interpersonal dynamics don't play a significant role; we are professionals, engaging with each other and our colleagues as professionals.
If it is a *serious* conflict, where you are worried about this individual's ability to render an impartial decision, you should talk to your chair or faculty association. Most universities should have some sort of procedure to remove people due to conflicts of interest.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/13
| 1,108
| 4,654
|
<issue_start>username_0: As an undergraduate, I studied philosophy and the field in which I'm pursuing a PhD right now. Though I had passion for both fields, I chose this field because I did better in this field than I did in philosophy, and the job market situation seemed slightly better here.
But I figured I still want to be in touch with philosophy, so I've been taking graduate philosophy courses for credit. The problem is, I've found these courses more interesting than the field I'm currently in. It's not that I'm entirely disinterested in my own field, but I prefer the method or approach taken in the philosophy department to those in my own field. Good news is that there's a philosophy professor who's interested in my project and I'm planning to work with her (she's officially affiliated with my dept). I'm also trying to have another philosophy professor join my committee so that a half of my committee will be from the philosophy department. And, of course, my dissertation will encompass both fields.
That said, in the future, I want to apply for jobs in both departments. But I don't know how *realistic* this hope is. I'm not talking about how hard it is to get a TT job, as I've heard nightmare stories numerous times since when I was an undergraduate student. Rather, I wonder if not having a degree from the phil dept will become a massive hurdle even if I work closely with the philosophy department. If I have to choose either, I honestly would prefer a philosophy department, but I guess I realized it too late.
Thanks in advance!
K<issue_comment>username_1: The key would be to offer the department something attractive. Let me give you a well known example.
Previously in philosophy there have been many workers who have studied the questions around "what is the mind?" They have asked a huge variety of questions such as:
- How do we recognize a mind in another?
- How does the mind connect to the body?
- What does it mean to be conscious?
- What happens to the mind when we sleep? Get knocked out?
And many many *MANY* other questions. Whole aisles in the library of books published on such questions.
Then along comes artificial intelligence. And a new philosophical "industry" is born. You can go look at nearly any of those books and check what happens if, instead of a biological mind, you use a computer made of silicon and transistors and so on. And instead of memory and sensations it runs on software and electronics. This can be a hugely productive research program that can, in principle, interest both the philosophy department and the computer science department. And possibly the neuro-science types in the medicine research areas.
There is another example. Consider the idea of evolutionary biology. This area studies how characteristics relate to genetics and evolutionary selection pressures. Then along comes [Prof. <NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gad_Saad) who studies the evolution of psychology, with emphasis on why people value certain things over competing interests. Such as why people select their mates, why they prefer certain clothes, etc. And he is a prof of Marketing.
Now you enter with your degree in some other science. Is there the possibility you can relate this to some important philosophical question? In principle, you could found an entire new channel of philosophical investigation.
Crossovers of two seemingly disparate lines of research can be massively productive. There can, of course, be some difficult times at the start. But if you can establish it, you could wind up being the wellspring of a huge amount of highly interesting research.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: You seem to be doing the right things to make this possible. But, like any candidate, you will ultimately need to convince some philosophy department to take you on. That will depend, ultimately on your qualifications.
One problem you will have, I fear, is that there are probably more doctorates granted in philosophy than there are jobs for them. Some folks have a terrible time finding employment. So, the competition for a philosophy position will be fierce, and many candidates may be better prepared in philosophy than yourself.
But one option you have is to find a position that lets you work in two departments, perhaps just in a minor way, initially, in philosophy. Depending on how your career develops you might, then, have options to move more in one direction or the other. Flexibility is good.
And, of course, tenured faculty have wide latitude in what they study and in their research trajectory. But, you have to get there first.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/13
| 926
| 3,947
|
<issue_start>username_0: I recently completed a paper and I am considering applying for the Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L). Before submission, the paper plaza had a few guidelines which said
>
> IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) is a hybrid access journal, allowing either traditional or Open Access ("golden", or author-pays OA) manuscript submission. According to the IEEE policy, you will only be able to select the Open Access option after acceptance, at the time of final submission. By selecting that option, you commit to pay the $1,950 OA fee in order to enable unrestricted public access.
>
>
>
I am confused with what this means? Does it mean that I will only be able to select the Open Access Option? Does it mean that I can choose the traditional option, but in case I prefer Open Access it will only be after acceptance.<issue_comment>username_1: The key would be to offer the department something attractive. Let me give you a well known example.
Previously in philosophy there have been many workers who have studied the questions around "what is the mind?" They have asked a huge variety of questions such as:
- How do we recognize a mind in another?
- How does the mind connect to the body?
- What does it mean to be conscious?
- What happens to the mind when we sleep? Get knocked out?
And many many *MANY* other questions. Whole aisles in the library of books published on such questions.
Then along comes artificial intelligence. And a new philosophical "industry" is born. You can go look at nearly any of those books and check what happens if, instead of a biological mind, you use a computer made of silicon and transistors and so on. And instead of memory and sensations it runs on software and electronics. This can be a hugely productive research program that can, in principle, interest both the philosophy department and the computer science department. And possibly the neuro-science types in the medicine research areas.
There is another example. Consider the idea of evolutionary biology. This area studies how characteristics relate to genetics and evolutionary selection pressures. Then along comes [Prof. <NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gad_Saad) who studies the evolution of psychology, with emphasis on why people value certain things over competing interests. Such as why people select their mates, why they prefer certain clothes, etc. And he is a prof of Marketing.
Now you enter with your degree in some other science. Is there the possibility you can relate this to some important philosophical question? In principle, you could found an entire new channel of philosophical investigation.
Crossovers of two seemingly disparate lines of research can be massively productive. There can, of course, be some difficult times at the start. But if you can establish it, you could wind up being the wellspring of a huge amount of highly interesting research.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: You seem to be doing the right things to make this possible. But, like any candidate, you will ultimately need to convince some philosophy department to take you on. That will depend, ultimately on your qualifications.
One problem you will have, I fear, is that there are probably more doctorates granted in philosophy than there are jobs for them. Some folks have a terrible time finding employment. So, the competition for a philosophy position will be fierce, and many candidates may be better prepared in philosophy than yourself.
But one option you have is to find a position that lets you work in two departments, perhaps just in a minor way, initially, in philosophy. Depending on how your career develops you might, then, have options to move more in one direction or the other. Flexibility is good.
And, of course, tenured faculty have wide latitude in what they study and in their research trajectory. But, you have to get there first.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/13
| 1,116
| 4,774
|
<issue_start>username_0: What are the publication options for academic contributions that don't lend themselves to the journal article format? In the case of datasets, there are some suggestions [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9964/how-to-share-to-mention-publish-large-datasets/84194#84194), but I'm also wondering about other types of resources, such as
* software packages for scientific computing, and
* presentations of information that include interactive elements that are integral to the usefulness of the resource.
It seems to me that a common practice is for creators of such resources to publish an accompanying article, such that there is an avenue through which the resource can be 'cited'. But my impression is that often such articles do not add much value beyond that of the original resource. So a two part question:
1. Are there other options for 'publishing' such resources directly?
2. Are there pathways for having such resources peer-reviewed?
With regard to interactive resources, I'm thinking of a broad range, from [this kind of interactive exposition](https://observablehq.com/@tophtucker/theres-plenty-of-room-in-the-corners) to, say, a formal rubric-like taxonomy with more than two dimensions, such that some interactivity is required to toggle between which pair of dimensions are displayed (assuming only a 2D representation is used). To have such resources peer-reviewed, the closest option I know of is [Distill](https://distill.pub/), an web-only journal for machine-learning that facilitates interactive elements in the articles it publishes. But, for now at least, that option is limited to contributions in machine learning.<issue_comment>username_1: The key would be to offer the department something attractive. Let me give you a well known example.
Previously in philosophy there have been many workers who have studied the questions around "what is the mind?" They have asked a huge variety of questions such as:
- How do we recognize a mind in another?
- How does the mind connect to the body?
- What does it mean to be conscious?
- What happens to the mind when we sleep? Get knocked out?
And many many *MANY* other questions. Whole aisles in the library of books published on such questions.
Then along comes artificial intelligence. And a new philosophical "industry" is born. You can go look at nearly any of those books and check what happens if, instead of a biological mind, you use a computer made of silicon and transistors and so on. And instead of memory and sensations it runs on software and electronics. This can be a hugely productive research program that can, in principle, interest both the philosophy department and the computer science department. And possibly the neuro-science types in the medicine research areas.
There is another example. Consider the idea of evolutionary biology. This area studies how characteristics relate to genetics and evolutionary selection pressures. Then along comes [Prof. <NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gad_Saad) who studies the evolution of psychology, with emphasis on why people value certain things over competing interests. Such as why people select their mates, why they prefer certain clothes, etc. And he is a prof of Marketing.
Now you enter with your degree in some other science. Is there the possibility you can relate this to some important philosophical question? In principle, you could found an entire new channel of philosophical investigation.
Crossovers of two seemingly disparate lines of research can be massively productive. There can, of course, be some difficult times at the start. But if you can establish it, you could wind up being the wellspring of a huge amount of highly interesting research.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: You seem to be doing the right things to make this possible. But, like any candidate, you will ultimately need to convince some philosophy department to take you on. That will depend, ultimately on your qualifications.
One problem you will have, I fear, is that there are probably more doctorates granted in philosophy than there are jobs for them. Some folks have a terrible time finding employment. So, the competition for a philosophy position will be fierce, and many candidates may be better prepared in philosophy than yourself.
But one option you have is to find a position that lets you work in two departments, perhaps just in a minor way, initially, in philosophy. Depending on how your career develops you might, then, have options to move more in one direction or the other. Flexibility is good.
And, of course, tenured faculty have wide latitude in what they study and in their research trajectory. But, you have to get there first.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/13
| 742
| 2,915
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm writing a full article (6-8 pages) using IEEE guidelines.
Currently got two versions: one where images are more readable, and another where 4 images to be read need a lot of zoom.
In the first case, the article has 10 pages in total (3 columns are references). In the second case, 8 pages in total (3 columns are references).
I know from fact that
>
> References most definitely count (for the page total). IEEE page limits are inclusive of
> any front and/or back matter. And it is a HARD limit—not even a single
> word should spill over onto an additional page.
>
>
>
I don't want to have the images like that where the reader needs to put on extra zoom but i also want to respect the total page limit.
Is there a way the images can be placed after references (or anywhere in a specific section) that makes them not count for the total page count?
If not, considering the images are very relevant and both the content and references were reduced as much as i could, what can I do in this situation?<issue_comment>username_1: Make it into two - part 1 and part 2, gives you more pages in total as well. [There are often papers published that have “subsequent” papers](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/27448/102715). An example: part 1 is method with some preliminary results, part 2 further results, analysis & conclusions.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If the article is only going to be published online, one can create hyperlinks to access the full sized images.
If it is to be printed, one can reference or add notes saying that a full size version of the images are available in the website X.
Upvotes: 1 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: In many, **but not all** IEEE publications, the hard limit implies that if the paper is larger than N pages, every (N+1)th page is charged with an overlength charge. See [this page on IEEE Author Center](https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/your-role-in-article-production/about-potential-article-processing-charges/), which also contains the fresh link to a PDF with current prices (overlength, open-access, color).
Usually, *IEEE Transactions on XXX* will allow publishing papers that are larger than standard size (up to a certain maximum), while the *IEEE XXX Letters*-type journals might have a hard limit with no possibility to publish a paper exceeding the standard length even for an extra fee.
I would certainly check the journal (not the general IEEE guideline) you are intending to submit on that matter since you want the images to be legible without a mandatory zoom. The fees vary, but, for example, *IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (TAP)* charges $200 per extra page (as of 2020). See [this 2018 guideline for IEEE TAP](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=8278889) which covers more details on how references count and fees are calculated.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/13
| 3,467
| 14,891
|
<issue_start>username_0: If a professor at a university explicitly states an exam will contain "multiple choice questions and true/false questions" and then administers an exam with several short answer and essay questions, is that worth filing a complaint to the department about?
I'm a very dedicated student and don't mind essay questions at all, in fact, I prefer them...when I've been given proper notice and can prepare accordingly. There's a much different way to approach material when you need to draft responses from memory. If it WASN'T clearly stated what the format of the exam would be, that would be different. If it were one or two questions that deviated from the format, that wouldn't be a big deal. But to clearly state it would be multiple choice and true/false and then to have about 20% of the exam not follow that format seems unprofessional and poor practice.
I've already reached out to the professor about it and have not yet received a response. However, I'm considering also contacting the department. Am I overreacting? Or is this reasonable?<issue_comment>username_1: First, there’s some important background information to consider about professors, which is that they are human and occasionally make mistakes just like everyone else. In particular, as can happen to anyone in any other workplace or general life context, they may sometimes forget what they said to whom and when, or say something they didn’t fully intend, e.g., omitting an important detail or making a statement that is misleading or not entirely accurate.
Moreover, these effects are at their worst when a professor is overloaded with work. Small misstatements of this type can happen for example because a student accosts them with a curveball question at the end of lecture when they are frazzled and distracted and in a hurry to get somewhere (happened to me more times than I count), or due to many other kinds of cognitive overload that are a frequent occurrence in many professors’ lives. As an example, just this week I confused the lecture times of the two different classes I’m teaching in an email to a colleague about scheduling a meeting, and have found myself making a few other similar (fortunately insignificant) mistakes recently. This is very atypical for me, and it’s clear to me that it’s strongly correlated with a period of increased workload.
Coming back to your question, it’s obviously not great that the professor did not give you accurate information about the exam, but saying it’s “unethical” is making a statement about the professor’s *intent*. If they *deliberately* misled you, then yeah, that’s not very nice, and, depending on how misleading their description was, I can see the label “unethical” as being potentially appropriate. But based on my experience, I’m extremely skeptical that the misrepresentation was intentional. It’s much more likely that the explanation involved an error, forgetfulness, preparing the exam at the last minute and making a spontaneous decision to add an essay question without realizing that this would make some students upset, or some other such explanation.
Basically, in most situations of this type in academia, rather than assume bad faith, your default assumption should be that the person whose behavior you are aggrieved about made a mistake. They may be disorganized or even mildly incompetent, but none of that equates to being unethical. Unless you have hard evidence of an intent to deceive or the level of incompetence implied by the mistake is truly outrageous, complaining about this seems like a waste of time to me.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: 1. It seems like a mistake (if everything you write is accurate). I would probably consider "unethical" (this word gets used too often here...) to willingly lie to students, but that is not what is going on here.
2. It is reasonable to make a complaint, in my view. The complaint will be discussed internally.
3. Don't expect that this complaint will have a visible effect on your grade. It is not reasonable to expect that the exam is voided, repeated, or that votes are increased for everyone. You took an exam in a reasonable format; the instructors have enough elements to form an opinion of how much you understood the content of the course and assign you a grade. If grading is on a curve, there is no particular reason why you were penalized over your peers. If grading is not on a curve, I assume (after your complaint) that graders will take into account the conditions in which you all took the exam.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> If a professor at a university explicitly states an exam will **contain**
> "multiple choice questions and true/false questions"
>
>
>
What you described they said is not the same as if they had said
"The exam will be **100 percent** multiple choice questions."
So I think having 20% not multiple choice questions is perfectly fine.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: I do think this could be ground to consider a complaint, although not because of ethics, but because of correctness.
If the official description of the course stated that the exam would contain multiple choice questions and true/false questions, and the actual exam deviated from this, this seems to me like some form of 'breach of contract'.
At the University of Antwerp, an exam was annulled because of both deviations in the exam description (indicating essay and multiple choice questions, but only providing multiple choice questions) as well as issues with the content of the questions at hand. ([Dutch article](https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20200206_04837412))
To answer the question, I would not complain regarding ethics, but a complaint/question to an examination board regarding the correctness of the information regarding the exam would be the correct step forwards in my opinion.
EDIT: I think that the main benefit of posing the question would be to prevent future students encountering the same misinformation or confusion. I don't think that the situation is as severe as in my example, but it proves that it can happen. Also note that the professor in the article was not punished for his mistake, which is in line with my (and other's) opinion that this is not an ethical issue.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I would say no. Just because the professor told you that there would be certain types of questions on the exam, unless he specifically stated that there would not be other types then he did not misrepresent the exam at all. As long as there existed multiple choice and true/false questions in the exam then he in fact told the truth.
This situation varies from the answer posted by T.Verliefde in that the example in that answer did not include the type of questions indicated.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: There is another aspect that may be at play here -- the professor may have announced in good faith that the exam would be 100% multiple choice, and possibly even created such an exam, and then learned that departmental guidelines don't allow such easy exams for a course at this level. They would then have a variety of suboptimal ways to solve the problem; depending on timing, making an announcement of the changed format that would not reach all students might be seen as unfair.
I once took a survey course that was described in the syllabus as graded solely based on class participation. On the first day, the professor gave us a syllabus that included a paper at 50% of the grade. (At that university at that time, switching to a different class was a very unappealing prospect, as only undesirable section times of unpopular courses were not oversubscribed by the beginning of the semester.) I thought this was deeply unfair, but not unethical.
My recommendation is to look carefully at the description of the exam you were given, and if there is still a discrepancy, ask the professor for the reason, stressing the difference in preparation for one format over the other.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: Other answers explained already why you should not question the professor's ethics here. Additionally, you should take a step back and analyse what went wrong if you, as a dedicated student (which I do not doubt since you obviously take your studies seriously), cannot formulate answers about the content that you "learned".
Try to put more emphasis on understanding the lecture and try not to learn for an exam but maybe find answers to the questions you personally have about the subject. Your current way of learning seems very shallow and inappropriate given your interest in your studies. And to answer your question: after you calm down and give this a second thought you might actually thank your professor!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_8: Firstly, wait until your professor gets back to you. As username_1 says above, it could've just been an honest mistake - either on your part or on the professor's.
Secondly, you might want to ask other students about the exam. Did they feel blindsided as well? Did they know there would be short-answer questions? Take their answers into consideration.
Thirdly, if you want the professor to really make a change going forward, I'd recommend stating as much in the teaching evaluation surveys - assuming your school has them. Be objective, reasonable, and respectful. At my school, professors take them very seriously and emphasize that they need feedback from us in order to improve the class. Leaving a paper trail that this has happened might make your professor a bit more mindful when they write the future exams. But if this is a one-off thing and/or the professor makes an attempt to "correct" for it, that may not even be necessary.
Based on your description alone, however, I would say that escalating the problem to the department is jumping the gun - especially when the professor hasn't even responded yet.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: The real thing the instructor maybe-kinda did wrong was not spending enough time explaining the test format. Teachers hate wasting time on mechanics and Admin -- I'd love to say tests will be "normal" and move on -- but students get nervous. We don't want our A students freezing up, or Q's where 1/2 the class clearly misunderstood. In the long run, it's worth it to waste class-time going over the format.
Maybe a sample test (use last semester's), or sample Q's in class (or by TA's in recitation). For those essay Q's, there would have been an example -- "if you see an essay Q like this, an answer like this is fine. You don't need to add X, Y, and Z". I used to even explain how 1 inch of space for the answer meant the answer was 1 line, but you didn't lose points for using more (during a test, students will suddenly freak about about things like that). So now students know there will be some short essay Q's.
It's not so much unethical. It's just that if a certain number of students are spending too much time fretting over process; as an instructor, it's our fault/problem (which we will fix next semester).
I had a similar thing happen. The final exam for a huge class was Friday afternoon through a scheduling error. We had to use some multiple choice Q's and I spent some class-time going over them, since it was new. But the back 1/3rd of the final was written-out Q's, exactly like previous tests. I didn't need to re-explain them. I don't think anyone assumed it would be all multiple choice, but it's possible.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: I believe the question here masks an even more serious problem.
"Why was a sample-paper not provided in the first place?"
=========================================================
I 100% agree with the student's assessment that the format of an exam is absolutely critical knowledge which largely dictates the type of preparation for that exam.
I 100% disagree with the (in my opinion naive) comments above that "if you really knew the material it would not matter". One need not think further than driving tests as a simple example that this is simply not true.
The question of whether an exam "should" be generalizable enough such that it accurately reflects the topic it is supposed to examine, and how to achieve such an exam, is an altogether different question which has plagued educators for centuries. But as it stands, one can guarantee a crippled outcome in an exam if exam technique is unaccounted for, let alone misdirected.
So yes, the act of 'not providing a sample paper in the first place', let alone misrepresenting the format of the exam when described orally, (whether this was done maliciously, which is very unlikely, or by omission), is absolutely fair grounds for a complain *to the department*, because *the department is responsible for ensuring exams are fair and representative of student's abilities*.
Note this is not a case of 'burning' the professor involved. The department absolutely needs to know so that it can manage the delivery of its courses better. And if there are no departmental guidelines ensuring appropriate provision of sample-papers to students, this will hopefully prompt them to create such a guideline.
---
PS. Many of the answers here have given far too much weight on the word 'unethical' in the title, and have interpreted this and focused instead on whether it is appropriate for the student to be 'throwing accusations of intent'. While this is a reasonable, albeit secondary, point to address, I believe this is missing the point entirely, and it doesn't sound to me like, bar some frustration for the feeling of unfairness involved, that the student is somehow on a personal crusade against a professor. It is entirely accurate to state that the format of the exam is necessary information, and it is entirely fair to initiate a grievance procedure if this has been misrepresented to the extent that it affected student outcomes.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: I guess it depends on how much weight the exam carries - all our exams carry between 50 and 100% of the credit for a module (which would equate to between 5% and 25% of the credit for the . So this could be very serious. This is why all our exams have to be vetted by an external examiner. The style of the exam has to be laid down at least a year in advance, and recorded in the module handbook.
Under those circumstances, a lecturer providing you with a short-answer/essay exam, when a multiple choice had been specified would certainly be grounds for complaint. I doubt it is "unethical", as I'm sure the lecturer would not be trying to trick you. What on earth would he gain from doing so - its him that will be in trouble if the average grade on his module is down. But that is irrelevant. You have been disadvantaged, and the department/school needs to find a way to account for this.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I am in my 5th year of a PhD program, with the deadline for my dissertation just a few months away and barely any results to report, never mind writing an entire dissertation.\*
I am considering quitting this program and working for some time. I already have a job, and they have made it clear that my PhD or the lack of it are not going to make a difference in my employment.
I am wondering if ther is anyone who has found themselves in similar circumstances and, years later, has succesfully applied for another PhD position, and how did they present the fact that they left the program just a few months before the deadline.
Thanks
\*After browsing for a bit, I believe some people may be tempted to say things like "if you are on your 5th year, surely you do have enough material for your dissertation". While I appreciate it, this is not what I want to discuss here.<issue_comment>username_1: It will be very difficult indeed.
Having a second-class undergraduate degree I was unable to get any PhD position and was advised to take a Masters course to improve my grade. If you fail the PhD or abandon it then you will find it almost impossible to get a funded place again - you would need to fund yourself, and to demonstrate successful completion of whatever you did in between. You might be successful if you had to withdraw early on for health reasons, but not as late as the 5th year. I presume that you are already past the usual finishing date, which in itself is a negative indication.
You will do far better to apply for an extension or a suspension of studies. You will have to re-register every year but this could give you the time you need to reassess what has gone wrong and how you can steer your PhD to a successful conclusion.
The starting point is to have a thorough discussion with your supervisor and the tutor in charge of the PhD programme (assuming they are not the same person), to discuss the options. If at all possible avoid taking a major break because it can be a huge obstacle to get back into it, and the field will move on while you are away so that your research becomes less relevant and harder to "sell".
In the end you just have to grit your teeth and get the work done, regardless of how dissatisfied you are with the outcome. Lack of a PhD may not make a difference in your current job but it will make a difference to your career progression, and will probably close off options of moving into an academic career later on.
The fact that you have a job might be a distraction which is keeping you from completing your PhD. It might be better to ask your boss for 3-6 month of unpaid leave to complete your PhD, or at least get it back on track.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I am wondering if ther is anyone who has found themselves in similar circumstances and, years later, has succesfully applied for another PhD position, and how did they present the fact that they left the program just a few months before the deadline.
>
>
>
As somebody who has sat on graduate committees, it would be an uphill battle but not impossible. You should be honest in any future application. What we would be looking for was an indication that circumstances have changed and that you now had the ability to successfully complete a PhD.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I am writing an article that requires citations in APA format. As you may know, that format requires page numbers
I am pulling quite a few articles from the journal of Remote Sensing (MDPI), which publishes almost all content as open access articles online. The problem is that they publish the articles online, and do not indicate a page number. For example, an article entitled "Time-Series Multispectral Indices from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery Reveal Senescence Rate in Bread Wheat" has the following short citation:
Remote Sens. 2018, *10*, *809*; doi:10.3390/rs10060809
(<https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/10/6/809>)
From further investigating, I think the number 809 is the article in the volume, not the page number. Am I right on this? If so, how do you cite page numbers for a journal where they are not given?<issue_comment>username_1: Often times, it depends on the journal requirements. For instance, looking at the journal of Weed Science, they actually give an outline to how they want these kinds of articles to be cited:
<NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME> (2018) Time-Series Multispectral Indices from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery Reveal Senescence Rate in Bread Wheat. Remote Sens. (10), 10.3390/rs10060809
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: According to the [6th edition of APA](http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=494959&p=3386873#s-lg-box-wrapper-13322177):
>
> When using the exact words or a close paraphrase or summary of a source, a page number must be provided as part of a complete in-text citation. However, some publications (such as websites) have no numbered pages. To help readers locate the words being cited, include one or both of these elements:
>
>
> * Paragraph number (counted by yourself or as indicated in the text)
> * Main heading or sub-heading within the text (if available and appropriate)
>
>
>
So, if you are using a direct citation the approach with manually counted paragraph number and sub-heading section is recommended. The link above provides the following example:
>
> According to the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability, “[o]ver 11% of Canadian adults experienced one of the three most prevalent disability types: pain, mobility or flexibility” (Statistics Canada, 2013, para. 2)
>
>
>
---
However, if you are referencing for a purpose other than direct quotation or a close paraphrase, you [can simply use `1–N`](https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2015/05/how-to-cite-an-article-with-an-article-number-instead-of-a-page-range.html), where N is the number of pages in the cited paper:
>
> <NAME>., <NAME>., <NAME>., <NAME>., & <NAME>. (2015). Sweet/dessert foods are more appealing to adolescents after sleep restriction. PLoS ONE, 10, 1–8. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0115434>
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: For the context of the question, I'm interested in switching between different areas of a field -- e.g. I did my PhD in biological physics mainly involving simulations on a specific biological system, and I am now interested in pursuing more theoretical work (e.g. applied mathematics) still in biological physics but potentially on a different system.
So theoretically I know there should be no problem and my PhD should have prepared me for any new learning I need to do to catch up, but practically I'm wondering if there are 'better' ways of addressing some issues:
1. Background knowledge: I have some theoretical background, but not the familiarity of having done theoretical work daily in the past years. I would also have some catching up to do (probably several books to get through before I would be comfortable). When would be the best time to do this catching up? If I do it after beginning a postdoc, my postdoc work will be delayed during this (probably months) of catch-up time. Should I take time off between my PhD and postdoc? However then I have to explain an awkward unemployed period on my CV, and additionally not having an institution affiliation would take away my access to journals/libraries.
2. Competitiveness as a candidate: If I were a PI, I would favour candidates who had demonstrated a capability in the field already. How can I demonstrate an ability to do theoretical work if it was not a large component of my PhD? One thought I had was to look within my own institution for a postdoc advisor since it might be easier to convince them, but I'm also aware that staying in the same institution for my postdoc could be a red flag later in my career.
Also welcome tips on how to prepare for such an anticipated switch, if I still have a few years left of my PhD.<issue_comment>username_1: An established method of making the transition is to take a 1 year Masters in Theoretical Physics or Mathematics after completing your PhD, or to attend a Summer School. This will probably take you out of your current university and could give you contacts to apply for a PostDoc position elsewhere.
While working on your PhD could take an undergraduate course in theoretical physics or mathematics at your own university.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> When would be the best time to do this catching up? If I do it after beginning a postdoc, my postdoc work will be delayed during this (probably months) of catch-up time.
>
>
>
A piece of post-doc advice that has worked for me is to have your fingers in several pies. Build up some new expertise while working on some low-hanging fruits from your existing background that will lead to immediate results.
>
> If I were a PI, I would favour candidates who had demonstrated a capability in the field already. How can I demonstrate an ability to do theoretical work if it was not a large component of my PhD?
>
>
>
The qualities that advisors are looking for may vary significantly. If they are looking specifically for a candidate with a strong theoretical background, there's only so much you can do. Others will prioritize broader research skills, like
* a strong ability to finish projects (which you can show by building an appropriate track record; so be sure to have your pending papers out before you apply), and
* a strong ability to tell a good story (which you can show by being outstanding in your application materials and communication to them; basically, explain how you will help their team succeed based on your expertise).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/14
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<issue_start>username_0: I got some admissions offers from Ph.D. programs in the United States. In the near past, I worked as a research assistant for a professor. The advisor was completely unethical and abusive. All his past students without exception say bad things about him: he writes negative letters of recommendation to his students even after agreeing to write strong letters and in some cases, he did send negative letters un-invited to schools that accepted some of his M.Sc. students. I am very happy now that I left him. I mentioned in my CV that I worked as a Research Assistant but I did not back it up with reference letters of course. In case this professor finds out that I received offers and tried to contact these schools, is there a possibility that they might decide to rescind their offers?<issue_comment>username_1: First, it is entirely improper for anyone to do this other than cases of student serious misconduct. In this case it is something that he should not be doing. You say he has a history of this, so it could happen, but it would take an extreme personality to do this. Professor Voldemort. Such people tend to be generally disliked in academia. But they can also be difficult to dislodge. But they may also be widely known for bad behavior.
Second, I doubt that any reputable place (US or elsewhere) would simply rescind an offer without recourse or discussion. I assume that you have positive letters of recommendation that you have sent. I hope the letter writers would back up your assessment of Dr. Voldemort.
But, since this seems to be a rather extreme case, I wonder if you can contact one or two of the students that he tried to sabotage with un-requested letters and see what the outcome was. It might reassure you.
And, in case you get asked about an unsolicited letter, make sure that you can respond appropriately. The best way is to have other people advocate for your case.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> All his past students without exception say bad things about him: he writes negative letters of recommendation to his students even after agreeing to write strong letters and in some cases, he did send negative letters un-invited to schools that accepted some of his M.Sc. students.
>
>
>
Short of a serious, substantiated allegation of research misconduct, we would take a letter like this to be weird and immediately disregard it (with a few choice comments about the professor involved --- in a small field I suspect we might already know that this professor has some issues).
If an offer had already been sent out, it wouldn't be rescindable based on this. I'd wager to say that this is probably the same case across all public North American institutions.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: To avoid being stalked, keep strictly silent to anyone who does not need to know (including friends and best friends) about where you apply to.
Keep your nerve, and be pleasant and professional in interviews, and your target school committees will have the choice whether to believe a well-mannered, and capable student or an unsolicited disreference (which would be very bad manners to send, short of major academic misconduct).
This is not a guarantee they will not be influenced, so try to make all other aspects impeccable, know what you talk about, be well-prepared.
Finally: **If they should happen to rescind an offer** (which I very much doubt, as it would put them in legal harm's way, but just in case), you could consider insisting on a transparent explanation in firm, but polite language. If they do not offer it, you could, as an escalation, you could raise a Freedom of Information (or analogous) request to get full access to your file (apart from the solicited references whose inspection rights you may have waived) and check what happened. As a further step, you could consider (but IANAL) to mention to them that you are aware about libellous statements about you being in circulation; not accusing them, but putting them into the position to reconsider the situation and that you are aware of that. However, before doing so, you should consult with a lawyer.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: A few weeks ago after my grant meeting my department chair asked me if I still wanted to do research. She said I didn’t have to if I didn’t want to. She went on to say that I appeared to be struggling and that I could leave the tenure track. She said no one would judge me or think that I was a failure if I decided not to do research anymore. She said I could return to practice if I wanted to. This was pretty much an invitation to quit. She said she couldn’t promise I could get another non-tenure position and that the other departments did not have any needs.
It turns out that the department does need someone but she lied to me. She told me to think about what I wanted to do. Last week she sent me an email saying that she wanted to meet with me about my grant. So I invited my other grant team members. She then emailed me back to say that she did not want them present. She said that the meeting was not about the grant and that she wanted to close the loop on our discussion. Basically she lied again with a misleading email. The subject of her email even read meeting to discuss grant.
We didn’t meet that day. I was sick. This week she emailed me again to get on her calendar to have this meeting. I feel like she is trying to force me to resign. Do you have any advice about how I should proceed?<issue_comment>username_1: As an untenured faculty member your options are limited and the risks are high. Depending on local law you may have some protections, of course.
What you do depends on what her actual power over you is. If she is part of the tenure decision process, then the situation is worse. Likewise if she can influence others.
But, she may just be signaling you that your tenure decision is likely to be negative, whether from her actions or just a general assessment. You don't say, for example, how the research is going or the state of the grant (or even if it has been awarded or is just being applied for).
You will probably learn more when this individual meeting happens. Sadly, you won't have any other person present who can support you or attest to any improper statements if they occur. I've been in such a situation, actually.
My suggestion is that you immediately get into the job market and start to collect colleagues who will support you both in finding a new job and in maintaining this one. Long term, it doesn't seem like this environment is supportive enough.
If she has doubts about your work, her response should be about how she can help you. That may be her intent and you aren't recognizing it as such, but it is impossible to say from what you write.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: This is where you should consult your faculty association (or union) for advice, or where a trusted mentor comes in. Individual contexts differ, but this could be an indication that they're worried about the outcome of your tenure decision and are giving signals.
That said, a good chair will be clear about what they are indicating.
You can't be forced to resign, but you should meet with your chair if they are requesting a meeting. Discuss with your faculty association and take notes in the meeting, and make sure to take no decisions on the spot.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Sorry to hear about your situation.
The other advice about i) protecting your interests in the face of dubious communication, and ii) starting to look elsewhere regardless, are good. But I'd add another dimension:
>
> Are you struggling? If yes, are you marketing your achievements enough? If not, what help do you need to get onto the right track?
>
>
>
The tenure-track stage is hard, for many reasons. Many people take a while to find their sea-legs, or are thrown off kilter by unrelated life complexities. Some discover being a standalone researcher is not their thing. (And some get chewed up by the tenure machine unfairly, too.) Are you making the type of progress you need, given your stage in your career?
If yes, it is unfortunately possible that your chair has it in for you and just wants to get rid of you. It is also possible your chair is just misinformed. Have you filled in requested updates in a timely fashion and highlighting your achievements? Have you communicated your research plan enough? A number of years back, a couple of us (in math) had to step in to help a brilliant but very introverted young colleague who had recently had some pretty impressive research results, had just submitted a paper about them to a prestigious journal, but filled in his activity reports -- quite accurately -- that he had published no papers and made no conference presentations, for the 3rd year in a row. He just missed the memo that self-marketing was needed.
If you've had setbacks that have impacted your progress, but are now on track, do you have your narrative ready about that. Research often doesn't work the way it should; experiments fail; hypotheses turn our wrong; ethics committees misunderstand and delay progress. We, as lonely academics, get sick, depressed, etc. Too often we try to internalize all these wounds, since they make us feel vulnerable. But do they in fact explain limitations you have had that may be giving a wrong impression as to your future promise in a research career?
If you are struggling now, but do want to continue, what help do you need? Do you have mentors to guide you? Do you need specific support to get over roadblocks? If you are having some personal challenges, look into (and definitely ask your union) what are accommodations that you may be entitled to. In my old department, there was very little attention paid to such things. My wife's department has a pretty extensive accommodation policy, for both students and faculty, that in particular has helped some of her junior colleagues by "pausing the tenure clock" when needed, or considering progress in context. But you have to know to ask, especially if your chair seems at best clueless.
All of this is both to get you into a better place, if needed; and to take charge of the narrative, if you've let it run away from you. It's also helpful to think through if it is true the chair just has it in for you...since then, part of your response is to make it clear you are informed, equipped with facts/narrative of your own, and therefore not an attractive expendable target, if there is funny business going on.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Sounds to me like your chair is trying to tell you that you are not going to get tenure (or at least she doesn't want you to). Now maybe there are other professors who will vote in your favor, but getting through tenure with a chair that doesnt want you to is going to be hard / impossible. Detmining the exact politics of the department is useful if you wish to continue.
Carry on for now - and find another job
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I think you can reasonably demand to have a 3rd party present, such as a union rep or an impartial friend or an HR member depending on local culture.
That would be my thinking here, or to say "I am going to record the meeting" and then do so.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm about 5 months into my postdoc now, and I am seriously questioning the choice. Most posts I read about this mention bad advisors, situations with the lab, etc. but in my case actually everything about the lab is great. I'm at the top institution in my field, with an advisor that is well respected in the field and has been around for a long time. The advisor is also an extremely nice person, supportive and consistently provides positive feedback when you present work. The group is also great, full of really smart, but really friendly people. They work a lot, but that's really the only flaw in the group culture (aside from not being the safest in lab maybe). The group is also well funded, and my advisor is supportive of working on anything that is interesting. It seems like this should be an amazing opportunity. Resources galore, support, and scientific freedom.
But here's the thing, I'm totally miserable and haven't accomplished anything tangible that I can call my own. I have helped some people with their projects, but I haven't been able to figure out something to work on that is my own. My PhD used some of the same fundamentals, but this was a relatively big switch moving into the postdoc. I expected some time would be necessary to learn new things and get going, but I barely feel like I've moved forward. I tried several ideas, but nothing panned out. Now my advisor has suggested a new project to make this device, it would be slightly more related to my PhD and we have some of the resources needed to do it, and wrote a proposal to get more, but I'm still really struggling to get going. I feel like this new project doesn't involve many fundamentals, and is just engineering together existing pieces that have all been done before. If it works it might be interesting, but I really struggle to see how I could use it to do fundamental science, which is what you need to apply to academic jobs in the field. I just feel like I am failing at a key part of being an academic, which is coming up with new ideas. At some point that has to catch up to me and my advisor will notice.
So what I am struggling with is whether I should stick it out and grind away on this new project that I don't have much faith in, find a new postdoc and try to move labs (I am not willing to move cities since my partner is also here doing a postdoc), or should I just start looking for an industry job in the area (which would almost definitely come with a much worse commute, but twice the salary)? But if I did the industry search I'm not sure how I could do that without telling my advisor because I would only leave if I got a decent offer. The other labs that would be relevant for my experience are a lot less well known, and I don't think any of them would have as nice of an advisor.<issue_comment>username_1: Welcome to the club of being a miserable postdoc!
I was and am in quite a similar situation. I had the benefit of my first postdoc being with a horrible boss and lab, and my second being with an amazing boss and lab, so it has been easy to figure out which aspects of postdocing are me sucking and which aspects are the environment sucking. During the second postdoc with the good people, it became clear that the persistent lack of passion was on me. Even *after* I finally saw a few projects to completion, the emptiness remained. I think if you're feeling consistently unhappy, it's a good sign that the academic research life isn't for you. There are tons of other career paths where you can engage in the activities you do find fulling (mentoring, teaching, counseling, etc.) that don't require slogging through miserable research hours.
It also sounds a bit like you have a touch of imposter syndrome. Read [this](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11765/ive-somehow-convinced-everyone-that-im-actually-good-at-this-how-to-effect) for some tips on how to work through it.
I'd hold on to the postdoc at least a few months longer while you start investigating new options and figuring out finances in case you need to go jobless or re-train for a bit. Once you've figured out a plan, just be honest with your supervisor-- it's unlikely to be the first time they have had a postdoc jump ship.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are not happy helping other people with their projects, then I think it's time to quit being a postdoc. Personally, I think that's the most satisfying part of the job. If you were to move on to a faculty position, you would spend more time helping other people (or applying for funding) and even less time doing fundamental science yourself. If you are not sure what you want, go for a high paying industry job.
As for when, I say leave as soon as you can, unless you are moving to a new postdoc position, in which case leave after one year. But a new postdoc position isn't going to solve your problems.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: You sound like a thoughtful and honest person. Being into Menotring, service and teaching is a great reason to want to be and academic, because it is 90% of the job as fa faculty member.
I can't speak for your field, but in my field it would be not be unusual for a postdoc to produce little in the first 5 months. So its possible you are doing better than you think. The project you are doing now (building an instrument) could easily be a confidence builder that your boss has given you in order to feel better about things (this exact thing is actually mention in one famous article about how to get new mentees up and running).
You say your boss is super nice. I don't have a feeling about how close you are, or how much you trust them. But if you do, perhaps you should talk to them about it? They are likely to know whether your progress is good or bad, how things are panning out, and what your options for alternatives are. You don't have to say you are thinking of leaving, you could just have a discussion about long term plans, and where you see yourself going, and whether they think those are good options.
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/02/14
| 662
| 2,886
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a new professor, now interviewing PhD students. I lack many of the things they expect: other PhD students to talk to, a clear narrative about my lab's work (as funding is still in flux), and an academic backstory beyond graduate school. How should I help good students to take a chance on me as an advisor?<issue_comment>username_1: It would probably serve you well to find a local experienced mentor to work with and learn from. They can help you with what to say, but they can also help you get the skills you now know you lack. They might even serve as a sort of backup for you in working with students over time. Having a more experienced and well-established member on a student's committee from the start can be a big help to everyone.
If the work of the lab permits, it is also probably best to start small. Not too many students and work hard to promote their work so that they will promote you in the future.
But for a more direct answer to the question, I assume that you have established an idea driven research trajectory that you believe has a future. Talk to them about that. Hopefully you are enthusiastic about it, but also have already had some success, if only during your doctoral studies. Try to express your own enthusiasm and what you see as the goals and that you have some ideas about how to achieve them.
They are taking a risk, of course, if you don't have a track record. You need to work, over time so that any risk of failure is mitigated.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In my opinion, this is nothing more than a sales pitch. The first part to getting this right is to know your clientele. They mostly care about two things: (1) doing something that gives them a sense of purpose and (2) doing something that will lead to whatever income they aspire to or close enough.
So, as <NAME> would say, start with Why. Perhaps you don't have a clear narrative pertaining to your lab's work, but you can start by crafting a narrative around your lab's **purpose**. You might think that being a new professor with little real-world experience is a disadvantage, but that doesn't have to be the case. The reason you became a professor straight out of grad school is that there's something interesting about you that an academic institution wanted to see more of. I suspect you might be in this awkward position specifically because you're talented enough to make something out of most research subjects and that there are too many open doors right now to decide which ones to close and which ones to go through. Show them that.
Now for the second point, some students will respond positively if you tell them how relevant the work you're doing or the field you're in is or can be in the job market. When the going gets tough, knowing what you're doing will be relevant professionally can act as an anchor.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/14
| 937
| 4,059
|
<issue_start>username_0: So I am writing my master's thesis, and am reading a lot of papers. I usually do a lot of 'backtracking' (meaning, read one paper, then look at who they cited and go read those papers).
Doing this, I have found that a lot of authors straight-up copy words and sentences from some of the papers they cite. I don't mean a full paragraph or anything of that sorts, it's almost never more than a sentence, but it does happen a lot.
This is particularly annoying when I read a sentence in one paper and think *hmm, that isn't entirely clear and could be expanded upon further*, and then I track down the similar concept in another paper to see if there's more info there, but I then find the exact same sentence written there, with no further context provided.
For example, currently I am reading a paper which states
>
> The alternating coefficients of the method may mean that in practice, the theorem does not hold.
>
>
>
I'm not quite sure what they mean by this (why are the coefficients alternating? And why does that impact the validity of the theorem?? Does the theorem not take into account the alternating coefficients???), so I look at a paper they cite that talked about this theorem a bit more, and that paper has the *exact* same sentence (with no further context).
This makes me think that not only was
1. the sentence (in the non-original paper) copied straight from the original paper without using quotation marks
but also that
2. the author of the non-original paper doesn't actually fully understand the meaning of that sentence (just like I don't), and hence, since they don't understand it, they *can't* write it in their own words, and hence just copied it verbatim.
Am I reading too much into things, or is this behavior common, and if so, what is the proper etiquette concerning what this is acceptable or not?<issue_comment>username_1: As I'm sure you know it isn't correct to just copy things from others. However, there are a couple of additional considerations.
Something is really plagiarism only if it is copied without citation. Then, the author is claiming the work of others as their own. The safest way to avoid this is to use quotes, as you suggest, but certainly to cite.
However, if some of the work you find is old, it is also possible that the standards have changed a bit over time and are now a bit more rigid. Citation and being clear about who originated ideas is the important thing, not, specifically, the punctuation.
But another consideration, especially in fields such as mathematics is that there may be only one way to write some given idea in words. So, in a calculus textbook, for example, the definition of the derivative is nearly identical to every other calculus text on the planet. This sort of thing has actually been discussed in courts, as I understand it.
But for your own work, be as clear as you can be. Cite anything you use and clearly mark what is being quoted using some reasonable typographical convention. Of course you also need to worry about copyright infringement, but that is a different issue. The sloppiness of others shouldn't bleed over into your own work.
The question of copying without understanding is a deeper problem. I won't comment on that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is definitely not proper etiquette to do that, irrespective of whether it is common or not. I would assume that it is more common in lower quality journals than in higher quality ones. Personally, I have also come across that issue from time to time, and it is definitely a bad (and annoying) practise.
It can probably be considered plagiarism, though it is true that if the original paper is cited, it is less severe. Still, the authors should have explicitly indicated that the sentence that follows is a verbatim quote; and not their own words.
Also, even if quoting properly, generally it is indeed advisable for authors to describe ideas through their own words instead, unless there is a particular reason to quote verbatim.
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/02/14
| 728
| 3,166
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a applied math major, and very much want to enter graduate school for applied math. I spent my freshman year of undergrad at a very highly ranked (top 10 or 15 depending on ranking) university, with an equally good applied math program. I unfortunately had to transfer out due to financial circumstances, and I am now attending a large state school, although it is research 1 and has an equally ranked (top 10/15) applied math program.
At this new institution I will be able to concurrently get a BS and MS in applied math with a minor in computer science, which is more than I would have been able to achieve at the original institution I was attending. With that said, I am worried that upon my transfer to a generally lower ranked university I severely damaged my chances of getting into a good graduate school for applied math.
Is it generally the case that graduate school admissions committees will give more attention to applicants applying from better institutions? The applied math program I am currently in at the state school sends students to grad schools in the ivy league every year (and as mentioned is highly ranked), however I am wondering if it is significantly more difficult to gain acceptance into such grad schools coming from a *generally* lower ranked school.<issue_comment>username_1: I predict that you will be fine. The admission to a grad/doctoral program depends much (much) more on what you do than on the ranking of the institution you attend. Rankings can be deceiving and no one sorts candidates by the rankings of, for example, news magazines.
If you do well and impress people so that you get good letters of recommendation then you will be in contention.
That said, the competition for slots in top programs is very fierce.
The effect of mere college rankings would be small. But the effect of good grades in hard courses with good letters is large.
In particular, an A student from a state school (almost any of them) would be in better shape than a C student from a school in anyone's top five.
Work hard. Take advantage of opportunities. Work closely with a few professors.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As far as I know, from my experience in CS, the committee will decide not on the basis of your institution but on the basis of what you have done. Your grades will matter, obviously. You can still be an exceptional mathematician, in this day and age of the internet, institution matters less.
But if you have doubts, the best thing to do is to plan and be proactive. Identify your area of PhD sooner and start working toward it. Once you are ready to start communicating with the mathematicians who are the leaders in that area. At the end of the day, this is what any profession is about.
As an aside, your motivation and interest in the subject is the fundamental driver to your success, not any institution or supervisor. It is fantastic and makes life easy if you could find a great combination. Finding good people to work with is more important than just immensely successful people. Unfortunately, one does not guarantee the other.
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/02/15
| 726
| 3,107
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<issue_start>username_0: In the U.S. context, I am wondering how colleges deal with the accommodation of students with disabilities when testing something for which "time is of the essence".
Consider, for example, a sight-reading exam at a music school. Surely, as much as dyslexia seriously impairs reading text, there must exist an equivalent condition impairing some people's ability to read music. So I would expect that under current policies, a student who can demonstrate a serious "music reading disability" could ask for accommodation in the form of extra time on a sight-reading exam (at least if the exam is one where students are given some time with the new sheet before they have to perform it live)?
The issue, obviously, is that time is of the essence in a sight-reading exam. What is being tested is precisely whether the student is able to *quickly* (sometimes even "on the spot") read a new sheet of music.
Of course, this extends beyond the particular example of sight-reading. A school that trains mechanics may specifically want to test whether its students are able to service a car *in a given amount of time*. A school that trains chemists may want to test whether its students can perform a given experiment *in a given amount of time* as well. And so on and so forth.
These situations seem hard to reconcile with requests for extra-time from students with disabilities. My questions are:
1. Do current accommodation policies recognize a "special kind of tests" where "time is of the essence" and requests for extra time from students with disabilities can legally be turned down?
2. If so, what prevents teachers from deciding that time is of the essence in all (or most) of their tests? In answers to other questions about extra time, we often read that "tests should test knowledge and understanding, not speed". What if a school decided it wanted to grant degrees to student who not only "understand" some material, but are also "quick on their feet" and able to apply this material to solve problems (or produce an artistic performance in the musical example above) in a timely manner? Could the school go down that road without contravening existing anti-discrimination regulations and risk losing all its public funding?<issue_comment>username_1: Most institutions do make accomodation for this but you have to ask - there is no “one size fits all policy”.
This is because there are two sides: what the test is trying to achieve and what that particular student may need.
So you have to ask, the lecturer or the department or the learning disabilities officer.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Do current accommodation policies recognize a "special kind of tests"
> where "time is of the essence" and requests for extra time from
> students with disabilities can legally be turned down?
>
>
>
No.
For example, where I am, instructors receive a form simply saying, "Student X has a right to double time on exams". There is no sub-categorization made to that right, and no channel for instructors to pick or choose whether to honor it.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/15
| 1,154
| 4,964
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm about to embark on improving my PGRE score for the fall test (didn't do so hot the first time) and I'm wondering if it will even be worth the year-long effort. Also, I'm taking a couple years off to get research experience/pay off my student debts.
I come from a small/medium school with no physics graduate program (wasn't interested in physics when I started, so I went with the place that gave me the most money), so I didn't have the chance to take any grad classes. I've also only had one semester of junior/senior level E&M, QM, and mechanics (all that was offered).
I've been reading different GRE forums and it always seems like the people who apply to (condensed matter) theory at elite schools like UChicago and get rejected still have a >90% PGRE and a number of graduate classes that they did well in.
I got all A's in the classes I did have and there is a decent chance I'll have 3 publications (one or two as first author) from national labs, but frankly, after reading about others' failures, I think there is a serious possibility that all of this effort will be in vain.<issue_comment>username_1: The results of the PGRE - which do not require any graduate level courses - are a reasonable predictor of success. Another important point is the research potential of the applicant, which will typically be harder to demonstrate for someone from a smaller program with fewer research opportunities for undergraduates.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't think the couple years off to get research experience will help you. Really they are looking for raw brains. How were your SATs? Or your math grades?
Theoretical physics has huge numerical odds against you in terms of jobs just based on numbers. Going into the field when you are below average is an especially bad idea.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes. Graduate admissions committees at good universities are looking to recruit students who will publish a lot of high quality papers. The best predictor of future publications is past publications. By comparison, coursework is less important. The Physics GRE is a very poor predictor of your ability to write good research papers.
You should still pursue a good physics GRE score because it is a good measure of the student's ability to plan ahead.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: First of all, keep in mind that graduate admissions is really trickier than matching acceptance/rejections with GPA and GRE results. That doesn't mean they're not important. With an all A transcript and a decent general GRE, your profile will almost certainly get looked at, and that's already great. Physics GRE is also important for Physics PhD application, but GRE subjects in general don't matter much if they're not extra ordinary or terribly bad. So, if you want to retake the GRE to score 820 instead of 800, then don't; it'd be just a waste of time, but if you scored really low on PGRE (I don't know how low is too low for Physics), then retake it. If you want to retake it just to score over 900 and you're confident you can, maybe it's worth it, maybe not (I can't comment on that).
On your main question: Grad school courses certainly do matter a whole lot for US grad school admissions, especially for Math and Physics. Once, a grad admissions chair at one of the top schools told me they almost never accept a person without substantial grad-level courses. BUT, you have publications, and this changes the story quite a bit. In areas like math and theoretical physics, not having publications is not a deal breaker as long as there is a strong transcript and LoR (letters of reference/recommendation). On the other hand, grad course (unofficial and unwritten) requirement for getting into top programs is not really a part of educational "prerequisite" for being qualified, and rather an indicator of potential for success and for being able to handle tough courses under pressure. Having publications while maintaining an excellent GPA also indicates such potentials, and it also shows you're already familiar with research and its challenges.
So, I can't tell you whether you'll get into a top grad program or not, and even the chair of the admissions of the program you're applying to might not be able to tell you that. What I can tell you is that based on the information you've provided here, if you've taken the courses that are expected as prereqs to physics grad courses, your excellent GPA and your publications combined with excellent LoR could tell the admission committee what they want to learn from grad courses on an applicant's transcript, and they probably won't punish you for having a slightly less common way of showing those expected potentials. But still, keep in mind that your SoP and LoR can go a long way, and at the end of the day, grad admission process is really complicated and not a nicely-behaved linear function; rather a chaotic one!
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/02/15
| 612
| 2,580
|
<issue_start>username_0: This is the question. The theorem is taken from someplace else.
In my case, I want to use the asymmetric case of local lovasz lemma , and I am not sure if I should completely state it, or just refer the reader to (lemma 5.1.1 on pg ..).
If the answer is yes, the next question is where. Specifically, in the middle of the proof, it is strange to have all of a sudden another lemma. So I guess I should state it before the start of the lemma(should I write: I am about to use this lemma?).
Thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: Consider having an appendix/annex to the thesis where you state things that are essential to your argument and which your reader may want to see without looking elsewhere. For some things, perhaps in this case as well, a footnote citation of the lemma, including its name, might be enough since most people working in probability will know of it by name. Then, as a step in proving the current lemma/theorem, just refer to the footnote or appendix entry. The reader can take a detour if they feel it necessary.
But, you are correct not to make it hard to follow the flow of a proof.
A full statement of such a thing might be necessary if you were proving a variation or an extension of that thing. And in that case it might be necessary to work the statement and even, perhaps, a proof outline of the original into the text itself so it is clear how you are extending/modifying.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: For my taste, I'd "recall" the precise statement exactly when you need it, in the internals of your proof, as you seem to indicate. I myself have become ever fonder of a math writing style which does not require so much flipping back-and-forth to understand what's being said. (Especially the otherwise-precise quasi-Bourbaki of referring to things by some (necessarily artificial and meaningless) numbering scheme, rather than any sort of descriptive reference.)
In particular, for simply the statement (rather than proof) of a result, adding an appendix would make things harder to read for many people, and the people who already know the result would not gain much. Skipping over known things is easier than flipping back-and-forth.
That is, allowing your readers to read straight through seems to me the ideal. So, no, similarly, don't introduce all the notation at the beginning and then expect people to remember it. Sure, you could have an appendix for reference for notation, but it really should be explained when first *used*, ... in my opinion. That kind of thing.
Upvotes: 4
|
2020/02/15
| 1,930
| 6,922
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<issue_start>username_0: This is a question about plagiarism and about when citations are necessary.
If one works in a particular academic field there may be statements that everybody in that field accepts, that have been around for a long time, and that it would be a matter of tedious historical research to track back to a published source that can cited: for example, "the number of prime numbers is not finite".
In that specific case I happen to know that I **could** cite Euclid as a source for that statement, but he did not publish in a peer-reviewed journal, and if I am not focussing on the history of proofs of that proposition, surely it is not plagiarism for me to state that fact without attribution.
That is but one example of a well-known fact.
My question is how does an academic writer decide whether something is so well known that a citation would be ridiculous or whether it would be plagiarism to state it without citing somebody?<issue_comment>username_1: Different institutions may have different expectations, but I think this example from [Davidson College Library website](http://davidson.libguides.com/c.php?g=349327&p=2361764#10825398) is fairly typical:
>
> Information qualifies as common knowledge when it can be found in a
> significant number of sources and is not considered to be
> controversial. General descriptions of social customs, traditions, and
> observable world phenomena qualify as common knowledge, as well as
> popular expressions and sayings such as “the early bird gets the
> worm.” Common knowledge can vary between subject fields, so think
> about your audience. If you have doubts about whether something is
> common knowledge, ask your professor or another expert in the
> discipline.
>
>
> Example
>
>
> Common Knowledge: Davidson College was established in 1837 by
> Presbyterians.
>
>
> Needs a Citation: Davidson College was established in 1837 by
> Presbyterians who bought the land primarily for its rural location,
> far from the immoral enticements of cities.
>
>
> For more information about when you don't need to cite, see:
>
>
> Ballenger, <NAME>. "Appendix A: Guide to MLA Style." The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers. New York: Longman,
> 2009. 257-318. Print.
> Contains information about the circumstances in which to cite and some examples of common knowledge.
>
>
> <NAME>, and <NAME>. "Avoiding Plagiarism and Documenting Sources." The Little, Brown Handbook. New York: Pearson
> Longman, 2010. 626-634. Print.
> Contains a section on what qualifies as common knowledge.
>
>
> <NAME>. “What, When and How to Reference.” The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism. 2nd ed. Maidenhead, GBR:
> McGraw-Hill Education, 2010, 14-27. Ebrary. Web. 06 Jan 2015.
> Contains numerous examples of when to cite and when a citation is not needed.
>
>
>
In most cases, Euclid's theorem wouldn't need to be cited; anybody with a tertiary education in a maths-adjacent field has probably encountered it. But if you were working in a different context where it might be unfamiliar to many of your readers, *then* it might be appropriate to cite it.
In the case where you *do* need to cite it, pretty much any Number Theory 101 textbook ought to be an adequate reference. For statements not likely to be contentious, citations don't always have to be to peer-reviewed sources, and they don't necessarily have to be to the first published appearance of a result.
(Caveat: it is a good idea to avoid *chain* citations, where you're reporting A's report of B's report of C's publication, but a number theory textbook that includes a proof of Euclid's theorem isn't a chain citation.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Some people will agree with, and some will oppose, the idea that some things are so obvious they don't need to be cited. Here're two essays on Wikipedia about whether one should cite that the sky is blue.
[Wikipedia:You don't need to cite that the sky is blue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:You_don%27t_need_to_cite_that_the_sky_is_blue)
* It's pedantic.
* There is no need to verify statements that are patently obvious.
* It leads to over-referencing where sentence flow is interrupted by excessive citations.
* "The purpose of a citation is to guide the reader to external sources where the reader can verify the idea presented, not to prove to other editors the strength of the idea."
Opposing argument: [Wikipedia:You do need to cite that the sky is blue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:You_do_need_to_cite_that_the_sky_is_blue)
* Apparently simple facts may be disputed, e.g. the sky isn't always blue, it's black at night.
* It's reassuring to readers, even if it's obvious.
* Not everyone has the same "common knowledge". For example it may be common knowledge to Americans how many states there are in the US, but not to the rest of the world.
Suffice to say, there's no consensus on this. General guidelines then would be:
* If the material is likely to be challenged, cite it.
* If in doubt, cite it.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I would also consider how much a particular statement is crucial to building your argument.
Research papers build upon prior knowledge. For new results to hold, prior knowledge needs to be trustworthy. That is, for a conclusion to hold, the premises need to hold as well. Critical premises are better to back up with multiple strong sources.
However, research papers are narratives and some statements may be used to increase the readability of the paper. Even if such statements are falsified, the key argument still holds. I would not stress too much if such statements go without strong references.
For example, on a paper comparing atmosphere gasses of different planets you could write:
>
> Earth's atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen, oxygen, and a mixture
> of other gasses in small amounts [ref]. To an observer on the surface
> of Earth, the sky appears blue [no ref]. However, on Mars, the
> atmosphere is primarily carbon dioxide [ref]. From the surface, the
> sky appears orange due to dust particles [no ref].
>
>
>
It can be argued whether academic writing can be decorated with statements that do not directly contribute to the main point. The answer varies between fields, venues, and target audiences.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: This is a false dilemma. You can introduce something without citing it and without passing it for your own work, and so avoid plagiarism. Examples:
>
> It is a standard fact that the sky is blue.
>
>
>
>
> In Section 2, we recall a few well-known facts on prime numbers.
>
>
>
>
> The following results date back to at least Euler.
>
>
>
>
> We recall a few basic facts on prime numbers; these can be found, for instance, on the textbook [1].
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/02/16
| 1,433
| 6,185
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<issue_start>username_0: I'll be finishing a PhD in physics in about five weeks. I've worked hard, have done a lot of research, and have written 3 papers for publication. But my professor refuses to take any action towards publishing anything I have written, and he has not published any of his grad students' papers in more than three years. He keeps telling me that he'll give me feedback on my work and that he will submit the papers, and we set a deadline to get everything submitted , but then the deadline comes and goes with no progress on his part, and when I ask him about it he says he was too busy to look at the papers and doesn't have time to talk about it right now.
It is seeming more clear to me that he has no intention of publishing my work, and that he's hoping to shoo me out the door with my degree and hope that I will forget about the papers and stop bothering him about publishing. The best that I can get from him is that he is obsessed with his reputation among his academic peers, and he seems to not want his name associated with any publications that do not fit a certain image or reputation. I think that my papers are good and certainly publishable, but he will not even give me feedback nor will he do anything to improve my papers to meet his standards, whatever those standards are.
My blood is really boiling and I'm going to be very upset if my professor continues to fight my efforts to get my work published. I really would like to see my work published.
What is my recourse here? Should I use some negotiation tactics to find out why he doesn't want to publish anything new from any students? Should I suggest that I go ahead and publish without his name on the papers so he doesn't have his "sterling reputation" tarnished? I have already spoken to the university ombudsman and the grad student counselor and there is not much else they can do.<issue_comment>username_1: First, this is not an unusual situation. What is unusual here is your interpretation of the situation.
When you have a problem with someone's behavior, it is wise to look for incompetence instead of malice. It's highly likely the professor intended to keep his promises but failed to do so. You have given us no evidence otherwise. Professors commonly break promises to submit papers. Some of them do so over and over without realizing there is a pattern.
Your best strategy here is to politely remind the professor of the missed deadline and press for a new deadline. Repeat this process as many times as is needed.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Send it out yourself, tell your advisor on what transpires. I doubt they'd ask to retract the paper, in the worst case you can delete their name and aknowledge on a footnote.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: You present a hard problem with many possible pitfalls. Only you can navigate the various traps and it depends on knowing more than you can say here. Personality matters as do both general academic rules and the specific traditions of your field of study. I can't give an answer, but can suggest some things to consider.
First, is you advisor a co-author *by right*? Has he actually contributed? Or is he a co-author by courtesy or convention? This depends on the field. In pure math, for example, we don't usually give authorship by courtesy. Or, finally, has he no authorship rights at all. In the first case, you can't publish without his explicit permission. In the last, you are free to publish on your own, even if it hurts feelings along the way. The middle case is trickier and someone in a similar field would be better for advice than I can give. But note that an angry advisor can have a very negative effect on your short term (at least) career.
Next, I leave open that the advisor might just judge that the work itself is lacking in some way. The judgement might, not knowing what you have done, could be valid or not. But you need a way to find out if this is what is going on or not. The best way is to ask him directly where the work is lacking if it is, and what you should do to make it ready.
Then, there is the fact that, since he took you on has a student, you have a right to his support in your career. Depending on personalities, it may be easy or difficult to remind him of this responsibility. It doesn't mean, of course, that he lets you publish any particular thing that he believes is lacking, but he, at a minimum, needs to help you get to the point where you can be independent and build your own career. Maybe it is yielding on publishing. Maybe it is helping you improve stuff to enable publishing by his own standards. Maybe it is something else. But he owes you that. In a situation like this, you have a right to say that you need to finish and that you need to find your next position and ask what he can do to help you get there. You may not like the answer, but you have a right to ask the question.
There is also the possibility that he is either insecure or just a jerk and is getting in the way of his students for completely objectionable "reasons". In such a case, you may need to fall back on some intervention by higher-ups. But this can, of course, be dangerous. It is best attempted by groups, not by individuals. If this has been happening to others, as you say, then perhaps you need to get together with them and form a plan to resolve it using general university procedures.
But even talking to others who have experienced this can help. In particular, you can learn what effect this has had on them both in the short and long term.
If you act wisely, then the worst case scenario is that you just have to abandon these papers and do work that is sufficiently independent that the "permission" or rights of your advisor are immaterial. That can take a while to manage, of course, but consider the long term effect on your career, not just what might "feel good" at the moment.
---
None of the discussions with your advisor that I suggest should be attempted by email. The only way to do this, I think, is face to face. Only then can you judge whether the words are honest. But keep a cool head in any such discussion.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/16
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<issue_start>username_0: Can I cite in two different ways in the same paper? Is this considered appropiate?
Example.
>
> It was first shown in Heston (1949) that the model is complete. An easier proof can be found in [5].
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: No, you should be consistent.
One exception: When using superscript in-text citation, when you use the citation as part of a sentence, it is no longer a superscript.
Example: It was shown that the model is complete.1 An easier proof can be found in Ref. 2.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You should stick to one citation style in one document. But mentioning author names or publication dates in the text while using a numbered citation style is no problem:
>
> It was first shown by Heston in 1949 that the model is complete [4]. An easier proof can be found in [5].
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/16
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<issue_start>username_0: I read an article published in a High Impact Factor journal and on reading I find that almost all of the proofs could have been done in an easy way.
I devised easy techniques myself and I find that the results obtained in that paper match mine.
Shall I publish my easy techniques stating in my paper that I have found easy proof techniques for the paper already published?
Is it publishable?
How shall I address the Editor and let him/her know that I have obtained the same results but using much easier techniques?
How should I give a title for my manuscript?<issue_comment>username_1: New proofs are valued in mathematics if they open new doors. But the proof probably needs to be something that has value in its own right, though there are exceptions. A short proof of the four color theorem that doesn't rely on computers would be interesting, even without the "new doors" aspects. (I hope that is still the case. I haven't looked at it in a while.)
But new proofs of old things often give other mathematicians ideas about other ways to exploit the technique. Such proofs are interesting primarily if they offer new insight into the problem itself or, better, into some class of problems.
But if you just write the introduction/abstract of the paper correctly, then the editor doesn't need a special heads up. A quick glance will let them know what you are up to.
I can't give much advice on the title unless one of the key theorems is named and well known (Four Color Theorem, for example). It needs to be specific. *A New Proof of an Old Theorem* works for a college student project, but probably not so much for a publication.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: "A direct proof of Cockatoo's equation."
"An elementary approach to Shrokensveny and Ljubovitch's inequalities"
"Deriving the circumferent super-Galois hyperextension of Williamson spaces from basic topological axioms"
Simplified proofs are amongst the most valuables contributions to mathematics if they convey either new perspectives, or clarity or simply insight into the problem. Just make clear that it is a simplification of known results and make sure your proof is solid.
I have myself witnessed the process of an important theorem reduced from a full book length of theory development to effectively one page of comparatively elementary mathematics. It is a perfectly legitimate contribution.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: What makes this question challenging to answer is that it’s addressing the wrong level of generality: you’re asking about a very specific situation (publishing a simpler proof of a known result) but your questions suggest you’re missing basic facts about publishing of math research in general (how to “address an editor”, how to select a journal to send your paper to, and how to know if your research is even publishable) that have little to do with the specific situation you’re describing.
In terms of answering these questions, only one strikes me as answerable with the information you’ve provided: in math you don’t “address an editor” in any special way, you simply send in your paper using the process described on the journal’s website. If this involves an email to the editor, this need not contain anything more than a factual statement that you are submitting your paper to the journal. There is no need to “address” the contents of your paper or attempt to support the paper’s case for publication in the email - that’s the job of the paper itself.
For the other questions, I think you’ll have to find a knowledgeable person to actually look at your paper and give you advice about whether the results are publishable and what journal they will be a good fit for, how to choose a good title, etc. Those are all important questions but they would depend on much more detailed information than the mere fact that you’ve found new proofs of known results - papers meeting such a description can range anywhere from near-worthless to something that belongs in a top journal. Anyway, good luck!
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/17
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<issue_start>username_0: I am writing a mathematics paper for publication which frequently:
1. Uses special functions the average reader would not be aware of.
2. Uses my own notation.
Within the first section of my paper (introduction/preliminaries), I define the relevant special functions. Should I also define my own notation within the preliminaries, or wait until its use naturally arises within the paper to introduce it? My notation can be understood without context, though its usefulness will obviously not be clear.<issue_comment>username_1: There is no general rule. Different authors have different opinions about this. To my knowledge no mathematics journal has guidelines about this sort of thing.
A rule of thumb could be that if your notation is going to be used throughout the paper, then it should be introduced at the beginning in a special section called "notations", "conventions", "background", or however you want to say this. If the notation is only going to be used locally in some section or even one proof, then I would introduce it at that point.
Another possibility is to make a categorized table of notations at the beginning or an alphabetical list of notation with references to where the object is defined, if your paper is long and complex enough to justify it. This can of course be combined with the previous rule of thumb.
I would recommend against making the "background" section as part of the introduction. The introduction is supposed to be something that can be read by almost everyone slightly interested in the paper, to know what the main results are and how they fit with the general literature, and in case of stars aligning, whether the paper is worth reading. (The abstract is to decide whether you'll even glance at the paper at all.) Keep it short and simple and avoid introducing too many things at once. In my opinion it is a mistake made by many younger, and also more experienced authors to make the introduction way too technical.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: What you should prioritize in any paper, mathematics or otherwise, is *readability*. Organize the paper so that your reader can comfortably follow your argument without a lot of jumping around.
In a short, relatively "flat" paper, almost any organization will probably be ok. Flat in the sense of later parts not depending fundamentally on earlier parts.
But in a longer paper it becomes an issue, for me at least. Things should be introduced with some context: Why is this being introduced here. If I see a definition, I expect to be able to easily grok why it is here from some prior context or by being used *quite soon* in the development. A definition or piece of notation introduced without context is just irritating.
As an extreme example, imagine a calculus or abstract algebra textbook in which all of the book's definitions are in the first chapter along with every notation that will be used.
I'll note that the very purpose of defining things in mathematics is to give us something to think (and write) about. Defining something with no context is just noise. We define *rational number* or *Abelian group* for example, because we want to say things about them. If you define them, but don't soon discuss them, the reader has no context.
So, first think about the *flow* of the paper from the standpoint of the reader. I think that in most work with any significance the "just in time" organization will probably work better. I'll admit there may be exceptions. But it is the readability that should be prioritized, not some abstract concept of an "ideal" organization.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Everything you write in a paper should be the answer to the question that is in the reader's mind at that point. So the title needs to answer the question: "Do I bother with this at all?".
The abstract, as @username_1 says, answers "do I glance at this?", and the introduction answers "do I read this?".
If you follow that principle then it is obvious that you do not divorce your definitions or novel notation from the points in the paper where they are used, because until the reader reaches those points they have no question in their mind about them.
If your paper is very long then it might help the reader if you collect all your notation and maybe your definitions into some helpful appendix, but don't interrupt the flow of the paper with such stuff.
Fashion plays a part here. At one time, and maybe still in some sub-disciplines, it was considered reasonable for the first sentence of a pure mathematics paper to be something like : "Let A be set ...". No-one writing with the reader in mind would do so, surely.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/17
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<issue_start>username_0: Finally! I've got invited for an interview for a permanent job (in mathematics), and now I have two weeks to prepare myself. Part of the process is giving a 25 minutes talk about some exciting recent piece of research. The first half should be accessible to a 2nd year student, and the audience is the faculty members.
I was advised by one of my colleagues to take this quite seriously (not that I wouldn't). And having identified a few candidate talks, I am now torn between the obvious question:
>
> Chalk or beamer?
>
>
>
Pro-Chalk reasons:
1. Talks go slower, so you can be sure more people follow.
2. More impressive to hear a good chalk talk.
Con-Chalk reasons:
1. Black suit.
2. Cover less ground, and possibly not enough actual new research (even considering the fact this talk will have no proofs and will just serve as an overview).
---
Pro-Beamer reasons:
1. Black suit.
2. No need to spend times writing complicated definitions, equations, or otherwise long and mathy statements.
3. Helps with time management.
Con-Beamer reasons:
1. It's easier to gloss over some of the details that you really should focus on.
2. It's a lot easier for people to momentarily lose focus and lose the entire talk because of a missed slide.
3. It gives an illusion of help with time management.
So any advice would be helpful.<issue_comment>username_1: I think you lay it out just fine in your pro/con arguments. At the end, it is also a cultural thing: In pure math, for example, chalk talks are acceptable and not entirely uncommon. On the other hand, in applied math they are very uncommon and it would be rather surprising to see someone give a chalk talk -- to the point where people would wonder whether that is the person we would want to hire. I suspect that in other fields, that stigma is even stronger: Imagine someone in a business school giving a chalk talk.
So it depends a bit on the cultural norms in your field. I would think that a slide talk makes sure you're *always* on the right side. I will also point out that chalk talks have real issues with visuals. For example, if your hand writing is not extraordinary, some people may not be able to read what you have to say. Secondly, there is the saying that a picture is as good as a thousand words -- but good pictures are just really hard to do on the board because (i) it is inherently 2d, and (ii) there is a limit to the complexity that you can reproduce on a board. If there is anything in your talk that could be presented in a visual way (and I would say that there *is*, even though I know nothing about your research area), then it's worth doing that in a visual way and that implies that you'd be better off with slides in most cases.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I am in favor of a chalk talk when you want to present a full proof with all details (sometimes it is possible within an hour or even 30 minutes) since it often requires interacting with the audience and improvising a bit here and there depending on the questions asked. On the other hand, if you make an expository talk with some references, history, etc., slides would do nicer in general. Several more points:
a) At least in pure mathematics the black suit is *not* a must on an interview.
b) You may want to bring your own low dust chalk and use chalk holder to eliminate all problems with the clothes.
c) You *can* go slowly with slides. I usually limit my presentations to 12-15 slides per hour (6-7 for 25 minutes) counting an "unfolding slide sequence" where lines appear one after another as you say them as one slide.
d) Slides are there to catch important points in big print, not to fill a full page with long text or cumbersome computations. 10 lines per slide should be about the maximum if you want people to absorb the information. Full sentences are not required on slides: you can just say them in most cases.
e) Look at the room before starting. You may want to adopt a mixed technique using both slides and the chalkboard (just don't flip the lights on and off too often).
Also, if you use slides, make sure everything works at least 15 minutes prior to the lecture (preferably much earlier than that). I've seen too many talks at which the first 10 minutes were spent on fiddling with the equipment after which the speaker had no time to finish properly or had to rush.
f) If you use slides, you may consider including some nice non-mathematical pictures in the beginning, the end, or even in the middle to make people smile and wake up. Just exercise some common sense and taste when choosing them.
g) It is quite customary to end with a "Thank you!" slide too.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/17
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<issue_start>username_0: I am in a graduate level (online) mathematics course. At the beginning of the course, the professor told us to post all of our homework solutions to the online learning forum which is open for everyone to see. While I do not have any issues with this per se, we are not graded on the homework nor are provided any feedback. The lack of involvement on the professors side has led to many students not even posting worked through solutions (i.e. provide a couple steps and skip to the solution). Moreover, we are given weekly reading out of the main text (usually a chapter) for which we are supposed to read, then watch the recorded lectures, and finally complete our problem set. That said, the lectures do not actually cover the reading in the book or provide any worked through examples. This is a theory based course and none of the proofs are worked through in the lectures either. The lectures simply consist of the professor reading aloud the theorems and moving on. The course costs nearly $5k and I am wondering where the value is. It would seem that the cost of the course is to have access to material, most of which is openly accessible to anyone with internet. I could just as easily buy the book and read it at home for free and get just as much out of it as I am going through this course. I know this is a bit of complaining on my part but I admit I am very frustrated that this has happened in more than one class. Do I have any grounds to go "up the chain" and file a complaint? Is a complaint of this matter likely to fall on deaf ears?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, do complain. The value of a teacher is precisely to do things reading books and watching videos can't do: Answer questions, give feedback, help with gaining insight. If a professor does none of these things, then they're paid for a service they're not providing, and that should concern their employer.
So do go to the department head and complain about it. At the end of the semester, also make sure that you state your complaints in the course evaluation most universities have.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: While you have the right to complain to a department head or other individual, my first step would be to discuss this with the instructor themselves. In our department, we would expect a student who complained to at least try to informally resolve the issue with the instructor before escalating it up the chain.
If the instructor has a very high grading load, there is a chance that they are not giving full feedback to all students under the misapprehension that the students don't want to engage with the feedback. Perhaps if you reached out to them, they would be happy to work with you on providing more fulsome feedback and helping you develop your skills.
(and, if not --- this would make your approach to the department head or chair even more convincing)
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/17
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<issue_start>username_0: Can someone who makes some corrections on paper grammatically be considered as a co-author?<issue_comment>username_1: My personal opinion is no, editing at that level is not sufficient.
One can peruse guidelines for your field. Taking [Nature](https://www.nature.com/nature-research/editorial-policies/authorship) as one fairly broad journal, they state:
>
> Each author is expected to have made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work; or have drafted the work or substantively revised it
>
>
>
Editing for grammar does not rise to that level for me. And, I can say that over time I have edited a large number of papers for grammar and usage, and never would have asked for authorship. A separate set of eyes looking solely at word usage, spelling, and sentence clarity, while broadly useful, is not at the heart of the work. (Heck, the journal may suggest edits, but would not ask for authorship.)
Such, shall we say, copy editing is quite different from having deep conversations on how to do something and what it really means. While these sorts of interactions can come up, particularly in the early draft stages, they are not about editing, but about analysis and interpretation, not grammar.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: No, grammatical corrections do not constitute authorship level involvement with the paper. Some other things (in math) that usually don't constitute authorship:
* Suggesting an example of some interesting behaviour related to a definition or theorem.
* Suggesting a better way to write a proof.
* Pointing out small mathematical mistakes and how to fix them (e.g. missing hypotheses, a remark that isn't true but doesn't otherwise affect the results).
Now, it's possible that when you bring up some of these things to the author(s) that that might spark some discussion of how to implement them and if you are carrying out long, complex, mathematical (not grammatical) discussions with the author(s) that would probably merit co-authorship.
As a rule of thumb, to be an author means that you are claiming responsibility for both the main ideas (e.g. statement of the main theorems and the ideas in their proofs) and the wording of the paper (e.g. you're responsible if your co-author plagiarizes something). Maybe your co-author came up with one idea but then you hashed it out and added your own ideas to it.
Just editing for grammar and spelling you would not be taking responsibility if there is any plagiarism nor are you taking responsibility for the correctness of the theorems nor making any claim that any of the ideas in the paper are your own.
The acknowledgements section is the best way to acknowledge people who contributed to the paper but are not at the level of authorship. You might find that it is worth reading some acknowledgement sections of other papers to find out what sorts of things people give acknowledgement for.
For example, here's the acknowledgement section from one of my advisor's recent papers (<https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.04966v2>)
>
> We thank <NAME> for pointing out Remark 1.10, and username_2, <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME> and <NAME> for their comments on a draft version of this manuscript. The first author was supported by NSF Grant DMS-1529573 and a Simons Foundation Fellowship.
>
>
>
Philipp provided an example (Remark 1.10). I pointed out some typos and commented a bit on the exposition. And I can't say what sorts of comments the others provided but I will guess they would be similar to my own (comments and exposition).
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/17
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently, I asked a question on a public Github repository about a formula that is used in the code that is hosted on that public repository. Basically, if you are familiar with Github, you can create an issue on any public repositories to ask question, report an error, request new features, etc. I use the similar formula, that is embedded in that repository, in my research and based on my literature review that formula is implemented incorrectly in that repository and I have the reference as well. So, I opened an issue and said I think the formula implemented in this code is wrong and I think based on the literature it should be implemented differently, and asked if there is any plan to change or fix it.
Someone, that is responsible for the code to merge the pull requests or close the issues, posted a comment on the issue that I created, and said that probably nobody is aware of the problem in that formula cause there are really small community that use that code at all and that code is not used for a while, so he would be happy if I create a pull request based on correct formula and give the literature reference as well for the future people.
Long story short, I just created that pull request and I put my reference to the correct formula as well and I'm waiting for the opinion of the admin of that repository if it's possible to merge it into the original repository or not. So, nothing really strange happened here, I think.
I'm informed that my PhD adviser found that issue + pull request that I created and he thinks I'm wrong and the existing formula in the code is correct. OK, I'm fine with that. I know there is no one solution for a given problem and different people have different approaches.
But, the problem is that he is saying that: I violated the academic integrity by creating that issue and submitting that pull request, which I'm surprised and can't understand what exactly I violated here. I'm just really angry and confused and can't understand what's wrong here. I can understand he is not OK with formula and I don't care at all and I'm 100% OK to use the wrong formula, but I can't understand why I should be prosecuted with violation of academic integrity because I don't have same opinion about that formula or created that issue or pull request? Also, I read the graduate manual in our university for the 10th time and there is no such thing in it as violation of academic integrity if you don't have same opinion as your PhD adviser or if you create an issue to ask question or create pull request to fix something. Any suggestion or recommendation is appreciated.
**Responses to comments**: You raised some questions that I think it might help if I clarify them. One of the comments was:
>
> Is your advisor pursuing a violation of academic integrity with your department and/or the school, or is this just a personal dispute?
>
>
>
My answer: No, but this personal conversation was kinda a threat and he said if he likes he would use it against me and students are always loser in front of professor, which I think is true.
>
> Is it possible that your supervisor used the formula before and, without realising, you implicitely suggested that some of his research is wrong? I could see some people reacting badly to that, especially if they find out from a a public Github repository instead of directly from you...
>
>
>
My answer: No, my supervisor is new in my PhD research field and he had no experience/paper in this field before I started my PhD, and as a result of that he has a really vague and wrong idea about literature in this field and what's accepted or what's wrong in this area.
>
> "I'm 100% OK to use the wrong formula" that sounds like poor academic integrity to me
>
>
>
My answer: I'm just saying that I'm OK to listen to him and use even the wrong formula and get my PhD as soon as possible and stay away from academia forever despite the fact that I always loved the academic environment and wanted to become a professor some day. But now, I have a really routine job offer in a company that has nothing to do with PhD or research and I'm aching to just get my PhD degree and start that job and maybe I could be happier in my miserable life.
>
> Two of your statements are conflicting. First: "...based on my literature review that formula is implemented incorrectly in that repository and I have the reference as well.", but later: "I know there is no one solution for a given problem and different people have different approaches.". Could you clarify whether the original implementation is incorrect, or just different from your own? That seems to be the crux of the matter, really.
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>
>
My answer: The reality is that people use the wrong formula because it's easier to understand and based on my experience wrong formula is OK within a range of 5 to 10 percent error in comparison to correct formula. It's not like nobody uses the correct formula and there are tons of literature out there that use the correct one. So, my intention was: If we have lots of other uncertainties in our model, why we induce another one when we could use the correct formula to make sure at least we are not creating another source of uncertainties when we could eliminate it without a price. Even, performance wise, correct formula is the same as wrong one.
>
> To expand; if there are alternative methods that are also valid, and you go around flagging them as 'errors' and then promote your own method, then this would certainly be perceived as academic dishonesty.
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>
>
My answer: No, the alternative method which is this wrong formula is just a really good approximation of the correct formula. Obviously, it just gives a close number to what correct formula gives you, but the wrong formula does not satisfy other properties of wrong formula, like the orthogonality of the correct formula, which is crucial in our research. So, my intention was to just use the correct thing in its mathematical sense when it is available, it doesn't have any additional cost, and it is well documented in the literature.
>
> "I'm just really angry". Don't be. Confused is ok, but why angry?
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>
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My answer: These days I see myself as useless and miserable person that just works more than 12 hours per day and the other 12 hours that I suppose to rest or sleep still I'm thinking about my research but I'm not happy, I don't have any friends, I'm depressed, I'm nervous, I'm stressful, etc. So, yeah I'm angry that people hates me if even I tell them the truth.
>
> at most this is ignorance. Has nothing to do with honesty. And reality is that either the adviser is an idiot (wouldn't be the first time) or OP misinterpreted the situation.
>
>
> yeah, why the academic world makes people angry... that's the question. Maybe because you are punished for being proactive?
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>
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My answer: My question is **ignorance** of who? Me? That I want to find what's right and what's wrong? Yeah, I'm an ignorant, idiot, useless person that just devoted my whole life to something that doesn't worth.
>
> I think you're reading that wrong. I took "I'm 100% OK to use the wrong formula" to mean that OP does not dispute the supervisor's claim that the formula is wrong; they're "100% okay" to be told that they're using the wrong formula. The question is how on earth being wrong is somehow a "violation of academic integrity".
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>
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My answer: Thank you!
**Update**:
Based on Wolfgang's answer, yesterday, I had a meeting with my PhD adviser and I did my best to be calm as possible and be really polite. I just asked what is wrong in his opinion about opening an issue in a public Github repository and express a valid concern based on a peer-reviewed reference (this reference is not mine nor my adviser's for those who think I shared research results without permission and this reference is more than 7 years old with so many citations) and if the owner of that Github repository is happy to accept a pull request, why it should be considered a violation of academic integrity? Also, I asked in which part of the graduate manual, this rule of approval and permission to post anything in World Wide Web is stated for my more information? Furthermore, I asked even if I'm totally misunderstood here, the repository owner could just point me to their documentation or any other reference that justifies the usage of current formula and just close the issue, and that's it.
My PhD adviser response was the pretty much the same as his initial reaction. He thinks even a single comment in World Wide Web from me should be approved by him before posting and it doesn't need to be stated explicitly in the graduate manual and graduate school gave him such an authority where he sees fit to consider this commenting as a violation of academic integrity. By the way, he thinks I'm wrong, he doesn't care about the references that I showed to him to support my idea and says he is going to send an email to the repository owner and ask him to block me cause I'm wasting the time of repository owners, despite the fact that I feel just repository owner is a welcoming person and is open to answer the questions!
I'm just shocked...!
**Response to some of comments and answers**:
One of the main assumptions, that I saw in the answers and comments, is that my PhD adviser is unfamiliar with Github. No, he claims that he is indeed an expert in Github, open source software, programming, etc. So, he is indeed pretty familiar with the concept of open source and Github, but his main area of expertise during his PhD and his post-docs was something else and not related to my PhD research. He just picked this topic for my PhD research, because his latest post-doc adviser developed an open source software specifically within my PhD research area many years ago and he wanted to maybe use that software and continue his collaboration with his post-doc adviser.
I can understand this behavior of my PhD adviser, when I compare his interaction with other people not just myself. Cause, logically if he is so nice and welcoming to other people, so certainly something is wrong probably with me. But, based on things that I saw, I could say: generally, my PhD adviser only respects people that are above him in hierarchical ranking or he doesn't have any authority over them. Even, with other junior professors or post-docs (my PhD adviser is also a fairly new assistant professor without tenure), he acts in a way that a few collaborators that we had during past four years just left us and some of them even doesn't reply to our emails at all now. Even, 2 or 3 years ago, I was reading his comments on Github to his colleagues for many years ago, and I was able to imagine how snarky and bad is the tone of his comments that nobody bothered to reply after 10 years or so.
Also, thank you all for your supportive comments and answers as well as your lots of useful suggestions.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't see any integrity issues. Your intentions seemed to be to correct an error. Unless your intention was to sabotage your competition, there is nothing wrong with this.
Possibily, your mentor believes you should have checked with others first, but acting rashly is not academic dishonesty.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: It seems like you have to have a conversation with your adviser. There is certainly nothing wrong with your approach: You read through code on which you have knowledge and something to say; you then were proactive and wanted to fix the issue; all of these are commendable. If you happen to have been mistaken, well, that happens -- but then that's what patch review is there for.
So the stance of your adviser -- as you describe it -- doesn't make any sense to me or probably anyone here. That leaves two interpretations:
* Your adviser really has awkward ideas of what is appropriate or not on GitHub.
* You misunderstand what your adviser was trying to get at.
Option 1 seems unlikely, so option 2 seems like a distinct possibility to me. It's also one that can easily be addressed: Have a conversation about the issue in which you state that you are confused why the behavior was considered wrong, and ask your adviser to help you think it through.
---
**Update:** Following the addition to the original post about the conversation with the adviser, it does seem to me that option 1 above (that the adviser is a moron), however unlikely a priori, is in fact true. That's regrettable because in my fifteen years as a professor, I've never come across a situation where this kind of behavior by a professor would have been appropriate or, in fact, useful or warranted.
But, since I've been developing open-source software for more than 25 years now and have been leading open source communities for 20, I do think that it's worthwhile pointing out that the behavior of the maintainer of the GitHub repository is entirely reasonable and appropriate: We *all* value contributions from the general scientific community, and for all projects I know of (a substantial number), that includes cases where the person proposing a patch may in fact have been mistaken. So I continue to think that you did the right thing, and I do think that the response of the GitHub repository maintainer was reasonable and common. In other words, the behavior of the academic adviser really makes no sense to me. If I were to receive an email from someone's professor saying that their student had behaved inappropriately and suggesting that I block them from my repositories, I would certain (i) not do so, and (ii) be quite clear about the fact that I thought the student did the right thing and that the adviser is in the wrong and behaving in ways that make no sense to me. It is certainly no adviser's business to restrict what students post on the internet as long as it is in good faith and doesn't slander the adviser or university.
Given this adviser's stance, I am a bit at a loss as to what to suggest. Reasonable people are amenable to conversations, but apparently this person is not reasonable. Given that you have a job offer from elsewhere, the right choice may simply be to decide that it's not worth your mental energy to fight this fight. Or, you could talk to the department head or another trusted professor in the department -- what they will do is a separate matter, and it may not yield any outcomes that can still help you in the time before you graduate.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Are you sure your adviser understood what you did? The concept of GitHub, PRs etc. may be alien to him and he could have understood that you publicly stated that his formula is incorrect, in a non-peer reviewed thing (I am making that up, just to show that interpretations can escalate quickly).
When you cool down, have a conversation with him clearly explaining the context of your update (less the "what" and more the "where" and "how")
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: There are a few things to consider and clarify:
1. GitHub is not an authoritative academic reference. Journal papers are expected to be thoroughly reviewed and free from most usual mistakes. They have their process for correcting mistakes, which is different from GitHub, where a single person and not necessarily a committee decides what is best for the code. Maybe your advisor does not understand this. In fact, you might quote publications that describe GitHub code, but citing GitHub is pretty much like citing Wikipedia.
2. "Wrong" equations in code might still yield correct results. So it is important to clarify what exactly is the suggested change and impact of the concerned equation and its two versions. **EDIT**: From OP's clarification, it sounds like the "wrong" formula was actually an "approximate" expression. Never say an "approximate" equation is wrong, in many fields, accurate formulas and models are either unavailable or really hard to handle, people might discuss a lot on whether a given approximation is reasonable or not, but simply claiming it to be wrong is lacking maturity.
3. Science is not about discussing who is right or wrong on the basis of opinions, is about proving what's wrong and what resists (Popper's) falsification. Try to design tests or experiment which may assert what is right or wrong.
4. Not a breach of academic ethics to participate on GitHub, unless your pull request entailed some intelectual property issue. In some research environments, you are required to waive all the products of your work to whoever is paying you (and that makes perfect sense). So a code fix might be understood to be "intelectual property" which you might not be allowed to waive to the public without someone's authorization.
5. Also, it is not a breach of academic ethics to point out when things are wrong, I'd even say it's an academic obligation. However, how you do this might be a breach of social norms. I'd be very pissed at you if you publicly claimed my research to be wrong without even talking to me first, as doing so is common courtesy. It would be much worse if you were actually wrong, as people who are eager to point other's mistakes often dislike admitting mistakes of their own, let alone making reparations. Of course, if I post a repo on GitHub, I'm expecting people to raise issues on it, and do so publicly. But normally, you talk in private first if you think someone has made a mistake. I think that is how your advisor is framing these events. You might go to him and say "I maybe should have talked with you first". But prefer to do so after completing item 3.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: There may be a few situations in which, from what you describe, your advisor considers an issue of academic integrity. It is not clear what the exact situation of 'your reference' is referring to though. These are pretty speculative until your question is more refined.
1) You are referring to work that is yet to be published or reviewed by your advisor and are publicly releasing it.
2) Your advisor does not think you are clear on the github issue that the reference is to your own work and not the original literature, and it seems unethical to them that you are claiming it is your algorithm when it originally came from your literature review
3) After reading and finding the issue, your advisor noticed that the original code is correct, and that your implementation is incorrect. If you had published this before, your advisor may be making a jump to a conclusion that you were unethical in how you explained your results or your paper to them, which they did not realize until seeing a correct implementation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: >
> These days I see myself as useless and miserable person that just works more than 12 hours per day and the other 12 hours that I suppose to rest or sleep still I'm thinking about my research but I'm not happy, I don't have any friends, I'm depressed, I'm nervous, I'm stressful, etc. So, yeah I'm angry that people hates me if even I tell them the truth.
>
>
>
**It sounds like you're going through a rough time. Grad school is stressful even in the best circumstances, and yours aren't the best right now. Seek professional help from a psychologist or similar professional ASAP. Your mental health is your first priority!**
---
As of the original issue my two cents would be to make sure they mean what you think they do, as suggested in the other answers. **If this is certainly their stance you need to find a new adviser**. This person could be bullying you over nonsense for whatever reason. Get out.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_7: ### The results of teamwork are not solely yours, and you have to be mindful how you share them.
As username_4 mentioned in their answer, you may not have the rights to use the code you offered to that project. It's important to note that "open source" or "on GitHub" doesn't mean "do whatever" ([though there is a license for that too](http://www.wtfpl.net/)). For example, the popular MIT license includes the provision:
>
> Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software … to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software …
>
>
>
— [The MIT License](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) (via Open Source Initiative)
If you were the sole copyright holder, that would be fine — you could offer such a license to your code, and the project could include your code in their code. But it's very likely you're not the only copyright holder:
* If this is group research, you may share copyright with your advisor.
* If you are a paid researcher (e.g., supported by a grant or research assistantship), there is probably a clause in your contract that grants a license to the university or institution, which may be in conflict with the license you would grant to this project.
* Your contract may even grant sole copyright of any results of your research to your university or the institution that funds your grant.
* If you want to publish your results, you may have to transfer copyright of your published material to the journal.
So as you can see, the results of your research really aren't yours to share freely (even if that feels like the goal of research). This is a very common issue for people who write software professionally. It's important to talk with your advisor about what you can and can't do with the results.
---
All that said, it's probably not going to be a big deal. Likely no one will care that some niche open source project has a few lines of code based on this research. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and it's easy to get into trouble if you don't pay attention to your licenses.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Let put it this way. You are a very good, devoted employee, and your adviser is a Project Manager. Due to the lack of communication in the beginning that your PM didn't explain the Contract for you or make sure you understand it fully. Any on-progress work you have been working on is subject to your institution under the management of your Manager. He was angry which was not very professional, you accidentally shared your idea stemming from your research to an opensource project was wrong too. So no one is right here. Your PM couldn't use your correct formula anymore since it was merged to that open source so he decided to use another formula. Dont be angry with how complicated in terms the academia created. You can choose to finish your project in your current institution under the management of other PM/advisor or still the same advisor, which depends on you if the PhD is important in your career plan. Otherwise, you can switch to the industrial field and find a suitable position to pursue what you like/love to do. Dont think too much since I have been there. Best of luck to you!!!
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_9: I am sorry for what happened to you, even if I don't know wether wrong formula is actually wrong or not.
A country/cultural tag could be interested there, since I think your last edit presents a very rude reaction from you supervisor.
I would recommend something that is often said in company world, but is actually a matter of fact and should be thought about everywhere: Write a mail with feedback of your meeting.
You could do it right now with what you described in your edit during second meeting:
* First, explain the facts. Don't use what you said in this post, because it could be misintepretated. Give link rather than explanation. And be overpolite: for example: "I had a comment [link to the comment] on the GitHub [GitHub]. Thank you for the meeting today about this issue".
* Second, state your case: You want to improve the GitHub repository. You want to use a good formula (not correct or wrong, but the best fit) for your PHD
* Third, ask questions: You need to force your Administrator to explain himself in the mail: "Do I need to delete my comment?" "Do I need to ask you before posting in the future?"
* Fourth, trace back what he said: Your supervisor is going to burn you in front of the GitHub Administrator: Trace it by giving the contact (pseudo, mail) of the Administrator in the mail with something along the lines: "You said during the meeting you want to speak with the Administrator: here is the contact"
Besides this advice, I have another subject to raise. I am not familiar with GitHub, but I feel from your text that your supervisor is not familiar with Web and GitHub? Maybe he thinks GitHub is something like a research paper? Then it would explain his behaviour.
But if you think your had passed this step with your supervisor, and that he is of bad faith, you could find a pretext to put in copy another one of the Academia, maybe a superior to both of you.
Anyway don't be too offensive for now. Keep your calm, stay polite, ask question, write done as much as possible.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_10: No, posting an issue on GitHub is not an academic integrity violation
=====================================================================
Based on the facts that you have laid out, there is nothing that remotely resembles an academic integrity violation. You say you have provided a reference to the "correct" formula. I understand you to mean that both the approximation and the exact methods are published and widely known. Providing a reference to published work is never unethical. (Willfully misrepresenting it is, but there is no indication that you are doing so, and that does not seem to be what is motivating your PhD advisor's accusation.)
As a suggestion, you should ease up on calling the old implementation the "wrong" formula, since you later clarify that it is a commonly used approximation that gives answers within 5-10% of the exact formula. (From your additional detail, there is no indication that this is what is motivating your PhD advisor's accusation either.)
Other Considerations
====================
About GitHub and Academia
-------------------------
Many academics contribute to projects on GitHub. If you are working in a STEM field, it is almost beyond belief that your advisor would not be familiar with GitHub (at least know that it exists, how it works, and that colleagues are using it), or would not understand that posting code improvements, created by you, and based on properly on cited sources, is not an academic integrity violation. This accusation is completely unhinged. If your advisor is *not* familiar with GitHub, he has a moral obligation to educate himself before raising the very serious charge of an academic integrity violation.
An important project in my field (I am not a contributor) is [PySAL](https://github.com/pysal/pysal). If someone were to find that a particular formula or algorithm in that library were generating a result that was incorrect, approximate (where an exact solution was available), or just slow and could be improved, that contribution would be welcomed by the maintainers (as it was by the maintainer of the repo that you contributed to). An example that might parallel yours is [Improvements to distance functions?](https://github.com/pysal/pysal/issues/960), which discusses different methods for measuring Earth distance. Whether that person's PhD advisor valued this contribution--many would, some would not, particularly if it was outside of their field and/or they thought it was interfering with RA responsibilities or your own progress to completion--there is no world in which they would consider a GitHub PR with a properly cited source to be an academic integrity violation.
My own experience: I have been doing redistricting research for a couple of years, and have created or contribute to a number of repos in this field. I often post code related to other topics of interest as well, and post and make use of educational material posted by others in my area of teaching, Geographic Information Systems.
About Protecting Yourself
-------------------------
A number of the responses seem to be trying to consider ways in which your advisor could have misunderstood, or ways in which you might have stepped over a line. You have provided a number of clarifications. However, the facts as you have presented them seem so clear cut, and his accusation so unfounded, that you need to consider how to protect yourself, and how (or whether) to complete your PhD with your current advisor.
Unfortunately, many academics behave in very shitty ways. I'm not certain that we are worse than other industries--finance, law, Hollywood, and many others have a lot to answer for--but it is far too common for graduate students to have to put up with abusive PhD advisors, who often are also work supervisors (if you are a Research Assistant), and who can utterly sabotage your PhD if they choose to. Furthermore, since the emphasis is often on education rather than employment, grad students do not typically get training on workplace harassment and how to report it.
You say that you are depressed, overworked, have no friends, and want to leave academia after completing your PhD. You need to consider your options and make use of available resources.
### Things to do immediately
* **Seek help from counseling services on campus.**
* If you are a member of a union, e.g. graduate students union, or if you are an RA or TA and are a member of a bargaining unit, report your interaction *now*, and ask them if you should be concerned and what your options are.
* If you are an RA or TA you should report your interaction to HR, perhaps to an office that deals with workplace harassment. If you are not part of a union, reporting to HR will be a first step. If you are part of a union, I would talk to the union first and see how they recommend proceeding.
* Talk to your department chair. You may not be able to get them to do anything, but it should at least give you an idea of what you're up against. Present the facts as neutrally as possible, and ask if there is anything you should do. If the chair does not know what GitHub is and/or seems uninterested in your concern, and closes with "You should talk to your advisor about it," there probably isn't much more to accomplish with them. If the chair seems concerned (and knows what GitHub is), they might offer to talk directly to the advisor, or seek to facilitate a discussion.
* Do not tell your advisor about any outside projects, going to the gym, going on a date, seeing a counselor, or anything related to anything outside your thesis research and job responsibilities (if any).
### Things to consider working toward
* Can you switch advisors? This is often difficult, but plenty of graduate students do it. Sometimes grad students put up with awful advisors because of their reputation in the field, but you say that your field was new to your advisor when you started your PhD. Is there anyone else in your department who is working in this field, or a related field, who would be willing to step up? Is there someone else on your committee who could take over as advisor? It may even be possible to change programs, as disciplines are often represented in multiple departments.
* Can you apply to a new PhD program? This sucks, but if there is really no one else at your university that would be a suitable advisor, it is worth exploring. Do you know faculty at other institutions from conferences? It might be worth reaching out to one or two that you have met to discuss options. You do not have to say why you are looking to leave your university *at first*, though if you decide to pursue this option, it will doubtless come up later.
In the end, you may have no choice but to try to see it through with this advisor. In which case minimize your interactions with him, make use of mental health resources, and start reviewing Academia.SE questions related to bad advisors:
* [Advisor's Negativity](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/143826/advisors-negativity)
* [What to do when phd advisor wants me to work on side projects but i'm starting a post-doc?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/144341/what-to-do-when-phd-advisor-wants-me-to-work-on-side-projects-but-im-starting-a)
* [Help! Professor/Advisor Refuses to Publish Any of His Students' Research](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/144274/help-professor-advisor-refuses-to-publish-any-of-his-students-research)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: The advisor is silly but you shouldn’t have contacted them about it in the first place. There was no point, they aren’t your personal censor. I think you could have confused your advisor by contacting them in the first place, and they misunderstood what’s going on or simply had a bad day and decided to be nasty to you.
In other words: there’s nothing to it. Remember it, keep the emails, print them to a PDF and add the PDF “prinout” of the GitHub issue you submitted as well. In case the project were to somehow vanish, your advisor won’t be able to get silly ideas and blackmail you just because they get another case of a bad day or a bad week.
Otherwise treat it as if your advisor had a brain fart. And don’t tell your advisor anymore every time you go to the restroom, or next they’ll accuse you of wasting University water on purpose :/ Sadly, such people exist: they have a tendency to be unpredictable and you reach out to them with the best of intentions and they just turn it into a nightmare. I’m really sorry you got such an unreasonable experience. It was through no fault of your own.
A reasonable response from your advisor would have been to inform you that it’s fine and that there’s no reason to ask for such things.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a co-author for a manuscript. The corresponding author submitted that to a journal which I do not consider that as a good journal, therefore, I would like to ask him to remove my name as a co-author.
How can I ask him to remove my name ?<issue_comment>username_1: You could speak to them in-person or by phone/video, or you could email them. At the very least, you should explain that you don't wish to listed as a co-author. You could also explain your reasoning.
If you're unable to communicate with your co-author, then you could contact the journal (before a camera version is submitted).
Rather than removing your name, you may wish to withdraw the manuscript from the journal.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Submitting a manuscript without the consent of the co-authors is scientific misconduct. You colleague needs to be made aware of that, if they are not already. If they are willing to withdraw the submission once they are aware of the potential seriousness of the issue, then that is the simplest resolution. You might also be willing to simply remove yourself from the manuscript in order to get out of the situation, but that is definitely a lesser choice.
If they understand your objection but do not care, then options become much less pleasant. In order of recommendation, I would suggest:
1. Contact the journal to withdraw the manuscript. If the journal is honest but just not very highly ranked, then they should be willing to engage with you and your co-author on this, because they will not want to support such misconduct.
2. If the journal will not act, then you can contact your colleague's supervisor. You don't say if they are a student or a professor, but in any case there will be somebody who has authority over them who has responsibility for dealing with misconduct by your colleague.
3. Ultimately, if all of these paths fail (e.g., your colleague is happily dealing with a predatory publisher and their department doesn't care), you might just have an embarrassing thing out there with your name on it that you have no control over. In that case, just leave it off your CV and tell anybody who asks you about it that your name was used without your consent. Don't worry about it too much, though: at that level of misconduct, your name could have been used without you ever being involved. Just like having your credit card stolen, once you've done your due diligence to deal with the situation, it basically ceases to be your problem.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: **Problem**
In the methodology section of [this paper](http://pike.psu.edu/publications/ht15.pdf), authors mentioned that
>
> Compared to other social network sites such as Facebook and
> Twitter, Instagram has been less studied and understood.
>
>
>
I need to cite a sentence like this. However, this is not a findings of this paper.
**My Question**
Will it be okay, if I cite this sentence?<issue_comment>username_1: You could speak to them in-person or by phone/video, or you could email them. At the very least, you should explain that you don't wish to listed as a co-author. You could also explain your reasoning.
If you're unable to communicate with your co-author, then you could contact the journal (before a camera version is submitted).
Rather than removing your name, you may wish to withdraw the manuscript from the journal.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Submitting a manuscript without the consent of the co-authors is scientific misconduct. You colleague needs to be made aware of that, if they are not already. If they are willing to withdraw the submission once they are aware of the potential seriousness of the issue, then that is the simplest resolution. You might also be willing to simply remove yourself from the manuscript in order to get out of the situation, but that is definitely a lesser choice.
If they understand your objection but do not care, then options become much less pleasant. In order of recommendation, I would suggest:
1. Contact the journal to withdraw the manuscript. If the journal is honest but just not very highly ranked, then they should be willing to engage with you and your co-author on this, because they will not want to support such misconduct.
2. If the journal will not act, then you can contact your colleague's supervisor. You don't say if they are a student or a professor, but in any case there will be somebody who has authority over them who has responsibility for dealing with misconduct by your colleague.
3. Ultimately, if all of these paths fail (e.g., your colleague is happily dealing with a predatory publisher and their department doesn't care), you might just have an embarrassing thing out there with your name on it that you have no control over. In that case, just leave it off your CV and tell anybody who asks you about it that your name was used without your consent. Don't worry about it too much, though: at that level of misconduct, your name could have been used without you ever being involved. Just like having your credit card stolen, once you've done your due diligence to deal with the situation, it basically ceases to be your problem.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently finishing up writing my PhD while starting a post-doc at another university in another country. The post doc is a great opportunity at a top tier university. Between finishing my dissertation, trying to get started in this new lab, and moving to an apartment in another country that requires I start from scratch, my time is super limited and everything is hectic.
I made sure my post-doc advisor was aware that I'm finishing my dissertation , and would be doing so for the beginning of the post-doc, from the get-go as I informed him during interviews for the position and when I accepted the job. He has been fine with this and held the position for me for as long as he could because as he said I'm a perfect fit for the position and he really wanted me to be his post-doc, so I'm super grateful for that. Plus, there is enough crossover in the project that my PhD advisor made him a collaborator on the chapter that I'm finishing up while starting the post-doc position.
My PhD advisor recently reached out to me about a side project I had been working on for him previously and had written up with me as the first author. This paper was rejected from the previous journal we submitted to and we received this notice around the time I was getting ready to move. Because of this, he offered to re-work the manuscript results/discussion sections after I re-did the analysis and sent him the new results, which I did. Now, he is saying that he doesn't have time anymore and that I need to set aside my work to make this a priority.
The other relevant background information is that my PhD advisor is in trouble with the university because he is so absent when it comes to his students. He had another PhD student who started at the same time as me defend her dissertation before she was ready, and the defense was so bad that department members outside the committee were asking how she was allowed to defend and it got to the department head. Now he is in trouble of losing teaching assistantships for future students. I have been independent for my PhD and have worked on many side projects for him. Just 6 months ago, again while I was trying to finish up my thesis because of the post-doc position, a similar thing occurred where I was asked to set aside everything to devote my time to a project I was a co-author on and it ended up being 2 months of re-doing the entire analysis, results, and discussion and with me being a co-first author on the paper, which was published after my rewrite. I have also worked on numerous other projects for him over the years. I have been very independent in my PhD, not relying on him for much as I came up with the question, methods, and interpretation of my PhD project - my independence (a byproduct of his absence) yet success with this project is a part of the reason why I got an amazing post-doc position.
I think realistically this re-write would be ~1-2 weeks and I know that I was first author on the manuscript and the major person behind the project, but I just don't have the time. I proposed to have a student from our collaborating lab that also did a lot of the work on it just finish the re-working of the results/discussion and to make him co-first author, but my PhD advisor wouldn't entertain the idea. I think he needs more papers coming from his students alone.
What do I do? Should I bring this up with my new post-doc advisor? If I do this I either won't have time to work on any new stuff with him or I won't be able to work on my dissertation and will fall behind there. Should I say no to my PhD advisor, and if so, how?<issue_comment>username_1: I am currently in a similar position to the one you describe, except that in my case I agreed to take on a brand new side project with my previous supervisor. I spoke to my postdoc supervisor about the project as soon as I started and received his go-ahead to spend some of my time working on it. In my experience, it seemed like my postdoc supervisor thought this was totally normal and expected after a PhD.
In your position, I would agree to the rewrite (after verifying with the postdoc supervisor that this is not an issue) because it seems like it will not be too significant a time sink - you already know the work and have a reasonable estimate of how long it will take. It is always nice to publish your work. Note that you do not need to spend the first two weeks of your postdoc on it - you can allocate some time each day to it and then you will still have time to do new stuff.
I have one caveat based on my own experience which is that even if you have permission to spend some time finishing up old work, it is quite difficult to commit to doing this because it feels like you are not putting 100% into the new project. It can also be tiring to have a task that needs extra work after hours when you are trying to get established in a new place. Thus, I would limit the number of "side projects" you agree to bring along from your PhD and try to make a realistic plan for how you will finish them quickly.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: It sounds as if your PhD supervisor is less than ideal. I would say your priorities should be:
1. Finishing the PhD dissertation so you can graduate.
2. Consolidating your postdoc position.
3. Finish the old paper.
Your PhD supervisor has different priorities than you, so *you* have to be the guardian of your interests.
You make sure to wrap up your dissertation first, because when you've got the PhD in your pocket that supervisor no longer has a hold over you. In a choice between the postdoc position and the old paper it sounds like you value the postdoc more. Finally, if the postdoc advisor is willing, finish the paper anyway. It's one more publication to your name for which you've already done most of the work. That it helps you not burn a bridge is a bonus.
Since you're trying to advance your own interests over those of your supervisor (as you should), be ready for some pushback. But it's hard for your supervisor to argue against working on your dissertation so focus on that.
EDIT to answer follow-up question.
A certain amount of discretion is called for when discussing this with the postdoc advisor. You shouldn't bring up your suspicions about your old supervisor, negativity generally doesn't help.
Rather, you can say that while you're excited about the postdoc position, you have some loose ends from your old position that you would like to wrap up. You did this research, and sunk a lot of work into it already. You'd rather not just abandon it, and your old supervisor is urging you to rework and resubmit. Then you ask if it would be possible to set aside some of your time to work on finishing it up.
Your situation is not really all that unusual; most academics have had some loose ends like this. Also your new advisor will be aware of the old supervisor trying to influence you, also pretty normal. What's important is that you keep your priorities straight: finishing the paper would be nice but it can't come at the expense of the postdoc. So ideally, you set aside a strict amount of time per week to work on it, and keep the rest reserved for your new postdoc work.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/18
| 2,571
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<issue_start>username_0: So, I have this one professor who refuses to let anyone use their phone. I understand this during class hours but now he’s saying he will give a demerit to anyone using their phone even if it’s before or after class.
I personally am at the school from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and his class is my last one for the day and I have a 2 1/2 hour wait until it starts. Most days I get into his class room anywhere from 30 mins to almost an hour before class starts. The teacher is in the room as students aren’t allowed in otherwise. In that time I’m generally on my phone as in my opinion it’s my free time and I’d like something to do or have people I’m talking to over text.
Everyone is of course adults as we are in college so it’s extremely irritating that another adult would tell me and other students to put a phone away when there is literally no one else in the classroom and no work is being done. Even after class he threatens to write me up for having my phone out whether it’s just to check the time or look something up. (I’m usually the last to leave as I don’t feel the need to rush out of the room and generally try to clean up pretty well before I go)
Maybe I’m just being unreasonable but I do believe some boundaries of respect are being crossed. I don’t talk back or stand up for myself when he tells me to put it away either as I grew up being taught to respect anyone in authority or older than you. Though, he’s the first to make this difficult as the respect doesn’t feel as though it’s being reciprocated.<issue_comment>username_1: #### Short answer: Yes, he can (unless there is a rule to the contrary)
If I understand your description correctly, you are present in the lecture room outside of the designated lecture time, and the professor is enforcing his no-phone rule while you are in that room, but outside of the time for the lecture. Assuming that this is an accurate understanding of your description, I see no reason why the professor would not be able to enforce this rule of ettiquette in the lecture room. It is generally accepted that professors have fairly broad discretion in setting the expected conduct of students while they are in lecture rooms, as they are the designated university employee with operational control of the room. Thus, it is generally considered to be reasonable for professors to impose rules of ettiquette in their lecture rooms, so long as those are not contrary to broader university rules.
In a technical sense, the classroom belongs to the university as an institution, and it is this institution that sets the rules. Your professor is one of the employees representing the institution, and his power is determined by the level of discretion and control granted to him by the university. Professors are generally expected to impose reasonable ettiquette on students while in university facilities, and they are given pretty broad discretion over how they run their classes, and the rooms they are using. Professors are expected to abide by university rules/policy, but within this range, they have quite a bit of discretion. The fact that you describe the room as "his classroom" (though it of course belongs to the university) shows that you have an appreciation of this circumstance.
Now, a professor would certainly have this discretion during the designated lecture time, and in a reasonable window around that time that is necessary for preparation/conclusion of the lecture. When you are talking about periods of time that are far outside the lecture time, there may be a circumstance where the professor loses control of the room in favour of some other university employee, student, or other user (e.g., if someone else has made a booking of the room). Nevertheless, in the absence of someone else having a better claim to use/control the room (and you do not), if that professor is the only staff member present using the room, then he is the representative of the university in control of that room. Absent some university rule/policy that grants you permission to use your phone in this circumstance, or some other more senior person at the university overruling him, it is likely that your professor can indeed prohibit you from using your phone.
I can certainly appreciate why you find this annoying, since "everyone there is an adult". Having said this, universities take in a lot of young students in the early part of their adulthood (many still in their late teens), and there is a huge difference in maturity between these students and their professors. Everyone may have attained the age of majority, but everyone is *not* equally adult in the sense of their maturity and life experience, so some professors have gotten into the habit of having to play a disciplining role with their students. Many professors find that young students have a tendency to be distracted by their phones in lectures, so some take a hard line. Of course, the most obvious solution here is for you to remove yourself from the lecture hall until you need to be there, and go out into the more general "public" areas of the university, where you are allowed to use your phone, free of the watchful eye of your professor.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: You are overstepping your boundaries: you don't bear the responsibility of teaching the class, and hence you do not set the standards of behaviour inside the classroom. Simply exit the classroom if you want to use your phone.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I think your description of what’s going on is misleading. The professor is not “telling you you can’t use your phone before class”. He’s telling you you can’t use your phone before class *in the classroom when he’s also in the classroom*.
Is that reasonable? I honestly don’t have a strong opinion. I can certainly see why it’s annoying to you on the one hand, but can also see things from the professor’s perspective - if he wants to use those thirty minutes before class to review the material he’ll be discussing, and is easily distracted by phones (yes, professors are prone to distraction just like other people), he may well think his need to have a distraction-free working environment so that he can deliver good instruction for his class overrides your personal need to use your phone during that time and makes it okay for him to decide what is and isn’t allowed in the classroom, even though the official lecture time hasn’t yet arrived.
It’s possible you can win this on a technicality by turning this into some kind of principled fight over individual rights. But I don’t see a point, it wouldn’t be a real “win” for you or anyone else in any meaningful sense. Your professor may be a slightly unreasonable person with a slightly rigid personality, but in my opinion the mature thing to do in this situation would be to respect his wishes and find some other place to use your phone before class.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: The Professor needs a (relatively) quiet classroom before and after class:
* Before class - to prepare, concentrate and/or relax before teaching - which is a stressful and demanding activity.
* After class - to gather up his things and collect his/her thoughts and observations of the dynamics during class, and/or to attend to students who come up to him/her after class.
On the other hand, you can very well go outside the classroom to use your phone.
So, it is legitimate, justifiable, and moral for the Professor to expect of you, and demand of you, not to use your phone before and after class.
... but if it's 30 minutes or more before class, that's excessive, and I'm not sure s/he is within his rights to do that. Using an empty classroom for phone conversations is legitimate. In fact, as a teacher, I would avoid entering the classroom so long before class is supposed to start; I always felt it's kind of upsetting/annoying for the students.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: He's joking. There is no such thing as a demerit in college. If he wanted to penalize you, he would say, I'm taking 3 points off your grade every time I see you with that phone out. Read the syllabus for his class policy on phones.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: First of all, his room, his rules, so he gets to decide what he wants to allow. That said, try asking him *politely* what his concerns are about phone use before or after class. Maybe you can suggest an alternative policy that he's happy with, but keep in mind that his extreme policy is probably the result of past experiences with immature students abusing access to their phones.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: The limitation isn't one of "time," but rather of "space."
Basically, as long as the professor is in the classroom, it is his "room," even though class is not in session. So he can set the rules for the classroom during his time there.
He can't forbid you from using your phone, before, after, or during the class as long as you are outside the classroom. (He may prevent you from entering or leaving during class, but that's a different matter.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: >
> Even after class he threatens to write me up for having my phone out whether it’s just to check the time or look something up. (I’m usually the last to leave as I don’t feel the need to rush out of the room and generally try to clean up pretty well before I go)
>
>
>
Have you considered that this behavior of yours could be considered quite rude and might in fact be the root of the teacher's blanket "no phones before/during/after class" policy?
Because students aren't allowed in the room without a teacher present, your mulling about after class is the only thing keeping them from heading home to their family, dinner, hobbies, research, etc.
They are probably far less upset about the phone itself so much as the fact that you're choosing to waste their time with a personal activity could be done in a hallway, library, etc. on your own time.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_9: I'm going to take a contrary position here and say the professor is being unreasonable. He gets to set the rules during his class but, as I've pointed out in several comments, a professor can't just commandeer a room. If peace and quiet are important to him then he could always just deny students access to the room until just before class starts and make sure everyone leaves promptly afterwards.
With that said, I don't know that you have a lot of options here. You could always complain to the dean or department chair but is this really a fight that you want? You're going to be antagonizing someone who has some influence over your immediate future so you might just be better off putting the phone away until you're out of the room.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/18
| 1,025
| 4,635
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<issue_start>username_0: I was wondering are there exist any restrictions as to what kind of research can be published. In particular, are there any laws in place that require certain published works to be removed from the public record?
It seems fairly odd that you see a dozen negative studies on acts which are illegal, but not a single positive one. It is known that the internet is filtered, so that might explain why you might not find positive studies using the popular search engines.
The only case I can think of would be homosexuality (where research all came out after legalisation).
Edit:
The question is regarding all studies conducted for cases which are illegal which includes but not limited to Class A drugs, paraphilias (positive study would be under sexual orientation but should not be limited to thought only) and incest. These all also have negative stigmatization so I would request if anyone is going to respond do not go on the base of you emotions, I'm attempting to test the validity of research on this case of bias and who can and cannot publish. One user mentioned 'prohibited' research, I was in the assumption that apart from conducting the illegal act you can still research on criminal cases even if it is for benefits or am I mistaken?
One case that questioned the whole research process is the FGM case. Where you have dozens of cases of it not showing any medical benefits, but their are people who have done studies showing or at least comparing to existing cases. However what I am more interested about where are all the studies that were conducted in the countries where it is legal, they exist but they are not available in the places where you find all other researches (for all the health organisation to make the claim that there are none)?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> are there...any restrictions [on] what...research can be published.
>
>
>
Yes. For example, national security laws restrict the publication of certain works and legality of human/animal experimentation restrict others.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: The existing answers already correctly state that there are of course things that you are not allowed to publish on, period - for example state secrets, or national security related research. Depending on how strict you are about the word "allowed" some industrial research that is covered by a Non-Disclosure Agreement may also fall under this umbrella.
That said, your wording and example (homosexuality) implies to me that you are more looking for some "thought control" type of laws, where you are allowed to publish about a specific topic, but your results can only point in one "acceptable" direction. This is not the case in modern democracies, although to some extent this certainly happened historically or in non-democratic societies.
In fact, people certainly do conduct research and publish papers that compare (for instance) the danger of legal and illegal drugs, and the result is not always that legal drugs are less unhealthy than illegal ones (in fact alcohol is often identified as a particularly damaging drug in such studies). Conducting such a study may require specific approval (if possession of some of the involved substances is illegal), but there is no law against publishing research that makes existing legislation look bad. In [Freakonomics](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/0060731338), the authors describe another example in detail, a study where an economist did embedded research in a gang to study their organisational management. Gang activities are certainly very illegal, but observing and reporting that gangs are actually quite well-managed from the point of view of management science is not.
>
> The only case I can think of would be homosexuality (where research all came out after legalisation).
>
>
>
Consider that there are many reasons why studying something legal is much easier than something illegal. Access to study subjects is an obvious one - as long as homosexuality was illegal it is hard to identify study participants and to convince them to participate in a study. Funding for and public interest in studying activities that are illegal is typically also much lower (unless the research is specifically about preventing the illegal thing from happening). Finally, there is a certain amount of self-censorship embedded in all human societies - sure, many academics have tenure and could in principle study whatever they want, but in practice few people will voluntarily choose a touchy study subject that has the potential to make them pariahs.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/18
| 501
| 2,151
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<issue_start>username_0: Say I applied to two graduate programs: A and B, in which A is my preferred program. It turns out that I am admitted by both, so I will accept the offer from A and turn B down. I heard from a friend that in this case, I may "refer" the offer from B to someone I know who is waitlisted by B so that s/he can be admitted to B.
Is this practice common in the US? Additionally, can I refer the offer to someone who has been rejected? Searching online just gives me pages of results about "referral programs", which aren't very relevant.<issue_comment>username_1: You can tell your friend that you won't be accepting the offer and maybe they can act on it. You can, in rejecting the offer from B, suggest that they accept your friend. If that is what you mean, it probably has little to no effect. Certainly it would have less effect that a letter from a known professor.
To be honest, I've never heard of such a thing. But, no, offers are not transferrable on the word of an applicant. The admitting organization has its own procedures. They will most likely go to whoever is the next in line on their list. It might be your friend, but the chances of that may be low.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Graduate programs don’t operate based on charity or friendship - admittance is based on merit. If you turn down the offer from B, the only rational thing for the administrators of that program to do after you turn them down is move on to the next person on their ranked list of candidates, if they still have room to admit more students, or simply write off your decision as one of the expected number of declinations they were assuming they would receive for this admissions cycle, if they have done the quite normal thing of sending out admission offers for more students than they actually have the capacity to accept.
In other words, all kinds of weird things can happen in some places that are poorly run or where for accidental historical reasons things run differently than in most places. It’s hard to prove a negative. But as a general rule, your friend is wrong and no such referral option exists.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/18
| 1,060
| 4,370
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<issue_start>username_0: I started noticing something that left me wondering a bit. My estimate is that the average paper (for example submitted to *physical review* journals, contains of the order of 50 citations). But if the average paper cites 50 other papers, then each paper should also *receive* 50 citations on average.
This is definitely not my track record. One could argue that cited papers are dominated by a few rare events (very important papers with thousands of citations), but by the very definition of an impact factor this cannot be the case, (unless one considers books, but I would assume they comprise max 20% of the citations): only top journals as nature reach an impact factor of this order, but these are far from the only papers cited. Many of them are other physical reviews, with an impact factor of order 3.
So that leaves me wondering, where are the missing citations going?
Is it just a matter of delay, or is there a flaw in my logic?<issue_comment>username_1: First of all, you cannot assume that citations follows a normal distribution. I'd wager that it is rather skewed, with many papers receiving few or no citations, and a few reaching several thousand. This, however, does not help you too much, when you look at the citations of your own work - which is most likely not in the latter category (so few papers are...)
For myself I find it useful to also take time into consideration, as citations accumulate. If I take my own papers, which are more than a few years old (excluding stuff like conference proceedings), I actually average around 50. But of course, if I include papers from last year as well, they drag the average down. Have you tried performing that exercise?
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I suspect that this phenomenon has two main causes:
1. There is a delay between publishing a paper and having it cited. If you look again at those papers, you might be able to get a sense of the distribution of the time between when each cited publication was published, and when the citation occurred (i.e., when the present paper was published). It is highly likely that you will see that many of the papers cited have been written several decades before the citation. Since citations accrue over time, earlier papers have an advantage, and you will not get parity between the number of papers cited in a present paper, and the number of citations expected for that paper. Even in cases where this happens (e.g., a paper that cites 50 papers ends up with 50 citations itself), that may take a substantial amount of time to accrue.
2. As you say, there are some key papers in disciplines that end up being cited as background literature very frequently, and these papers accrue thousands of citations. The number of citations in a paper tends to vary between about 5-100, but the number of citations accrued by a paper operates on a logarithmic scale, where there are papers with citations that are orders of magnitude above the norm. ([<NAME> Nuzzo 2004](https://www.nature.com/news/the-top-100-papers-1.16224) find that the top 100 cited papers each have over 12,000 citations.) Statisticially speaking, this means that the distribution of citations received is much more positively skewed than the distribution of citations given, and so there is more "concentration" of the former in less papers.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The impact factor is not the right measure. The impact factor counts the average number of citations a paper receives *in the two years after publication*. But in most papers, *most* of the references given are for papers (substantially) older than two years, and consequently they don't count for the impact factor of the journals cited. That means that the average impact factor over all journals is not equal to the average number of citations.
Second, as others have pointed out, the distribution is heavily skewed. That's true for papers in general, but also for papers by the same researcher. To take just my own papers (see [this google scholar page](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hmznSQwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao)), there are a couple with over a thousand citations, but #10 on the list is already below 100 citations and there is quite a long tail of papers with far fewer citations than they have references themselves.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/18
| 1,092
| 4,500
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently in a 3-year (European) PhD program in Computer Science/Machine Learning, but I feel like I'm very far behind schedule. I started on a very open-ended project proposal and grant, which I spent my first year reading up on, including taking other courses, TA'ing etc. After the first year, I realized it was a very difficult topic to get anywhere on, and my advisor is also by no means an expert.
For this reason I pivoted to a related subfield of ML that is more mainstream and that I am more comfortable with, and basically started over. Over the past year I've been reading papers, discussing them with people, and trying to get concrete ideas for research. However ideas have been sparse and the ones where I spent time on coding and experiments, they didn't pan out. Now, 2 years into my PhD, I have nothing to show for it. I have no research, no publications, and only some vague ideas on what to work on next. Do I quit? Is it even possible to finish by this point? I'm going to bring this up with my advisor soon, but I would like advice before I do so.<issue_comment>username_1: First of all, you cannot assume that citations follows a normal distribution. I'd wager that it is rather skewed, with many papers receiving few or no citations, and a few reaching several thousand. This, however, does not help you too much, when you look at the citations of your own work - which is most likely not in the latter category (so few papers are...)
For myself I find it useful to also take time into consideration, as citations accumulate. If I take my own papers, which are more than a few years old (excluding stuff like conference proceedings), I actually average around 50. But of course, if I include papers from last year as well, they drag the average down. Have you tried performing that exercise?
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I suspect that this phenomenon has two main causes:
1. There is a delay between publishing a paper and having it cited. If you look again at those papers, you might be able to get a sense of the distribution of the time between when each cited publication was published, and when the citation occurred (i.e., when the present paper was published). It is highly likely that you will see that many of the papers cited have been written several decades before the citation. Since citations accrue over time, earlier papers have an advantage, and you will not get parity between the number of papers cited in a present paper, and the number of citations expected for that paper. Even in cases where this happens (e.g., a paper that cites 50 papers ends up with 50 citations itself), that may take a substantial amount of time to accrue.
2. As you say, there are some key papers in disciplines that end up being cited as background literature very frequently, and these papers accrue thousands of citations. The number of citations in a paper tends to vary between about 5-100, but the number of citations accrued by a paper operates on a logarithmic scale, where there are papers with citations that are orders of magnitude above the norm. ([Noorden, Maher and Nuzzo 2004](https://www.nature.com/news/the-top-100-papers-1.16224) find that the top 100 cited papers each have over 12,000 citations.) Statisticially speaking, this means that the distribution of citations received is much more positively skewed than the distribution of citations given, and so there is more "concentration" of the former in less papers.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The impact factor is not the right measure. The impact factor counts the average number of citations a paper receives *in the two years after publication*. But in most papers, *most* of the references given are for papers (substantially) older than two years, and consequently they don't count for the impact factor of the journals cited. That means that the average impact factor over all journals is not equal to the average number of citations.
Second, as others have pointed out, the distribution is heavily skewed. That's true for papers in general, but also for papers by the same researcher. To take just my own papers (see [this google scholar page](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hmznSQwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao)), there are a couple with over a thousand citations, but #10 on the list is already below 100 citations and there is quite a long tail of papers with far fewer citations than they have references themselves.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/18
| 295
| 1,314
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<issue_start>username_0: Last november I submitted a paper to a journal. I have been tracking the status of the review rather regularly (quite obsessively actually) and I have noticed that 3 weeks ago it went from awaiting AE decision back to reviewer assignment. After a couple of days, it went to reviewer selection. Now, it has gone back to reviewer assignment yet again.
I find this quite curious and if anyone has any idea what could be going on, please share it here! I suspect there's a conflict of opinion initially and then the third reviewer rejected reviewing so now they are back to finding a third reviewer? Any help is appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: Your explanation of a conflict in reviewer opinions is certainly possible. Also possible is that the reviews weren't very good: perhaps some of them are superficial, perhaps the reviewer said "I can review X portion of the paper but not Y portion", etc.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Nobody except the editor in charge of the paper can possibly know. We can all -- and you can -- speculate what the editor may have been doing, but none of us will actually *know*. If you *must* know what is going on, write to the editor. If you are only curious but do not *need* to know, then practice patience and wait for the outcome.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/18
| 682
| 2,925
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<issue_start>username_0: My students are required to use APA style. I'm familiar with the research paper format, which requires a separate title page (like a cover page). This makes sense for longer papers, but how should students format the first page of a one- or two-page assignment?
My question is: What do students do if the paper is one to two pages? How do they format their name and information w/o a title page?
In the style guides, I can only find information for research papers.<issue_comment>username_1: Well, that's really what APA style is there for: Research papers. If you're using it for a different purpose, then it presumably doesn't have much to say about these other cases.
But: I assume you are requiring your students to use APA style because you want them to *learn* how to write research papers in APA style. In that case, it makes sense to let your students *pretend* that their short papers are research papers. So then, if APA requires a cover page for research papers, you should also require a cover page for student papers.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: **General points**: APA style is principally designed for submitting manuscripts to academic journals.
When it is used as a style guide for student assessments at universities, it is common for the requirements to be adapted. So for example, many people completing honours, masters, or PhD theses in the behavioural sciences will use APA style for referencing. But their university may have other requirements for the formatting of title pages, heading formats, line spacing, paragraph indentation and so on. Or these details may be left up to the student.
If you are setting the assignment, you are free to pick and choose which aspects of APA style you want students to follow.
**Your specific question:** Note that APA style calls it a "Title Page" rather than a "Cover Page". Any manuscript submitted to a journal using APA style requires a title page (i.e., with title, author names, affiliations, author note, etc.). Those who create a university assignment based on APA style are free to adopt or not adopt aspects of APA style when it pertains to APA style. In some respects it doesn't even make sense to fully adopt APA style for Title pages on student assignments. For example, you wouldn't require them to provide a "corresponding author address" (a key requirement of APA style title pages), but you would require them to include their student number.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: The APA style guide has [specific instructions](https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/student-title-page-guide.pdf) for how to format the title page for "student papers", i.e. course essays etc. It provides specific instructions of where to put things like the name of the courses and instructor.
Rule number 1 is that any rules set by the instructor (you) or University trump those of the style guide.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/19
| 1,947
| 8,488
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<issue_start>username_0: I've recently been asked to write a letter of recommendation for tenure and promotion for my former advisor from graduate school. This is for a potential promotion/tenure a few years down the line.
My time in grad school was one of the darkest periods of my life. My former advisor was verbally abusive, demanding, and insulting. The way they treated me, and the stress that came with it, led to severe problems with anxiety and depression to the point where I became suicidal. I'm also not the only student who's had these kind of problems with them: I know of at least one other student who's had serious mental health problems due to their experiences as their graduate student under the same professor.
The problem is I'm still potentially reliant on my former advisor. I'm now working full-time outside academia, and I'm applying for employment-based permanent residency in the United States. One of the requirements for that is a set of experience letters from a few previous employers or professors that states what skills you're bringing to the job (to justify why the company is hiring you instead of an American). This is a signed letter saying something like:
>
> This person was a student of mine from date A to date B, I have direct personal knowledge of their work, they took courses on X, Y, and Z topics, and demonstrated skills A, B, and C through the course of their research/work.
>
>
>
This advisor has already refused to sign such a letter for another student who left the lab on bad terms after standing up to the abuse.
Without permanent residency, I'd be forced to leave the country in the coming years when my work visa expires. I've spent long enough here that my entire *life* is here, and so anything that could potentially put it in jeopardy makes me extremely cautious.
The request states that my letter will be kept confidential, but my former advisor has supervised relatively few students overall. My understanding is that any points I bring up in my letter will be discussed with them as part of their review process, and so there's a good chance they'll know it was me.
I see three possible options:
1. Write the letter honestly, holding them accountable for their actions, but leaving myself open to the risk that they'll know I wrote something negative and retaliate by refusing to cooperate with my immigration process.
2. Politely decline to write the letter, which doesn't hold them accountable, and could still cause them to refuse when I ask them for the favour of signing the experience letter.
3. Grit my teeth and write something reasonably neutral in the letter, letting them potentially go on to harm more students in the future.
None of these are good options, and I'm not sure what the best course of action here is.<issue_comment>username_1: Get your former advisor to sign the letter now.
After that has succeeded or failed, you should contact the person who runs this process and ask them verbally how the letter will be used and what it contains. Probably this is a dean. Probably the dean already knows about your advisor's behavior. They might be seeking a letter that will help them get rid of your former advisor. At well-run universities, these letters are not requested from random students. They come from known students.
You should write an honest letter.
There is an option you do not mention: You can "damn with faint praise." This is done by writing a letter which says nice things about a person, but none of the nice things are relevant to the person's job. E.g. They are funny and well-dressed. I don't recommend this but it is available to you. If done carefully, it can prevent promotion while giving the illusion that you intended to help the advisor.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I read this with interest bc I had the same experience and felt the same way with one of my advisers who also happened to teach several of the classes for the program I was in. I was going to be a teacher and he made it so miserable that, while I finished the program, I decided not to pursue teaching. I had one last requirement, to create a personal portfolio to have when I interviewed for jobs, and he wanted to abuse me one more time so kept making me jump through ridiculous hoops. I finally refused any more abuse, so he refused to officially sign off that I completed the program and the University wouldn't help me bc he was tenured and untouchable. (They agreed with my concerns!) It's 10 years later and I still have this unresolved thing I have to explain when pursuing new employment.
If you contribute to his/her tenure, it will only embolden them to mistreat students even more and it could be life-changing for many of them. I suggest you follow some of the great advice above that leads to a path that you don't support the tenure while still ensuring your needs are taken care of.
Postscript: A few years after I moved on with my life, I heard my adviser died. Maybe you'll get lucky...sounds cold but when people are this despicable, they don't deserve kindness even after they leave this world.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: It seems that your core issue is that you've got three different things tangled up into one mess:
* You want a letter from your former advisor to support your immigration process.
* Your former advisor was abusive.
* Someone is asking you to write a letter supporting your former advisor's promotion.
Personally, I don't think any of the three options you presented in your question are complete in terms of addressing each of these three things appropriately. You may be better served to separate the three and conquer them individually.
* Determine if you have other sources for a recommendation, besides your advisor. Perhaps the letter could come from a department head or another professor.
* Decline the request to write a letter recommending your former advisor. Whomever is asking will likely get the message. You certainly don't want to actually write a positive letter, and a letter of recommendation is not the ideal channel for dealing with abuse. Further, it would be legitimate to indicate that you don't feel comfortable writing a letter of recommendation, since you are still (indirectly) dependent on this professor writing a letter recommending you, and hence there is a conflict of interest. Which leads to,
* Follow up with the dean of academic affairs, department head, or other appropriate authority within your university in terms of reporting the abuse you suffered.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Another option which may or may not be available to you would be to see if you can find an appropriate contact for whoever will be reviewing the letters or running the overall evaluation process and explain your conflict of interest and fear of possible repercussions, and ask if there is some way you can provide additional feedback "off the record" (even if they do not accept "off the record" input, the mere fact that you expressed a desire for it may give them reason to investigate further).
Alternately (or additionally), if you know of other people who have had similar experiences with the professor (such as the other student you mentioned who left on bad terms) but have not been asked to write recommendations, you could let them know about the reviewers' contact information, and encourage them to reach out to them and offer their own input, separately from whatever you submit.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: This is a tough situation.
You should not write a dishonest letter. That will make you look bad and, if it helps the professor abuse more students, then that should rest on your conscience.
You say the letter will be kept confidential, but obviously that may not be entirely true. The professor will get some feedback about it -- at the very least he will learn whether or not he got the promotion. Depending on local laws, he may have a legal right to access the letter.
Given this, I would, in your situation, either decline or write a perfunctory letter -- something which does not say anything false, but also doesn't say much at all. I think that will get enough of a message across.
In terms of your PERM, you should talk to your employer's immigration lawyers to see if someone else can sign the letter. Perhaps that's nonstandard, but, if I were you, I wouldn't want an abusive former advisor involved with immigration at all.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently almost homeless and without job. Can someone please help me in right direction of finding an academic or non-academic job? Minimum salary will be acceptable.
I hold a PhD in mathematics. I am 43 years old and I am from middle east but citizen of a European country (Germany). I have been away from academia for 4 years (mostly to take care of parents) and I can not get any recommendation letter.
I can teach and have experience in teaching most mathematical topics up to PhD.
I have been applying for many teaching jobs around the world with no luck. With no recommendation letter my applications don't go through.
I also have a few unfinished research projects.
---
**Edit**: addendum in response to Buffy's answer.
>
> If you are just four years past finishing your doctorate it isn't too late to re-connect with your previous professors, and maybe your advisor. If you wait much longer it will be, however.
>
>
>
In fact I got my phd before I was 30. So it was, relatively, a long time ago. Contact with my previous professors isn't a possibility.
>
> Another thing, not very palatable, is to get some low-level position in a decent university where you can do more than is required by the job.
>
>
>
I have tried applying to many "low-level" positions but recommendation letter is a real obstruction.
>
> Further down the list of suitable options is to look at good secondary institutions, rather than universities. There are many of them that find people with doctorates to be very desirable. The job is mostly teaching, and mostly introductory subjects, but it can pay the bills.
>
>
>
Secondary institution as a high school? I am trying to find a position in a high school too but a "license or teaching certificate" is needed in most cases and in my situation it takes time and money to get that.
>
> get connected to a research group so as to get some papers into publication. Initially they might be joint papers, of course.
>
>
>
I have a few publications which I guess are relatively good. I try to publish preprints too. But it is getting hard because I will be out of money very soon.
What surprises me is that when I look at my cv it doesn't look extremely bad but still I have got not even one interview or any offer. And asking people in the subject to write recommendation letter has not been successful.
I was hoping maybe someone with similar situation who managed to solve his/her problem can help me by sharing a bit of his/her experience.<issue_comment>username_1: The situation is difficult so the solution may also be difficult. I can offer only a few suggestions.
If you are just four years past finishing your doctorate it isn't too late to re-connect with your previous professors, and maybe your advisor. If you wait much longer it will be, however. The best way is to visit your old institution in person and spend a couple of days talking to people and reminding them of who you are. You can also talk to them about research ideas - theirs and yours. But you can also let them know why you have been away and that you'd like to get back into academia. If you were once well regarded then you still are, but they need a reminder. Such a visit might be the best "vacation" you've ever had.
Another thing, not very palatable, is to get some low-level position in a decent university where you can do more than is required by the job. If you can let the tenured faculty know of your skills and interest, maybe you can be given interesting tasks that will lead, after a while, to good letters of recommendation. It may not be possible to work up from a low level position to a better one at that university, but you may be able to leverage it for a position somewhere else.
Further down the list of suitable options is to look at good secondary institutions, rather than universities. There are many of them that find people with doctorates to be very desirable. The job is mostly teaching, and mostly introductory subjects, but it can pay the bills. If the place is also located close to a good university, you can make yourself known there and try to get connected to a research group so as to get some papers into publication. Initially they might be joint papers, of course.
But don't let your age be a deterrent. You will get older no matter what you do. Many people don't start their career until your age, in fact. But take a long view into following whatever opportunities present themselves, always with a view to a higher level position.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> Can someone please help me in right direction of finding an academic or non-academic job? Minimum salary will be acceptable.
>
>
>
If you really are just looking for anything at all to bring in a little bit of money to get back on your feet, I'd suggest looking for work as a tutor. You don't even necessarily need to apply for this job. In many cities I've seen freelance tutors advertising their services on paper flyers on noticeboards in cafes or shops, or you can post on local message boards like NextDoor or Craigslist. Look at [ads for other tutors for inspiration.](https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/lss) With your academic credentials and teaching experience, you could charge a fairly high hourly rate.
If you prefer a more structured environment, you could apply to be a tutor at a [large tutoring company like Kaplan](https://www.kaptest.com/about/teach). They will not require academic recommendation letters, but they may ask you to demonstrate your competency at standardized tests.
Somebody else had suggested teaching at a secondary school, and you mentioned the lack of teaching credentials as an obstacle. Depending on what country you're in, [private schools may not require](https://www.thoughtco.com/do-private-schools-require-teacher-certification-2773331) any official teaching certification, and they may be happy to employ an instructor with a PhD because it will make them seem prestigious.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Since you're searching for jobs around the world, I'll add specifics for the US. This may be similar to other countries, but no guarantees.
Many school districts in the USA will accept a Masters degree in lieu of a teacher's certificate, and a private school isn't required to have teachers with a teaching cert.
>
> Although private schools are not required by law to hire only licensed teachers, in most cases, a license is preferred. Private schools are more autonomous than public schools as they can create their own policies and standards. With that said, a school can decide to hire you with or without proper teaching credentials. The choice is entirely up to the individual school. Since most private schools prefer certified teachers, many schools will hire an individual without the proper certifications under the stipulation that the candidate continues his/her education.
>
>
>
<https://www.teacher.org/how-to-become/>
The same article states that you can do online teaching without a cert, but the basic teaching cert is just an exam that you can take. They name the Praxis exam, which actually has a variety of versions. It's not exactly cheap, but it's not outrageously expensive, either. If you don't live in the USA, you'll probably spend more to get to a test facility than the test costs. From my little bit of research, it doesn't look like they have online or international testing.
<https://www.ets.org/praxis/>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_test>
An aside
========
You may want to consider teaching one of the non-English languages you speak to get a foothold into a school. American, and other country's, schools might be more interested in that than your math skills. The first step is to get you into the system, then you might be able to demonstrate how good you are at teaching math, but they may think a local math teacher is just as good as a foreign math teacher, due to them not knowing you personally. Once you become a local teacher, you should have a better time changing subjects than just walking into it "from the outside".
I spent 20+ years looking for a job within the US, but where I'd have to relocate to take the job. I never got a single job I applied for that was more than 200 miles from my then current location. It wasn't until I actually moved to a new location and proved that I was local did I get a job. Most hiring managers seem to automatically, and unfortunately, discredit or discount you for not being local unless you have something they "can't live without". This "special ability" in your case is your ability to speak languages that are foreign to the school's location.
Again, I'd suggest you use that to your advantage. It might not be what you want to do, but it might help you get a job. Maybe you find you really like it, maybe you switch to math the next year, maybe you find another job somewhere else and get paid better in the industry, rather than academia. That's for later, though.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: You mention that you are German citizen. A few thoughts that are rather specific to Germany (assuming that is where you are as well):
* In Germany, *Arbeitszeugnisse* are [still] more usual than letters of recommendation, even though for academic positions letters of recommendation will be accepted in lieu. The Arbeitszeugnis is a letter by the employer certifying what the employee did and how they performed. At/after the end of an employment contract, the employee has a right to get one of these, and it must be both truthful and reasonably positive.
If you were previously employed in Germany, it may still be possible to get one. As is is a legal right, the employer cannot turn down the request unless they gave you one already when you finished there.
* >
> almost homeless
>
>
>
Time to talk to the [Sozialamt](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sozialamt_(Deutschland)) at your community center/town hall. That's probably not going to be fun, but it may be crucial.
Also organizations like Diakonie or Caritas or if you prefer one without Christian affiliation, the Arbeiterwohlfahrt may help you by having people who know how to talk/write to the Sozialamt (I don't know whether other religious communities have similar organizations, they may, or they may also have similar help organized on a more informal basis).
These organizations also offer postal addresses in case you do become homeless - the postal address is crucial in order to get a job.
* Mathematics teachers at school are scarce in all Länder. Some Länder offer training programmes for professionals in certain subjects (including STEM) who did not do the university courses to become a teacher.
This will obviously require excellent command of German, written as well as spoken.
* If you look for possiblities to get back to academia, consider also Fachhochschulen (universities of applied science) if you can land an industry job. In contrast to universities, Fachhochschulen *want* industry experience.
* Germany has lots of small to medium-sized companies, and also quite a number of universities outside the big cities in rural areas. The rumor has it that they have difficulties finding people - this may be your chance, at the very least as a (re)entry into the job market.
I'd roughly say: the larger the company/university where you apply, the less likely I expect them to be willing to overlook your difficulty in producing recommendations.
And in contrast to many other regions world-wide, rural Germany has IMHO a very acceptable living standard almost everywhere (and maybe a much better wage : living expenses ratio).
* You can tutor students and pupils. Mathematics is quite in demand in that respect.
In order to do so legally, you'll need to sign up as freelancer with the tax office and with the pension cass (while freelancers in general are not required to contribute to the governmental pension cass, freelancing teachers are unless they have employees). This option has burocratic consequences such as being required to do tax declarations and earlier deadlines for these tax declarations. Ask e.g. the local IHK what (free) information is available for possible founding of such a small scale business. The IHK is not exactly for freelancers, but they'll know about courses (free and paid).
Since you are mathematician, the [DMV](https://www.mathematik.de/) may be helpful (i.e. I'm chemist, and the [GDCh](https://www.gdch.de/) has a tiny but helpful subsection for freelancing chemists and people who think about becoming freelancers in chemistry).
* Still thinking in direction of teaching: I have no idea whether something like being a certified instructor with the [carpentries](https://carpentries.org/) helps (that's where I volounteer). The course has certainly helped my teaching, and it may show that you are serious in wanting to become a teacher. Also, if you volounteer with them (which costs you time, and you'll have to be able to pay upfront for the travel until the reimbursement arrives) you're going to meet different univeristies/institutes in person, and moreover they'll see you working. It may be worth while thinking whether such opportunities could get you over the lack of recommendation obstacle.
That is also a community where related jobs (worldwide) are reqularly posted on their mailing lists. Of course you can sign up for the mailing list without being an instructior, but I'd expect your chances there are much better if you are known in the community.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Search for non-academic jobs using your local jobs portal. Why non-academic? Because these jobs are much less likely to ask for recommendation letters.
1. Polish your resume. Make sure to write it so it's understandable by a non-academic. Get help if you need to, either from Google, or from your alma mater's career services center (if they have one).
2. Go to your local jobs portal. There should be plenty of them in Germany. Use Google to find them if you don't know what they are.
3. Search for jobs that require a degree (preferably a PhD) in mathematics. Find something you can do, and apply.
Here're a [couple of](https://www.stepstone.de/jobs--Data-Scientist-m-w-x-I-Additive-Manufacturing-Oberkochen-Baden-Wuerttemberg-ZEISS--6237492-inline.html?lang=en&rewrite=1&rltr=30_5_25_dynrl_m_0_0_0) [examples](https://www.stepstone.de/jobs--Angehender-Projektleiterin-Physik-Mathematik-Informatik-Sankt-Augustin-Raum-Koeln-Bonn-Fraunhofer-Institut-fuer-Intelligente-Analyse-und-Informationssysteme-IAIS--6350210-inline.html?lang=en&rewrite=1&rltr=22_22_25_dynrl_m_0_0_0) of results from such a search. You'll likely want to apply to more than two jobs.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: A recommendation letter is not always a pre-requisite to get a job. A company looks for dedication in an employee. Rather than applying online, show up with a hard copy of your CV. Maybe do some voluntary work (if applicable) for them and try to get their attention with that.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: I wrote an expository term paper in graduate school and posted it on my website, never trying to get it into a journal. Google Scholar says it now has 19 citations from various countries ("widely" is of course relative; what I mean is that this is more citations than my other publications have).
Since the article apparently resonated with an audience, should it now appear on my CV? If so, should I describe it with the name of the professor or course for which I wrote it, or just a title with no venue?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Since the article apparently resonated with an audience, should it now appear on my CV? If so, should I describe it with the name of the professor or course for which I wrote it, or just a title with no venue?
>
>
>
**Whether it should be included depends on your career path.**
For research positions, you should definitely include the manuscript on your CV and I'd suggest treating it like a technical report. (You could mention the course for which it was written (and possibly even the professor), but that depends how you introduce the work.) For other positions, it depends how relevant you consider the achievement.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: One strategy is to do a deep-dive to check up on the **quality** of those 19 citations.
* If you end up impressed: submit your paper to a journal. (The peer review will add some quality or quality control; the paper is less likely to disappear; and the author gets recognition.)
* If not: maybe just leave it as is and don't include on CV.
(I had a similar experience as you describe. Sometimes some less-serious researchers just want to cite something with the right words in the title... not saying that's the case with your citations but it's worth checking.)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Add unpublished but widely cited paper to CV?
>
>
>
**If it's widely cited, then it has been published.** Perhaps you mean - published only in non-refereed venues? If such work is meaningful and you feel like showcasing it, then you can certainly put it in your CV. I've done this with a monograph of mine that's on ArXiv - and it's not even widely cited.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I think its becoming more common to have divide the "publications" section of a CV into "Peer-reviewed primary research" and "Reviews, pre-prints and other non-reviewed publications". Would that work for you?
Upvotes: 4
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2020/02/20
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm trying to transfer, I'm a good student and one of my teachers is writing me what I assume will be a fantastic letter.
I am in an upper undergrad level (200+) CS course with this teacher. We had a group project, and without going into too much detail, I was discouraged from intellectual exploration and feel like I was put into a box.
We're submitting our individual write ups, so I have the opportunity to address my feelings about the project. What I wrote is strongly worded but I feel like it gives a fair assessment of what my problem was.
Is this a bad idea? I will feel awful if I have to let this slide without saying something about it, but I also strongly dislike my institution and want to do what I have to do in order to transfer. Should I include my assessment or should I hold off until after I apply?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> What I wrote is strongly worded but I feel like it gives a fair assessment of what my problem was.
>
>
>
I would reconsider the strongly-worded part. Giving a fair assessment is good, but people rarely react well to sharp criticism, and this can burn bridges. My advice is to **state facts, not conclusions.** For example, rather than saying that you were "discouraged from intellectual exploration" (a conclusion), you could say that you were "disappointed not to be able to pursue X" (a fact).
>
> Should I include my assessment or should I hold off until after I apply?
>
>
>
Assuming what you write is not ridiculously far over the line, I would not expect your professor to change their letter of recommendation. Particularly if they've already written it, I doubt they would take the time to go back and make changes.
But, consider the cost-benefit analysis. The (potential) cost is burning a bridge (you can mitigate this by being diplomatic). The potential reward is that future students might have a better experience, but this is likely only if the professor (a) does not already agree with you, (b) agrees with you after reading your report, and (c) chooses to address your feedback.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Have you tried speaking with this professor about the project, in an open and non-confrontational way? We don't have any details about the event you're describing, but maybe the professor had a perfectly valid reason for what was done, even if it isn't clear to you right now. Ask for feedback about that project, and why you were asked to do it the way you were.
Professors are people too, with all the same weakness and faults. A strongly-worded criticism in the official record is not likely to be taken well, nor is it likely to result in positive change in the future, nor is it likely to improve the recommendation letter they write for you.
If you have already discussed it with the professor and remain unsatisfied, I would still advocate for leaving it alone. You already discussed it with them and didn't get anywhere; a strongly-worded review is unlikely to get any further. It's natural to have the urge to repeat a point with extra force if you feel like you weren't heard the first time, but that urge also hardly ever accomplishes anything. Take your fantastic recommendation letter and move on.
Good luck at your new institution.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: I suggest that you leave it alone. Or at least leave it alone for a few months and see if you, then, feel the same way.
There is much to lose and little to gain.
And, while you may *feel* unsatisfied, you may still have learned from the course and the project. You can, in fact, learn from people that you don't like. If your time hasn't been wasted then don't let emotions spoil what may be a good thing.
As long as this isn't a situation in which you need to protect yourself, give yourself time for reflection and evaluation.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: Part of maturing is resisting the urge. The urge to say the first thing that comes into ones mind, the urge to say the second thing that comes into ones mind and the urge to say anything at all.
If you do not like your project, remember this, and do it differently when it is your turn to arrange things. My experience is, you will with high probability suddenly discover how difficult it is to get things right while balancing every other constraint around it. You do not know why they designed the project the way they did. You talk about 200+ course participants? Perhaps they simply do not have the manpower to manage each of you individually, who knows?
Also, I find it remarkable that a comparatively minor criticism (such as the style of a problem-solving session, compared to - say - bullying, intimidation and the like) so much more often elicits the urge in people to write "strongly worded" responses. If people stood up to the system earlier in serious violations, who knows, perhaps we would not be where we are?
Maybe you are right in your criticism. Maybe not. We cannot judge. But you should think very carefully what you wish as outcome from expressing this criticism. If it is just venting and making your point, I recommend to drop it.
If it is that you really wish to improve things for future generations, and that's what you sacrifice your own well-being for (namely your letter of recommendation), that is your decision - in this case, the "strongly worded" part is counterproductive. You will neither get a fantastic LOR (unless the teacher is a saint) nor help future generations. The best in this case is a factual, but not charged list of suggestions for improvements. Best is you concentrate on the really important ones rather than a long list of "could be improved" entries.
Finally, keep in mind the possibility that you have not seen the whole context under which this project has been run and your teacher actually knows what they are doing.
Sometimes (and we, your internet advisers, cannot ultimately judge whether this is the case here) not saying anything *is* the best thing to do.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/20
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<issue_start>username_0: So, I’m a postgraduate student, and I checked a softcover textbook out of my university library for my personal studies. When I pulled it out of my bag today, I noticed that the bottom corner (on the side away from the bindings) had begun to curl forward, possibly from the weight of the book resting on its bottom edge in my bag.
Are there any methods of mitigating or repairing the damage being done to the book? Would it be possible to prevent this sort of damage from occurring in the future? I did a Google search, and all I saw was dubious “life hacks” talking about books damaged by humidity (and while it is rather warm and humid here, I’m not sure if that’s playing much of a role here).<issue_comment>username_1: Damage can be mitigated with [library bindings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_binding), which are designed to protect heavily used books.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Since you can't do anything which would permanently alter the book, why not try putting the book in a box before placing it in your bag? If you have a large enough Tupperware\* container, that would probably do the trick.
\*Other brands of plastic lunchbox are available.
This answer was inspired by this Tweet: <https://twitter.com/TomekMoss/status/1230117769565392896?s=20>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Don't try to repair the book. If you're an honest person, point out the damage when you return the book.
Libraries repair books. They have the tools and expertise to do it properly, without causing greater damage. They do it in a way which will preserve aesthetics and prevent future damage. And they treat it as a cost of doing business: they aren't going to yell at you, and except in extreme cases they're not going to bother charging you.
In the future, don't put things that shouldn't be bent (like softcover books) in an environment where they'll be bent (like the main compartment of a backpack).
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/20
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<issue_start>username_0: Recently I applied for a summer research internship in a lab in South Korea.
This was the reply from the prof.
>
> Dear Student,
>
>
> Thank you for contacting me for internship.
>
> You have worked with an excellent scientist, Dr. Manhattan, which draws my attention.
> With his recommendation letter, I am willing to host your internship in my lab.
> What you shall study, unless you have something else particularly in mind, will be numerical calculation similar to what is in the attached paper.
>
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Professor X
>
>
>
What does he mean by "host"? Does it mean funding? How do I go on about asking him politely about it?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> What does he mean by "host"?
>
>
>
Host means (at a minimum) that you can work in the lab - the professor will provide space for you during the internship.
>
> Does it mean funding?
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>
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It is ambiguous. This partially depends on what you asked for in your original letter asking for an internship.
>
> How do I go on about asking him politely about it?
>
>
>
Being hired is still contingent on a good recommendation letter from Prof XXXX. Assuming you can wait for that letter, I would ask about the terms of the internship after the letter is delivered when you confirm that the professor has received it and is still interested in hiring you for the internship. You still need to confirm that you are interested in working on the topic in the provided paper.
Asking about a list of different things can take off some of the stress around asking about funding directly. You can, for instance, ask about dates of employment, expected hours, whether there is a travel or housing allowance, and whether there is a stipend. You might also ask about whether you'd work with others in the lab and expectations for publishing.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> How do I go on about asking him politely about it?
>
>
>
Usually, the academics have their own funding, and it is not usually *rude* to ask them for some money.
Thus, you can simply go with this:
>
> Dear Professor,
>
> I am honored by your kind comments. I am willing to
> study under your supervision.
>
> I would like to ask one thing. Is it
> possible for you to cover my expenses partially? I need this knowledge
> to state a budget to my supervisor for my potential visit.
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> <NAME>
>
>
>
This kind of mail is perfectly fine, because almost everyone in academia usually depends on funding for research visits.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Ask directly
------------
You need a clear answer, and it's rather important for everyone involved that there is no misunderstanding. So you *do* have to explicitly ask about the funding.
What did you ask for initially? From the message you quoted, it seems that you asked for X and the professor responds that yes, they're giving you that.... but if you did not ask for funding, then it does imply that you asked for a non-funded position and that you were okay with that. In particular, the wording about 'hosting an intership' generally implies an unfunded position. So in this situation it seems possible that funding can be arranged, and it's also quite possible that they will refuse.
In any case, although it would have been far better to explicitly ask for this earlier, it's still better to resolve this issue (one way or another) sooner instead of waiting.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: He’s written that he’s offering you an academic internship to work on a numerical calculation similar to the example he sent you, WHILE you continue your studies. You must be a Ph.D candidate, and as such, you more than likely can have up to three “internships” or rotations with different faculty members within the department to help you choose what your area of study and subsequent dissertation will be. Since your tuition and fees are covered as part of your acceptance into the program, the internships allow you to earn money for your room and board while simultaneously allowing you to pick a professor to work with towards your doctorate. Each professor you work with has applied for and been awarded research monies that include funding specifically designated to pay an intern who will hopefully become their graduate research and/or teaching assistant.
I would not ask the professor directly, rather I would reach out to the office of the Dean of Student Affairs, or Dean of Graduate Studies to find out what is involved in accepting an internship, i.e. what your commitment entails in terms of time and deliverables, what the pay rate and pay schedule is for internships, and what grants are available to help with a relocation. If those details seem reasonable, go get that recommendation. Just my 2 cents.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/20
| 1,092
| 4,418
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<issue_start>username_0: This semester, I attended a seminar where the grade will be based on work turned in by attendees in about a month. The lecturer has set up a 'get-together' of all students in his home, where he will be preparing dinner. Alcoholic drinks apparently will also be provided (beer).
I do not plan on attending, but I am worried this may affect my grade (declining/not answering an invitation).
My question is: Is it appropriate for a lecturer to organize such an event?
I am sure he means no harm, as he is very nice in general. As he has organized dinners with his courses before (last time I know of, it was after grading), I suspect my universities policies do not forbid this.<issue_comment>username_1: As you say, it may or may not violate university policy, but I do think it may cross some boundaries either way.
Let me put it this way - if a fellow lecturer came to me and asked me whether it's appropriate to organize such an event I would advise against it:
1. It excludes some students (in particular, those who are probably less sociable than others, those who don't drink or have dietary restrictions, or just those who don't like the lecturer).
2. It offers students a plausible argument against the lecturer in case they get a bad grade: it makes it appear as if they are playing favorites.
3. There is a power imbalance: grades aren't out yet, and students may feel like their grades depend on how nice they are to the lecturer (they may not be wrong!).
In general, socializing with students when a course is ongoing and their grades are still not set is something I would *not* recommend. Students like you who are uncomfortable and worry that their grades may suffer are exactly the reason why.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I think it's completely appropriate.
As an anecdote, when I was an undergrad I was in a similar situation. The professor of a WW2 history class I was taking invited all 20-or-so of us undergrads to his home for a barbecue and tour of his collection of WW2 era guns, equipment, newspaper clippings, and so on. It occured before final grades came out.
In hindsight, it was one of those great lasting memories you make in school. I ended up majoring in a different field, but have since still kept a keen interest in history because, at least in part, of the experience I had there. Had that professor decided not to have such an event I would absolutely consider my undergraduate experience to be lesser than it was, and I think the same is true for many of my classmates both in that year and every other year the professor held such an event.
---
We, of course, don't know you or your lecturer, but I would be absolutely shocked if he has anything but pure intentions. If you don't want to go just reply to the invitation that you've got a prior commitment and can't make it.
Given you know that this lecturer has had this event in the past (after grades) indicates that it's almost assuredly done with positive intentiontions. Perhaps this year he has to travel immediately after he finishes grades, or the school scheduled his final later than last year and he has less time than normal. Maybe he's done it after grades in the past and had low attendance from foreign students who often have to travel right immediately and he wants to include them as well.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: “I don’t think it would have all got me quite so down if just once in a while—just once in a while—there was at least some polite little perfunctory implication that knowledge should lead to wisdom, and that if it doesn't, it's just a disgusting waste of time! But there never is! You never even hear any hints dropped on a campus that wisdom is supposed to be the goal of knowledge. You hardly ever even hear the word 'wisdom' mentioned!” - Franny, in <NAME>, *Franny and Zooey*
Where I was an undergrad, the school in fact reimbursed professors for the costs of hosting students in upper level classes, once per semester, for dinner at their home. (I'm sure there were various restrictions and caveats, and probably only actual food costs were included, but I don't know the details.)
It was felt, correctly in my opinion, that social contact between professors and students improved student learning - not only specifically in the subject matter of the course, but in life in general as well.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/20
| 1,340
| 5,576
|
<issue_start>username_0: A predator journal (Americal Journal of Applied Mathematics) regulary sends me mails about how I should submit to them or join the peer review. Recently I discovered there is a Unsubscribe link in the mail. Now I'm wondering if I should use it.
On one hand, if it works, great.
On the other hand a general rule is not to reply to spam in any way. I can't say where I've heard that but that is my usual MO. But the predator journals are not a fake Nigerian prince, so I'm wondering if I should unsubscribe.
I am aware of the fact I can just mark these mail as spam or delete them automatically with a decent mail client. This alternative is known, but not part of the question. The question is if unsubscribing would be without negative consequences. Maybe someone had some experiences with SciencePG (the predator publisher) or similar groups.
EDIT: For future readers I would like to point out Nav's comment, which links [here](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/92721/unsubscribe-safely/92742)<issue_comment>username_1: >
> The question is if unsubscribing would be without negative consequences.
>
>
>
You can't know in advance, even if others have had positive experiences. Predatory journals aren't well-behaved. (I suggest automatic deletion.)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: The problem is that unsubscribing to the e-mail list requires you to follow a link send to you in e-mail. As general rule this is already something that you should be hesitant to do, even with e-mails from reliable sources.
A predatory journal is not a reliable source of course. Even if the journal is not actively trying anything dubious with the link, a predatory journal is bound to be a small scale operation, meaning that they are more at risk of having their domain compromised in some way.
If you do decide to follow the link, please take standard precautions like copy-and-pasting the link rather than following it directly, and checking that the link actually leads to a domain controlled by the journal.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: **The crucial point for that decision is how legitimate the journal is (or tries to be) and how much on the untrustworthy side where they try to make money any way they can it is.**
If they try hard to appear trustworthy or they are honestly trying to set up a journal but are really bad at it, unsubscribing may well work and not have negative repercussions - obviously you are not the guy to fall for them and they might move on to other candidates. However, if they fall into the "general villain" category - making money any (illegitimate) way they can - then trying to unsubscribe might well not work or have other negative side effect. That could be you receiving more spam or being targeted for more elaborate phishing attempts as you have proven that the mail address is actively read by someone. No one can tell you for sure what will happen either way in general. It's always a probability game.
However, as mmeent points out: As always it is prudent to not just click on any link in a mail. Instead check where the link points, go to the main website and see if that is a website affiliated with that journal/publisher or a generic mailing list provider. If it is the first, just look on the website for an unsubscribe option or hand-type the url from the mail if you want to try to unsubscribe.
If it is the latter, the same analysis that you just did for the publisher applies to the mailing list provider - is it legitimate or not. If you still want to unsubscribe look at their page for such an option or again make sure you actually end up on an address on their page when copying the link.
If there is a 3rd party mailing list provider involved that is legitimate and you consider the publisher so far in the villain area that you consider them criminal, reporting them to the mailing list provider might also be a way to shut their mails down...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Your fear has some grounding, but is probably misplaced this time.
Some spam is really malicious, and is trying to feed you a virus, or phish you. However, most isn't, and is just trying to get you to spend money. Predatory Journals almost certainly fall into the latter category.
Most mailings come via an email mailing list service, such as mailchimp. Whilst the journal may not be reputable, the mailing list service probably is, and will honour the unsubscribe, and not do anything bad with your details (they may keep them on file on a *suppression list* to prevent you being resubscribed, or they may purge them completely).
So it's almost certainly OK to ubsubscribe.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: As a general rule, any time you respond to an email or click a link in it, you provide information to the sender. A distinct issue with "unsubscribe links", is that it provides feedback that *you definitely read the email*, making your address more valuable to unscrupulous senders.
If your goal is not to provide them information (it probably should be) and not bother seeing them, do not interact with the email(s), but segregate them based upon some filter into a different directory for later inspection/deletion.
I recommend this type of strategy for not just Journals, but all email.
**EDIT:** Unsubscribing safety is now well-covered in the Question!
>
> EDIT: For future readers I would like to point out Nav's comment, which links [here](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/92721/unsubscribe-safely/92742)
>
>
>
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/02/20
| 605
| 2,604
|
<issue_start>username_0: The title says it all. The journal published my paper without sending me the final proofs beforehand. I didn't even find out that the paper had been finally published from the journal; I found out from an ORCID update. With other journals, I always got a final look to make sure the edits were done correctly, but that step was missing here.
Is this normal? I'm quite perturbed, because the copy-editors had made lots of inappropriate edits, and I wanted to double check that they had fixed everything before the paper went live.
The publisher is Wiley (which I don't have experience with).<issue_comment>username_1: Each publishing house seems to deal with this differently, but it's certainly not unknown for electronic versions to appear earlier in the publishing process than the final print version. Based on your comment, this seems to be what's happened to you. These versions are subject to change, and should get updated when your proofs are finalized and your work gets inserted into an "issue". Assuming this is a traditional journal, that's also the version that will get put onto paper, etc.
While it can be annoying, you should note that this isn't the version the journal will advertise (on its website, mailing lists etc.), nor the version that people will *cite*, so unless you are sending the web link out somewhere, it's not going to be held against you.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Is this normal? I'm quite perturbed, because the copy-editors had made lots of inappropriate edits, and I wanted to double check that they had fixed everything before the paper went live.
>
>
>
I'm a journal editor (Taylor & Francis) and have edited special issues (Springer), so in my experience this is **not** normal in the slightest. Even though it is an "Early View" article, this is a standard part of the publishing pipeline, and we'd expect those to be the finished version (just waiting for the formal assignment of a volume/issue number as space opens up).
If this happened to me, I would be disappointed.
You should e-mail the handling editor who you corresponded with.
My *guess* is that something has happened in the interplay between editorial staff and the back-office Wiley people, and I would *guess* that the handling editor would be just as disappointed and surprised as you. You want these edits to happen as quickly as possible, as once the DOI is minted and its an "early view" article - as you know - people will be getting their Google Scholar alerts etc. and beginning to read and cite the piece.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2020/02/20
| 1,205
| 4,887
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have been invited for a phd interview and I was asked to prepare a 4 minute presentation with a max of 2 slides only on myself and my research interests. The fact that it's extremely restricted in time and number of slides makes me a bit too anxious. I'm not sure what info I'm expected to present in such a short time and in just 2 slides. Any tips?<issue_comment>username_1: They want you to be very specific and very quick, that's fine. That's good.
**Slide 1:** Who are you? Your academic past, or some other relevant information (e.g. industry experience, if relevant to your future research). That should take about 1 minute.
**Slide 2:** What are your research interests? Did you do a masters, and if so what is it about, what was the *main* result? Other things that you'd be interested in doing during your years as a student. Here it's important not to veer too far off course. Especially if you're joining a "pre-defined" program, but showing additional interests is a good thing.
Both of these slides can be set up as bullet points that cover the main sentence from each point, with or without "reveals", up to your preference. And practice with a friend, and with yourself (record and time yourself).
Good luck!
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: 2 slides in 4 minutes is not an excessively low number; I'd be worried more about four minutes than two slides. The restriction is probably to make people speak from their knowledge and use the slides as a visual aid, rather than reading from Powerpoint. You want people to be listening to you except when you point to a graphic - not ignoring you while they read a slide.
My advice would be to put no text on your slides, except perhaps your name. Choose 2-4 important images, figures, or other visuals that illustrate your work, and use the slides for those. Have confidence in what you know, and you'll find that you don't need to take prompts from your own slides any more. Practice what you want to say out loud plenty of times, to make sure you don't forget something important and to make sure you're within the time (in an interview they almost certainly will penalise you if you go over time). If it helps you, maybe put a *few* subject headings on an index card as reminders.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Don't use slides at all. They know your name. They have your resumé. Just talk. Say why you are passionate about the subject you wish to research. Say why your academic achievements qualify you to research it. Make eye contact as you do so.
If you use slides they will distract you from making those key points, and they risk distracting the interview board too. You want them to focus on you not on your slides.
By all means prepare slides that you never show if that helps you plan your talk. But don't show them!
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: You should be able to summarize your thesis in 5 minutes or to talk for 2 hours about a subset of one paper. -said a teacher I admire
In addition to (perhaps meld into) the great answer by inkblot, consider the possibility of a table on either interests or accomplishments.
Something with headings like Topic/Finding (not the full title)/Publication (add a fn for ref at bottom of slide, but the just the journal and perhaps year is enough for large text in a viewgraph.
Allows for quick scanning of the content, forces you to organize topic...and sorta emphasizes that you get things published (which is bringing the bacon home, getting the ball over the goal line).
Examples might be something like (within a topic of Taniana-steel examination)
Electrical properties/ Superconductivity at 1K, under presssure/ Science
Electrical properties/ Frustrated heating/ J. More MechE Papers (in press)
Application testing/ Underformance in pick axes/ J. Mining Tools
Application testing/ Failure in fracking pump/ J. Petr. Engin. (submitted)
Etc./Etc./Etc.
(You may have some papers off the beaten track of the thesis but just put them at the bottom of the table and make clear with a cell highlight or a line across the table that these are outside the main topic.)
Of course, you can do the same thing with the hierarchical structure of PPT bullets. But a table looks cleaner and easier to read than the indented bullets. Also, lots of busy people are used to seeing dashboards.
If there is some iconic image to dress up the slide, consider to add it, so that there is a little visual impact and something showing actual content. For the example above, I would do the graph of transition point of the superconducting Taniana-steel...as it is your most noteworthy event. Obviously in a longer talk you'd have graphs from most of the papers and one per slide. But you don't have the time. And so, it will be more in the mannner of an illustration that is good salesmanship.
Upvotes: -1
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2020/02/20
| 1,183
| 5,025
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<issue_start>username_0: How is a 5-year [engineer's degree](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Engineer's_degree#/Europe_(prior_to_the_Bologna_Process)) viewed among the admission committee for PhD applicants? How much weight does the name of the degree have in the review process?
Assuming a choice were to be made between an applicant who has an engineer's degree and another who has a master's degree in the same field (supposing the applicants are equal with respect to the other factors: same letters of recommendation, same SOPs,...) would the master's holder be advantaged just by virtue of holding a master's degree? What if the engineer's degree holder had taken courses that would be viewed more favorably with respect to the program they are applying to, would he still be at a disadvantage?
It would be fantastic if applicants and/or admission committee members could share their personal experience with this matter.
EDIT: The applicants hold degrees in Electrical Engineering, and are applying to a PhD in Electrical Engineering. But this doesn't exclude answers from those who were in similar engineering fields (e.g., Mechanical Engineering degree holder applying to a PhD in Mechanical engineering,...)
EDIT2: An [engineer's degree](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Engineer's_degree#/Europe_(prior_to_the_Bologna_Process)) is a degree received after usually 5 years of study. It used in some countries in Europe like France.<issue_comment>username_1: It's going to be a big old "that depends."
In the case of a very similar undergrad subject to grad subject, as electrical engineering to electrical engineering, the engineering degree will be looked on favorably. Especially if the undergrad school was a high ranked school.
The farther the subjects are apart the less weight the engineering degree will hold. For example, electrical eng. undergrad to computer science PhD is possible, if the undergrad had lots of computer science type classes. And so on. If the undergrad degree had a strong emphasis on courses that are relevant, then it is possible. You will be facing stiff competition, so you would need to have some reason to be picked over more directly relevant students. High marks or relevant work experience or special projects or really good letter of recommendation or some such.
If the subjects are very far apart then you will be facing a very high barrier. Especially if you didn't take a lot of relevant classes.
It is possible to jump specialties. But it's a tough thing to do.
My PhD supervisor did his undergrad in Engineering Science. This is a very unusual degree in that students basically pick a science area, and double up. They must pass all the requirements for the other department, and all the requirements for an engineering degree. My prof did physics. So he got all the core courses for a physics degree, and all the core courses for an engineering degree. And he aced it all.
One of my co-students in my PhD did an undergrad in languages. He could speak five, and write four, including Mandarin and Russian. But he also loaded up on math and physics. So he fit in well in a particle physics PhD.
My prof's prof was <NAME>.](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/B00EKOLMEU) Moffat had no undergrad degree. He was living in Paris and making a living as an artist, learning physics in his spare time. Then he wrote Einstein a letter asking him how to solve some tricky problem. Einstein wrote back. After a few exchanges, Einstein asked him why he didn't ask his own prof these questions? And when Moffat explained he was just an artist living in Paris, Einstein got him into Cambridge in the PhD program.
So it's possible. But it takes unusual circumstances. And you need to do a lot of prep work before you go.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It would be naive to think that the name of your degree is hugely determinative of your suitability for a doctoral admission. What matters is what you did within the degree and how suitable it is for the next level. An engineering degree might be highly suitable for a degree in applied math. Or not.
What any admissions committee wants to know is how suitable is your preparation for the upcoming work and how likely is it that you will succeed in it. The name of the degree doesn't mean much other than as indicators that sort of suggest what you have done in the past. "Resource Engineering" (is that a thing?) only gives a hint of that.
They will look at the courses you took, especially if there is some change in field. They will look at how you did in the courses they think important, largely ignoring others. They may look for some research and/or writing experience. They will look, in most cases, at your letters of recommendation and at who wrote them. But it is predictors of success that they need to see.
A degree in Mechanical Engineering might not be suitable at all for a doctorate in EE (though I don't know that for sure) while a degree in CS might be more appropriate.
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/02/20
| 1,056
| 4,580
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<issue_start>username_0: I took an exam online and immediately after the exam typed in the programming question on google to see if there is an answer out there so I have an idea if I did well on the exam. I found on Chegg that people were taking pictures of their computer screen with the exam questions and I reported it to the professor.
Now I really regret doing that because I am 100% sure the professor will look at my protected exam video and try to blame me for cheating as well.
Can I be blamed for cheating on an exam without a proof, and if I didn't do anything wrong? the reason why I think the professor will watch the video is because I sent him an email telling him that there were some background noises from outside of the room during the exam, in case the screen protecting software detects the sounds and flags my exam, it happened to me before in another course and the professor said that only if the exam is flagged will she watch the video but this professor said he will watch the video and let me know if he has any questions.
what are the chances of something like that happening, and if I am accused with cheating, how will I be even able to prove I didn't?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't understand your exam situation as you describe it, but that's not really an issue.
Yes, if that professor has had an academic dishonesty issue with you, it is a reality that the professor may choose to look at your work more rigorously than otherwise. Your performance is what generates the way people think about you. Even so, the plagiarism you describe doesn't really suggest that you would cheat on an exam. I have, in the context of academic honesty hearings that I've served on, seen students have two findings against them in the same semester by the same prof.
If your academic dishonesty incident was in another class with another professor, your current professor would, by policy, not be aware of the incident unless directly told by the other professor, and that is really frowned upon in many places. If this is the case, there would be no reason to focus extra attention on your work.
I don't understand your situation about the video, even a little bit. If you sealed your exam prior to opening the browser to search for the question, you should be OK, unless somehow there is real evidence of cheating on your exam or on the video.
All that said, you can't see what's on Chegg without a Chegg account. With a finding of academic dishonesty against you, I *strongly* recommend deleting your Chegg account, and never log on to it again, either with your account or a "borrowed" account. You have a finding against you. A second finding will yield real penalties, and a third might lead to a permanent separation. You would be amazed by how often I hear the word "Chegg" at academic honesty hearings.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: The time stamp for when you submitted your exam will be EARLIER than the time stamp for when you started your on-line search.
For all other cases, as the saying goes: Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Your case will be reviewed as appropriate to the level of evidence. The burden of proof that you did cheat (again) or not is likely first left for the instructor to determine. Your arguments will not be weighed for validation that the evidence is *beyond any reasonable doubt*. Rather, they will be weighted based on the metric of *what will a reasonable person conclude from this body of evidence*. All that the instructor needs to be able to say is ... This student was told not to undertake this action, and the evidence reasonably shows that this student undertook this action.
The best bet to clarify where you stand is to summarize your statements in writing and to present them to the faculty instructor before the instructor decides to review your case. Only the instructor can answer your questions without hypothetical generalizations.
Finally, academic misconduct is NEVER excusable as being "unintentional". You have a responsibility as a student to learn the rules that govern your conduct while at the university. You were certainly presented with a written code of conduct by the university and perhaps also by the professor *before* the course if not before you entered the university. Otherwise, you could not have been charged with misconduct for your behavior. A claim *after the fact* that you cheated but that your cheating was "unintentional" suggests a degree of laziness, disrespect, arrogance, or self-righteousness toward learning and following the rules.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/20
| 637
| 2,839
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<issue_start>username_0: I am applying to become a PhD student in some institutions. My master record isn't exactly perfect mainly because I didn't complete it in time: I should have completed it in two years but it took me far longer.
Now, during the master I have had some serious healthy and personal issues that can **partially** justify not finishing in time: I had to stay several months in my hometown without the possibility to study or do anything university related because of a certain situation. Even when I came back to University it took me quite a bit of time to fully recover physically and mentally.
I wish I could tell this in my application since it can be important to not put me at a strong disadvantage with respect to people that took one year less than me to get to this point.
Should I talk about this?
If yes, where and how? I was thinking about writing a few lines in the cover letter but I have no idea how detailed such things should be. From one side I wouldn't like to give detailed informations on my personal issues to random people and from another side I'd like to be clear on how affected I was by them. I'd also like to be extremely clear that this issues, in my opinion, don't completely justify my delay in finishing the study.
Maybe I should simply not worry about it and just apply and see what it comes out of it, but I'm not in a mood to waste chances right now.
Clarification: the question refers to the programs that require some sort of cover letter/personal statement, as far as regards the programs that don't require it, I can do nothing about them.<issue_comment>username_1: I suggest you say very little in your application materials. Nothing more than "My completion was delayed by medical/(or whatever) considerations, now resolved."
Just that. If you get into a situation in which you need to say more, it will likely be with a small group and you can go into detail as you see best.
They will have some valid concern that the old issues won't cause a problem in the future, so be prepared to address that.
And who can say, even yourself, what contributed to the delay. Illness, family problems, lots of things can cause stress that reduce focus and make things harder. Don't make assumptions that you've done wrong, at least not in public.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Be very brief and to say that the problems are fixed now. Nobody wants to hear you bare your soul, to get the details on how your grandpa died or broke your leg or whatever. You are a more mature person and more dedicated person now. You are trying to sell yourself here. So all you want to do is show that you covered the issue and then shift the topic to points where you can show positive attributes. (Worked in industry successfully, etc., whatever you have.)
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/02/21
| 1,980
| 8,575
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<issue_start>username_0: I think many experience the following: Sometimes I want to get the main message of a paper within 10 min then I am annoyed by any less important details distracting me. And sometimes I spend days or weeks to understand a certain part of a paper, where I would highly appreciate any further information on that aspect of the paper. Or I am just very curious if the authors got further results on a very specific aspect of their paper.
So I think good papers should be more interactive in a way that the reader can easily choose which parts to read and which parts can be skipped without missing the main message (or the introduction of the notation necessary to understand the main message).
I know about the following methods to achieve this goal:
1. less important stuff in the Appendix
2. Using remark environments to indicate that a certain remark provides additional information.
3. Using good section titels to let the reader choose which aspects they want to read.
4. Using footnotes to provide optional additional information that is specifically related to the content at the position where the footnote appears
5. Using lowlighted (i.e. grey / half transparent) text to indicate less important additional optional information.
6. Using smaller fontsize to indicate less important additional optional sections or paragrahps.
7. `\underbrace`, `\overbrace` to explain certain terms (that might be obvious to some readers)
8. `\overset` such as `$a\overset{\text{Th. 1}}{=}b+c$` to indicate that *a*=*b*+*c* holds true because of Theorem 1, which might be obvious to some readers, but not to others.
9. (Writing something unimportant in parenthesis.)
10. There are probably more options...
I think all of these methods have their advantages and disadvantages and I think for each of them there exist scenarios where they can be very helpful for readability. I don't really understand why some journals and even Arxiv forbid some of them.
Question 1: What are the pros and cons of low lighting text by making it half transparent? Are there situations where it is helpful?
I think for example for papers in the intersection of mathematics and computer science grey symbols inside formulas can be useful to allow readability for both communities. E.g. a real valued random variable X is typically introduced as `$X:(\Omega,\Sigma)\to(\R,\mathfrac{B})$` in mathematics literature, but this might unnecessarily confuse some computer scientists, because in this field of computer science the assumptions expressed by this notation are typically made implicitly without explicitly writing it down. So making `:(\Omega,\Sigma)\to(\R,\mathfrac{B})` half transparent is understandable for both communities.
Therefore, we wrote our paper using lots of lowlighting and uploaded it to Arxiv a couple of months ago. Now, we wanted to update it fixing some typos and to furhter generalize the theory, but we got a mail, that highlighting and lowlighting is not accepted by Arxiv, because it is too unconventional.
Question 2: What can we do know? Is there an equally good alternative instead of lowlighting?
Related other questions:
[Is there a way to improve the readability of equations in research papers?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/36502/is-there-a-way-to-improve-the-readability-of-equations-in-research-papers)
[Is highlighting important references a good idea?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/84810/is-highlighting-important-references-a-good-idea)<issue_comment>username_1: Think of this as an engineering project. You would read the existing literature, and learn about best practices in a field, before even thinking of creating your own new solutions.
Do the same sort of web searching, book selection, and reading on formatting technical material for readability as you would if you were trying to contribute to a field of engineering you have used, but not previously studied.
While articles are often formatted by their authors, who are experts on the subject matter, textbooks may benefit from formatting by experts on readability. Select a few of the textbooks you have found most helpful, and study them again analyzing their formatting rather than their content.
I suggest looking at a few issues of Scientific American. Its economic survival depends on producing articles that can be enjoyed by anyone from a total novice to an expert. Many of their readers are experts in some of the fields they cover, but novices in most.
Most likely, after studying the field, you will find that simply following existing best practices will meet your needs.
If, on the other hand, you think you have an advance to contribute to the field of technical typesetting, test it carefully. Measure readability of different versions using experimental subjects who vary in age, eyesight, familiarity with the language, and subject matter skill. Of course, you may have a minimum level of subject matter and language skill.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Not a fan of smaller (inline) text or greyed text. You should be able to use structure, appendices, footnotes, abstract, conclusion, figure captions (left out of your list) as good enough keys to allow the time-pressed reader to skim to key parts and/or inspect details as needed. There is no need for the textual tools you propose given the other tools available.
I would avoid using greyed, or small, text as it is hard to read. Consider especially that some readers may be over 30 (start to get presbyopia). Also that some people may print the article for reference (faint type is a printing/copying problem, even worse than the eyestrain on screen).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This is admittedly a non-answer, addressing rather the background of the question.
Sifting through complex, dense, pedantic, and difficult-to-read texts is part of research in *every* field. Every field has bad writers, and every field has highly technical subfields where nothing makes sense without detailed formulas or frameworks. Every field has data collection, whether it's other people's (sometimes ancient) writing, noisy measurements, or blurry images. And it just takes time to filter out noise. Really, I would argue that 90% of any research effort is sifting and sorting and filtering until you find that nugget of truth to share with the world. There are tools to help with this-- thanks especially to progressions in natural language processing, machine learning, and data analysis-- but, at the end of the day, filtering noise takes time.
I think you would do well to improve for yourself how you personally sift through noise-- for example, there are [many techniques](https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee384m/Handouts/HowtoReadPaper.pdf) for efficiently processing a research paper-- rather than investing time in trying to reinvent, well, writing.
By the way, papers *are* already interactive: it is always possible to e-mail the authors if you want more information. (Assuming they are still alive and active.) And if you want something that's really really interactive, make a video, applet, interactive code, etc.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Yes, there is an alternative to de-emphasizing the less important parts (which might possibly impair readability): Emphasize the most important parts. Something you can do is to use clearly outlined boxes with "take-home" messages, like in the example below:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1aqHB.png)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: I could fill a book with my (unorthodox) opinions about this. The arXiv is incredibly conservative about what it will accept, but I find it gratifying that you are thinking about this. Formatting makes a huge difference for a lot of people, due to disability, cognitive style, or just personal preference.
Something I imagine in my academic fantasy world, but have neither seen nor attempted myself, is to have papers posted in HTML format with customizable stylesheets. So the author would tag various sections as notational, of varying importance, etc., in very much the way you describe, and then the reader could load their own preferences about how they want that to be visually coded.
The old guard will probably go with print-like high-contrast plain vanilla, but I personally am strongly in agreement with you that visual cues reinforcing the organization of the paper would be extremely useful. However, those decisions are best left to the individual user.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: A former colleague (not collaborator) used main results of two of my published papers in a science documentary featuring their work. They had briefly mention to me at some point, that they wanted to use my work, including images from the paper to help explain their work. Of course, I said it would be fine, as long as they would contact the senior author of the work (images are copyrighted) and cited the authors/project name. This researcher never contacted the senior author and in the documentary there is no credit to any of the studies, not during the doc nor in the final credits. Also, the person never even mentions it is not their own work, so it makes it seem they did the work themselves. I would already be happy with something along the lines of "previous research has shown". But not one word indicates the work is not theirs.
I want to take action about this, but not sure what to do. I am no longer in the University where I published both papers, nor in the University where we were both colleagues. I emailed the senior author already and I am awaiting reply. But I want to take further action as the documentary just aired a couple of days ago.
* Would it be advisable to contact the makers of the documentary (it's a big US TV network)?
* Should I contact the University where this researcher is now working at? (The University name appears in the documentary as the person's affiliation)
* Should I approach them directly by email? What should I say?
* What would be the appropriate steps to take?
I want to take action, but don't want to get myself in legal issues either... so any advice is appreciated!
**Update**: One of my former advisors (not involved in any of the studies) strongly encouraged me to let it slide arguing that published information can be used by anyone in documentaries aimed to the lay public. And that documentaries cannot cite everyone involved in the research, as this is not interesting to the public. I am surprised this is their position. Does anyone else thinks this is the correct way to think about it?<issue_comment>username_1: You can contact the TV network and the University.
Point out the issue, without mentioning that you suspect intention or anything. As for your colleague, they promised something and didn't keep it, so they are not really reliable.
Without claiming that they left out your name intentionally (it quite easily may have been an oversight), the loss in terms of visibility is now so large that you want the information corrected, at least for future reference.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: **I agree with your former advisor**: *let it slide...published information can be used by anyone in documentaries...[they] cannot cite everyone*, perhaps even anyone, *as this is not interesting*, moreover, it's distracting. This applies not only to documentaries, but most manuscripts outside of academic publishing, e.g., textbooks, company reports, magazine articles, ... (That said, authors should ideally be able to produce sources.) **Bask in the glory of having your work included**, mention the media coverage on your CV, on your web page, in future research papers, etc.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I disagree with the other answers. This is journalistically poor. There is a reason why there are credits at the end of documentaries, and acknowledgement is part of this.
That said, the wrong is not the lack of citation to your work, it's the use of copyrighted images. It's your publisher who has really been wronged.
If you choose to pursue it, use whatever mechanisms your publisher requires to report improper use, and leave it at that. It's the publishers decision whether they pursue this.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I have got a rebuttal for the conference and require to respond the questions reviewers asked. However, the response section says "Your response must contain at most 500 words." How can I answer almost 20 reviewers questions in 500 words? Any suggestions?<issue_comment>username_1: You need to be strategic about the issues (including questions) you comment and don't comment on. Identify and address those issues that seem significant enough to sway a reviewer. Possible indicators for these issues are:
* The issue is mentioned in a context which suggests a possible major limitation/flaw of your work.
* The issue is mentioned repeatedly and/or with many words in the same review.
* The issue is pointed out by several reviewers.
If one of the reviewers sticks out as more negative than the others, give the others some hints to help them "disarm" the negative reviewer in the discussion. Point out any factual mistakes and misunderstandings in the review, possibly by pointing to sections in the paper they might have missed.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Some questions are just questions.
Some questions are suggestions for further work.
Some questions imply that reviewers may want to reject the work.
Address the last questions in your rebuttal and leave the others for now.
If there is an opportunity to give a revised work, then address the first group in the revision.
But it is really only the ones that seem to suggest rejection that are essential to address. If there are so many of those that they cannot be addressed within the limits then the paper may be doomed for now, but you can still give it your best effort.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Here are some responses that are under 25 words, each.
1. Fixed.
2. Fixed, except for subpoint 2.e on transmission spectroscopy, where we disagree (see ref 43, page 36 for details).
3. Not fixed. We are stating this as a possible interpretation of the data, with that caveat well stated.
You should be able to do the same. At least try. And of course if some answers are shorter than 25 words, than that allows for detailed discussion elsewhere. If they are minor issues, you may want to use a lot of "1", rather than debating not important things.
If things are still unreasonable, than (a) contact the editor/convenor to ask for relief. If that doesn't work, (b) pull the paper, ditch the conference, submit elsewhere. (Duh.) But something tells me from your initial squawks in the question and the comments below it, that your paper and you may need a little kick in the ass, that the reviewer is not being unreasonable.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I suspect I know which conference you are talking about (I am in the Program Committee) :)
Answering questions in the rebuttal phase of conferences is a newly emerging skill. Almost any paper faces the issue that you are facing - rebuttals are strictly word-limited, and the reviews / questions are waaaaay too long to clarify everything.
A good strategy for dealing with this depends on you understanding how the rebuttal will actually be *used* in the final phase of reviewing. Essentially, after your rebuttal, there will be a final phase of (online or physical) discussion among the reviewers and PC chairs to decide if the merits of your paper outweight its limitations, if the paper is important enough to warrant presentation at the conference, and so on. Many papers have nobody really willing to fight for it (i.e., everybody mostly sees limitations), and for these papers your rebuttal will not change anything. A handful of papers will only have people positive about the work, and in these rather rare cases the paper will be accepted no matter what you write. *Some* papers will have one or more quite positive people ("champions") and one or more people who are sceptical or downright negative. In these cases your rebuttal can play a major role in how the discussion goes.
Your rebuttal should be written for this specific case, and it should be written to give the champion(s) the best possible ammunition to counter the arguments of the sceptical crowd. That means:
* Answer questions where you have a **really convincing** answer, especially if they come from the most positive reviewers.
* If you identify factual mistakes or misunderstandings, clarify them directly and without the polite hollering one tends to do during journal reviews.
* Focus on questions or concerns that multiple reviewers have, especially if you have a good argument.
* Focus on concerns regarding methodology, validity, or importance of the work. Don't focus on presentation-level issues (the champion can always make an argument that these can be fixed in the camera-ready version, you don't have to point this out).
* Remember that you don't get an actual revision for most conferences. Do not agree that some additional work will be needed (even if it's small), this will work against you.
* *Do not* get into discussions that are a matter of taste or subjectivity (you won't change anybody's mind on those).
* *Do not* feel like you need to address everything.
* Skip polite phraseology ("Dear Reviewers, we are very grateful that you took the time to ..."). Get to the point.
Importantly, it's **not** similar to a response letter for a journal. You **do not** have to convince every single reviewer. Counter-intuitively, you need to focus your attention on the reviewers that may fight for your paper, and the ones that could realistically change their mind (in that order). Don't worry too much about a single reviewer that will never love your paper (especially one that does not like the kind of work you do or doesn't think it's important). You won't change their mind, and if the others champion your paper the PC chairs will likely side with the positive reviewers. Whereas in a response letter you will often "agree" with certain reviewer comments and fix them in the revision (even if you don't really agree), your goal here is to convince at least a subset of the reviewers that your *current version* is good as it is. Agreeing with the reviewer's concern may or may not get you sympathy points, but it will definitely not help you get the paper accepted.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_5: Is the 500-word limit *suggested*, or *strictly enforced?*
If the former, my experience is that you can simply ignore the limit, and include all answers to explicit questions where your answer is likely to be helpful. Of course, do not include answers that are not helpful. Since the reviewers are not required to read past the first 500 words, make sure to include the most important questions or points at the top, and more optional / unconvincing answers lower down.
This is the prevalent culture in my area of CS, where the limits in current top conferences are soft, rather than hard. I don't know about all other areas.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Is there an editor/convenor who could have potentially backed this 500-word idea and whom you can address with this question? They will possibly answer vaguely in the sense of shifting the burden of decision on you. Or possibly not, understanding the impossibility. At a minimum, if they are sensitive organisers, they may reconsider this system for future offerings of the conference (for example, by capping the number of remarks reviewers can rise). Probably you are not the only one to complain, and the feedback can reach critical mass.
In your approach to the editor you might want to underline that the unreasonable and unfair overhead comes precisely from selecting what is important to react to: so "pick up the most important points" just identifies where the solution cannot be implemented at a reasonable cost, and not a solution in itself.
You are certainly not bothered by improving the quality of your work, but this has to be proportionate to time normally allocated for a event of similar kind. Twenty (!!) reviewers are not two or three, quantity changes quality. Work has to be workable after all.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I've been corresponding with an editor at a university publishing company, but he suddenly stopped responding to my emails. Most recently, I sent him my book chapters and a summary of my book, but he has not gotten back to me, even though it has been a month since I sent him the email (in the meantime, I sent him another email, and also called him to confirm).
Should I take this as a sign that the editor is no longer interested in my work? Or should I try reaching him one more time?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm guessing that the explanation lies elsewhere. If he loses interest he would most likely tell you to "buzz off" using some polite language.
More likely is that something has come up in his real or professional life. Also possible is that you were a bit too chatty, requesting more feedback than there was time for. It is also possible that things have been going along well on the current state of your work but just isn't ripe enough for action at this time.
But you can certainly ask whether there is anything you need to do now and what time frame can you expect for the next required action.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: This is sadly a really common problem in the world of humanities publishing. Acquisition editors are often overworked, trying to balance the responsibilities of developing new projects, editing current ones, and moving projects through peer review. Given the importance that book projects have for careers, however, this isn't great.
You've been doing the right things – "in the meantime, I sent him another email, and also called him to confirm." I had a graduate student in a similar position, and here is what I would recommend:
* Send another short and firm e-mail, asking to acknowledge receipt and noting that you understand the busy workload. I would try to keep this a two-sentence email.
* If you don't hear within two weeks from that, if you need this for tenure/promotion/hiring, I would begin to **find another university press**. If they're lagging at this stage, they're going to lag at other stages: (a) finding peer reviewers (if applicable); (b) working with their Board of Directors; (c) moving this project to production.
Good luck. It isn't a comment on your work, likely, but rather a representation of their disorganized working habits.
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: Is it OK to share my results on Medium blog post or my personal website when I have signed a copyright form with IEEE or IET?
In the paper submission, I only shared the method and results. But I want to share the exact codes that I used to produce the result. Will it violate the copyright?
The second question is if I publish my result on my blog post before submitting my paper, will it cause any trouble with the reviewers or reviewing process?<issue_comment>username_1: Can you - probably yes but may depend on what you signed with your institution.
Should you - no - peer review exists for a reason, and also if you make your results public how can you then produce a paper from them - especially if someone else publishes a paper based on your results. so you can make the code available **after** publishing your paper...
Edit: Buffy said it best in one comment below: Exploit your work first **then** publish the background.
Upvotes: -1 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In most cases, yes you can, but you should ask your university if they have rules regarding hosting on websites/blogs with research products. Some places for example require that such a site is university hosted, can not be hosted abroad etc.
Should you do it? Absolutely, with the proviso that you should publish your paper first, or together with the code. With scientific results becoming more and more complex, it is often necessary to have access to various codes, for the purpose of reproduction. If your code is useful, it can also be quite profitable in terms of citations - remember to require people to cite your paper when they use your code.
Note that there are several journals (depending on your field) that actually specialize in publishing manuals for such public codes. CPC is a prominent example for physics (<https://www.journals.elsevier.com/computer-physics-communications>)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Do not worry about copyright: copyright is about form not ideas, and you will not violate it unless you copy-paste copyrighted text.
On the other hand, some journals will only publish "original" work, and may not want your article if you have shared the results before. This strongly depends on the field and on the journal.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: This is from a document explaining the procedure for the comprehensive exam for entering the Ph.D. candidacy at my school. It mentions that the potential candidate should withdraw from the Ph.D. program if they do not pass the comprehensive exam. My question is: What would be the consequences if the potential candidate simply refuses to withdraw? They would be fired, right? Is there any benefit in withdrawing from the program compared to just doing your research and waiting to be fired? Or, it is just the usage of polite language and beating around the bush in this document?
For reference, this is about a university in Canada.<issue_comment>username_1: In some places, doctoral students aren't actually employees though they have some other position, such as a TA, which can be a separate thing. Your relationship to the university is "student", not "employee". In such systems what you suggest makes perfect sense. You can no longer enroll in courses if you fail comps. Normally a TA job also disappears since student status may be required to hold it, but that would be, administratively and legally, a different thing.
But if you fail comprehensive/qualifying exams, you won't be welcome, generally. You will get no benefit for "hanging around" and there is no path to a degree at that institution.
Some places you get more than one chance to pass, say twice.
In other places, doctoral students are employees of the university or a lab, and in such situations failing and being fired are about the same.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In the U.S., and to the extent I understand it, in Canada, funding is slightly and significantly separate from "being allowed to hang around, register for classes, etc.".
Of course, in many STEM fields, the usual expectation is that one \_is\_funded\_ including tuition paid, so long as one is "in good standing" in the grad program. That means passing exams on schedule, doing whatever is prescribed.
Failing qualifying exams (if no repeats are allowed) surely puts one "not in good standing". Almost certainly this would entail loss of funding, and loss of tuition coverage. (Loss of teaching assistant or research assistant jobs, too.)
It might not immediately disqualify you from registering for classes, or from continuing in the graduate program... However, if the program requires that you (eventually?) pass the qualifying exam, and you're not allowed any further attempts after failing... success is impossible.
If the latter is your situation, you probably won't be escorted out of the building by security, but at some point you'll get no more pay, you'll be asked to vacate any office space, and have to pay to register, at best.
The only possible interesting thing is to inquire of your program how to get reinstated... or to be supported by them in trying to move to a lower-tier program that might be happier with you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: When you withdraw from the program, you can tell people later (in a job interview, social situation etc) that you “decided to withdraw from the program”.
If you are fired you will have the option of either lying (with possible bad consequences if the lie is found out) or telling people “I was fired”.
Which of those sounds better?
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I imagine the details vary by institution, but the ones (in Canada and US) I am familiar with -
1. Formally, to register each semester/quarter/whatever, you need to be "in good standing" according to your department. If you are not, you cannot register.
2. If you have scholarship and/or grant-type funding, this is released contingent on you being registered and "in good standing" (or a similar condition)
3. If you have funding based on TA duties (or similar), the precise conditions of your contract may vary, but I'd be surprised if any contract you have would be for more than one academic year, potentially even one term, and your institution would just not renew it with you.
4. If you are funded through student loans, they will require confirmation that you are in good standing.
Therefore, if your department encourages you to withdraw, and you do not -- and don't persuade them to keep you in -- you will find yourself unable to register, and without funding.
Now in general, threats to take comprehensives etc seriously aside, departments don't actually want to push people out the door. If you have generally been making decent progress and something blows up, In my experience, they will work with you to buy you time, retake something, defer some deadline via accommodation/exception, etc. However, this has 3 important limitations.
1. They don't have to do this, and it depends on specific people personally championing you to suss out how to make it happen and influencing bureaucrats to make it happen. So don't treat it as an entitlement.
2. The dropout rate in graduate programs is appallingly high. This is not the place to discuss why and what should be done about this, but many people who drop out just aren't progressing at an adequate speed, from faculty's perception through insufficient creativity/imagination in the field (just not suited to it, regardless of how nice people they may be) and/or insufficient self-motivation and/or work ethic to make progress fast enough. A number of these seem to perpetually be overoptimistic about their ability to turn things around, and so for better or worse it's rules on progress deadlines or crucial pass/fails that end up pushing them out, with faculty members breathing a sigh of relief since they can't actually see that person succeeding in the end anyway (whether correctly or not). So expect exceptions only if your failure or running out the clock is an uncharacteristic blip and you have a bunch of supporters who will argue that this blip aside, you are making great progress and show every sign of being a successful finisher.
3. If you do somehow stop the clock, or go away and work on something, AND successfully get reinstated later, of course you won't get financial support while you're "away", and you may well be required to retroactively register and pay full or partial tuition while you were "away" on your return. Depends on the institution, and is unfair (since you were not benefiting while away), but be prepared for it.
Not trying to be harsh here, just honest. Fully recognize that crucial junctures like comprehensives create a lot of worry and catastrophising. Hopefully that's all it is, and you'll do fine.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: My institution (also in Canada) has similar wording but in the context of having a non-satisfactory grade on a required course, "the student is strongly recommended to withdraw from the graduate program". I spoke to my supervisor about this (same question as you) and in this context the reasoning is that you technically won't be eligible to graduate, but your supervisor can make a case for why you should be allowed to graduate despite the grades.
I'd assume that the reasoning is the same in your case. But I recommend that you speak to your supervisor/a department head about this. It should be an easy question to answer and it can likely vary by institution/department.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Say if a student goes to the professor's office hours to get help on class material and homeworks. Then, on test day, the student does not perform well on the test, and turns in the test with some questions not completed in a one hour time period. How would you react and grade as a professor?<issue_comment>username_1: The grade wouldn't be affected. The student's performance is their own. I would worry a bit about my effectiveness, and I would probably modify my approach with them in future visits. In particular, I would try to get them to do more exercises to support their learning. In some cases I would suggest a tutoring center if such is available. And there is always the possibility of an undiagnosed learning difficulty that might require specialized professional help.
But you don't say whose perspective this is. If you are asking as a student, then I suggest that you keep going back for more and following whatever advice you get.
But if you are asking as the instructor, then it is more complicated. It is a temptation for new teachers to say more in response to a question than is, perhaps, ideal. Sometimes the best answer to a student's question is a very minimal answer so that they are led to their own insights. A hint, not an answer. Or even a new exercise that will lead them to the insight.
Students too often get the idea that a professor asks questions because they want/need the answers. What they want, actually, is a change in the student's way of thinking and it is the *search for the answer* not the answer itself that is normally required to get that insight.
Students can, of course, get frustrated if you don't answer their questions. It can be a subtle dance. But sometimes responding to a question with another question can actually get the job done better than providing the answer.
But none of the student-instructor interactions or "extra" help should result in changing grades. The students still need to perform their part of the dance.
I've had to spend a great deal of time with a few students. Initially they stumbled and fell. But sometimes they got over the hurdles that they faced and did well. But it was their work that did it.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I would not know how well you did. Students don't put their name on the exam but their student number. I don't have access to the system that allows me to get their name (and I don't want access). So I grade only the exam and not the person.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: What is the best way to resolve test anxieties?<issue_comment>username_1: A few suggestions that helped me a lot:
* Review the material after each class. Do some exercises to make sure you've got it clear. Having solid understanding eases off nervousness.
* If you have, say, a Chem exam on Thursday, study for that exam at most up to Tuesday. You won't learn anything new on Wednesday anyway, just tire out and get nervous. Yes, you may study for the Math exam on Friday on Wednesday. But go to bed early.
* If the nerves get to you, do something else: go for a walk, do exercise, cook, do something that requires your attention.
* Be careful with what/when/how much you eat. Some food or drink that disagrees with your stomach (even a bit) will only make anything worse.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Cognitive behavioral therapy, conducted by a licensed mental health professional, does reduce test anxiety. This is usually used in severe cases.
Students who are told that it is normal to be anxious will feel less anxious and perform better. Students who are told that being anxious will help them get a better grade also get a better grade than students who are not told that.
Reflecting on why education is important helps students overcome their anxiety.
These strategies are based on experimental evidence.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: 1. Know the material very well. "Overlearn."
2. Do lots of practice tests on your own, under test conditions (no breaks, no lookups, time limit, etc.)
Upvotes: -1
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<issue_start>username_0: I've recently finished a MS in computer engineering and long term it's likely that I'll look into doing a PhD. One of the reasons I didnt do it straight away is that I dont really have a clue what I'd like to do it in. I enjoyed parts of EE, CE, applied mathematics, and CS.
Both to maybe look for what areas I'd most like and just for general knowledge, I'd like to buy a few textbooks and self study topics. However, I've got no clue what's... next?
Where can I find what's next, if that makes sense? Like, in undergrad, you take an intro circuits class, then Electronics 1 which introduces transistors, then Electronics 2 which has advanced amplifier circuits etc. It builds. I'm not sure what builds on what I've studied from here. I understand these topics "build" in undergrad in a cleaner, linear way since they're designed to, and now theres a plethora of options, but what are they? Where do I start looking?
By the end of my degree, I was just reading course descriptions and taking whatever sounded interesting/applicable to my thesis. This worked extremely well. Now that I'm graduated, however, I dont have easy access to up to date course listings. I've been reading random course listings at universities, but they're not helpful, and dont always list textbooks.
For reference, my favorite courses at the end of my degree were:
Digital signal processing, Dynamic optimization (optimal control), Linear systems theory, Intelligent systems, Compiler theory, and Nonlinear optimization
Let me know if this would fit better elsewhere.<issue_comment>username_1: You can search university reading lists, e.g., [https://www.google.com/search?q="reading list"%20"applied mathematics"%20site:edu](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22reading%20list%22%20%22applied%20mathematics%22%20site:edu), replacing *applied mathematics* with phrases to hone in your search.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: See the schools you are interested in, check out the descriptions of their MS/PhD programs. There you should see what graduate classes are offered. Their reading lists should give a starting point.
Upvotes: 2
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