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<issue_start>username_0: I'm starting in a phD program in September, and am in the process of finalizing my three lab rotations. The two PIs I'm really interested in working with are not available for the first rotation, so I'm going to do my second and third rotations in their labs. In our program, we hand in a list of lab preferences for the first rotation, and are placed in a lab on that list. However, none of the PIs I listed have agreed to take me on as a rotation student, and I've only talked with one of them (my first choice), as I was hoping that I could do my first rotation in his lab. I just got my rotation placement though, and was placed into another lab where I've had no communication with the PI.
This lab does research in an area I'm interested in and I'm looking forward to the rotation, however, I'm really kicking myself for never having reached out to this PI before. I think this really makes me look unprepared and not that interested in his lab, which is not a great start to graduate school. I now need to email this PI for the first time to ask for reading material, rotation projects... and I'm at a loss for how to set up this email. Ideally, this sort of introductory email should have been sent before this point. So I'm really interested in hearing from any professors whether you would reflect negatively on an incoming student who has never contacted you. As well, how would you phrase the first introductory email at this point? Obviously, I'm going to first introduce myself and attach my CV, but should I request a meeting with him to then talk about rotation projects? The problem is that I live about three hours away from the school, and so it would be a little difficult for me to go in for just one meeting (but I will do it if that is the best way going forward). Alternatively, should I request a skype meeting, or simply ask questions in the email? Also, should I apologize for having never reached out to him before this point, or just not mention it at all? Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: Assuming the department has been using rotations for a bit, I can't imagine this is such an unusual situation for the professor. Simply based on my own experience, I imagine that that most students don't reach out to the professor they're paired with prior to assignment. (I very well may be wrong here, but that's definitely my experience.)
Within that framework, I would read up on the professor's research and simply send an introductory email with an offer to meet at his or her convenience. They'll probably be able to walk you through expectations and requirements when you first meet.
If you're really nervous about violating social norms specific to this department, I would consult with the head of the graduate program and ask for their advice. They can guide you better than we would be able to in any event.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Great answer from @username_1.... Here is a first draft to get you started:
>
> Dear Prof. So-and-So,
>
>
> I am an incoming student in \_\_\_\_\_, and have recently learned that I
> have been assigned to your lab for my first rotation. This is very
> good news for me, since your area \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is one of my main interests.
> I'm attaching a copy of my CV.
>
>
> If you'd like to talk with me before the semester starts, my phone
> number is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and my skypeid is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
>
>
> Are there any particular articles or books I can be starting to look
> at over the summer, in preparation for my rotation?
>
>
> Thank you.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
It's natural to be a little nervous before you start, but please don't kick yourself about not having written before now. Just focus on the happy news that you've been well matched for your first rotation!
Also, please don't feel alarmed if you don't get an answer right away. The professor might be on vacation!
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm preparing to teach an introductory course and to teach the content through assigned reading and viewing of A/V materials plus seminar-style discussion. This approach won't work if students don't do the homework. How can I design the course so that they're motivated to do the reading/watching/listening in preparation for discussion?
This is an undergraduate-level course in a continuing/adult education program at a large private university.<issue_comment>username_1: Any student that takes a course should be prepared to do all the course work in the way that the instructor lays out the course.
I had a science course in which I was told "In order to pass this course you will need to study 12 hours between each class" this was a twice a week class.
The entire course was pretty much homework based and do-it-at-home. The professor didn't need to motivate us to do that work because we knew that we could not easily pass without doing it and we paid a lot of money to take the course in the first place.
As a student and someone who is finishing up their first course that they are teaching: You can't force someone to do something to help pass the course. You can stress how important it is to do the homework and that it would be a waste of their money if they think they can do well without doing the homework. Remind them of the best practices to use when working on the homework and how long it should take. If you notice a student not being able to keep up talk to them about their homework habits.
In the course I mentioned above most students who did poorly had a lot of personal responsibilities such as a job or children. The amount of work required outside of class shouldn't be so heavy that people with other responsibilities than school just can't complete it all.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: One approach you might try is to do a short in-class demonstration of the process. Have them read a one-page summary of some paper, or a one-page section of a full paper. Then have them write notes and questions about that one-pager. Then have a class discussion, where they utilize their notes and questions. This whole process might take 45 minutes, but it should be worthwhile for anyone who has never attended a seminar-type class before and should demonstrate the importance and value of the reading plus preparation prior to class.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I have completed masters in Pure Mathematics a year back. I was preparing for an exam for pursuing a PhD program in the same. The results came out in this year in the month of April and found that I have failed to clear it.
Most of my friends have cleared the exam and have got enrolled in it. I feel left out. Now I am simply sitting in my home and preparing for next year's program.
Since the results came out, I have hardly made any progress in Mathematics, as I don't find it interesting as it used to be. As a remedy I bought many books to bring back my old interest in Mathematics, but failed to do so. I talked to my teachers on this issue but instead they start telling success stories of my friends who have qualified the exam letting me disgusted.
Earlier I used to spend hours solving many problems both from my books as well as on Math Stack Exchange but I don't find the urge to do it anymore. Though I open this site I feel that none of the problems posted are suitable for me to solve.
I do read books but the problems seem a distant dream. Asked many people what to do; they advised me to take decisions on your own in your life.
Really don't know if it is a good place to ask but cant find better place. Do share your thoughts if you were in a similar situation or so.
Should I change the subject or look for jobs or do something else? Any alternatives you can chalk out for me.<issue_comment>username_1: Two things:
1. A single exam is a high-variance way to measure the ability and potential of a complicated and multifaceted being called a human. In other words, I wouldn't take a single failure too seriously. Sometimes you have a bad day; some people simply don't perform well on tests even if they perform well "in real life." And even if it turns out that you are less qualified than your peers according to the traditional standards of the field, that doesn't mean you don't have something unique and valuable to contribute.
2. Is there *anything* in your life right now that you're excited about? If not, you might consider external factors. Some days I'm fed up with my problem, and my research, and my career. But after going for a run, eating well, spending time with friends, seeing a thought-provoking movie, and getting a good night's sleep, I often find (much to my surprise) that I am excited about my life and my work again. In other words: don't underestimate the value of external factors. (Especially exercise. I cannot stress that one enough!)
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In my view the real problem is that you are not interested in mathematics, not that you failed an exam. You don't say where you're studying, but it is probably not in the United States because here PhD programs do not have their own entry exams. In fact, most US math PhD programs would give you several chances to pass all sufficiently important exams. So if you were interested you could certainly apply for programs elsewhere.
For whatever it's worth, I believe you that you are not very interested in mathematics. You don't sound very interested. I looked over some of the questions that you asked on math.SE and you seem to be a bit locked out of mathematics beyond the undergraduate level of solving problems. Note that I am not speaking of talent but really literally of interest. I noticed that you don't mention anything in mathematics beyond *solving textbook problems*. For someone to have completed a master's degree and not gotten any farther than "I read these books and do these problems" signifies a lack of engagement with the material (again, not necessarily mastery but *engagement*) at the level that would merit further pursuing it.
This lack of interest in mathematics is not a bad thing. Mathematics is not your spouse or your child, to whom you probably owe something even if your ardor has cooled. **Pure mathematics is only for the interested; it has almost nothing to offer anyone else, and it doesn't need anyone else.** I think you should find what you're interested in. Maybe it will be close to mathematics; maybe it won't. Maybe you should take some time off school entirely and concentrate on purely non-academic interests: getting a master's degree is literally more than a lifetime's worth of schooling for most people. I can't tell you what to do with your life, but I can tell you what you don't have to do.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Of my many friends with doctoral (and masters) degrees in math, physics and computer science, I can think of only one who has gone on to a career as an academic professional. The rest have happily gone to different pursuits.
Chances are, even if you were to get a PhD, the same would be true for you. In my opinion, you've just been given an opening to go find out what your "different pursuit" is going to be -- a few years early.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I realise that you specified pure mathematics, so this may not work for you, but one option is to think about other fields where your background in mathematics may provide a different research path. Close allies (applied mathematics, physics, economics) are the obvious possibilities, but I originally trained in mathematics and then later in social sciences. The context for my research is social science (for example, how does the social structure influence transmission of ideas) but I rely on a mathematical approach to do the research. Since you also said that you enjoy solving problems (or used to), maybe you could think about what type of problems interest you and work in an interdisciplinary area.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Qualifier exams are a reality of Ph. D. programs, but they are not good predictors of academic success. They are better at eliminating those that will not do well than predicting those that will do well. I did not pass my written qualifier exams, so I had an oral exam, which I did pass, and then I finished my Ph.D. A Ph.D. program and the world of academia beyond it have many setbacks. What you do in response to the setbacks is just as important as your successes.
Also, remember that you can continue doing math for fun if you want. When you do it for fun, you can solve whichever problems you choose, and you don't have anything riding on it. If you continue on the Ph. D. path, there will be constraints on what you do and pressures that can limit your enjoyment. I was sick of my dissertation research, but I couldn't start over, so I finished it. I'm glad that I did, but I was not doing math that I enjoyed at the time.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: You may want to take a look at "Think Like a Freak" by the authors of "Freakonomics", especially chapter 9: "The Upside of Quitting". Quitting is sometimes a necessary step for your progress.
You may also consider a lateral move. Mathematics...is a gigantic galaxy. What type of math are you focusing on? Perhaps moving from pure math into applied math might bring a whole new perspective? And fun? Probability, Statistics, Machine Learning...these are *very* hot topics nowadays. And well paid! (Finance & Big Data employers, to name a couple).
If really no good option stands out, then look at that chapter 9 again ("would you consider let us toss a coin for you?").
Good luck.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a Bioinformatics PhD student at a US university. I left the university (stopped enrolling after informing my advisor) in Aug 2014 since I was not making much headway with my research for a long time, and felt that I needed to see the "outside world" for a bit. So I took up a temporary position at another local university to do some other research. My advisor at that point though was wanting me to complete my degree and asked that I continue my PhD research while being away. I agreed to it out of fear that he may not allow me to leave otherwise.
However in the last 1yr my research progress has not been much. I recently got called to the head of the department's office where I was informed that I had been put on "notice" for this bad performance (he did not use the word "probation"). He also said that I risk being kicked out of the program.
I have been called again to meet the department head and my advisor to figure out what to do next. Judging by the tone of the last meeting though, I expect that some pretty harsh punitive steps are in the offing.
I am not that motivated to complete my PhD. I have passed my PhD proposal and have done some work after that and I think what I have could possibly lead to a PhD, but would still need quite a bit of work. I am OK with discontinuing my PhD rather than face the humiliation of being kicked out.
I was wanting to know what actions (removal from PhD, academic probation or anything else) could come my way and how I could handle it. Who could I approach for help/support at the university or outside? I feel that I am being treated way too harshly, and should be at least allowed a dignified way out of the program (voluntarily dropping out).
On a related note, is it even possible to put a student on notice when they are not at the university?
Addendum 1: I just want to add that I have been in the PhD program for 7 years now (including the gap year), and have completed all the requirements as required by the department except PhD Dissertation Defense. My PhD proposal was cleared way back in in 2012. So I think I was expected to have defended the thesis in 2013 or 2014 at the most.
Addendum 2: While as of today I am not that motivated to finish, but I would like to leave the door open on my PhD if possible. Ideally, I would like to revisit this issue in another year and take a call on it (whether to resume or quit).<issue_comment>username_1: Of course, if you have not dropped out of the program then they can put you on notice or kick you out. You should just tell them how you feel, that you are no longer interested in the program and that you would like to drop out; they should not have a problem with that, though they may not be happy.
It sounds like you agreed to keep working towards your PhD, when you had no intention of doing so. Have you let them know that you want out of the program? It is hard to say they are treating you too harshly, they may just be trying to motivate you to work on your PhD research, thinking that that is your goal (and that you have a set amount of time to complete the degree), and they have not yet taken any action against you.
Just keep in mind, their goal is to give PhDs to strong potential researchers. It makes them look good. Every year someone who will not finish is enrolled in the program, that is essentially wasting the department's resources. Sounds like you should talk to your co-advisor for advice, and maybe they'll be able to tell you what is happening behind the scenes. But you really need to weigh your two options: double down and finish asap, or leave on your own terms.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't understand the problem: if you don't want to finish, just quit immediately. Then they can't "expel" you. Why delay, anyway, if you really don't want to complete the degree *anyway*? And what kind of reactions from faculty do you expect if you're not doing the work, and give other visible evidence that you don't want to and don't intend to complete the program? It's one thing to not want to complete, but hard to understand why you'd hang around if that's the case. As it is, you've had plenty of time to resign/quit, so why haven't you? There's no obstacle in your path here, unless you really want to remain in this "limbo" longer, for some reason.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm reading conflicting information between your original question and comments that you've made.
In your question, you state that you'd rather quit than be expelled and that you're "not motivated" to finish. However, in comments you mention that you wouldn't mind another year on leave and then decide whether to go back.
Maybe that's what you should tell him. Be aware though, that your department chair and advisor are probably thinking that you're going to be 2 years out of date on current research in your area of interest, a significant chunk of your brain is now filled with your current research, and it's going to take even more time for you to switch gears and get truly productive when you come back. Will there be funding for your project in another year? Has your advisor been "holding" funding for your? These are all questions that you should think about.
Can you leverage your existing research to help make progress? Is there an opportunity for collaboration between the two groups to make your leave worthwhile to the department?
Even if all that is no, if you think there is any possibility that you'll return, you should be keeping your proposal up-to-date with information from the latest research, and start filling out a detailed plan on how you would finish your dissertation in the least amount of time.
Upvotes: 2
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2015/07/29
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<issue_start>username_0: A few years ago, I found a conference paper, of which I was a co-author, being re-published as an article in a (not highly ranked) journal. It was a textbook example of plagiarism, copy-pasting whole sections and using figures from our paper, which the author did not even cite. The author came from a foreign country and was an associate professor.
My co-author wrote an email to the author who committed plagiarism and asked him for an explanation. After a while, he admitted his misconduct (a soft version of it); his explanation was that he forgot to cite our paper. As a settlement, he suggested a new article to be written together with us. Without consent, he wrote a new article (in his language) and published it in another lowly ranked journal, putting himself as first author. I was listed as a co-author without being able to comment on the idea of writing this paper and without approving its content before publication. For me, it looked pretty much like a (self-)plagiarism---a translation of the original English paper. But, at that time, we did not want to further complicate this weird situation.
My question is how to deal now with this article I co-authored and could even be treated as a kind of self-plagiarism. May/should/must I exclude it from my CV?
---
PS. The publication of the journal we are talking about stopped five years ago. So, it is not possible to contact the editor any more.<issue_comment>username_1: The author agreement of the journals I know usually state that all authors must have given explicit approval before submission. It seems like this person did not respect that requirement.
This is a valid reason for you to write to the editorial board and **request retraction**. Since you say that the journal got discontinued, if the publisher is still in business, they might be able to assist.
Not putting the duplicated article on your CV is a good idea, but not enough to protect yourself from the behavior. Especially if the article contains plagiarism. You don't want to be associated with that.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Given that the publisher shut the journal down five years ago, there's not much more you can do at this point to have it removed or retracted at the source.
Instead, I would disown/disavow the paper by not including it in your CV and by making sure it is de-listed from your Google Scholar, Web of Sciences, SCOPUS, and other author citation index listing services.
This is easy in Google Scholar by deleting the article from your page in your author-view. For SCOPUS you have to send a correction request:
* <http://help.scopus.com/Content/h_authorfeedback.htm>
The same for Web of Science
* <http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/techsupport/datachange/>
For both Scopus and WoS, I would list the correction that you are not the same person as the author listed as the author of the paper. It would help communications with both services if you know your author identifier (Scopus Author Identifier, etc.). Something like the following should work:
>
> Dear SCOPUS -
>
>
> My author identifier is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. One of the articles listed in my
> author record (\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ in the journal \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_; DOI \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_)
> was not written by me. Please delist it from my author record.
>
>
> <NAME> (Author identifier \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_).
>
>
>
p.s. This is actually not an uncommon problem. Adding Famous Authors® to subpar articles is a form of authorial pagerank-jacking.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I was assuming these two were the same. What is the difference between them? How does one relate to another? The context here is an MA (Master of Arts) level social science dissertation in UK education system.
Should background talk about relevant research done? If so why does literature review exist? Or should the background chose only a few literature and discuss them throughly?<issue_comment>username_1: I see this as relevant question which many junior researches ponder.
Literature review is usually longer and it can be a whole work/article or a part of a thesis. Background section is usually short and the first part of research article.
For literature review you should thoroughly go through all available studies, assess the important findings in them, discuss them and find some relevance for them. Poor reviews usually list the available studies and their findings. You can hypothesize with some findings especially if controversy exists. For example do the methodological differences explain the possible controversy in the findings. You should not make lengthy or intense speculations since you must stick strictly to the literature available. In the end of literature review you can give some open questions and warrant further research if your review have given examples of controversies or examples of lack of information in the literature.
The background section of a journal article should briefly describe what is reported in the literature so far. Usually you should be able to present some kind absence or need of certain information or a controversy which you will address in your research. You could also describe shortly why this lack of information or controversy should be solved. You should not hypothesize in any way or make assumptions in the background section. All that should come in the discussion section. Finally, you should only scratch the surface of the literature and not try establish reasons for different or controversial findings seen in the previous studies.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Context: I'm in a US PhD program and thus my answer may not be fully appropriate for Masters in UK.
In the US, a Masters *thesis* is required rather than dissertation, which is required only in PhD programs. In Social Sciences, a Masters thesis shows that you understand the relevant research in some depth and that you can also apply this research to some specific problems or questions. In contrast, a PhD dissertation needs to contribute to research in some important way (even if the contribution is narrow or small).
---
There are no widely accepted rules for what is appropriate for Background or Literature Review chapters, or whether your thesis should include either or both.
What follows are my views, based on reading various theses and dissertations.
A Background chapter is best used to present *contextual* or *prerequisite* information that is important or essential to understand the main body of your thesis. Perhaps there were some historical developments that set the stage for your research questions or thesis. Perhaps there was some debate over key terms or scope of your subfield. Perhaps you are bringing together several disciplines, and you need to explain which aspects of each discipline you are including and not including.
A Literature Review chapter builds a conceptual structure that ties together all the key ideas from all the relevant literature. By "conceptual structure" I mean an organized way of linking individual ideas together so that their relative importance and interrelations are clear and obvious to the reader. What are the main ideas? What ideas support these main ideas? What are the contradictory ideas? On what basis to people decide what ideas or positions to support or oppose?
Viewed this way, what becomes clear is that a Literature Review chapter is less about "literature" and instead is mostly about "review".
---
For what it's worth, in my dissertation I will not have either chapter. Instead, I've decided to have a chapter called "Foundations" to cover both of these needs.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I am working in a technical field where very often "solutions" to certain important / interesting "problems" are investigated. Roughly, the background explains what the reader needs to understand the problem, and the related work explains (and critiques) what others have done to (partially) solve or discuss this problem or related problems.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I agree that there is no absolute way to write the research background and literature review chapter. however, there is a general rule of research background which is "write from general to specific". Meaning that, write your research topic general then go specific to your topic.
I take one example of finance research topic which is education loan, and it is a quantitative study (has dependent variable (DV) and independent variables(IV)). Let say I would like to study about default payment (DV) and attitude towards loan repayment (IV).
In the background of study, paragraph 1-3 i will discuss in general about education loan including the countries that offers the edu loan, the design of loan scheme etc. in the first three of the paragraphs, i didn't touch on my specific topic which is default and its predictors.
in para 4, i will discuss briefly what is wrong with the edu loan nowadays - default (refers to when someone refuses to pay loan). and briefly discussed among the major factors that may contribute to the default.
in the next 4 paragraphs, i will focus on the major factor of default which is is attitude. i explain in detail the research trend about attitude (e.g. attitudes correlated with ignorance, dissatisfaction and misconception about the consequences of not pay loan), why attitude important. why attitude towards loan repayment becomes my major focus of the study. i will cite a few recent research who said that study between attitude and intention to pay loan still limited.
the last four para, i will discuss about the evidence about default rate in my context of research (e.g. the country that you gonna do the research, e.g. UK), put some statistic, or statement from prime minister or anything else as the evidence that default is really a problem in the UK.
While, in the literature review, I will be more specific about the relationship between attitude and intention to pay loan. read as much as you can and better to put in a literature review and synthesis matrix to summarize the past research.
thanks.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Is tuition in Europe really [US$300 or €200 a year](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/42304/with-a-background-in-mathematical-finance-and-desire-to-apply-for-a-mathematics#comment96266_42503)? That is one tenth the cost of the tuition in the developing country university where I took my bachelor's and master's.
Is it really true that some developed country universities charge that much to non-scholars? Why? I heard of universities like that, but everyone who goes to such university is considered a scholar of his/her state due to such universities being heavily funded. Is that the case? Does Europe invest a lot in education, or something?
I find it very hard to believe. How do people get paid? The school has to consider food, maintenance, utilities, salaries of janitors, funding researchers and professors, etc.<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, the education in Europe is pretty cheap. The school does not have to worry about the finances as they are taken care of by government funding.
As a foreigner, I paid less than 4K Euros in Netherlands for my MSc tuition fees.
I know that this is the case in Germany and France. In France, government pays some allowance to students for transportation and lodging costs. In Germany tuition fees is almost zero (My data is from 2009, things may have changed now).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes European higher education can be fairly cheap for the students, especially in those countries where universities are mainly public, and hence are largely funded by their respective governments. This means that they do not need to charge high fees to their students to cover for costs. Nevertheless their campuses offer all the facilities their students need, in terms of libraries, food canteens, lecture rooms, laboratories, etc..
Let's take France as an example. The French Ministry of Education defines, for each academic year, the fees to be applied by all public universities across the country. [Here are the fees for 2015 (in French).](http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid20195/frais-d-inscription-pour-la-rentree-universitaire-2015.html) Just to quote a few numbers (all fees are for one academic year):
* Bachelor's: 184€ | 122€ (reduced fee for low-income students)
* Master's: 256€ | 168€ (reduced fee for low-income students)
* 5-year Engineering Diploma: 610€
* PhD: 391€ | 260€ (reduced fee for low-income students)
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: Yes. The fees for the domestic students in European/Australia/New Zealand universities are very nominal. In some countries such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc., the fees are 3-4 times higher for the international students compared to the domestic students. The domestic students' education can hence be viewed as subsidised by their respective governments. One way of looking at it is that at least the domestic students in these countries may not have to be away from education only because of the financial (read: fees - living expenses is a different issue and perhaps not all governments may be helping in it) reasons. Or, to some extent (for students who are still early on their life/career), ability of getting higher education doesn't depend on how well their parents are doing.
I should also mention that in the UK some of the recent fees hikes by the universities haven't gone well with the domestic students. However, even with these fee hikes, the levels are still significantly lower than the US counterparts.
It is just the US (and probably Canada) where even state universities charge ridiculous fees most of the times to their domestic students. In the US, the domestic students may be able to take loans to cover the fees and living expenses. However, it is a loan and someday you have to pay it back.
Academically, there is no significant difference between the US and Europe/Australia/NZ universities. e.g., no. of universities top 500-1000 ranked universities per capita could very well roughly be the same for all these countries including US/Canada. e.g., all the total 8 universities in New Zealand are in top 500 of the QS World University Rankings.
Personally, one of differences I have seen while being a student, researcher and faculty member in Europe/Australia/US is the amount of spending by the US universities on its Public Relations departments and on sports teams ):
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: There already a number of answers confirming that indeed academic education in Europe is often very cheap compared to the US, mainly because these are funded by the government.
However, one point which is not mentioned in other answers is that you might want to consider indirect cost, or in other words - taxes. In many European countries, you pay more tax to the government than you would pay in the US, and in turn the government can then use that to fund academic studies, provide cheap healthcare, and so on.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: In the U.S. we have seen the cost of publicly funded education at *all* levels rise astronomically over recent years. For example, the College Board shows a table of average costs ranging over time at <http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/tuition-fees-room-board-time-1974-75-2014-15-selected-years>
Their chart shows that, for example, average annual public four-year tuition and fees have gone up from $2,469 in 1974 to $9,139 in 2014. (This is in 2014 dollars.)
**One** of the main reasons publicly funded higher education is so much cheaper in many other countries than in the U.S. has to do with the differences in the health care systems. Employers in the education sector make a significant contribution to employees' health care costs. I looked for a link with some numbers. I found a [Forbes article](http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisconover/2012/12/22/the-cost-of-health-care-1958-vs-2012/) that says
>
> The time price of health care has quadrupled in less than 50 years [in the U.S.] even as the time cost of other goods and services plummeted.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: **Just read [OECD statistics](https://www.oecd.org/education/eag.htm)**. "Underdeveloped" countries are not in OECD, but they presumably spend less per student and charge more because they can't afford public investment (or vice versa, they don't invest so they're underdeveloped).
First chart. The average expense per student per year in OECD is about 14000 USD (in tertiary education ~ university).
Second chart: there are mainly three groups of countries when it comes to tuition fees and student support (which must be considered jointly). Some countries (bottom) like Sweden are heaven, with zero tuititions and high support for students. Some (left-bottom) are tougher, with near-zero student support even though there are costs (worst is Italy). Some (like New Zealand) have considerable costs but nearly everyone is supported by the State.
Fees don't cover costs in any country (Chile is around 80 % and that's the highest).
I did not find a chart including opportunity cost and cost of life, which are actually the biggest share of university costs in most countries.
[Annual expenditure per student by educational institutions for all services, by level of education (2011)](http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933117079)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Xrh2I.png)
[Relationship between average tuition fees charged
by public institutions and proportion of students who benefit from public loans and/or scholarships/grants in tertiary-type A education (2011)](http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933117801):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ox5Pw.png)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: "In Europe" may be too broad; there are different models. I'll give you another data point.
In Germany, higher education is basically free. That means,
* there is no tuition fee¹ at public universities, which are the norm;
* you'll pay about 200€ for public transport, student councils/groups, university sport, and other charitable services on campus;
* you can apply for BAFöG subsidies (funded from taxes) to cover your living cost if your parents can not do so;
* you will have to pay for material (pen and paper, books, computer, lab consumables, ...) but can write these costs off after you graduate, i.e. reduce your taxable income.
So, you won't be able to study for free, literally, but the university itself runs without you paying a dime -- the society pays for it.
---
1. At least not EU citizens that pursue their first academic grade and finish within reasonable time bounds.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: According to this page -- <http://nces.ed.gov/FastFacts/display.asp?id=76> -- the average cost per year at a private, non-profit U.S. college (i.e. not state subsidized) is $39,000. That includes tuition plus room and board.
Let's compare that to Germany, just to pick one European country as an example. According to this page -- <http://www.marketplace.org/topics/education/learning-curve/how-german-higher-education-controls-costs> -- the average cost of a year at a German college is $32,000. That's what the government spends: it's free to the student.
This comparison is not entirely fair as the number for Germany does not include room and board, and even private U.S. schools get government money in various ways that is not included here. But from this admittedly very simplistic comparison, it appears that the true cost of education in the U.S. and Germany is about the same, at least in the same ballpark. Of course you could debate the quality of the education received endlessly: that's not easy to measure.
Where does the money come from in Germany? From taxpayers. Where does the money come from in the US? From a mix of the student and his family, government assistance, and private scholarships. Most American students borrow most of the money and pay it back after they graduate.
So higher education in Germany is free in the sense that the student doesn't have to pay at the time he attends. But he ends up paying for it through his tax dollars for the rest of his life. As the total cost is about the same, he's going to end up paying about the same amount in extra taxes as the American spends in tuition.
There's less practical difference between the two systems than you might at first think. In Germany students pay nothing while attending school, but then pay for it through taxes for the rest of their lives. Maybe 40 years from graduation to retirement? In America most students pay little or nothing while attending school, but then pay for it through student loan payments for an average of about 20 years.
Poverty doesn't keep a German out of school because it's paid for by the government. But low income Americans can get all sorts of financial assistance and then get loans to pay the rest, so poverty isn't that much of a bar to education in the U.S. either.
You could debate the pros and cons endlessly. The German spreads his payments out over his entire life while the American concentrates it into 20 years. The American may find himself unable to make his debt payments if he can't find a good job, etc, while the German's taxes are presumably based on his income so while he may complain it should still be manageable. The American can decide how much he is willing to spend for college, while the German cannot decide how much he will pay in taxes to support education. In Germany if you can't pass the entrance requirements, you're out of luck. In the U.S., if you can't pass entrance requirements you can't get into your first choice school, but you can almost always get in somewhere. A German who isn't admitted into college still has to pay taxes for others to attend, while an American who doesn't attend college doesn't have to pay for it. (Well, he still has to pay taxes to support the various government programs that exist, but these are much less than what the German pays.) Etc. I'm sure you could think of other pros and cons.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: Some [statistics](http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid11/le-cout-d-une-scolarite.html):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8tfdH.png)
Some countries prefer to directly charge students (tuition fees), other charge the active population through taxes. It might depend on many other factors, e.g. the field.
Here is the [cost of business schools in France](http://etudiant.lefigaro.fr/orientation/actus-et-conseils/detail/article/le-veritable-prix-des-ecoles-de-commerce-1088/), as you can see it is not that cheap (tuition fee is the 3rd column):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OJ8W0.png)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: I'm amazed it's that cheap in the US and other European countries. Here in the UK it's a different story.
According to [topuniversisties.com](http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/how-much-does-it-cost-study-uk) (Information correct as of 02/04/2015):
>
> According to recent figures, the average cost per year to study in
> the UK at undergraduate level as an international student is UK£11,987
> (~US$17,860), while for international postgraduate students this
> average fee rises to £12,390. At all levels, laboratory and clinical
> degree programs are markedly more expensive, with a clinical degree
> costing overseas students an average of £24,206 ($36,070) at
> undergraduate level, with top universities in London charging as much
> as £34,800 ($51,850).
>
>
> Combine these fees with the average cost of living in the UK, around
> £12,000 ($17,850), and the total average costs to study in the UK come
> up to £24,000 ($35,710) per year. Studying in the capital city,
> meanwhile, is likely to be significantly more expensive.
>
>
>
Although that's somewhat simplifying it, I believe it's cheaper in Scotland. Don't ask me why though.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: What do undergraduate students in mathematics do for their thesis, if they have done one, besides expository or applied math?
I was thinking that the kind of research they do is something applied, say using math in social sciences or a problem in one of the less rigorous natural sciences, or discussing such a problem (that's what expository is, right?).
To me it seems something non-expository or non-applied is an original contribution to mathematics, something that PhD students do.
I attended some pure math undergraduate thesis presentations. I was quite surprised: *Did they prove anything new?* Never bothered to ask due to fear of looking stupid. Would it be out of the ordinary to expect an undergraduate proves something new? If they did not prove anything new, what the heck are they talking about?
It seems like if it's not new, they are giving a lecture. If it's new, that seems like a PhD-level accomplishment.
I mean, do math undergraduates frequently prove new things?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, undergraduates frequently prove new things, in the sense that every year there are new, publishable results proved by undergraduates. So, although a relatively small number of undergraduate math students participate in true "research", there are certainly students who are able to make nontrivial discoveries as undergraduates, and more than one might initially think. I have been at prestigious research schools and at anti-prestigious regional universites in the U.S.A. At every school I have been, there were undergraduates in mathematics with the aptitude for publishable research. The talent needed may not be "common", but it is certainly not "rare". The obstacles are primarily cultural, not intellectual.
The topic of undergraduate research has also been the subject of a [question on MathOverflow](https://mathoverflow.net/questions/45802/undergraduate-math-research), which makes for good reading.
For an example from personal experience: I recently published a peer-reviewed paper in what I consider to be a high-quality journal (and which is not in any way a "student" journal), with an undergraduate student co-author, who discovered the proof of one of the main theorems on his own between two of our research meetings.
Another example is the journal *Involve*, which is devoted to genuine student research. From [their self-description](http://msp.org/involve/about/journal/about.html):
>
> Involve showcases and encourages high-quality mathematical research involving students from all academic levels. The editorial board consists of mathematical scientists committed to nurturing student participation in research.
>
>
> Submissions in all mathematical areas are encouraged. All manuscripts accepted for publication in Involve are considered publishable in quality journals in their respective fields, and include a minimum of one-third student authorship. Submissions should include substantial faculty input; faculty co-authorship is strongly encouraged. In most cases, the submission (and accompanying cover letter) should come from a faculty member.
>
>
> Involve, bridging the gap between the extremes of purely undergraduate-research journals and mainstream research journals, provides a venue to mathematicians wishing to encourage the creative involvement of students.
>
>
>
One thing that undergraduates are unlikely to have is the *breadth of knowledge* that is expected for PhD recipients. Particularly in mathematics, PhD students are examined in a range of subjects, and are expected to have mastered large parts of the undergraduate curriculum. Undergraduate research often involves learning enough about one particular area to prove new theorems. The student still needs to spend time learning other areas to have the knowledge expected of a PhD.
The real key for undergraduates who are looking to do publishable research is to find a collaboration with a good faculty mentor. *Independent* research by undergraduates is indeed quite rare (in fact, the majority of mathematics papers currently published have two or more authors - even experts benefit from collaboration). The MathOverflow thread linked above has more advice from other mathematicians.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm going to disagree with Oswald. In my experience, undergraduate students do not often prove new things in pure math. I wouldn't even say master's theses often contain new results. There are a few main reasons for this.
Firstly, pure mathematics operates at a level that is not very accessible for most undergraduates, even those doing research. Undergraduates doing research are often well out of their depth and holding on for dear life. This can mostly be attributed to just not having enough time to get up to speed with what is considered modern mathematics. Most courses in mathematics at the undergraduate level are about math from 50-100 years ago (if not older).
Secondly, undergraduates do not often have the mathematical experience to know what the right plan of attack is when faced with an abstract and new problem and they may not know how to check their work thoroughly to make sure there are no major oversights or blunders. A lot of mathematics involves lateral thinking and it takes a lot of time to build those connections. The hardest part of a pure math PhD (in my opinion) is learning how to attack a problem no one has considered before. Standard techniques that others used may not be useful at all to you for one reason or another. An undergraduate won't have the creativity to navigate this kind of issue because the kind of creativity that is needed comes with a lot of experience. Even when an undergraduate student thinks they've proved something, the nuances of their argument likely will not be apparent to them. (This is especially true when it comes to functional analytic/measure theoretic arguments - the devil is in the details.) Thus a proposed proof may not even be close to being right.
Lastly, not many undergraduates in pure math do research because the gap they have to overcome between coursework and modern mathematics is pretty substantial. Those that make contributions in pure math are those that are very, very talented and have very thorough backgrounds (backgrounds that rival master's/PhD students).
Undergraduates in pure math are not expected to make contributions. That is not what research is about for them. Introducing an undergraduate to research serves a couple of different purposes: it introduces them to more advanced topics and it gives them a taste of what research is like so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not graduate school is right for them. As such, the theses are more like surveys of a specialized topic in mathematics. There is a lot of independent learning involved and there may be some unique examples, insights, and connections contained therein. They may not be presenting "original" work, but poster sessions are there to present what they've learned regardless of whether or not it was original. So yes, it is kind of like a lecture. *They are undergraduates* and far from being experts in their field.
Note that I am not saying that no undergraduate ever produces new results in pure math (there are some *high school students* that are better than most PhDs), but it is not a common occurrence and is not expected or considered the norm.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: The answers so far contain a yes and a no, so let me add a yes-and-no.
Undergraduates can - and often do - prove new things, but hardly ever anything of importance. It is up to the advisor to find an interesting question which is simple enough to serve as the topic of a thesis, but not yet dealt with in the literature. Different from a Ph.D., a bachelor or master thesis is heavily constrained in time, so as an advisor you should only give a topic if you are pretty certain that something can be done by an unexperienced researcher in short time. On the other hand just repeating the literature is boring for the student. One way to find good topics is to look at what is often referred to as folklore: Every textbook contains the theorem that X implies Y, and every expert knows that quasi-X already suffices, but noone bothered to write it up. This will most probably not be worth a publication, but proving a theorem not yet contained in the literature is motivating. Another simple method is looking at all the things you excluded from your own papers. If you worked out an example, but did not include it in a publication, you can let the student generalize it.
What you should not do is ask a student a problem you are really interested in. First the student will be frustrated, because the problem is too hard for him, then you will be frustrated, because you will spend much more time explaining things to him then you would need to find the results for yourself, and finally everyone is frustrated, because you find an answer and have to explain it to the student.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Some of the implicit premises of these sorts of questions, or the implicit premises in responses to the question, are really the issue. I would heartily agree that undergrads of all "calibers" should "be in the room" when something resembling "live" mathematics is being discussed. But/and this is most meaningful when we look at the falseness, artificiality, and sterility of the typical undergrad curriculum: it's fake and moribund, with no immediate room for anyone to do anything at all, and no hints about reality, either. Ghastly, yes. But that does not immediately entail a sort of "opposite", that novices need know very little to make meaningful contributions. Raw cleverness has already been exercised, quite systematically, for some hundreds of years (thousands?). People have learned useful things, and to not know these is to not know how to change a tire, or a light bulb, or a furnace filter, or open the door. Not that the usual curriculum helps much, either, I agree! But that does not mean that basic operational skills (involving occasionally subtle mathematics, literally, here) are irrelevant. Getting outside the degenerate "school math" thang is excellent... but thinking that that means "we don't need to know anything!" is obviously silly... even if appealing. "Complicated".
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: ***I can tell you my experience as I am currently writing an undergraduate thesis (though as a summer project).***
I am an undergraduate student in mathematics currently doing a summer « introduction to research » internship. I'm studying probability theory.
As a first year student, about half of my time was spent solidifying my mathematical background in probability, measure theory and analysis. I also spent quite a lot of time studying specialised articles, and finally I applied the general theory I studied to a specific problem, where I did prove something « new », while very closely following other published results. On the way there, I also proved a few lemmas, that, while not of general interest, are « new » and interesting to me.
Clearly, undergraduate students are not expected to find groundbreaking results of general interest. However, they can contribute to mathematics by summarising and gathering related results from multiple articles, applying new theories, finding examples, etc.
***A word of advice.***
You should not aim for great discoveries, but rather simply try to do your own mathematics. Ask yourself a lot of « stupid » questions and find their answers. That's how you'll end up with a few small new results. Make sure you can grasp the big picture of your field of study, that you look at it from a critical standpoint and that you understand the issues that motivate it.
***Do math undergraduates frequently prove new things?***
Yes. But not *great* things, and sometimes things that might already be known to experts (but not widely accessible). I think that it is good enough for an undergrad to prove things that are new to him/her and her classmates/advisor/etc.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm getting curious about all these online predictive challenges going on, such as [DREAM](http://dreamchallenges.org/), [Kaggle](https://www.kaggle.com/) and [Innocentive](http://www.innocentive.com/).
Surely they all are good occasions to work on new projects and new ideas, to know other collaborators, to get important training about science, and to possibly win some money
And also they could represent a good point in one's resume. So I was wondering: **in job application processes (in both industry and academia), do candidate selectors care about the participation of the candidate in any of these challenges?**
If yes, how much?
If no, why not?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think that just "*participating"* would be an advantage. Because if you paticipate but perform very poorly, it will not demonstrate that you are better or have some special skills. However, if you win some prizes in these competitions or are highly ranked, it would certainly help. It will show that you have good skills in statistics/data mining / etc. Now, how much it would help depends on the candidate selectors and even on the job that you apply for. But if you are highly ranked and win some prizes, it should be positive for your CV.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: At the very least, it shows you are actively interested in the subject. Participation can be enough to show you are more enthusiastic about the subject than other applicants. It is also helpful for entry level data scientist positions where experience isn't necessarily expected, but appreciated. If you have won any competitions, or if you are at the 'Master' Kaggle level, definitely include it.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: Since my Ph.D., I have occasionally received emails from publishers (that I've never heard of before) about writing a book. They all seem like mass emails that have my name and some title of a paper I wrote or the name of a course I've taught pasted in. The majority seem fishy and I just ignore them, but the most recent one may be a legitimate invitation. I'm not interested in writing the book they're asking for at this time, but I have to question whether I should continue to ignore all of these types of emails outright.
Are there smaller/up-and-coming academic publishers out there that are actively recruiting authors in order to expand their catalog? If so, should I engage with them at least for networking purposes?
I am specifically asking about books, and in particular textbooks, not journals. In searching through questions with publisher-related tags, I only saw similar questions about journals.<issue_comment>username_1: Get used to this: you will receive one or more spam emails for every single piece of work that you will publish, whether thesis, journal paper or conference paper.
The senders are predatory publishers: press the *del* key as fast as you can!
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: **The email**
Most likely, the email is a spam email from a predatory publisher. If you have doubts, check their name through a Google search, or see if they are present on [this list](http://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/).
**How they work**
Predatory publishers send emails sometimes without you having finished your degree, as they crawl university websites for student email addresses and project names. They want to make money from your thesis, obtain full copyright to it and maybe even its intellectual property. This allows them to publish and sell wherever they see they can make money. This is often even against the rules of your university.
**Actual publishers**
If you want to publish a book, most publishers do not allow a thesis to be published as-is. To publish, you contact a publisher yourself, provide them with a proposal, and see if that gets accepted. Then the writing starts. More detail on this can be found [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/21421/31253), with Springer as the example publisher.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This kind of e-mail from predatory publisher is very common. Just ignore them. If you have a doubt about whether a publisher is predatory or not, you can search on Google the name of the publisher. But if you never heard about a publisher, it is likely not a good publisher and it is probably not good to publish your work with them, since they probably sent that e-mail to thousands of researchers.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Background of Publishing Spam
=============================
I can confirm that most if not all of these emails are plain spam. Many of these publishers, such as for instance the one mentioned on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDM_Publishing), have dedicated personell or use automated Web crawlers, which browse academic institutions such as universities for publications.
Their only goal is to have as many publications as possible, therefore they approach every author for every paper, journal article or other publications.
Obviously there is spam which is immediately identifiable, and there is better spam. But it is spam after all.
Vanity as a Driver
------------------
As Massimo already put it, these companies are predators and aim at the vanity, which drives a lot of people.
Many of these publishers use a Print on Demand, which entails that unless someone orders your book, they don't have to print it. Therefore, there is little risk for the companies.
Now imageine you are a young student, you just finnished your degree and now comes this publisher, who offers you to print your work as a book, which can be bought on Amazon. And there is no cost for you, isn't that great?!
Maybe someone will buy it and then you have a published book and some money.
But it's free, where is the harm?
---------------------------------
You can be sure that many people are proud of their work, proud to be a published author. Of course they buy a copy for grandma and one for the parants and one to put on the shelf in the living room.
This is just the business model of these publishers.
How to react?
-------------
Unless you feel urge to publish a book (which is a lot of work, as the content needs to be original!), just delete these emails.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Given a student coming to the end of their undergraduate career working on both a thesis for their bachelor degree as well as a separate research project in a research lab, which would hold more weight towards graduate admissions in US schools.
The main questions started with; in admissions, do people read the bachelor thesis.
I never have, but can't be sure of a standard. If the student is working on a research topic that is set to be submitted for publication, should they focus on that paper and not worry about the bachelor thesis, vice versa, assuming time is constant and the bachelor grade remains the same.
My first thoughts were, a bachelor thesis is not peer reviewed, so any peer reviewed article would be much more likely to be read or at least glanced over beyond the title. No one expects much out of a bachelor thesis, so it will be hard to convince someone to read it, maybe without some two page overview summary linked to the application.<issue_comment>username_1: Assuming both are closely related to your subject for graduate studies, either could be more important. Even if you have a published paper, graduate admissions committees are not likely to truly read it, though many people may take a quick look at it, to get some sense of what level it is at. (Though if this is a joint paper, just from looking at the paper, a committee will not know how much is due to you.)
Here committees will form an opinion largely based on your letters of recommendation, so if you impress someone in the research lab or your thesis advisor, you should definitely ask for a letter of recommendation. If your thesis advisor is well known, a strong letter from that person can make a bigger impact that one from your research lab. On the other hand, if you don't do a good job on your thesis, you may want to think twice about asking that advisor for a letter.
So, ideally, you should try to do a good job on both, and get letters from both. Presumably you have some tacit agreement with both the lab and your thesis advisor for how much work they expect from you, and you should try to meet both of those. If you can't, this means you are overcommitted, and you need to have a conversation with one or both of these parties. (The same goes if you are unclear on how much work is expected of you and you are having trouble balancing these projects.)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The student can't finish the thesis after graduation, but s/he could prepare the journal submission afterwards. So, if the student is interested in doing both, perhaps the initial priority should be on cranking out the thesis. Hopefully you (as advisor or mentor) can help the student keep the thesis from getting too big or ambitious.
If it's not feasible to do both (one after the other), and if the planned thesis is non-research-oriented (for example a literature review), then I think the article related to a research project would make the application more attractive.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: This morning when I opened my email I was very excited to find a Google Scholar update telling me of two new citations from two different sets of authors each to a different paper of mine. As usual, I immediately checked the papers to find out if the authors were praising or criticising my work (or perhaps they found a mistake in one of my papers!). To my surprise, in one case the authors wrote a misleading statement which resulted from stretching quite a lot some of my conclusions. In the other case, the authors simply made an incorrect claim (details below for the curious). It's not the first time this happens to me - I even got one citation completely out of context once. How to react to this kind of situation?
---
Details for the curious:
1. In the first case, the authors cite a paper of mine where I compare two different methods to calculate elastic properties of materials. My main conclusion is that one of the methods converges much faster than the other one with the size of the basis set - in other words, it's computationally much cheaper. For calculations with usual basis sets the first method is much more accurate than the second one, with disagreements between the two in the order of 10% or even 20%. They claim that I show that both methods agree within a 1% of each other, which is misleading at best, because for the second method to agree within 1% of the first one one needs to do a very expensive calculation. That is one of the main points of the paper and it got completely overlooked by the authors.
2. In the second case, the citation is plainly wrong. The authors cite my paper as an experimental work on InGaN semiconductors while it actually is purely computational.<issue_comment>username_1: It is no different from finding any other mistake in a paper that you read --- just write e-mails to the authors politely explaining the errors. It is in their interest to fix them.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: How about the five stages of reaction to grief?
1. Denial: "Hmm, that can't be right..."
2. Anger: "They're so stupid!"
3. Bargaining: "Dear Smith & al, in your paper Foo you cited my paper Bar saying that XYZ. I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that, in reality, XYW. Will you consider blah-blah-blah?"
and now it's either
4. Depression: "Oh no, they're not responding/not agreeing, I have to write the editor of the journal. :-( :-( :-("
or
5. Acceptance: "Great, they've agreed to fix it and write their own erratum for the journal to publish."
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: You can draw conclusions about the quality of their work. Probably, it might be not a very high honor to be cited by them. I would most likely ask them to remove the technically incorrect references to my work, and supply the reasons for that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> How to react to this kind of situation?
>
>
>
I think it depends on the context. For:
>
> They claim that I show that both methods agree within a 1% of each other, which is misleading at best, because for the second method to agree within 1% of the first one one needs to do a very expensive calculation.
>
>
>
There is a risk that the literature is now misleading. You could reduce this risk with a clarification, perhaps in a technical report version of your work. A diligent third party can now establish the truth.
For your second case:
>
> the citation is plainly wrong
>
>
>
You can probably ignore this, since it is a clear error, which should not mislead.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Unfortunately, misrepresentation happens all the time. One tends to look for ways to prove they are right and someone else is wrong. It is then left to the audience to decide whether or not they want to believe their interpretation of the work. If one is made aware of the misleading or incorrect information, and one can, one should stand behind it. Sometimes the facts are misinterpreted because they were not delivered clearly and decisively. Therefore it may be helpful to include more information to clarify the work. The purpose of receiving the google scholar alerts of citations in the first place is to guarantee that one's work represents correctly. So as long as one can, and it matters, one should do their best to maintain the integrity of their work and the interpretation by others.
Upvotes: 0
|
2015/07/30
| 1,736
| 7,072
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am a couple of months off my defence and started thinking about postdoc possibilities. I seem to have an opportunity at a **very prestigious** lab in the U.S. (I'm currently located in Europe).
After a brief chat with the PI at a conference, and some e-mails back and forth I was invited to come for a visit, meet the people and present myself and my work so far. Considering that we are still in contact and started discussing more regarding the projects and funding possibilities, I feel like they *genuinely* do want me to work there.
Putting aside all the parameters regarding the scientific matters, I am a bit concerned about the economic aspects. The lab is located at a city which is among the most expensive in the country, based on what I read/hear. I have been in contact with the postdoc-community (turns out there is one) at this university and asked them about how salaries are decided and how it compares to the cost of living in that city. The answer wasn't very simple, but my understanding is that it's not regulated at uni or faculty level but instead decided on a case-by-case basis. I hear figures varying from $30K to $75K, which is a pretty huge span.
So, coming back to my contact with the PI, at no point during our communication the subject of salary came up, and while initially I was cool with that, I am starting to feel like it would be good to know what I am getting myself into before we start putting **serious** effort into writing grant applications and designing projects.
I realize money ***shouldn't*** be the first concern, while negotiating an academic position; but if I'm going to relocate to the other side of the planet without any security of a future there, or back here, I'd like to know that I'm taking a step up from my current life rather than a step down. The issue is that as a grad student in Sweden, you have a pretty decent life and you get a respectable salary (despite being 20-35% down from a comparable position at industry).
**Q1:** How can I inquire about the salary offer/negotiation without appearing greedy or money-oriented?
**Q2:** As a follow up, is it reasonable to expect/ask them to match my current living standard?<issue_comment>username_1: I think all your concerns are very reasonable. Honestly, I am not really buying into the "money is no concern in academic job hunts" story. A postdoc is a job. Part of a job is a salary. I never understood why you are allowed to ask about housing, students, packages, whatever, but not what money you are going to make.
>
> Q1: how can I inquire about the salary offer/negotiation without appearing greedy or money-oriented?
>
>
>
In the past, I have brought up this topic during my faculty visits (i.e., when they invited me over). At this point, nothing is promised yet, but it should be reasonably clear that both sides are interested and will not be scared away by trivialities. That is, if the PI went through the pain and costs to fly you over, (s)he isn't going to drop you just because you said the nasty M-word. Also, a slightly uncomfortable topic is better discussed face-to-face, over coffee.
Usually, there is a point in the conversation where you can drop it in without being overly heavy-handed. Don't make it the first thing you ask, but some time during the day quite naturally the formalities of your employment will come up. At this time you just ask directly for your yearly salary.
*"You say that my employment would be full-time for 2 years? By the way, how much in yearly salary would this roughly amount to?"*
If this is above what you expect, nod sagely and let the topic go. If this is slightly below your expectations, ask if there is possibility to increase (e.g., with additional teaching, by bringing in grants). I wouldn't really consider this negotiating (as they like to say over at Workplace.SE, one cannot negotiate without being prepared to walk away), but rather an open discussion what you would need to do to get to your expected salary. If the offer is way below your expectations, to the extent that your standard-of-living would actually unreasonably sink from your current position, explicitly say so.
However, keep in mind that there is a good chance that in this third case, you may well have an unfixable problem - likely, the PI will be unable and unwilling to go up very far from whatever (s)he currently has in mind, so there is a good chance to you will either have to take the lower salary for the experience, or be prepared to walk away. However, at least then you know - this is still much better than finding out when you are already in the US that your salary isn't close to what you are used to.
**Edit:**
There is, unfortunately, also the very real chance that the answer will be something evasive, for instance:
* *"We'll tackle this when you are here, ok?"*
* *"Salary will follow the university standards / NSF standards / whatever."*
* *"I don't know from the top of my head, but I am sure we will be able to figure it out."*
* ...
If this is the annoying case, I would *press the topic*. Really. No matter what anybody says, it is not unreasonable to expect to have more or less exact knowledge about salary before agreeing to changing jobs, *especially* but not only if that "changing jobs" will mean that you move to a different continent. Also, it is a super-bad sign if the PI won't even give you a ballpark number. That alone would make me very anxious about the entire salary topic.
>
> Q2: As a follow up, is it reasonable to expect/ask them to match my current living standard?
>
>
>
Partially. Your current standard of living isn't really of much concern to your new employer, but of course you can use this argument to plausibly explain why *you* care about having a specific minimal salary goal. Of course for the PI it's not an ethical problem at all to respond with "I don't have this money", or "For this money I can get two qualified people who don't have your expectations regarding standard-of-living". So I certainly wouldn't *expect* them to match your current salary, but it is not unreasonable to ask for this.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: *(I now realize this is an old question and the OP is probably now a PI.. but this might still be useful to others:)*
The NIH provides this salary grid for postdocs which can be used as a baseline to discuss your salary, even if you're not paid by them:
<https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/salary-cap-stipends>
You could start by asking if the salary of that position would be aligned with this grid. That's not greedy, just showing that you are seriously considering the position.
You can also ask if they'd be willing to cover your travel and moving costs, which I've heard some labs do.
Of course if you want to start negotiating, that will probably happen later, once it is confirmed that they want to hire you. You'd need to have strong arguments, I would personally avoid 'matching my current living standards'.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 0
|
2015/07/30
| 1,166
| 4,526
|
<issue_start>username_0: A student co-author drafted a response letter to the reviewers in which they apologize numerous times. I found this strange, but I can't pinpoint why.
*Question*: Should one apologize in response letters to reviewers? If not, why not?
I'm not sure if this is just my personal feeling, or if there are some underlying, tangible reasons for not apologizing.<issue_comment>username_1: My rule of thumb, generally in life as much as any specific aspect of it, **don't apologize for something you haven't done wrong.** This is of course highly debatable but an apology is a formal acceptance of a mistake made, not a figure of speech to be polite. So I'd say don't apologize for something if you don't believe you "f\*ed something up".
It does have a cultural component however, as a British friend of mine once put it:
>
> buying a bag of crisps in England involves 4 "*Excuse me*"s, 7 "*Sorry*"s
> and numerous "*thank you*"s.
>
>
>
---
In this scenario specifically, I think it'd be an insincere apology, and might even be taken as mockery to apologize in response of a comment made by a reviewer. I'd rather advocate for a **respectful** and **appreciative** response, something like:
>
> Re: "*[blah blah blah] should be discussed and evaluated.*"
>
>
> We would like to thank the reviewer for pointing out the lacking
> discussion on [blah blah blah], this has been added in the revised
> version of the manuscript, see page X, paragraph Y.
>
>
>
or, if you disagree with the reviewer about that particular comment because it's **not missing**
>
> Re: "*[blah blah blah] should be discussed and evaluated.*"
>
>
> We would like to thank the reviewer for pointing out the lacking
> discussion on [blah blah blah], however this topic has been covered in page X, paragraph Y.
>
>
>
OR, if you disagree with the reviewer about that particular comment because it's **not necessary**
>
> Re: "*[blah blah blah] should be discussed and evaluated.*"
>
>
> We would like to thank the reviewer for pointing out the lacking
> discussion on [blah blah blah], this topic has been omitted because reasons A,B and C.
>
>
>
Of course these examples are grossly simplified and generalized, usually a bit more context regarding the proposed changes would be appropriate to give in the response. Remember the response is aimed primarily at the editor, not the reviewer. If you can convince the editor, you might even bypass a second iteration to the reviewer.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I think there is an important distinction to be made between acknowledging mistakes and apologizing.
Reviewers often notice genuine problems with our work, and I think that it is entirely appropriate to acknowledge the mistakes that we have made and to express (genuine!) gratitude to a reviewer for pointing out the problem. For example:
>
> Whoops - you're right, figure 3's legend and caption don't match. Apparently, we forgot to update the caption when we changed the figure presentation. Thanks for the catch; it's now fixed.
>
>
>
Apology, however, should be reserved for the places where one has actually caused problems and/or pain for a reviewer (as opposed to just problems for one's own science). For example:
>
> We are sorry that our original description of the method was apparently so difficult to understand. We have revised and clarified and believe that it should be much more intelligible now.
>
>
>
Given this, I find that gratitude is frequently appropriate, while apology is sometimes (but rarely) appropriate.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: That you are writing back to the journal suggests you got an "accept with revisions" or "revise and resubmit" response. You are writing to the editor, not the reviewers. I would suggest an overall appreciation to the reviewers for their time and attention (reviewing papers takes a lot of time): "We offer our thanks to the reviewers for their suggestions and corrections. A list of revisions follows," and then do a list coded to page number or section. Don't apologize, unless one of the criticisms was that your proofreading wasn't good and you had errors throughout the paper. That kind of inattention drives reviewers nuts and it's worth acknowledging that you could/should have done that better.
An editor doesn't want to wade through a lot of blah-blah apology stuff. S/he wants to know whether you've improved the paper enough to make it acceptable. Get to that point.
Upvotes: 2
|
2015/07/30
| 681
| 2,824
|
<issue_start>username_0: Of course, the best way to improve citations is to write good papers which presents sound, interesting, and important results.
However, assuming that one has a nice paper published in an important journal (e.g., PRL, or PRB), what one can do to improve citations, and in general to make people read, or at least aware of, the paper? A partial answer is to upload it on the arXiv, and presents the work to relevant conferences on the topic. Is there something else one can do to *advertise* a paper, especially online?
PS: I am concerned with hard-sciences, in particular, physics.<issue_comment>username_1: Go to conferences and give talks that describe the results in the paper, giving the citation as part of your slides. In disciplines where conferences are not primary publication venues, there's no real worry about the conference paper duplicating the journal article because there's usually no conference paper at all. There are plenty of big conferences that have no proceedings and talks are accepted by review of abstracts only. I don't know if this is how physics works, but in computational mechanics, it's the norm.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Aside from giving **excellent** talks at **important** conferences, here are several other ideas. I've seen all of these work (although rarely all for the same paper).
* Maintain a freely available copy (or at least an arXiv link) on your personal web page.
* Keep your CV up to date, including links to freely available version of *all* your papers.
* Make sure Google Scholar and similar indexing services are indexing your paper.
* Announce / brag about your paper on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, LiveJournal, etc.
* If you have pages at clickbait sites like Academia.org or ResearchGate, upload copies (of the arXiv version) there. (But if you don't, don't start now.)
* Write a blog post about your paper. Better yet, convince someone else with a well-read blog to write a blog post about your paper.
* Give invited talks about your work at other universities/labs. If necessary, invite yourself.
* If you are a student, ask your advisor to brag about your new paper.
* If your paper significantly extends the work of other authors, or applies it in a novel way, contact those authors directly with a link to (a free version of) your paper. (But don't send a copy to someone just because you cite them.)
* Whenever your paper provides an answer to a question on (for example) physics.stackexchange, answer the question and include a link to your paper.
* Develop a reputation for stellar work, so that people in your field regularly check your web page / arXiv / indexes / journals for your newest papers.
The last method is by far the most effective.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]
|
2015/07/30
| 983
| 4,318
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have used Microsoft PowerPoint to make posters so far, and I am considering giving Adobe Illustrator a shot for my next poster. What features does Adobe Illustrator lack compared to Microsoft PowerPoint to make a poster?
For example, [one cannot generate bulleted lists automatically in Adobe Illustrator](https://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/a/41984/11980).
(I am aware of the question [Software to use for creating posters for academic conferences?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/1880/452).)<issue_comment>username_1: I believe that Adobe Illustrator has *many* more features that MS PowerPoint for graphic design and image processing.
The key question is: what will you use those features to accomplish when creating your poster?
I created sever posters in MS PowerPoint and found that it had sufficient features and was easy to use. The only issues came when trying to print it out, because the output of Mac PowerPoint wasn't compatible with the Windows PowerPoint that the printer used.
In my view, extra-fancy graphic design will not result in better posters. Instead, what most posters need is *bigger fonts*, *less text*, *bigger/simpler graphics and images*, and *headlines + call-outs* that guide the viewer through the story. You can accomplish all these goals using PowerPoint.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: So I haven't kept up with how illustrator has changed over the years, but when I used it regularly (10+ years ago), I did primarily because of its ability to make vector based graphics.
I think (any one can correct me if they know better) that Power point has this ability, but not nearly to the extent that illustrator does. In my opinion, illustrator and power point are fundamentally different in what their intended uses are. Even back when I used illustrator extensively, I never used it for layout and design. I would import graphics from Illustrator into adobe Pagemaker (which is very similar to power point, and imo more appropriate for poster making).
I think it would be fairly frustrating to make a scientific poster solely in Illustrator.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Illustrator is nice for designing individual vector graphic elements (such as logos) but it is not for typesetting and page layouts. It will also probably be problematic when you try to combine graphics with paragraphs of text, like typical scientific poster. This is usually, what typesetting applications like InDesign do. InDesign can be used for a single page layout as well. On the other hand, if you do not know InDesign, it will probably be overkill to learn it for creating a single poster.
For scientific guys like me, with no artistic ability whatsoever, I found using latex / beamer with some existing poster templates the easier thing to do. It also has the advantage that you can copy text and formulas directly from your poster paper. So, I would strongly advice you to use beamer, since it is also what most scientific posters are usually done in CS conferences, judging from what I have seen in demo and poster sessions.
If you do not believe me, see [this](http://robjhyndman.com/hyndsight/beamer-poster/) which is the most frequent poster design I have seen in conferences. It takes 2 minutes to do it in Beamer but it will take many days in either Illustrator or InDesign
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: My experience involves an unfortunate truth that I haven't seen mentioned in any of the other answers.
In many interactions with program managers here in the US, I need to create slides in PowerPoint because either 1) it is a required format for certain communications or 2) the program managers use PowerPoint to communicate elsewhere in the government and giving them PowerPoint slides makes it easier for them to include my work in their communications.
This, in turn, creates a significant network effect, because communication with program managers in proposals and reports often predates both papers, talks, and posters. PowerPoint thus has a major advantage over other software alternatives (including Adobe Illustrator), in that my graphics are already in PowerPoint and it's much easier to move them to different documents within the same program rather than shifting them between different programs.
Upvotes: 1
|
2015/07/30
| 1,180
| 5,240
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am often called upon to give a "lab tour" to visitors, including but not limited to:
* prospective graduate students
* candidates for summer research positions (including undergraduate and high school students)
* researchers or executives from our "industrial partners"
* professors and graduate students from other universities, who have come to speak in my department seminar series
* journalists or other media representatives
The goal of these lab tours is to leave the visitor(s) with the impression that we are doing interesting, important, and exciting research.
The research that goes on in my lab mainly looks like... students sitting at laptop computers. We are a telecommunications lab. A lot of the experimental equipment we use is not actually housed in the lab, and the pieces that *are* there in the lab are not that unique or interesting to most visitors. (Think a few Openflow switches and lots of wireless devices, none of which is particularly visually exciting.)
Given this, I am wondering how to use these "lab tours" to my best advantage. What can I do in a lab tour that I couldn't do with, say, a visitor sitting down in my office and talking to me over my desk?
Right now we mainly walk around the room and talk about the posters hanging on the wall, giving any students who are around a chance to give their elevator pitch. This doesn't seem very effective, and visitors often seem kind of bored.<issue_comment>username_1: I believe that Adobe Illustrator has *many* more features that MS PowerPoint for graphic design and image processing.
The key question is: what will you use those features to accomplish when creating your poster?
I created sever posters in MS PowerPoint and found that it had sufficient features and was easy to use. The only issues came when trying to print it out, because the output of Mac PowerPoint wasn't compatible with the Windows PowerPoint that the printer used.
In my view, extra-fancy graphic design will not result in better posters. Instead, what most posters need is *bigger fonts*, *less text*, *bigger/simpler graphics and images*, and *headlines + call-outs* that guide the viewer through the story. You can accomplish all these goals using PowerPoint.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: So I haven't kept up with how illustrator has changed over the years, but when I used it regularly (10+ years ago), I did primarily because of its ability to make vector based graphics.
I think (any one can correct me if they know better) that Power point has this ability, but not nearly to the extent that illustrator does. In my opinion, illustrator and power point are fundamentally different in what their intended uses are. Even back when I used illustrator extensively, I never used it for layout and design. I would import graphics from Illustrator into adobe Pagemaker (which is very similar to power point, and imo more appropriate for poster making).
I think it would be fairly frustrating to make a scientific poster solely in Illustrator.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Illustrator is nice for designing individual vector graphic elements (such as logos) but it is not for typesetting and page layouts. It will also probably be problematic when you try to combine graphics with paragraphs of text, like typical scientific poster. This is usually, what typesetting applications like InDesign do. InDesign can be used for a single page layout as well. On the other hand, if you do not know InDesign, it will probably be overkill to learn it for creating a single poster.
For scientific guys like me, with no artistic ability whatsoever, I found using latex / beamer with some existing poster templates the easier thing to do. It also has the advantage that you can copy text and formulas directly from your poster paper. So, I would strongly advice you to use beamer, since it is also what most scientific posters are usually done in CS conferences, judging from what I have seen in demo and poster sessions.
If you do not believe me, see [this](http://robjhyndman.com/hyndsight/beamer-poster/) which is the most frequent poster design I have seen in conferences. It takes 2 minutes to do it in Beamer but it will take many days in either Illustrator or InDesign
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: My experience involves an unfortunate truth that I haven't seen mentioned in any of the other answers.
In many interactions with program managers here in the US, I need to create slides in PowerPoint because either 1) it is a required format for certain communications or 2) the program managers use PowerPoint to communicate elsewhere in the government and giving them PowerPoint slides makes it easier for them to include my work in their communications.
This, in turn, creates a significant network effect, because communication with program managers in proposals and reports often predates both papers, talks, and posters. PowerPoint thus has a major advantage over other software alternatives (including Adobe Illustrator), in that my graphics are already in PowerPoint and it's much easier to move them to different documents within the same program rather than shifting them between different programs.
Upvotes: 1
|
2015/07/31
| 917
| 4,091
|
<issue_start>username_0: For quite some times this question has popped up to my mind. In many jobs, you can take paid leave for some days. As a PhD student (F1-visa) in US, I am being supported by the department in the form teaching assistantship (TA) . Is there a provision for taking paid leave for TAs?<issue_comment>username_1: I believe that Adobe Illustrator has *many* more features that MS PowerPoint for graphic design and image processing.
The key question is: what will you use those features to accomplish when creating your poster?
I created sever posters in MS PowerPoint and found that it had sufficient features and was easy to use. The only issues came when trying to print it out, because the output of Mac PowerPoint wasn't compatible with the Windows PowerPoint that the printer used.
In my view, extra-fancy graphic design will not result in better posters. Instead, what most posters need is *bigger fonts*, *less text*, *bigger/simpler graphics and images*, and *headlines + call-outs* that guide the viewer through the story. You can accomplish all these goals using PowerPoint.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: So I haven't kept up with how illustrator has changed over the years, but when I used it regularly (10+ years ago), I did primarily because of its ability to make vector based graphics.
I think (any one can correct me if they know better) that Power point has this ability, but not nearly to the extent that illustrator does. In my opinion, illustrator and power point are fundamentally different in what their intended uses are. Even back when I used illustrator extensively, I never used it for layout and design. I would import graphics from Illustrator into adobe Pagemaker (which is very similar to power point, and imo more appropriate for poster making).
I think it would be fairly frustrating to make a scientific poster solely in Illustrator.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Illustrator is nice for designing individual vector graphic elements (such as logos) but it is not for typesetting and page layouts. It will also probably be problematic when you try to combine graphics with paragraphs of text, like typical scientific poster. This is usually, what typesetting applications like InDesign do. InDesign can be used for a single page layout as well. On the other hand, if you do not know InDesign, it will probably be overkill to learn it for creating a single poster.
For scientific guys like me, with no artistic ability whatsoever, I found using latex / beamer with some existing poster templates the easier thing to do. It also has the advantage that you can copy text and formulas directly from your poster paper. So, I would strongly advice you to use beamer, since it is also what most scientific posters are usually done in CS conferences, judging from what I have seen in demo and poster sessions.
If you do not believe me, see [this](http://robjhyndman.com/hyndsight/beamer-poster/) which is the most frequent poster design I have seen in conferences. It takes 2 minutes to do it in Beamer but it will take many days in either Illustrator or InDesign
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: My experience involves an unfortunate truth that I haven't seen mentioned in any of the other answers.
In many interactions with program managers here in the US, I need to create slides in PowerPoint because either 1) it is a required format for certain communications or 2) the program managers use PowerPoint to communicate elsewhere in the government and giving them PowerPoint slides makes it easier for them to include my work in their communications.
This, in turn, creates a significant network effect, because communication with program managers in proposals and reports often predates both papers, talks, and posters. PowerPoint thus has a major advantage over other software alternatives (including Adobe Illustrator), in that my graphics are already in PowerPoint and it's much easier to move them to different documents within the same program rather than shifting them between different programs.
Upvotes: 1
|
2015/07/31
| 1,241
| 5,482
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently working on a minor problem in information extraction. The idea behind the system is relatively simple and contains small modifications of existing algorithms. However in the process, I ended up creating a whole new dataset of a different kind - which did not exist before. This dataset would foster new novel research in my subdomain (call it problem X).
How can I stress the quality of my data and upcoming innovations it can drive and inspire rather than worrying about the simplicity of my algorithms (and reiteration and experimentation of other non-novel ideas)? There has been lot of significant research in problem X recently and my method doesn't stand anywhere in comparison with state of the art.
However I expect some great upcoming works (from the whole research community) in Problem X in upcoming couple of years. If I don't publish this dataset, someone else would definitely produce something similar within a year (think of it as need of the hour) along with some hi-fi "mathy" solutions to Problem X though I just experimented with existing data mining tools and libraries.
I have one more week to go. What should I do that would improve my chances of getting this simple work on Problem X but with an awesome new dataset published?
EDIT:
1. Raw data of this kind is available publicly in massive amount but considered as noise, though it's easy for human perception and conveys a lot of sense.
2. My contribution in creating dataset is annotations and analysis (basic statistical distributions etc)
3. My approach to solve Problem X is not mathematically complex - but at par with regular Tier-II papers being published in this area.
4. There IS a need of this kind of systems in the industry. (any citations would disclose my solution)<issue_comment>username_1: Make your paper a [data paper](https://www.gbif.org/data-papers), and add in the bit about the simple algorithm into the introduction. That way, you put your data front and centre.
And then see the answers to [Data publication basics - where, why, how, and when should I publish my unpublished data?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/987/96) for how to release the data for the whole community to access: doing this is almost always a requirement for getting a data-paper published.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If I understand your approach correctly, you want to write a (weak) research paper basically as an excuse to publish a data set. Your hope is that people will review the paper and get persuaded by the valuable data to accept it despite relatively uninspiring technical content. Further, you hope that your data set will actually lead to substantial impact, even if the paper ideas themselves won't.
I have to say, I tried similar things in the past. It never worked. There are a number of issues:
* People don't typically think like that. A reviewer tasked with reviewing your paper will foremost review the paper. (S)he may or may not even notice that your paper, if accepted, would also release an important data set to the wild. Even if (s)he does, it is unlikely that this will change the review outcome much.
* Even if your paper passes through peer review, there is a high chance that your data set won't be noticed by the community if it is "hidden" in a weak paper. Nowaydays, most fields have *way* too many papers published to read, or even be aware of, all of them. Weak papers tend to be published, glanced over, and forgotten. Most researchers won't look for the data set published along a paper that they consider not very useful.
* You say that *"expect some great upcoming works"* from the research community related to your data set. There is a good chance that, even if true, this is not very obvious to other researchers yet. Basically, for many researchers, it will not be enough to just give them a data set that has data for A, B, C, and (now new!) X. You also need to inspire them with a great new algorithm, technique, analysis, whatever that makes use of X in combination of A, B, and C that this new data actually opens up new avenues for research. If *everybody* already knows that X will be the next hot thing, and X is also not extremely hard or expensive to get, then I am wondering why you happen to be sitting on this elusive data set and other research groups are not.
What you really *should* do is think about this last item yourself, *and then work on a great paper* using your data. If you think you can't do parts of the paper project yourself, try to get collaborators on board. If you can't convince collaborators that this is valuable data / research, then ... well, then you need to revisit whether you are not overestimating the value of your data in the first place.
Alternatively, there are some venues that publish artefact-only papers, where the "paper" is basically just a description of the data set and the real value comes from an indexed and archived listing of data. One example in my field is the [PESOS workshop](https://sse.uni-due.de/pesos2015/), which used to run a "Quest for Case Studies". However, in practice, the impact of data sets published like this was generally extremely low, in part because of the problem I mentioned in my third item above. Publishing cool new data is often not enough - you also want to convince people that new, interesting research can be done with the data, and this works best by starting to do such research yourself.
Upvotes: 3
|
2015/07/31
| 1,460
| 6,607
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently enrolled in a Master's degree Program in Statistics in Italy. I just started working on my thesis and my advisor asked me if I wanted to write it in Italian or in English. Apparently, both languages are accepted but presenting a thesis in English would mean having to discuss it in English too.
It's a 10-min Q&A session so not that big a deal, however I wouldn't want to put the evaluating committee in a difficult position since none of my professors are native English speakers.
Given that I have no interest (at the moment) in pursuing an academic career beyond my Master, what could be the benefits of writing the thesis in English? Would it realistically make any difference for future job search abroad, for example?<issue_comment>username_1: The reasons I write all my work in English, regardless of the country in which I work, are threefold:
1. The scientific community works in English
2. English texts are easier to reuse
3. English texts are easier to share and diffuse
Reasons 2 and 3 are effectively based on premise number 1. In terms of the ability to reuse my work, more often than never I might have to give a presentation, a talk or create a poster based on some report/thesis/paper I previously wrote. This scenario is common to both academia and industry. When this happens I can easily extract sentences, keywords and figures from my previous work if all the text contained in them is in English, without the need to translate it.
Similarly a document written in English can be given to anyone and they'll be able to read and understand it without requiring a translation.
Therefore if I were you I would write the thesis in English, and present it also in English. I don't think that your examiners will feel in any way threatened by this. Ever more so if you are a foreign student and Italian is not your native language. You should not be expected or forced to write and/or present in a language you are not that familiar with, if English is an allowed option.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: When you said "none of my professors are native English speakers", did you mean that they have difficulty understanding and communicating in English? *The fact that someone's native language is different from English in no way implies their inability to communicate in English fluently enough.*
If your professors indeed have difficulty understanding and communicating in English, then it would IMHO be impolite and, even, unethical to choose English as the language of your thesis, thus, making your decision an easy one.
On the other hand, if your professors can communicate in English with enough fluency (and will heave no problems understanding your subject domain terminology), then I think that producing a thesis in English would be preferred. The rationale is that your thesis can be shared with (and understood by) much more people and, while you might not see value of that today, perhaps, tomorrow you opinion will be different. Sharing your thesis with more people might be beneficial from two perspectives: **academic** (*disseminating research*) and professional / **non-academic** career (*communicating your professional knowledge, skills and abilities* to potential employers).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In addition to asking your advisers if they feel comfortable assessing your thesis if it were written in English, also check your department's / university's rules on this.
The universities I had interactions with all had very clear rules about thesis written in languages that were not the country's official language. Sometimes it may simply be allowed, sometimes a pro-forma request is needed, yet others required approval by the examination board.
(The same applied to the language for the final presentation / defense)
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: It would be surprising if the committee did not take into account the language in which the thesis is written, and thus you should mainly consider your own preference for the language. Of course, ask your advisor or the administrative staff at the department if there are specific requirements for submitting a thesis in English.
Also, you should take into account whether your capability for writing in English is as good as your capability for writing in Italian. As your field is Statistics, I would argue that the language is second to the statistical content, method applied, and results presented. Some find comfort in writing academically in a second language, but that comfort should not weigh heavier than the ability to write in said language.
Finally, a value of writing in English could be the use of the thesis as an example of your ability to write academically and concisely, as well as your control of the English language. Having the thesis translated, or doing so yourself, would not be valuable in this regard. As you are not interested in a further career in academia, you might find more use of it as a writing-sample.
Decide to write in either Italian or English, not both, as the time spent writing should be focused on content and presentation. The final grade will be more valuable than the language it is written in.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: It seems likely to me that your professors would have no difficulty reading your thesis in English and even understanding your presentation in English. They might, however, feel uncomfortable asking questions or making comments in English. If that's the situation, then you might consider doing your writing and your presentation in English but making it clear to the professors that you are willing to take questions or comments in Italian.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: A professor once told me that the international language of science is "broken American English."
* For a hard sciences thesis, elegant language is **not required**, especially if the people who are going to grade it wouldn't notice, anyway. (But you might be surprised. The *passive* language skills of most people are much better than their *active* language skills.)
* The grammar **should** be correct. Ask your department if mistakes in grammar would reduce your grade.
* The professional vocabulary **must** be correct. But you need to learn it anyway if you're working in the field.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: You don't say which is your native language, but I'd suggest you write it in the other one; you effectively get two credentials for the price of one that way (the subject itself plus second language competence).
Upvotes: 0
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2015/07/31
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently sent a paper for review to a conference whose results will be out in 4-5 months. In last few days to the deadline, I've been tuning one subsystem, which didn't work out by the deadline. I simplified that part and sent the papers explaining the older method for that subsystem which I had done few months ago, though I had lot of expectations from the new method.
Few days after the deadline, I got good preliminary results from the removed subsystem and I see good amount of possible improvement in next few weeks. There's a conference coming up in a month where I'm planning to send the results.
Now, this subsystem isn't great by itself but significantly improves the system. If I write a paper explaining it, I'll have to put in details that I've already sent for review last week. Now I'm confused about what all to write about.
* The results for the paper I've sent will come in 4-5 months. I can't self-cite
* If both of them are accepted, it might be called as self plagiarism (acc to rules of one of the conferences).
* Just new subsystem isn't enough to be explained in a paper.
Now I'm confused about how and when to send my current results. Should I explain the whole system in the new paper again, though newer contribution is 1/4th of the whole system?<issue_comment>username_1: If you are still working on your system I would say hold onto it.
If the subsystem improvement only change values and can be explained briefly I would say include it in the paper when you receive the reviews.
If the conference/journal asks for a review answer mention it there.
All in all, I wouldn't advise submitting another paper this close to the other one especially on the exact same subject. You can't really publish new paper each time you improve your results, it all depends on the actual content of the research and science you've done behind.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: There are three basic routes that you can take for close incremental improvements of this sort, depending on timing and the complexity of the work to be described. They are:
1. If the improvement is relatively simple (could be fit into the existing paper), and is completed before the camera-ready deadline of the conference, then the best thing to do is to incorporate it into the current paper when you revise for the camera-ready version. This type of improvement is generally acceptable in conference publications.
2. If the improvement is complex and impactful enough to deserve its own paper, write that paper and [reference the current paper as "submitted."](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/12101/22733) If both are accepted, then the timing is likely to be such that you can change the citation to the final venue and date for the camera-ready of the second paper.
3. If the improvement is both too late for the current camera-ready and too small for its own paper, you can either incorporate it into an extended version of the original paper to be sent to a journal (I've done this several times myself) or else can post a brief technical note in a non-peer-reviewed but respectable and archival venue (e.g., arXiv, a tech report at your institution).
For your particular case, it sounds like option #1 (incorporate into the camera-ready) is likely to apply, but #3 may also be a reasonable path.
Upvotes: 1
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2015/07/31
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<issue_start>username_0: It was like more than 6 years ago, I was an undergrad senior in a south asian university, we did not have much internet connectivity back then.
I wanted to publish something on a journal/conference to get a feedback on my undergrad thesis (I was curious to know about the quality of my work) and submitted a paper to one of the journals listed on that notorious [waset.org](http://waset.org/).
I was young and novice, above all, I had no idea that people could do such a scam with intellectual issues like "research papers", anyway.
but the thing is that when I search my name on a web search engine (google, duck-duck-go etc.), that biggest mistake of my life still comes up on the first page, I am now near the end of my PhD and looking for an academic/research job. So, I wanted to communicate with them so that I can request them to revoke my paper.
However, their site does not provide any specific contact address/person to whom I can discuss with.
I have no wish to resubmit that to any other place, after 7 years now I can understand that my undergrad thesis work was too "trivial" to be "published".
Is there anyone who is in the similar situation? and is there any way to retract the paper from [waset.org](http://waset.org/) ?
any pointer will be greatly appreciated.
Apology: I am feeling very uneasy to share the link of my paper, but their website is provided.<issue_comment>username_1: Of course you can try to contact the conference 'organizers', but I am afraid that a scam conference, like waset (which is an anagram for waste), will not revoke your paper.
I would suggest that you leave the paper out from any list that you can control (your website, your university's website, your cv, your google scholar profile, etc).
Try to focus on your genuine papers. As that list grows, the trivial one will become less and less visible.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I think there is something you can do to help yourself in this situation.
You could contact Google and ask if they would remove this particular search hit from their cache. As a result your paper will not come up when people search your name in Google. Of course your paper will still exist in their server but I think that a major part of the potential damage can be avoided since I would believe that people do not intentionally go the predator publishers website to search anyones articles.
Here are the instructions to contact Google: <https://support.google.com/websearch/troubleshooter/3111061?hl=en>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I am also in a similar situation. I am a PhD student. I submitted a paper to one of WASET conferences which they had used a name of a genuine top level conference. After I submitted my paper, they accepted within 3 days without any reviews and that made me suspicious. I decided to withdraw my paper after 2 weeks. However, I was surprised to learn from my friend 2 months later that they went ahead and published my paper yet I had withdrawn and did not attend nor pay for the conference. I have written to them almost 20 times to remove my paper but they declined. In short, never submit a paper to WASET, it's a scam for making money through registration fee from unsuspecting researchers.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: You can look-up domain name owners. *World Academy of Science Engineering and Technolo* [sic] is listed as the owner of waset.org, their registered business address is given as *6, Dubai, 28817, AE*, which probably doesn't help much, they also registered phone number *+971.559099620* and email address *<EMAIL>*, which might be more useful.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: We all make mistakes, but learning from them is where the value lies.
Add this under notable life experiences on your CV. This way you have the opportunity to explain the situation, and show that you have grown since then. It also shows that you are not trying to hide things, that you can own up to your mistakes, that you have courage, and that you can poke fun at yourself.
The softer skills in life could indicate how well you would fit into an existing team, and that also counts towards your appointability, not just your academic achievements.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Google ranks results based on an algorithm that calculates the page rank of a page, which is (over simplified) a combination of links to that page and the ranks of the pages linking to it. I can't think that this fake journal would have a very high rank.
Social websites usually have a sky high page rank, so you can try and bury this result in search by creating a public profile on as many social media websites as you can (linkedin, google plus, facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram, youtube (upload a cat video please), geni, blogger, google scholar, wordpress, to name just a few), and those should quickly outrank this one.
You can create public profiles on forums in your area of research (or any sizeable forum for that matter), as these also tend to have high page rank. I also see some of reviews on zomato when I google my own name, so that could be worth a try.
Last but not least, you can register your name as a domain name, and host a website there with your CV. Typically domains that exactly match a search term tend to rank well for that term.
The key is to use your name, or the name that appears in your paper that you would like to bury.
Upvotes: 0
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2015/07/31
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<issue_start>username_0: I will defend my thesis soon. It would be great if someone could suggest me any good course or resource to improve my skills.<issue_comment>username_1: I recommend [Presentation Zen](http://www.presentationzen.com), especially the book. Even though it stays on a fairly high level (and is definitely tailored towards business & marketing), its main ideas are very useful for academic presentations.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There are occasional Coursera classes on public speaking. I've taken two of them, and found them incredibly helpful for presentation skills.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: [<NAME>](http://matt.might.net) has a [nice article](http://matt.might.net/articles/academic-presentation-tips/) on tips for academic talks, with some very helpful tips. He is in Computer Science, so some things may be more or less applicable to your field. In that article he also recommends "Even a Geek can Speak" which I have read and highly recommend as well. I believe if you click around his website you can find some other tips on academic talks, and on presenting academic work.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: I highly recommend book ["Designing Science Presentations: A Visual Guide to Figures, Papers, Slides, Posters, and More"](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0123859697) by <NAME>. It is very comprehensive in covering various aspects of scientific presentations in different contexts. Another excellent book on the topic is ["Presentation Secrets"](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1118034961) by <NAME>. I hope to use advice from both books in my future academic career.
Unfortunately, I have bought both books after I've almost prepared my dissertation defense slides, so I haven't had a chance to improve my slides, based on solid advice in the books (that is not to say that my slides were bad without it, but pursuit of perfection is one of my core problems :-). Therefore, I have just browsed both books in search of advice for other presentation aspects (speaking, equipment, etc.). Having said that, I think that the *single most important factor of success* for a dissertation (thesis) defense is your **confidence** (in both yourself and your work).
Another very important factor is **timing**. You have to pay a lot of attention to timing, since in many, if not all, cases dissertation defense is quite limited time-wise (mine was very limited). After working for years on some subject domain, you have a lot to say and, thus, compressing what you *want* to say into what you *must* say represents a major challenge. The solution to that is to *practice*. I have literally recorded my voice presentation on my smartphone and trimmed it (and correspondingly, my slides) until the length of the presentation was approaching the target time frame. I also played my recordings before sleep for better memorization (for fluidity). Finally, I asked a friend, who was also finishing working on his Ph.D. dissertation, to do me a favor and listen to my presentation via Skype (sharing the screen for synchronized slide presentation). We did that twice. I have listened to his feedback and updated my slides and talk plan, correspondingly. Some stress is inevitable, but you can definitely minimize it to a tolerable level, especially considering that the fact of your defense being scheduled implies that your work has been accepted by your committee and, thus, they have enough confidence in you. I hope that my answer is helpful. Good luck with your defense!
Upvotes: 2
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2015/07/31
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<issue_start>username_0: I submitted a paper to a good journal in theoretical computer science. Today I received an email from the editor stating that the status of the paper is:
"Accepted subject to minor revisions".
The revisions suggested by the referee were only typos. More precisely, there were only 5 typos. The referees strongly recommended to accept the paper.
To tell the truth, this was the paper with the least number of corrections I ever had (even though it may have been the one which required the greatest amount of my time to write). Often when submitting papers to conferences I get a much bigger list of corrections/suggestions. Nevertheless, the paper appears at the conference's list of accepted papers much before the corrections are implemented. So shouldn't the same reasoning apply to journals?
**Question:** Should I list the paper as "Accepted" in my CV / homepage?
In other words, what do theoretical computer scientists / mathematicians write in their CV in this case?<issue_comment>username_1: "Accepted subject to minor revisions" is not yet accepted. You can list in your CV just like any other non-peer-reviewed manuscript if you want (just like e.g. papers that you have posted to ArXiv).
"Accepted" is accepted. You can list in your CV just like any other journal publication. Of course you don't have full bibliographic details yet, but you can simply give the authors, title, journal, and a note "to appear" or something similar.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: *The following apparently does not apply to theoretical mathematics, see comments and other answers for detail.*
From my experience, during the time between acceptance and publication, you list the article as "in publication". This indicates that you have gone through the work of writing, submitting, responding to feedback, and the article has gone through peer review, been accepted and is just waiting to be published.
I've seen other qualifiers as well, including "in submission" for those going through the submission process, and "in preparation" for those that you're writing but haven't submitted. I strongly recommend against listing any papers in either of these categories, as until they're accepted they're not really "peer-review articles", they're just "ideas you have that you hope someone will publish one day".
Your case falls in the "in submission" category, and as such I would not list it.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In my area, cognitive neuroscience, 'in revision' is the common phrase. I would not list it as accepted, until it is. Between acceptance and publication, it would be 'in press'.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: If I were keeping my CV up to date and didn't want to wait for the final acceptance of the paper, I'd write exactly what the editor wrote to you, "accepted subject to minor revisions". I might be tempted to add something to the effect that the recommended revisions are just corrections of typos, but I'd probably resist that temptation. By quoting the editor exactly, you have an obvious and conclusive answer if anyone should question what you wrote.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: You can *probably* get away with describing it as "accepted" if you are quite confident that the revisions are really minor, but if they turn out to be not so minor (e.g. the referee points out what appears to be a typo, but on closer inspection it is a logical error that invalidates your proof), you will be embarrassed.
The safest course of action is to wait until it is finally, completely accepted - when the referee has signed off on your revisions, and you have a letter from the editor saying "we will let you know when it's time to correct the galley proofs". At that point you can describe it as "Accepted", "To Appear", "In Press", or something like that.
Until then, the safest course of action is to describe it as "Submitted", "Under Review", or whatever term you would normally use on your CV to describe a paper that has been submitted but not yet accepted or rejected. (And contrary to username_2's answer, in mathematics it is standard practice to include submitted papers on a CV.)
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I have finished my mathematics undergraduate degree in the UK at a low ranked university. I just missed out on a 2:2.
I struggled with modules such as statistics and Operations research but excelled at pure maths and applied maths modules.
I have miraculously still been accepted by a university to study for MSc in maths.
This university is not part of the Russell group universities but does do better in the league tables than some of the universities that are part of the Russell Group.
Out of fun I was researching the masters course in maths at Cambridge.
In the handbook they mentioned something interesting.
They said that if your first degree is not up to scratch then you may take the second and third year at Cambridge to bring yourself up to the right level.
After contemplating this, I am thinking about doing a second masters in maths but with the aim of doing it at Cambridge.
Off course I will need a very high distinction to do this.
I was wondering in general, would a masters in maths at a much lower ranked university be a good preparation for a masters course at a very top university?<issue_comment>username_1: I interpret the information you found about Cambridge to mean if a person with run-of-the-mill grades in his Bachelor's degree does very well in his first year of his Master's program, he may apply to *transfer* to Cambridge to continue his Master's there.
I you're not sure whether your interpretation or mine is correct, I would suggest contacting Cambridge by email to ask for clarification.
---
You know, rank isn't everything. In your studies this fall, try to find out what parts of mathematics you like best, and work hard but enjoy yourself and try to have some balance in your life. Try to take all that competitiveness and ranking and so on with a grain of salt.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> They said that if your first degree is not up to scratch then you may take the second and third year at Cambridge to bring yourself up to the right level.
>
>
>
Are you talking about [Körner's unofficial guide to Part III](https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~twk/PartIII.pdf)? He says "If you are a very able student whose first degree course is not up to the standard required for Part III, it may make sense to apply to become an 'Affiliated Student' taking the second and third year of the Cambridge mathematics course to obtain the Cambridge first degree." This is closest statement I'm aware of to what you mention, but it means something different. It's talking about repeating undergraduate studies (when the applicant did very well in courses that are insufficient preparation for Part III), rather than repeating a master's program. Furthermore, admission as an affiliated student at Cambridge requires [first or upper second class honours](http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/mature-and-affiliated/affiliated-students).
I'm not at Cambridge and can't offer definitive guidance about what they will or will not allow. However, I'm skeptical about the idea of studying for a second master's degree. You shouldn't plan on this unless you have a clear indication that Cambridge will consider it. I'd bet that the chances are low.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2015/08/01
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<issue_start>username_0: I have come across this term fairly often, where full/associate/assistant professors are referred to by the term ‘clinical’. Given that their departments had nothing to do with medicine, I thought the term referred to the [second meaning](http://thefreedictionary.com/clinical) of *clinical:*
>
> scientifically detached; strictly objective
>
>
>
Is this interpretation correct? If yes, isn’t such a branding offensive?<issue_comment>username_1: There can be clinical professors in fields other than medicine, though they may be labeled something else. The definition of a "clinical professor" is not limited to medicine:
>
> "The prefix Clinical identifies appointments that primarily provide practical instruction and application of practical knowledge. On the Medical Campus, the title describes faculty whose primary activity is limited to clinical or public health practice and associated teaching. The duties, terms of appointment, and salaries (if any) of such persons are specified in the letter of appointment. In general, the applicable rank and any subsequent promotions should be determined by the relevant academic achievements, professional accomplishments, and demonstrated effectiveness of the appointee." (Boston University faculty handbook)
>
>
>
So, though I don't know much about engineering, I imagine that a professional from an engineering firm that specializes in a particular process could be hired as a clinical professor. S/he would teach about the particular niche they occupy in the industry.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Many universities are now forced by their budgetary situations to hire people at low wages on temporary contracts to teach classes. Then they have the problem of figuring out what title to give these employees. Since medical schools have a longstanding practice of hiring people (though not at low wages) on temporary contracts to teach classes and (accurately in their case) call such people Clinical Professors, some universities have adopted the terminology for all such cases.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: **Clinical Law Faculty** usually supervise one or two law clinics where law students can get practical experience getting indigent or immigrant clients. In this case, "clinical" means that their responsibilities are mainly focused in the teaching and running of said clinics and that they are not full faculty in the law school in terms of voting and tenure rights.
**Clinical Writing Faculty** is a term I've recently come across for some professional staff (with PhDs) who work in university writing/tutoring clinics. They help students with their essays and may also teach some composition courses. These people are also not full faculty in terms of voting and tenure rights.
Note: "Adjunct" is not appropriate for these faculty as they are often full time with renewing terms. "Visiting" is inappropriate as they are on renewing terms that could span decades of service. "Staff" is inappropriate as they have terminal degrees and are teaching/supervising students. "Professor of Practice" is a mostly equivalent term to "clinical faculty," again with the emphasis on teaching rather than research.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I have completed my Master's degree 25+ years ago, and I decided to go back to college to further my education with a Doctorate degree. I fulfill all the requirements, except for the need to provide 2 academic references.
How should I proceed to obtain the references? Should I hunt down my former professors in their retirement and hope they retain their faint memories of me?<issue_comment>username_1: Your situation now is very similar to my situation in 2001. I got all my references from colleagues who knew my recent work. Fortunately, I had been doing research-like work, except in an environment where it lead to product and patents, rather than papers.
The professor who supervised my master's degree project was still working, and I could have contacted him, but I felt that my recent work was more relevant than a project I had finished in 1975.
I made sure one of my references was academically well-connected, although working in industry at the time. The other two were a software engineering manager and a computer hardware engineering manager who could write about my range of knowledge as well as my research potential.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I was recently in a similar situation. Although my time away from academia was somewhat shorter than yours (10-15 years), and even though some of my professors were still active in research, I did not think they would be in a position to write a strong recommendation letter. "I vaguely remember this student from 15 years ago, and she got A, so she must have done alright," is not the sort of recommendation you want.
My solution, which has worked out well for me, was to spend a year taking graduate level courses at a local university. In addition to taking the classes, I went out of my way to introduce myself to the professors at the outset and explain my situation. I was able to get involved (in rather minor roles) in two research projects, one each semester. This allowed the professors to write much stronger letters than I could have gotten from professors of 15 years ago. It also had the benefit of improving my applications with recent, relevant coursework and research. Even if you have all of the requirements, some recent academic experiences may be valuable, depending on your field. "Fulfilling all the requirements" and having a strong application are not quite the same thing.
Of course, this may not be applicable to you. It is a full year, at least, without funding. It requires a nearby university at which you can get involved with classes and research. It delays your starting time by at least another year. These are all drawbacks, and may be more or less burdensome depending on your situation.
Upvotes: 3
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2015/08/01
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<issue_start>username_0: In a research paper, is it appropriate to use the word *like* meaning *similar* or *similar to?* For example the sentence:
>
> Like in Eq.(2), we will substitute *y* in Eq.(6) to simplify the equation.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: The word "like" is perfectly OK, but your use of it in the example sentence is wrong. It should be "as" [[because the clause "Like in Eq. (2)" modifies the verb phrase "will substitute" and thus functions as an adverb. "Like" produces adjective phrases and would be correct if you were modifying a noun.]] For example, it would be correct to write "This simplification is like the one in Eq. (2)."
EDIT: What I wrote about the example sentences is right, but the reason I gave, now in brackets [[...]] above, is wrong. In particular, a "like" phrase can function as an adverb; "he sings like Caruso" is correct. The difference between "like" and "as" (when they express similarity --- both words have several other meanings) is that "like" is a preposition and "as" is a conjunction. So "like" should form a phrase with a noun, e.g., "like the one in Eq. (2)", and "like Caruso". "As" should be followed by a whole clause, like a sentence, but much of that clause is often omitted. Thus, for example, "As in equation (2), we will substitute ..." is an elliptical form of "As we did in equation (2), we will substitute ...".
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This isn't the world's best sentence, but it's not wrong, and it's not a Valley Girl verbal tic. "Similar to the procedure used to derive Eq. (2), we substitute $y$ in Eq. (6) to simplify the equation yielding ...$
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I think that because "like" is used so often in casual conversation, you know, like when you're talking to a friend and she's like and then I'm like . . . and so on, I try to avoid it in more formal papers. You can often find a substitute, "as," "such as," "as though," and so on.
Of course, there are appropriate uses, especially when "like" is being used as a preposition: Martin was so tired that he looked like a zombie.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: "Like" is OK here, but lose the "in". The preposition meaning "similar to" is just "like", not "like in".
<http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/like>
"As in" is equally good.
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/01
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<issue_start>username_0: One chapter in my thesis is going to have the following style:
```
3.1 Topic A
3.1.1 Problem Description
3.1.2 Proposed Solution
4.1 Topic B
4.1.1 Problem Description
4.1.2 Proposed Solution
```
Is it OK to have subsections with the same name? Or should it rather be something like:
```
3.1 Topic A
3.1.1 Topic A Problem Description
3.1.2 Topic A Proposed Solution
4.1 Topic B
4.1.1 Topic B Problem Description
4.1.2 Topic B Proposed Solution
```
**Update:**
Many thanks to all for the comments and answers. I think understand now that it's more a question about the document structure than about the subsection titles.<issue_comment>username_1: You typically have a great deal of freedom in deciding how to structure the presentation of your thesis. If parallel construction is a good way to present your work, and if you aren't constrained not to by your advisor or your institution's regulations, I see no reason to prefer an overly verbose subsection title over a succinct title that happens to be the same as a subsection title in another section.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: There is generally no problem to have subsections with the same name. I have seen that many times in thesis and papers. However, although it is possible, it does not guarantee a good organisation of your ideas. So perhaps that other organization may also be considered as alternatives. For example, it may be more appropriate to define all problems that you will address in the first chapters and present the related work, and then present all the solutions (your contribution) in the remaining chapters, rather than presenting problem-solution and problem-solution. As a general advice, it may be better to also validate the thesis structure with your research advisor.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
|
2015/08/01
| 593
| 2,524
|
<issue_start>username_0: I run a small blog about both the academic and professional aspects of my industry as I both teach a course at the university I am attending as well as work in the industry full time. The blog answers viewer questions and has even made some changes to core industry values which has boosted productivity and efficiency in some schools, and jobs.
One of my posts answered a question that required extensive research and would be unbelievable without my sources. This post is almost a year old and the link that was most important to my reasoning and proof of concept is not longer active.
I am faced with two choices:
1. Remove the post all together because most of the credibility was in that link.
2. Leave the post up without the proper accreditation to my research.
This is one of my most popular posts that effects both the academic and professional aspects of my industry and I have no way of contacting the original owner of the website that was removed.<issue_comment>username_1: If the page was up for a while, you can probably obtain a copy via the [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/index.php). Once you've got that cached version, you can host it yourself, with appropriate attribution (i.e., the fact that the original source is missing, its original location and authorship, time that the snapshot was taken by the Internet Archive, etc.)
This could be a problem from a copyright perspective, but if the original material truly is abandoned, then you've got nothing to worry about. If the owner does contact you, then either they'll likely be willing to post a copy (or its equivalent) again, obviating your need to host your own copy. Only in the rather unlikely case they both want the material taken down and are unwilling to repost it themselves will you lose the source.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to the Wayback Machine mentioned by Jake (or other mirrors), you could try to have a look at the WHOIS history to find the original owner's contact information. You might also be interested in having a look at [how Wikipedia deals with dead links](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Dead_link). To prevent future occurrences of this issue, you could automatically [mirror all pages your website points to](https://superuser.com/q/257794/116475) or use some mirroring services such as [perma.cc](https://perma.cc/) (FYI [What percentage of links posted in published articles are dead?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/51865/452)).
Upvotes: 4
|
2015/08/02
| 583
| 2,411
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am a senior physics major and I recently applied to a national lab that is associated with my university. I applied for a student research position through their website (uploaded my resume and wrote a cover letter etc.) I was contacted by the PI of the research team to come for a 'visit' for an hour with him and his team. He went through the hassle of giving out the visitor pass for me.
More about me, I am a senior but I have no research experience. I don't have a strong GPA and I admit I am not that 'smart' like other students. Should I have to explain about my GPA?
So my question is what should I prepare myself prior to my visit? Do you think it would be some sort of an interview? What sort of questions (academical/personal) should I prepare? Also, should I take an updated resume (I don't think it has really changed since I applied)?<issue_comment>username_1: If the page was up for a while, you can probably obtain a copy via the [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/index.php). Once you've got that cached version, you can host it yourself, with appropriate attribution (i.e., the fact that the original source is missing, its original location and authorship, time that the snapshot was taken by the Internet Archive, etc.)
This could be a problem from a copyright perspective, but if the original material truly is abandoned, then you've got nothing to worry about. If the owner does contact you, then either they'll likely be willing to post a copy (or its equivalent) again, obviating your need to host your own copy. Only in the rather unlikely case they both want the material taken down and are unwilling to repost it themselves will you lose the source.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to the Wayback Machine mentioned by Jake (or other mirrors), you could try to have a look at the WHOIS history to find the original owner's contact information. You might also be interested in having a look at [how Wikipedia deals with dead links](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Dead_link). To prevent future occurrences of this issue, you could automatically [mirror all pages your website points to](https://superuser.com/q/257794/116475) or use some mirroring services such as [perma.cc](https://perma.cc/) (FYI [What percentage of links posted in published articles are dead?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/51865/452)).
Upvotes: 4
|
2015/08/02
| 825
| 3,216
|
<issue_start>username_0: In my academic paper, I have well over 100 figures, and would like to use an artwork I found online in one of my figures - it is not published in any book, it is just something they made and posted online. I would be using 1/6th of the author's artwork figure, and it would be so heavily modified it would barely be recognizable. The modified artwork would take up 1/40th the space of 1 such diagram (out of 100+) and used once only, it is a minor element of my figure.
(1) Do I need to cite the artwork in this case?
(2) Can you give any guideline on when an artwork citation is needed?
(3) Am I required to get permission from the author, or is it a courtesy to the author only?
(4) How would one cite an artwork in their dissertation?<issue_comment>username_1: You have two issues I can recognize, neither is of how much space a figure takes up.
First, you have an issue of copyright. This applies to any work that is being disseminated in public, especially published or monetary work, yours the former. For copyright, there are certain laws (based on country) that you must follow. This relates to how much of an original piece you need to modify before you are not infringing on the artwork. This is hard to discuss online and without an expert.
The second issue is of academic publication. It is better to be on the safe side, but also taking the risk of not citing some work can look very badly on you, and also be considered plagiarism. Most often, if you would like to use someone elses image with some modifications, you should be citing it as 'Modified from X'. Unless you are using some photograph, and tracing over it to make some line drawing for a particular outline of some device, I would always use the 'modified from' citation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Simply contact artwork's author (since the artwork wasn't published, the author is copyright holder, otherwise it usually would be the publisher), requesting permission to *adapt* the artwork. I suggest sending the author planned version, so that any potential issues can be assessed and addressed.
**(1)** I'd say *Yes*. The citation is usually located below or above the figure in the following form:
>
> *(Adapted from “The DeLone and McLean model of information systems success: A ten-year update.”, by DeLone and McLean, 2003, Journal of
> Management Information Systems, 19(4), p. 24. Copyright 2003 by M.E.
> Sharpe, Inc. Adapted with permission.)*.
>
>
>
**(2)** Since artwork is someone's intellectual property artifact, protected by copyright, it is *usually* (for an exception, see *fair use* in the next point) *required* to cite the artwork (as any other such artifact) to properly credit its authors. The format of citation depends on the publication style you're using (my example above is based on *APA Style*).
**(3)** You're required to get permission, unless you want to risk by using the [fair use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use) legal doctrine.
**(4)** If the artwork is part of a figure, see example above; otherwise, other relevant standard citation guidelines for visual elements apply, based on the publication style you use.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
|
2015/08/02
| 705
| 2,753
|
<issue_start>username_0: While looking for a journal to publish my paper I noticed that one of the people I follow on ResearchGate has published his paper in
>
> Journal of Advances in Mathematics
>
>
>
I never heard of this journal before yet it has impact factor of *1.244* or at least that is what it says on the journal [website](http://www.cirjam.com/).
Is this a *real* mathematics journal or *fraud*? Thanks.<issue_comment>username_1: The *Journal of Advances in Mathematics* and its publisher are mentioned in [this blog post](http://scholarlyoa.com/2014/03/27/new-oa-publisher-the-council-for-innovative-research/#more-3325) at *Scholarly Open Access*. The post explains why the post's author, <NAME>, believes that the journal and its publisher are not legitimate.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you follow the link of the impact factor it takes you to this page: <http://cirworld.org/if> and at the very end of the page you can see that
*Impact factor is calculated with process of IF calculation procedure of CIR.*
So the impact factor you are looking at is not the actual Thomson Reuters IF (I cannot check at the moment if it is included in the list of Journals.)
This, together with the mention in the ScholarlyOA, makes it more than suspicious. I would recommend staying away from this journal and its publisher.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If you are not a professional mathematician I'm not sure why you're interested in the legitimacy of a math journal. (That may sound elitist. It is not intended to be: really, I don't understand why someone else would need to worry about this.) If you are then you should be able to look at a journal's webpage and evaluate it yourself. Wondering whether a journal might be legitimate because it has a certain impact factor is a bit like measuring the Chinese emperor's nose by asking everyone in China *when you are the emperor's barber*. There is no reason to look at statistical measurements done by others of absolutely uncertain fidelity when you can just see for yourself. (But to be honest: I did notice the text about the impact factor described in username_2's answer.)
I had never heard of this journal before, but 15 minutes on its webpage allowed me to come to a conclusion regarding its legitimacy. I looked at the editorial board, the publication policy and then started skimming papers: some just to get a general sense and then a smaller number in areas of mathematics that I know relatively well. I stopped looking when I saw [this paper](http://cirworld.com/journals/index.php/jam/article/view/3878/pdf_278), which was as decisive a confirmation of the impression I had acquired as one could possibly hope for.
Upvotes: 3
|
2015/08/02
| 404
| 1,789
|
<issue_start>username_0: My supervisor wants the paper at another huge conference where all the funding are given and it's more valid than the current accepted one. But I have paid all my air fares and hotel fares for the current travel. Refunding is not possible it seems. Can I go to a conference and just present without publishing?
I can't waste my money by just avoiding the conference. I have to take something out of it.<issue_comment>username_1: There is only one solution:
* The paper has been accepted on first conference.
* You paid for going there
* You go there and present the paper.
* Withdraw from second conference ASAP (like Monday morning after notifying your adrvisor).
* Search for new advisor, because him a) advising double (or multiple) submission of the same paper and b) pay travel costs from your own pocket for first conference, shows he knows nothing about how academia works.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I think you are focusing on the wrong issue. The multiple-submission issue may have long term consequences. It would be a problem even if you could get a complete refund of your costs for attending the first conference.
Before making any decisions, I suggest carefully reviewing all paperwork you or your advisor have submitted for each conference. You may, for example, have already assigned the copyright to the paper to one of the conferences. If so, you are better off withdrawing from the other conference. If you have assigned it to both, the situation is much more difficult.
Do not make up a reason for withdrawal. Conferences that might both accept the same paper are a small world. It is likely that the organizers of the first conference will at least scan the proceedings of the second one, and see your paper there.
Upvotes: 3
|
2015/08/02
| 642
| 2,654
|
<issue_start>username_0: Back in France I had a few teachers handing back exams in order from the highest grade to the lowest grade, and I recall there was some tense suspense, especially for for the people at the bottom of the stack. Is there any point in handing back exams ordered by grade? Assume there is no online platform to release grades.<issue_comment>username_1: No good reasons, only tradition (this is how we've always done it) and sadism (the poorer scoring students should be shamed into doing better). In the US, these days, at the college level at least, it also might now also be considered bordering on a FERPA violation by some. If you announced that the grades were returned in score order, but didn't reveal an actual number, you might get a pass, but I bet you'd get a lot of complaints. If you announced the scores as you did it, you'd definitely be in violation.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I often sort essays by the grade so I can do a final check on the distribution and the consistency of the marking. We return essays through the school office, so the order does not matter. If I was handing them out to the class, for them not to be in grade order, I would have to introduce a random shuffle. Throughly shuffling 200+ essays would take a little time, likely in the critical 10 minutes before the start of class. That said, I would probably do it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: When I was a student, some twenty years ago, there were two common ways to release grades after a written exam:
1. putting a notice on a board along the university corridors;
2. gathering all the students in a classroom and calling them one by one to the desk.
In the first case, the order on the notice was typically alphabetical. In the second, the order of the calls was frequently by grade, especially when written tests were followed by an oral examination to be started soon after the release of the grades. In this case, the motivation was probably that of practicality: it's easier to draw the boundary line between those who have to take the oral examination and those who failed.
A funny note: I recall an exam in which the professor listed first those who passed the exam, and I wasn't there; then he listed those who failed the exam... and I wasn't even there; lastly, he added minaciously: and then there's *Ortolano*...
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: What happens in a high school setting is that the pupils will be curious about how their friends did in the exam. If you hand back the exams in this way, you'll be able to resume the lessons very soon after you're done giving back the exams.
Upvotes: 0
|
2015/08/02
| 1,922
| 8,267
|
<issue_start>username_0: I will be starting my first semester of an online graduate program in ~20 days. Because of my full-time position, I am expecting things to be quite chaotic over the next month or so and I have considered asking the professors whose classes I will be taking for homework assignments (not exams or lecture notes) in advance, prior to the courses starting, so that I can finish them as soon as possible.
The material in this program is not new to me; judging by the textbook, I am very familiar with a lot of the material and would rather spend the time teaching myself what I don't know now before the courses begin, if possible.
Would making such a request be considered rude, and if not, how would you suggest wording such a request?<issue_comment>username_1: It's not rude, but the professor might want to adjust the assignments later on, in which case he/she won't be able to satisfy your request. So go ahead making the request simply being honest in the wordings, but be prepared to be denied.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Elaborating further on previous answers:
You can certainly ask, phrasing your request using usual conventions of courtesy:
>
> Dear Professor Rodriguez,
>
>
> My name is Clarinetist, and I am taking your XYZZ 123 course this semester. Because of [state your reasons here], I would like to start working through the assignments before the semester starts, or at least as early as possible. If this is something that would be possible for this course, would you be able to give me the assignments in advance?
>
>
> If this is not possible, I understand.
>
>
> If you have any other advice for a student in my situation, that would be helpful as well.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Clarinetist
>
>
>
Note the line "If this is not possible, I understand". You should not only say this but also mean it - if the professor declines your request, respect that decision. Don't argue about it, and don't assume she has just refused in order to spite you.
Now. There are a number of possible problems with trying to do the assignments ahead. There is a risk that you could have to redo assignments, or finding out that the time you spent doing them ahead was wasted. You should only proceed if you are willing to accept those risks - do not blame the professor, and do not expect that she will: explicitly warn you about them, accept the work you did do, or offer you due date extensions. (One possible reason for the professor to decline to give you the assignments ahead is to avoid hard feelings that could result if/when you find yourself frustrated by these issues.)
* She may not have decided yet what the assignments will be. This is very common, especially when a professor is teaching a course for the first time - many professors find it much easier to "play it by ear", and be able to adapt assignments to how the course goes, than to plan out the entire semester in advance.
* She may change the assignments before they are given out to the class at large. You might complete an assignment and then find it is no longer assigned at all, and that what's actually due is something completely different. I repeat: if you are asking for access to assignments before the rest of the class, then this is your responsibility to deal with, and you shouldn't expect assignment adjustments, due date extensions, etc.
* The assignments might depend on material that is only covered in lecture, and not discussed in the textbook. Maybe you can find this material somewhere else, maybe not.
+ Or it might *appear* that you can do them based on the textbook, but perhaps the lecture will explain that the textbook has an error, or use alternative definitions for words, or generally interpret the assignment in a different way than you thought. You may thus have to redo it.
+ Or there could be "dynamic" assignments that require information that doesn't even exist until after the lecture. "Analyze the data we collected in class on Tuesday." "Write an essay, incorporating points made by other students in Wednesday's class discussion."
* Maybe it is *possible* to do the assignment based on the textbook and your previous knowledge, but after hearing the lecture you realize that you did it wrong, or could do it better. Then you have to redo it.
So in conclusion, even if the professor agrees, your plan may not be as successful as you hope, and may even take *more* of your time overall. As such, you may want to pay more attention to any "other advice for a student in my situation" that the professor may offer.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: You can ask. However, from my experience, few professors prepare all the homeworks before the course starts. For the courses that I teach, I know how many homeworks I will give. However, I will generally just prepare them a few days before I will give them to the students. For courses, where there is a single project to do instead of homeworks, it may be different. Or if a professor is always teaching the same course every year, he may have different verions of the homeworks that he could give you. Besides, if you have a good reason, perhaps that the professor will agree to give you the homeworks or even give you something different if the homeworks are not ready.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You might also make it clear that you are only seeking the assignments that do not contribute to the final mark. You do not specify the course, but often homework assignments get marked and might make up 30% of your grade or similar. It would be unreasonable to expect these in advance as you would have more time than other students.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: To expand on other answers: no, it's not rude or inappropriate to ask, but there are any number of good reasons for the professor to refuse this request.
What you might have some more success with, is to ask for old practice exams in advance. If as you say, you already have some proficiency with the material, then these would let you determine any precise areas where you need more study. I don't know what program you're taking, but I would guess that you would be able to quickly complete any assignments that cover material you are already proficient with. Assuming that's true, then getting a head start on those assignments might actually be less benefit than tailoring your independent study to your own weak areas anyway.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: I really can't improve on the excellent answers give above. On the other hand, I would think that a professor might be more amenable to your request if you didn't frame it in absolutes.
It might be equally valuable to you to get a "head start" on the material by getting a "general idea" of what will be covered, so that you can "target your preparation" to areas of particular importance. For example, perhaps the professor is going to skip certain sections in the course material or cover some in more detail than others.
If you have in mind the goal of being able to do the assignments more quickly at the point that they are due, rather than to get them all done before the course begins, that might be a good compromise between the concerns raised by the other posters and your needs.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: It's generally not considered "rude", but it may well not be practical, since in addition to not being available early, the professors may well not want them to be leaked since that can give rise to plagiarism/honor-code violations, which is a growing headache these days esp. in CS or EE courses.
So if they make special arrangements for you, in general don't broadcast to classmates that you got a sneak preview on the assignments, and don't discuss the assignment with others before it's released, unless you are explicitly told that's ok and encouraged.
Alternatively the professors may have to incur extra work to come up with a different assignment for you, to prevent the above, but now you might not get the shared learning benefit of working on the same task as the others, or reviewing each other's code after the assignment is finished and graded.
So, it depends on what is allowed and what they consider reasonable.
Upvotes: 0
|
2015/08/03
| 1,878
| 7,961
|
<issue_start>username_0: Is it inappropriate to mail a senior academic (e.g. professor), whom I don’t know, asking –
1. to check Lemma, Theorem ( less than 3 to 4, short/ little)
2. how a graph can be constructed (with given conditions), this might require his ‘intellectual time’ as the class of graph is unlikely to be familiar.
3. reference related 1,2 .
In general, if I need 1,2,3 as described above how I communicate with an academic over e-mail?<issue_comment>username_1: It's not rude, but the professor might want to adjust the assignments later on, in which case he/she won't be able to satisfy your request. So go ahead making the request simply being honest in the wordings, but be prepared to be denied.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Elaborating further on previous answers:
You can certainly ask, phrasing your request using usual conventions of courtesy:
>
> Dear Professor Rodriguez,
>
>
> My name is Clarinetist, and I am taking your XYZZ 123 course this semester. Because of [state your reasons here], I would like to start working through the assignments before the semester starts, or at least as early as possible. If this is something that would be possible for this course, would you be able to give me the assignments in advance?
>
>
> If this is not possible, I understand.
>
>
> If you have any other advice for a student in my situation, that would be helpful as well.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> Clarinetist
>
>
>
Note the line "If this is not possible, I understand". You should not only say this but also mean it - if the professor declines your request, respect that decision. Don't argue about it, and don't assume she has just refused in order to spite you.
Now. There are a number of possible problems with trying to do the assignments ahead. There is a risk that you could have to redo assignments, or finding out that the time you spent doing them ahead was wasted. You should only proceed if you are willing to accept those risks - do not blame the professor, and do not expect that she will: explicitly warn you about them, accept the work you did do, or offer you due date extensions. (One possible reason for the professor to decline to give you the assignments ahead is to avoid hard feelings that could result if/when you find yourself frustrated by these issues.)
* She may not have decided yet what the assignments will be. This is very common, especially when a professor is teaching a course for the first time - many professors find it much easier to "play it by ear", and be able to adapt assignments to how the course goes, than to plan out the entire semester in advance.
* She may change the assignments before they are given out to the class at large. You might complete an assignment and then find it is no longer assigned at all, and that what's actually due is something completely different. I repeat: if you are asking for access to assignments before the rest of the class, then this is your responsibility to deal with, and you shouldn't expect assignment adjustments, due date extensions, etc.
* The assignments might depend on material that is only covered in lecture, and not discussed in the textbook. Maybe you can find this material somewhere else, maybe not.
+ Or it might *appear* that you can do them based on the textbook, but perhaps the lecture will explain that the textbook has an error, or use alternative definitions for words, or generally interpret the assignment in a different way than you thought. You may thus have to redo it.
+ Or there could be "dynamic" assignments that require information that doesn't even exist until after the lecture. "Analyze the data we collected in class on Tuesday." "Write an essay, incorporating points made by other students in Wednesday's class discussion."
* Maybe it is *possible* to do the assignment based on the textbook and your previous knowledge, but after hearing the lecture you realize that you did it wrong, or could do it better. Then you have to redo it.
So in conclusion, even if the professor agrees, your plan may not be as successful as you hope, and may even take *more* of your time overall. As such, you may want to pay more attention to any "other advice for a student in my situation" that the professor may offer.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: You can ask. However, from my experience, few professors prepare all the homeworks before the course starts. For the courses that I teach, I know how many homeworks I will give. However, I will generally just prepare them a few days before I will give them to the students. For courses, where there is a single project to do instead of homeworks, it may be different. Or if a professor is always teaching the same course every year, he may have different verions of the homeworks that he could give you. Besides, if you have a good reason, perhaps that the professor will agree to give you the homeworks or even give you something different if the homeworks are not ready.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You might also make it clear that you are only seeking the assignments that do not contribute to the final mark. You do not specify the course, but often homework assignments get marked and might make up 30% of your grade or similar. It would be unreasonable to expect these in advance as you would have more time than other students.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: To expand on other answers: no, it's not rude or inappropriate to ask, but there are any number of good reasons for the professor to refuse this request.
What you might have some more success with, is to ask for old practice exams in advance. If as you say, you already have some proficiency with the material, then these would let you determine any precise areas where you need more study. I don't know what program you're taking, but I would guess that you would be able to quickly complete any assignments that cover material you are already proficient with. Assuming that's true, then getting a head start on those assignments might actually be less benefit than tailoring your independent study to your own weak areas anyway.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: I really can't improve on the excellent answers give above. On the other hand, I would think that a professor might be more amenable to your request if you didn't frame it in absolutes.
It might be equally valuable to you to get a "head start" on the material by getting a "general idea" of what will be covered, so that you can "target your preparation" to areas of particular importance. For example, perhaps the professor is going to skip certain sections in the course material or cover some in more detail than others.
If you have in mind the goal of being able to do the assignments more quickly at the point that they are due, rather than to get them all done before the course begins, that might be a good compromise between the concerns raised by the other posters and your needs.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: It's generally not considered "rude", but it may well not be practical, since in addition to not being available early, the professors may well not want them to be leaked since that can give rise to plagiarism/honor-code violations, which is a growing headache these days esp. in CS or EE courses.
So if they make special arrangements for you, in general don't broadcast to classmates that you got a sneak preview on the assignments, and don't discuss the assignment with others before it's released, unless you are explicitly told that's ok and encouraged.
Alternatively the professors may have to incur extra work to come up with a different assignment for you, to prevent the above, but now you might not get the shared learning benefit of working on the same task as the others, or reviewing each other's code after the assignment is finished and graded.
So, it depends on what is allowed and what they consider reasonable.
Upvotes: 0
|
2015/08/03
| 1,016
| 4,259
|
<issue_start>username_0: There are certain academic jobs such as Baylor or BYU that require a certain way of life. BYU, for instance, requires one to adhere to the Church Educational System Honor Code and Baylor typically requires a letter of recommendation from your Minister/Rabbi (their words) with one's application. For example, being in a gay relationship would be enough to be expelled from BYU.
These require a certain type of personal life choices and lifestyle, and, while they are very religious schools, there are other possible dealbreakers at secular universities. For example, secular schools have retracted offers due to the fact that the applicant for a faculty job is on the sex offenders registry.
There's a huge amount of gray area between these two data points that I have. Where is the line drawn on how much one's personal life matters at a secular school? What would have to be publicized about a faculty member's or applicant's personal life in order for the person to have an offer rescinded or tenure revoked? Is it only about the research/teaching/service, or is there any examination on the person's life if that common knowledge in the community?
My question is mainly about the United States.<issue_comment>username_1: *I am not a lawyer, so take this with a grain of salt.*
In the US it is illegal to take information about a candidate's [*membership in a protected class*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_class) as a basis for hiring or firing, except in circumstances where that information concerns what the law calls a ["bonafide occupational qualification."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_fide_occupational_qualifications)
The idea is that certain kinds of employers get to discriminate in ways that would otherwise be illegal because of their status as private entities dedicated to a particular mission. For instance, a Jewish synagogue can discriminate against non-Jewish applicants when it is hiring a rabbi. If the state prosecuted synagogues for religious discrimination because they only considered Jewish candidates, this would effectively be the state saying that Jewish Synagogues can't exist.
So, in certain kinds of religiously affiliated schools, it is legal for the school to hire only members of a certain religion based on the same principle. But this only holds if membership in the religion is an explicit, advertised condition of the job, i.e. if the school is dedicated to being a school exclusively consisting of members of that particular religion.
Most religious schools in the US are not actually like this--for instance there are dozens of catholic schools in the US which are open to students and faculty of any religious tradition, or no religion at all. Schools like that are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion, because clearly at such schools membership in the religion isn't a "bonafide occupational qualification".
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I appreciate what @shane is saying about hiring legalities. But potential employers have so many resources available these days that would reveal things about a candidate's life, and I would bet money that somebody on the hiring team is going to google your name to see what they could see. And the things they find may be more or less relevant to your teaching or research. If it comes down to two candidates that are equally qualified, and one of them has unsavory things floating around the internet, that might be the deciding factor.
Being a registered sex offender would, in my mind, pretty much take you off the list. We have so much trouble with sexual harrassment at the university level, and in my time, several faculty were summarily dismissed when what they were doing came to light. Wouldn't a school want to avoid possible difficulties if they had another qualified candidate?
Of course, everything on the internet has to be taken with a grain of salt, and if you are dead drunk in Cancun on spring break or heeding the call to "Show us your boobs" in New Orleans at Mardi Gras time, well, kids, you know? But if there's something serious easily accessible on the net and they can't bring it up in the interview because of the legalities, might you want to bring it up?
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/03
| 1,664
| 7,197
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been reading about how authors deal with negative peer reviewer comments. This got me wondering what kind of reviewer comments would authors consider as negative? Of course, most authors would consider harsh or rude comments as negative, but I feel that harsh comments, if directed at improving the paper, are at least better than dismissive or superficial comments that do not add any value to the paper. What kind of reviewer comments would you categorize as negative?<issue_comment>username_1: **tl;dr** - everything *useless* for improvement = negative
---
For me this is more a question of consequence than of "form" (style of writing, word choice). (Here I agree [@Wrzlprmft's](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734/wrzlprmft) warning, that answers can be very opinion-based)
From a (tried) objective view, I categorize comments as negative if they:
* criticize without suggestions or advice to improve the submission
+ e.g. something like "the paper misses other important relevant sources" with a peer **not** naming these sources or providing references
* praise without pointing out a special issue (form, content, relevance etc.)
+ e.g. "really like this paper, go on like this" ... (really? no suggestions for improvement? has my peer really read it, or was he/she just lazy?)
---
(I recieved both kinds of comments for my last submission, one super critic, one super praising, but both super duper useless)
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Reviewer's comments should ideally be **constructive**. They should not just point out the flaws but ideally, it could also provide some suggestions or briefly comment about how to fix these flaws or improve the paper. Reviews should discuss **strengths** and **weaknesses** of a paper **objectively**.
**What is a negative comment?** It could be just rude or harsh comments as pointed out in the question. An author could also perceive as negative some suggestions that requires to rewrite or delete content in the paper, or that criticize any decisions made by the researchers (weak litterature review, poor experimental design, etc.). Also, if a paper is very weak, a very negative comment could be to not publish the paper because it has no scientific value. Basically, what is perceived as negative by an author is subjective and could be any comment that criticize the paper or requires to change it/reject it or shorten it, and any comment that is harsh, rude or not written in a constructive way.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: When reading reviewer feedback, I generally divide things up into five mental categories (sorted from best to worst):
* **Praise:** It feels really good when a reviewer "gets" a paper.
* **Little stuff:** Anything that can be cleaned up easily, like typos and grammar failures, dropped minus signs, mislabeled figures.
* **Suggestions for improvement:** Things that are legitimate issues, but are reasonable to push off to future work if necessary.
* **Legitimate complaints:** This is where a reviewer points out actual significant problems with one's work. If you were unaware of them before, or thought they were less important than the reviewer explains them to be, then this can really sting, but it's a reasonable judgement.
* **[Nasty, unfair reviewer #3](https://youtu.be/-VRBWLpYCPY):** This is the stuff that really burns, when a reviewer seems to have an personal agenda or grudge and is taking it out on your paper. A recent example I encountered included the phrase: "All the hard questions are systematically discarded."
What's very difficult, as an author, is distinguishing between suggestions for improvement, legitimate complaints, and unfair reviewing. This is particularly true when things are presented harshly: I find a major difference between directness (which raises a clear issue about the science) and harshness (which might or might not be clear, but is presented with a side-dish of personal attack).
However, especially when it comes to things where you have feelings like "but it's obvious!" or "but we already addressed that!" or "they must not have read the paper carefully!", there is usually a legitimate difference of viewpoint, which it's important to figure out how to overcome.
That's why I always read feedback more than once, at at least a couple of days separation. The first reading lets you see how much the review is praise vs. little stuff vs. the other three categories. At that point, though, you're generally too emotionally involved and reacting (particularly if you got a rejection) to distinguish which category the issues raised by the reviewers actually fall into. A couple of days distance, though, and I find it much more possible to parse out the different strands of negativity, figuring out which are legitimate, which are unfair, and which are more appropriate to push off to address other papers.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I don't understand whether you're asking about my subjective emotional reaction to reviewer statements, or my rational evaluation of the objective content of the statement. So I would assume you're asking about both.
Basically, any comment that suggests a flaw in my data, analysis or reasoning is emotionally negative: I freely accept corrections of typos, with no emotional entailments. This would include criticisms of framework (as a subcase of flaws of reasoning, since I use reason to select my framework).
After I set aside emotional reactions and focus on objective content, comments are sorted into two groups, valid and invalid. Valid comments (e.g. I got a fact wrong, I messed up the logic, the section is actually unclear) are positive, because they make me aware of things that I must change and would have avoided. In the remaining, objectively invalid comments, which would be negative, they can again be divided into the trivially-disposable and those that, again, cause significant negative emotional reaction. A request to add a gratuitous reference to Smith (2012) might be trivially disposed of by acceding or resisting, depending on the details (e.g. is Smith (2012) actually relevant or valid?; is it just one of hundreds of studies of equal value?). A request to expand the coverage could be easy to satisfy so I might throw in a couple of additional examples (if not also under the "and cut 12 pages" gun), but not if it required adding a couple of ultimately irrelevant pages chasing a hypothetical rabbit.
This leaves seriously annoying invalid comments, such as framework-attacks ("I don't like your metatheory, recast this in theory Y"), professional-competence attacks ("why should we trust your data") and sociological attacks ("most people don't care about this"). I would call these the "truly negative" comments, as opposed to the mildly annoying ones. What characterizes them is that they are based on something that is plainly false, such as invalid logic or assumptions (e.g. in a theory journal, assuming that a paper must demonstrate a practical application) or egregious factual error (usually of the form "X has shown that Y" when X has merely hinted that Y might be true).
Upvotes: 1
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2015/08/03
| 708
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<issue_start>username_0: I am getting ready to apply to mathematics graduate programs this semester. As far as I know most school require 3 letters of reference. I've secured two letters but for my third letter I have a couple of options. I can simply ask another professor whose class I have done well in, but I am not confident in the strength of the letter. As for my other option, I have just finished a summer research program under the supervision of a grad student and I feel as if he has more helpful things to say. However, it seems like in general it is not the best idea to get references from people who do not have PhD's. I was wondering what the best course of action would be.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't recommend to ask a reference letter from another student. From my experience, the persons who will evaluate your application will most likely not trust a letter written by a student. In general, a referee is a professor, researcher or a person working in the industry. This person should have supervised you, collaborated with you or you should have taken their course.
So in your situation, you should ask the professor who is supervising the grad student instead of asking the grad student. Otherwise, you may always ask the other professor that you mentioned.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There are a couple of major dangers in asking a graduate student for a letter:
1. A typical grad student has never actually read a letter of recommendation and has very little idea of how they are written or what the standard of comparison is. It's easy to completely misjudge the style or miscalibrate the letter, in which case a letter that's intended to be helpful can turn out to be useless, or even counterproductive. No inexperienced letter writer should ever send a letter without first running it by a mentor, so you would need to make sure the grad student plans to do that.
2. Graduate students automatically write from a position of somewhat less credibility, just because they lack experience. Someone with more experience can compare a student to past students whose later career trajectories are known, but grad students generally can't do that.
One possibility is for the grad student to write a letter jointly with his/her advisor. That may or may not be feasible, but it's worth checking.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: It is common for graduate students or postdocs to have a better grasp of the work that you've done on a project as generally they are the ones supervising and providing mentorship to research assistants/fellows. Generally, a lot of the text of the letter will be written by your direct supervisor (grad student or postdoc) who will provide this to the professor in charge of the lab, who will provide some additional comments and put it on their letterhead & sign it. Thus, you will need to ask both the grad student and the professor to combine forces on the letter. Sometimes the graduate student can facilitate this communication for you and sometimes you'll need to be more proactive. But this is extremely common and expected--the graduate student will provide concrete examples of your work & work ethic that the professor can then use.
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/03
| 691
| 3,071
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<issue_start>username_0: After a Skype conversation and several correspondences with an Irish professor, the professor wrote that he will take me as PhD student.
Although we had agreed on which project to work on and we planned to discuss about research questions, we have yet to discuss about research questions and proposal. As I feel that he was really busy, I wrote him research questions to ask for his comment without having any prior discussion and mentioned that I need to make a decision if I am going to his University end of this month. Following that, he mentioned that I can put in Online application, will direct HR to advise me on Visa application, and maybe we would have another Skype conversation last Friday. In the email, he also sent me two papers and mentioned one research area of particular interest to be included as research questions.
However, the research area is really very new to me and so I told him in the last correspondence and ask him about time to have Skype conversation last Friday. I didn't hear from him since.
I really interested to go to his university. Now, Should I put in online application first or I should forget about this opportunity and move on?<issue_comment>username_1: Last Friday is not too far away from today and you haven't done anything to clarify the situation to throw the white flag. *Persistence* is IMHO one of the most valuable traits for a researcher, if not **the** most.
You professor simply might have been busy, out of the office or out of town or similar. I suggest you to make at least *several attempts* to contact him, preferably using *different channels*. Even better, before bombarding him with phone calls or e-mail messages, simply contact the secretary at his department and inquire about his *work schedule*. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Don't panic. The fact that you haven't heard back from him shouldn't be interpreted as a sign that he has lost interest in working with you. It's summer, and academics often take vacations or travel to conferences in the summer. It often happens that they take much longer to reply to emails.
Go ahead with anything that you already know you have to do, such as submitting the online application. It doesn't sound like any urgent action is needed from the professor - you just want to chat with him about research when he has time - so just wait for him to respond. If you don't hear anything within another week, send another email.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: While I know several people, some on this site, who rejected an offer after having accepted it. I'm not aware of any professor who rejected a student after having agreed to take him/her for PhD. So I guess it still happens, but very very rare.
Since that professor already agreed to take you as student. Unless, you do something really really crazy, there is nothing to worry about.
One week is nothing, there was a lecturer in my old group, who often replied my emails after one month. Luckily he was not my PhD advisor.
Upvotes: 0
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2015/08/04
| 642
| 2,855
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<issue_start>username_0: I just taught my first course that finished last week and I was asked to teach the same course for next semester. The only difference is that this time I will be teaching the course online.
I have taken online courses before and haven't been super impressed. In my experience the instructor will assign reading to be done within a week and any assignments that will be completed from that week. The instructor doesn't teach in an online environment but more so moderates that way students learn. The student reads the text, does the work. The instructor responds to emails, grades assignments, and moderates discussion boards posted in the online forum for students to collaborate.
This format has the student teach themselves and from personal experiences students who are not familiar with the course material beforehand generally don't do as well.
What are methods to make the online learning experience less informal and more of a learning experience?<issue_comment>username_1: Last Friday is not too far away from today and you haven't done anything to clarify the situation to throw the white flag. *Persistence* is IMHO one of the most valuable traits for a researcher, if not **the** most.
You professor simply might have been busy, out of the office or out of town or similar. I suggest you to make at least *several attempts* to contact him, preferably using *different channels*. Even better, before bombarding him with phone calls or e-mail messages, simply contact the secretary at his department and inquire about his *work schedule*. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Don't panic. The fact that you haven't heard back from him shouldn't be interpreted as a sign that he has lost interest in working with you. It's summer, and academics often take vacations or travel to conferences in the summer. It often happens that they take much longer to reply to emails.
Go ahead with anything that you already know you have to do, such as submitting the online application. It doesn't sound like any urgent action is needed from the professor - you just want to chat with him about research when he has time - so just wait for him to respond. If you don't hear anything within another week, send another email.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: While I know several people, some on this site, who rejected an offer after having accepted it. I'm not aware of any professor who rejected a student after having agreed to take him/her for PhD. So I guess it still happens, but very very rare.
Since that professor already agreed to take you as student. Unless, you do something really really crazy, there is nothing to worry about.
One week is nothing, there was a lecturer in my old group, who often replied my emails after one month. Luckily he was not my PhD advisor.
Upvotes: 0
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2015/08/04
| 1,161
| 4,833
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a college graduate and now working as an EMT in the hopes of going to physician assistant school next year. While working, it's easy to get sidetracked by many different points of view. I don't want someone to end up persuading me to become a paramedic.
*How do you stay focused on your long-term academic goals outside of academia?*<issue_comment>username_1: You're right: it *is* easy to get sidetracked by the immediate responsibilities of work and other parts of life. The first question that I would recommend you ask yourself is: why is that a bad thing?
A higher degree ambition is a great thing, and can lead to a very fulfilling life. But you can also have a very fulfilling life in a lot of other ways as well. What would happen if you just let go of the ambition and abandoned the plan? Would that be so bad?
If it would be so bad, then there must be a reason why. Now, that's the driver for your long-term goal. The problem is, how do you get from where you are to that long-term goal, when all of these distractions are around you? Some of the best advice that I have heard on this subject comes from writing podcast that I enjoy listening to: in one episode the podcasters, who are all well-established fiction writers, were talking about the shifts they had made on their path from aspiring writer to well-paid professionals. One big shift that they all identified was that they had had to start thinking of writing as their *job* even while they were not yet being paid for it, which meant setting aside significant amounts of time per day to work on writing.
I would recommend the same thing for you in terms of making sure that you keep your focus. Set aside a weekly schedule of time to work on the things that you need to do in order to be able to gain admission to the program you are aiming at and to prepare yourself academically for it. With that time, you can both organize yourself, planning the short term goals that will move you toward your long-term goal, and also you can work on those steps.
Then, keep records of how much time you are *actually* devoting toward your academic goals. If it's much less than you intend, then you need to reassess your priorities and ask again: do you really want this degree if you are not setting aside time to prepare for it? And if you do really want it, what are you going to de-prioritize in order to make the time you need?
Preparing for higher education while working a full-time job can be hard, but it's also very possible, and I know many people who have done it.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is a fairly generalizable question, so hopefully it will be of interest to more than just those confused between PA and paramedic. However, I will answer it with the PA/paramedic terms, since that will make the writing easier for me (and it will probably make the answer easier to read, too). I will also assume the OP is currently at least 95% certain she wants to proceed with the PA plan.
1. Keep a double list of characteristics of the two fields. For example (I'm guessing here): paramedic -- lots of adrenaline and excitement, very rewarding when rescue or save someone's life, devastating when unsuccessful, some periods of inactivity and boredom, working with new people every day, frequent exposure to serious injuries and death, etc. These lists will probably evolve over time.
2. Shadow a PA; shadow a paramedic.
3. Read short stories, novels, biographies, magazine articles and blog posts by and about physician assistants, doctors and nurses. One author I like very much is <NAME>.
4. Spend some time visualizing your goal, in other words, picturing yourself as a physician's assistant, and remembering why you chose that goal. Remind yourself which of your strengths make you well suited to that job. Once you've got this image clear, you'll be able to pull it to the surface easily whenever you need it.
5. Get to know some PAs and some students working toward that goal.
6. (This is similar to 5, but slightly different) Create a buddy relationship with someone who has a similar goal to yours. For example, when I was working on adopting a baby, I had a phone buddy who was working on the same thing, and we were able to keep each other going despite various setbacks.
7. Make some partial goals and deadlines for yourself and put them in a paper calendar that you keep on the wall. Reward yourself with a special treat when you make one of your partial deadlines or goals.
8. Find a good mentor.
9. Enlist the support of friends, coworkers and family.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: To be focused is quite challenging now a days. Break your long term goal into number of short term goals so as to achieve them easily. Also keep reading inspirational articles and thoughts.
Upvotes: 0
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2015/08/04
| 337
| 1,467
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<issue_start>username_0: I saved the home page for the [Academic Libraries of Indiana](http://academiclibrariesofindiana.org/home/start) to Zotero, and it pulled back an author from the metadata embedded in the page. After pulling up the source of the page, I found a meta field defined as "DC.Creator" (which, according to the comment above the metadata block is a Dublin Core element). Given that the page itself doesn't display this person's name, is it appropriate to cite the page as authored by that person, or should the institution be named as author? I suspect if I cited the page as written by the organization it wouldn't be considered wrong, but at the same time, knowing that metadata is there makes me feel odd not attributing the authorship to the defined (but somewhat hidden) author.<issue_comment>username_1: Some large websites, assign responsibles for each page, so in the case of a question or need for update that person would handle it. This does not mean authorship in its academic sense. So if the page does not contain a scientific claim and you refer to that just as a web-page then it should be attributed to the university (or department?), I guess.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I'd go with using the name from the embedded metadata. It's a little unusual but they've clearly made it available in some fashion, and intended it to be used - they wouldn't have marked it up as DC metadata if it was meant to be unknown!
Upvotes: 0
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2015/08/04
| 892
| 3,417
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<issue_start>username_0: My question is: I would like to thank the committee members of my PhD dissertation explicitly thanking them for their time and effort and writing down their names Prof. Name1, Prof. Name2, etc...
This is of course before the formal defence after they found the dissertation worthy of being defended.
I am a bit concerned about whether it is correct, or impolite or not, or protocol wrong... if you know what I mean.
Any advice, opinion, suggestion that could help me?
P.S. The thesis is about mathematics, if it may help.<issue_comment>username_1: **!Please note:** This answer may only reflect the *German* cultural intellectual style. But maybe the points (or some of them) are applicable in other cultures too. Germans often reduce to factual questions, leaving emotional connections unannotated. (Compare with [Galtungs](http://www.derdieckmann.de/archives/148) *teutonic* style)
---
The general suggestion I read and heard a lot about acknowledgements and persons, that should be named there (or avoided to be named) is:
* **name people contributing** content, ideas, algorithms etc. to your thesis. This is a must (or someone could blame you of plagiarism).
* name people or institutions that **fund**(ed) your research
* to be polite you can thank **other people supporting** you mentally or spiritually etc. **anonymously**
* thanking persons for *general help without specific connection* to the thesis' content is sometimes judged to be kitsch or smarmily. *don't name them*.
---
* in case of the committee:
+ did they (in particular) contribute? (if yes: name them)
+ did they (in particular) fund your research? (if yes: name them)
+ being part of the commitee can be a paid job (why thanking one doing his/her job?)
+ being part can be personal engagement of a person (nice thing, but not connected to you, giving a reason to thank for it)
---
Don't thank your Mom for having you born...You receive a degree no Oscar.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In the American style, at least, your acknowledgements are yours to do with what you like. Other answers on this site include [thanking the makers of Dr. Pepper](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/18022/22733) or [dieties and pets](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/41819/22733). Thus, if you feel thankful to the members of your committee, you should feel free to thank them in your acknowledgements section.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: My policy - in my thesis as well as on papers - is to not include the acknowledgments when I send the draft to anyone. As others have mentioned the thesis acknowledgments are yours alone and should not have any bearing (or relationship) to the actual content of the thesis. After all the comments and corrections were received and dealt with, I added the acknowledgments to the document - my committee saw them in the final copy I gave them on the day of my defense.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: In my acknowledgement section, I wrote: "Further I would like to acknowledge the jury members of this thesis. You provided very useful hints for improving this thesis manuscript, which I have gladly embraced"
So I did thank them for the contribution they did deliver, but did not mention their individual names (which, of course, can be found elsewhere in my thesis).
Of course, everybody is free to do it differently.
Upvotes: 1
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2015/08/04
| 1,347
| 5,637
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<issue_start>username_0: I am in this peculiar position whereby I started off my grad school in subject X and got very boring projects in it and eventually around my 3rd year I started studying a new subject Y (partly because I met some inspiring profs in Y who motivated me)
Now in some sense it was just lucky that after about 6-7 months of working in this new field I along with another co-grad student hit upon a breakthrough research idea possibly solving a famous long-standing open question in this field Y! It was sheer luck that we hit upon an idea which seems to work! (though we are struggling hard to prove the theorem)
Now when I am trying to officially shift departments/institutes to pursue Y, I am explaining in my statements this new possible breakthrough that we hit upon. But I am a bit worried as to how senior established profs in Y will react seeing such a thing in my statement.
---
I think all answers till now are completely missing the point of this question and what I am worried about. So let me break-up the context in parts.
(1) In mathematical stuff no one wants to put on arxiv a "possible" method unless one has a rigorous proof for it to work. If we had a proof then I wouldn't be asking this question!
(2) In my SOP if I don't write about this progress then what else do I write about!? This is the main stuff that I have been working on ever since I decided to shift fields. So I don't see a choice but to write about this idea!
(3) The professors who have seen the idea seem to have no opinion at all. They take the view that unless there is a rigorous proof how do we know whether this is right or not. At this point all evidence is numerical simulations. (and the prof who originally inspired me to start Y remarked that he had himself independently also tried one of the ideas we came up with)
(4) I have anyway linked from my SOP a draft which explains the idea.<issue_comment>username_1: As a good researcher always be cautious with "breakthroughs". I would explain that you think it is a good idea worth pursuing. Coming off too strong may put new professors off. Unfortunately I have witnessed many times people believe they have come across breakthroughs when they are nothing of the sort. I think partly because unlike how science is portrayed in the media, "most" excellent science is a long grind, through years of experiments, thought, collaboration and trial and error. The road is often long and winding, and to approach someone well versed in the field with a "breakthrough" may be hubris. But, if it is a strong idea and worth pursuing with good reasoning/logic/science behind it, I cant see a problem convincing anybody in your field the importance of what you propose! Good luck!
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: This is my advice,
>
> You and your co-grad student write up your idea with your plan of attacking the solution and put it on arXiv. Then talk to the professors who motivated you to study subject Y to get their opinions. If the professors think you do have a possible breakthrough, ask them if you can shift to their department/school. If their answer is positive, start the formal application process.
>
>
>
I am not sure if you are worried that your idea could be stolen. This is why I suggest you to put it on arXiv first. Once it's on arXiv, that worry is gone. You should feel free to talk to the professors. If your idea is indeed workable, you have options.
You can stay in your current school/department so you won't waste your three years there. If you want to shift department or school, you'll have very strong recommendation letters from those professors because you already have possible breakthroughs.
You don't need to worry about the reactions from those professors. They are the experts in Y. They can tell if your idea is good after you present it. If it's not workable, you just lost six months of time and it's better you learn that fact before you waste even more time on it. If your idea is workable, they are going to be very happy because you have a breakthrough and you are their students.
Writing an SoP for the breakthrough at this moment may not be a good idea **unless** you are fairly certain that it is workable. Frankly, two graduate students spending 6 months to solve a famous long-standing open question is doubtful, but it is **not unlikely**. You do need experts to confirm it.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: As I suggested in a comment, I think a key issue is whether your wish to switch to topic Y is conditional on the validity of your breakthrough. If it is, I agree with prior advice to document your priority on the idea and then start presenting it to professors as "Does this direction have any merit?".
If your wish to switch to topic Y is unconditional, there is an alternative strategy of delaying presenting your idea.
In order to have an opinion on the originality of your idea, you must have done a formidable amount of study of Y, including the history of attempts to solve the problem you are working on and related topics, despite the relatively short time you have been working on it. For purposes of an application SOP, you could present yourself as having become extremely interested in Y and wanting to do research in it.
That plan gives you a good chance of getting into Y research with no embarrassment if every serious, experienced Y researcher is already aware of flaws in your idea. It avoids the risk of being seen as a crank - the statistically most likely cause of an inexperienced researcher thinking they have a breakthrough on a long unsolved problem.
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/04
| 2,484
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<issue_start>username_0: As a relatively new lecturer, I'm always looking for ways to improve my teaching. After doing a bit of research around how different lecturers etc approach student feedback, a number had stated that using anonymous feedback solicited during the semester can be really helpful.
So following on from that, I put on my learning site an anonymous feedback form for students that could let me know how they think the unit is going and what could be improved. The idea behind this was to get real-time feedback that could be implemented throughout the course, instead of for the following year. This portal is only accessible to students, and the comments are submitted to me and my TA privately.
I left this open since week 1, and perhaps that was my mistake. Despite barely being into week 2 (in which week 1 was just a basic introductory lecture to the course) one student has provided some anonymous feedback, which isn't feedback at all. Rather, it is just a string of abusive, sexist and foul language comments.
Due the alarming nature of the feedback, I approached a mentor/supervisor about what I should do. They were conflicted, because on the one hand, the nature of the comments were highly inappropriate, abusive, and raise concerns about the safety of my person in my teaching space. However, no specific threat at this time was made. On the other, having anonymous informal feedback throughout the unit is a good way of getting students to reflect on their own learning experiences without the fear of being reprimanded re assessments, and help me improve my teaching in the process.
I'm caught between continuing to allow anonymous informal feedback, or taking this option away and informing students of the reason. No other student has provided any feedback. Only myself and my teaching assistant have access to the feedback. Only students enrolled in the unit have access to the form.
How would you handle this situation?<issue_comment>username_1: It sounds like you've encountered the well-known downside of [online disinhibition effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_disinhibition_effect), more colloquially known as [GIFT](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GIFT). There is simply nothing that can be done to prevent some people from being horrible when offered anonymity.
So, let's parse out two different questions about how you should react: 1) what actions should you take to protect yourself and other students? and 2) should you continue to use the anonymous feedback form?
Let's start with the first question: given that you know there is a horrible person in your class, what should you do to protect yourself and other students?
I see three basic possibilities here, either a) the person is insincere in their statements and is trolling you to try to get a reaction, or b) the person is genuine but not a threat, or c) the person is an actual threat to the safety of yourself or others. If you are concerned that it might possibility c), then if there is any way for your IT staff to penetrate the anonymity and investigate, it's reasonable to ask them to do so, just as if somebody had made a serious electronic threat through some other channel (your institutions likely will have a process for reporting serious threats of harm, though, which may mean you shouldn't start by going directly to IT). Otherwise, it's probably best to ignore it and move on, because otherwise you're just giving them the reaction and power over your actions that they are looking for.
Now, turning to the second: should you continue to use the anonymous feedback form? The one problem with true anonymity is that if you get more nasty comments, you can't tell whether they came from the same person or not. I would recommend looking into whether you can get *pseudonymous* information from your system, i.e., so that Student X's comments are all collected together and Student Y's comments are all collected together separately. That way, you can separate out and discard feedback from the horrible person (essentially marking them with a "troll" filter), while still getting meaningful feedback from other students who have more positive disinhibition from the anonymity.
It's a pity that some people are horrible and try to screw things up for everybody else; the rest of us need to try to figure out how to appropriately protect ourselves and our institutions while keeping them from profiting from this behavior.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: *You must die! You're so cool!* These are, at the two ends of the spectrum, example comments that I have received from students along the years.
You will find students who love you, those who like you, those for whom you are indifferent, those who dislike you, and those who plainly hate you. This regardless of what you do as a teacher, that is, even from week one of the class.
Those who love you will deliver overly enthusiastic comments; those who hate you, protected by the anonimity, will insult you in the worst possible ways and will wish you all sort of bad things.
My advice is: don't be too pleased by the former, and don't get sinked by the latter. In particular, for what concerns the abusive comments, *unless they hide a real threat*, brush them off and move on.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Since your ego is involved, I think you need to have someone in between you and the comment submitters to do some screening. One way would be to ask if someone in your department administration would like to be the one to be be checking the comments. Another way (but this is not an online method) would be to hand out feedback (paper) forms once a month or so in your class. If it looks sort of official, and if you take class time for this, I doubt people would write silly things.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: I wanted to chime in with a few other possible routes for getting student feedback throughout the semester in a way that may reduce unproductive/abusive comments.
If you have a teaching center at your institution, take advantage of their resources. I have been at a number of institutions where you can arrange for a member of the teaching resource center to come observe one of your classes. They will then have you leave the class about 15 minutes early to obtain feedback from your students; they will present to you later a summary of useful recommendations based both on their observations and their conversation with your students. This is an excellent way to get feedback during the semester about your teaching.
I have also found that it is useful to get anonymous feedback from my students during the semester but to do so in a more structured fashion. In other words, every 2 or 3 weeks, present them with several targeted questions (so, for example, about the balance of lecture versus discussion, or the content or length of problem sets, etc.).
After each round of feedback, spend a short period at the beginning of class discussing the overall themes of the feedback with the class, and speak concretely to both 1) what *you* will do to address the comments and 2) what *they* need to do to contribute to a positive experience. I have found that making sure the students know that you are taking their comments seriously helps them to take providing feedback a bit more seriously.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Anonymous feedback is useful, but doesn't take the place of gaining enough trust from your students to get direct feedback. I've found the best way to get that trust is to tell them what's on your mind. If you're straight with people and let them know that you care, they'll usually let you know if they're unhappy.
I was teaching a beginners' programming class a number of years ago, and when midterm came around I got all sorts of negative feedback. Some was very helpful; practically everyone told me to stop telling them how much time they had left every half hour. (Sorry, I really did that.) They nearly all complained that the test was too difficult and they were worried about their grades. I told them I would grade it on a curve, but I also told them them that I didn't think that they were there to get a good grade so much as a job, and if they couldn't handle the material in the test I wouldn't be willing to hire them. Funny thing, they did a lot better in the final! :)
The point is that it's important to make it clear that students have a say in their education, and that if they have something that they want to say they will be listened to. That way, they will often listen to you as well. If you keep fast to your goal of seeing that they learn the material as well as possible, and keep in mind that liking you is secondary to that goal, then you'll probably find that most of the students like you anyway.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: A short answer, but I believe that it answers your question:
Threats of violence correlate with, but don't cause, violence. As such, eliminating the medium that enabled that student to anonymously communicate threats of violence, as you have proposed to do, does not reduce the probability that one of them will act violently. However, it does ensure that no student can anonymously communicate useful insights about the course to you.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: Assuming that no direct threats were made and that you do not personally feel threatened, I would attempt to show that this attempt to troll you and make you feel bad was unsuccessful and that you actually found it amusing. Don't show weakness to students who want to hurt you.
I would show the comments on a PowerPoint slide, at the start of a lecture, and say something like "Hey everyone, we've got an anonymous feedback form, let's see how that's going.' Then present the feedback (I'd leave the profanity, etc, in there, but you might want to 'beep' it out."
"Hmmm... We've clearly got some strong opinions. Indeed, it appears that I am a \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\*\*\*. That's kind of a broad description, which isn't so helpful. How about we try to make things more directly relevant, for example, you might write 'If the PowerPoint slides were different colors, then you would not be such a \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* \*\*\*\*\*\*\*."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Anonymous, open-ended comments are one of the most effective forms of feedback as it regularly produces honest and useful information. Don't stop using it just because one or two individuals misuse it.
I know work is being done to automatically censor personal attacks in student feedback. If you're collecting responses to start/stop/continue-questions you should check out hubert.ai They have a solution that prevents foul comments to reach through.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I came across a faculty vacancy announcement at a US university where it is mentioned that the candidate will be expected to perform teaching, research and guidance duties in area(s) of expertise. In addition, the candidate will share responsibility for committee and department assignments including administrative, supervisory, and other functions. From this statement, can it be determined that it is a teaching university where I will be primarily involved into teaching and administrative duties? There is no point of contact mentioned in the announcement whom I could contact with in order to know the details.<issue_comment>username_1: That sounds like a normal faculty position at a research-focused institution. I can imagine at a teaching-focused institution, research might not be mentioned. Even at research institutions, there is still a lot of teaching that needs to be done. 2-3 courses a year would be common for new junior faculty with maybe some relief in the the first year plus a startup package that you could use to buy out time.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I teach at a research university and we have pretty much the same language in our job ads.
**How to tell if a school is a research university:**
1. See if your university is listed as one of the original 59 [Research I Universities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_I_university) defined by the Carnegie Institute (see the [1994 list here](http://www.washington.edu/tools/universities94.html)) or [108 Research University/Very High (RUVH)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_research_universities_in_the_United_States) in the current classification.
a. Related to this - does the school offer doctorates in your field? Is it well known for producing high caliber scholars? Does it seem to be getting national grants? These are all part of the criteria for the R1 or RU/VH designation.
2. See if the course catalogue is online and look at how many courses a semester each professor teaches. Research universities will be [2:2, 1:1, 2:1, or 1:1:2](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/48129/what-do-the-abbreviations-22-21-or-323-mean-in-terms-of-teaching-loads?s=1%7C3.1106) or even lower (1:0, 0:1:1, etc.).
3. Look at the CV of faculty and see if they are publishing actively in highest tier journals
4. Ask a faculty member who teaches there what the teaching:research ratio expectation is.
5. Beggars can't be choosers. Unless you have other options then you take the position if offered and then when outside opportunities beckon, you switch.
**Discussion:** While it's easy to figure out the overall research vs. teaching balance and emphasis at a Harvard University versus Sweet Briar College (a small liberal arts college); there is a considerable grey middle ground. At upper-tier SLACs and state universities, there may be more of an equal 50:50 research:teaching emphasis, or even an unexpected imbalance that an outsider would not be able to easily perceive. Usually, you can ascertain this over drinks at the post job-talk dinner.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: When I hear *teaching university*, I think of a four-year liberal arts college such as Colgate, where excellence in teaching is prioritized over "publish or perish." When I hear *research university*, I think of an institution where you don't get tenure without a record of significant original research, such as Cornell University. To get a quick clue, go to the institution's home page and look for "Academics" in the menu. (If that doesn't yield a blurb, try searching for "About [name of institution]" in the site's search box.) Here are two examples.
>
> With a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, our students are pursuing their intellectual passions in close contact with field-leading experts. *(Colgate)*
>
>
>
vs.
>
> You'll interact closely with world-class faculty and a diverse student body, each a collaborator in learning, in research, and in service. *(Cornell)*
>
>
>
Note there are schools that try to hit a balance, such as Ithaca College, where faculty are strongly encouraged to involve their undergraduate students in authentic research experiences. Here's a clue:
>
> Ithaca College strives to become the standard of excellence for residential comprehensive colleges, fostering intellect, creativity, and character in an active, student-centered learning community. *(vision statement)*
>
>
>
An additional clue is whether the institution offers a wide gamut of graduate degrees. If so, it's probably a research institution. You can check this aspect quickly at the [College Board](https://www.collegeboard.org/) and put the name of the institution in the search box.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Use the institution's reported balance of instructional v. research staff in the IPEDS database. Head to <http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/> and choose Look Up An Institution (or others if you want). Choose the institution you want, then click Human Resources. Probably the best metric is simply All Staff - Full Time Research versus All Staff - Full Time Instructional Staff.
* Harvard: 1897 to 2136, highly research
* Minnesota: 1329 to 3330, highly research
* Valparaiso: 0 to 262, highly teaching
* Wisconsin - Milwaukee: 101 to 1113, mostly teaching
There are a number of other useful metrics, including grant money from the federal government. For instance, NIH gave Wisconsin-Madison $257,660,041 in 2014. See <http://www.report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm>. Check out the number of graduate research fellowships awarded as well: <https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList>. These are applicable if the NIH, NSF, GRFP, or other government programs offer awards in the fields you care about.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I have recently been doing a revision in my CV. I organized my publications into "Peer-reviewed journal articles", "Peer-reviewed conference papers", "Other published papers" ...
My dilema is which section to choose for conference papers published in a journal (either regular or special issue). Which of these two criteria should be used for classification of publications: the paper origin or the publication type?
Assumed, I have chosen journal article section for some of my conference papers. Could omitting conference details be treated as misleading?<issue_comment>username_1: To the best of my understanding, the key reason why some conferences publish their proceedings as journal special issues is *precisely* to enable the papers to be listed as journal papers rather than conference papers. This is essentially a kludge to get around bureaucrats and people from fields with an "only journals count" prejudice.
As such, I think that it's entirely reasonable to list such papers in either the conference section or the journal section. The "technically-a-journal" form, however, typically has different citation information than the conference publication, so if you choose to list them in the journal section, be certain to list them with this alternate citation information, as reported by the journal archive site.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I would not consider a conference paper as a journal article. Of course conference paper published in a journal should be noted but separately from journal articles.
Usually the selection process of conference abstracts is different to peer-review process in a journal. Selection process for conference is more straight forward and I think personal views have a huge impact which gets to a conference. Same usually applies to those papers which are published in the journal.
Peer-reviewed paper in a journal goes through more scrutinized review than conference papers. Moreover you get the responses from reviewers which usually have on influence to the final form of your a journal article which is eventually published.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I liked the questions on various surveys I examined. Rather than paraphrasing, I want to copy some of them directly, and use them in my survey, which is required for my dissertation.
What do you suggest to me, should I cite them or put in quotes, which I believe would be too awkward.<issue_comment>username_1: Perhaps, it's somewhat dependent on the field, but, AFAIK, in social sciences this situation is very typical. Nobody places questions in quotes, of course, however, a set of questions (questionnaire), which is usually referred to as an *instrument*, is cited. Such an approach is usually applied, when researchers use some reasonably well-known or *validated instruments*, or, at least, the ones from peer-reviewed studies. They are placed in *appendices* and are **cited**, based on guidelines of the publication style used in the paper in question.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I think that's a very good question to ask your advisor, in fact I think it's very important that you do so. If the advisor says it's ok, you can hardly be held up for plagiarism, and if not, then you don't want to do it anyway.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: Some universities say that "The minimum number of letters of recommendation are 2 but we highly encourage 3". If I know that I can get 2 good letters of recommendation but they "highly encourage 3", should I send in a third?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Is it better to have 2 good letters or recommendation or 2 good and 1 bad letter?
>
>
>
Definitely, it's better to have two good letters. A bad letter is a very, very bad thing.
They're not counting -- they're reading for understanding.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you can't feel assured that that third letter writer will write a positive letter, forget it. Don't risk having a negative or even so-so letter in your file.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: They may count, or not, depending. My department would count because every application had to qualify for submission for graduate fellowships (policy decision), where 3 means 3. (There was also a quota of "exceptions", they could spend an exception if the candidate was worth it). Not all departments will care. Not all faculty and disciplines have fallen victim to praise-inflation, so a simple letter stating that you did a competent job in your work could be good enough, especially if the writer is known for being conservative in praise.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: There are three different dimensions of the value of a recommendation letter that are relevant here:
1. The quality ascribed by the writer to the recommendee.
2. The certainty or itensity of that statement.
3. The reputation of the letter writer himself/herself.
A letter that scores high in the first category, but is less persuasive on the other ones, should not be detrimental. A typical example would be "CANDIDATE attend my course on X, participated well and scored top grades in the exam." This won't get you far, but also shouldn't hold you back.
A letter that is not good *because of* the first criterion is problematic. A letter which scores very low on the first and very high on the third will probably kill of an application regardless of most other circumenstances.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: If only to clarify my comments to other answers: if the "instructions" say "minimum 2 letters, 3 strongly suggested", or similar, it means that the admissions committee reserves the right to consider situations with only 2 letters... but certainly *not* that it hardly matters. It matters. A solid 3rd letter is fine, and infinitely better than no third letter, for at least two reasons. One is the mere "strongly encouraged" message, which, if effectively disregarded, amounts to a "failed diagnostic". The other is the subtler issue about appraisal of a student's potential: as it happens, it seems possible to get one super-enthusiastic letter, and one more "pretty good", ... but it's hardly to bluff to a third that is "ok". Further, and perhaps surprisingly to students, the "second excellent letter" is very often not-so-sterling-after-all, and this unexpected loss can be compensated by hearing from a third, "disinterested but informed" party, that the student has good chops. So... everyone, including the student, wants that third letter.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: While working my way through one textbook, I spotted several errors, [TeX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX)ed them up and emailed to the author of the textbook. He thanked me and asked for my physical address so he could send me a copy of his new textbook (a more advanced one). I was planning to work though his new textbook anyway, since it matches my interests. Yet I'd much prefer a [PDF](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Document_Format) file and not a hard copy. Would it be rude to ask if he could send me a PDF file instead? I don't want to come over as ungrateful, yet I'd make much more use of it if I had a PDF file.
Definitely of relevance here:
* He certainly does have a PDF file of the new book since the publisher offers PDF as one of the options (hardcover, softcover, and PDF file),
* The PDF file in question can not be 'freely' found on the Internet (although its previous edition can).<issue_comment>username_1: It is a question of framing. Frame it as something that is good for *him*, not just for you. I'd write something along the lines of:
>
> Thank you very much for your kind offer. I'm indeed very interested in the subject of book X. It probably is easier and cheaper for you if you just send me a PDF, and as I am someone who reads mostly on a screen anyway, I would be equally happy with an electronic version.
>
>
>
(And then you might or might not mention your postal address anyway, but in any case stress again that it is up to him to decide.)
In fact, I have had such situations before (people asking me for a copy of my dissertation [which I would have send them for free in print], but who also mailed that they preferred a PDF).
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I can't imagine anyone being offended. Just say, "Thank you very much for your generous offer. However, a PDF of your book would be more useful to me. Can you please send me one instead of a hard copy?". If he can, he will. It should actually be easier for him.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: The other side of the argument is that perhaps the professor wanted to write something personal in it and give it to you as a gift. It might be even better to say that you are delighted to receive the hardcover, and wonder if it might also be available online in PDF format.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: Yes, it sounds like a bad idea. A hard copy is a token of appreciation; you are basically saying that you don't need this gift.
Take the hard copy, which will come with a hand-written note. If not, you can sell it through [Amazon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com) and buy the PDF file.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Feel free to ask, but if this author is in the same position I was in when my recent book was published, the answer would have to be "no" Under my contract I got a set number of printed copies of the book, but not even one DRM'd ebook copy. I could send you an electronic copy of my manuscript, but it doesn't exactly match the published version (the copy editing got done to their copy of the manuscript, not to my copy) and besides, I'm bound not to distribute the manuscript.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_6: I would definitely be happy about the book and accept it. Even if you don't want to have the book and it would only be on your shelf and regardless of this situation, if someone in life offers you something, they have possibly put a lot of work and effort in making it. I would consider it rude to ask for a digital copy of it, "to save paper" or "because you read it on a [PDA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_digital_assistant)" or for any other reason.
Your professor is possibly also a bit older and this does not have to be the case with every older person, but when I tell you that having a physical copy of a book with some ideas from someone, it is a great thing to have it as a book and this will also possibly be the thought pattern of your professor. If the professor wanted to have you a PDF file they would have emailed it to you by now.
If I would be in this situation and I wrote a book and wanted my students to have it and they ask for a PDF file of it I would possibly dismiss the class and hand them a copy of *[How to Win Friends and Influence People](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People)* and make them write an essay about it, hehe. Again and again. This not only has to do with usability, but also with respect towards another person's thoughts and feelings.
It is another thing when *you* ask the professor for a copy. Then surly you can ask to have it as a PDF file or as a book if possible. The other way round this would work, however when being offered a gift in life you go by the simple rule, smile, be genuinely happy about it, gladly accept it and if you don't like it put it on your shelf and forget about it. There is more damage done in being picky about the format of a gift than simply accepting it and not letting the professor know you would prefer their gift in another format.
Sure, one or two weeks after you have accepted the gift you could very kindly ask for a PDF version of the book since you like to "have it with you when you travel on the bus to uni" or something along the line, simple reason, for you to be able to take the information in it with you wherever you are, implying you value the information given to you. This again would possibly flatter the professor and not make them think this student refused my gift and it asking for a digital copy to torrent it, no thanks.
Of course, if your professor is a PDA-loving cool dude/chick that loves the latest tech gadgets, has all their classes in digital format and only reads on PDAs you could surly ask for a PDF file straight away, it depends on the situation and the type of character your professor is.
General advise, not only in this situation but for the rest of your life: If someone offers you a gift, accept it as it is and possibly thank them for it, that depends on your manners.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: One thing that hasn't been mentioned in the other answers is that authors often get free or discounted copies of their physical books. As part of my author agreements, I get about 20 copies for free and can buy additional physical copies at 50% that I buy in bulk. This is fairly typical.
I usually keep a stack of my (physical) books in my office to give to people who visit or exchange with other scholars. It's easy for me to drop one in the post at my office and have the staff put the right stamps on the package.
If someone asked me for a PDF or ePub, it'd be more difficult. My press does offer e-copies but they are digitally watermarked to the purchaser. In order for me to give them the ePub/PDF, I'd have to put in an individual order with the press to have the ebook made and watermarked and sent.
So PDFs are non-trivial and a pain in the ass from my perspective. Yes, it's very 19th century, like a lot of academia.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_8: Yes, it is very rude to refuse the hard copy.
Even though the PDF is practically comparable to the hard copy, the hard copy is being offered as a gift and so refusing it could greatly insult the professor. Academics are not generally proud but it is better not to take the chance. Consider the possibility that this professor rarely offers to send books to anyone but has chosen you especially.
Refusing is the equivalent of saying, "Your book does not warrant the ample space it requires in my bookshelf," or "the cost of shipping is hardly worth a permanent compendium of your knowledge." Even if this is not your intent your gesture can be interpreted as such, so why risk it when the cost of accepting is so low?
So, yes, you should take the hard copy and also thank the professor very sincerely, or else you might offend them.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: As stated in the other answers, the author is probably offering you a hard-copy because his publisher gave him several copies. Also, it's offered as a gift and attempting to negotiate gifts isn't very gracious.
If you do want to ask for a PDF, do *not* pretend that this is because it's easier for him and do *not* pretend that you'd be equally happy with a PDF or a hard-copy. Either is a pretty transparent lie. Be honest, say what you want. "Thank you -- I'd love to have a copy. Actually, if it's possible, an electronic copy would be even better, but I understand if that's not an option." But I'd just stick with what you were offered.
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: I am in a Ph.D. program in Engineering and I do probability, statistics and differential equations. My relevant previous works are: Modelling of blood flow, programming using DNA molecules. (But most of things I do, which will lead to a Ph.D. are very mathematical and don't involve any medicine.)
But lately I feel very inspired to pursue a career in Medicine instead. I am planning to complete my Ph.D. (I am from India) and then join a MD program (in USA).
1. I am interested in the mathematical modelling of living systems. I have read some papers in this area. I noticed some of these papers don't get the maths or physics right at times. I feel I would have the right skills to contribute here.
2. I am also interested in Bio-medical instrumentation. I have degree in Mechanical Engineering and I feel I would have the right skills for this industry.
I am aware that to be able to pursue either of above, I don't need a MD degree. But lately, I feel very passionate about actually saving lives and working closely with people. It is like a dream that keeps me inspired and working all the time. I *want* the MD degree.
So I want to know:
1. Is such a thing possible? Would I be eligible to apply? I am not very well clear about 'pre-med' course requirements.
2. I am asking specifically about the MD program in USA on mind. However information about MD programs in other countries, would also be useful.
3. If it is possible, I want some advice on how to go about preparing for it?
(If you feel strongly the need to discourage my decision, please feel free to do so, giving adequate reasons. I would find that useful too.)
Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: You have a few questions going on here, so I'm going to try to address the largest issues.
The field of biomedical engineering is a fascinating one. It is also only tangentially related to the actual field of medicine. If you wish to perform engineering, as you indicate in your first two points, then you should finish your PhD and grow your career as a researcher performing medical research. If you wish to perform medicine, as you indicate later in your question, you should complete your degree (always a good idea), then apply to medical school, become a doctor, and treat patients.
If you wish to do both, well, that is very hard to do. You essentially have to take a path involving the *worst* of both worlds; you need to do all the schooling of both, and then balance the requirements of being both a medical practitioner and a researcher. In many, many cases, this is extremely difficult to do. This is particularly true in the current medical climate, where doctors are being pushed towards seeing more patients than ever, and their research time is being decreased significantly, if not eliminated altogether.
All that being said, there are many MD/PhD programs across the country that strive to educate individuals for exactly what you are asking about. These highly competitive programs do exactly what you're asking for; have students both perform research and complete medical school, thereby earning both an MD and a PhD.
It sounds like you are simply looking to enter medical school, though, as you are already earning a PhD. To that end, I cannot answer whether you are eligible, I can only suggest you check individual department requirements. Regarding advice, it sounds like you only need advice on the medical school component (since you're already in a PhD program), which I'm not qualified to dispense.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is difficult to add something to the excellent answer by @username_1 (+1) on such a challenging and important topic (+1 also goes to the OP for that as well as the excellent formulation of a question).
I just wanted to add that I have seen quite a number of people, who became medical doctors after taking some other career path (usually, engineering), but most of those cases imply switching from engineering after bachelor's degree, *not later stages*. Part of the problem is that studying for an M.D. is not only extremely stressful, but also very long (I'm not sure whether you have relevant pre-med credits and if you'd be able to transfer them). Time (that is, the *length of study*) is quite an important factor, unless you're young and/or have no family obligations and other circumstances.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Medical doctors with a previous experience in engineering are indeed in an excellent position to do clinical research involving technology or modelling. From your question it seems like you are more interested in the practice of medicine than research, and that is fine because in some fields of medicine (e.g. radiology) an engineering background is a definite advantage to practice medicine efficiently.
I know 3 people who started (a 6 years) medical school after another degree. Two after a degree in Physics and one after a PhD in biomedical engineering. All 3 are happy with their choice but their situation is not yours. Can you afford to go to school for many more years?
If you do, in North America a previous degree (and engineering is a frequent one) is usually required prior to entering medical school. Med school usually lasts 4 years. Admission criteria vary between schools but the previous degree should typically include the following, according to the [Association of American Medical Colleges](https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/requirements/):
>
> At a minimum, students will likely complete the following types of courses:
>
>
> * One year of biology
> * One year of physics
> * One year of English
> * Two years of chemistry (through organic chemistry)
>
>
>
To browse through institutions, you might find [this site](https://services.aamc.org/msar/home) useful.
At [the institution I know](https://hms.harvard.edu/departments/admissions/applying/requirements-admission), the requirements include:
* 1 year of biology
* 2 years of chemistry
* 1 year of physics
* some laboratory experience
* 1 year of maths (calculus and stats)
* 1 year of a course requiring writing.
* "[being] comfortable with upper-level mathematics (through differential equations and linear algebra), biochemistry, and molecular biology
An additional requirement is that you completed at least one year of university in the USA or Canada.
In Europe it varies a lot. For Germany, Switzerland and Austria, there are no requirements for a previous undergrad degree and it's usually hard to skip years if you have one. Most universities require that you have a high school diploma from a country they recognize. The programs are usually over a 6 years period. They typically involve a lot less mathematics than in North America. You need to be reasonably fluent in the local language.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: I understand your interest in pursuing medicine from an engineering background. I have a bachelor's in computer science and I have physician friends with bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineering.
However, all of us have nearly completely given up our former careers and devote our time to clinical medicine. We still have an avid interest in engineering, but simply don't have the time for it.
If you are considering medical school, I encourage you to think of it as a true career change, rather than hoping to merge the two careers.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I have just started a new job
as an assistant professor in a tenure-track position.
* What are the most important things that I can do
to build good working and social relationships with my colleagues?
* Related to the above question,
what are the tasks that require faculty members to work together,
and how do I work well as a member of a team in such settings?
**Background**
I felt that I did not do a good job
in developing relationships with other students during my PhD years.
I observed that other students seemed to go for lunch/coffee,
hang out together, go out to a bar or for a movie,
but somehow I did not participate in such social activities.
I hope that I do not make the same mistakes
as I start my new job as a new faculty member.
**Clarification**
in response to the question
*How do we have to imagine that you did not participate in such social activities?*
I did take part in some department social events,
e.g. a student retreat, student BBQs,
the intermural soccer team, open houses for prospective PhD students, etc.
I didn't join people for coffee
because it is not a habit for me to drink coffee.
Perhaps I should have joined not for the coffee but for the company.
As the stress oh PhD piled up I became more insular
because it takes energy for me to socialize with others
and I wanted to conserve energy.
Now that I look back,
I feel that if I had spent a little more time with other people,
I could find a happy medium where I am neither
too exhausted being with other people (too much social interaction)
nor feeling lonely (too little social interaction).<issue_comment>username_1: Solve the social things by being proactive. Go to your colleagues individually, after committee meetings, or during their office hours, introduce yourself as the new guy, and offer to buy them lunch or a coffee. If colleagues go to lunch after departmental meetings, politely see if you can tag along. The "somehow" in your question is indicative of someone who did not look for such opportunities or dodged invitations. Lunch is probably the easiest time for colleagues in a work setting to begin their socialization. Everyone eats and almost everyone like some company.
As best as I can tell, there are only a handful of things that bring faculty members together for forced work, e.g. departmental committee meetings. That being said, departments have social and semi-social functions. Attend as many as you can. Volunteer to help with student move-in at the dorms. Volunteer to be a marshal and graduation ceremonies with other faculty. Find a hobby and check out the university club (exercise oriented ones like cycling, rowing, and running tend to be popular).
Solve this problem like it was your PhD. Set goals and be deliberate. Also, be friendly.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Bill's answer is excellent, I just want to add the obvious that you should definitely look for as many academic partnerships as you can as well.
You've probably already found the people at your new university within your field; if you haven't, search papers and find authors from your university. Beyond that, you'll want to reach out to people in other departments whose work is related to yours. Most fields require collaboration across many specialties, and you'll want to reach out to a lot of different people to identify collaboration opportunities. In my case, I was doing biomedical research, but I was working with faculty from electrical engineering, neuroscience, and statistics. Your situation is probably similar. As you talk to people in your department, try to get names of folks in other departments whom you should meet.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Let me offer a somewhat different answer. For many departments in the US, particularly small departments, you don't need to be too proactive to cultivate relationships, because departments are often pretty friendly. Even ones that are dysfunctional often try to be friendly to the new faculty. The most important thing is: **just be there**. This means be in the department during most normal working hours, and participate in normal things like department seminars and go to department teas. People, especially other young faculty, will naturally talk to you and probably invite you along for lunches or outings if that's something they normally do together there. Of course it's not bad at all to be proactive, provided you want to be, and it can certainly speed up relationship building.
I'm just saying you don't need to force yourself to do a bunch of things you don't want to do to have good relationships with your colleagues. There are differences between being able to work well with someone, to get along with someone socially and to spend a lot of time with someone. Some people are less social than others, and that doesn't make them worse colleagues. (I can't tell if your goal is to participate in social activities with colleagues or just have good relationships, but my answer is for the latter.)
As for the other question: the main tasks that require faculty to work together are committee work. Various faculty will also likely ask for your assistance on random things which may not be part of a committee. However most of this "working together" is just discussing ideas and coming to a consensus at meetings, then doing whatever you were assigned to/agreed to do. Provided you can listen to other people and you're not argumentative or irresponsible, you shouldn't have too many issues with this. And when you're not clear on what is expected of you, or how to do something, ask. Senior faculty are usually happy to help junior faculty learn the ropes.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: * Find a mentor within your department.
* Attend seminars. If no one is bringing cookies, bring cookies.
* Read the descriptions of your colleagues' research interests. Pick one or two to ask to give you a tour of their lab.
* Find someone you feel comfortable with to have lunch with occasionally (sandwich brought from home). Don't be afraid to choose a post doc or advanced grad student for the lunch buddy.
* Read bulletin boards to see what group activities are happening, such as informal soccer games.
* When talking with someone, make sure you don't only talk about yourself.
* When you have a question, make sure to begin with a friendly greeting before blurting out your question, for example, "Hi So-and-So, Happy Monday!" with a smile.
* Treat the secretaries with friendliness and respect.
* Find a hobby that has nothing to do with your department, for example folk dance, canoeing, whatever you enjoy.
Those are good starting points.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: How do you normally indicate a subsection, or a part of the text that it is not so important for the rest of text. Let me give an example:
>
> [...] This method uses ABC as a coefficient.
>
>
> **Subsection: how to measure ABC**
>
>
> [some text and a plot, making up for roughly one column]
>
>
>
The subsection can be skipped, but is probably too short to appear as an appendix at the end.<issue_comment>username_1: It depends a bit on your field of research.
In fields that have a somewhat strong relationship to mathematics, it is common that lemmas, theorems, examples, etc. are typeset in special environments. You can also typeset a **note** or a **remark** in such an environment, which allows the reader to easily skip over the part, and at the same time makes clear that reading this part of the paper is somewhat optional.
As an example, the publisher Springer provides a style file for the document typesetting system LaTeX for publications in their "Lecture Notes in Computer Science" series [here](ftp://ftp.springer.de/pub/tex/latex/llncs/latex2e/llncs2e.zip). The documentation states in Section 8a that "note" and "remark" environments are available.
Here is how using a "note" in a paper looks like:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ev5u7.png)
Note that there is no rule that prevents you from referencing to a figure in a note.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You don't need to tell the reader what they can skip; instead, you should tell the reader what is in each section and how the sections relate, and they will decide for themselves which sections to read.
The truth is that very few experienced researchers actually read a paper end to end like a novel. Instead, a paper is typically subjected to a sort of literary triage, in which the reader first skims the paper and hits the high points (e.g., title, abstract, figures, theorems, conclusions) in order to determine whether the article is relevant enough and credible enough to invest more time in reading. Even after that, readers will often skip around, deciding which bits are worth investing in reading thoroughly, and which to come back to later if needed. See, for example, [this nice manual on how to read a paper from a course at Rice University](http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/courses/HowToReadSciArticle.pdf).
Some paper formats are effectively set up to enable such reading. For example, many high-impact journals like Science and Nature have an ultra-short article format, in which the whole article functions as an extended abstract, and most of the details are typically relegated to the supporting information.
For long format documents, however, such as many other journals, or book chapters or theses, you instead want to be explicit about the structure of the document, saying clearly what the purpose of each section is in the introduction, and what the subsections are for at the beginning of a section. For something that you are reviewing or reproducing for reader convenience, just say so, e.g.:
>
> Section II.A reviews the measurement methodology that we have adapted from [cite].
>
>
>
and the reader will have enough information to know whether they want to read or skip.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I think you have the following options:
* Use an **appendix**. If I understand you correctly regarding the amount of content that we are talking about, I would not consider it too short for an appendix and successfully published shorter appendices (two short paragraphs and one plot). As a reader, I would not feel “cheated” by any appendix that contains a figure.
I have never stumbled upon a journal guideline limiting the lengths of appendices and unless your journal has one, I would not assume that one exists. Should your journal have an internal rule about this, they will tell you soon enough and at worst you need an additional proof to rectify things.
* Use a **footnote or endnote**. This is rather an answer to the general question as it does not seem to be applicable to your situation as you have a figure.
* Move all the content into the **figure caption** and just refer to the figure. Of course, this only works if the content is appropriate for a figure caption.
* I have seen one or two journals (but cannot name one right now) that allow authors to use floating **text boxes**. These are like figure or table floats but contain only text and are intended for background or supplementary information.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been asked to help teach a one-week class (a scientific conference-type class in Italy). I am one of about six other teachers involved.
The organizer has asked me to send a "15-line CV" for the course web site. My CV is two pages long, and I am not sure what a 15-line CV would include. Do you think the organizer may just mean a biosketch? Or is there an abbreviated CV format that I am not aware of? I could easily email him to ask for clarification, but he is clearly very busy and I do not want to bug him with minutiae unless I have to.<issue_comment>username_1: Basically, a "short CV" is a CV with your basic career highlights:
* Where you did your undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate (postdoc) degrees
* Any appointments you have held following the completion of your research (academic, industrial, government, or otherwise)
* Any major awards or honors that you've received
* Any other notable accomplishments that you'd like your audience to know about
You do **not** need to include (unless specifically asked to include it):
* List of publications and presentations
* Service activities
* List of funding sources
* List of students supervised
* Courses taught
As well as any other item that you would not mention in a short introduction to you and your work.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I sent the organizer an IEEE-style biosketch, and he said that was what he wanted. So, I think there may be some semantic variability in the word 'CV' in Europe versus the United States (I am from the latter), or he was just very loose in his terminology. Feel free to edit this answer if it is the former and not the latter.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am wondering about what incentives professors have to teach a large class (vs. a small class). To put it differently, when a professor is assigned to a class, what motivates him/her to attract students to his class? I am looking for external motivations, not personal ones, such as willingness to share the class materials to as many people as possible.
I am mostly interested in the United States, but curious about other academic systems as well (at [Mars University](http://theinfosphere.org/Mars_University) there seems to be none).<issue_comment>username_1: At my institution in my department, I think there are two major external incentives:
1. The number of teaching assistants is a function of the number of students in the class. Critically, below some threshold size n, a professor will not receive any teaching assistants.
2. Offering the class in the future may depend on enrollment in the present.
In some other departments,
3. Professors who teach classes with more than N students get double credit for that class, so if they typically teach 4 courses a year, they could instead teach 2 small courses and one large course with >N students.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Departments I am familiar with have a minimum size that a course has to be to run. If you want to continue teaching the course, it is helpful to grow the class in a way to consistently exceed the minimum. This usually means you want to be attracting at least 10-20 students. Once you hit 30-40 students you can often get a TA to help with office hours and grading. With 100+ students in an upper level class, departments I have been in either let you teach two sections or reduced other teaching requirements. I have never heard of upper level classes getting much bigger than 100 students.
For intro classes, the incentive for growing seems reduced as the numbers are already large, and generally there are multiple sections.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: One other incentive that I have not yet seen mentioned, and which might or might not count as "external," is that teaching a class is often the earliest stage of various recruitment pipelines. If more students are interested in a class on X, then:
* if the class is early enough in the sequence, it may attract more students to the department (most relevant in those colleges where majors are chosen after the first year or are easy to change).
* students already in the department will be more likely to take the higher level follow-on classes regarding X, as opposed to their other options.
* strong students are likely to become interested in research related to X, and may become undergraduate researchers or apply to become graduate students.
* growing student demand for area X may affect what types of faculty candidates a department is interested in recruiting.
All of these are relatively long-term and indirect, but can be a significant motivator for instructors who are strong teachers and strategic thinkers.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I would suggest that the type of institution plays a large part in the level of effort a faculty member does or doesn't put in to attracting students. In an R-1 or similar you may want to grow possible graduate students or undergraduate research assistants. A teaching-focused college won't have this requirement, for example.
There's also the question of supports. In my own college, we're almost entirely focused on teaching, which means we don't have TAs for the most part. Growing a lab focused class beyond about 24 would make it unmanageable since the lecturer is on their own, and damage the learning experience of all the students. However, a class that was mostly lecture-based could probably stretch a bit more. My last college was an R-1-type institution where supervising a lab of 70 was fairly straightforward.
More important is the matter of student motivation. A small motivated class that has a good group work ethic almost teaches itself, whereas a class where half of the students don't really want to be there is a totally different undertaking.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: As budgets shrink, pressure from administration may also provide incentive for larger classes. Some higher-ed administrations are starting to measure various sorts of "productivity," and $-per-student is certainly on the table.
This raises the spectre of classes that instructors love to teach being cancelled for low enrollment (and thus high $-per-student) unless balanced by higher-enrollment courses.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: A fundamental assumption of your question is that the professor has been incentivized. In many cases, there is no incentive, beyond "The Chair told you you're teaching X" and X is inherently a large class. In my experience, this is how most of the folks I know who ended up teaching large classes got them.
Beyond that, another reason might be class dynamics. Perhaps you *prefer* to teach via a "Lecture and Test" style, which is harder to do with a smaller, more intimate class. Or you might *need* a certain number of students for group work, discussion groups, etc. to be viable approaches.
As others have mentioned, classes can be viewed as Step 1 in recruiting grad students, and thus you might want a larger pool to draw from.
Finally, teaching a large class potentially has a larger impact on the way the department works than a smaller class. Teaching your "vision" in one of the larger core methodology classes in a Department may impact the feel of that department, outlook of students, etc. over a small, specialized seminar.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: To supplement other answers and comments... :
In some cases, an instructor can get *negative* incentives to attract students, the supposed rationale being that this takes students away from other courses in the same department, pushing them to sub-acceptable enrollments. I myself experienced this some years ago having developed a then-new-ish crypto course and a then-new-ish error-correcting codes course within a (pardon me, but, somewhat stodgy) math dept. The traditional-stodginess leads to courses whose names and catalog descriptions were/are incomprehensible (and certainly not attractive) until possibly after one has taken the course... So, in that context, it is easy [sic] to develop a course that will attract students... but/and this might be (was) construed as extremely hostile to other courses/faculty in the environment.
On another occasion, when it was proposed to increase the size of lower-division math classes (mostly calculus...), when I asked whether that wasn't moving in the opposite direction of more effective teaching, the answer was that things were already so bad in that regard that the marginal worsening would be less than the gain in freed-up person-hours of instructors. Sure, the kids are pretty negligent students, but, still, ... ?!?!
So, in lower-division courses in math, the motivation for larger class sizes is "efficiency". And instructors with 200 students have virtually no responsibility for the individual success/failure, ... even the TAs usually have 60-80 kids... For upper-division, it takes a certain number to "run" the course. Beyond that, it is actually unwise and undesirable to rope-in more people if they're not really qualified or interested, since it drags things down... and in some cases one can be accused of sabotage of colleagues' courses!
For graduate courses (in math), again there's a minimum usually required, so one wants to offer something that appeals to more than 1 or 2 people. Beyond that, again, there is some push-back that one might be taking away from colleagues...
And, I note, in all cases I myself have been accused by colleagues of "pandering" to students (at all levels) by trying to engage/entertain/edify them... as though being boring were a fundamental virtue in the teaching of mathematics. And, also, the idea that exams contain "surprises", so that no one knows what to study, apart from "everything", etc. That really doesn't seem a productive pedagogical strategy, since the kids cannot effectively study/learn/assimilate "everything".
(The devices that one might use to maintain close contact ... often unwanted!... with large student populations are not subtle, but require some technological savvy. My experience is that the system-gamers were amazed-and-incensed that anyone would manage to prevent... in a large-population situation where they'd hoped for quasi-anonymity. Poor kids...)
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I am interested in journals of finance and the conference in mathematical and computational finance. Few give the template in the website, while few others don't.Where can i find some standard template?<issue_comment>username_1: Most will have the template under Author Guidelines or similar. Almost all will have a Microsoft Word template, and many journals in the computational area will also have a LaTeX template available too.
The other place to look is the author guidelines. They may have provided a list of formatting requirements, which might be quite specific or may be vague enough.
If they really don't have one, I would suggest leaving it in the standard Word document template. Some publishers take the input document and then put it into their own layout system, and the fewer the formatting changes the better.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to username_1's answer, I also suggest checking the "early view" section of many journals for accepted preprints. These will often be helpful for you to format your manuscripts.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: In addition to various US-based positions, I am currently considering (applying for) several research positions at a couple of well-known UK universities. While I researched the topic somewhat, I am not too familiar with *specifics* of academic system in **UK** and, thus, would appreciate clarifications.
**Questions:**
* Despite being offered at the same salary level, I assume that a position of *researcher* is higher in rank, responsibilities and expectations than the one of *research assistant*. Is my assumption correct *universally* or it might depend on department or specific research project?
* Is employment at UK universities *at-will*? Specifically, I am interested in the context of (postdoctoral) researcher positions. If the academic employment is at-will, is it ethical to leave early a research position, associated with a multi-year project (for valid reasons and assuming no teaching is involved)? If not, how such issues should be handled gracefully? I don't expect such things to happen, but it is better to have some situational awareness in this regard.
* Are there any differences between positions with the titles of *researcher* or *research assistant* and the ones with the same titles, but prefixed with "postdoctoral"? (You can answer from both UK and US perspectives or either one, whatever environment you have knowledge about.)<issue_comment>username_1: Most will have the template under Author Guidelines or similar. Almost all will have a Microsoft Word template, and many journals in the computational area will also have a LaTeX template available too.
The other place to look is the author guidelines. They may have provided a list of formatting requirements, which might be quite specific or may be vague enough.
If they really don't have one, I would suggest leaving it in the standard Word document template. Some publishers take the input document and then put it into their own layout system, and the fewer the formatting changes the better.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to username_1's answer, I also suggest checking the "early view" section of many journals for accepted preprints. These will often be helpful for you to format your manuscripts.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I will soon submit a paper to PRL. In the main text, I refer in many places to the supplemental material, which is divided in 3 parts.
Let's say that at page 2 of the main I show a result, and I refer to the 1st section of the supplemental material, at page 3 to the 2nd, and at page 4 to the 3rd.
Should I write in this case something like: "See supplemental material part 1", "See supplemental material part 2", etc or just "See supplemental material" each time, and leaving the reader to figure out where to look?<issue_comment>username_1: Most will have the template under Author Guidelines or similar. Almost all will have a Microsoft Word template, and many journals in the computational area will also have a LaTeX template available too.
The other place to look is the author guidelines. They may have provided a list of formatting requirements, which might be quite specific or may be vague enough.
If they really don't have one, I would suggest leaving it in the standard Word document template. Some publishers take the input document and then put it into their own layout system, and the fewer the formatting changes the better.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to username_1's answer, I also suggest checking the "early view" section of many journals for accepted preprints. These will often be helpful for you to format your manuscripts.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: After doing well at science fair, I started working with an extremely nice professor at the local university who encouraged me to submit my work to the relevant conference. I was rejected at large, but accepted to one of the workshops. The workshop is the day before the conference. The professor reviewed my paper twice, probably taking him a half hour or hour total (it's a short paper). He also told the conference he would shepherd me, which kind of puts his name on all of this. However, looking at the calendar to plan my flight etc, I noticed the workshop is on the day of Yom Kippur! I am not that religious, and if this was some huge event for me I could possibly make an exception, but I'm not sure if presenting my mediocre work (the work is good for a high school student, but really lame for an actual conference) to the few people who will come to the presentation supersedes such a holiday. Also, after being rejected I didn't really want to go anyway, since I won't understand most of the presentations and I feel they only accepted me to the workshop to encourage me since I'm a student.
How do I talk with the professor and the conference/workshop about my problem? It is completely my fault!
Side note: who schedules an academic event on Yom Kippur? That's like scheduling it on Christmas or Easter!
*Follow-up: I decided to go. I'm just not sure what it's like submitting to a workshop of a conference but not the conference at large.*<issue_comment>username_1: Unless you're presenting joint work and had worked out your attendance with your coauthors in advance, not attending a conference is always your choice.
Not attending a conference for religious reasons is also completely standard and understandable. (Though your claim that Yom Kippur is just like Christmas is a bit unconvincing. 83% of Americans identify as Christian, whereas 1.4% identify as Jewish. Moreover, a lot of Americans who identify as Jewish do not fast/atone on Yom Kippur and would be happy to attend a conference on that day: I do and I would. Though not with as much glee as I would attend a conference on Easter, I admit.) I think it's an A-class excuse: i.e., if you tell this to your faculty advisor he will accept it without any comment. I would keep to yourself however the fact that your amount of Jewishness is enough to get you out of a conference that you view as inferior but not a really important one. That's not the most mature perspective, and if in your later life people observe that you seem to be using religion as an excuse to improve your schedule, they will not be so thrilled with you.
By the way, I would think that there would be a lot of other reasons that a high school student could not fly to attend a conference. Saying "Sorry, I've just learned that my schedule doesn't allow me to attend" ought to already be more than sufficient (B+? A-?).
I think you may be off in your appraisal of the situation and the opportunity that going to any part of an academic conference is for any high school student. My advice would be to, when you say that you can't go to this conference, tell your advisor that you really appreciate the mentorship and would be eager to go to a different conference, possibly a bit later on and/or during the summer.
Finally, your faculty advisor does indeed sound extremely nice. Academics are *extremely* busy, and quality mentorship takes time and energy. Your estimate that he spent half an hour looking at two drafts of your paper sounds rather naive to me unless he explicitly told you that. I would spend more than 15 minutes looking at a student's cover letter, let alone their paper. By the way, the fact that he is willing to spend the time probably means that he thinks you are extremely talented, so I hope you do not give up too easily.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Tell them exactly what you told us. Scheduling disasters happen, whether due to illness or unexpected conflicts. Someone else in your group might be able to attend in your stead, present for you, and report back; if so the airfare is the main problem and it may be possible to convince the airline to apply at least part of your ticket to the other person's travel.
If it's a completely "use it or lose it" ticket -- as the cheapest ones tend to be -- that's annoying but is a hazard your lab (or boss) accepts when they tell you to take that sort of fare. Usually it's a good bet, but occasionally something unexpected does happen and you lose the gamble... and that's embarrassing when it could have been prevented but not much more than that.
If there isn't anyone willing and able to cover for you.. well, at least you'll get a copy of the proceedings.
I don't have to tell you the lesson for next time, do I.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: You should go! It's not like you're going to some Girls-Gone-Wild kind of event... God will understand!
It will be a great opportunity to see what an academic conference feels like, and you will meet people. Don't worry that your work isn't going to win you a Fields Medal, nobody is expecting that anyway.
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<issue_start>username_0: This is a phrase that I have heard on multiple occasions, both on this forum and in real life. But what exactly does that mean (in reference to talking about students)? When I hear this, I can't help but imagine a group of emeritus professors with grey beards sitting around in a room gossiping about the latest incoming student, with pipes in hand. An image that is both comical and scary if true, although hopefully far from accurate. So what I'm wondering is:
1. When do professors typically discuss students (performance or otherwise)? When they are going out to lunch with other colleagues or after committee meetings...?
2. What do the conversations usually revolve around? By that I mean are these conversations typically strictly professional, or are they more gossipy in nature like you would expect at some workplaces?
3. Have you ever been in or heard conversations that were "malicious" towards certain students? Like warning other colleagues off on advising someone?
4. Are these conversations more likely to be positive or negative? Do profs tend to spend more time praising star students or complaining about the non-star students?<issue_comment>username_1: I can provide some student perspective. I remember once I unexpectedly met my advisor, who was a chemistry professor, in an airport when I was flying back. The next day I bumped into a physics professor I knew of, and he asked me how my flight was yesterday. There was no way that he could have known my flight except by gossiping, since I did not tell anybody I was coming back. In another occasion, I went to talk with a math professor about grad school, and he inquired about some of my work done in the psychology department. Again, he must have known this through another professor, since I had never discussed it with him before.
There are also many other less obvious situations where I suspected that the professor was aware of my academic performance with other professors through "words on the street". Overall, I think these examples show that professors do talk with their colleagues about students. The topics can be as serious as the students' work or as trivial as the student flight back to college. The occasions in which they talk can be as formal as a faculty dinner and as informal as a quick chat down the hall way.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In general, we talk about students' performance and how they are digesting certain materials. The latter is important because it allows us to calibrate our delivery to a given cohort of students.
As for the former, we flag top performers and problematic students; not so much those that failed once or twice, but consistently failed or those who always have an excuse to skip assessments or pretend to be sick during exams. As for the top performers, we may want to recruit them for projects or encourage them to go into research.
If a student approaches me for a project, then I would definitely talk to other Profs who have taught the student to get a bearing on the student's abilities.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: 1. Since students are a big part of our life, we discuss students both in casual situations (e.g., lunch) or professional settings (e.g., committee meetings). Of course you shouldn't think students are all we talk about, and discussions about students mostly only come up in committee meetings when they're relevant.
2. The conversations are mostly professional, particularly the ones in meetings, but some things you might consider "gossipy" I would consider professional, e.g., where a student is going for grad school. (As a department, we have an interest in what our students do afterwards). Not that there is not no gossip going on, but at least I personally am not so interested in it, and I don't know too much about the personal lives of most of my students. Most "gossip" is about other faculty.
3. Well, faculty often discuss about bad experiences with/performances of students with other faculty. Sometimes to get advice, sometimes to vent, and sometimes because the student has done something amusing. Sometimes the student's name is used and sometimes it is not. In my department, I think the student's name is not normally used in the case of undergrads unless it is in a professional context (needing advice or reporting a possible problem student). But we don't often give explicit advice like "stay away from this student."
4. In general, I think people have a tendency to spend more time complaining than offering praise. However, at least at the undergrad level, when names are used, I think it is more often to speak positively or neutrally of students than speak negatively.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: As for when, that would depend on the department. In particular, is there a scheduled student-evaluation meeting? In mine, there are about 5 a year, where each student is mentioned and the advisor gives a summary of problems and progress w.r.t. scheduled requirements (anyone can volunteer anything, though). This is for the entire faculty. For entirely non-problematic cases it takes about 5 minutes per student. "Problematic" would include someone reporting that X is struggling with important topic Y and maybe needs to shift focus from Z to Y. In terms of time spent, more time is spent talking about problems and specifically what to do about it; if someone gets an NSF fellowship and a couple of publications, we spend a couple of minutes praising the student (in their absence) and move on.
Faculty in a particular specialization will, in addition, "talk" on an ad hoc basis on topics like should X prepare a grant proposal on Y, does X understand Y well enough of do they need some tutoring; basically, the same topics as in the official meeting, but designed to head off the need to report a problem. Or, dissertation committee members will talk about the current chapter.
I've never encountered malicious talk, but I've encountered negative talk. The worst case scenario for a mis-performing student is that they can't work with their current advisor, and there has to be a discussion of what is wrong with the student, which leads to the question of whether a different advisor would solve the problem. Nobody has ever warned off other faculty, but they have made the nature of the problem clear enough that indeed no other faculty member would work with the student.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I can give a worst-case scenario from a staff perspective: All departments will talk about students to some degree in most higher education establishments. By bulk they tend to be general observations or discussion of where support is needed, or where somebody needs particular investment in time to reach their potential.
There is certainly no best practice when it comes to talking about students generally, both in work hours and out-with, but recorded messages such as email and intranet are generally a big no-no as it can be recovered at a later date as part of a SAR. Now this would suggest that professors/lecturers are of the mind that what we say can be malicious or more conductive to personal intent of harm rather than objectively making things the best for every student, both emotionally and academically.
Things tend to reach a breaking point when dealing with problem students. We had a situation where a mature student returned to University for a career change in a new subject in order to gain the correct 'letters' to pursue a career they had already achieved relative acclaim in over a number of years. Indeed, in some subject areas they were better known and more respected than some of the staff that then found themselves appointed to teach the student.
Some staff had prior knowledge of the student whilst others were oblivious. As the department was quite small then it compounded the level of discussion on students between the close-knit staff, and especially so when so few students take it forward to honours. What I found was that the semester started off with insightful ideas from the student which were unexpected by some staff. This led to hot discussions over coffee about the gratitude of having a potential once in a lifetime innovator on our hands. Over coming weeks two of the staff actually started a campaign of complaints of arrogance about the student and the pestering of staff.
By the time of coursework grading there was a complaint lodged by the student about an essay where they were marked as a Low B when the student (who had marked work and worked in editing journal articles previously) suggested the essay could be no less than a mid to upper A. Naturally with an appeal in place another member of staff marked the essay and corroborated their colleagues result. It later turned out that the student was externally upgraded to nearly the topmost grade and the report was that the bulk of the downgrading relied upon staff not understanding the essay's concepts and questioning the style of English, and the verdict was that the English used was erudite and the use of unusual words which were very specific and relevant were considered the most economic use of English. In other words the student was using such good English and novel ideas that instead of lecturers realizing a dense read on their part with new research ideas, they mistook the work for poor grammar and making hyperbolic conclusions not supported in published literature.
Like most establishments we employ blind-marking, yet the amount of background staff communication led to the student's identity code being 'shared' which probably impacted on the marking. I think with this scenario the lesson became apparent that regardless of the reason and expertise of the experienced staff circle, the human drawbacks of jealousy and lack of acumin ultimately infiltrated and led to the gross mistreatment of a gifted student. The student became aware of the unusual change in behaviour across the staff body, which alongside the complaint concerning the essay then led to a legal complaint and enquiry which lost the institution several tens of thousands of pounds and two dismissals of staff. The student is now at a certain more famous university and the establishment narrowly avoided a scandal in media. So yes, to answer your question; Staff do talk about students, and the worry for students is it only gets bad when we discuss problem students. Some students are generally resentful and wish to cause trouble, but sometimes the genius students get severe mistreatment at the hands of resentful staff.
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently applying to a combined pre-med/medical program. This program guarantees a spot in the school system's medical school (assuming a certain GPA is maintained etc.). I'm between high school and undergrad, taking a few years off for intensive Judaic studies.
In 11th grade, I submitted an essay to a medical journal's contest for high school juniors and seniors. My essay (though not first place) was accepted for publication, and was published in that journal. The essay was basically a review paper of research done about a specific treatment (not CPAP) for obstructive sleep apnea.
**Should I bring a copy of my essay with me to the interview at the medical school?** (*Does it matter that I don't believe the essay was particularly well-written?*)
* Is there anything to gain? (*I know how to write a paper for a journal*)
* Is there anything to lose? (*Might this appear presumptuous or arrogant? The paper doesn't actually look that good, at least to me*)<issue_comment>username_1: Yes you should.
I expect that a common question in any interview would be to ask the candidate about any piece of work of which the candidate feels particularly proud or pleased. Being able to refer to your publication -- and have a copy of it with you -- would be a positive thing.
Regarding your opinion of the work -- you might be your own worst critic. Clearly the journal editor felt it was acceptable for publication. In a positive spin, you could outline in your interview where you feel the work could have been improved, showing a capacity for reflective practice.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It makes no harm to bring anything to the job interview. Depending on the situation you may decide just not to show it.
Among various diplomas, certificates and the like, a good looking copy of your best article (or two) should have an important place in your portfolio.
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<issue_start>username_0: Like many on this site, I use a Moodle-type online Content Management System to give assignments to my students, and receive the finished work for grading. This is in a traditional context where the students are physically present in the classroom, and the online part is seen as a simple tool to be used in addition to the classic paper-based route. Students' first class for the day usually begins at 8 a.m.
For the last few years, I put the deadline for assignment acceptance at midnight, with plenty of time (2-3 weeks) to do the work, so each student can handle his/her workload as they wish. These are young adults aged 18-25, and are in theory very much responsible for their acts. Observation gives us actual hand-in times with approximately the following distribution:
* 1-2 days before deadline: 5%
* 3-24 hours before: 10%
* 1-2 hours: 10%
* less than 1 hour: 65%
* emails in distress after the deadline has expired saying they have encountered a computer glitch or some other excuse: 10%
Which I guess is about par for the course. :-(
So it is clear that while in theory these students are responsible young adults, in practice they tend to plan ahead in a less than stellar way. The impression that is perceived is that the online nature of the submission system makes students take slightly more liberties with deadlines than when assignments had to be handed in, in a face-to-face situation - although it is clear that even then there will always be a certain percentage of people with difficulties respecting deadlines.
OK, here is the question: without getting into considerations on whether students should plan better (and possible ways in which I and other teachers could help them do so), would changing deadline times from midnight to, for example, 10 p.m. be a good move from the standpoint of their getting enough sleep (moral considerations welcome) and actually attending class at the beginning of the next day? Do I get to patent this Great Idea?
No, that last bit was a joke. ;-)
Reactions from people who are not actually teachers, but have experienced this context as a student are also welcome.
**Update**
I have ended up accepting the answer by Superbest below, basically because I liked his discussion of alternative possibilities. This is a bit subjective, since many other answers are also of very high quality IMHO - and I would certainly encourage the reader to peruse *all* the answers given here, and the varying points of view expressed (also in comments). Much appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: First of all, I think the distribution that you're seeing is not very unusual, and indeed looks very similar to the distribution of times that I see coming from mature scientists submitting conference papers and grants.
It is simply that people, including your students, tend to overcommit themselves and to underestimate the difficulty of work. When that is combined with tasks on which there is a flexible amount of effort that can be invested (e.g., quality of work on an assignment), it is generally the case that "this work is done" is an ill-defined notion, and instead it gets triaged at some point of time shortly before the assignment. Better and more prepared students (or whoever) simply climb farther up in quality before triaging.
Given that, I generally advocate for a policy of "tight deadlines, lots of mercy." That means setting the deadline slightly *before* when you really want the assignment turned in, and then being very liberal about accepting requests for extension up until your secret "real deadline."
Addressing your specific question about timing, I think that if you want your students to get more sleep, moving the deadline up a couple of hours is a totally reasonable tactic: given the phenomena at work, it is unlikely to affect the distribution or quality of the assignments you receive. Depending on how your automated system works, you may also be able to explicitly support an official deadline of 10pm, with the de facto ability to leave the submission system open longer to receive the main tranche of "just a little bit late" assignments.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I would consider a deadline at around 10p.m. very wise and student-friendly. I remember staying up late night as long as the submission system allows to post a new version and polishing the hell out of my assignment, although it probably made little difference.
As a lecturer I have always readily given small extensions to people who asked at least a little (about a day) in advance before the deadline, because I think that this fosters good habits in life: it is OK to fail sometimes, but you should handle the failure responsibly and warn people depending on you in advance.
I like the "tight deadlines, lots of mercy" policy mentioned in another answer (which I think is one of the good solutions). If you are worried that students will learn and exploit this policy, you can have a deadline that is openly less strict: for example subtracting 10 points from the evaluation of the assignment for every hour of delay or letting the students to submit until the next lecture, but for half the points. I experienced this a few times as a student and it was motivational yet forgiving to small lapses.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I suggest the opposite course of action by moving the deadline further into the night. Set it at a time where no-one voluntarily would want to hand in their work. In my opinion, that is the best incentive to have them reconsider their personal scheduling.
As for the online system, you write:
>
> The impression that is perceived is that the online nature of the submission system makes students take slightly more liberties with deadlines than when assignments had to be handed in, in a face-to-face situation
>
>
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I suspect this is coupled to how the online system is generally presented, as I have made the opposite experience. We generally communicate a very strict "hand in via the system, or do not hand in at all" policy. That is, e-mails will generally not be accepted as an alternative to submission via the system (as long as the system is not actually having internal technical issues). As opposed to e-mails, where there is always a certain leeway for asking for exceptional treatment along the lines of "the e-mail sent at 09:59 was routed in a way so it only arrived at 10:01", when the online system is announced to close down at 10, it will automatically close down at 10 (ideally, while displaying the server time in its web-based interface). This way, non-uniform acceptance of delayed submissions between different instructors for one class is avoided.
>
> although it is clear that even then there will always be a certain percentage of people with difficulties respecting deadlines
>
>
>
Indeed, unfortunately, that is unavoidable - but as being able to stick to deadlines is one of the factors expected of a professional, these people simply will not get their degree in the end.
>
> would changing deadline times from midnight to, for example, 10 p.m. be a good move from the standpoint of their getting enough sleep (moral considerations welcome) and actually attending class at the beginning of the next day?
>
>
>
I would somewhat doubt it. A pattern that I seem to perceive in people around me, both students and non-students, is that either they work until late at night and are very exhausted from that, or they work slightly shorter, are not totally exhausted ... and instead stay up doing whatever they like doing until they are equally exhausted. Maybe yours is not even the only deadline in the same evening, and changing your deadline only changes the order in which the tasks will be treated. I simply do not see a strong connection between your submission deadline and the time they actually go to bed.
EDIT: Reading [username_10's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/50069/14017) made me aware that it cannot be taken for granted in an online submission system that students can replace their submission once they have uploaded something. I consider such a feature essential. I am fully in favour of encouraging students to plan thoroughly and be on time, but if a satisfactory submission that solves the declared task has been made well within the deadline, I see no point in disallowing the respective student from replacing it with an updated version that is even a bit more tidy or well-explained.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I'd like to add my two cents as a current student with three years of college behind me. In my experience, I've always preferred having a deadline of midnight to a deadline of 10pm because during the school year, I'm often up until midnight regardless, and sometimes my workload requires me to prioritize my assignments in such a way that many things get submitted in the eleventh hour, so to speak. Furthermore, I tend to do much of my work in the late evening, as that's when I personally am able to focus on assignments the best. This experience comes from three years from a Computer Science undergrad, so take it with whatever that information brings. I think the deadline will mean different things to different students regardless of when it actually is, and I think students will still end up submitting just before the deadline is due, but I personally prefer midnight to 10pm.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: Remember: it's not your duty to clean your students noses and make sure they submit everything on time or weeks before the deadline. If you want to be merciful you can apply increasing penalties or you can set a hard cutoff if you're not feeling merciful. You'll probably get less pleading emails and headaches if you apply a sliding scale of penalties but it's up to you and you shouldn't feel you have to.
You have no duty to hand everyone a pass. Don't feel bad if some people screw themselves over by not submitting on time.
I encountered lots of variation as a student and have few strong feelings about it though I always somewhat preferred late-night deadlines because I worked better in the evening.
As long as the deadlines don't change: the only time a deadline ever pissed me off was when the professor kept changing it. 3 weeks, no 2 weeks, no 4 weeks, no 1 week etc.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: I have dealt with this issue in setting closing times for Webwork assignments, which is a kind of online Content Management System specific to mathematics.
After having tried out various times, I have converged on 7pm. Why?
Originally I had it due at 5pm. There is something about 5pm that is hard to complain about: in the US it is widely regarded as the end of the work day. It is the latest in the day you could set a meeting or an appointment without apologizing or confirming in advance that it is okay. There is a wide cultural feeling that people should be working until 5pm, at which point they want to go home.
Well, I said *hard* to complain about. The complaints I got were that people were submitting their solutions at 4:59:47 and not getting accepted by the system. Such complaints are very hard to verify (especially if you don't try) and pretty annoying. So what I said was, "You should think of the assignment as being due at 5pm and work accordingly. The extra two hours is a grace period that will nullify any technical difficulties."
Two other benefits of having roughly this due time:
1) If students want to ask questions before it's due (or rather, until 5pm), those questions will come during my normal work day. I might get a chance to answer them, and I certainly will not resent them. It can be annoying to get an email at 11:47pm for an assignment which is due at midnight with the implication that if you do not reply in time you are impeding their learning.
2) I post the solutions after a two hour delay. This time frame makes it more feasible to push back the due date a few hours before the deadline if that really seems like a good idea. If the due time were, say, 3 am, this would not be as convenient.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: As a PhD candidate who has taught (as in was the primary lecturer, not just a TA) and recently taken classes I have a different opinion than to move assignments to an early time, e.g. 10PM. My solution for a programming intensive class that I taught was to make the assignments always due at 5AM on Saturday. I picked Saturday specifically because if they wanted to stay up late it would not affect attending class that day. My reasoning behind the 5AM time was that the time you make assignments due can actually relate to your late policy.
By making assignments due at 5AM on Saturday I could be very strict about late assignments. My late policy was simple: **it's late, it's a zero grade, no exceptions**. I had a script that would grab all the assignments at 5:02AM (okay so they got a 2 minute window) and that was the only thing I would look at. If they submitted at 5:04AM it was never graded. If a student would come back and complain that they just missed the deadline my response was simple:
*Look you had all night to work on the assignment and you obviously had to stay up extremely late which means you didn't budget your time well or you thought it would be so simple you could do it in a night. Both of those assumptions were wrong. I hope for the next assignment you do not make the same mistake.*
Finally, I had a draconian late policy (which might be a bit off topic to the question but is relevant to my answer) for a very simple reason. As a TA who has had to grade countless number of homework assignments, you spend probably about 25% to 50% of your time dealing with the 5% of the assignments that were late, either because you have to schedule a demo on a different day than the rest, or you have to go back to problems to see how you previously took points of for a (semi-)wrong answer, etc. This is a huge unnecessary drain on human resources and can greatly affect research progress. Now this usually doesn't matter if the assignment is just 5 minutes late but by having a strict late policy I avoided all the: "it was only a day late can I get partial credit", arguments and those assignments do add an unnecessary burden on grader/TA.
And as for how this policy works in practice. Per semester, I usually have only one student submit one assignment that is just barely late, say submitted after 5AM and before 5:30AM. The rest get a very clear picture.
I should add that this policy did result in [piazza](https://piazza.com/), which we used for class communication, exploding the night the assignment was due but I made it very clear to the students that after 9PM I was not answering any piazza or email questions. If they wanted to use piazza to ask each other questions that was fine but I did not participate.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_8: I think midnight is reasonable. I've been known to set certain cut off times with the same thing in mind. My students had to have their online workbooks done by 2:00 am when I started realizing some of them were working on them all night long the night before the test (traditionally due by the start of the test). Because our department policy was 50% late credit for those assignments, I would tell them to just stop at 2:00 and get sleep and take the test fully rested, and finish up their (now late) work the next day.
Back in the day, I'd tend to turn in papers at the last minute, but only because I wanted to have the maximum amount of "rest time" between writing it and doing a final check for those typos you can only find after removing yoursef a bit, so I'd caution against saying they're rushing the writing bit just because they turn it in at the last minute.
The only way you can address people trying to rush to finish an assignment is to have periodic due dates for particular elements of the paper. Not knowing your subject, you could do something like this (not necessarily in sequential days, of course):
* Day 1: general topic defined
* Day 2: preliminary bibliography
* Day 3: 25% ish written
* Day 4: 75% ish written
* Day 5: Completed copy
The first four days could just be checks (rather than graded) so as to not add to your workload.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: Got interested at the point "Moodle-type" (system); If possible, I would recommend keeping midnight and removing the "hard" deadline, i.e. people can still submit after the deadline, but will be highlighted (at least that's how it works in Moodle) and disable the assignment some time later (e.g. the next day), but state that submissions after the deadline will not be accepted.
Why?
* 5min off doesn't matter: you can overlook anyone who has a slow connection / forgot to check the clock on their "final sprint" / or whatever
* If someone submits way too late, you can either outright ignore the submission or reduce their points by some value / percentage (e.g. 10% per day)
* Midnight is feasible for some nights-but-not-overnights-action, so people "learn" there is a deadline, but still can act a litlle short-term-ish
There will be people deliberately abusing this, but in the end, they (could) end up with 0 points.
Seen & used this approach in a few courses (both as student and teacher) and had little to no problems with it.
Clarification Note: I also rarely started grading 1 or 2 days after the deadline, if you cannot afford such a time-frame, such a "tolerant" approach might not be suitable.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: The system is flexible precisely for allowing that. For those 65% students sending in-the-hour, you can't know if they did it at 23:00 or if they had the assignment ready in their hard disk for a week, but didn't hand in until then.
I agree they are probably doing the work at 23:00, but a big point to take into account shall be their other *duties*. If yours was their only commitment, the graphic would probably change, but other subjects will be placing their own tasks, they may be practising sports, etc.
The main reason for delaying a task was having many other assignments due earlier. I should also note that if you open a task before it has been fully explained, it will actually deter from trying to complete it early, since you transmit the idea that "it can't be done yet".
I would keep the late hour, or perhaps even move it later (the 5 AM proposal is a good idea).
(Hint: Never place a deadline at day X at 00:00 but to day X-1 at 23:59, there's a big UI factor there)
Another option I initally liked was to place it at 7:59 the next day (just before the begin of the next day), but it has the drawback that you may delay the "final submit" when you wake up, and fail for a "computer error". OTOH, you may allow that way that they can hand it in manually to you the next day (or if your class is at 11:00, the deadline could be at 10:59, thus you can start the class asking for phisical submission of anyone that otherwise failed).
Another point to ids that you should allow, if supported by your platform, multiple "draft" uploads. Make clear that you won't be viewing them (until the deadline passes). Thus, you can submit the almost-ready work, and if there's a catastrophic failure after it gets the final revision, the draft would be considered final (you may eg. miss some spell-checking fixes).
A problem I identified is that as you are only allowed to submit once, you delay for the final version, even if it's almost ready, and then problems kick-in like "it takes too long to upload", "you included too many graphics in png, and the generated file is now over the size limit" (and you end up rushing to change all of them to jpeg). Limits which are not always clearly stated (eg. an email filesize limit, the webmail taking forever for accepting an upload...).
I would also accept that they commit a hash of their work in case they have some upload problem (although your students need to be a bit computer-savvy for that). [They provide before the deadline a hash of the file they are going to turn in, so there's no way they can provide a different file later, even if the upload fails at that point in time]
If you want to encourage early submission, I would provide bonus points for submitting early. Sending an automatic reminder to people who hasn't submitted yet may also improve the submission times (the right timing is very important here, though. The due date shouldn't be far away, and the email should be received at an , you are unlikely to remember at home -or in the weekend!- the email reminder received on Monday morning).
PS: There are cases where the students program meeting during a break previous to the class for doing the task, so I don't think it is right to consider that they take "more liberties with [online] deadlines than when they are handed in in a face-to-face situation".
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_11: While I admire your concern for the students, I feel that ultimately your endeavor is quixotic.
To be sure, I see nothing wrong with making your deadline be at 10 pm. It won't change anything, so you might as well. But I wouldn't expect it to have any notable effect, and I would be wary of the slippery slope that leads to you blaming yourself for the students' errors.
The reason I am so pessimistic is that I don't think procrastination and irregular sleep are caused by deadline timing (unless the work demanded is truly overwhelming, ~~but in college it never is~~). They are caused by poor personal discipline and bad habits acquired over many years leading up to the present. Regardless of what you do, the procrastinators will still invent ways to procrastinate, because the problem is rooted in their own behavior, not yours. You therefore cannot solve the problem by changing your behavior.
For instance, if you have the deadline at 10 pm, the procrastinator will drop everything that evening to work on your assignment and submit it around 10. Then he will still stay up doing the things he just postponed for the sake of your assignment. Because, recall, this person is not selectively procrastinating on your course only - they have also other courses that have deadlines. Even if all courses had the same early deadline policy, the students would still have their own errands with self-imposed deadlines at later times that they stay up for.
By the same logic that makes you consider 10 pm, we can explore other alternatives:
* 5 pm is a fair time, since it would presumably encourage students to concentrate their last ditch effort in the typical working day. However, there will also be students who have classes right up to the deadline that day, and if they procrastinate (as some certainly shall) they will now skip class to do the assignment, which is arguably worse than staying up!
* Noon is another time that sounds like a good idea. Being too early, you might expect that it will make students feel they have no choice but to start working on it early since the morning isn't nearly enough time, and if they can't finish it the night before they can safely go to bed, get some sleep, and finish in the morning. But realistically, the procrastinators who stay up late and hand it in at midnight now will just start working at 1 am and stay up all night to finish it.
* 9 am can be argued for as a realistic time - it's not like you will start grading at midnight, so there isn't *really* a point in requiring the assignment by midnight - instead of having the students rush their submission to a deadline just so it could sit in your mailbox for several hours, you could tell them to that you will start grading at 9 am and they should have it done by then. This makes the deadline less arbitrary, since there is now a clear logic to being required to meet it (ie. you will be delayed if they don't do their part). But of course you will again have the same problem of students staying up all night because they procrastinated.
For what it's worth, I think the midnight deadline came about as codification of an unspoken tradition. Often deadlines are given as days, without time - with this, there is always much controversy about what exactly counts as meeting an August 6 deadline: Does it have to be done at the beginning of Aug 6? Does it have to be before the instructor leaves the office? Does it have to be before the end of the day, ie. before you go to sleep? Well, what if you never go to sleep, can you squeeze out a few more hours and still "meet your Aug 6 deadline" by submitting at 3:14 am on [technically] Aug 7?
Even though informally "today" means "until I go to sleep", the convention is that the date changes at midnight, which is also reinforced by how computer clocks show the date. Hence, I think the midnight deadline came about as an extension of this - it's just a date delimiter.
As for the students, since you are concerned about how late they go to sleep, surely you will agree that planning ahead and not leaving everything to the last minute is an important skill to be learned as part of tertiary education. This, then, the students must learn on their own, you cannot help them by tinkering with deadlines, since indeed the deadline is not what is preventing their learning. In fact, one could argue that you should maximize the negative reinforcement, and set the deadline at the worst possible time - say 6 am: The more misery you inflict on the procrastinators, the better they will appreciate how important it is to learn discipline, and the sooner they will take steps to unlearn their bad habits.
Granted, I'm not seriously suggesting you do the above, since it seems like it could go horribly wrong. Realistically, I could instead suggest the following:
* Set your deadline at some reasonable, early time such as noon.
* Secretly (ie. do not tell this part to the students) have the "real deadline" (for instance, the one you lose points for missing) be quite a bit later, say 5 pm.
* In class, say that it is very important they not miss the deadline even by a minute (don't say why), and they should come talk to you if they feel they won't make it.
* When they inevitably come asking for more time, be liberal with the extensions, but not before making them explain why they were late and lecturing them on the importance of planning ahead. When giving the extension, explain that they absolutely cannot miss the extended deadline, because then you would not be able to meet your own deadline for grading (whether true or not).
* If anyone misses the noon deadline (but not the 5 pm deadline), confront them about it to discourage submitting late without asking for an extension (which allows bypassing the social discomfort of asking for more time).
With this, you might create something like a low stakes environment (you don't lose massive points just for being a few minutes late) while still creating a fair amount of social pressure to increase the likelihood of a lightbulb appearing and the student thinking, "Hey, Dr. Ward is very nice and reasonable about deadlines and everything, but maybe it's worth for me to try to stop leaving everything to the last minute?". Furthermore, if you force them into an explicit discussion about their procrastination, they have an opportunity to ask you for advice on how to plan their work.
But all of this requires quite a bit of effort from you (much more than just replacing "midnight" with "10 pm" on your syllabus). So if you are not willing to commit the energy, there isn't really much that can be achieved with quick fixes.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_12: You could also consider setting two deadlines: one deadline for an initial submission, and a second deadline for the final submission. More students might submit the final version shortly after the second deadline, since they would have received a reward: *I already completed that much of it*.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_13: Personally, from my experience as a student, I think midnight is a good deadline. Many students have jobs and other obligations and a midnight deadline gives them time to come home from work, have dinner and unwind and then spend a few hours double checking the assignment before they hand it in.
Moving the deadline to 10pm may not give enough time to students who work.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_14: >
> Without getting into considerations on whether students should plan better [...] would changing deadline times from midnight to, for example, 10 p.m. be a good move from the standpoint of their getting enough sleep.
>
>
>
Most likely, yes, students on average would get more sleep. I was TAing a class last term (a computer science class for 4th-year undergraduate students in college), the weekly assignment deadline was 10 AM on Sunday. Here is the typical submission time cumulative distribution we would get:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/X5lsg.png)
As we discussed with the professor when to set the deadline, we simply based our decision on when the assignments would be graded, and left students freedom to organize their schedule. While some need to sleep early, others prefer to work at night.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_15: I don't think you should be choosing between 10pm and midnight at all; deadlines should not be in the middle of the night, or the small hours of the morning, or at the weekends or... any time outside a standard working day.
Students are not just at university to get grades; they are also preparing for the rest of their lives in employment and society at large. Also, on the whole, university is not a hobby, it is a full-time job. The messages I'm hearing from your question (and some of the answers) is that it is reasonable to expect to not complete your work until the middle of the night, that it is reasonable to expect others to continue working long after they should have gone home, and that expectations should be adjusted to fit your personal preferences. The last of these will not be true when they start being paid. The other two I personally think are negatively affecting our society. I've become aware of a battle quietly raging over whether it is acceptable to not work overnight, at the weekend and while on holiday.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_16: Submission time may or may not have anything to do with when a student STARTS the assignment, so even the students turning it in at the last minute may not be under pressure.
As long as you give reasonable deadlines and clearly post them to avoid "gotcha" situations, any deadline you give is certainly fair.
Personally, I usually base deadlines on my needs, but make every effort to give the students the most time I can without creating a burdensome situation for myself or my TAs. For example, if I'd like the TAs to be grading over the weekend, I'll usually make the due date late Friday PM. This way, the TAs have time to assemble their weekend work, and if there are students (actually, teams in my case) that need to be tracked down because there was a problem with the submission, there's still time to do it without impacting the work flow.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_17: I recommend that you set the deadline to the time that makes the most sense for you. Arbitrarily setting it earlier or later has no effect on student's time management skills.
As an example, I used to set online homework deadlines to be one hour before the class in which we would go over them started. That way, students wouldn't be trying to work on them until the last minute and would be able to get to class on time. That wasn't out of concern for the students - it was for me. I didn't want to deal with "I was doing the homework" as an excuse, or even a temptation, for being late.
Likewise, setting the deadline earlier would have no benefit to me, and would be arbitrary. I don't know what is going on in my students lives, and giving them the maximum possible time to finish the assignment gives them the freedom to manage their time as they see fit.
The only time I deviated from these rules are when I wanted to make sure that multiple classes had the same amount of time to finish an assignment. In that case, it was still for my convenience, since I wanted to use the homework as an evaluation tool and keeping the length of time to work on it consistent helped with that.
If you think about it, the "real world" works this way too - deadlines are not typically set for the convenience or out of concern for the person doing the work. They are there because someone else (the person determining the deadline) needs the work done by a certain time, or something bad will happen.
That said, it is hard to imagine a situation where "at midnight" is a deadline that makes sense for either you or the students.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_18: Having implemented a 10 pm deadline, I think it works fine. I have two comments to make:
1. There is no "neutral" answer here. By selecting an hour you are necessarily **nudging** students in one direction. **We cannot get away with this**. I suggest you nudge them towards more sleep, also because of point 2.
2. I would be **very annoyed** if another professor puts a deadline that nudges students to have a short night before my class. Students might skip my lecture or be tired at it for working close to the deadline. As such, I think it is a good practice, for solidarity with other courses, to set an earlier rather than later deadline.
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/06
| 3,224
| 13,699
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<issue_start>username_0: TLDR: A student posted my lab assignment as a “project” on [Hackster.io](https://www.hackster.io/) and [Instructables](http://www.instructables.com/). His posts hide its origin as a lab assignment, in which a lot of the materials (texts, circuit diagram and similar) were *given* to the students. If you were a potential employer reading his posts,
* you would not know it was a lab assignment,
* you would think (falsely) that the author of the posts designed and implemented a major project that involved a significant amount of original work,
* you would think (falsely) that the author of the posts has a very good understanding of the subject matter and a very good ability to communicate his work in writing.
Should I say something to the student (who is not my student anymore)? If so, what? Should I take any further actions?
As an educator, I feel like it is my responsibility to help my students understand when they are misrepresenting their work, and/or failing to meet professional/academic standards and legal requirements with respect to attribution and copyright. I am not sure how to communicate this lesson without placing the student on the defensive.
---
### A student posted my lab assignment as a “project” on Hackster.io and Instructables
Last semester, I taught a graduate-level embedded systems course, for which I developed some new lab materials.
One lab assignment in particular was meant to make sure that all students gained some experience with putting together a project composed of multiple parts. For this lab exercise, I gave students a pre-constructed circuit on a breadboard, and a code base including functions for using each of the parts on this circuit. The students only had to implement the control flow of the program, using the functions I gave them.
I just noticed that one of my students has posted this lab assignment as a "project" on [Hackster.io](https://www.hackster.io/) and [Instructables](http://www.instructables.com/). His post is a near-verbatim copy of the written material I gave to students, including:
* A description of the hypothetical scenario I presented to motivate the lab:
>
> You have just been hired at a company that does X. You have been tasked with...
>
>
>
He just changed it to read:
>
> We have just been hired...
>
>
>
* A **lot** of background reading material which I and my TAs wrote, including original graphics, explaining how each of the parts used in the lab work.
* [Fritzing](http://fritzing.org) diagram of the circuit (which I constructed).
* Tutorial-style instructions for the tasks involved.
In total, the student posted ≈2250 words of written material, and some images, all taken from my lab instructions.
### The student made minor changes to hide its origin as a class assignment
The changes he made were:
* Some changes to the text that appear to be mainly for the purpose of hiding the origin of the project. For example, where I wrote:
>
> This lab
>
>
>
He changed it to:
>
> This project
>
>
>
* He omitted the parts where I instructed students to write a unit test for each subsystem, instructions on what was provided already and what new code students were expected to write and submit, and how they were going to be graded.
* He added his own “main” source file, i.e. the thing he had to submit to me.
### I hold the copyright to the materials he posted
All of my lab materials for the course, including those written materials, are in a public repository on [Bitbucket](https://bitbucket.org).
Students were supposed to “fork” the repository in order to complete the lab, and were required to keep their fork private for the duration of the course. I didn't give any additional instructions regarding posting lab materials online.
The code in the repository is under an open source license that allows students to redistribute the code. (He didn’t actually post any of my code, though.)
The text material and graphics, which he *did* post, are not; I have not licensed those under any copyright licenses (like Creative Commons) that enable redistribution.
My university/school/department has no formal policy on posting coursework online. I didn’t say anything specific in the syllabus or give any other explicit instructions (besides for what I just noted above) about students posting course materials online.
### The source (my repository of lab materials) is not indexed by Google, so the student’s posts appear to be original material
Although my lab repository containing the material is public, Google doesn’t index its contents. So if you Google some of the text in these posts, it appears to be original.
### The only attribution is that the student mentioned me as having “inspired” the project
On Hackster.io, there is an “Additional Contributors” field, in which he wrote:
>
> Designing the lab that inspired this project by ff524
>
>
>
### Question: How should I address this?
Should I say something to the student (who is not my student anymore)? If so, what? Should I take any further actions?<issue_comment>username_1: It seems to me that there are two orthogonal aspects to this:
1. Copyright
2. Attribution
Either of these would in my eyes justify talking to the student and/or to the websites he posted at.
Re 1, you will need to decide by yourself whether you want to stick with a narrow interpretation of your copyright. If you don't explicitly allow dissemination, then the student has no business disseminating your work, period. Slight changes to wording don't make this more ethical or more legal. Of course, you can just let it slide, but I'd argue it would be good if you explained this to the student as a "teaching moment" and required him to take the material down. If he does not comply within a reasonable time frame, I would recommend that you talk to the websites.
Re 2: I find it *much* more serious that the student does not even properly attribute the work to you. What could be his motivation for doing so? After all, he could just as well put your name prominently on the materials (which would still violate your copyright, which is why I consider these two issues orthogonal to each other). The only motivation that comes to my mind is that he explicitly wanted to pass the work off as his own. Will he put this on his CV as an "example" of his portfolio? He shouldn't do that, and he shouldn't get away with this. Again, I'd recommend that you talk to him and to the website, if he doesn't take the material offline.
In addition, I'd say that this second issue would certainly warrant at least discussing possible disciplinary consequences with him, depending on what possibilities your university offers. This is certainly comparable to straightforward plagiarism - he didn't do it to get a better grade, but quite probably to show off somebody else's work as his in a non-academic context. I'd say that the sanctions your student code spells out for plagiarism would be a good starting point for holding a discussion with this student.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In the current discussion there seems to be a somewhat of an agreement that the student maliciously misattributed your work to oversell his own contributions. Based on the information given that seems far from obvious to me (you know, "*never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence*"). Yes, it is certainly weird that he uploads your code and design without saying that he only did (small) parts of the entire solution. *However*, it is entirely possible that the student really did not think about this at the time, *especially* given that your code is actually open source and redistributable. Your figures are not, and even for your code the student clearly needed to attribute you, but those points are actually quite subtle and it seems entirely possible to me that the students simply is not aware of that.
>
> Question: How should I address this?
>
>
> Should I say something to the student (who is not my student anymore)? If so, what? Should I take any further actions?
>
>
>
Yes, definitely, but unless there are strong indications to the contrary, I would keep all discussion under the assumption that the student just made a silly mistake and will be willing to fix it.
In the first instance, I would just send the student a mail and tell him that you stumbled over his upload and are dissatisfied with his attribution of your work. Tell him that you expect him to make obvious which parts are your copyright, and which parts are his own work (e.g., via headers in the source files, as customary). If you don't want your images to be part of the upload at all, tell him to remove them entirely.
Should he decide to ignore this request, what you can do next really depends on how important this is to you. Roughly in order of level of escalation, you can either let it go, keep pestering him per mail, talk sternly to him in person, send a mail to the platform and make them take it down, or contact the dean of studies (or whoever is in charge with student ethics in your institution). I would definitely not do the last, but all previous reactions are perfectly suitable.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: It's quite possible that the student enjoyed your project and wants to share it with the world. Perhaps talk to them in person and use phrases such as
>
> I'm glad you enjoyed last semester's project, I noticed you put it online. It's great to see you're sharing knowledge but just note that this is actually plagiarism if you don't cite the work you copied. Could you please cite the work and any future work. I'm happy to let this go today but in future it might make things difficult for you.
>
>
>
Perhaps also point out that he really should have sought your permission.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: There are two possibilities here, if you are concerned about maintaining control over your Intellectual Property. 1) Ask the student to attribute it, or 2) Ask the student to take it down. Personally, I would ask the student to take it down, and if it doesn't happen, I'd ask the university powers-that-be to start sending out take-down notices to the relevant sites.
Without worrying about how to be nice about doing this (which you should certainly try to do, as there's no reason not to), this is educational material that you probably worked hard to develop. You attained an experience level and knowledge base that allowed you to do it. The choice to make it available to the rest of the world at no cost belongs to you, and not to your student, and it carries the risk of devaluing your expertise.
As an aside, our new Academic Honesty policy specifically defined such behavior as academic dishonesty, whether properly attributed or not.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: My answer assumes that you did not attach any kind of license or copyright notice to your repository.
---
I have a feeling that this student has misunderstood your repo being *public* for being *open source*. It would be best to take a deep breath and explain the difference to this student. Not many people realize that a repository without a license defaults to standard copyright law. (i.e. You, the author, reserves all rights.)
So first, add a proper copyright notice to the repository to prevent this from happening again. Then go *calmly* explain to your student what it means when there is no license in a repository. I guarantee you this was an honest (and actually very common) mistake.
Step back and consider that it's very likely this student thought this was open source material and (I'm assuming) no license displayed detailing how the material could or couldn't be used. It's an open source world for these kids. Without a notice saying the author must be attributed, they likely didn't know any better. You're a teacher, so use the opportunity to teach.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: I recommend you take decisive action. Clarify in your mind who the intellectual property belongs to. Does it belong to you, your employer, your other contributors?
Once this is reasonably clear then take action accordingly. If the material belongs to you and you alone, I don't have much advice. But I do empathize with you.
If the work belongs at least in part to your employer or to other contributors, you might be required by law or by the rules of your institution to do something more specific.
If you do nothing else, start by going to Hackers.IO and Instructables and read their terms of use policies. If you believe your student has violated the terms of use of these sites, then I strongly encourage you to report your concern to them. This is your basic due diligence.
Check with your attorney or another member of faculty that you trust to help figure out what to do next. Not handling this sort of issue carefully could create a bad situation down the line. "How did our labs get into this guy's book? Now he's suing us!? And you knew about this??!! Why didn't you do anything about this back in 2015?" I hope this is not the middle of the night as you are reading this, but, these things can get bad. Just do your due diligence.
As for the student? Not sure. At the very least, he should have asked your permission to share it or adapt your work. His/hers was a bad, bad choice. Unfortunately, not a lot of win/win options that I can think of for dealing with this.
I would say get the sites to take the content down, figure out your due diligence regarding your institution, then deal with the student on whatever terms and using whatever options are left to you.
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/06
| 896
| 3,951
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<issue_start>username_0: I am finishing my PhD and strongly considering changing my field (Artificial intelligence in computer games) to a very weakly related field (Bioinformatics). The nice part is that I got a very interesting job offer at a Bioinformatics lab, starting next spring, and I will very likely take it. So my question is a bit different than those "How difficult/common it is to change fields". Since I have no publications in the new field, I will - for quite a while - have to fill my CV with publications from the old field. I would like to know how much do those older publications count in the new field, specifically:
1. How valuable are publications in a different field when asking for grants (especially EU H2020 and similar)?
2. Should I be forced to look for a different job after spending a while in the new field, how valuable are the older publications in my job application?
The thing is that I need to optimize the effort I give to my thesis and related publications in the forthcoming months versus preparing (reading literature...) for the new field.
I am speaking about 2-3 very good conference articles, 1-2 reasonably good journal articles and a book chapter (work in progress research included). So far very few citations, but all of the good stuff has been published in the last year or still in progress, so I hope to get some non-negligible citation counts.
I am in Europe (and do not expect to move).<issue_comment>username_1: I've had a somewhat similar experience, having done my Ph.D. in artificial intelligence / cognitive modeling and then later abandoning that area as I have moved into synthetic biology (my other line of research remained consistent, but that's a different story).
The good news is that you're at a perfect time in your career to make a field transition, and that a postdoc or two is the recommended way of doing so. The bad news is that your prior publications count for pretty much *nothing* in the new field, and that this is further compounded by the fact that conference publications generally do not count in biomedical fields, only journals.
The reason that your prior publications don't count is simply that they are mostly not relevant evidence of what you can accomplish in the new field. They *are* evidence of your fundamental technical skills, and since many of those are transferrable, that has no doubt helped with your current job applications. A funding agency, however, will generally want a PI with a clear track record of accomplishment, particularly for highly competitive programs like [Horizon 2020](http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/) (there's likely no problem including you as key personnel for your skills, though). Likewise, after you've been in the field for a 2-3 years, people will expect you to start having some good journal publications in the new field, and it is these that you will be evaluated on in applying for future jobs, much more than your prior AI work.
Right now, then, the thing to do is buckle down and do good work, which can then fill up the future publication queue. Making a transition is hard, but can be very rewarding, and all you likely need is a few solid mid-tier journal publications or one really high impact publication and you can bootstrap yourself nicely into your new chosen direction.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This effect of only very weakly related publications is very unstable and largely depends on the personality of the professor, covering the full scale of
* This person can bring a new competence in
* This person is competent but I do not see what he could do with us
* These are strange people; I need a candidate with the straight CV.
All three points of view may be or may not be true and I have heard all three opinions in more or less random proportions. This just means you will need to write more applications, otherwise seems not a problem.
Upvotes: 1
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2015/08/06
| 804
| 3,249
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a maths student who did his BSc at a top 10 university in England and got solid first.
After this, I decided to go to Cambridge to do Part III of the Mathematical tripos (a Masters). This was a HUGE step up for me and I felt like a fish out of water. It didn't help that I had personal problems going on in my life around the time of exams, and this ended up having an effect on my results: I got a pass grade.
The next step for me is a PhD and I have already been admitted to a program. My worry is that I don't feel I am good enough to do this. Yes, I got the place but it seems that everyone else I know who's doing a PhD ended up getting a distinction in their masters.
My question is this: how much does the Masters grade matter for fellow PhD students and supervisors? Are students with 'only' a pass looked down upon?<issue_comment>username_1: I am a former 'pass' Part III student. I am going to be blunt here, as I feel emotionally attached to your case and I know why you may feel frustrated (it may be due to the typical atmosphere that part III students are supplied). Part III is just a course that people want to show-off in their CVs (only one final exam at the end of the year, busy professors, for no particular reason unhealthily competitive students). Nobody has ever asked me what my grades were in Part III. Never. I am a Ph.D., did postdocs and am finalizing a good academic job.
All that matters is your hard work in your research. Forget about the scores in Part III. If research is what you want to do in the coming years, just do it without thinking about part III results. You may end up proving that the Part III degree doesn't make any difference in anyone's life for better or worse!
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In short: no your master's grade won't matter much, but your love of the subject does. Since you got admitted to a PhD course it means you passed the evaluation criteria of the academic institution involved and you should be proud of it! Whether you think you have what it takes, you'll find that in the process. This wasn't just given to you, you earned it!
I had a pass in my BSc degree (Comp Sci) due to low marks at my final exams (my project scores were much better) and maybe due to other personal issues of my own back then, and had thought that was going to cause me trouble for the rest of my life! Thankfully I got into an MSc course and then onto a PhD. I became better over the years and graduated from my PhD.
Let me give you this advice: big name universities (or grades) don't necessarily mean a thing! The quality of the students and their research make the uni, not the name. If you think you are not up to standards you can only become better in time through your PhD research. Many people drop out cause they feel bored or lose interest or want to find a job and earn money. I got involved with things I thought I'd never touch (maths, statistics, user evaluations, etc) and a new world outside of programming opened up to me. You should feel excited and show this excitement so your professors and lecturers start to see potential in you. This will carry you farther in your career.
Congratulations! Carry on!
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/07
| 1,646
| 7,149
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<issue_start>username_0: Should I mail the professor? Should I meet him in person? I am a MS student in CS who wishes to take a graduate level course in Statistics department. The course is Machine Learning and I did cover most of the prerequisite course's content in multiple undergraduate courses so I want him to waive the requirement. I have budget for only 10 courses and wish to complete this degree in 2 years. Taking these prerequisite course would mean that I cannot take other courses that interest me.
The other reason I wish to have the requirement waived is because the prerequisite course itself is a statistics department course which also has prerequisite statistic courses and my college only allows me to take 2 courses outside of our department.<issue_comment>username_1: It depends on the department. In some university that I know, you need to fill a form and submit it to the head of the department and submit some supportive documents like the course plan of the course that you previously did. Then the head of the department will look at your overall academic background and contact the professor. Then the professor will check if you really have done everything in that prerequisite course. If yes, he will sign the form to waive the prerequisite. If not, he will not do it. In other university, it works differently. So you should probably just go to ask the secretary of the department about how it works at your university. Or if it is easier for you, you may also ask the professor and he should generally be able to also explain that process to you.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Go in person. Tell him what you told us. Be prepared for a few quiz questions about your stats knowledge. Answer them correctly. You might not get any questions, but you should be able to describe, at the very least, what your prior classes were about.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Based on the class I teach which is a prerequisite:
Students would need to follow several steps:
1. They would have to tell the instructor of the prerequisite course that you believe you don't need to take the course because of x,y,z OR tell academic affairs (or the equivalent) and they will contact the instructor for you or give you their contact info
2. The student needs to fill out formal forms based on what they told the prerequisite instructor that will be reviewed by the prerequisite instructor, the students advisor, and the course that will be taken if this gets approved
3. If the forms are approved then the student will be given a test from the prerequisite course which if the student passes (I believe they need a B- or a B to pass this test). The instructor of the course to be taken will review the test to make sure you have enough knowledge the be able to take that course and not fall behind. For example: A student answered all questions about X correct but only 60% of questions about Y and 40 % of questions about Z and the course to be taken has a lot to do with Y and Z. Even though they passed the test with a B-/B for the prerequisite course the course to be taken relies on parts that the student didn't understand very well likely wended with a denial.
4. If the course to be taken instructor believes the student can take their course then that instructor has forms to fill out (forms I'm not familiar with) these forms allow the student to enroll in the course.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: Whichever you're more comfortable with would be fine.
If there's another step involved, such as communicating with a department head, filling out a form, etc., the professor should be able to point you in the right direction.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: I doubt it matters whether you hold the discussion via e-mail or in person. Instead, the important thing is to give convincing arguments. You mention three issues: you already know most of the prerequisites, you don't have time to take those courses, and you can't receive credit for so many courses outside of your department. I'd recommend focusing on the first issue, and mentioning the others just briefly, if at all. There's no need to emphasize the fact that it would be inconvenient to take the prerequisite courses (that's implicit in the fact that you are asking to skip them), and it's not really relevant to the question of whether you are well prepared for this more advanced class (even if the prerequisites are terribly inconvenient, you might genuinely need them).
The two key pieces of information are how much you already know and whether you are able and willing to put in extra work catching up if you discover gaps in your background. If you can address these points convincingly, then there should be no problem.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: In my case when I did my post graduate, I emailed to professor describing why and how I already have the knowledge that is taught in pre-requisite subject (maybe I have already done it somewhere, maybe I have real experience in that field or maybe there is something else that proves I have that knowledge).
And most of the time they were happy to waive it.
But until you apply, you'll have butterflies in your stomach and think that you are only one who is in the class with a waiver, but in most of the cases, after some interactions with other students, you will come to know many students are in with a waiver. So, be confident and just write an email.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: Ask your academic adviser if there is a preferred protocol at your college. Helping you with this type of issue is your adviser's job. If your adviser isn't very helpful or is difficult to work with, you can contact the professor directly. Personally, I would ask the professor in-person during office hours, but email or a phone call should be fine too.
When I was in college my academic adviser knew many courses for which the prerequisites were unnecessary, and it seemed as though the prerequisites for those courses were only required if you were majoring in that field, not if you were taking those courses as electives.
I didn't take any of the prerequisites for any of my 200- and 300-level psychology/sociology courses, or for my 300- and 400-level philosophy courses, and I did fine in all of them. At no point did I feel as though I had missed out on critical background information that would have been provided by one of the prerequisite courses.
The only time that I really messed up was when I registered for an animal science class as a fun elective, without realizing I had signed up for the advanced section instead of the beginner section. The beginner section was just horseback riding, but the advanced section also involved learning more advanced riding techniques and training horses. I was the only person who couldn't even begin to process the phrase, "go catch a horse and meet me in the stable." When I realized my mistake the first day and informed the instructor, she was very kind and let me stay in the advanced section, and made certain I received a little extra help when I needed it in the beginning.
Upvotes: 1
|
2015/08/07
| 570
| 2,354
|
<issue_start>username_0: A student I had emailed me to ask about working in the industry-because I have years of experience in it-after they finish school and how their past may affect how an employer will react to them. To paraphrase the email:
"I'm afraid that even though my grades put my at the top of my class that a simple search online about me will have some risky results"
"I used to work in the adult pornography industry and when you look up my name on a google search this becomes VERY apparent."
"If this is an issue how can I talk to an employer about this without eliminating all chances of my gaining the job?"
I want to give them an honest response but I don't want to step over bounds and get in trouble myself. What's the best way to approach this email?<issue_comment>username_1: If you want to be completely safe, I would answer something along the lines of: "This is outside my area of expertise. I recommend that you consult the career center on campus (insert contact information to career center)".
If, however, you want to actually give them advice, I would give it in a very neutral manner, where you could substitute every mention of "adult videos" by "video of student kicking a puppy" (or other potentially career damaging Google result). If you keep it on that very professional, neutral level, it *shouldn't* get you in trouble (note: I'm not a lawyer). Write your response, and then try the "puppy kicking test". If the email still makes sense, you're *probably* (again, I'm not a lawyer) safe.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You could propose to have a talk in person, rather than respond on the matter by email. In that way you stay away from creating a paper (email) trail that could be turned against you while you are only trying to help.
As indicated in the comment by @aparente001: Have a third person who can be trusted by you and the student present in the meeting (mention that in the email to prevent the student being surprised). Try to be diplomatic in the conversation.
By the way, a practical approach (which you do not need to pass on if you do not agree) is to use (slightly) different name in the application letter and cv, if that is legal in your country. The student can then reveal his/her real name when invited to an interview, and explain the situation.
Upvotes: 1
|
2015/08/07
| 2,460
| 10,399
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<issue_start>username_0: **Does anyone know any good, effective tool that people use to synthesize large amount of information from research?**
*By "tool" I am referring to softwares or practices that effective researchers use to:*
**1. retain/recall large amount of research information,**
**2. progress quickly into a completely new field,**
**3. find parallels between different concepts and fields**
At the moment, I am basically going through papers one page at a time at a time, jogging down the keywords, trying my best to understand their derivation and result before proceeding to the next.
There are several flaws with my current methodology.
* I write everything on paper, and paper pile up plus it is exhausting to write things down by hand
* I tend to lose track of prior results as I progress deeper into a subject, I would like some sort of review.
* I keep coming back to the same concept but only defined in slightly different contexts
* I keep all the papers I find in one spot but have no way to reference them using any other tools, this means in a
few month I will have to trace back to the authors who wrote this or
that
I would like something to help me become more effective at quickly gather new information but at the moment I am hesitant to compile everything under the sun in a Microsoft Word or type everything in Latex but if that is the state of the art in the research community then I will begin my research compilation today!
Don't hesitate to share your ideas :) I will place a bounty on this question<issue_comment>username_1: Interesting question.
While no software trumps the human brain at this this type of synthesis (so take your fish oil and keep your brain healthy!), I think that you may find that [Evernote](http://www.evernote.com) greatly aids in the task (and there are similar advanced note apps like Nevernote and OneNote which provide similar functionality). This is probably not a silver bullet and is best used within a larger ecosystem of research/study aids, such as a good citation manager like Zotero and a good information search portal like Google Scholar, Pub Med, DeepDyve, etc.
I recommend Evernote because it allows me to:
1. quickly compile information into notes (this goes with your #1)
2. see it's automatically generated suggestions of which prior notes are related to the one I'm creating or reading (this goes with your #3)
3. easily integrate information from other sources like webpages, documents, emails, etc (this goes with your #1)
4. save my notes locally and/or synchronize them across devices via "the cloud" (this goes with your #1)
5. encrypt sensitive information but optionally leave it unencrypted for the period of time that I'm logged in (this is nice, but not directly related to your 3 criteria, I suppose)
6. easily organize notes, notebooks and stacks of notebooks on the fly ((this goes with your #2, I think)
7. easily search all notes, any given notebook or stack of notes, or easily create/search based on tags
Note also that Endnote's free version is fully functional in every way that's relevant. They have a paid version that allows you to have more that 1 account on the machine, but no research-related tools are disabled in the free version.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I've become a great fan of Mendeley and tend to advocate it a lot - its a reference manager, but it also has a far more valuable property: manageable full text search in your entire library.
Yes, Adobe Reader can search through multiple documents but the output is horrendous with multiple windows and Adobe freezing (unless they fixed whatever caused it in their security settings...)
Mendeley: Search -> get a list, open documents in tabs.
*Effectively what it boils down to:*
* reference management
* library management
(I've not found something easier or more convenient than Mendeley - though I would really like an independent library free open source library management system on my Linux Home Server... - just haven't found anything that fits my taste yet - e.g. no Webserver needed, no database storage...)
*As to managing the output you produce:*
* Structure your information
If you have data files, use meaningful folders, use something organised and systematic, write up important information.
I tend to scribble a lot, later scan and dispose of the scribbles as they seldom are looked at again, but everybody works differently. Some people prefer to type up all information immediately, the advantage of that is that the document becomes searchable.
But most importantly: Anything that is important, write it up and **BACKUP**.
Ideally have a backup of everything, but most definitely have at least one or better multiple backups of your important data.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: For Qualitative [coding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coding_%28social_sciences%29) and [synthesizing](http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1886/3528) of information, there are number of [tools](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_qualitative_data_analysis_software) you can use (specifically addressing your concerns 1 & 3):
**[NVivo](http://www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo.aspx)**
>
> NVivo is a powerful workspace for your qualitative analysis and mixed
> methods research offering tools so you can deeply analyze your
> unstructured data.
>
>
>
**[Leximancer](http://info.leximancer.com/)**
>
> Leximancer automatically analyses your text documents to identify the
> high level concepts in your text documents, delivering the key ideas
> and actionable insights you need with powerful interactive
> visualisations and data exports.
>
>
>
There are many other tools, but the above two are fairly standard practice among PhD/Researchers. Also, needless to say, they will require significant investment of time (if not financial - given most universities will have institutional subscription) and quite a lot of practice in order to use them appropriately.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You might look at **[Docear](http://www.docear.org)**, which is a suite of tools centered on mind maps (tree-structured topic relationship charts). It doesn't completely address all your needs in an automated fashion. You would still need to establish a work flow and certain habits of organizing and reviewing your notes in order to build and maintain coherent "big picture". For example, you might create one mind map per academic article, and then create other mind maps centered on specific themes that link to the paper-centered maps.
For me, tree-structured mind maps were too restrictive. I tend to think in terms of concept graphs and/or argumentation graphs. Alas, there are no general purpose academic research tools featuring those types of structures and visualizations.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: You mention not wanting to "compile everything under the sun in a Microsoft Word or type everything in Latex", but I think doing something similar to this may be helpful.
Here's what I have started doing and it's been very helpful for me over the past year or so as I've been **learning a new field**:
I am a PhD student in biology and am an aspiring teuthologist (the study of octopuses, squids, cuttlefishes, etc.). I have started to jot down everything I want to remember from the papers I've read. Not every detail, but just the things I want to have in my working memory and **be able to recall in the future**.
The key for me is organization so that I don't just have endless bullet points, or paragraphs. I use LyX and break up my thoughts into Parts, Chapters, Sections, Subsections, Subsubsections, etc.
Everything I want to remember in my field has to have a place. If I learn something completely novel, I just create a new heading and file that thought in place. I'm writing it akin to a book or journal article, so every fact or idea has a reference where I got it from. I also screenshot good figures and add them.
Here's my table of contents as it currently stands to give you an idea of where I am about a year in:
[Table of Contents](https://www.dropbox.com/s/b3eezibttxl95at/toc.pdf?dl=0 "Table of Contents")
It sounds like you may be in mathematics so it may take some creativity to see a parallel.
What I find so helpful about this approach is:
* Each new bit of information I learn and want to remember fits into an **organized** framework.
* When I learn something new, I'm forced to think through how it fits into my existing knowledge framework when I decide where to write about it.
* Because it's broken down so finely, I can easily find information I want to brush up on and only read a paragraph or two to recollect all my past knowledge that has gotten fuzzy.
* Because it's written by me, my brain often slides back into the clarity I had when writing a particular section. Especially helpful when I'm looking back at a topic I haven't examined in awhile and everything is foggy.
* I've chosen what I want to remember so I am never filtering through irrelevant details.
* Everything has a reference attached, so if I want those details I know which paper to find them in.
* As I'm adding new information in a section, I'm forced to interact with relevant past knowledge, which helps integrate ideas and synthesize main concepts.
* If a colleague or future student wants to learn something quickly, I can give them this "Reader's Digest" version.
* I can create a section and leave it empty to remind myself I want to learn about that topic in the future
For full disclosure: the downsides
* Organization is required. You can't get too lazy and just throw info anywhere.
* Sometimes I have to put the same information in multiple places from different perspectives. e.g. if I learn about octopus brain physiology, then that info could go under the octopus biology heading with a subsection on brain physiology or under the brain physiology heading with a subsection on octopuses. Sometimes this is helpful though, because I see how the same info tells me something different from different perspectives.
Since this post is getting too long for anybody to bother reading, I think I'll stop it here. I hope someone else finds this method as helpful as I do! Plus maybe one day you will have a whole book written and you can publish it!
Upvotes: 1
|
2015/08/07
| 2,318
| 9,705
|
<issue_start>username_0: What penalties might be imposed for a postdoc taking the work of multiple graduate students (even from other institutions) and passing it off as his own without even providing an acknowledgment of their effort?
I understand that in cases where this is suspected, an email is sent out to the journal editor presenting evidence (e.g., lab notebooks, prior conference presentations, etc.).
But graduate students don't have much say-power. Even if they provide ample evidence, this is still possibly not enough because of the academic ladder and the seniority of the postdoc/PI involved. I just don't see an editor stepping in for a graduate student(s). It sounds ridiculous.
At the end of the day, what are the possible penalties/sanctions for such a practice (besides for the proverbially useless and mild "slap on the wrist")?<issue_comment>username_1: Interesting question.
While no software trumps the human brain at this this type of synthesis (so take your fish oil and keep your brain healthy!), I think that you may find that [Evernote](http://www.evernote.com) greatly aids in the task (and there are similar advanced note apps like Nevernote and OneNote which provide similar functionality). This is probably not a silver bullet and is best used within a larger ecosystem of research/study aids, such as a good citation manager like Zotero and a good information search portal like Google Scholar, Pub Med, DeepDyve, etc.
I recommend Evernote because it allows me to:
1. quickly compile information into notes (this goes with your #1)
2. see it's automatically generated suggestions of which prior notes are related to the one I'm creating or reading (this goes with your #3)
3. easily integrate information from other sources like webpages, documents, emails, etc (this goes with your #1)
4. save my notes locally and/or synchronize them across devices via "the cloud" (this goes with your #1)
5. encrypt sensitive information but optionally leave it unencrypted for the period of time that I'm logged in (this is nice, but not directly related to your 3 criteria, I suppose)
6. easily organize notes, notebooks and stacks of notebooks on the fly ((this goes with your #2, I think)
7. easily search all notes, any given notebook or stack of notes, or easily create/search based on tags
Note also that Endnote's free version is fully functional in every way that's relevant. They have a paid version that allows you to have more that 1 account on the machine, but no research-related tools are disabled in the free version.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I've become a great fan of Mendeley and tend to advocate it a lot - its a reference manager, but it also has a far more valuable property: manageable full text search in your entire library.
Yes, Adobe Reader can search through multiple documents but the output is horrendous with multiple windows and Adobe freezing (unless they fixed whatever caused it in their security settings...)
Mendeley: Search -> get a list, open documents in tabs.
*Effectively what it boils down to:*
* reference management
* library management
(I've not found something easier or more convenient than Mendeley - though I would really like an independent library free open source library management system on my Linux Home Server... - just haven't found anything that fits my taste yet - e.g. no Webserver needed, no database storage...)
*As to managing the output you produce:*
* Structure your information
If you have data files, use meaningful folders, use something organised and systematic, write up important information.
I tend to scribble a lot, later scan and dispose of the scribbles as they seldom are looked at again, but everybody works differently. Some people prefer to type up all information immediately, the advantage of that is that the document becomes searchable.
But most importantly: Anything that is important, write it up and **BACKUP**.
Ideally have a backup of everything, but most definitely have at least one or better multiple backups of your important data.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: For Qualitative [coding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coding_%28social_sciences%29) and [synthesizing](http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1886/3528) of information, there are number of [tools](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_qualitative_data_analysis_software) you can use (specifically addressing your concerns 1 & 3):
**[NVivo](http://www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo.aspx)**
>
> NVivo is a powerful workspace for your qualitative analysis and mixed
> methods research offering tools so you can deeply analyze your
> unstructured data.
>
>
>
**[Leximancer](http://info.leximancer.com/)**
>
> Leximancer automatically analyses your text documents to identify the
> high level concepts in your text documents, delivering the key ideas
> and actionable insights you need with powerful interactive
> visualisations and data exports.
>
>
>
There are many other tools, but the above two are fairly standard practice among PhD/Researchers. Also, needless to say, they will require significant investment of time (if not financial - given most universities will have institutional subscription) and quite a lot of practice in order to use them appropriately.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You might look at **[Docear](http://www.docear.org)**, which is a suite of tools centered on mind maps (tree-structured topic relationship charts). It doesn't completely address all your needs in an automated fashion. You would still need to establish a work flow and certain habits of organizing and reviewing your notes in order to build and maintain coherent "big picture". For example, you might create one mind map per academic article, and then create other mind maps centered on specific themes that link to the paper-centered maps.
For me, tree-structured mind maps were too restrictive. I tend to think in terms of concept graphs and/or argumentation graphs. Alas, there are no general purpose academic research tools featuring those types of structures and visualizations.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: You mention not wanting to "compile everything under the sun in a Microsoft Word or type everything in Latex", but I think doing something similar to this may be helpful.
Here's what I have started doing and it's been very helpful for me over the past year or so as I've been **learning a new field**:
I am a PhD student in biology and am an aspiring teuthologist (the study of octopuses, squids, cuttlefishes, etc.). I have started to jot down everything I want to remember from the papers I've read. Not every detail, but just the things I want to have in my working memory and **be able to recall in the future**.
The key for me is organization so that I don't just have endless bullet points, or paragraphs. I use LyX and break up my thoughts into Parts, Chapters, Sections, Subsections, Subsubsections, etc.
Everything I want to remember in my field has to have a place. If I learn something completely novel, I just create a new heading and file that thought in place. I'm writing it akin to a book or journal article, so every fact or idea has a reference where I got it from. I also screenshot good figures and add them.
Here's my table of contents as it currently stands to give you an idea of where I am about a year in:
[Table of Contents](https://www.dropbox.com/s/b3eezibttxl95at/toc.pdf?dl=0 "Table of Contents")
It sounds like you may be in mathematics so it may take some creativity to see a parallel.
What I find so helpful about this approach is:
* Each new bit of information I learn and want to remember fits into an **organized** framework.
* When I learn something new, I'm forced to think through how it fits into my existing knowledge framework when I decide where to write about it.
* Because it's broken down so finely, I can easily find information I want to brush up on and only read a paragraph or two to recollect all my past knowledge that has gotten fuzzy.
* Because it's written by me, my brain often slides back into the clarity I had when writing a particular section. Especially helpful when I'm looking back at a topic I haven't examined in awhile and everything is foggy.
* I've chosen what I want to remember so I am never filtering through irrelevant details.
* Everything has a reference attached, so if I want those details I know which paper to find them in.
* As I'm adding new information in a section, I'm forced to interact with relevant past knowledge, which helps integrate ideas and synthesize main concepts.
* If a colleague or future student wants to learn something quickly, I can give them this "Reader's Digest" version.
* I can create a section and leave it empty to remind myself I want to learn about that topic in the future
For full disclosure: the downsides
* Organization is required. You can't get too lazy and just throw info anywhere.
* Sometimes I have to put the same information in multiple places from different perspectives. e.g. if I learn about octopus brain physiology, then that info could go under the octopus biology heading with a subsection on brain physiology or under the brain physiology heading with a subsection on octopuses. Sometimes this is helpful though, because I see how the same info tells me something different from different perspectives.
Since this post is getting too long for anybody to bother reading, I think I'll stop it here. I hope someone else finds this method as helpful as I do! Plus maybe one day you will have a whole book written and you can publish it!
Upvotes: 1
|
2015/08/07
| 1,679
| 6,530
|
<issue_start>username_0: I'm an enthusiastic contributor to one or two sites that help learners of English. I've noticed a problem that crops up again and again.
Many non-native speakers of English make efforts to disguise a quotation that they haven't understood when asking for help with its meaning.
I suspect this is because they have had it drilled into them that plagiarism is a deadly sin (which it is of course).
What they don't appear to realise is that a correct quotation with a proper attribution to the original author is good practice.
Perhaps none of this would matter but for the fact that their attempt to rewrite a sentence that they already don't understand, usually ends up so mangled as to be incomprehensible. (I don't want to single anyone out but if it's vital to the discussion I could provide a link to such a question)
In my experience this practice is common amongst students of whatever discipline who haven't understood a particular phrase when reading a text-book or academic paper.
**Question**
I can't imagine I'm the only one to have noticed this. Is it a phenomenon that is recognised by teachers in general? If so what do you do about it? Better still, is there a way to propagate the distinction between copying and quoting so that teachers world-wide are not misleading their students?
---
**Example**
I have invented an example for the sake of clarity.
>
> The student submits the following question to English Language Stack
> Exchange:
>
>
> **How can I use the expression "distant type"?**
>
>
> I saw a friend write the sentence, "X got bigger because of distant type Y"
>
>
> What does this mean? How can I use it?
>
>
>
On investigation it turns out that the original was
>
> "... obtained results suggesting a totally unexpected acceleration in
> the expansion of the universe by using distant type Ia supernovae as
> standard candles..."
>
>
> [Accelerating universe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerating_universe)
>
>
>
If you think this example is exaggerated, I can assure you it is not. I see this sort of thing all the time.
---
>
> NOTE
>
>
> I raised this issue on English Language Meta. The difference is that
> there I was explicitly asking about ways to deal with the phenomenon on Stack Exchange. Here I am asking if there is a solution (or even a problem) with regard to academic students when pursuing formal courses. I see this as sufficiently different to justify both questions.
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: I think that when being taught about plagiarism (and that it should be avoided), students should also learn how to cite and how to quote.
They should learn
* how to quote a sentence or two
* how to quote a block text
* how to paraphrase
* how to cite a reference
By the way, paraphrasing does not lift the obligation to cite the source of the original text.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I can't imagine I'm the only one to have noticed this.
>
>
>
You're not alone, bro. I'm an enthusiastic contributor to a technical forum (about electronics, physics and maths) and I observe this phenomenon for every single question which refers to a book, article, webpage etc. of whatever subject. Moreover, when asked to provide a reference, most users seem unable to provide a complete reference (questions come frequently from university students at the undergraduate level and the misbehaviour is common also between the more experienced ones).
>
> is there a way to propagate the distinction between copying and quoting so that teachers world-wide are not misleading their students?
>
>
>
Your question makes two tacit assumptions which are not generally true. The first assumption is that students all over the world receive a sound and complete education on how to write an essay (and about plagiarism); the second is that students are able to recognize that many rules that apply to a long piece of writing also apply to short writings like questions asked on the internet.
In other words: you think that the problem lies in the distinction between copying and quoting, but I think that the problem is actually much deeper and tougher, that is, there is more to do from the teachers around the world.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Since posing the question I've found a related one that I think may provide a partial explanation.
[Can authors from certain origins really not know about the gravity of plagiarism?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/47584/can-authors-from-certain-origins-really-not-know-about-the-gravity-of-plagiarism)
The paragraph from there that caught my eye was this:
>
> In some traditional cultures in Asia and the Middle East, for example, college students are expected to quote or paraphrase the best known political or religious authorities without attribution because readers, especially professors, are expected to know what texts are being circulated. Indeed, it might be a serious insult to the teacher if the student writer formally cites the text being borrowed.
>
>
> [Cultural Perspectives on Plagiarism](http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/library-instruction/plagiarism/cultural-perspectives)
>
>
>
I have to say, I've noticed that the problem I have been describing tends to come from people of Asian origin. I hesitated to voice that as I wondered if there was any statistical reality to my observation.
My answer now is that it's likely a case of culture clash. Maybe it will sort itself out eventually.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I must agree with chasly.
I have come from the backgrounds of monastic education in Burma. They have a very different perspective on plagiarism. For these people, quoting an authority on the subject matter is for the sake of learned readers who will not believe an author on his or her own words. Therefore:
1) Even though the quoted text is in Pali, an ancient Buddhist language, translations are usually not provided. For, if you are a learned reader, you are expected to already know Pali.
2) The text is quoted only by title, or sometimes with the chapter title, but page numbers are never given. It means: if you are not learned enough to find out the quoted text on your own, you are not qualified to question the author's words.
See also the pages (611-617) of the following paper [Intellectual Property in Early Buddhism](http://blogs.dickinson.edu/buddhistethics/files/2012/10/Pandita-Intellectual-Property-final.pdf).
Upvotes: 3
|
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| 476
| 2,063
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<issue_start>username_0: While writing a review article as an undergraduate student, can I directly copy some information from another article or book? Or should I summarize it in my own words to illustrate a topic?<issue_comment>username_1: You can find guides on the internet on how to quote and cite in a scientific paper. For example, this guide by <NAME>:
<http://tim.thorpeallen.net/Courses/Reference/Citations.html>
**DRTL** Always make sure you refer to the sources you have used, regardless whether you verbatim copying or paraphrasing. When verbatim copying, make sure that this is apparent, e.g. by using quotation marks.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: In most fields verbatim copying of sources is frowned upon. You should usually paraphrase what you need to convey and adapt it to the flow of ideas in your *own* publication.
And of course, you need to properly attribute any material you took from any source - paraphrasing does not absolve you from the duty of proper attribution. Your university will likely offer some guidance on proper citation and attribution, and there are lots of textbooks on academic writing that cover this.
---
So, that's the general answer. I'd say that your situation of a review article specifically offers one added wrinkle.
A review article is supposed to condense and organize the state of the art on a particular topic. You will typically read, summarize and organize a large number of primary research articles to pull together the common strands along which you can build a coherent semantic structure. Review articles routinely have reference lists 100 or more entries long. (If this is an undergraduate project, your particular review article will likely not be that all-encompassing.)
Therefore: if you are even *tempted* to copy a whole passage out of one source for a review article, you can immediately deduce that you are likely going into too much detail for this one particular source. Take a big step back and concentrate on the larger picture again.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2015/08/07
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<issue_start>username_0: I have to send my doctoral dissertation to the members of my committee and I wonder how I should write the email. It is not a question of inviting them to be on the committee (they have already agreed with my advisor), but on how to tactfully send them the dissertation.
Besides, is there anything else I should send besides the dissertation and my CV?<issue_comment>username_1: If they've already agreed to be on the committee and all that, you don't need to say anything fancy. "Here is my dissertation, please let me know if you have any questions" will do just fine.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are obliged to send them the two documents, simply do so. Keep the cover letter as simple as possible. Just remember to address each of them separately, it looks better.
>
> Dear Prof. Smith,
>
>
> I'm sending you, as you are a member of my PhD committee, the PDF version of my thesis together with my CV. In case you had any questions, feel free to contact me at any time.
>
>
> I'm looking forward to meeting you.
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
>
> capadocia
>
>
>
As username_3 points out, make sure the people know when the defence is. In most places, university staff sends the official invitation, but if you know the dates, you can include them:
>
> I'm looking forward to meeting you on October 15 at the defence.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: The other answers are good, but it might be better to also include some reminders about the timing. If you are sending them your dissertation today intending to defend and graduate this fall, you should say that. You might suggest that assuming everything is looking good that you'll be getting back to them soon to start looking for a time in December that everyone can get together for your defense.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I would keep it as short and simple as possible. These folks are going to be doing a lot of work for you (i.e. a lot of reading and reviewing) so the last thing they need at this point is a long flowery email.
You might want to throw in a link to a version of it in the cloud or something though. Giving extra file formats and ways to access the document from various devices would probably be well received.
Upvotes: 3
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2015/08/07
| 1,658
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been told that having a published review article is viewed as an advantage for higher education. The topic of my review article is the impact of information technology on the practice of human resource management.
What are the sequential steps that I have to follow to make my review article acceptable to renowned publishers and university graduate professors?
I have heard that to make a review article acceptable, the first task is to read vastly about the subject related topic of review article. After reading extensively, how can I proceed - I mean how can make linkage of writing in every parts of review article?
Is it necessary to make a comparison, to find a gap or limitations,similarity of the previous primary and review articles on the same topic in writing my review article?
Do I have to present the information about what others authors have done or shown? or do I have to include my own thought, ideas, decisions along with the other scholars?and if I intend take some information,graph from copyrighted books,will I need to take permission from real authors or just paraphrase the information on own my words?<issue_comment>username_1: Take a look at the PRISMA statement - <http://www.prisma-statement.org> - It's very biomedical - so may not directly apply in your area - but I think that most of the guidance it gives can be generically applied.
You need to be clear about what you intend to write. In the medical world there is a clear difference between 'reviews' where an author picks papers he likes to support a particular point of view, and 'systematic reviews' where the literature as a whole is analysed in a systematic repeatable way. The former (reviews) essentially have no academic value or credibility beyond sometimes being useful for assisting the learning of undergraduates. The kudos lies with systematic reviews.
I'd certainly expect a review article to discuss previous reviews in the same area - pointing out their strengths and weaknesses, and making clear what the new review adds... Because if it doesn't add anything what was the point of you writing it or me reading it?
I'd also expect to see your opinions on the evidence you've reviewed - but a good review will source and present that evidence in such a way (eg systematically) that the reader can decide for themselves whether they agree with you, rather than having to take your opinions and analysis on trust.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Certainly, a **good** *literature review paper* (also frequently referred to as a *survey paper*) would be an attractive asset in anyone's academic portfolio. However, it is **easier said then done**. Some people on this site even replied to one of my related questions that such papers is more of a prerogative of senior, very experienced scholars. Perhaps, there is *some* truth to it; likely, a lot of truth. However, I do think that those opinions should not prevent people from *attempting* to write a good survey paper (or do anything, for that matter). The reason for that, in my opinion, is twofold:
1) *Self-assessment.* Some people are better at carrying out specific research, while others are better at synthesizing information, in general, and results of research studies, in particular. We often do not know our strengths (and weaknesses), unless we try both types of research.
2) *Self-improvement.* In my opinion, it is very important to set the bar high, so that, even if we do not achieve a desired level of success for particular goal today, we will learn much more, thus, increasing our chances for succeeding in that goal and in general tomorrow. Plus, even, if we will not be have our survey papers published in a respectable outlet any time soon (while that IMHO should be one of the goals), we will obtain a much better *understanding* of the whole field of study (or subject domain) as well as gain an excellent practice in *academic writing*, which is very valuable on its own (*"practice makes perfect"*).
Now, I will cover briefly some specific aspects that are related to your question. **Firstly**, we need to understand that there are no ready-to-use, step-by-step recipes for success, in general, and for writing good survey papers, in particular. Sure, there are some *guidelines* and *templates* (which are indeed helpful), however, the quality of a survey paper is IMHO dependent on a variety of *factors* beyond those aids, such as a potential author's *knowledge* and *understanding* of a field of study, research stream of subject domain, their abilities for *writing* clearly and concisely as well as *constructing* a mental picture of a large body of research and synthesizing from it, often creating rather complex conceptual *frameworks*. There exist papers that demonstrate how to do that; in particular, for example, for the *information systems* discipline, see papers by Webster & Watson (2002) as well as by Levy & Ellis (2006). However, again, it is one thing *to see* how something should be done and another *to do* that yourself. Another issue that we need to be aware of is that approaches for writing survey papers are quite different across disciplines and/or fields of study.
**Secondly**, we need to understand that writing a *survey paper* is not the same as performing a [systematic review](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_review) or a [meta-analysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-analysis) (by the way, they are often confused as similar things, which they are not, despite [some overlap](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3024725)). We need to understand that meta-analysis is a *statistical toolset*, whereas systematic review is a *type of study*, which might or might not use the former.
**Thirdly**, depending on the discipline or field of study (as well as on the author and journal/editor), a survey paper might be closer in its form to a *narrative review*, rather than a systematic one. While systematic reviews are often regarded as more rigorous approach to covering a topic, they are not without their shortcomings. In fact, good narrative reviews might be as valuable, if not more, to science and research community, as their systematic counterparts. See [this paper](http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/3/1/253.full) for some details.
---
**References**
<NAME>., & <NAME>. (2006). A systems approach to conduct an effective literature review in support of information systems research. *Informing Science, 9*, 181-212. Retrieved from <http://www.inform.nu/Articles/Vol9/V9p181-212Levy99.pdf>
<NAME>., & <NAME>. (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: Writing a literature review. *MIS Quarterly, 26*(2), 13-23. Retrieved from <https://web.njit.edu/~egan/Writing_A_Literature_Review.pdf>
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2015/08/07
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<issue_start>username_0: This is a follow-up to the question [Posting to ArXiv a longer version of a submitted journal paper](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/49486/posting-to-arxiv-a-longer-version-of-a-submitted-journal-paper). The general consensus on that thread was that it is probably okay to do what I proposed, but that I should check with the editor first to make sure the journal does not have any kind of policy against ArXiv posting.
I've sent an inquiry to the editor in question, but haven't heard back (of course, it's summer and people's schedules are wonky, so I don't necessarily think the silence means anything). I thought I would ask here:
>
> Does the *American Mathematical Monthly* have a policy prohibiting posting to ArXiv a longer version (or a preprint version) of a submitted manuscript?
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: Almost certainly they have no policy prohibiting this. Indeed, I don't know of any math journal which has *and enforces* such a policy.
You can probably find the answer to your own question on the journal's web page. In the meantime, [here is some evidence](http://arxiv.org/find/all/1/all:+AND+american+monthly/0/1/0/all/0/1) that if there is any such policy then it is frequently disregarded.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, they do allow arxiv postings at any stage. However, starting in 2015 the *Monthly* has moved to a double-blind reviewing system (which, for general readers of this site, is all but unheard of in the field of mathematics). Posting on the arxiv before or during submission would of course cause a serious risk of ruining the anonymity of the author.
I happen to know through direct experience that the *Monthly* views such ruination as being the author's prerogative.
It should be emphasized that this is a recent development, and whether it will be continued in the future is up to the board of directors of the MAA (and not the editorial board of the *Monthly*, a fact which I found surprising).
**Added**: Some remarks about the *laissez faire* philosophy of the *Monthly's* double-blind policy can be found [here](http://blogs.ams.org/jmm2013/2013/01/11/the-day-of-missed-talks/). The difficulty of preserving authorial anonymity in an arxiv culture is mentioned.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Note the current (as accessed online Nov 2, 2018) policy--
<https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/pubs/AuthorInfo_Monthly.pdf>
says not to post. It states under “Peer Review“ that “Authors should also refrain from posting papers to any website until an editorial decision is made.“
Upvotes: 3
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2015/08/07
| 415
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<issue_start>username_0: Very often there are people that choose to enter the work force after high school instead of starting college. Many of those people decide later in life to go to college and get a bachelors. I believe this usually happens in your late 20's to early 30's but it's not unheard of to have people in their 40's in college. To me it seems like this isn't an unusual occurrence for state colleges and many universities but it seems that it would be much for difficult for this type of student to enter an Ivy League.
The chances of being accepted into an Ivy League are always small, however is it much harder on an older student? I believe there are exceptions for people that enter the military but I have a feeling that even a brilliant older student would be wasting their time applying to an Ivy League for a BS.<issue_comment>username_1: Regular college admissions are mainly set up to handle people just graduating from high school. But they do get applications from older students and this can often be beneficial in promoting a certain type of diversity in their incoming class.
Many universities also have explicit admissions and scholarship programs for older students. These often free you from the requirement to live in freshman dorms with 18 year olds or allow you to study part-time.
This is just one example: <http://admissions.yale.edu/eli-whitney>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I might start at a community college or state school, and then think about transferring to a better school. (My college progression: City College of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, Stanford University)
As username_1 says, look for special programs for older students. Good luck to you!
Upvotes: 0
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2015/08/08
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm in the process of making a decision with regards to graduate school and my number one choice is an interdisciplinary PhD program in Computational Science and Engineering. On the computational side of things I'll be focusing largely on data science, but I'll be looking to apply those skills to land use modeling. So effectively I'll be doing a lot of work in environmental policy.
My goal is to go into academia after my degree and as such I'm wondering if it would make sense to pick up a second masters in Environmental Policy as part of my coursework? Doing so would likely add a bit more time to the PhD, but would this make me more attractive as a candidate for a tenure track job afterwards given I already hold a Masters in Software Engineering?<issue_comment>username_1: Thank you for the clarification. My opinion on your situation (which you should take with a grain of salt, of course) is that it would be an **overkill** (time-wise, finance-wise and otherwise) to go through another M.S. program with assumption that it would make you "more attractive as a candidate" for the CSE program. Even if it would, the "price" that you would pay for that might just be too high.
On the other hand, if you have plenty of time, financial resources and the lack of family or other obligations, I find nothing wrong in your approach - I am just not sure, whether it is the *optimal* one.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: When you are evaluated as a job candidate in academia, the first thing people will see is your PhD. That will tell them that you know how to dig into a topic, get the background knowledge that you need in order to conduct the research you are interested in.
The next thing they will look at is your publication record. Because of the peer review process, they will feel confident that if you publish in reputable journals on a particular topic, you know what you're talking about.
So if you're sure you're headed for academia, I think you will be fine just cherry-picking the particular courses you think will be most helpful for you in Environmental Policy. (Although if you find that you're, say, only one or two courses away from satisfying the requirements for the masters, then I suppose you might as well finish it off.)
Think of how many PhDs veer off in a different direction during the course of their career! They don't bother getting a new PhD in the process, because they already have one. You can think of the PhD studies as the apprenticeship to do research, and the PhD as a driver's license which was issued in one state, but which you can use in other states.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2015/08/08
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<issue_start>username_0: I have written a research monograph.
I think that the work on the first volume is finished **except** that it is not yet checked for errors. Well, I am not 100% sure that I won't make any changes, however now no changes (except of hunting errors) are planned.
I am going to send the monograph to a competition of such works and have the hope to win the prize. The deadline of the competition is Dec 3 (now it's Aug 8).
My question: Should I wait to Novermber (probably using this time to check for errors) or should I send the book to the competition right now?
Will the editors of book sent to the competition help me to find errors? If yes, will submission earlier make their help me to find errors more effective, as in this case we have more time which can be used to hunt errors?
I realize that this may be considered as an opinion-based question, but I ask for detailed arguments in either direction.<issue_comment>username_1: I can't contribute anything useful to most of the things you asked. However, I can give you a couple of guesses that I hope will be somewhat helpful:
* I would imagine that the more error-free your submission is, the
better your chances of winning, or at least of making a good
impression on people who possibly could be helpful for your career in
the future.
* I doubt that the judges of a competition would help you proofread or
fact-check.
* I doubt that submitting early would raise your chances (but do ask).
Aside from all of that, it seems to me that you need to do something special to mark having finished a big project. Some people go to a fancy restaurant, some people go for a walk in the woods, some people go on a trip to the beach, some people go bowling.... The sky's the limit, have fun!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I assume you are talking about the [Ferran Sunyer i Balaguer Prize](http://ffsb.espais.iec.cat/en/the-ferran-sunyer-i-balaguer-prize/), since the number of competitions for mathematics monographs is tiny and I bet this is the only one with a December 3 deadline. If so, then:
1. There is no chance that the prize committee will help search for errors. If they think the manuscript might contain important errors, then they will immediately eliminate it from the competition. Typos or other minor errors probably wouldn't disqualify the submission, but they make a bad impression, and it's not the committee's job to help you proofread.
2. This competition is aimed at exposition of important results that are already well established, not proving new results. If you submission contains lots of previously unpublished theorems, then I doubt the committee will consider it. Preparing a submission is not worth a lot of time and effort unless you are confident that the committee will consider it suitable.
Upvotes: 4
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2015/08/08
| 742
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<issue_start>username_0: I will get a master's degree early next year. I would like to do a PhD somewhere else than at my current university. However, since I have already a more impressive publication record than many of the second or third year PhD students at my department, my supervisors are expecting me to stay. I need their reference letters to leave, so what I should do? I think they will be extremely unhappy when I tell them I will be leaving, since they have invested a lot of time to work with me (which has resulted in the said publications).<issue_comment>username_1: Trying to hold you hostage by withholding a letter of reference is highly unethical. If they would do that to you, you're probably better off leaving without a letter from them than staying. Otherwise they may be willing to take advantage of you in other ways if you stay for your PhD. Besides, would you ever really be able to trust each other after such behavior?
In the end, they may be disappointed, but if they've gotten several good articles with you during your master's, you've held up your end of the implicit deal in getting a master's degree. Lots of folks (in some countries and some fields) move between master's and PhD. This is normal. They will probably be willing to write you a good letter after they have some time to reflect.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It is very common to change institutions for the Ph.D. Actually, it is very good for your career to meet different researchers and to see how things works in other research teams and another institution. Besides, **it is your choice, and your career**. You need to take the best choices for your career.
Just let your supervisor know that you want to change your plan for the Ph.D. You may tell them that you want to learn how things works in another research team and go to another city or abroad. And you may tell that in the future you may still collaborate with them, if you wish. But in the end, they should support you. If they don't want to write a recommendation letter, they are very bad supervisors. A good supervisor should support you in your career decision.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I feel I should answer rather than comment on the previous two answers.
The reality is that some may very well think it's unethical to withhold letters of references but unfortunately some do not see it this way.
It seems clear the OP has made up his/her mind to go elsewhere so he/she should make selected but discreet contacts with potential supervisors before asking for letters of support. If the file is a good as suggested by the OP, suitable Ph.D. supervisors can out their weights behind an admission file and lessen the impact of letters from irritated referees, especially if some sort of dialogue or web-based interview show the student is serious and level-headed.
One should not forget that it is often acceptable to arrange for more than the minimum numbers of letters of support, thereby diluting the impact of an unethical referee.
Ultimately, unless the number of positions is limited, good candidates are seldom turned down if they can demonstrate prior research excellence and the initiative to work around the kind of problems alludes to in by the OP.
Upvotes: 0
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2015/08/08
| 1,793
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<issue_start>username_0: First of all I am a second year M.Sc. Student in Computer science, working on information networks and enjoy my research a lot. In my B.Sc. final Project I had worked on intrusion detection systems, which was actually a computer network protocol related area and irrelevant to my current field.
I should mention that actually I am not frustrated with my current research or topics that I was working during B.Sc. But the problem is that I am also so excited about other nearly irrelevant topics.
For example I have passed about two courses in signal processing and now sometimes I am thinking about continue my PhD in that field. I am also interested in algorithms and CS theory, etc.
I want to know is It OK to have such broad activity in your resume or this can flag me as picky person regard that I finished successfully every project that I had been started and it can be verified in Recommendation Letters and so on.<issue_comment>username_1: You may work on different topics but you still at need to specialize on some topic, and there should preferably be some relationships between the various topics.
You basically need a main topic for your M.Sc and a main topic for your Ph.d and you can have another topic after that, but it need to be related.
I will give you an example. I did a master degree related to e-learning and cognitive modelling. During my Ph.D., I still did the same topic but slowly changed to data mining in e-learning. During post-doc, I did pure data mining. And then, now I do mostly data mining and some applications of data mining. As you can see, I have changed topics over time, but there is always some overlap.
It is important that the topics are related because you will probably want to apply for some grants/scholarships and so on, and it may be easier to get grants/scholarships if you keep working on the same topic.
You may also have a few side-projects with other collaborators during your studies (that is what I did), but you should still focus on a specific topic for your main research.
Lastly, I ever saw some senior researcher working on two very diferent topics. For example, a researcher was publishing fundamental papers in Physics and in Computer Science. Although, this is possible, this is an exception.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Having a good knowledge of other subject areas can allow you to think about a project in different ways; for example by making you more aware of some confounding factors or being more able to come up with an explanation of something because of a link to some other area.
However, a PhD is really an in depth study of a fairly narrow research question over a few years. If you go into the application process looking like you want your PhD to be broad but shallow, you will likely look like you don't really know what a PhD involves and probably wouldn't enjoy doing one. It is also good to look like you have a particular passion that you would like to follow.
I think it would be good to say something which amounts to:
"My interests in Computer Science are broad, and I have enjoyed thinking about a range of subjects from A to Z and the links between them. This has allowed me to make a more informed decision about the subjects I would like to continue working on; and I have decided that an in depth study of either A or B would suit my interests."
Ideally A or B are things which are covered by the research interests of the person or institute you are applying to. If the CS department has a wide range of research interests you could also say that you would enjoy being in a place where you can still hear about a range of topics through seminars etc.
Finally, cross-subject and collaborative projects which span research groups are also possible. I assume there are opportunities for this in CS, but I don't have the knowledge to comment on that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: There is nothing wrong in showing interest in various topics, **as long as you obtain deep results in at least some of them.**
Without having any deep results in some of the fields, it really looks bad, because it looks like that you are unable to advance enough in something to push the topic forward. It more looks like you chicken out of any serious job, because, frankly, in most disciplines the way to obtain deep results is quite painful.
But, as long as you obtain reasonably deep results in your topics of interest, you should be fine. Then, it shows that you are willing to learn new things, able to tackle problems that you don't know for a long time etc.
However, bear in mind that the boundary between the 1st case (no deep results) and the 2nd case can be very thin, and different people may consider it differently. For the sake of a Masters or a PhD, I think that each of them should be quite narrowly focused. On the other hand, it does not harm at all if you have a thesis on your primary field that contains good results, and at the same time you publish something in a secondary field.
Last, but not least, you have to remember one more thing: Who is funding you? Does he mind that he spends his project money on you and you work on something else? Your supervisor should be aware of the fact that you work on something else and should, at least to some extent, approve it.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Adding to the excellent answer written by @username_3, I will point out that when you submit a CV as part of an application for something specific, you don't have to include everything you've ever done. It's generally a good idea to have a master CV that has everything in it, including the dry cleaning store you worked at when you were 16, but when you're preparing an application for something that requires submitting a CV, do some pruning so that the version you submit fits what you think they are looking for.
What might help you keep your focus narrow enough to complete your graduate study in a reasonable amount of time, would be to keep a special file or notebook where you jot down areas, projects, and ideas that intrigue you *for future use*. I believe creative writers do this, to help them *finish* a book they've started, before wandering off into another project.
It's nice to see you excited about several strands, which may even feed each other at some point. Just remember, you still have many years ahead of you.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Most in academia say that it is the freedom in research that is the only attractive part to come to academia. Then you enter academia and realize that you are 'supposed' to work on a specific research topic or two, you are allowed to change topics only if they are related to each other, either funding agency or establishments (in the US, read: tenured committees) or both govern your research choices. What's the point of being in academia having low salary and not much (after choosing your first research topic, that is) freedom in research?
I suggest you follow your heart and work on whatever you like. Of course, you have to demonstrate your research by publishing in respected journals in those areas. It is your university and thesis adviser who will decide (and guide at various step during the ph.d. of course) if they want to give you a ph.d. Once you have a ph.d. from a genuine university, what others think about 'depth' or 'shallowness' of your thesis etc. are just *opinions*. If the establishment doesn't support interdisciplinary research, and don't give you a job - well, you have a computer science degree, and you will be easily absorbed in the industry. At least you will have died hard by then without bowing down to anyone. If you find a permanent job in academia, then do support such academic freedom as much as you can.
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/08
| 1,060
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<issue_start>username_0: Is there any research/study that looked at the usefulness of giving awards in academia? By useful I mean weighting the positive and negative effects. I'm interested in three kinds of awards: awards to students, awards to teachers, and awards to researchers. (let me know if I should post as 3 different questions)<issue_comment>username_1: Awards are fully useful for one's progression within his/her position and could be classified into two different categories:
* Awards, are which internationally recognized. This awards would be known to majority of the corresponding community and with due attention to their validity, no proof might often be need to validate the holder's claim.
* Awards, are which regional and people often would be asked to prove them, by means of the corresponding certificate or other related documents.
Obviously, first category could be more worthy, and some of the typical sample award sources and their utilization could be enumerated, as below:
For students:
-------------
* Certificate of the ranking among the students of the department/university.
* Award, corresponding to the best paper of the young researcher, presented in a conference/congress/symposium.
* Any dedicated governmental, industry-driven or university-based scholarship.
* Any ranking, corresponding to the olympiads.
* ...
*All of the aforementioned awards could lead to the acquisition of the better positions for the student in view of either professional job vacancy or research positions. The undeniable role of the awards to be recognized for the noticeable financial supports is not negligible, as well.*
For professors:
---------------
* Best paper honor for a professor in a conference/congress/symposium.
* Submission & accomplishment of some prestigious patents.
* Selected as the best lecturer at a university for a determined time interval.
* ...
*All of the aforementioned awards could lead to the increasing the dedicated budget of the university to that professor, improving his/her fame in the scientific community (would which lead to some especial progressions, like promotion as editor or editor-in-chief of a journal) and so on. Moreover, the professor would be invited as the guest lecturer to teach at different universities.*
For researchers:
----------------
* Any outstanding award, stemming from shining accomplishments in the science realm, like Noble prize.
* Special epithets for highly-respectful fellows, as the member of a scientific society, like "life member" in "IEEE".
* ...
*The researcher's validity to be resourceful would be strengthened. Especially, in the case of PostDoc researchers, such awards could pave their way to be hired in a desired faculty position.*
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This [answer](https://mathoverflow.net/a/224717/1898) on Mathoverflow summarizes a study on the "productivity" of past winners of [Fields medals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_Medal) (the most important award in mathematics; it is given each four years to four mathematicians under 40 years old).
The study is [*Prizes and Productivity: How Winning the Fields Medal Affects Scientific Output*](http://www3.nd.edu/~tjohns20/RePEc/deendus/wpaper/022_Fields.pdf) (2013), <NAME> and <NAME>.
TL;DR: The paper analyzes the output of 47 Field winners and 43 mathematicians of comparable level (often, people who were rumored to be "in the shortlist"). After winning the medals, their statistics diverge visibly. Field winners write about 20% fewer papers than non-winners, in the post-medal period, and seem to have slightly lower productivity, in general. However, there is another significant effect: they tend to enlarge their views and extend their research interests extend to other areas of mathematics, much more than non-winners, who tend to continue in the same area (25% vs. 10% probability of "cognitive mobility"). This necessarily comes with a cost, since one can't be productive immediately in a new area.
(and, to me, top mathematicians working on bridging areas of mathematics and looking for a unifying breakthrough is a great thing.)
Upvotes: 3
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2015/08/08
| 821
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm planning to go a large Earth Science conference (couple thousand attendees expected) that does not result in refereed publications. Some other fields (like Computer Science) have conferences that result in publications, but I'm in Earth Science and it's extremely rare our conferences result in publications. Only journal publications really count.
Questions:
1. As a student, I have unpublished results that I wish to obtain feedback/input on from experts in the field. But if I present unpublished results, what's to stop someone from stealing my work and publishing it in a journal?
2. For a different project I'm working on, I published my results in a paper, but I wish to obtain feedback for further work. However, when I submit a conference abstract, I need specify what percentage has been presented or published elsewhere. I hear that if 100% is specified, the abstract will likely be rejected. So it seems presenting published results is unfeasible, while presenting unpublished results is risky (Question 1). So now I'm confused: what do most researchers do?<issue_comment>username_1: On 1, if you present something at a conference, there will be witnesses that you presented it there, and you will have documentation of your work products on your computer, in your lab notebooks, etc. If someone does take your work from your talk and try to publish it, you can work with the journal editor when you discover it to prove that whoever it was stole it from you and have the publication pulled so that you can publish instead. You can also contact the employer of the stealer and have disciplinary procedures started against them. Stealing your work is not outright theft in a legal sense, but it is serious academic misconduct, and shouldn't be taken lightly by anyone.
Also, this isn't dangerous. As far as I know, this kind of stealing basically never happens. That being said, if you want to protect yourself even more, write up you results into a paper draft and get it submitted to a journal ASAP. If the work is under review, then you've got a lot more protection from having your work stolen.
As to 2, "I hear" is a bad standard to base your decisions on. Contact the organizers of this conference and ask for their advice. You might even link to the conference so that we can help you figure out what's going on.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: 1) It does not happen often that researchers try to steal ideas. The risk may be higher if you are working on a very hot and competitive topic. How to protect yourself: try to publish your result somewhere by submitting a journal paper in the near future would be a good idea.
Besides, the risk is not just that someone may steal your work, but that someone could do something similar but different that provides better results. Let say for example that some researchers see your method A at the conference that is unpublished. Then they publish alternative method B before you publish method A in ajournal and method B works better than your method A. In that case, it may then be hard to publish your method "A" This is why, it is important to not wait too much before you publish your work. This is true if you work on a competitive topic. On some topics, you need to publish very quickly otherwise other researchers will publish ideas before you.
2) Contact the conference organizers. The % depends on the conference/journals where you publish. I have ever seen some venues/journals asking for 30%, 40% or 50% new content. It all depends. You need to ask if it is not indicated on the website.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a 3rd year PhD Student (Computer Science, India). I have two advisors, one internal and one external.
The internal advisor has no knowledge of my area and he doesn’t care what I am doing. He has no contribution to my research so far, but he keeps forcing me to make him co-author (2nd author) of my papers. I am a part-time PhD student (full time faculty in my college) in my college and he is my colleague. He has contributed nothing, did not even know title of my paper.
The external advisor is the one who actually helps me with my research. He wants all authorship to be based on contribution. He is external to my college and lives in a different city.
Recently I refused to make my internal advisor second author of a paper. Due to this, he got upset and he wrote in my progress report that I have attitude problem and I don’t obey my advisor. Now I have to stand in front of the dean, head of department and the entire committee (my advisor will also be there in the meeting with me).
Should I tell the monitoring committee about how my internal advisor unethically tried to manipulate me? Can it worsen the situation in future?<issue_comment>username_1: 1. How are 'attitude problem' and not obeying your adviser a 'crime'? In my university, there is a 'co-authorship policy', which clearly states that any co-authors must have made significant intellectual contributions. If such a policy exists at your university, I would bring it to support your case.
2. If you're fronting the committee because of supposedly poor progress, then I would gather as much evidence as possible to support your case. For example, your communication with your external adviser, papers published, etc.
3. I suggest you change the supervisor. The situation will definitely get worst because it looks like the internal adviser is unethical. He/she will 'burn you alive'.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Many answers here focus on the issue of authorship, rather than what I expect your real dilemma is, what should you say when you meet the Dean.
You have two options really - stand up and fight for what you believe in, or back down and try to keep the peace.
The fact that you even have to contemplate the latter shows what an utter mess young PhDs find themselves in these days. You are three years in, and he holds all the cards whilst you hold none. ...right?
Wrong! If you think it looks bad not to get your name on student's paper, imagine how bad it looks when word gets out that you refused a PUBLISHING student a PhD after three years because they claim their supervisor didn't put enough effort in to be a named author. You are calling the shots here. Go with your gut, because sometimes crappy old wooden bridges need to get burned.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Imho, If someone is leading you (i.e. "supervising" you), then he should be a co-author of any your work by definition. In my university, I can not image a situation when student's supervisor would not be his co-author. In a worst case scenario, he is at least supporting your work financially and
organizationally, isn't he?
In general, I am agree that it is a common bad practice, when a supervisor, especially in a big group, is not involve in the particular project too much. But, I am more then sure, that he is at least checking the initial ideas or the selling packages to the journals. Could it be that you know your part very well, but you are misunderstand the complexity of the supervisor's "businesses"?
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: First off, you need an ally. Perhaps your external advisor?
Second, you can provide information without getting defensive, and without going on the offensive. Your tack should be to be baffled as to why you are there. But baffled in a calm way.
When you let them know about the strange behavior of the internal advisor in this calm way I'm suggesting, it will be almost like speaking to them in code.
It will help if you go in there assuming that at least one member of the monitoring committee is a smart, ethical person who will interpret your code language correctly, and help you in a well-thought-out way.
If things don't go as you hope -- you can always back down and include the internal advisor's name on the paper.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Your refusal to make him co-author could be perceived as an escalation itself from his perspective. We don't know the way you expressed yourself when you told him you wouldn't do it (in social situations, often *the way things are said matters much more than what was actually said*).
His decision to escalate even more up might go in many different directions due to multiple circumstances (rules, people in position of power, clout, etc.), so it's a bit difficult to be completely sure of what is the best course of action for you.
He might be doing this to intimidate you into complying with his demands. Which, in turn has at least two possible ramifications:
1. He knows the organization well and believes he will get to frame the situation in a way that you are to be considered wrong (either his colleagues will support him regardless of him being right or what you did breaks an unwritten rule, so the dean will support him no matter what).
2. He doesn't realize or refuses to admit he is being unethical and the support of his peers is not guaranteed, so, in a way, he could be assuming he will be considered right by default or seniority or even that now that he involved big wigs you will get scared, ask forgiveness and comply.
Now for the proper advice:
1. Read them university policies and rules, if they don't say you have this obligation, then you don't. If they say you have to do it, then apologise and tell them you didn't know about the rules. But do read the other advices below.
2. If there is no policy forcing you to to do as the internal advisor says, make your case to the monitoring committee, that is: talk your external advisor into interceding in your favour either by telling them himself or exposing your discussions with him about the work and organize any other evidence you have that the internal advisor is not contributing to this particular work otherwise it's just your word versus his word, be as polite as you can possibly be.
3. Your external advisor is **not** a neutral party, after all he told you: 'authorship should be based on contribution'. He **will** be a co-author, so what does the external advisor means by authorship based on contribution? I have the impression he doesn't want the internal advisor to have his name in this work, maybe the two of them had a falling out? Take care to not be in the crossfire if this is a feud.
4. Whatever the outcome, to change internal advisor like @username_1 says is one of the safest things you can do to protect yourself after you talk to the committee. You have no guarantee that whatever the outcome, this advisor won't be out for blood and try to make your life miserable.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: This is related to advisor selection for North American universities, STEM majors.
I noticed some profs tend to have a lot of "solo" publications, meaning that he or she is the sole author of a journal/paper for over the span of quite a few years. This tends to be from earlier on during his or her career as a researcher.
Is this common in academia? What would cause this to happen (not saying that it is a bad thing) and does it hint at anything about the particular researcher?<issue_comment>username_1: It means the Prof. is self-reliant. In other words, he/she doesn't need to wait for some bright students to come along to be his/her research brain/arm. The key thing to look for is the quality of his/her solo publications. Are they good? Usually, a Prof. will have lots more solo publications earlier on in his/her career; he/she doesn't have the gravitas to pull students in yet. This is especially true in the US where I believe you really need to have $ or funding before you get students. So without funding, you're a one man team.
The other side of the coin are Profs. who ride the coat tail of big Profs.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There are a lot of reasons why a professor may publish a paper without co-authors: (1) he did the research by himself and wanted it to get all the credit for that research instead of sharing it with some co-authors that he could have invited on his paper, (2) he did not have students, (3) he does not have good social skills or his project appear uninteresting to others and thus he could not find collaborators...
In general, it is beneficial to have collaborators. They have different ideas which can improve the quality of the paper, and they can help carrying the reearch and writting and thus reduce the amount of work by the main author. Thus the main author can then do more research. Some researchers will see it as a negative point if an author has too many papers by himself and do not collaborate.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: The normal number of co-authors, if any, is very specific to the different (sub-(sub-))disciplines. In my specific sub-discipline it is normal to have a number of solo publications and a number of publications with one, maybe two, co-authors. But in the same department we have people who do primarily qualitative research and they tell me that it is very unusual to have co-authors and they cannot imagine how that would work. From the outside we would both be sociologist, but even within disciplines there are big differences. In other disciplines it is normal to have 5 or more co-authors. So the number of co-authors per se does not say much without also considering the sub-sub-sub-sub-discipline that that person works in.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: What a number of single-author publications means will depend entirely on what field, and as other people have noted, what sub-field you are in. In my own experience, in a field (Epidemiology) where single author papers are extremely rare, I have a modest number of them all of which fall into a single category:
"Methodological Musing"
These are small papers with a single idea, usually which can be addressed with a single illustrative example. Essentially they are "Dear Field, Stop Doing This. Love, Me."
Those papers don't *need* a second person. They are amusing side thoughts. Those don't necessarily reflect anything on the number of students I have, how friendly I am as a collaborator, or what stage of my career I'm in. The only thing they're possibly indicative of is that I'm interested enough in methods development that if that's *not* what you're interested in, we should possibly not work together. But the answers to what this means are too varied by field, sub-field, personal style and "Well, what's *in* those papers" for there to be a meaningful, general answer.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: Is it legal to upload a PDF of my non-open-access papers to research networks, such as ResearchGATE and Academia.edu?
I am pretty sure that it could cause some problems, because normally people should buy them from the publisher. But I have seen many researchers put the PDF of their (non-open access) papers for free there so as to get more citations.<issue_comment>username_1: This question can basically be analyzed from the standpoint of copyright law, much as in any other topic related to publication.
In your paper, there are clearly some parts to which you hold rights as the author: the text itself, figures that you have created, etc. However, in the version published by the journal there may be certain elements to which you do not hold any right: general presentation, typesetting, etc. Even editorial corrections that have made your text better in some way may be seen as generating rights for the journal. Additional work done on your text may also intervene here, such as correlating citations with existing papers published in electronic form, which helps the reader navigate from citation to citation and thus may be seen as increasing the value of the paper.
Some questions you need to ask yourself are:
1. What have you signed? Have you signed or otherwise agreed to transfer some rights to the journal? All rights? Are the rights granted to the journal exclusive rights? Are they limited in time?
2. Which is the applicable jurisdiction? All copyright law is not equal. For example, in some jurisdictions an author's granting access to colleagues may be considered "fair use", but this concept may not be applicable or even exist in other jurisdictions.
In certain jurisdictions, the transfer of exclusive and universal rights may be against the law, invalidating the agreement signed by the author at least in part. For example, the right to be mentioned as the author of a text -typical of copyright law- may not be waived in Spain. The author may choose to assert or not such a right, but the journal could not publish the paper anonymously (even in extract form) without the author's explicit approval.
It is worth mentioning that the agreement signed with the journal has been prepared exclusively by the journal, in the form of "general conditions" for the use of a service. This places the author somewhat in a position of inferiority, since he or she has not contributed to the wording of the text. Some jurisdictions will take this into account when interpreting the finer points in the text, often in favor of the author. Since the journal had more time and a better bargaining position to start with, it is up to them to have come up with a fair and balanced agreement that both parties can stand by.
So, while observable facts are as stated by the OP in the question (there may be a potential legal problem, but some authors have no qualms in providing open access to their papers), unfortunately the legal situation is so complex that it would be very difficult to give a single, authoritative, answer.
If you are worried about a specific case, the best guidance to be given would be to consult a lawyer with experience in handling copyright law in your jurisdiction. Your university's legal department may very well have had to handle similar circumstances and have guidelines set up.
Otherwise, it is always wise to remember that there does exist a legal distinction to be made between public communication (making a text available on-line) and private (an email). Editorial companies have a much better case to have public communication halted - in the first place, because they can easily prove it actually happened. I, personally, would not have any difficulty with supplying a colleague with a private (proof) copy of a paper if so requested by email.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: It is quite common to find that a pre-print of the paper (before the journal editors have got their hands on it, and therefore added value) may be found on the author's website, containing almost all the value of what you would get from the journal. Even if not, it is always worth checking the author's website to see if there are large results files, software source codes, or other materials which would allow the research to be reproduced and/or extended for other purposes.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The current best source for answers to this question is [the SHERPA/RoMEO database](http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/), which categorizes all journals by their policies.
This tells you, for most respectable journals, what you are legally allowed to do in terms of posting versions of the paper on other sites (this may, of course, be modified by local laws; for example, [documents produced by US government employees are not generally protected by copyright](https://www.usa.gov/government-works)).
For a large number of journals, you are at least legally allowed to post preprints. In such a case, I see no advantage in flouting the law by publishing the journal's final version instead: I believe a preprint is generally sufficient to make your work more readily accessible and gain you the [open access citation benefits](http://openscience.com/open-access-increases-citation-a-brief-overview-of-two-reports/).
As for journals that do *not* allow you to post preprints: you need to make your own moral and personal judgement on whether you will submit to such journals at all, and if so, the degree to which you will comply with the law.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: even I was looking for answer to same question and looks like its not legal in most of the cases
found informative articles here <https://blackboard.swan.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/institution/LibraryISSResources/Material%20for%20researchers/SharingPDFs.pdf>
Also about example of journal policy here
<https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/submit-your-paper/sharing-and-promoting-your-article>
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: Policies vary by publisher. Relevant links to policies from [Elsevier](https://www.elsevier.com/authors/journal-authors/submit-your-paper/sharing-and-promoting-your-article), [Wiley](https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/licensing/self-archiving.html), and [Springer](https://www.springerpub.com/journal-article-sharing-policies). The details you will have to read for yourself and for your particular case, but generally speaking:
* Publishers distinguish between three versions of the manuscript: the preprint (i.e. before submission), the accepted version, and the published version.
* You are usually free to distribute the preprint wherever and however you wish.
* You are usually free to distribute the accepted version wherever and however you wish, as long as it is for non-commercial purposes and after the embargo period.
* You are not free to distribute the published version.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently pursuing a PhD at [Technion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technion_%E2%80%93_Israel_Institute_of_Technology) (Israel). My area of study lies in [computational fluid dynamics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_fluid_dynamics) (CFD), which involves high performance computing. My research requires me to develop/use complex code on large clusters (hundreds of CPUs) made available for me by my university.
I have a few projects (which might one day be monetized) on which I am working on my personal time. One of them involves using code very similar to that I am already using for my research. Is it OK (from an ethical standpoint) for me to use my university's resources (both solvers and actual hardware) for my own projects? Note that I always make sure that these projects do not affect my research, and only work on them once I am ahead of schedule.
Would it be legal for me to do so in the United States? Or can the University be entitled to a piece of the company if it found out I had been using their resources for my projects? Note that the Israeli law system is also based on common law, so I am interested in knowing if it would be legal in the US.
Note that about 70% of the cluster's processors are never used since we are currently understaffed. Also, my own solver would use at most 10% of those unused processors.<issue_comment>username_1: It's unethical to use your university's hardware resources and then not share with them the eventual proceeds of that research. If the work you do were to produce papers, then they would share in the reputational advantage for employing you and being affiliated with your work. If it would produce a patent or a product, then employment rules at my university in the US would have us split ownership and royalties. At the very least, the university bought the equipment, paid the power bill, and paid someone to administer it. Ethically they deserve to benefit, too.
Now, I have no idea what the laws of Israel or the regulations of your university have to say about this, so you should check before you do anything.
When it comes to software (the solvers in your question), things may be different. If the software is open source under a usual license, you may generally use it for any purpose you like. Open source licenses typically do not regulate use at all, and only cover redistribution. If the software is not open source, then, in the US at least, regulation of use is generally left to the copyright holder. Any permissions that you have to use that software flow through some sort of explicit (written down) or implicit license. If someone at your university gave you software owned by the university and told you to use it for your project, then generally speaking you may use it in the course of your employment as directed by your supervisor. You probably cannot use such software for a side project without permission from the copyright holder.
Your employment agreement, contract, or university regulations will govern whether or not personal projects somehow become property of the university, shared property, or are kept entirely separate due to your use of university resources. Most universities actually want their researchers to pursue interesting ideas, but if you use their property, they want a cut of the resulting profits or an ownership interest in any intellectual property. In the US, the Bayh-Dole Act guarantees that inventions made through federally funded research can be owned by the grantee rather than the US government, and most universities pursue this ownership. I don't know if Israel has an equivalent law.
The ethics here are pretty clear to me. Don't use other people's property to make a profit without sharing the profit with them. The laws and regulations are local, so ask your boss, administration, etc. about the local rules.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Beside the concrete suggestions [Bill](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600/bill-barth) made in [his answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/51207/14017), which also specifically explain the situation in the U.S., you should discuss this with your head of department.
I know professors in Europe who actively encourage the use of university resources in certain cases where fresh doctoral degree holders create startups, for instance, or other creative somewhat professional uses, without trying to get any portion of the ownership or revenue. Expected benefits for the university in such cases include:
* an increased visibility of the department's research
* possible future opportunities for more research
* simply the knowledge that the theoretical research is used in marketable products (which in turn can be presented as a showcase for the success of one's research when acquiring more funding)
*Note that the respective universities generally do not try to "create products" or generate revenue from selling things. Their mission is to provide education, not to act as a business. As such, while lucrative activities are definitely welcome, there is little to no pressure that financial gain must necessarily be drawn out of each and every activity of the people at the university.*
In general, though, do not use such resources without asking the person who is responsible for granting these resources in the first place. You may not negatively influence your own research, but, for instance, using resources of department-wide servers may still mean there is less capacity on those servers for other researchers.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: This one is on-spot: (whether this is a printer, cluster or anything)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pEzGY.png)
<http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1578>
Bear in mind that many things which are accepted / ethical (or at least - not too unethical) may still be officially illegal (perhaps even printing directions to parties).
Upvotes: 2
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| 1,917
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<issue_start>username_0: * I am not a professional academic; I am an amateur mathematician.
* I have developed an entirely new mathematical theory.
* I have written a book about my theory and put it online at my web site.
I am considering whether to put it at an online Git hosting (such as GitHub.com) under a copyleft license instead of publishing in an official academic way. What could be the consequences of me violating the normal academic way?
1. I doubt whether professional mathematicians will refer to my work that is not published officially.
2. Since two objects cannot occupy the same place, I prevent others from publishing their own research duplicating my content.
This could have both negative and positive consequences:
The negative is that I may stall research in an entire part of mathematics, so that nobody could publish their own research on this topic.
The positive is that my little nail would be a nail in the coffin of continuing the existing way of disseminating scientific knowledge, as nobody would be able to step over my sharp nail. As an unbreakable obstacle on the way to do scientific research in the old way in an entire field of mathematics, this could crash the entire existing system (which is probably good).
My question: Please help me predict the implications of me disseminating my research in this rude way instead of publishing articles in math journals as most mathematicians do. Who would win in this struggle to integrate my research into the academic system: I or the rest of the world?
I want also to note that publishing with Git will greatly help in hunting possible errors in my book. It will also much ease publishing new revisions of the book.<issue_comment>username_1: It's difficult to answer this question effectively because it is premised on some incorrect assumptions. Let me begin by correcting them:
1. There is no such thing as an "official" scientific publication. There is no Board Of Serious Scientists who determines which publications are legitimate and which are not. Science is a marketplace of ideas, and many things that have never gone through a typical peer-review process have gained high citations. For example, [the Agile Manifesto](http://agilemanifesto.org/) has hundreds of citations and vast scientific impact, but has never existed as anything other than a page on various websites. Thus, you are not "violating" anything, you are just choosing an unusual and often less effective route for getting people to notice the significance of your work.
2. If you publish work, it doesn't prevent somebody else from publishing the same ideas if they don't know about you. Parallel invention of concepts happens all of the time in science. You cannot magically exclude people from working in an area by "getting there first." If nobody has noticed the significance of your work, it's as though your work doesn't exist. If they do notice you, then that doesn't stop them either: they'll just build on your work and cite your informal publication.
So, what are the actual advantages and disadvantages of publishing in this informal way?
* **Advantages:** You don't need to convince any other researchers that your work has value, you can just publish it.
* **Disadvantages:** Your work may simply lie unnoticed and disregarded. Putting the source for an informal publication on GitHub isn't much different than sticking a PDF on your website.
Let me also answer the question that you haven't asked: how do you get your work to have a scientific impact? For this, you need to figure out how to engage with the scientific community. Go to conferences and listen to other people's talks in related areas. Figure out what questions can be answered by your work that cannot be answered by prior methods. Above all, learn the language that other researcher use so that you can speak to them in a way that will not set off "crackpot alarms." You may well have created a fabulous new work of mathematical theory, but using words like "entirely new mathematical theory" sets off crackpot alarms, because they are frequently used by crackpots and rarely by researchers who actually have something to contribute.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> First, I doubt whether professional mathematicians will refer to my work not published officially work.
>
>
>
If they care about it, they will refer to it regardless of its publication status. For example, Perelman's unpublished work on Ricci flow has received several thousand citations. Of course this is hardly a typical example, and a lot of unpublished work is indeed ignored, but the point is that there's nothing stopping people from referring to unpublished work if they are actually interested in it. No mathematician ever says "I wish I could refer to this exciting paper, but I can't since it's not officially published."
>
> Second, since two objects cannot occupy the same place, I make nobody able to publish their own research duplicating my content.
>
>
>
Of course they can. They have to give you appropriate credit if they are aware of your work, but there's nothing stopping anyone from publishing their own exposition of your ideas (or, better yet, extension or variation). For example, there are several published accounts of Perelman's work.
The net effect is that releasing your work on the internet will not interfere with further progress and will not disrupt the scientific publishing system (which is already able to accommodate work that is unpublished or published in unconventional ways).
Releasing your book on the internet under a suitable license might still be a good idea for other reasons, but the implications you discuss in this question are not realistic.
>
> Who would win in this struggle to integrate my research into the academic system: I or the rest of the World?
>
>
>
The rest of the world isn't struggling, but rather just ignoring your work. Ignoring it might be a bad idea (maybe there's something genuinely valuable in your book), but the burden is on you to attract the community's interest.
I think you have cause and effect backwards. Other researchers aren't ignoring your work because it is unpublished. Rather, it is difficult to get it published because nobody else seems interested. No editor will want to accept a paper or book that seems to be of interest exclusively to its author. What's the point? Work is usually published because it's of actual interest to some audience, not just because it could hypothetically be of interest to someone someday.
This is a real difficulty with doing work that's very far away from what anyone else is thinking about. It may be possible to generate interest in the community, either though the beauty of your results or their connections with other topics of interest, but this will require concerted effort.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: *I doubt whether professional mathematicians will refer to my work that is not published officially.*
Your doubts are well-founded.
*Since two objects cannot occupy the same place, I prevent others from publishing their own research duplicating my content.*
Academics get away with this all the time. Copyright really only applies to literal copying of passages of a specified minimum length. So no, you cannot, you will not be preventing this event (which is a priori vanishingly likely anyway) from occurring.
*The negative is that I may stall research in an entire part of mathematics, so that nobody could publish their own research on this topic.*
Alas, this risk only exists in the theatre of your own mind.
*The positive is that my little nail would be a nail in the coffin of continuing the existing way of disseminating scientific knowledge, as nobody would be able to step over my sharp nail.*
I rather fear they will be, no matter its sharpness.
*As an unbreakable obstacle on the way to do scientific research in the old way in an entire field of mathematics, this could crash the entire existing system (which is probably good).*
It might be good, but your expectations are slightly overblown.
*My question: Please help me predict the implications of me disseminating my research in this rude way instead of publishing articles in math journals as most mathematicians do. Who would win in this struggle to integrate my research into the academic system: I or the rest of the world?*
It would not be you.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a PhD student that is finishing up, and I want to do a postdoc. Yesterday I went to a lecturer's house (he was above 60 years old) and I was really shocked because it is not what I expected.
Right now I live in student accommodation where I pay about £500 per month (without bills) and it is decent. But now I am really worried and sad because I don't want to be a poor academic having to live in some little awful house just to make ends meet... I want a nice house (though it does not need to be huge).
Am I worrying for no reason???<issue_comment>username_1: The standard of living you'll attain depends massively on where you are and what field you are in (note that my answer assumes tenure, rather than the horribly exploited condition of adjunct professors).
In the United States, for example, liberal arts professors are typically paid much less well than professors in science and engineering subjects, who are in turn paid much less well than law or medicine instructors. Location makes a difference too: a big midwestern state university will probably pay less well than Harvard, but Ann Arbor is a lot cheaper to live in than Boston. In general, though, you should expect that a professor can have a relatively comfortable (if not lavish) lifestyle.
In other countries, academics may have significantly higher or lower relative standards of living.
FYI: For many US public universities, their employees are considered government employees and thus subject to public disclosure of their salaries. You can thus find the salary distribution of most positions directly yourself if you wish. For example, searching [this database of the University of Illinois system](http://salarysearch.ibhe.org/search.aspx) shows that University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign currently has 632 assistant professors: the highest paid make around $200K (at the business school), the lowest paid are visiting professors and clinical professors for whom the bulk of their income is clearly elsewhere, and the vast majority make in the range of $60K - $120K, with humanities at the low end and biomedical sciences at the high end.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: What you mention is an anecdotal fact. According to [a recent *New York Times* article](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/world/europe/02iht-educlede02.html?_r=0), the salary of someone not at the beginning of her career is sufficient to support a middle-class standard of living.
This is statistics, each person has a specific personal situation (a partner with a good job or with no job, no or a lot of children, a side job as a consultant, etc.). If you don't know the personal situation and way of living of this lecturer, there is nothing you can conclude with your visit.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Current salary scales for UK academics can be [found here](http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2210). Lecturer pay scales start at point 30 (currently around £31k). I would expect most lecturers to be paid at point 40 or above (currently over £40k) within 10 years at most through promotion and salary increases - many that I know of did it within 5 years, or were appointed at that level or close to it.
For comparison, the UK salary deciles are reported [eg here, with a source linked](http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/25/uk-incomes-how-salary-compare). £31k is in the top 30% of salaries, and £40k in the top 20%. Professorial salaries will be in the top 10% nationally.
We could make endless comparisons between countries or within different parts of the UK, but compared to salaries in general UK academics are not *badly* paid.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: There are already a couple of good answers but there is another point:
>
> You do not stay in academia to make money.
>
>
>
Just on an anecdotal side from a friend in Russia, you'd be hard pressed to live from the pay you get there - it is very little.
In most "western" countries you get enough to live decently, but then quite often you live grant to grant, especially if you do research.
Permanent positions are far and few - and mainly coupled to teaching - so if you really want to stay in academia you will have to aim for something like lecturer/senior lecturer (and maybe a professorship eventually).
Now there will be some people who make a lot of money in academia, but these will be far and few again. To earn a lot in academia (aside from being at the dean or vice chancellor level for the UK), you would have to be so important to the teaching/research of the university that they will do their best to keep you. But then again, they will possibly try to keep you with research resources rather than personal pay.
If you are only motivated by money, industry would be the place that - depending on subject - pays better eventually (or sometimes already right at the start).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I think the broader concern is that in academia, you take jobs where you can get them, and you might not get the chance to live in the kind of town/city that most appeals to you.
I'll speak to the US because that's what I know, but I'm guessing that the UK is roughly similar. In research universities here, it is relatively typical for assistant professors to make around $70K, and for tenured professors to make around $100K. (There are, of course, outliers in both directions.)
As it turned out, I got a job in a rather small city. The city is quite inexpensive, and it's very easy to find spacious and convenient housing on a professor's salary. The downside is that it's somewhat dull, the public schools are only so-so, and the dating scene is limited.
People who get jobs in the Bay Area, Boston, New York, Seattle, etc. (and I'm guessing also London) have the opposite problem. These places are very exciting and considered extremely desirable by many, but academics living there typically have to compromise on the kind of housing they can afford.
The job market is extremely competitive. If you are very, very lucky, then you might be able to choose between these two sets of tradeoffs. That said, most of the tenure-track or tenured academics whom I know are happy with their housing situation.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: You should [read this](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/academic-vs-industry-careers-guy-lebanon):
>
> My mid life crisis, by the way, was having three kids preparing to go to college and realizing that even a senior tenured professor at a good university **can’t send them to college and can’t buy a house**.
>
>
>
This Georgia Tech professor then resigned from his position, and joined Amazon. So your lecturer is in better situation, because he has his own house.
Since you are paying £500 per month for student accommodation, I guess you live around London or Cambridge, because in the north, even in the biggest city like Manchester, one can rent a 3 bed room apartment with the same amount of money.
In these areas, around London, Cambridge, Oxford etc, as long as you have your own house, you should be happy. You can check the house prices in Zoopla, and estimate the time you can buy a house by mortgage with your expected salary.
I give you an example. I have a friend who are working as a Software Engineer in Cambridge with a salary of £50k per year, i.e. equal to that of a lecturer. He is paying mortgage for a one bed room apartment, far from the center, for 30 years.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: (The following answer focuses on France)
Researchers
-----------
In France, [*CNRS researchers*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_national_de_la_recherche_scientifique) (largest governmental research organisation in France) are paid [according to the class they belong to](https://www.dgdr.cnrs.fr/drhchercheurs/concoursch/chercheur/carriere-fr.htm) (monthly gross salary):
* chargé de recherche de 2 ème classe: between 2 200 € and 2 600 €
* chargé de recherche de 1 ère classe: between 2 300 € and 3 900 €
* directeurs de recherche: between 3 000 € and 6 000 €.
In addition to the base salary [researchers get some bonus that can go up to 1275 EUR per year](http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chercheur_des_%C3%A9tablissements_publics_scientifiques_et_technologiques_fran%C3%A7ais):
>
> Each grade has several levels that determine the remuneration of researchers . The gross monthly salary research managers is between € 3,000 and € 6,100 (assessments in September 2007) . In addition to the base salary directeurs de recherche receive a yearly research bonus ranging from 650 to 1275 EUR (depending on the [corps](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grands_corps_de_l%27Etat) and grade) and , where applicable, family supplements.
>
>
>
---
Professors
----------
The following two Wikipedia pages contain the salary grid for Maître de conférences and Professeur des universités:
* [Maître de conférences](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%C3%AEtre_de_conf%C3%A9rences_(France)):
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ce8vL.png)
- [Professeur des universités](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professeur_des_universit%C3%A9s)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/S4yFC.png)
---
Research engineers
------------------
[Gross salary for research engineers working in public institutions](http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid23194/ingenieur-de-recherche.html):
*Ingénieur de recherche de 2ème classe*
* Début de carrière : 1907,68 euros
* Mil<NAME> carrière : 2 546,66 euros
* Fin de carrière : 3 301,39 euros
*Ingénieur de recherche de 1ère classe*
* Début de carrière : 2 694,83 euros
* Milieu de carrière : 3 398,63 euros
* Fin de carrière : 3 801,46 euros
*Ingénieur de recherche hors classe*
* Début de carrière : 3 046,73 euros
* Milieu de carrière : 4 079,28 euros
* Fin de carrière : 4 458,97 euros
---
For the sake of comparison, [the monthly gross median wage in France is around 1717€](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_median_wage), and [the average monthly net income is 2128€](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_average_wage).
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: In continuation of [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/51211/what-will-be-implications-of-not-publishing-officially):
I have written a book with a new mathematical theory. I am an amateur mathematician.
I want to publish my book as LaTeX source under a copyleft license.
Does it make sense to split my book into articles and publish articles individually in math journals (after my book is already available)?
If the content wins over form, this seems unreasonable: My book is already available, why to publish articles? Moreover: Won't availability of the book already containing the content of the articles an obstacle for publication of the articles?
Having said that, I have already published one article. My second article was accepted for publication, not published due a LaTeX error and now again in review in the same journal because I made some changes in the article.<issue_comment>username_1: In order for your articles to be published in a good mathematics journal, they will have to be peer reviewed. Peer review followed by acceptance is the only real mechanism that will lad to anyone taking notice of your work. Serializing a book this way may give you a good chance to get traction with the mathematics community and to validate your ideas. Just putting a book up on your website is unlikely to achieve any of your goals because the community has no reason to trust you. Peer review is a mechanism to weed out bad ideas and highlight good ones. It's not perfect, but it is frequently helpful in this regard and is the way the modern mathematics community works.
Publishing your work as a book on your website could be an obstacle to publishing it in a journal. You generally have to transfer copyright or give some sort of license to the publisher that guarantees them some way to make money off your work by selling offprints or downloads of your articles. Some journals don't like it if there's any preprint versions floating around out there that are too close to their version. Fortunately mathematics is a heavy user of the arXiv, and so certainly pre-review copies on there (or Github) are less likely to cause a problem with the journal. Read the author agreement and copyright transfer/license requirements of the journal you'd like to submit to before putting things out on the web. The arXiv is well known in the mathematics literature, so you'd probably have better luck, more visibility, and less problems posting your articles/book there instead of Github.
BTW, LaTeX errors don't usually lead to rejection, resubmission, and re-review, they are usually just fixed after review. Hopefully your article does get published in the end, but something seems fishy about the details of your story.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: When I was in a PhD program, I knew an upperclassman who carved out several papers from this PhD thesis. You might well be able to do the same, with your book.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I planned that I could make myself money to continue education (by obtaining a master's degree), but what am I supposed to do to continue my education? It would be nice if it's going to be a part-time education and I don't have to attend to school all the time.
My candidate would be University of Toronto or McGill.
I looked at their homepage, and the application information describes undergrad for high school applicants, or application directly from undergrad students.
On top of that I am not Canadian citizen (but a resident). Is there any chance for me to restart my education?<issue_comment>username_1: In order for your articles to be published in a good mathematics journal, they will have to be peer reviewed. Peer review followed by acceptance is the only real mechanism that will lad to anyone taking notice of your work. Serializing a book this way may give you a good chance to get traction with the mathematics community and to validate your ideas. Just putting a book up on your website is unlikely to achieve any of your goals because the community has no reason to trust you. Peer review is a mechanism to weed out bad ideas and highlight good ones. It's not perfect, but it is frequently helpful in this regard and is the way the modern mathematics community works.
Publishing your work as a book on your website could be an obstacle to publishing it in a journal. You generally have to transfer copyright or give some sort of license to the publisher that guarantees them some way to make money off your work by selling offprints or downloads of your articles. Some journals don't like it if there's any preprint versions floating around out there that are too close to their version. Fortunately mathematics is a heavy user of the arXiv, and so certainly pre-review copies on there (or Github) are less likely to cause a problem with the journal. Read the author agreement and copyright transfer/license requirements of the journal you'd like to submit to before putting things out on the web. The arXiv is well known in the mathematics literature, so you'd probably have better luck, more visibility, and less problems posting your articles/book there instead of Github.
BTW, LaTeX errors don't usually lead to rejection, resubmission, and re-review, they are usually just fixed after review. Hopefully your article does get published in the end, but something seems fishy about the details of your story.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: When I was in a PhD program, I knew an upperclassman who carved out several papers from this PhD thesis. You might well be able to do the same, with your book.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: Lately, I've been wondering why institutions with a primary emphasis on undergraduate education (e.g. liberal arts colleges) value research output amongst their faculty. This is not intended to dismiss the research of LAC faculty, but rather to delineate what value the institution/department gains by hiring candidates with superior research output, perhaps at the expense of someone with a stronger teaching record. Here are several reasons I have heard, arranged in reverse order (approximately) of direct student benefit:
* Current faculty wish to promote research in the discipline for its own sake, without regard educational benefits for the students
* Tradition, or emulation of more prestigious institutions.
* Faculty need a strong enough research output to get tenure (a somewhat circular reason)
* Reputation within the research community enhances departmental and institutional prestige, with incumbent benefits for students.
* The faculty can extend their academic network to their students. Examples of this might include increased regard for letters of recommendation and awareness of (non-)academic opportunities.
* Research output is a proxy for breadth of knowledge within the discipline, hence for value of content in instruction, both formal (course syllabi) and informal (answering that random question during office hours).
* Research output corresponds to the baseline knowledge needed to supervise undergraduate research and teach best practices.
* Research activity is the best way to keep faculty aware of changing trends in the field, which in turn gets incorporated into educational practices. After all, academic careers last a long time.
I'm sure there are many valid reasons missing from this list, including some of the most important. I would like to know from a institutional/hiring perspective:
a) What reasons for valuing research activity are missing from this list?
b) What benefits are weighted most heavily? Which are given little or no thought?
c) To what extent are these benefits distinct from the ways that research profiles are evaluated by hiring committees?<issue_comment>username_1: I believe your list implicitly says this, but I'll include an answer anyhow, because I think this is an excellent question and I am interested in hearing answers that supplement what I write below.
Teaching divorced from serious engagement with the subject matter taught is arguably a very suspicious activity. In principle, if someone is paying a large sum of money to be taught a subject, the teacher should not only be able to convey his subject clearly, but also should be a practitioner of that subject. The living content of a subject is found in the minds of its practitioners, and so attempts to teach even the ideas which are archaic without the living insight driving honest contemporary investigation of the topic is very much in danger of becoming stilted, sterile or, perhaps worst of all, too packaged or neat.
One might oppose this view by pointing out that most undergraduate students do not need to know what is going on at the front lines of any subject, and the historical efforts and ideas, presented clearly in an engaged way, are enough. For cultural purposes, this may be so. However, a passion for teaching at the highest level morally ought to be accompanied by a passion for learning at that level, which is what research or serious scholarly engagement *is* at its heart.
Another strong argument against requiring research is the following: students at an average primarily undergraduate institution are generally not going to be prepared for graduate study in certain fields, so why should time and energy of faculty be sunk into research in such fields. (Many good institutions with PhD programs also need to remediate entering PhD students, suggesting that this problem stretches beyond undergrad-only institutions.) Again, though, I answer that learning and teaching should, ideally, not be decoupled.
A third argument is that it is possible for an engaged teaching faculty member to learn for his own enrichment and that this does not need to happen at the level required for research or peer review. I can only answer this, unfortunately, by my personal experience and opinion. It bothers me that when a student enters university in order to learn a subject, he cannot tell the quality of knowledge he will receive (whether the community of peers of a student's professor regards the professor's ideas and approaches as relevant). It is our responsibility to ensure that students are exposed, to the best of our ability, to ideas that have impact. I cannot see how to do this without being able to point to peer-reviewed faculty contributions.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Just like research universities, liberal arts colleges like getting grant money to perform research. Otherwise, prestige is a major reason, as you mentioned in the question.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> a) What reasons for valuing research activity are missing from this list?
>
>
>
One reason that's somewhat mentioned in your list, but not fully explored, is the benefit to students of a faculty member doing research. There are almost certainly students at LACs that are interested in careers in research, considering graduate school, etc. who benefit from research experience, the opportunity to publish and present, etc.
Having faculty who have ongoing research agendas, even if they are somewhat "modest", is an extremely valuable way for their students to get this experience.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Does anyone know a good online source for guidelines for shortening journal articles? I've just finished a paper that I'm going to submit soon, but I think it is far too long. Its current length is 30 journal pages. (I know that because I've obsessively figured out what formatting would get me to have 1 word processed page for each journal page of a specific journal.) This is in the humanities.
So I just want some good guidelines for things like "get rid of 'the fact that'." The only such things that I found online were directed at people writing their college-admissions essay, which has to be *very* short, like 500 words.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think that an automatic tool will do that for you, and I don't think that you should use one.
If you don't want to shorten, you may consider finding a journal that allows more pages.
If you want to stick to this journal, then it is better that you shorten manually. Then you can decide what is important and what should be left out. There are many way to shorten a paper, for example by shrinking or removing unecessary details in some figures, removing a few references, removing some figures, removing or rewritting text differently, etc. There is no tool that will do that intelligently for you. You really need to do that by hand.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A couple things to consider:
* *You* think it is too long, but does the journal you intend to submit it to think it's too long? If nothing else, knowing this knows your target.
* Is there things you can offload into an online or supplemental appendix? Good examples include proofs and the like in papers where the actual results are of interest, or technical details, supplemental or supporting analysis, etc.
* When it comes down to it and you just need to start killing words - start marching through, getting rid of long phrases, parenthetical asides that don't need to be there, superfluous adjectives, etc.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In general articles in the humanities are significantly longer than those in the sciences, as I'm sure you know. Does the length of your paper far exceed those typically published in your journal of choice? Then maybe some cutting is in order.
I know what you're looking for, a handy-dandy list of things to look for when revising, but I don't know of one. I think you need another pair of eyes. Do you have a colleague whose writing you admire that could have a look at it for you?
For nearly my entire academic career, I was in a writer's group with three of my colleagues. We would meet once a month or so, when someone had a conference paper to give or was finishing up on an article. It's invaluable to have a few colleagues you trust to give each other feedback. It might be a little late for this paper, but if you could even barter with someone (you'll be a reader for them in the future), it would help you greatly, I'm sure.
Good luck with it --
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: In my experience, I have found there are four main strategies for reducing the length of a paper. In order of most to least radical, they are:
1. **Write a different paper.** For example, one of my recently accepted papers really wanted to be about four times as long as the page limit, and also would have required at least another month of work beyond the deadline in order to properly complete. When this became clear, it was time for radical surgery: most of the original manuscript was pushed off into future work and only the first key result was expanded into the full presentation it deserved. We added the word "Toward" to the front of the title and started working on the follow-up paper that contains the rest of the work.
2. **Drop significant chunks of the paper.** A slightly less radical version of the first, it may be that you can keep the narrative and main results, but drop some of the secondary explorations entirely. This is the course I dislike most, because it can significantly weaken the work and "less important" dropped sections are unlikely to be able to form a separate publication on their own. This can work, however, for a conference publication that will be followed by an extended journal version (e.g., the conference version sketches an analysis of less important properties of the system being studied, while the journal version contains full exhaustive proofs).
3. **Shove things into supplementary material.** If you're submitting to a journal, it's typically possible to put unlimited amounts of information into the supplementary material. This can be a win-win situation, in which you drop significant chunks of the paper without actually omitting them, just tucking them off where only those who really care will read them.
4. **Squeeze blood from a stone.** Careful and thorough editing can often remove a remarkable amount of length from a paper, but it's a very time consuming and painful process. I can typically *halve* the length of a manuscript without omitting anything simply by dint of streamlining the presentation down to the level of individual words and phrases. Cutting 10% is not too hard for a native speaker with enough time to invest; getting all the way to 50% is an exhaustive exercise in scientific haiku. Usually, it's better to use one of the more radical but less painful strategies instead, but I have had special occasions where squeezing blood from a stone was the right approach.
I actually recommend that your consideration move from most to least radical, the reason being that the more radical actions are often actually easier, because they require less precision.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: I'm not sure what the structure of your article is, but I would make sure you are matching the writing to the target audience. I've found that it's possible to cut a large amount of background material from a paper on the grounds that the audience is most likely already experts, or has access to that information and can readily understand it without me having to spell it out for them.
I've been able to reduce paragraphs and sometimes whole sections down to one sentence with a reference to a book chapter.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: After some serious googling, I found a site with just the sort of recommendations I was looking for. Shortens without removing content *at all*. I just wish it were longer, because the suggestions are really good: [Need to shorten your paper?](http://www.shearsoneditorial.com/2011/11/need-to-shorten-your-paper/) Hopefully this might help other people.
An example of the recommendations:
>
> (1) Proteins have various functions that are precisely controlled.
>
>
> You can shorten this in two ways. First, revise to emphasize the important point, which in the context of the paper was not the variety of protein functions but the precise control of those functions. Second, eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrase: use “protein function” not “functions of proteins.”
>
>
> *Protein function is precisely controlled.*
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: At the risk of creating a "just a link" answer, there's an online Stanford course about [writing for the sciences](http://online.stanford.edu/course/writing-in-the-sciences).
The first few lectures are about "cutting the clutter" and give quite a few examples showing lengthy academic-style text being shortened and made more readable, with specific techniques being discussed. For example, academic writers often turn verbs into nouns, like so:
"We performed the configuration on the gewgaws."
Which could be shortened (and improved) to:
"We configured the gewgaws."
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: If all you care about are small stylistic changes, I'd suggest looking into *[The Elements of Style](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style)* by Strunk & White. It's a very short and concise (and therefore cheap) book that largely focuses on similar issues. That the book is so short proves that the authors know very well what they are talking about.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: Just to add to the many answers already here, I'll put what I usually do. I'm often quite verborragic while writing, so this is a common problem for me, as we can all see :)
1) Revise every single sentence, not only to remove stuff that is not needed, ("To this end", "such as", ..., I usually use that stuff to "link" ideas while writing, but they are not needed and usually can be cut out without significant change), but also, as said previously here, to better express your points. Be concise.
2) Remove trailing sentences in the end of paragraphs that do not use the full width of the column. Some times you have one or two words dangling on the end of a paragraph that waste a whole line. At one time, I managed to get a little less than half a page of space on a eight page article just by doing that.
3) Check the references. If the journal is not against journal names abbreviations, do it. The same trailing thing applies here as well...
However, those tips only work if you are close to the mark... For instance, one of my articles was reduced from 10 to 8 pages after the first review... We had no choice but to cut content and move it to supplementary material.
Always keep in mind what information you want to convey...
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I am meeting him in his office on campus. I am a master's student in computer science. I figured that suit and tie would be too formal as it isn't really an interview since I already have the position. If I were just regularly attending grad classes, I may wear T-shirt, shorts and flipflops (during the summer/fall) and jeans, polo, light jacket, sneakers during the cooler months. Should I wear khakis, dress shoes, and a nice button down shirt? Ties? Yes or no? I want to make a good first impression but not have it look like I'm trying too hard.
In addition, he invited a few other grad students to his house for a cookout next weekend. What should I wear to that? I'm guessing more on the casual side but should I go in shorts/t-shirt or jeans/polo?<issue_comment>username_1: I've never even visited any universities in that part of the country, but I think your comfortable shorts/T-shirt should be perfect for a cookout in any part of the country. For the first impression, make sure you choose something comfortable. I think dress shoes would probably be overkill. However, a short-sleeved button shirt (i.e. tailored shirt with a collar) would be a nice touch. Do you have some sort of sports shoes? That would be a happy medium between dress shoes and flip flops. If not, I'd go with the dress shoes.
If you ask what food to take to the cookout, I'll chime in on that one too.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Whatever you want to wear should be fine within reason. To be honest it wouldn't even occur to me to worry about such things. But if you are worried, just wear a clean shirt (doesn't matter what kind, as long as it's clean and has no holes), any pair of pants (shorts might be slightly informal), and a clean pair of closed-toe shoes. Ties are overdoing it and it will more likely make you look like a douche :)
As a side note, personally I don't care at all what my students wear as long as they're wearing something, but when they don't shower and it's noticeable, that can really put a damper on the first impression thing.
Once you meet your advisor in person, you should more or less have a good idea of what to wear for the cookout (judging by how much of a fancypants he is), but I'd just take the same suggestion as above, unless it's really hot, in which case shorts should be OK (but I'd stick to wearing socks in case you're invited to his house and you have to walk around barefeet).
Upvotes: 0
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2015/08/10
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a tenured full professor in the humanities, teaching at an elite liberal arts institution. Currently our department is struggling to attract majors and student scholars in our particular humanities field, for a number of reasons - the academic work is perceived as exotic, irrelevant vis a vis the more valuable STEM fields, and considered intellectually "useless" for those whose primary goal is "getting jobs" after graduation. I would still like to teach courses in my area, because I consider this to be valuable. My institution permits me to teach whatever I wish, but our students have requested courses that are more general and more suited for non-majors and non-scholars. Does it make more sense to offer courses for those few students who desire deep study in narrow topics, or should I cater to student demands for general classes that appeal to non-humanities undergraduates? I do not wish for my courses to be seen as irrelevant, but I resist "trends" and the constantly shifting and sometimes fickle interests of the students in popular subject matter.<issue_comment>username_1: This question seems too general for a proper answer, but here are a few comments that point to my belief in having to weigh options and make compromises:
* As someone in a STEM field (pure math) at a large state school, I still find it difficult to some things I want to teach, even at the graduate level, and have to make comprises for what would best serve our students (or at least serve our students reasonably well). This is not just about the level at which I can teach courses, but about what kinds of topics I can cover.
* Interesting courses for non-majors can often attract students to take more classes in an area, possibly resulting in an increase in the number of majors, and thus more opportunities for advanced classes later. This is one thing some departments focus on to help grow their major.
* In many departments, getting enough students to run advanced courses is a challenge. I don't know if this is a concern for you, but if so, you need to read the situation, because you may not even have the option to run the courses you want in the near future. Related to the previous comment, one can often try to generate interest for a specific course by motivating it in a more popular introductory course.
* I personally like teaching different things and experimenting with my courses, so often I will try to mix material that I like with the material that the students come into the class wanting to learn. (And of course, I try to motivate this well.)
* Different classes, as well as different majors, have different goals. It may be okay to have some small specialized classes (and in fact good if there are a small but serious group of students who want to pursue these topics), but if all the classes in a department are like that with shrinking enrollments, the department will probably shrink too.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm not sure what your discipline is, but I understand the situation you're describing. Does your school have a general education-type program in which you could offer some tantalizing courses? We've had a lot of success with a course on "banned books," "Shakespeare on Film," or "The Vampire Tradition." Such courses, if interesting enough, might bring more students into your major. I taught a "Fundamentals of Lit" class that was intended for non-majors, and I had Engineering and Computer Science students who told me it was the first time they'd read a story in college and they really enjoyed the class.
The other point you raise somewhat indirectly -- the value of the study of humanities. This is one of those "don't get me started" kinds of topics, because I believe the value of it is tremendous in a number of ways, but most important to other majors is the increased ability to communicate effectively. Business majors may get what seems to be a "good-paying job" upon graduation, but without the communication and critical thinking skills they would learn in the Humanities, they're not going to progress very far.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2015/08/10
| 650
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently a student doing research in Neuroscience, and as you can imagine it is a pretty big field. I am trying to better familiarize myself with my own subfield and other fields such stem cell research and genetics.
What is a good way to find some landmark papers and authors who are highly regarded in a certain field?<issue_comment>username_1: As already mentioned by @fkraiem, ideally your supervisor should be able to help here.
I know it happens, that PhD students end up with supervisors that are not specialists in their fields. In this case make use of [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.de/) and look of often cited publications, especially books. You can look for research groups that publish frequently at conferences/journals.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I suggest looking at highly cited papers. There are multiple tools that can directly access this type of data, such as [Scopus](http://www.scopus.com) and [Web of Science](http://www.webofscience.com). These are essentially databases that allow you to use complex queries on scientific literature and they contain citation statistics.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: To identify landmark papers, you can also consult the bibliography of your textbook if you have already taken classes that cover (even briefly) your subfield of interest. If your textbook is one that is used by a lot of university professors, then it probably covers landmark papers well. You can often identify the most important papers in a textbook because they'll possibly:
* be referred to multiple times and in multiple chapters
* appear near the beginning of a chapter when a topic is first introduced
* explicitly be acknowledged in the text by the author of the textbook as a seminal paper
A disadvantage to this approach is that, depending on when your version of the textbook was last updated, it may miss important developments in recent yeras.
Identifying highly-regarded authors can be harder, but you can try looking up authors (especially last-named ones, who are often supervisors/professors) of important papers on, for example, Google Scholar, to see what else they have produced and whether they have a lot of highly cited papers.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: The given below is the best way to know top researchers and working their domain. By click the on the following URL, Surely you can get lots of helps. For your more convenient, I made it much better by inserting your keyword Neuroscience.
Just copy the URL and paste in new window and see the miracle.
<https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?hl=en&view_op=search_authors&mauthors=label%3ANeuro_science&btnG=>
Upvotes: 0
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2015/08/10
| 489
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<issue_start>username_0: Two years back, was working as an research associate then have to leave the lab due to some family issues. My work was significant enough to be included in the manuscript and I was told that my experimental results will be a part of the manuscript and I will be coauthor in the paper.
Time has passed, the paper was rejected, revised and submitted. Now, the paper is again in communication, and I am being told, that as I am not in science anymore, my name is being dropped from the paper. I am trying to contact them but they are not responding. I am very much in science, but have taken a break. What should I do, if my name is removed from the paper?<issue_comment>username_1: Authorship wars are common and they suck. I suggest you discuss your plans to reach out to the journal editor with the primary PI, maybe they can change their mind. I don't know what being in science or not has anything to do with your contribution being ignored but I would understand an argument that suggests a ton of work has been done since you left to bring the paper to publication.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: If you can't resolve this issue with the editor of the journal (or you don't know the journal), the PI isn't responding you could also go the university/agency/company/organization and discuss violation of an ethical code.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: You should write up your own paper on the subject where you cite the paper in question but also mention in a footnote that they failed to properly acknowledge the source of some of their results. If the results are of sufficient interest, the paper will likely be accepted for publication. A paper with your results authored by you is what ultimately matters.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_4: This smacks of gender discrimination. Women more often take a break from academic work and studies for family reasons than men.
It might be helpful to contact your university's Office of Equal Opportunity.
You might be able to file a complaint with your state's Division of Human Rights if appropriate in the specific case (which wouldn't cost you anything, by the way).
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/10
| 900
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm looking into a variety of grad schools, but really the only places I know to look are at top 15 or so schools. Now, I know often times certain research areas within a discipline have top-tier research groups at otherwise average-ranked schools in other areas. Unforunately, I have some areas of interest that I'd like to pursue, but none of the professors in my department are active in those areas, so it's tricky to get specific info about top researchers, top departments, top journals, etc. in those areas. Is there some way I can find this information?
I'm in electrical engineering, if it matters.<issue_comment>username_1: If you have reasonably defined areas of interest, you are following the publications in the area (particularly important are conferences, and even personal blogs; it usually takes years for some work to appear in print). Look up the authors of the papers that are close to your interest, and you are done.
One advise: A friend of mine told me he was thrilled to start his PhD thesis with a first-line star in the field. Trouble was that he saw his advisor twice in a year or so, once when discussing the thesis idea and again casually meeting in an aisle. As a superstar, the professor was elsewhere (or just too busy) all the time. He ended up moving elsewhere, and dodn't regret doing hand-to-hand work with a second-tier researcher. Not *all* superstars are like that, but you do need some support and guidance from your advisor or the research group.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> none of the professors in my department are active in those areas, so
> it's tricky to get specific info about top researchers, top
> departments, top journals, etc. in those areas.
>
>
>
I suggest trying to talk to faculty in your department anyway; at the very least, they should be able to point you in the right direction, or where to start looking.
Even in the (very unlikely) event that the faculty at your school aren't very helpful with your direct task of identifying researchers in your areas of interest, they *should* be able to help you start using Google (or whatever your favorite search engine is) to identify key papers to read, and, more importantly, to track down where the research that you are interested in doing is being done.
If you have several faculty in your department to choose from, talk to the ones that are "research active": they **will** know how to help you perfect your search skills.
---
*To supplement any useful tidbits that come out of discussions with faculty at your school, let me also add:*
As an undergraduate student, you may not have had a chance to start reading papers in your areas of interest; that's OK. If that is the case, then you can start looking for papers by searching some key words related to your interests on Google Scholar, for example.
From there, you can get an idea of who the lead researchers in your subfield are, and which researchers are citing certain papers you find interesting. Keep track of the author names: read the affiliation information in the paper or use Google to figure out where these folks are.
You can also try searching the web for research groups that are doing the kinds of research you find interesting. For example, if you are in the states (where institutions are on the .edu domain), you could do a Google search for
```
"high-speed PLL design" research site:edu
```
and you would obviously change the "high-speed PLL design" search term to something that interests you.
Using variants of the above Google search strategy, I have found a lot of research groups (and their PIs, postdocs, etc.) that are doing the kinds of research that I've wanted to come up to speed on.
Upvotes: 3
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2015/08/10
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<issue_start>username_0: Lately it feels like I haven't been doing enough both personally and professionally. I am very productive at both my place of employment and my graduate studies (i.e. PhD in Soil and Water Science) however I want to be more active. I am perfectly content with crunching numbers, developing models, researching the literature, writing up results, etc...I know I am kinda...well nerdy and weird that way.
Recently I have begun reaching out to scientists in my field asking if they would like to collaborate in an effort to gain more experience with different kinds of data and ecosystems, make more connections, etc. When I offer to collaborate most don't respond...which I completely understand being an overworked scientists in the publish or perish game who needs another person to slow you down? Meanwhile some respond with a "sure love too" then when I follow up with questions or brainstorming ideas no one responds.
Is it proper to email say a professor with an email indicating that I am interested in their work and would like to collaborate on any projects? If they respond with a "Yes, love to work with you" type email with subsequent emails falling on deaf ears, is it them nicely trying to say bugger off?<issue_comment>username_1: Collaborations almost never start with a cold email in my experience. All of my collaborations have involved people from my former lab, people I met at conference, or an obvious opportunity where I had the data and they had the analysis tool. Anecdote aside, I think you have to have something the other side will obviously want: a dataset, a method, a tool; access to a site or species or specimen; something besides an idea. Lots of people have ideas. Lots of people even have the same idea. But in order to start a research relationship with someone you don't know, you've probably got to have something they want and vice-versa.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: An answer that will probably not be optimally useful to you, but may be explanatory:
I'm in mathematics, at a relatively good univ, relatively senior, generally very interested in "research" in a substantive (rather than "traditional publication") sense, but have done much of the traditional status-enhancing tenure-getting thing, too. And am enthusiastic about mentoring, especially of PhD students.
Short answer: serious people are almost universally already fully booked-up. They're not waiting for a lucky cold-call from out-of-the-blue, in any case. Thus, they're fully committed already. Bang, done.
To second-order: they may consider broadening their interaction base... but to avoid risk, it'd be to people they already know well, trust, etc. Cold-callers would have to offer something semi-amazing to make it worthwhile... oops, but then that simultaneously wrecks the cold-caller's credibility. Ouch. Catch-22.
One could go on in a similar vein, but I'd wager that's the dynamic that's stymi-ing you in these attempts. So the *recommendation* is to attempt meeting people in more "personal" ways, to establish your non-crank/seriousness, your tractability as a person, and... work up to it more gradually.
(If something I've said is opaque, I can certainly expand a bit. I do realize that you feel, reasonably-if-naively, that you're doing something positive, with baffling results...)
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Your implied question is
>
> How can I initiate distance collaborations with carefully chosen people I'm not personally acquainted with?
>
>
>
Here are some ideas. (I apologize if you've already tried everything I describe here.)
Send an email to a potential collaborator you've targeted, talking specifically about some ideas or results in a paper of his that you have read. Pose some "I wonder what would result from such-and-so approach to this data" or "Would the results be more useful if such-and-so additional data were collected" types of questions. Describe how you have used that approach to good effect. Or tell them you need some more data sets to test your analytical tool on. Introduce yourself briefly and mention some fruitful collaboration you've had with someone else.
Alternatively, call the person up for the initial contact. Start out with "This is So-and-So. I read your paper about such-and-so and have some questions about it. I hope I'm not calling at a bad time. [Short pause for answer.] I have done some similar work (describe briefly), and was particularly interested in etc. etc.
"We" might go over better than "I". The rest of the "we" could be your advisor. You want this stranger to think of you as a reliable character, not someone who's isolated and a little nutty. (You can actually be as nutty as you like, but we just want to make sure you don't give an initial impression that way.)
If you get an initial positive response, ask if it would be possible to have a phone appointment to follow up. Mention what some good times of day are for you. Email is good for that initial contact, but phone will give you better give and take of ideas, and the person is more likely to get excited about a possible collaboration through a phone call.
If you need to re-start some stalled communication, you can respond to last month's thread with either some new thoughts, if you've had some, or with a friendly note saying that you wanted to check in about etc. etc.
Granted, you don't want to be pushy... but it is okay to be persistent, as long as you're not a pest about it.
Better than all of the above, however, would be if your advisor could get the ball rolling for you.
Attending conferences, as mentioned already by Bill, can be quite helpful.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I am currently writing a blurb for my promotion packet to "full professor". It contains (for now anyway...) the following bullet point as an attempt to provide evidence of my stature in the community:
>
> Mathematicians often send me their manuscripts. Collaborations have resulted from ``cold emails'' by <NAME>, <NAME>, and <NAME>. More people have been turned down.
>
>
>
I think there is some useful information for you here. The most important word is **manuscripts**. I did not say that people write to me asking to work for me: they do that all the time, often in a way that makes me think they must be sending very similar emails to hundreds of other people. If I think your goal is for me to give you a position of some sort, then *the best* response you might get is an explanation of how you can apply for that position; it is more likely that I won't respond at all. If the main question of the email is "Will you collaborate with me?" then if I am favorably disposed to the writer I will write back pointing out that they have not really asked the right question.
You shouldn't ask whether you may collaborate with me: even if I say yes, what have we accomplished? **You should actually try to start up a collaboration in an intellectually meaningful way in the email.** A great way to do this is to show me some actual work, describe it in the email -- briefly, but in enough detail so that I can see that it is of interest -- and make a connection with some prior work or interest of mine. Something like "Because of your work X, I think you might be interested in the enclosed paper Y. I feel like more work could be done on question Z. Do you know if...?" would be ideal.
I am starting to wonder whether the above quotation may not demonstrate my "stature" within the academic community to a general audience but rather some different (positive, I think) quality: yes, I have a position of some power and influence, enough to recommend you or introduce you to Dr. A or (if the circumstances are right) hire you. However I am *not* too busy to collaborate with people who are unknown to me. Yes, I am very busy. People send me stuff all the time. (Another bullet point: "I get more than a dozen referee requests a year.") But I usually do reply to what people send me if the conditions are right. Does someone truly eminent stop reading cold emails altogether? I think the answer is probably **no**, they just become increasingly picky and selective.
My own preoccupations may have made me take the long way around on this one. What I am trying to say is: reverse your approach. Don't send the "Do you like me? yes/no" email first. First send the email in which you explain your ideas and work in a way which will be attractive and quickly perspicuous to the right person. What you are shooting for is to first convince them that you have expertise / technique / work of interest and use to them and second that they have the same which can be useful for you. (Sometimes I get emails sending me interesting stuff and asking me to join in, and my reaction is unfortunately, "Gosh, I wonder why they thought that I could help them with any of that. I have no ideas whatsoever, in fact surely less so than the people who contacted me." At this point I'm busy enough not to want to sign on to a new project with the expectation that I'll have something to contribute in the future. I need to have something insightful to say right now.)
One final thought: I have often thought that a more than ordinary compulsion to answer a question, any question, is characteristic of those who work in mathematics (and probably also in academia generally). Private citizens routinely completely ignore questions. To me that is quite a feat, and the only safe way for me to not answer a question is not to respond at all. I think that to a large degree "You get one question" when you are interacting with an academic. (If you don't get a response from a cold email, the most likely reason is that the question is one that they have been asked too many times before -- just not by you.) Choose your "one question" wisely. Make it something that inherently draws the other person in intellectually.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Try crowdsourcing sites for collaboration opportunities. See <http://www.crowdsourcing.org/> which has links to places like <https://www.zooniverse.org> for projects that could use your brainpower and passion.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_6: I think some of the existing answers are very good. Approaches that sometimes work are:
* "Please find attached a draft paper. Given your expertise in X, I'd very much value your comments and would like to invite you to be a co-author, if you are interested in contributing."
* "I have funding of $X and need expertise in your area. Would you be interested in sharing this funding?"
* "I have an excellent potential PhD student and wonder if you would be interested in co-supervising this student, given that their proposed topic of Y overlaps our two areas."
* "I have skills in Z and my time is fully funded. I am interested in working with you: is there anything I can do to assist your current work?"
* "I am preparing a funding bid on X [where I have a reasonable chance of success] and I would like to involve you in the project proposal. Are you interested in working together?"
* "I have an [extremely interesting, attention-grabbing] idea for a collaboration. Would you be interested in contributing?"
Upvotes: 2
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2015/08/11
| 5,035
| 20,937
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<issue_start>username_0: **tl;dr:** Should I report this large grant fraud, and what consequences could it have for me?
For obvious reasons, I will try to maintain some anonymity here.
So I defended my thesis. Which was funded through a government grant.
In order to obtain this type of grant, a professor needs to cooperate with several other research organizations and privately-owned industries. Then it is required for some people to exchange between these places for extended periods of time. Relocate to a different place, live and work there.
So my industrious professor submitted all the required paperwork and received enough money to support multiple PhD students, post-docs and senior professors. However, almost none of them actually did any exchange. Instead, everyone just stayed at their home institutions.
Of course, I had no idea that the grant money was being mishandled until a monitoring meeting with the grant authorities that took place a long time after I started. All the other PhD students had no idea what was going on as well. We ended up making ridiculous statements about our accommodation, work hours, health insurance as the senior professors convinced us to lie about fictitious exchanges taking place.
The whole scheme is based on deliberate misinformation about people working at places they have never seen in their lives. I suspect a ton of papers and documents had been forged and submitted as evidence. The government thinks it's a research project with cooperation among multiple institutions. The only time we see each other is at set-up (pretended) conferences.
Naturally, all the documentation is kept secret, but a quick Google search would reveal that one can't simultaneously work at place *x*, and give lectures at place *y*, while *x* and *y* are hours of travel away. But again the people who control the grant money only check the paperwork they are provided. Is there a bogus employment contract in my name? I don't know but I have reasons to believe so.
Should I report this as a fraud?
There is an anti-fraud unit which should deal with it. This could, however, backfire in so many unimaginable ways. Forgery is rather a serious offense: a few PhD students and post-docs could end up being deported. More money is being awarded each year which could go to other researchers that are at least honest about what they spend it on. A funded PhD position is still available at my university, so more unsuspecting students will be involved.
I don't even know how I should approach this problem myself. It is an ethical dilemma as to whether I should support my supervisors. The procedure is definitely illegal, but the consequences could vary from not receiving future funding from the same source, to grant recovery (many millions of an unspecified currency) or even criminal charges. I can only speculate on what documents have been forged in the process, employment contracts, visa documents etc. A large number of involved researchers don't even live on the same continent, and that is where most of the money might go to. It is also very personal. Apart from being fooled with many false promises into writing a PhD, I did not sign up for, nor intended to, lie about living in a place I have never been to.<issue_comment>username_1: **Warning**: Harsh answer following
Let me state some facts:
* You probably took a PhD you did not deserve ("worthless" was your original wording) to satisfy the grant requirements
* You were paid unusually lots of money for a PhD student, probably without having to do TAs but working exclusively on the grant aka your research
(those type of grants offer very high paychecks even for the PhD students, since they also have money for relocation, living expenses etc...). In EU, PhD students on such projects are paid as much as €2700 - €3500 per month for as much as 3 years => you probably were paid >€100k.
* You probably had a very big travel budget for conferences, with little administrative overhead (contrary to most PhD students who are on a very tight travel budget)
* You put your signature on falsified documents, probably lied in person to your grant reviews, did not resign or returned the money you falsely took when you discovered the fraud.
* Having received all that money and getting your PhD, you now have a guilty conscience and a change of heart.
* You want to do the "ethical" thing but without voluntarily returning all the money you received from the grant.
Somehow, I cannot see you as a victim here.
As far as I am concerned, consulting a lawyer and voluntarily returning all the money you illegally received from the grant (after consulting your lawyer) are the only viable solutions if you want to come clean.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: From an **ethical** point of view, the best thing to do is to report the fraudulent behavior. As to the question of whether "[you] should support [your] supervisors back" the answer is no. There is no ethical obligation for you to keep fraudulent behavior secret to protect your previous bosses. In general the ethical code in academia differs from the one in organized crime (with some exceptions).
It sounds like you think revealing what you know might result in the obliteration of an entire department and several (*a priori* honest) people loosing their job. This is not going to make you popular among these people. But it's not a sufficient reason, again strictly ethically speaking, not to report it. They use ill-acquired money, either knowingly or not, and this money should go to someone else.
From **your** point of view, the situation is risky of course and it's a bit late to report it, the ideal moment would have been when you were first asked to falsify reports of your expenses and actual location. If you decide to report, **seek professional legal support**.
But don't be too optimistic about the results of any investigation that might follow. In the majority of countries, it's very rare that anything is being done about people embezzling public money in academic or other government environments. If anything, the private companies involved might retract to prevent further damage.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: TLDR: You need a lawyer.
---
I think, ethically, speaking out is the right thing. Falsifying grants is despicable and has a very negative impact on science in general. It has happened to me multiple times that when I say in a pub that I am in science and that I got a grant people say things like "All those grants are just frauds to get money from the government/EU". I don't think I need to explain why this kind of perception hurts on both personal and systemic level.
Regarding your own well being, things are much more difficult. The fact is that you have **willingly** participated in a non-trivial fraud for a **prolonged** period of time. Speaking out will not erase this neither ethically nor legally.
You need to consult a **lawyer** (not an Internet law advice, a real lawyer). As pointed out in the comments - you may easily be considered a part of the fraud. You may want to check your country's whistleblower/cooperating defendant protection laws, but those (if existent) usually do not provide any strict protection - court will have to decide whether you will face charges. OTOH, if the scheme is revealed later without your involvement, you will be in much worse situation than if you had spoken.
You may also claim to have acted in good faith or under serious threat (losing employment). Once again, a lawyer should be able to tell you to what extent this may protect you under the relevant jurisdiction, *given the specific circumstances* (there is no simple general rule).
Be aware, that you are in trouble. I don't think there are so many grants of this kind and much fewer of them are being cheated like the one you speak about. There is a non-negligible chance that someone overseeing the project reads this post and may consider checking whether this isn't "his" project. Some other participant of the grant may read this as well and consider speaking out himself to get into a better situation. And as this sounds like a big and ongoing fraud, it may easily burst on its own - once people get too much used to bending rules they usually do not know when to stop.
This is not a "we used a questionable accounting trick to be able to buy a new device we really needed for research" kind of problem, there is no good intent, neither was the money used in the spirit of the grant.
**EDIT:** One more bad scenario in response to some of the comments. Let's suppose the fraud is exposed. Even if the funding agency does not initiate a criminal investigation and even if they cannot directly claim money from you (as your contract is probably with the uni) you still have trouble. Since the uni will likely have to return a large sum of money, they can file civil suit against the people involved in the fraud seeking financial compensation for the loss. As you have made false statements about accommodation and other stuff, this can easily include you.
**EDIT 2:** I would like to highlight a good point made in [username_6's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/51346/26495): If the corruption is sufficiently deep in the system, it might not be actually possible to bust your advisor (read [the answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/51346/26495) for detailed reasoning).
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: The other answers already adequately point out your moral/ethical obligation to report this (from the sound of it quite large) fraud.
I just want to add that if you *don't* report this, and assuming you want to continue in Academia, it will probably hang over you for the rest of your career. You will be afraid of being busted for this for the rest of your life, and if you are, the consequences are likely to be far more severe than they would be now. This may be your last chance to come clean and make a fresh start.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I am not a lawyer, but I know enough to say that this matter is not Criminal or Civil, it is Contractual. In Contractual law, individuals who are involved in a breech of contract MAY be required to pay a fine, but only in very very rare circumstances. Typically it is the company, university or institution - the one that INITIATED the contract - that has to foot the payout. I'll repeat, because there are a few sensationalist posts above mine that seem to suggest otherwise - it is not criminal to breach a contract. When the contract is initiated on behalf a registered organisation/university, it is not even Civil. Extracting money for saying you will do X and instead you do Y is NOT a criminal offence unless common law is broken or significant harm to person or persons was brought about by deliberately (and with full knowledge of the consequences) breeching the contract. This is really only ever used when safety companies fail to provide due diligence to turn a quick profit and people die.
So any legal issues with the contract will be brought to your employer, not you personally. Your employer may then wish to seek damages against you for some of their costs because you did not report it to them sooner, but such a case is certain to fail. For one, even if they win, you probably have no money to pay them and can file for bankruptcy instantly. If they lose, they will have substantial court costs to pay. What probability do they have of winning? Slim to none. You can offer both ignorance AND/OR duress as credible defences. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duress_in_English_law>
So to answer your question, you should report it, and you should get a lawyer. Based on the information you have provided, you are not legally vulnerable. You are however extremely vulnerable academically. The university may revoke your PhD, and worse they might discredit your work, and make it very difficult for you to work in Science elsewhere. They do not need to provide any legal basis for doing either of these things, since PhDs are 'awarded' rather than earned. However, game theory would suggest that such a Pyrrhic victory is unlikely to be performed by a university of supposedly smart people. The effort spend in revoking your PhD is a no-win situation. But it really depends on the university when all is said and done.
Also, the only thing more impressive than a PhD is turning one down because the system failed you. Then go get a job at the grant-awarding body.
EDIT:
Due to "popular demand", and the fact that this post sits at a healthy -4, I am adding this edit.
In the above text I mention that I am not a lawyer. It goes without saying therefore that what i present isn't to be considered legal council. It is just an internet comment. However, it does contain actual legal information, which other commenters deemed incorrect, despite they themselves being frighteningly unclear on, if this went to trial, who would actually be suing whom.
They also request that I make it quite clear when I state "/Duress\_in\_English\_Law", that I only refer to English law, because this was perhaps unclear.
In my defence, Common Law, which was developed in England and spread to the rest of the English-speaking world is actually rather... Common. Unsurprisingly, that is both why it is called Common Law, and why I referenced it in the first place. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_legal_systems#Common_law>
One of the nice things about Common Law is that many things, like the definition of basic legal terms such as "fraud", are very very similar wherever Common Law is applied. This is what makes having a conversation about law over the internet possible, without having to constantly qualify everything.
So I think it's fair to say that everything in this post is probably relevant to the OP, and isn't just some wishy-washy "do it because it's the right thing" or "if you don't do it you'll burn in hell" vote bait. I dont care for votes. What matters is that this guy DOES go to a lawyer, and DOES bring this matter to the attention of the grant-funding body. The chances of that happening is so very very much higher if he appreciates that he is not personally liable, as all the above nonesense brolawyer posts above suggest.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: Since the question is intentionally vague, I think there's one more angle that should be considered in the general case and that everyone missed: Can I actually bust my PhD adviser?
Let's be honest: Such deep level of cover-ups shows that entire operation is being conducted in a society that allows corruption, so it would be a bit naive to think it's only localized to academia.
Assuming you actually have sufficient evidence to incriminate the whole gang, can you be sure that someone is going to act on those evidence? Are you sure that none of the implicated professors have a colleague from law school who just happens to be best friends with the prosecutor to whom your case gets assigned to? Or the judge? Can you be 100% sure that your case won't spend next XX years untouched at the bottom of the stack of the cases that need to be solved?
If the behavior you're describing is being tolerated by such large number of people, can you be 100% sure that there's absolutely no government backing in it? Are you sure that people controlling the grant money are as incompetent/naive as they look and are not in fact somehow taking a percentage of the grant money for themselves? We'll give you 100 million, but you'll give me 1 million!
To put is simply, I suspect that there could be a very serious danger that you could report this to the authorities, exposing yourself in that way and burning all bridges with your research community, and at the same time have authorities do absolutely nothing about it, other than perhaps prosecuting you personally for your contribution to the plot. Such things can be common in societies with large levels of systematic corruption and in that case, by reporting the plot, you'd only exile yourself from academia. It could quite easily happen that in such case you may need to leave your country and start looking for work elsewhere.
Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't be rocking the boat, I'm just trying to focus a little bit on the consequences part of the question. Make sure that you have a plan in place in case your attempt to expose the plot fails.
Many people recommended that you speak to a lawyer. Instead, I'll say: Try to find a good lawyer that specializes in corruption cases and can explain to you how exactly is it realistic for you to expose people and where you should report the fraud if it is in fact feasible to report it. Then find another lawyer with same qualifications and speak to him as well! Keep in mind that in busting your adviser, you'll be making a whole bunch of enemies, many of them of high rank, quite possibly for life. People say: "The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine." Even in the case that the rest of your society is not as corrupt as I fear it to be, what are you going to do while the case is being processed, which can easily take many years? Would you be able to eat and drink your honesty?
So once again, before you actually do anything, make sure you have plans in place so you are safe if it all backfires.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_7: You do not say what country you are from. Different countries have different legal systems. They also have different penalties.
If you were British or living in Britain, I'd suggest you start with the Citizens Advice Bureau. I'm pretty sure they do not ask for your full details. You could even give a false name. These organisations have contacts in all sorts of areas with experts who volunteer their specialist knowledge.
Contact any sources of help that are ***impartial*** and that will not be obliged to take action. Ask them beforehand what their policy is about reporting wrongdoing that they are told about. You can telephone a different branch from the one you intend to consult.
Think ten times or more before you go anywhere near a body that does investigations and doles out punishments. Committees within educational establishments are not impartial. They will act in the best interests of themselves and the good name of the institution. A few dead bodies of PhD scapegoats probably won't concern them as much as loss of a professor although it does happen.
Search your own conscience. If it's clear then go ahead. If it's not then pragmatism comes into play. Are you tough enough to take the consequences of your own actions? Can you make amends? Would that be a mitigating factor?
Finally be aware that whistle-blowing, even when done with the best will in the world and with a clear conscience can come back to bite you.
If you are outside Britain then I don't know what is available.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_8: I have a few concerns with your post:
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> it is required for some people to exchange between these places for extended periods of time. Relocate to a different place, live and work there.
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How many **exactly** is "some"?
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> However almost none of them actually did any exchange. Instead everyone just stayed at their home institutions.
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Wait, "almost none" implies that it was *not everyone* that stayed at their institutions. That is, *some people did make the exchange.*
The point being: could it be possible that, at least at this point in what you've told us, the PI has fulfilled the obligations to the grant?
Now, though, here's a critical point:
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> We ended up making ridiculous statements about our accommodation, work hours, health insurance as the senior professors convinced us to lie about fictitious exchanges taking place.
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When you write "ridiculous" you mean all of those statements were *total lies*, on the part of *every* student? And that multiple professors convinced every student to blatantly lie about key features of their contracts? And no one has balked or come forward about it publicly?
Doesn't that strike you as hard to believe?
My other concern is this:
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> The government thinks it's a research project with cooperation among multiple institutions. The only time we see each other is at set-up (pretended) conferences.
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But in my experience, cooperation among multiple institutions often does not entail physically transplanting researchers. Are you **sure** you understand the exact requirements of the grant? That having a few key researchers exchange and occasionally meeting at conferences (what do you mean by "pretended"? Do they meet or do they not?) doesn't fulfill the grant?
**My overall point is:** you had better be perfectly sure you know exactly what is permitted under the grant and what is not before you start accusing anyone of misdeeds.
Upvotes: 5
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