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2015/08/04	2,298	8,779	<issue_start>username_0: A reason that researchers sometimes give for not working in the open is the fear of having a publication 'scooped' by a competing researcher. Is there a clear, verifiable example where scooping has happened as a result of work being shared informally on the web prior to formal publication? By being scooped, I am thinking of a situation where Researcher 1 has made progress on a project openly, but has not yet formally published her or his findings. Researcher 2 subsequently takes the informally shared work as a basis for a publication, to the detriment of Researcher 1.<issue_comment>username_1: This is not a complete answer. But the point of systematic open science in the first publishing is, among other things, to prevent scooping, yes? Consider that scooping (defined by this sentence implicitly) is possible iff one publication is obscure or informal and another published later without crediting the earlier source they were aware of is much less obscure and claims the result. A systematic if informal system like arXiv prevents scooping actually, as you would imagine. Even MathOverflow posts have been [cited in papers, not scooped](https://meta.mathoverflow.net/questions/617/best-of-mathoverflow). I would have difficulty finding an example of scooping in internet publication because of this reason. It's easily discovered and I don't think that people who participate in open science do it because it undercuts the goodwill foundation of goodwill (an intangible asset that goes on a balance sheet and can be in other circumstances a large part of the value of an enterprise) of open publication and easy mutually beneficial discussion. Allegations of scooping arose mostly in the eighteenth and nineteenth century when most print publications, even well known ones, were difficult to obtain or check. Likely remarks about such cases are where the fears of being scooped originate. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is not actually an answer to your question but: I would argue that the sooner your work is publicly available, the smaller the chances of your work being 'scooped' by someone else. At least in physics (maybe other domains too) people often 'publish' a first version on [arxiv](http://arxiv.org/) just to get it out and thus be capable to claim authorship. Then they try to submit it in a peer-reviewed paper. Presumably it is during the in submission phase were work can be scooped by others: Imagine a reviewer who gets your manuscript and that has a colleague working on the same thing you are. If he is honest, he will not share your work with his colleague, if he is not so honest we will share your work and if he want to help out his colleague he will ask you to do some improvements on your paper just to delay the process. However, if you post your scientific work in some shaggy blog somewhere I can imagine that your work can be scooped. But the better sites like [arxiv](http://arxiv.org/), [biorxiv](http://biorxiv.org/) or [vixra](http://vixra.org/) are established, the easier it is to make scientific work publicly available without the risk of someone scooping you. Note, as [HDE 226868](http://openscience.stackexchange.com/users/7/hde-226868) pointed out, that [vixra](http://vixra.org/) has rather 'liberal' criteria for submission, leading to not the best reputation when it comes to quality of the papers you can find there. It serves, nevertheless, the purpose of getting a paper published. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_1: I agree with the points raised about pre-prints preventing scooping by allowing priority to be established. If others then use this work without attributing the original source then they have broken scientific/cultural norms and have committed research misconduct. The same goes with [data publication and citation](https://www.datacite.org/services/cite-your-data.html) - early dissemination of data with citable DOIs to allow for attribution of its use before a formal paper has been published. Like pre-prints, the majority of journals do not see this as prior publication ([see the survey of publishers on this](http://f1000research.com/data-policies) by F1000). A useful example of this was the genomic data from the deadly German E. coli outbreak that killed over 50 people in summer 2011. There were arguments over who sequenced it first, but one group [COI declaration: I was involved in data release from BGI] released their data first via twitter ([CC0 with DOIs to make it citable](http://dx.doi.org/10.5524/100001)) and got the credit for doing this (see [this blog posting](http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/gigablog/2011/08/03/notes-from-an-e-coli-tweenome-lessons-learned-from-our-first-data-doi/) for more on the crowdsourcing efforts this enabled). Not only did this not prevent the eventual formal publication in a [journal (NEJM)](http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1107643?&), the group that didn't release their data due to what they said was competition to publish were [criticised by some](http://scienceblogs.com/mikethemadbiologist/2011/07/27/public-data-publishing-priorit/) for doing this. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: The Kuiper belt object Haumea was perhaps discovered by a second group through looking at observation logs - it was very controversial. [The controversy has a wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversy_over_the_discovery_of_Haumea) Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_1: This does not constitute strong evidence, but one anecdotal example of this is mentioned in an [@GallantLab tweet.](https://twitter.com/gallantlab/status/624316360017887232) (Gallant Lab is the Computational & Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at UC Berkeley run by <NAME>.): "sigh. A paper that we've been working on for 1.5 years was just scooped by another lab that re-analyzed open data from my lab. Ah well..." Notably, Gallant seems to take the scooping in stride, noting in the [next tweet](https://twitter.com/gallantlab/status/624341987664207872): "Just to be clear, the scoopers did nothing wrong! They cited our data & papers. They asked a simpler question for which the old data was OK." Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Most answers, and maybe the question, don't address how "scooping" normally happens. It isn't that group 2 simply takes group 1's results and publishes them. It's that group 2 realizes from group 1's partial results that there's some big finding to be had--or already made and just needing enough confirmation--and can take the already-gleaned insight to drive a frenzy of their own experiments (which in some cases are exactly the same as experiments being done by group 1). Group 2, after having swooped in at the end to finish up really fast, then publishes without reference to how they realized these were the right experiments to do, and without any citation to group 1 since they're still finishing up. Now, if all research were totally open, this maneuver would no longer work, since you'd be able to track that key ideas 1-5 were out there before group 2 jumped in with idea 6 that crossed over the threshold needed for a good publication. Even if group 2 got the good publication, it'd be really obvious that 80% of the valuable work was actually done by group 1. But if only some research is totally open, then the closed guys can just feign ignorance about "scooping" the other group. They can probably rightly claim to have been working on the same problem for a long time, and that they weren't really doing the right experiments or thinking about the problem the right way is completely obscured. Now, although I haven't witnessed this kind of scooping with open data, I have witnessed it (at various distances) on at least four occasions with data that was not fully open but openly shared in various contexts (meetings, etc.). And though most people intimately familiar with the details agreed that it happened, group 2 was the one with the better publication record. I think all the group 1s ended up okay w.r.t. funding and tenure and so on, but it was to their detriment. So the concern seems potentially valid, at least until hiring and tenure and grant committees will look more favorably on a Figshare etc. or GitHub repository containing documentation of discoveries than on a high-profile publication months later that contain mostly those same discoveries. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: <NAME> put his proof for Poincaré conjecture on ArXiv. Two Chinese guys, <NAME> and <NAME>, tried to scoop his result. Their effort was supported by the Chinese Field Medalist Shing-Tung Yau. Those Chinese didn't succeed but Perelman was so pissed off that he withdrew from maths. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/04	1,231	4,807	<issue_start>username_0: A DOI is a commonly used digital object identifier to refer to an electronic document. How do I secure a DOI for a research dataset, to help share and identify it?<issue_comment>username_1: This is a common question on [the DOI FAQ](http://www.doi.org/faq.html): > > You must use a service offered by a DOI Registration Agency (RA). RAs collect metadata, assign DOI names, and offer other services such as reference linking or metadata lookup. See the list of RAs, and contact the ones whose services best meet your needs. If you do not see an appropriate application listed, consider approaching an existing RA or developing a community to build the service you require (see the DOI Handbook, 8 Registration Agencies, for more information). You do not need to be a member of the International DOI Foundation in order to work with an RA. > > > This system is valid for data, as it can be applied to "any entity". [Lists are available](http://www.doi.org/registration_agencies.html): * Ariti, Inc. * CrossRef * China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) * DataCite * EIDR (Entertainment Identifier Registry) * ISTIC (The Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China) * JaLC (Japan Link Center) mEDRA (Multilingual European DOI Registration * mEDRA (Multilingual European DOI Registration Agency) * OP (Publications Office of the European Union) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There area number of routes. They do cost money to create, so you want to get it via one of many providers: * [Figshare](http://figshare.com/) gives DOIs to items you put in your account with them - this is the most DIY route * [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/) gives DOIs to objects * Many data repositories assign DOIs, e.g., [Dryad](http://datadryad.org/) Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: There are a number of ways in which a DOI could be linked to a dataset: * [Figshare](http://figshare.com/) will provide a DOI for any deposited work, which includes data. * [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/) also provides DOIs for any kind of research output, including datasets * [Dryad](http://datadryad.org/) provides DOIs for data submissions linked to papers (for a fee, which includes storage, curation, archival, & checks for best-practice [HT @DaisieHuang for pointing out my lazy description of fee previously]) You might also look to see if a domain-specific repository provides a DOI for data. The journal [Scientific Data](http://www.nature.com/sdata/data-policies/repositories) maintains a good list of repositories you can look at. Choosing a DOI provider will depend on particular circumstances. Both Figshare and Zenodo are both free to use services for example whereas Dryad charges for the service they offer to cover ongoing storage and archival costs. ### Some points of comparison between Figshare, Dryad, and Zenodo, etc Dryad accepts data relating to publications; if it isn't associated with a paper then they won't accept it. Figshare and Zenodo will accept any research output, whether linked to publication or not. In that sense Figshare and Zenodo are more broadly applicable to any research outputs. Data may be more discoverable in Dryad or domain-specific repositories (DSRs) than in general purpose ones likes Figshare & Zenodo. Data is likely to be formatted in standard ways and more easily searched by online or other tools if they are archived in Dryad or DSRs. This is likely to encourage reuse. Figshare is a for-profit commercial entity, Zenodo is run by CERN and was supported by the EU OpenAIRE project at one point, whilst Dryad is an not-for-profit entity supported by research grants and membership fees for organisations. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: It is possible that your institution will provide a data repository for research conducted there. Some of them will also assign DOIs, but this is specific for the institution. If there is no DOI, usually there will be some other sort of permanent link you can use. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: In some circumstances, [ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/) gives you a [DOI](https://www.doi.org/). Nevertheless, you can also try [arXiv](https://arxiv.org/), while it could be a great solution for your issue. Following an [early post](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/121407/where-and-how-are-computer-science-researchers-publishing-datasets), it can be useful to you also, by giving you a possible strategy. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: You can find repositories that assign DOIs to datasets in the [Repository Finder Tool](https://repositoryfinder.datacite.org/). You can filters those that actually meet the criteria of the Enabling FAIR Data. edit: Full disclosure, I work at DataCite as a developer. Upvotes: 0
2015/08/04	1,060	4,558	<issue_start>username_0: For instance, say a published paper demonstrated new possible invention or technology by analysing the data and publishing it publicly. Is there any way to protect such research or its data which can lead to unauthorised private patents worldwide? If not, is prove of being first into specific area of research/technology (such as publication date) enough to protect from and avoid such situation?<issue_comment>username_1: I'll preface this by saying I'm no expert so caveat emptor, but I would expect that publishing the details of a new invention or technology would be considered as prior art making it much more difficult for someone else to patent the idea. Depending on the scope of the invention/technology and what you actually publish, it could be possible for someone to patent a use of said invention/technology in a novel or non-envisaged way. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Legally speaking, any disclosure of an invention prevents it from being patented: it counts as [prior art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prior_art). Disclosure includes not only publication but also public demonstrations, as well as sales (except possibly when subject to a non-disclosure agreement). This is part of the [novelty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_(patent)) requirement of patentability. There is an exception: in some countries, the inventor has a [grace period](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_(patent)#Grace_period) after disclosure during which they can still file a patent. This only applies to the inventor, a third party isn't allowed to file a patent for something they didn't invent, or for something that somebody else has already published. The longest grace period around the world is 1 year, in the US. Some jurisdictions such as the EU have no grace period. Thus if you publish your research, this protects from anyone subsequently filing a patent on it. Even if they had invented it previously, your publication would invalidate a future application. After publication, the only remaining risk is that you, or a fellow inventor who worked with you, take advantage of the grace period to file a patent in countries where this is possible. I don't know of a way for you to legally guarantee to others that you won't file a patent. Note that you need to publish (or at least publicize — a private disclosure is sufficient to invalidate a patent unless it falls under the scope of a confidentiality agreement). If you invent something and don't publicize it, that allows someone else (presumably working independently, since you didn't tell them anything) to file a patent on their own invention. Being the first to invent doesn't bring you an advantage (it used to in some countries, but since the US switched in 2013, all countries have a [first-to-file](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_to_file_and_first_to_invent) system). Fortunately, publishing open research shouldn't be an onerous requirement. That's the law. In practice, patent examiners don't always find prior publications. The ubiquitous Internet has made it easier than it used to be, but conversely the increasing volume of available knowledge has made it more difficult to find the needle in the haystack. If a patent has been accepted by a patent office, it can still be contested due to the existence of prior art, but this requires a court decision, which can be costly. Some research institutions (public or private) have a formal practice of [defensive publications](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_publication): publish potential inventions that they don't intent to patent as soon as possible, in order to block anyone else from patenting them. Technically, any publication is a public disclosure, including an arXiv preprint, a blog post, or even a research seminar if it's legally open to external visitors. However, since it's easier to fight a patent before it's granted, it is advantageous to make it easy for patent examiners to find the defensive publication. If you're concerned about someone filing a patent on something you discovered, or for that matter anything that you know about, you can watch patent applications. Patent applications are published for a period of at least a few months, during which time anyone can point the patent examiner to something that they consider to be prior art. Stack Exchange participates in this process through their [Patents site](https://patents.stackexchange.com/tour) where people can coordinate prior art searches. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2015/08/21	383	1,670	<issue_start>username_0: I am set to do a masters degree in the UK starting in mid September this year. It is exactly one year long. I intend to do another masters after it which begins in October next year. The structure of the course is we are examined on 4 modules in January and examined on 4 modules in June. We then write our dissertation from June to September. The weighting of the dissertation is 4 modules. My problem is that I will have all my modules marks by September but not the dissertation mark. I will get my certificate around November time. I emailed the course director and he said that "as long as you can get a provisional transcript, stating your provisional grades, before September, you are fine for the programme". Does this mean that even if I do not get all my marks back before September, I am still eligible to apply and be accepted on the course? Does provisional transcript mean an unofficial transcript with all my grades? Or does it mean a transcript with my grades so far?<issue_comment>username_1: Provisional transcript: The school's current best indication of your classes and grades, subject to correction if necessary. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Ask around at your current school to find out what kind of official transcript you can get for what you have already completed, and then forward that asking if it is enough (with a list of the courses you are currently attending, and your immediate plans on other courses). If not enough, they might ask for further details, like partial grades and an explanation of grading system in your courses, but there you'll have to provide what they require. Upvotes: 0
2015/08/21	504	2,301	<issue_start>username_0: As a graduate student, I'm involved in an industry-sponsored project in which they provide us with a large dataset (the only source of data that we have) and money, but no guidance, as they have no clue about our work. In the draft of the agreement between our university and the company they wanted full ownership of any code, algorithm, methodology or design produced as a part of this project. In addition, they wanted the right to review, edit and approve any publication based on this project or any subsequent activities performed during this project. I just wonder whether this is a normal practice or whether they want too much!<issue_comment>username_1: Not at all uncommon. The school is essentially acting as a paid contractor -- school gets the funding and the project to play with and possibly some equipment and unpublished results to start with, company gets the patents or other intellectual property. Both feel they're getting a good deal, or they wouldn't have signed this contract. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I would consider this to be generally a rather extreme (and perhaps inappropriate) contract for a university to sign, particularly if graduate students are going to be asked to work on the project. My key reasons for concern are: 1. Graduate students need to be able to publish their work openly in order to advance their careers. An open-ended clause like this could readily become a "gag order" that prevents any publication. Restrictions, particularly regarding the use of confidential data, may be reasonable in an academia contract. Such restrictions, however, should have a precise and clearly delineated boundary, and it sounds like this one does not. 2. A contract that says "the sponsor gets all the IP" is rare even for companies doing contract research. More typically, at least some of the IP will be reserved to the inventors, while the sponsor will be given some sort of expansive license to the IP. This sounds like a company that doesn't want to pay the cost of contract R&D and that is instead trying to inappropriately exploit graduate students as cheap labor. I would strongly suggest pushing back to ensure appropriate education of graduate students and to more equitably divide IP. Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
2015/08/21	662	2,460	<issue_start>username_0: The requirements for applying for a master's programme in National University of Singapore are stated as > > The candidates must possess: > > > * A good honours degree in computing; or > * A good honours degree in a related discipline with 2 years IT industry experience; or > * A good bachelor's degree in computing with 2 years IT industry experience; or > * A good bachelor's or honours degree in business related discipline with 2 years IT industry experience. > > > In my country, a student is considered as an honorable student if he/she completes his/her education with a GPA over 3.00/4.00 but I don't know what is a good honour degree? I have looked it up on Google but there are a lot of different definitions. Also, I could not find any statements in the university website. Can you help me?<issue_comment>username_1: There is probably not a general equivalent (EU is not a monolithic block). For instance, in my country, Italy, the nearest equivalent is probably that of the Laurea a pieni voti (roughly "graduated with full marks"), which means a grade between 99/110 and 109/110 (in Italy MsC grades range from 66 to 110 cum laude). Years ago to apply for certain positions in Italy, especially in the public administration, it was required to have a laurea a pieni voti, but I haven't seen such a requirement for years and it was more spread in the humanities. In any case students from European universities can ask to their universities the so called [Diploma Supplement](http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/diploma-supplement_en.htm), a document which should help the international recognition of the qualifications. This document should provide information on the local grading system and report the corresponding student's grades in the [ECTS grading scale](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECTS_grading_scale). Maybe if you look at the [ECTS User's Guide](http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/docs/ects-guide_en.pdf) you can find information on what can be an equivalent to the good honor's degree. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: For historical reasons, Singapore often uses the U.K degree classification system. 'Good Honours Degree' usually means either 'First class Honours' or 'Upper Second Class Honours'. These map (approximately) onto the U.S 'cum laude' classifications. For more info, see Wikipedia 'British undergraduate degree classification'. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2015/08/21	376	1,537	<issue_start>username_0: Office hours can be selected at any time, but how they can be selected to benefit all? The students to ask the instructors and the instructors to have some time to conduct research? Before a class or after a class? In the same days as the class, days with no classes, or all days?<issue_comment>username_1: If I had a two day a week class, I would have it before class on Tuesday, and after class on Thursday. And also by arrangement, if someone couldn't come because of their class or work schedule. At my school, the rule was two hours for each class. There's no recommended amount of time where you are? Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I try to set "official office hours" on some schedule that shouldn't clash with classes, but encourage students to ask directly after class if warranted. I tell them that otherwise they can get an appointment, or just drop by. I'll tell them (or leave a note on my door) when I'm unable to spare a few minutes for a quick question. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I think it is important to cover as much time slots as possible. So if classes start for example every two hours, let's say 8-10, 10-12 etc. try to make your office hours for example from 9.30 to 10.30. This way students with a class in one of these slots can still visit you. edit: Also, if your office hours are directly before or after your class, your students won't have time to prepare for the class after your talk, or think about questions after your class. Upvotes: 1
2015/08/22	1,777	7,264	<issue_start>username_0: I'm not an English native speaker, and my question is, probably, only relevant for non-native speakers. Sometimes, native speakers just don't care how easily the presenter can understand the question. Such a carelessness usually embarrasses the presenter enormously and makes him appear incompetent. What is the proper way to behave for the non-native speaking presenter? Is it OK to ask for a repetition? NOTE: I know, being a part of academic world requests some proper English knowledge. But you can hardly become as good as native speakers. And some native speakers have unusual dialects and use difficult expressions (sometimes, I bet, on purpose). I remember one speaker from Wales at a British conference. My God, that was Greek to me.<issue_comment>username_1: I have never come across somebody who seemed to be using difficult expressions just to confuse a non-native speaker. When people talk to you in complicated English, it's because they haven't realised you might not understand, and that is quite likely because your own English is good enough that they forget you don't speak the language perfectly. Just say something like, "I'm sorry but I didn't understand all of your question. Could you repeat it, please?" Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, it is appropriate to ask the questioner to repeat the question, prefaced by: > > "I'm sorry but I didn't understand the question. Can you repeat it or rephrase it?" > > > If you still don't understand it, you might ask someone else in the audience to restate it or rephrase it. --- Some people at academic conferences are not good at asking clear, direct questions, even when they are native English speakers with normal dialect. I have asked people to repeat or rephrase questions for this reason, and I am a native English speaker. Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: It is OK to acknowledge you don't always hear or understand what is being asked. I often request a question be repeated or even rephrased. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: If I don't understand the question, I ask politely for a repeat. If I still don't understand (either language or content wise) I usually suggest that we can discuss the matter after the talk and I go on with my talk or dealing with other questions. The only time this not worked well was once where the person was pointing a typo in my slide, and I couldn't make out what was wrong, and more and more people started getting involved in telling me what it was (which is usually confusing...) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: As with the other answers, I will echo that it's OK to not understand and to ask for somebody to repeat themselves. Even as a native speaker I often have a hard time understanding a question. Sometimes, though, it's not because the question's hard to hear, but because the reasoning behind it is odd or because the question is just not coherent to begin with. As such, I want to add one other strategy: if I still don't understand the question after one repetition, I will simply make my best guess at a reasonable question I think they might be asking, saying something like this: > > If I understand you correctly, your question is about why llamas prefer melons over grapefruit. The answer to this question is that ... > > > This way, I'm giving a good answer to some interesting question, and it might even be theirs. If they're satisfied, great; if not, they can try to clarify their question. Moreover, because I repeat the presumed question back, it's hopefully clear to the rest of the audience that if something's wrong it's with my ears (which are not scientifically important) and not my thinking (which is the important bit). Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_6: There is nothing wrong with politely asking for a repeat of the question. Your particular reason (learning the language) is an excellent reason for asking, but that's actually irrelevant, because politeness does not require you to explain why you are asking for a repeat (although if you asked them more than once, it might!) In fact, your asking them to repeat something may have unintended beneficial consequences, for instance, someone else may not have heard what was said and may also be wishing it would be repeated but was too shy to ask for themselves: this has happened to me, and I was truly grateful to the person who asked for the repetition :) Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: > > Is it OK to ask for a repetition? > > > Yes, not only it is okay but also it is necessary. You are the presenter. You are responsible for answering the questions from the audience. If you don't understand the question, how do you answer it? > > What is the proper way to behave for the non-native speaking presenter? > > > This depends on the situation. In my personal experience (I am a non-native English speaker), I would first say > > I beg your pardon, would you please repeat your question? (An old fashion way). > > > After the asker repeats the question, if I still don't quite understand the question but I have some clues about what the question is (after all, the audience are in the same or close fields), I would say > > It seems that you are asking blah blah ..., is my interpretation correct?. > > > If the asker agrees, then I answer the question if I can. If the asker disagrees, if I am lucky, hopefully he would rephrase the question or some audience would volunteer to help to explain the question. If I get it, I would answer it. If I still don't get it, I would say > > Can we talk about this offline?. > > > After the presentation, I would go to the asker and ask him to clarify the question and then answer the question if I can. The above probably won't solve all the cases if you are not lucky. One of my worst personal experience is that an asker who is also a non-native English speaker asked a question that nobody in the room including myself could understand what he was talking about after several repetitions. I had to give up and I could not find him after the presentation. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: You can mention that you are a non-native speaker of English. Being a non-native speaker of English myself I face the same problem too sometimes and I use these polite expressions when I have not heard or understood what has been said: 1. Could you please repeat that? 2. Repeat that please. 3. I beg your pardon. 4. Come again. 5. Sorry (etc.) Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: I will add one more option that I don't see mentioned before. It need not work for everybody but it works for me in cases when acoustics is a part of the problem. Sometimes (often) it happens that the room sounds muggy, microphone is missing or working badly etc. In that case, you can simply make the couple steps towards the person, ask him to repeat/clarify the question, then come back to the stage, repeat the question and answer it. Of course, you can't do this if you overshot the talk by 4 minutes and ate all the discussion time. But if you keep your talk in time, you should have 5 minutes left for discussion, which is plenty of time for this little manoeuvre. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/22	2,128	8,539	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a 5th year Ph.D. student. I've worked on several different projects in the last couple years, some of them not related to my dissertation topic, so I don't yet have enough results to say for sure when I will defend. I'm working solely on my dissertation project now, and I'm working as quickly as I can. We have group meetings once in a while. Another faculty member and his student also attends because they collaborate with my advisor. In the past several meetings, my advisor has been too busy to attend, and the other researcher, who is not too familiar with my research activities, has been asking me things like: Are you writing any papers? Have you formed your committee? How many years have you been here again? When are you going to graduate? When I say "no" "I don't know" etc., he has an expression of concern (or maybe pity). I am really annoyed by this. It's like someone keeps on asking me about my fish when it died recently. I'm already under enough stress trying to do research. The last thing I need is someone reminding me I'm behind schedule - it's demotivating. Not to mention this makes me look bad in front of my group mates. What should I do? Tell him bluntly "it's none of his business"? Stop attending group meetings? While it's unfortunate that my graduation is delayed, taking into account my own abilities and changes in research topics, I'm happy about where I am, working on something I'm interested in. I would much rather do some meaningful and quality work than slap together something half-baked for my dissertation. (Of course, I know I could be making more money by getting a real job sooner, but these are the best years of my life and I would rather spend it doing something I love.)<issue_comment>username_1: Since you probably don't want to confront him in front of others, I see two options: 1. Let your advisor know what's going on and let him or her deal with the problem; or 2. Assert yourself directly with the collaborating faculty member outside the meeting. You can say, for example (calm tone throughout -- that's important), "I appreciate the concern for my progress that you've expressed in recent group meetings, but I can assure you that I'm in good hands with Prof. So-and-So. You don't need to worry." If he doesn't get the hint, and starts in on you again during this conversation, then you can step it up a notch: "I mean this with no lack of respect, Prof. So-and-So: I am already being well advised." Stop there, and look him squarely in the eye for a moment (just long enough for him to hear the unstated Butt out), and then calmly leave, thanking him for his time. If after that he still says things that make you uncomfortable in the group meeting, the next step up is to stand up to him in front of the others: "I don't think it's appropriate for you to ask me these questions. As I already told you, Prof. So-and-So is my advisor, and I have full confidence in his/her guidance of my studies." I would go for option 1 if possible. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: It is well known that "When are you graduating?" or even "How is your research going?" can be touchy questions among graduate students. But this is well known in part because they get asked these questions constantly, including by each other. And even if they can be unpleasant to answer, they are still fair questions. I'm not sure that the problem lies where you think it does. > > I'm working solely on my dissertation project now, and I'm working as quickly as I can. > > > That's a pretty defensive thing to say straight out of the gate. Basically you sound like you want to ward off in advance any thought of optimizing or improving your path to the PhD. An academic who sees no room for improvement is setting the bar pretty low. I am a tenured faculty member, and if you came to me saying, "I think you could work faster / more efficiently / with greater output if..." then believe me, you would have my attention. > > We have group meetings once in a while. Another faculty member and his student also attends because they collaborate with my advisor. In the past several meetings, my advisor has been too busy to attend. > > > Forgive my prying, but I have already seen something that to me looks more serious than some other faculty member asking you some questions you don't like. Your advisor is too busy to attend your group meetings? You know, I think you might work more quickly if.... > > When I say "no" "I don't know" etc., he has an expression of concern (or maybe pity). > > > Both concern and pity are positive emotions. This guy sounds like he is -- you got it -- concerned about you. The fact that he is showing up at several consecutive meetings while your advisor is not makes me think that he is indicating a desire to help you out. > > I am really annoyed by this. It's like someone keeps on asking me about my fish when it died recently. > > > I find your simile to be pretty strange, but I'll try to play along: isn't it like he's asking about your living fish who has looked a bit less than healthy recently? Maybe I'm not getting the picture: who or what has died in your recent life, metaphorically speaking? > > I'm already under enough stress trying to do research. > > > Yes, you sound like you are very stressed out. People who are too stressed out are not doing things in the best possible way, or even in a healthy way. Most commonly there is some kind of disconnect between their future hopes and their present actions. Talking through that kind of dissonance, and adjusting either or both, could be very helpful. > > The last thing I need is someone reminding me I'm behind schedule - it's demotivating. > > > If being reminded that you're behind schedule is demotivating, then something seems off-kilter. Being reminded that you're behind schedule should be motivating, unless the schedule is not reasonable, in which case that should be directly addressed with your advisor. If it has been, then the problem seems to be that you haven't been honest enough about your situation. If he expects you to graduate next semester because you're an Nth year student, and you and your advisor have decided that you're not going to graduate until the following semester, just say so. > > Not to mention this makes me look bad in front of my group mates. > > > Your group mates should know your situation better than someone who has been sitting in for a few weeks, so I don't really understand why this makes you look bad. Unless they don't understand your situation and these questions are revealing it....which is not the visiting professor's fault. > > What should I do? Tell him bluntly "it's none of his business"? Stop attending group meetings? > > > Stop attending group meetings?!? Presumably the group meetings are an important part of your own research and progress [although with your advisor absent, I have to wonder...], in which case not going would be a terrible overreaction. (If they are really not valuable, then okay, don't go. You'll work more quickly without having that waste of time. But tell your advisor about it: why is he having you go to meetings that are a waste of your time?) I think the bottom line is that this faculty member is trying to be helpful, but if you have fallen into an interaction with him that from your perspective is only getting you down, then you should talk to him directly about that. I would suggest making an appointment with him privately and at that appointment have the conversation that he wants to have all at once. Tell him about your situation. You can tell him that you think he might be concerned about you but that now that he knows Extra Information X, you hope that he can see that you are now firmly on track. If he disagrees, then he can share his opinion with you privately and perhaps even give you some actual help. At any rate, one can only ask questions like "Have you formed your committee yet?" "How many years have you been here?" so many times. If you give him the chance to spend as much time as he wants asking those questions, then with any luck he won't ask them again at your group meetings, and if he does you can say, justly, "We discussed this thoroughly last week, so I don't want to take up everyone else's time revisiting it now. We can talk later if you like." Anyway, please don't dismiss the idea that this faculty member could help you out. Good luck. Upvotes: 5
2015/08/22	1,729	6,910	<issue_start>username_0: If a private, third party wants to fully fund one's PhD studies, how would one mention this in an admissions essay?<issue_comment>username_1: Since you probably don't want to confront him in front of others, I see two options: 1. Let your advisor know what's going on and let him or her deal with the problem; or 2. Assert yourself directly with the collaborating faculty member outside the meeting. You can say, for example (calm tone throughout -- that's important), "I appreciate the concern for my progress that you've expressed in recent group meetings, but I can assure you that I'm in good hands with Prof. So-and-So. You don't need to worry." If he doesn't get the hint, and starts in on you again during this conversation, then you can step it up a notch: "I mean this with no lack of respect, Prof. So-and-So: I am already being well advised." Stop there, and look him squarely in the eye for a moment (just long enough for him to hear the unstated Butt out), and then calmly leave, thanking him for his time. If after that he still says things that make you uncomfortable in the group meeting, the next step up is to stand up to him in front of the others: "I don't think it's appropriate for you to ask me these questions. As I already told you, Prof. So-and-So is my advisor, and I have full confidence in his/her guidance of my studies." I would go for option 1 if possible. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: It is well known that "When are you graduating?" or even "How is your research going?" can be touchy questions among graduate students. But this is well known in part because they get asked these questions constantly, including by each other. And even if they can be unpleasant to answer, they are still fair questions. I'm not sure that the problem lies where you think it does. > > I'm working solely on my dissertation project now, and I'm working as quickly as I can. > > > That's a pretty defensive thing to say straight out of the gate. Basically you sound like you want to ward off in advance any thought of optimizing or improving your path to the PhD. An academic who sees no room for improvement is setting the bar pretty low. I am a tenured faculty member, and if you came to me saying, "I think you could work faster / more efficiently / with greater output if..." then believe me, you would have my attention. > > We have group meetings once in a while. Another faculty member and his student also attends because they collaborate with my advisor. In the past several meetings, my advisor has been too busy to attend. > > > Forgive my prying, but I have already seen something that to me looks more serious than some other faculty member asking you some questions you don't like. Your advisor is too busy to attend your group meetings? You know, I think you might work more quickly if.... > > When I say "no" "I don't know" etc., he has an expression of concern (or maybe pity). > > > Both concern and pity are positive emotions. This guy sounds like he is -- you got it -- concerned about you. The fact that he is showing up at several consecutive meetings while your advisor is not makes me think that he is indicating a desire to help you out. > > I am really annoyed by this. It's like someone keeps on asking me about my fish when it died recently. > > > I find your simile to be pretty strange, but I'll try to play along: isn't it like he's asking about your living fish who has looked a bit less than healthy recently? Maybe I'm not getting the picture: who or what has died in your recent life, metaphorically speaking? > > I'm already under enough stress trying to do research. > > > Yes, you sound like you are very stressed out. People who are too stressed out are not doing things in the best possible way, or even in a healthy way. Most commonly there is some kind of disconnect between their future hopes and their present actions. Talking through that kind of dissonance, and adjusting either or both, could be very helpful. > > The last thing I need is someone reminding me I'm behind schedule - it's demotivating. > > > If being reminded that you're behind schedule is demotivating, then something seems off-kilter. Being reminded that you're behind schedule should be motivating, unless the schedule is not reasonable, in which case that should be directly addressed with your advisor. If it has been, then the problem seems to be that you haven't been honest enough about your situation. If he expects you to graduate next semester because you're an Nth year student, and you and your advisor have decided that you're not going to graduate until the following semester, just say so. > > Not to mention this makes me look bad in front of my group mates. > > > Your group mates should know your situation better than someone who has been sitting in for a few weeks, so I don't really understand why this makes you look bad. Unless they don't understand your situation and these questions are revealing it....which is not the visiting professor's fault. > > What should I do? Tell him bluntly "it's none of his business"? Stop attending group meetings? > > > Stop attending group meetings?!? Presumably the group meetings are an important part of your own research and progress [although with your advisor absent, I have to wonder...], in which case not going would be a terrible overreaction. (If they are really not valuable, then okay, don't go. You'll work more quickly without having that waste of time. But tell your advisor about it: why is he having you go to meetings that are a waste of your time?) I think the bottom line is that this faculty member is trying to be helpful, but if you have fallen into an interaction with him that from your perspective is only getting you down, then you should talk to him directly about that. I would suggest making an appointment with him privately and at that appointment have the conversation that he wants to have all at once. Tell him about your situation. You can tell him that you think he might be concerned about you but that now that he knows Extra Information X, you hope that he can see that you are now firmly on track. If he disagrees, then he can share his opinion with you privately and perhaps even give you some actual help. At any rate, one can only ask questions like "Have you formed your committee yet?" "How many years have you been here?" so many times. If you give him the chance to spend as much time as he wants asking those questions, then with any luck he won't ask them again at your group meetings, and if he does you can say, justly, "We discussed this thoroughly last week, so I don't want to take up everyone else's time revisiting it now. We can talk later if you like." Anyway, please don't dismiss the idea that this faculty member could help you out. Good luck. Upvotes: 5
2015/08/22	271	1,270	<issue_start>username_0: I'm in the process of transitioning from industry to academia. Over the years I've been minor contributor to a number of publications and conference presentations and published once as an undergraduate in the school's peer-reviewed journal. This work was in a number of different fields that are different than the direction I'm going. Should all of this appear on my CV, or should I limit it to work done since going back to graduate school?<issue_comment>username_1: Typically, your C.V. is expected to contain a fairly complete accounting of your life's scientific work (unless you are so advanced in your career that you can do a "selected publications" CV that just lists your greatest hits). As such, it is generally best to list every publication on which you are listed as an author, no matter when it may have been published. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Generally speaking the publications listed in a CV greatly evaluates your suitability for a particular scientific job. So it is always good to highlight the job related publications in the CV, no matter where and when it was published or who contributed less. Addition to this, list all other publications to increase the strength of your CV. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/22	487	2,383	<issue_start>username_0: In a paper I proposed an algorithm for something (extracting data from a webpage), I described the steps and the result of the algorithm using a sample webpage. Do I need provide experimental results on various websites? Here I think my purpose is not to compare something with another thing, the precision of the algorithm depends on its input provided by the user, I just want to say the application based on this algorithm is easier to use by providing how the application works, and extendable to similar websites by justification its approach. I am confused!, if I always for any algorithm I should provide experimental results, then please let me know by Yes always, if there are exception then please let me know what are those?<issue_comment>username_1: It is always a good achievement to develop an existing algorithm or write a new algorithm. But your paper will be highly evaluated if the algorithm works for various dataset. The strength of the paper will again increase if you can make a comparison with various available dataset and concluded the performance of the algorithm. You can also give the algorithm as a supplement. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If your intention is to publish a paper in good journals and conferences then you have to show that your algorithm works in more than one case, just one page is not enough, except if that is the specific intention, lets say, collect data from Google Finance pages about each company. First prove correctness, which could be done formally, running a good number of different cases or just obtaining results that are similar to other established algorithm. Also you have to prove the value of the algorithm, which could be done demonstrating his complexity using the big O notation; or benchmarking against other algorithms that solve the same problem. Eventually you will discover that the algorithm is better in some metrics (false positives/negatives, response time, memory usage, power, network traffic, ...) and not so good in others. I suggest that you verify how other algorithms are presented in the same area, specially in the journals or conferences that are good fit for it, and try to use the same methods and data sets. That will make easier for readers to evaluate how good is the algorithm when compared with others that solve the same problem. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/22	400	1,926	<issue_start>username_0: The main weakness in my application was my weak research experience in the field I applied to. Say I got two new writing samples and greatly improved my research experience. Would it be acceptable for me to reapply to a school I got rejected from? I really want to go to that program.<issue_comment>username_1: It is always a good achievement to develop an existing algorithm or write a new algorithm. But your paper will be highly evaluated if the algorithm works for various dataset. The strength of the paper will again increase if you can make a comparison with various available dataset and concluded the performance of the algorithm. You can also give the algorithm as a supplement. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If your intention is to publish a paper in good journals and conferences then you have to show that your algorithm works in more than one case, just one page is not enough, except if that is the specific intention, lets say, collect data from Google Finance pages about each company. First prove correctness, which could be done formally, running a good number of different cases or just obtaining results that are similar to other established algorithm. Also you have to prove the value of the algorithm, which could be done demonstrating his complexity using the big O notation; or benchmarking against other algorithms that solve the same problem. Eventually you will discover that the algorithm is better in some metrics (false positives/negatives, response time, memory usage, power, network traffic, ...) and not so good in others. I suggest that you verify how other algorithms are presented in the same area, specially in the journals or conferences that are good fit for it, and try to use the same methods and data sets. That will make easier for readers to evaluate how good is the algorithm when compared with others that solve the same problem. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/22	952	4,202	<issue_start>username_0: There are departments in many schools that offer "hybrid" majors, such as: * Computer Science and Engineering * Electrical and Computer Engineering * Electrical Engineering and Computer Science * Materials Science and Engineering * Molecular and Cellular Biology * Nutritional Science and Toxicology etc. Let us say you earn a degree in the respective area of one of these majors. For example, let's say you earned an M.S. in Computer Science and Engineering. Continuing with this example, let's say that down the road, you are asked to certify that you have the degree in one of the majors (say, an M.S. in Computer Engineering). Are you ethically/legally/etc. (as the case may be) allowed to claim that you have such a degree? Or are you only entitled to claim that you have exactly the degree written on your diploma/transcript and nothing else, even if it seems like a subset of what is written? Notes: 1. If the answer differs between the Bachelor's, Master's, or Doctorate degrees, please explain each one. 2. If the answer is different for different majors, please explain how/why. And if the answer is different in different situations -- e.g. if it is different in different countries -- please explain how and give typical examples for each case, keeping in mind #3 below. 3. Obviously, in some cases, you may even be technically allowed to falsely claim you have a degree. I am ignoring such cases here; for the purposes of this question, assume I am only talking about cases where it is indeed not okay (either legally or ethically) to falsely claim you have a degree.<issue_comment>username_1: I'm not sure why you describe most of those as "hybrid" majors; what they seem to have in common is that they have the word "and" in their names. The answer is that it depends both on the degree and the context of the question. The difficulty is that names of departments vary wildly without a whole lot of meaning. For example, the distinction between "Computer Science" and "Computer Engineering" gets handled different ways---some schools have two separate majors, while some call them both "Computer Science" and have a computer engineering track. A degree called "Computer Science and Engineering" is yet another program covering some piece of the same area. What it's appropriate to represent it as would depend on exactly what was covered by your course work. Similarly, a degree in "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science" is not simultaneously a degree in "Electrical Engineering" and also a degree in "Computer Science". Depending on the program (and, likely, the specific courses taken), it might be essentially one or the other, or it might involve learning some of both but missing some topics that most electrical engineers would so and also some topics that most computer scientists would see. So if someone is hiring electrical engineers, it's probably not a good idea to just describe an EECS degree as equivalent without some explanation. (Though that explanation might be, "at my school this was an EE degree" or "I took the EE focus, so it's basically an EE degree".) Put differently: if someone asks what your degree is for a professional purpose, they're probably not deeply interested in the precise name of the program. What they're interested in is what you learned in it, and that's the question you should be trying to answer. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: My degrees are mostly in the joint subject of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Past undergraduate, however, I pretty much exclusively studied in the computer science side of the department. Thus, I find it appropriate and accurate to describe myself either as having EECS degrees or CS degrees, but would not claim to have EE education past undergraduate. Likewise, my CS education included enough hardware and systems education that I am comfortable saying I received CE education. I think a similar analysis can be applied to any composite major. Most people and institutions understand that department names vary across institutions, so as long as you do not attempt to deceive about the skills you gave, it should be OK. Upvotes: 3
2015/08/22	250	1,098	<issue_start>username_0: Is there any general advise on when better to submit a paper? I mean, should one consider the seasonal differences in the way journals work. Let's say, I have a manuscript ready to submit at the beginning of June. Would it make any sense to withhold it until the beginning of the new academic year as there is low chance the paper would be proceeded during the summer?<issue_comment>username_1: You should submit it once you finished. You should not wait or think about for new academic year. This is your misconception to have less chance to publish in summer. Because all the manuscripts goes under review process which takes usually 2-3 months and then it will be decided for next step. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Maybe the best solution would be to consult with other colleagues who sent to that journal before. However, IMHO I don't think that submitting in summer would be like what you stated; the review process may be delayed a little bit however that does not mean that the reviewing process is stopped during summer. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2015/08/22	359	1,533	<issue_start>username_0: Other than attending classes and meetings, faculty differ in their daily attendance. Some faculty may show up only during days they have classes, others are in their offices daily from 8-5, others arrive around noon and stay late. Are their any rules or it is up to each department or faculty?<issue_comment>username_1: It varies very widely depending on individual faculty, departmental, and institutional culture, norms, and rules. For example, many faculty at my institution live in a city two hours away and only come to campus twice a week for classes and meetings. Faculty performance at my school is measured by lines on the CV, so one can argue that not going to school is a more productive use of time if you have a home office. Meanwhile, while in Japan, I noted that some faculty had to punch timecards that showed their daily attendance. There, faculty performance seemed to be measured by the appearance if diligence rather than actual productivity. On the extreme other end, adjunct faculty in the USA may not even have an office (or library privileges) to even have office hours. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I think you answered your own question. It's up to the department and school. Office hours are usually mandatory for many schools, but these might only constitute an hour a week, and the door might not always be open. If you're curious about your own school's faculty, I suggest e-mailing the department head or checking the class syllabi. Upvotes: 3
2015/08/22	943	4,070	<issue_start>username_0: I am doing a PhD in economics. I had an idea on an issue of my interest. With making some research, I found out that there was a previous student at my university, who did not finish his PhD, but he made an unpublished paper on the idea that I had, which has been presented at a conference, and it is not a working paper which is registered to any database. Probably I will do something different, but build my stuff purely on this idea, but do I risk to make something just slightly different from his stuff? In this case, is it plagiarism and also unethical? How should I handle this case?<issue_comment>username_1: You cite your source and give proper credit, even if it is an obscure unpublished manuscript. Your advisor shouldn't let you defend such a dissertation unless you really have made a substantial contribution of your own. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It is easy to discharge your ethical obligations here: you treat the unpublished paper like you would any other source, i.e., citing it carefully and making sure not to rewrite sentences or rehash ideas without explicit attribution (include direct quotes if necessary, and probably don't include too many of those without a very compelling reason). As you point out, the more serious risk is that you are starting thesis work on a problem on which someone else did a substantial amount of work on (though you worked on it independently) and that you may come out with little which is essentially new. You're right that this is a risk: it's a risk for all thesis work everywhere. Again my advice is to not treat this any differently than work that has been published: clearly you need to go substantially beyond it, or you don't have a thesis. Whether the prior work of this other person shows that this is a fruitful area for you to continue in or whether it is evidence that all the good stuff has already been done is one of those tough calls that your thesis advisor should help you with. Finally, of course it is a shame if two people have done good work on something and neither of them publishes it. If it turns out that you do your thesis work on something else, then as a separate project (or perhaps better: a later project), you may want to explore a publication which is a synthesis of your work and this other person's. Offering him coauthorship would be appropriate, but if he is really out of academia then it becomes a service to the profession for you to publish the work, while accurately conveying its provenance. It's just that that kind of publication would probably not meet the requirements for a PhD thesis (and even if it did, it would not be a good launching of your career). Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: It is not at all uncommon for ideas to hit two entirely different and unrelated people at the same time, and they work those ideas up entirely independently. So, well-along in the process, you discover that someone else is doing the same work. This is not plagiarism. I cannot begin to tell you how many patents are filed virtually simultaneously for the same design, developed entirely separately. Ideas are wandering around out there, and if you had the idea, chances are someone else did too. It BECOMES plagiarism if, now that you've seen this other work, you co-opt it and claim it as your own. Your problem is to fend off the appearance or "stink" of plagiarism, because the other researcher was in a very close milieu to you, and it would be easy to impute that you had opportunity. My advice: include an acknowledgement of the other work, with a brief precis of how it is similar and how it is different: i.e. you arrive at the same conclusion via dissimilar methods. The strategy here is for you to do the "entanglement" of the two ideas yourself, control how it is presented and perceived, as you and this other researcher co-attributed, following independent but similar lines, instead of letting the greater community decide something decidedly less charitable for you later. Upvotes: 1
2015/08/23	430	1,820	<issue_start>username_0: I see lot of industry postdoc positions these days. I am interested in working for industry (R&D/product development) and not academia. But would a industry postdoc be helpful to find a good job in industry? Or would it be better to get a regular job & get experience that way? I know postdocs are seen as necessary in biological sciences, even for industry jobs. But is that so for engineering too? P.S: Industry postdocs are what companies like Genentech, Pfizer have introduced trying to bridge academia with industry.<issue_comment>username_1: Any industry experience is relevant when you are applying for a job in industry. As a matter of fact, the content of the experience and the depth are much more important than the form (postdoc, internship, etc). So, if you seek a job in e.g. telecommunication, make sure your post graduation experience is preferably about telecommunication, and not about something less related, regardless of the form. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: There will be no one answer, since there is no standard regulating how companies do things, and typically a great deal of variety from company to company. If you are looking for a long-term R&D job, however, a postdoc is usually an excellent way to get a foot in the door. Most big companies are pretty much always trying to hire high-quality new people. Since a permanent position hire is generally a fairly long-term investment, they'd really prefer to only hire known quantities if they could. A postdoc can thus provide a good "getting to know you" trial run for both sides. By the end of the postdoc, you'll know if you'd like to work at the company long-term, and the people making the hiring decision at the company will know if they want to have you working with them long-term. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/23	400	1,754	<issue_start>username_0: When applying for example to a postdoc position, is it appropriate to write the text of the cover letter directly into the email, or should it be attached as a seperate file? One advantage of stating the content of the cover letter directly in the email I could see is that there are good changes that the potential future employer reads it before opening any other ducuments, such as the curriculum vitae, list of publications, etc that might be attached.<issue_comment>username_1: Any industry experience is relevant when you are applying for a job in industry. As a matter of fact, the content of the experience and the depth are much more important than the form (postdoc, internship, etc). So, if you seek a job in e.g. telecommunication, make sure your post graduation experience is preferably about telecommunication, and not about something less related, regardless of the form. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: There will be no one answer, since there is no standard regulating how companies do things, and typically a great deal of variety from company to company. If you are looking for a long-term R&D job, however, a postdoc is usually an excellent way to get a foot in the door. Most big companies are pretty much always trying to hire high-quality new people. Since a permanent position hire is generally a fairly long-term investment, they'd really prefer to only hire known quantities if they could. A postdoc can thus provide a good "getting to know you" trial run for both sides. By the end of the postdoc, you'll know if you'd like to work at the company long-term, and the people making the hiring decision at the company will know if they want to have you working with them long-term. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/23	1,407	5,701	<issue_start>username_0: I am visiting an American university for a year. In my invitation letter and further instructions, it is written that I can audit any course that I want (subject to the agreement of its professor). Since it is not common in my country, I have no idea what this auditing process is. What should I do? Is it an official process with official report, or do I simply attend the class like students?<issue_comment>username_1: As I understood from several discussions here on Academia.SE it means that you can attend whatever classes you want but you are not allowed to take the exam, see e.g. [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/37235/20058). It should be noted that in several countries auditing is granted by law in public universities. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It usually means that you can sit in the lectures, but that none of your work will be graded/marked and you won't get any credit for it. Some universities have official forms that record the fact that you audited a course. Others just do it through personal consultation with the instructor. During my first year of grad school, I audited a codes and cryptography course my senior-year undergrad friends were taking. I sat through the crypto part and then bailed on the codes. It was nice. I know a little about RSA and Elliptic Curves now. I got to hangout with my friends and I didn't have to do any work. I think I'm a better educated person for it, but it doesn't really affect my career. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Auditing a course means a student can take classes but cannot be graded or given credit for a particular course. It is usually done for academic exploration and self-enrichment. From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_audit): > > In academia, an audit is an educational term for the completion of a > course of study for which no assessment of the performance of the > student is made nor grade awarded. > > > Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Audit has several meanings. 1a. Formal audit: costs money, but only a fraction of the normal price. On the other hand, there is no financial aid possible. You are expected to do all the work and take quizzes and tests, and you may participate in class, but there are no repercussions if you stop going or don't hand something in or take an exam. When you audit a class, there's no grade on a transcript, and no academic credit is earned. 1b. Informal audit: free. You phone, visit or email the instructor and ask if it would be okay to do an informal audit. Many instructors will accept this. Things are similar to 1a. Key difference: you wouldn't get a library card or a university computer userid. Those are the most common ways one might talk about auditing a course. But it's possible they meant something else. If you're going to attend as part of an exchange program, it's possible they meant that you can choose whatever courses you are interested in, and have the requisite background knowledge for, without having to pay the U.S. university directly for. I don't want you to be alarmed and assume that you will not get academic credit for the courses in the U.S. university. That might well not be what they meant. You should definitely ask them what they meant. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: The meaning of "audit" is very unclear, even if we restrict attention to the U.S. The other answers do attest to certain realities in certain situations, and to the variation. Perhaps to give an overview: "Audit" at a minimum just means "hearing" the lectures. It is completely unclear whether or not you have to pay, whether or not you have to do homework, quizzes, or exams, whether or not you are allowed to do those tasks and get feedback, whether or not your official transcript will show that you "audited" the course(s), and so on. The particular question of whether you "have to do any work" is funny. Indeed, in most audit situations, an auditor is not commanded to do anything at all. That is different from the question of whether a sensible person could see the point in engaging with the material. Truly, the model of "listening" which is almost completely passive has the virtue of very low overhead, and may be appropriate in some situation. But, if one wants more, and has the time and energy, the fact that one is not required (by external authorities) to do something does not mean that one cannot choose to do it. For that matter, many universities' official rules (often, in the U.S., that people have to pay something to be "allowed" to attend a course, even if they make no further demands on the instructor) are not uniformly conformed-to by faculty. That is, the official description of the rules-of-the-game may not be correct at all "on the ground". The one most likely common feature is that "auditing" a course will not provide you with any certification that you are competent or expert in the material. (We can wonder whether "good grades" ever did certify this...) Thus, if one views "education" as a process of obtaining certification, auditing is not directly purposeful. On the other hand, if one views "education" as a process of acquiring information, auditing is nearly as good as any approach, except for the possible lack of feedback from the instructor. (In fact, in many situations, the "exercises" and such are significantly make-work, exactly because the instructor is tasked with generating a steady stream of "work", so it's not clear that anyone should be terribly interested in "feedback" apart from anticipation of the eventual "grade" and/or success or failure of certification.) Upvotes: 2
2015/08/23	1,407	5,678	<issue_start>username_0: This is a bit confusing. I'm currently writing a cookbook, and a chef said he would send me one of his restaurant's recipes. When he did, it was in the form of a scan of the recipe as it was featured in another book. So clearly the recipe came from him and I have his permission to use it, but it also exists in this book. Do I cite the chef, or the book, or both for this?<issue_comment>username_1: As I understood from several discussions here on Academia.SE it means that you can attend whatever classes you want but you are not allowed to take the exam, see e.g. [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/37235/20058). It should be noted that in several countries auditing is granted by law in public universities. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It usually means that you can sit in the lectures, but that none of your work will be graded/marked and you won't get any credit for it. Some universities have official forms that record the fact that you audited a course. Others just do it through personal consultation with the instructor. During my first year of grad school, I audited a codes and cryptography course my senior-year undergrad friends were taking. I sat through the crypto part and then bailed on the codes. It was nice. I know a little about RSA and Elliptic Curves now. I got to hangout with my friends and I didn't have to do any work. I think I'm a better educated person for it, but it doesn't really affect my career. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Auditing a course means a student can take classes but cannot be graded or given credit for a particular course. It is usually done for academic exploration and self-enrichment. From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_audit): > > In academia, an audit is an educational term for the completion of a > course of study for which no assessment of the performance of the > student is made nor grade awarded. > > > Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Audit has several meanings. 1a. Formal audit: costs money, but only a fraction of the normal price. On the other hand, there is no financial aid possible. You are expected to do all the work and take quizzes and tests, and you may participate in class, but there are no repercussions if you stop going or don't hand something in or take an exam. When you audit a class, there's no grade on a transcript, and no academic credit is earned. 1b. Informal audit: free. You phone, visit or email the instructor and ask if it would be okay to do an informal audit. Many instructors will accept this. Things are similar to 1a. Key difference: you wouldn't get a library card or a university computer userid. Those are the most common ways one might talk about auditing a course. But it's possible they meant something else. If you're going to attend as part of an exchange program, it's possible they meant that you can choose whatever courses you are interested in, and have the requisite background knowledge for, without having to pay the U.S. university directly for. I don't want you to be alarmed and assume that you will not get academic credit for the courses in the U.S. university. That might well not be what they meant. You should definitely ask them what they meant. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: The meaning of "audit" is very unclear, even if we restrict attention to the U.S. The other answers do attest to certain realities in certain situations, and to the variation. Perhaps to give an overview: "Audit" at a minimum just means "hearing" the lectures. It is completely unclear whether or not you have to pay, whether or not you have to do homework, quizzes, or exams, whether or not you are allowed to do those tasks and get feedback, whether or not your official transcript will show that you "audited" the course(s), and so on. The particular question of whether you "have to do any work" is funny. Indeed, in most audit situations, an auditor is not commanded to do anything at all. That is different from the question of whether a sensible person could see the point in engaging with the material. Truly, the model of "listening" which is almost completely passive has the virtue of very low overhead, and may be appropriate in some situation. But, if one wants more, and has the time and energy, the fact that one is not required (by external authorities) to do something does not mean that one cannot choose to do it. For that matter, many universities' official rules (often, in the U.S., that people have to pay something to be "allowed" to attend a course, even if they make no further demands on the instructor) are not uniformly conformed-to by faculty. That is, the official description of the rules-of-the-game may not be correct at all "on the ground". The one most likely common feature is that "auditing" a course will not provide you with any certification that you are competent or expert in the material. (We can wonder whether "good grades" ever did certify this...) Thus, if one views "education" as a process of obtaining certification, auditing is not directly purposeful. On the other hand, if one views "education" as a process of acquiring information, auditing is nearly as good as any approach, except for the possible lack of feedback from the instructor. (In fact, in many situations, the "exercises" and such are significantly make-work, exactly because the instructor is tasked with generating a steady stream of "work", so it's not clear that anyone should be terribly interested in "feedback" apart from anticipation of the eventual "grade" and/or success or failure of certification.) Upvotes: 2
2015/08/23	575	2,469	<issue_start>username_0: I just started a postdoc position in England, but I have a personal problem with the place. I want to apply for another postdoc position in other cities. Am I officially allowed to use the university email to contact other professors for finding possible postdoc position? Because, it is not an official use related to my job, but personal. I wish to use my university email, as it can attract more attention, as I am already working in England. Many Indians send email to professors, and they do not read them carefully.<issue_comment>username_1: I, personally, wouldn't use anything else. This might depend a little on the culture of your field (see [Should I use my university's letterhead for a cover letter for a job application?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13559/should-i-use-my-universitys-letterhead-for-a-cover-letter-for-a-job-application) for a similar discussion), but exactly as you say, using your professional email address might well cause someone to give your email an extra second of attention. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There are two aspects to your question: can you to use your uni email and should you use your uni email. The first is relatively simple to check with the HR, or the equivalent/corresponding, office of the university. At my university the rules is that you are not explicitly prohibited from using the uni mail for personal matters, however since it's a state university and university mail is technically an official public document, anyone (random average Joe) can actually demand to see your entire mail record (It should be added that the person needs to motivate it, but for example a journalist it's not a problem at all). In other words, you are not explicitly prohibited to use your mail for personal reasons but you cannot keep it personal. The second aspect is whether you should use that address. That's more difficult to answer as there are several different variables there. If you apply for a job in the industry it might be a good idea not to use an email that will expire, like a university mail. The reasoning is that if they contact you two years later for your dream job, the mail will be lost in the ether abyss and your misfortune will be someone else's lucky day. But I can understand the reasoning behind your motivation as well, it might be useful to show that you are already within the system. either way, good luck! Upvotes: 2
2015/08/23	1,489	6,251	<issue_start>username_0: I have seen couple of syllabi that used a disclaimer similar to "Instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus at any time". For the instructor side, it could be good, but from students side it could be good or bad, depending on the change. Any other thoughts?<issue_comment>username_1: Unless there is an unusually rigid set of controls and policies in the instructor's department, it is generally always the case that the instructor can change the syllabus on the fly. With any decent instructor, there is usually a good reason for doing so, such as incorporating an improvement the instructor has figured out partway through or adding extra emphasis on a section that people seem to be having trouble with. With a poor instructor, on the other hand, I don't think that the situation can be rescued by making the syllabus more rigid. As such, my interpretation of the disclaimer is that it's simply a way to insulate the professor from complaints of students who take a rigid interpretation. From the students' side, I think it means little, only acknowledging a reality of instruction. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: (Somewhat in reference to the other answer and pursuant comments...) Even though I do privately think that my job is to give the students the best education I can, it seems both "fair" and "anxiety-reducing" to make quasi-contractual promises in advance... all the while realizing that the students make no such promises to me, etc. But it's a very asymmetrical situation. So basically what I try to promise is to assure the anxious, primarily about the grading system, gradelines, and how much material will be "assessed-upon". In effect, such an approach does give openings to those seeking to "game" the system, but I reject a role of "policeman" for one thing, and, for another, see it as undesirable that the earnest (often anxious) students get put-upon for the sake of trying (which is often unsuccessful anyway) to keep at bay the game-the-system people. The aspect of the syllabus that specifies the extent of the content of the course can be made fairly independent of the grading scheme specification, I think, even if this amounts to declaring some "extra topics" outside the bounds of "what will be tested-on". (In upper-division undergrad courses I'd regularly include will-not-be-on-the-test information, with a few catty remarks about people who only care "what's on the final"... and certainly in graduate courses only talking about what's reasonably testable does a great dis-service to the students, since they'll have a "textbook" picture of something (with the pursuant testability constraints, non-interaction with other topics/ideas, and so on), rather than the "live" version.) I really do think the "promises about grading system" and "outline of what will be covered (and tested upon?)" are two very distinct things. The grading system should be a bit contractual, I think, given the power discrepancy, and potential for harm/anxiety. The content promises are rather different, since there's not necessarily any adversarial relationship. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: At my school faculty could make any changes to the syllabus that they wanted to make, but a copy had to be given to the students in writing (email was okay). As far as the contract is concerned, it protects the instructor to think of it in that way. If it comes to a grade grievance, the only thing in question is whether the instructor graded the student according to the terms of the syllabus; everything else is extraneous. It seldom happens that a grade grievance makes it all the way to a committee, but if it does, this protects the faculty member. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: The syllabus is not just a contract with the students, but more so a contract with whoever will have to teach the classes after yours. If you just leave something out, or cover it lightly to make space for "more interesting" subjects, you are doing your students (and those who will have to clean up afterwards) a disservice. Here you can request the syllabi for the classes you have taken, in case you want to e.g. apply for continuing study elsewhere (and also for exchange students visiting from abroad). So it is important to have them quite clear in what subjects are covered, and adhere to that. Grading is more a local matter, but shouldn't be changed without the explicit consent of the affected students. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: As a teaching assistant in grad school, I once strayed from a professor's syllabus and was reprimanded by said professor, who said that the syllabus has contractual weight and serious problems can result from sudden deviations from it. I never investigated the true legal weight that was claimed by that professor, but even if its legal weight is very small, it remains a fact that American culture has grown increasingly litigious. It is common practice to put in disclaimers to this effect "just in case". In law there are clear violations, clear non-violations, and a frequently vast grey area in between them. Most universities, corporations, etc. make it a point to avoid the grey area completely. You just don't want to risk someone taking you to court over a possible violation. Similarly, as an instructor it's a major pain if one or more of your students decide to go to your chair or dean to complain about violations of your syllabus. Being able to point at the syllabus and say "nope, it specifically says this could/would happen" will fend off the more spurious claims. When changes are made they are almost always minor, and are announced in advance or plainly necessary. Usually it's a matter of changing the planned lectures due to falling behind (or even getting ahead); adjusting to the strengths and weaknesses of the particular class; removing optional topics in favor of something else; or giving a class-wide re-examination when the class as a whole performs unacceptably poorly. You still have to stay within the broad scope of the course description: a calculus course has to stay about calculus, a course about 18th century China can't turn into a course on modern Japan, etc. Upvotes: 1
2015/08/23	1,545	6,905	<issue_start>username_0: Next semester, I will be leading exercise sessions in a first year course of mathematics. More precisely, the course is Linear Algebra and the audience consists of young, first year undergraduate mathematics-students. The course is taught at a university in continental Europe. Judging from my personal experience, I know that most first year students of mathematics have plenty of troubles with the new, abstract material that is taught at a university. Hence, it would be good to make the student's experience in my exercise sessions as "easy" and enjoyable as possible. However, I am not a fan of just doing simple, easy and short exercises. My opinion is that you do not make things easier for the students, if you omitt doing the hard exercises and just do the easy ones. Of course, this does not mean that everything I want to do is hard, but every now and then, something difficult will have to be discussed in the exercise sessions. Often, the hardest exercises are the most enlightening ones. Moreover, my experience tells me that most students have wrong expectations of an exercise class: they expect to understand everything without (only a tiny bit) personal contribution and blame the instructor (which would be me in that case), if they do not understand everything. This has happened more than once to me and if I tell them that they have to work, I am considered to be the 'strict teacher', whose subject is the most important one and who does not understand that the new material is hard. I would be totally fine with that image, but this demotivates students and let them feel safe because they have someone to blame (Once, I heard the sentence "I would have understood the new material, but the exercise class was too bad and on a too high level" - in my opinion, I discussed everything in detail and pointed out which things are the most important ones and focussing on these). In short, I find myself in the following vicious circle (it seems like you can achieve two of the three things below at a time, but not all three together): * Maximizing the students' enjoyment level (i.e., they should understand as much as possible and just have a good time during my exercise class) * Doing an exercise class which is on a reasonable (not too high, but also not too low) level * Keep the students motivated and tell them quite clearly, that they have to work to understand the new material Or - in very short - the question is: Which aspects constitute a good exercise class (in mathematics) and which of these aspects are the most important ones?<issue_comment>username_1: As a grad student now who took undergrad linear algebra with a professor I really liked, I will attempt to generalize what I saw that worked. The best way for students to learn something that is as potentially abstract as linear algebra is to relate it to something concrete. My professor always liked to point out that once you leave R2 and R3, everyone visualizes geometry differently. As a result, he often tried to keep his visual explanations in that space. However, for higher dimensional vectors, you can still relate the material to multi-dimensional concepts without drawing a picture. A great example (and pretty interesting exercise) is Markov chains. When we went over eigenvalues and eigenvectors, we motivated all of the math by walking through Markov chains. He used Markov chain gambling schemes (e.g. holding a bet steady when you win, doubling when you lose) to illustrate eigen-decomposition in a practical way. In that way you can help students develop intuition by talking about something that makes sense outside of the math-sphere. In terms of practical exercises, I've found that progressive problems tend to work best. That is, where each problem is working towards one ultimate problem solution. Generally, each step is a little more complex as well. For example, maybe the first step is finding the Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors, the second is diagonalization, the third is something tangential like inverting the matrix, and the last is applying what you've calculated to some practical problem like a Markov Chain. In other words, ease students into the harder material by showing them the simpler ways to do it first. Once you can intuitively understand the general concept at basic level, it's easier to move on to more advanced views of the same and similar concepts. Plus, when students see complex material from the viewpoint of something simpler to understand (like maximizing gambling winnings), it provides a reference point for them to start from. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In addition to the helpful comments and answer already provided: Please let go of the idea of enjoyment and look for engagement. I have fond memories, from my calculus classes, of the portion of the class when the teacher had us all go up to the blackboard to write up solutions to some of the homework problems. Each student had a section of blackboard to work in and a particular problem to solve. Then we all sat down again and compared what was in our notebooks with what we saw on the board. You could get up and go look at a problem closer if you wanted to. Discussion among students was permitted and you could ask the teacher a question. When I was a language teacher, I was trained to include a variety of types of activities in each class. This is a good thing to do in math too. Some abstract reasoning, some mechanical matrix manipulations, some verbalization. Make sure you do some spiral review, meaning, you should generally take 5 or 10 minutes to throw some problems at them from earlier units in the semester. If you notice that students are getting caught off guard by this, then tell them ahead of time what sections you'll be drawing review problems from during the next session. You asked about the easier problems. A good place to put those is in the beginning, as a confidence-building, getting into gear, warm-up. The warm-up should last 3 - 5 minutes. Keep your "lecturing" to an absolute minimum. A discussion session (that's the term in the U.S.) is a great place for students to make connections with fellow students, that might result in small study groups being formed. Encourage these connections! Watch the gender dynamics carefully. If you start to see some males behaving in a show-off-y way, and some females getting very quiet, that's a red flag, and it's time to try some new ideas. I know you're not supposed to ask the identical question at the math educators site, but I would strongly encourage you to come up with a similar question to ask there -- you'll get more helpful ideas there. Also, observe some other instructors' exercise sessions as a fly on the wall, and notice what works well and what doesn't work so well. And ask students what works well and not so well for them. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/23	1,169	4,722	<issue_start>username_0: I wonder what determines the copyright year for a publication. I thought that the copyright year would be the same as the publication year, but seeing in (1) [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/p72jA.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/p72jA.png) put me in doubt (publication year: 2011; copyright year: 2012). --- (1) Sutton, Charles, and <NAME>. "[An introduction to conditional random fields](http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/csutton/publications/crftut-fnt.pdf)." Machine Learning 4.4 (2011): 267-373.<issue_comment>username_1: The year of copyright is the year the work is created (if the published version is licensed), or the year of the transfer (when you sign over your rights). Journals can be behind schedule, so that a cover year can be any number of years behind the actual year of appearance. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Legally, the year of copyright is when the work was written. That can be very different from the publication year. Some texts have been buried in personal papers for many years after the death of the author, and only published posthumously. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: You are not showing the location of publication, however in the U.S., while Copyright is established the moment the work is created, the only effective way to claim infringement is to have registered the work with the U.S. Government's Copyright Office (<http://www.copyright.gov>). The date shown is more than likely the date that they received confirmation of the copyright registration from the office. Subsequent editions will also refile copyright, so you can have various dates or a range of dates shown. On Molecular Biology of The Cell by Alberts, et.al, the copyright page has the 2015 copyright for the sixth edition but also lists the 2008 date for the preceding fifth edition. I have generally seen date ranged copyrights on software, so if you select About This Mac on an Apple Mac computer, the splash screen shows (c) 1983 - 2015. UPDATE Even though copyright exists from the moment of creation of the work, an important reason for official registration has to do with the damages that you can seek for infringement. The following is from the Copyright Office's FAQ > > Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic? > > > Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within five years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration” and Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), on non-U.S. works. > > > Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: It's a common thing for publishers to set the copyright date as late as possible so as to get an extra year of copyright protection. It's quite common to see books that appear in print in stores in the fall of one year (say 2012) bearing copyright dates in the next year (say 2013.) Apparently, if someone were to pirate the book during the period immediately after its appearance (say late in 2012) the copyright law allows the publisher to enforce the copyright. Generally, the publication year should be used in citations, CV's, etc. rather than the copyright year. If there is no publication date listed but there is a copyright date, then you should cite using the copyright date. With journals, it's relatively common for issues to appear after the nominal date of the issue. Thus the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Tribble Biology might appear in February of 2014. Here, you cite based on the December 2013 date even though the issue didn't appear on time. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Dirty secret of the textbook publishing industry: many textbooks list a copyright date of the year after they are released. With US copyright protection lasting 70 years beyond the death of the author, they are not interested in a single extra year of copyright protection 100 years in the future (in many fields, textbooks are obsolete after a decade; even in fields where they are not they are replaced by new editions to break the used market). Rather, they seek to create the illusion that the book is recent. Instructors would rather use a 2014 book than a 2013 book, and pushing the copyright date forward is an easy way to gain a one year advantage on competitors. Upvotes: 3
2015/08/24	485	2,055	<issue_start>username_0: I am asking this question for two reasons: first to work on activities to strengthen my CV for the future, and second to write a plan for professional development activities as part of a grant proposal. What non-research related activities are most valuable to have on a CV when applying to permanent faculty positions at research-focused universities? For example, how valuable is it to have experience working with graduate students, organizing conferences/seminars, etc.? I am a pure mathematician, hoping for advice that can apply to both European and American jobs. I currently am working on my second postdoc, although my first one was only six months long. I had to take some adjunct teaching positions here and there as well, so I have a decent amount of undergraduate teaching experience. I have a limited publication record however (one thing I know I need to work on).<issue_comment>username_1: I decided to focus on the following: 1. More (high quality) publications 2. Assist in supervising students 3. Participate in organizing conferences 4. Build on my programming/computational skills 5. Focus on international collaborations I figure this mostly covers all of my bases. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: What is valued around here is to show independent work (not just papers with your advisor, have your own research grants). Show involvement with the relevant community (organize conferences, attend conferences, get invited to talk about your work). Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Research production is BY FAR the most important for R1 universities. They figure you can figure out the teaching. But they don't think a teacher is going to figure out how to be Einstein. And (despite, I would argue it is a fallacy for the interests of undergrads who actually want to learn, not do research), having Einsteins is helpful to premier school. If you can show some evidence of moving to a PI status (e.g. getting a grant, leading a conference session, etc.) that might be a positive. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/24	2,040	8,989	<issue_start>username_0: Our institute has an open position for a student research assistant where it is hard to find qualified applicants. Currently, I'm supervising a very good student who is in the final weeks of writing down his bachelor's thesis. He has experience with the requirements of the position and I would love to have him as an assistant. The position would start after he finishes his degree. However, I'm worried that if I were to offer him the position now, it would put him under undue pressure to accept, since his thesis will also partly be graded by me. Is this a problem? Edit: Thanks for all your thoughtful input and answers! The thesis will be submitted in about a month, my part of grading it will finish a week after. While the professor could veto a application, I am effectively solely responsible for deciding who to hire as research assistant.<issue_comment>username_1: I have been in a different situation (on the student side) but it has some similarities. Maybe this helps you. I was writing my MA thesis and had already been accepted to start my PhD. My assigned MA thesis supervisor and I did not get on at all, and my request to change supervisors was denied by the department. I asked my future-PhD supervisor to supervise me, unofficially, on my MA thesis, and he agreed. He told me there was a chance that he would be asked to grade my paper, and that I should think about whether this would be a problem for me, especially because in case of a negative outcome, I would then have to work with him for four years. He ended up having to grade the paper he supervised. He told his colleague that he had supervised me to ensure there would be no ambiguity about my mark that I received (of course, it was marked by an external marker as well). I spoke to him about my mark and respected his decision. Was I happy about the mark? It was all right. But he had been honest with me from the very beginning and offered me alternatives in case the situation occurred, and thus I had zero bad feelings or any ambiguity afterwards. The PhD supervision that followed was, if anything, strengthened by the honest interchange. I would suggest to speak to your student openly about that accepting or declining the position would in no way affect the mark, and that you are aware of a potential dilemma. Perhaps the student won't be able to accept, and feels like they let you down, affecting the mark- I personally think you have to make a call about the students personality and how openly you can speak to him or her. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: The issue you describe might be interpreted into the situation, but the situation is also not unusual - student research assistants are often acquired based on their previous work, and the process of considering a student for such a position often starts before the previous work is done. I think, however, that the concerns are mostly unfounded. To clarify things, you can tell the student explicitly that there will be no effect on the mark, but even without such a statement, the student should be able to decide freely. In future offers the student might receive, there will rarely be a clean transition time. For instance, when asked to switch to a different position within the same company at a future job, the decision will usually overlap with time spent in a previous position. Reasonable or not, one might expect to be treated worse in the current position if one declines the offer. That can rarely be avoided, and as such, the student should learn rather earlier than later to make decisions based on the object of the decision, not based on the theoretically possible repercussions for the current task. With that said, I find the concern comparably unlikely, compared to the inverse. Working as a student research assistant is not a "favour" from either side, or anything that is (or might feel like it is) based on somewhat fuzzy criteria. If anything, as a student, I would be concerned whether my performance in the thesis will influence the final decision on whether or not I can get the student research assistant position. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I don't see how this is any different from the situation in industry where a member of a work group applied for an different internal position in the same group, and a regular (e.g. annual) performance assessment was scheduled to take place at around the same time. As a manager (which is what you are in this situation, regardless of differently named academic job titles), you need to be able to construct your own "Chinese walls" between two events which should not interact with each other, but both of which involve you. If you can't trust yourself to be fair and objective, I suppose you could delegate some of grading activity to someone else, but I think any need to do that is your problem, not the student's. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It is perfectly ethical to inform a student that you are currently supervising about open positions, especially if the student is about to complete the thesis and is a good fit to the position. It is of course not ethical to let the student's action upon this information affect the grading of the thesis. That's for you to take care of, and I guess you were already aware of that. If you have any concerns about putting pressure onto the student, an alternative way would be to have someone else inform the student about the open position. You write that you supervise the student's thesis, but your institute has the open position. If that means that someone other than you is directly responsible for the open position, than just ask that person to contact the student about the position. That will probably make the student feel less guilty with respect to you if he or she doesn't apply for the position. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_5: If I were you, I would say there is an open position you feel he would be well suited to, and you would be happy to have him take said position, but either suggest you discuss details at a later date, or if you are concerned he will make other arrangements in the meantime, make him the offer, but make it clear you do not want a response until after you have done marking his work. You never know, he may want to work alongside you as much as you do with him. Equally it is possible he does not want to work alongside you. If another person offers him the job, it has to be somewhat veiled - if another member of staff says Dr. X is looking for an assistant, this will have much the same impact as if you said it, I suspect. At least if you explain everything, he is fully aware. Hypothetically, say he absolutely loved working with you, but not so keen on other staff members. Or vice versa. Its more of an issue if he accepts a position, and finds out at a later date he is working with his worst nightmare. Not to mention I wouldn't take it as a great confidence boost if a person I worked with often had a job opportunity they desperately needed to fill, and never mentioned it to me, yet another member of staff told me I was an ideal candidate. It kind of implies you think him unsuitable? Give him all the infomation, but refuse to hear a response until grading is done - then he cannot say 'I did badly because I refused Dr. X', if he fluffs his thesis. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: You should not personally inform the student about the position, because no matter what you say, this is a strong implication to the student that you want him/her to apply. If I were you, I would send an email to all the students in the department, in your group (I'm pretty sure your university has such a mailing list), to inform about the position. That student will apply if he/she is interested. You may find equally competitive applicants. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: It depends on what kind of advisor you are and how you phrase it. The biggest compliment my MS advisor gave me was "I think we work really well together, and this grant has enough for you to do a PhD, would you stay?". Because our relationship is strong, I felt very comfortable telling him that I wanted to do a PhD, but that I also wanted to move on to another department. He understood that it is a healthy part of research to want to work with many different people, and accordingly, you should convey that to your student. You could offer your student the job by saying, "I think you are a very good researcher, and we have an open position for someone like yourself. It would be wonderful if you were to stay after you have completed your degree. This could be a great opportunity for you. Though I understand that you might want to work for another lab to get more experience, feel no obligation to accept this job just because I am your current research advisor." Also make sure that the student knows he/she can accept the offer AFTER the thesis has been graded. Upvotes: 0
2015/08/24	2,610	11,175	<issue_start>username_0: I'm on my last month before the deadline to hand in my dissertation. I found a severe problem with the work that renders it pretty much pointless and I pointed out to my advisor that I would need some extra time to fix the problem and at least achieve the objective of the work. He basically told me to keep writing the dissertation in order to meet the deadline, without trying to fix the problem. My advisor is also going on a sabbatical, so it feels like he's pushing me towards handing in my dissertation regardless if the work is complete or not. This would pretty much guarantee that I'd have to provide bleak explanations to the committee that will discuss the work with me (because telling them that my advisor rushed me isn't an option). I really don't want to create a conflict with my advisor. Plus, I'm having a terrible time trying to meet the deadline and my motivation is pretty much gone. I'm considering quitting the program without handing in my dissertation and pursue other career options. Should I hand in the dissertation even though there's this problem that renders it useless? Or should I try to convince my advisor to get me more time to fix the problem (even though he seems reluctant)? Should I not do any of this and just simply quit the program?<issue_comment>username_1: The following is based on my experience in neuroscience. Not sure if this generalizes to other fields. I think you have two ways to work here, and each is equally "right". First, you can do exactly as your advisor suggests, working towards completing the thesis even though there's a major flaw. This happens probably more often than you think; I learned halfway through my own thesis that the work I was doing was not generalizable at all due to bad design, and overall was pretty bad science. Oops. The thing is, it's a dissertation, not a peer-reviewed publication. The goal of your dissertation is for you to demonstrate to your committee that you know how to perform research, not for you to contribute overall to science. Your advisor's pushing you to complete your thesis may be him espousing this very idea; namely, your fixing everything up should be saved for your peer-reviewed publications, not for your thesis. Given that (in neuroscience) it is a pretty rare event for someone to refer back to a dissertation thesis when performing a literature search, the fact that your thesis document may be rendered moot isn't such a big deal; mention it in the introduction, results, and conclusion sections and just publish as is. Fix the problem in the journal articles. The second approach is that, if it has your name on it, it should be publication-worth, and dang if you're going to let something with this obvious an error be in the public record. Honestly, I don't think either one is wrong. The first one can save you valuable time and advance your career by months/years, and if you're in a field where your thesis doesn't mean much then it's probably the right choice. The second one may make you look better overall, and may be a requirement if your field places more weight on the thesis document itself. Not sure if that helps, but it may give you some perspective. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I will begin by offering my sympathies on what sounds like a tough situation. I think that you need to have a frank talk with your advisor ASAP. What he's telling you to do might or might not be good advice. Which one it is depends, in particular, on how serious the problem really is and/or what the prospects are for fixing it by the deadline. Practically speaking, the first is something that will be primarily determined by your thesis committee. If you think the work is without value but the committee disagrees, then you will still end up with a master's degree, which is what you presumably want. Of course it would be better to turn in a thesis that you feel better about and/or is actually better / not flawed but...is that option still on the table? If you have no motivation, are not enjoying your program and are seriously considering quitting right now, then it may not be. From a rational perspective it's hard for me to see what advantage there is to quitting a program and getting no master's degree versus getting a master's degree with a thesis that is (either apparently or objectively) rather poor. You shouldn't try to hide the flaws from your committee -- that would be a form of academic dishonesty -- but it's hard to see why it shouldn't be grudgingly acceptable to you if it's grudgingly acceptable to them. The worst case, it seems to me, is that you are headed for a thesis that is not going to be acceptable to the committee and your advisor somehow doesn't care to get involved enough to avoid this. That's what you want to find out. > > I really don't want to create a conflict with my advisor. > > > No one wants to create a conflict with their advisor, but in your situation your aversion to conflict seems not to be what an objective, outside observer would regard as rational behavior. Always assuming that you behave civilly and that your advisor has no extra-professional leverage on you....what's the worst thing that can happen if you have a real professional falling out with your advisor? You might get kicked out of the program without a degree? That's what you're contemplating anyway, so this seems to be a situation where if you can't get what you want without rocking the boat, then go ahead and rock it. (This could be bad advice if you want to start up a different master's program elsewhere and you need your advisor's recommendation. But that doesn't sound like it's the case.) From the vantage point of someone who does not know you or your situation but has seen some pretty shaky work be awarded a master's degree, I would encourage you to avoid the impulse of bailing out on your degree unless there is no other reasonable alternative. I think it's very likely that N years down the line it will be strongly in your best interest to have the credential in your pocket. I think most people who don't continue on in academia forget mostly to entirely about their thesis work whether it's good or bad, and I don't know of many mechanisms that would dredge up this past work. Hang in there, and good luck. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Talk to an expert that is on the committee/advisory. Chances are it's too late to do serious rework, but as a scientist/student your job is to learn and identity such faults in research (as you now know, the sooner the better) so "operation cover up" is asking for a bit of trouble if you don't say anything. But going against your advisor is not good so seeking independent help, \_since\_they\_are\_leaving\_and\_cant\_help\_you\_, puts you in the situation of having to act. A thesis isn't the end of world despite all the work, but it does have to handled professionally, and with academical ethics. If it were peer-review then the answer would be different, as would the goal. If you were doing corporate sponsored work, your boss would want to know (even though they would probably say, budget constraints fill in what you can - but that's their risk). Today you have to show you are professional and can do the work. But don't go off empty heads on the 'net. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: Switch advisors !!! Sure, he's going on a sabbatical, and as above, maybe find a sympathetic committee member to explain the problem as to why you can't get more time. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: It's not possible to directly answer without knowing exactly what the problems with the work are. That said, having problems does not necessarily make the work useless. If nothing else, the work you've done to date has uncovered a problem, which has value. There may be a disconnect between how bad you think the problem is and how bad your adviser thinks it is. It may well be that its not as serious as you think. If you choose to go ahead and write/defend, covering up the problem and hoping the committee doesn't see it SHOULD NOT be an option. Be frank in your discussion, and in the dissertation fairly evaluate the impact the issue has on the interpretation of your data. Put the best slant on it that you can, and work with your adviser and committee to do so, but a less than stellar experiment is not a reason to put your integrity on the line. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: I think you may need to adjust your perspective on what the requirements of your program is. You are trying to obtain your master's degree, not produce a publishable work of pure art. If your adviser's advice helps you to obtain the degree, then they are doing their job. If you're afraid that their advice will result in failure to obtain the degree, then seek out better advice. If you don't fully understand the requirements enough to understand whether a flawed "dissertation" will satisfy the program requirements, then seek understanding. For instance, you have tagged the question "masters" but then mention "dissertation" several times rather than thesis. What exactly does your program require? Does it merely require you to show that you are capable of Master's level research? It often doesn't involve novel research - some master's degrees only require that you review the existing research, explore it, and show that you've gained a certain level of mastery over the subject and current research. If you are in such a program and have performed additional novel research, it may not matter that the research is flawed - you've already exceeded the standard. It's also possible that this is the best way to obtain a needed extension. Meet the deadline with the work you have, demonstrate that you've gained enough mastery over the subject to realize that it needs more work, and the committee may simply send you back to work on it more without failing to meet the deadline. This may seem odd, but the process isn't uncommon. Regardless, try to understand the bar that is set for obtaining the degree you are pursuing. If you understand what is required, then seek to understand the process. If you truly believe that your adviser doesn't understand the requirements and/or process, then educate them and try to understand why they are mis-advising you. You may learn something new, or they may learn something new. Either way, focus on what you have to do to get the degree, and try to work with the adviser. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: You aren't doing the thesis for the benefit of your supervisor. And if they are going on a sabattical, it may make no difference if they are unhappy, because they won't be there anyway. I would suggest two things you need to do: 1. Check the rules of your institution about late submission. There may be something you have to do, such as re-registering for another year. Don't miss out on a degree because of some minor procedural error. 2. Discuss the problem with someone more senior, such a head of department or faculty. They make be able to produce a way forward, perhaps with another supervisor. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/25	645	2,714	<issue_start>username_0: I recently completed my PhD thesis with minor corrections and I presented most of the data in international conferences (posters and talks). Now I am focused on writing up the data for publication in a journal. For the publication, 2 of 3 supervisors want me to change the direction of the analysis from data driven to theory-driven which will take several months and still might be rejected. They say the data is publishable as it is but that they want to fit the data to a theory that they are pursuing for other research grants (i.e. independently from me), and it may (or may not) lead to a better cited paper. I want to try to publish the data as it is, because that is what is in my thesis, I have presented these results before and they fit with my career interest. I was wondering whether it is acceptable to push for publication how I want it, i.e. if we do not agree on this, who takes the lead decision? At the moment, I am in danger of not publishing this work because we cannot agree, but I don't feel this re-analysis is to do with the quality of my thesis work, and is more of a hidden agenda. My supervisors had involvement and that is not the issue. If I were still a PhD student, a re-analysis would likely happen (out of interest) but since I am a post-doc in another research group, I'm not keen on a re-analysis for the fun of it.<issue_comment>username_1: As a postdoc, you are now in the driver's seat of your research career. "I am in danger of not publishing this work because we cannot agree" -- can you explain this? Is this because they're wearing you down, or because they have the capability of stopping you, or getting back at you? You need an ally. Look around. Good luck. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: As usual, the first piece of advice I can offer is to talk to your graduate advisor to get his take. That said, it sounds like you're getting advice which will increase your chances of getting a paper accepted from people who have experience in the field. Your theory that they're asking you to do work related to a "hidden agenda" seems a little far-fetched... when considering the extra analysis, writing it up, and publishing, you're looking probably 18 months into the future. Your committee is well aware of this. The likelihood of all that happening in any timeframe that would be beneficial to them is pretty darn small. Even more so, they have their own students who can work on their stuff. They wouldn't hang their hat on the chances that a graduate student who has already moved on will do some research that may or may not result in a publication. Long story short, I wouldn't worry too much about ulterior motives. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/25	1,671	6,558	<issue_start>username_0: Based on this question: [Is it unethical to accept extra time on exams when I still do well?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19426/is-it-unethical-to-accept-extra-time-on-exams-when-i-still-do-well) To my knowledge, I don't think my university or home department has a policy on extended time exams or a ["disability office"](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/41368/is-it-worth-seeking-disability-accommodations-if-i-get-good-grades-anyway). In my entire stay in the university, I have heard of only three people with mental illnesses. Two graduated. One is still in the university, but I have not yet asked her. It seems like she is entitled to have extra time on exams or homework or something that evens the playing field. Are there any legitimate reasons a university may have for not allowing extra time or something for mentally ill students, assuming of course that the student can prove mental illness? It seems that they ought to give extra time or something to be fair to students. Relevant links: [this comment](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/41368/is-it-worth-seeking-disability-accommodations-if-i-get-good-grades-anyway#comment91447_41368), [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/41370/22511), [this answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/19428/22511).<issue_comment>username_1: In answering this question, I think that it is important to consider the distinction between mental illness and learning disabilities. While there is a spectrum of different and complex effects, for the purposes of making policies it may be useful to consider these two "prototypical" classes of challenge: * Many [specific learning disabilities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_disability), such as dyslexia or speech impairment, have a rather focused affect on perception and action, rather than more generally impairing cognition. In many cases, relatively simple interventions (such as giving a dyslexic student more time) can have a big impact on educational success by mitigating the impact of the disability. I think of this as little different than the intervention of glasses in mitigating the impact of my poor eyesight. * Mental illness such as depression or bipolar disorder, on the other hand, is much more subtle and difficult to deal with, since it strikes at "core" aspects of an individual such as motivation, interpretation of the world, and outlook on life. Even when an intervention is plausible, the ethical boundaries are much less clear, particularly given the difficulty in balancing the need for consent against the likely harms from a possibly distorted mental state. For an educational institution, then, the approaches to supporting students with mental illness and specific learning disabilities are likely to want to be very different, and the type of support that is needed is likely to be different for different types of challenges. Giving a dyslexic student more time on an exam makes a lot of sense; it's like letting a student who is hard of hearing sit up in the front of the lecture hall. Giving a highly depressed individual extra time on an exam is not likely to be a meaningful intervention; letting them take time off without penalty and return in another semester with a clean slate is more likely to be effective. A good institution should then try to figure out the needs of each student, and how far they can reasonably go to satisfy them given the institution's resource constraints. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: > > Are there any legitimate reasons a university may have for NOT > providing needed accommodations for students with documented mental > illness? > > > Legitimate reasons, no, absolutely not. > > Should universities give extra time or related accommodations for > students with mental illnesses? > > > Yes, absolutely. A student with a handicapping condition should look at lists of possible accommodations, and do plenty of experimenting, to find out what's helpful. The university has a moral obligation, and in many places, a legal obligation, to provide needed accommodations. Not to do so constitutes discrimination. In the United States, a refusal to provide needed accommodations is a violation of the student's civil rights. An educational institution that refuses, risks losing all federal funding. The nature of the handicapping condition is only relevant to the choice of accommodations, not to the initial decision of whether to provide accommodations. Here is [one list of possible accommodations](http://teacherweb.com/NY/ValleyStream13/howellroadpbis/CatalogOfAccomidations.pdf) -- there are a number of them on the web. Reading them is a great way to brainstorm what might fit best for a particular handicapping condition and for a particular student. --- I will provide one small example. My son sometimes, but not always, writes and erases each letter, or word, or sentence, sometimes multiple times for each such unit. At first, this symptom occurred only with handwritten work, but then it crept into typewritten work as well. The solution: a scribe. He dictates, the teacher types; she reads it back and shows it to him, and he can edit the text himself, or dictate edits. This accommodation is very helpful for him. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: In the US, a student with a disability (learning or otherwise) has the right to accommodations under Federal Law (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973). In most cases when a hidden disability such as a learning disability is diagnosed, a plan, typically referred to as a 504 Plan, is developed with the school for what accommodations are to made. This can mean someone in class to take notes for the student, extra time for assignments and exams. A good discussion of how the ADA applies to post-secondary education is [here](http://www.pacer.org/publications/adaqa/504.asp) The point is that the ADA doesn't differentiate between learning and physical disabilities and that providing appropriate accommodations for either isn't something the schools "should" do, it's something they are required to do. Section 504 defines a disability as "individuals with disabilities are defined as persons with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities" The [HHS Factsheet for Section 504 (pdf warning)](http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf) specifically includes mental illness as a disability. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/25	495	2,048	<issue_start>username_0: I have two papers in CS published during my Master's studies. The idea, the experiments and the writings were done all by myself, but my previous supervisor took the first-author place forcibly. I am planning on applying to US PhD programs. My questions: > > 1. Generally speaking, will these publications still carry the same > weight as if I were rightly listed as the first author? > 2. Are there any general strategies I can use to maximize the impact that > these publications will have on my acceptance? > > ><issue_comment>username_1: (I assume here that you're talking about admission to PhD programs.) I'm not in computer science, so I can't speak with authority. We have a number of users here who are in US computer science departments and maybe one of them can step in. However, I would think that first-author publications would not be essential for admission to good PhD programs in the US. Keep in mind that in the US system, most students would enter a PhD program immediately after their undergraduate (bachelor's) degree, without doing a masters first. These students would not necessarily have any publications at all. The admission committee would expect somewhat more from a student with a masters, but I'd think any publications, first-author or not, would be a pretty good sign of your research ability and preparation to start a PhD. Another thing to note is that recommendation letters are very important for admission to US PhD programs. If your advisor writes you a letter which speaks highly of the work you did, that should help your application a lot. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Just cite them as they are, and let them stand. You can point out that "the following [1,2,3,4] resulted from my thesis...". Going out of your way to emphasize it was your work, and you should have been first author, or whatever, will just come across as petty. [But then again, it is said university politics are so vicious because so little is at stake...] Upvotes: 2
2015/08/26	352	1,551	<issue_start>username_0: I'm taking a higher math class because I'm a math major. The class is called Partial Differential Equations. I was wondering if I should just use the first week to review the prerequisites because the prerequisites are classes that I had some difficulty understanding. But just in general i was asking just in a general if there was any good advice on taking a class with a prerequisite. Should I review the prereqs? Advice?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, you should make sure you have reviewed the matter of the prerequisite classes, and perhaps have relevant texts handy. But doing so in the first week of the class is probably late (depending on how rusty you are in the relevant subjects). Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: In general, you should be quite careful before taking a class with prerequisites, especially if you find the prerequisites difficult to understand. Usually, most Professors will assume that you know the pre-requisites and/or spend very little time revising the prereqs. In most cases, the prereqs are glossed over in the first week of the class. If you fundamentals are shaky, it will be a lot more difficult as the class progresses and you may find yourself lost with some of the more advanced topics. You should ideally talk to the TA of the class and try to meet with the Professor during his office hours and have an honest discussion with him to help you decide if you should take the class. Its better than playing catch up for the rest of the semester. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
2015/08/26	1,496	6,498	<issue_start>username_0: In a few questions/answers on here (e.g., [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1378/what-steps-could-universities-take-to-reduce-ph-d-drop-outs/1380#1380)), passing reference has been made to the difficulty of determining a good/acceptable/healthy dropout rate for a PhD program. However, I haven't seen any questions directly asking how this question is or can be addressed. In practice, it seems this question must come up. If a lot of students drop out of a program, the faculty (not to mention the other students) must begin to wonder if something is awry. The difficulty, of course, is that an ideal dropout rate is probably neither 0% nor 100%. (If no one drops out, the program is likely to be too easy; if everyone drops out, the program is probably too challenging.) How do departments/schools deal with this question in practice? How do they distinguish between "good" dropouts (where the faculty and student agree dropping out is best for all concerned and there is no ill will) and "bad" dropouts (where the dropout is due to burnout, a harsh environment, lack of funding, etc.), and track those outcomes over time? How do they avoid self-protective rationalizations (e.g., "our program can't be too/hard easy" based on review of the program content rather than the dropout rates)? Are there established ways of looking at the dropout pattern and evaluating it? As a sort of side note, I'd be interested in hard data on dropout rates. Although there are numerous popular-press articles and blogs lamenting the dropout rates, the only concrete data I've been able to find is [this slideshow](http://www.phdcompletion.org/resources/cgsnsf2008_sowell.pdf) and a few other things that seem to be drawing on the same data. (It's rather surprising that there is so much discussion of the "problem" with so little discussion of how to decide whether it's actually a problem or not. There seem to be many articles saying "the dropout rate is so horribly high!" and very few saying why it's considered high, and what would be considered low or normal.) Just to clarify: I recognize that the dropout rate is not the only meaningful assessment of a program's health or quality. My question is not "How do you decide everythig about a program based just on the dropout rate?" My question is "How do you decide what the dropout rate is telling you about the health and quality of the program?" You will of course combine that information with other kinds of assessments of the program.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think there is a "good" dropout rate - without knowing why students drop out, the number is meaningless. But my overall view is that education (on any level) should be measured by the improvement in knowledge/skills/competence/... it provides to students and not by its ability to classify students into those who pass and the rest. In this view, ideal (but unachievable) drop out rate is zero as you make sure that only students that are a good fit for the program enlist and then you do your best to lead them to maximal achievements they are individually capable of. In the real world, it is hard to know for both the student and the institution whether the program is a good fit. Also people and their priorities change over time. So I guess there are a few "valid" reasons for dropping out: * The student's life situation changes (e.g. has a child) * Although the studies proceed well, the student realizes that he/she wants to do something different with his/her life. This should not include the case when the student had incorrect information on what the study program is actually like. * Early in the program the student realizes that he/she is unable to fulfill the expectations of the program (that were known to him/her before enlisting) * The student behaved in some unacceptable manner and was asked to leave. To me the goal is to have very few dropouts of this "valid" kind and exactly zero dropouts for other reasons. In particular I think that if students fail because they learn midway that your program is too hard for them or because the environment is too harsh or because their ideals of what the study program would look like were shattered, than it is a failure of the institution (although often the student is also at least partially responsible). Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Dropout rate is a metric among others to evaluate a program. A dropout rate of zero would probably be best as only student who can complete the program would enlist. But in real-life, it will most likely not be zero because of many factors. The dropout can be because the program is hard, but also because of various other reasons such as the student changing career path, or anything else. Because of that, I don't think that it would be good to evaluate a program based on a single metric like the dropout rate. The dropout rate itself is influenced by other criteria such as the criteria for selecting students in the program, etc. One needs to see the global picture and consider many factors to evaluate a program. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: As a freshly minted PhD, I would suggest that the drop-out rate must be combined with more qualitative assessments, such as mentor conflicts, level of committee involvement, administrative entanglements, commitment level, technical difficulty (e.g., statistical background), study complexity, and much more. While a drop-out rate gives you a summary statistic, or the "what", it does not give you the "why". I suggest that most PhD candidates are more interested in why so that they can finish. For example, high or low drop out rates did not figure prominently in my seven year program. Rather, I was more concerned with how I would complete the program, avoiding pitfalls along the way. My mentor was quite instrumental in helping me sidestep many of those pitfalls. For me, my mentor was key reason why I completed, although my commitment level also saw me through several pitfalls. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: As a dropout, this may be an anecdote, but I have observed that myself and almost everyone else who dropped out did so because of personal reasons (health, marriage, children, financial, etc). There was only one person who left the program after multiple failures of the qualifying exam. The basic assumption was that everyone who has been accepted has met a certain bar so the program should not be too rigorous for them. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/26	915	4,099	<issue_start>username_0: Most top univerities in the world prefer candidates with work experience for their MBA programmes.Why so?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think there is a "good" dropout rate - without knowing why students drop out, the number is meaningless. But my overall view is that education (on any level) should be measured by the improvement in knowledge/skills/competence/... it provides to students and not by its ability to classify students into those who pass and the rest. In this view, ideal (but unachievable) drop out rate is zero as you make sure that only students that are a good fit for the program enlist and then you do your best to lead them to maximal achievements they are individually capable of. In the real world, it is hard to know for both the student and the institution whether the program is a good fit. Also people and their priorities change over time. So I guess there are a few "valid" reasons for dropping out: * The student's life situation changes (e.g. has a child) * Although the studies proceed well, the student realizes that he/she wants to do something different with his/her life. This should not include the case when the student had incorrect information on what the study program is actually like. * Early in the program the student realizes that he/she is unable to fulfill the expectations of the program (that were known to him/her before enlisting) * The student behaved in some unacceptable manner and was asked to leave. To me the goal is to have very few dropouts of this "valid" kind and exactly zero dropouts for other reasons. In particular I think that if students fail because they learn midway that your program is too hard for them or because the environment is too harsh or because their ideals of what the study program would look like were shattered, than it is a failure of the institution (although often the student is also at least partially responsible). Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: Dropout rate is a metric among others to evaluate a program. A dropout rate of zero would probably be best as only student who can complete the program would enlist. But in real-life, it will most likely not be zero because of many factors. The dropout can be because the program is hard, but also because of various other reasons such as the student changing career path, or anything else. Because of that, I don't think that it would be good to evaluate a program based on a single metric like the dropout rate. The dropout rate itself is influenced by other criteria such as the criteria for selecting students in the program, etc. One needs to see the global picture and consider many factors to evaluate a program. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: As a freshly minted PhD, I would suggest that the drop-out rate must be combined with more qualitative assessments, such as mentor conflicts, level of committee involvement, administrative entanglements, commitment level, technical difficulty (e.g., statistical background), study complexity, and much more. While a drop-out rate gives you a summary statistic, or the "what", it does not give you the "why". I suggest that most PhD candidates are more interested in why so that they can finish. For example, high or low drop out rates did not figure prominently in my seven year program. Rather, I was more concerned with how I would complete the program, avoiding pitfalls along the way. My mentor was quite instrumental in helping me sidestep many of those pitfalls. For me, my mentor was key reason why I completed, although my commitment level also saw me through several pitfalls. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: As a dropout, this may be an anecdote, but I have observed that myself and almost everyone else who dropped out did so because of personal reasons (health, marriage, children, financial, etc). There was only one person who left the program after multiple failures of the qualifying exam. The basic assumption was that everyone who has been accepted has met a certain bar so the program should not be too rigorous for them. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/26	1,069	4,470	<issue_start>username_0: How does one choose which speakers to invite to research seminars? There are some obvious points of consideration, for example if it is a seminar with a more or less specific topic, then the speaker should have some work related to the theme of the seminar. However, there are still a few other points of consideration: * Is it more common to invite early career researchers, or full professors? * How much of role does personal connection play? * Proximity/travel funds available From what I experienced so far, there often seems to be a healthy mix of younger and older speakers, as well as people who live nearby or far away. Some insight in how people in charge of organizing regular seminars go about this would be appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: I organized our department's seminar series recently. This is what I did: know your audience ------------------ Are you trying to build collaborations with your department? Are you trying to expose your students to new ideas? I'm at an all undergrad institution. We wanted speakers who might be recruiting grad students. So I looked to bring speakers from institutions where we've sent students in the past. I also wanted to expose the students to research areas not represented by our small faculty. You know what you want. Who do you want to hear from? what's the budget ----------------- We had very little in the way of budget, so I focused on nearby institutions. Luckily there are a hand-full of institutions within a 3 hour drive. Plus, it's way less trouble to get a speaker to come down for an afternoon. It's a pain for everyone when dealing with plane tickets and a hotel rooms. I also looked around for some additional money. There are often specific instances where a funding agency like NASA or NSF will have money to send speakers around. You may not get to pick who you get. I was able to bring in someone from across the country who would have been way outside our usual budget. cold call --------- People you already know are more likely to respond, but you won't make new connections if you don't try. I dug around on department webpages, looking for anyone who seemed interesting and emailed them. I also asked if they could recommend one of their grad students or post docs who could come in their place if they could not. Many potential speakers keep a list of available talks on their personal webpage. Ask for a specific existing talk, or a small modification to one. That's less work for them: more likely to come. fill in with personal connections --------------------------------- After I got some spots on the agenda filled, I contacted the people I know. I can more easily convince them to come on some day that no one else wanted. If you still have holes, go back to your closest neighbors. There is some grad student who can come (especially if you offer free lunch). invite a mix ------------ Hearing about the same thing week after week is boring. Try to invite a mix of topics and/or speakers. * junior/senior faculty / private researcher / post doc / grad student * men / women * big research university / small college * local / far flung * etc... In the end you're in charge, so do what you want. If your colleague doesn't like the schedule, let them put it together next time. :) Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You aren't paying anything, except for travel expenses and perhaps a lunch. Beggars can't be choosers. You'll have to shop around to get whoever is willing to come. Make sure to have a few wildcards at hand, for weeks where somebody cancels at the last moment or you just can't find anybody. Graduate students willing to do a dress rehearsal for their defence, students who have to do a presentation for a class anyway, local faculty interested in recruiting students for graduate school, ... are all options to keep in mind. It is OK to have a theme mix, it would be nice if you can organize, say, a month of speeches on a common theme (perhaps have a local give an introduction, and foreigners flesh out details), but that is optional. Just make sure that whatever schedule you define, is filled up. Having too many cancelled seminars just looks bad. Don't expect too many attending, in my experience this will attract half a dozen people or so. Get a smallish room, a small room full with 10 people looks fine, a large room filled to a fifth of capacity with 20 looks empty. Upvotes: 1
2015/08/26	572	2,446	<issue_start>username_0: I am looking for a 2nd post doc position but i dont have any publications in my first post doc. Is that lack of publications really matters to get another post doc? or shall I stop applying and look for a position in industry? My field is materials chemistry.<issue_comment>username_1: When you have published some nice papers during your PhD thesis, it still might be possible to land a 2nd post-doc, even when you did not publish during your first post-doc. Try to emphasize your accomplished publications and enthusiasm in your letter and cv. You should, however, consider that it very likely will be more difficult to find a second one, especially at a top institute. They have often enough candidates to choose from. Academia is often a very competitive place, and can be very unforgiving for setbacks, especially when not being tenured yet. This is really a pity, because there can be plenty of valid reasons why talented hardworking people hit a dry spell regarding publishing. (Think of not getting along with co-workers or supervisors, picking a niche that in retrospect does not connect well to one's specialty, going through a rough time in your life, illness, ...). For some (many?) 'publish or perish' feels like 'perish while trying to publish'. I think that science does not always benefit from this. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Here are some suggestions. 1. Set yourself a time limit -- I will continue applying for postdocs until (month, year), and if nothing has turned up by then, it will be time to go to Plan B (industry). 2. Consider that the job search isn't just for employers/advisors to evaluate you, it is also for you to evaluate them. Look at the person's track record -- both his or her own personal publication list, as well as his/her students' publication lists. You need publications. At this point, it would be a negative use of your time to do another publicationless postdoc. 3. Find something positive to report about what you accomplished in your first postdoc, to include in your CV or cover letter. 4. Prepare a very good job talk (I suppose this would need to be about something from your thesis.) 5. Since English is the international language of science, I would encourage you to set improving your English as a medium and long-term goal. Of course, the quality of English teaching varies considerably, so one has to choose the course carefully. Upvotes: 0
2015/08/26	1,586	6,571	<issue_start>username_0: The usual recommendation I have [read here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/644/when-should-a-supervisor-be-an-author) is that when you publish together with a (PhD) student of yours, the student should be first author, and the supervisor will be second author. Although this is not explained explicitly, the context seems to be that the student is the one who does the major part of the analysis and writing up the article. The supervisor might have defined the research design and approach, identified relevant previous literature and might have revised the article. My situation is a little different: * I occasionally have a small number of Bachelor's and Master's students who have written an excellent Bachelor's/Master's thesis. Because they have worked on topics (which I recommended) that are relevant to research efforts in the field, their results are so interesting that I feel they should be published (and I think there's a good chance they will). * The students rarely have any interest in publishing their results, if it involves any further work. They will most probably not pursue a PhD. Most of them will become teachers, and having published a research article will likely provide zero benefits when trying to find a job, so they don't want to invest time in publishing their results. * Because of this they don't want to invest any (substantial amount of) time in writing up the results in a way that they can be published. I don't think they would mind seeing the results published with their name as a co-author (and then they will have to at least read through the final manuscript), but they might also consent to not being given authorship. * Consequently, if I want to see the results published, I will have to write up the article. I most cases some reanalysis of the data will also be necessary (and sometimes a more substantial effort will be necessary). * The major contribution from the students is that they collected and coded the data (which takes a substantial amount of time), and some of the analyses they did might be usable in a publication. Does the students' contribution merit first or second authorship even though their contribution doesn't match the [ICMJE criteria for authorship](http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html)? What's the ethical and reasonable thing do do? Even if it doesn't, should I take into account that hiring/tenure committees might like to see proof that I actively involve students in my research and publish together with them? (I read this in an answer to another question here, but can't find it anymore.)<issue_comment>username_1: > > ...but they might also consent to not being given authorship. > > > No, no and no. If it is your students' BSc or MSc thesis, they should be co-authors. Period. > > ...I will have to write up the article. > > > You are right. That is why in those cases, you may be first author on the paper (according to your discipline's norms). Also, you should always discuss BEFORE assigning the MSc and BSc theses' topics, that ideally you want to work on the suggested topic so that you will get a publication out of it. Also you should make clear that if a student's thesis results in a paper, then the student gets to be co-author on the resulting paper and additional work might be required from him. Earlier discussion always leads to fewer disputes later-on. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: TLDR: In all cases, the student definitely should be one of the authors. In most cases, I would argue for them to be the first author, but if the work required significant extension prior to publication it becomes a gray area. First authorship also obviously wouldn't apply if there is a field-specific policy on author order (e.g. alphabetically). --- You should not deprive people of authorship because they did not write the paper - I think you misunderstood the [ICMJE criteria](http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html) on this point. To quote: > > The criteria are not intended for use as a means to disqualify > colleagues from authorship who otherwise meet authorship criteria by > denying them the opportunity to [write/revise the paper or approve its > final version]. > > > You should ask the students to read and approve the paper thus enabling them to fulfill the criteria. I think almost all students will agree to do this as it is not a lot of work. Personally, I prefer giving students first authorship. The most important argument is that there is a huge power differential in favor of the advisor. The student is usually unsure of the academic conventions and will likely accept whatever the advisor says (if only to make his life easier). Making them the first author ensures, that the student will not feel that someone unjustly benefited from their work - and at least in terms of time spent their contribution is usually several times larger than advisor's. I actually turned my MSc. thesis into a paper. I had no clue on how authors should be ordered, so in the first draft, I put myself as a third author of the paper (my advisor and my consultant from another department came before me). As no one had any comment, I kept it that way and in retrospect, I feel a little regret about it. From anecdotal evidence (including a few questions here: [A](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/52247/first-authorship-was-taken-by-my-masters-supervisor-how-to-strengthen-my-phd-a), [B](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16735/should-the-phd-supervisors-name-be-first-in-a-scientific-journal?rq=1)) I think I am not alone. I have recently co-authored a paper in computer science (currently under review) with my BSc. student. The student has written the software, designed and performed evaluation of the software with human subjects and performed analysis - all after relatively heavy consultations with me. I have written the text of the paper (reusing literature research from the BSc thesis), extended the evaluation and re-analysed the complete dataset. I gave the student first authorship, although the student was initially reluctant (claiming that I had written the paper and brought in ideas) and I am very happy about the decision, as I think it encouraged the student to think of himself as a scientist, although he does not want to pursue academic career. Upvotes: 3
2015/08/27	4,088	17,687	<issue_start>username_0: It is becoming apparent to me that, outside my field, use of [Blackboard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_Learn) and other [LMS software](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_management_system) is becoming extremely common. Indeed, a rash of technical problems here is making it apparent students and administrators alike seem to assume that Blackboard is the exclusive (locked) gateway to the course's content. I have had to explain that, actually, my syllabus and homework assignments are posted on the web, freely available to anyone, anywhere. I have used Blackboard a little bit (to mass e-mail my students and to post grades) and I find it to be slow, kludgy, and buggy. I would find it painful to heavily use this software, and I find it vastly simpler to create a course website. My question is -- what is it that drives Blackboard's popularity? Is it that most faculty do not want to learn HTML? That faculty prefer to keep their course materials private rather than public? Are there other useful features which I have overlooked? Or other factors?<issue_comment>username_1: Blackboard is used by the university I teach at and I used it at the university I studied at - Blackboard (BB) is mostly uniform. While you can customize your courses, to an extent, a student moving from one course to another using BB will already know where everything is. BB is simplistic and students have different technical abilities. Having each instructor learn HTML is a large order. I teach with an 80-year old man who still has a flip phone and can barely use that. Contracting someone to create the webpages would also be an issue because costs and instructors changing the courses that they teach may want to change the webpage. BB also has (at least where I studied and teach) a copy checker. If a student from Z class uploads the same paper to both Z and Y then when they upload it to Y the instructor is told that there is a paper within the servers (goes back 2-3 years I believe) that is x% similar to a paper submitted in course Z. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: You opinion about the state of Blackboard is pretty much what most of us who use it also think. At the institution I work we (the faculty) are required to use Blackboard for all modules and there is a minimum level of information we have to post there about our modules in a standard format. This does at least ensure that there a minimum standard is achieved for each course and that it is consistently presented to students - the alternative of having everyone use a different system would lead to chaos and confusion for students. This is how it used to be before there was an institution VLE. This minimum standard is really a least common denominator and not too bothersome to set up. Another perceived institutional advantage is that the management and running of Blackboard is outsourced. In principle this means less IT staff needed to maintain it however in practice we still need dedicated internal staff to assist faculty in using Blackboard and to act as a buffer between the institution and Blackboard when issues do arise (and there are still many bugs and idiosyncrasies in Blackboard). Those of us who wish to use technology more effectively do find the limitations of Blackboard an issue. Some colleagues link from Blackboard to external sites to overcome this. My solution has been to write a set of tools that integrate with Blackboard that provide the types of approaches I want to use. These are actually run on another server but from the student and staff user point of view it appears as part of Blackboard. The only limitation is that I cannot integrate into the grade centre of Blackboard for collating marks. In any case my own feedback and marking system actually provides much more flexibility and statistical analysis and copes properly with multiple teaching assistants marking different students so it isn't much of a disadvantage. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: My university uses Blackboard, so I am required to use it for entering final grades. I use it for only that, because I find Blackboard to be not very user-friendly. There are alternatives that are free, better, and don't require any knowledge of HTML. I use [Piazza](https://piazza.com) to host course information, distribute announcements, and as a tool for students to ask and answer questions. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I can't comment on the specifics of Blackboard (we use Moodle) but Course Management Systems (CMS) / Learning Management Systems(LMS) / Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), whatever they're called, don't usually do anything that you couldn't do by other means, such as a web page, emailer, whatever. Their advantage is that all of these functions are contained in a common environment, with a single user interface, and so staff and students don't waste time with the distraction of learning how to drive multifarious systems. BTW, @MJeffryes, I agree that free software isn't necessarily more suitable for universities but the open-source aspect of a VLE like Moodle might be an advantage over Blackboard, etc. There's a fairly healthy hacker community for the former. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: I currently work for the department at my university that supports Blackboard, other LMS software and a variety of educational technology tools. The implementation of Blackboard at my current university, and a different LMS at my previous college, were not faculty decisions. The choice to implement the system is done at a much higher level. In my experience, there are typically strong initiatives or requirements to get faculty to use these systems. Here are some of the advantages of using a widely-supported LMS such as Blackboard: * It provides students a consistent user experience across their courses, especially concerning the submission of assignments and checking grades * It allows the university to more easily provide across-the-board training and support for instructors * It allows for secure content storage and integration with other tools + It complies with [FERPA](http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html) and other student privacy and data regulations + Blackboard supports [LTI](http://www.imsglobal.org/toolsinteroperability2.cfm), [SCORM](http://scorm.com/scorm-explained/) and [Tin Can](http://tincanapi.com/adopters/) modules for integration * It's use of educational technology standards allows for other developers to easily create tools that also work with Blackboard. + [E-Learning authoring software](https://www.articulate.com/) to create content pages, [audience response systems](https://support.tophat.com/hc/en-us/articles/202103784-Professor-How-Can-I-Integrate-Top-Hat-with-Blackboard-) to poll and quiz students, registration tools for textbook publishers, [Single Sign-On (PDF)](http://library.blackboard.com/docs/consult/single_sign_on_authentication_appendix.pdf) with university-wide credentials and more (including Moodle!) * There are many modules and features that are optional or able to be customized, which allows for the university to have an LMS tailored more closely to their needs * A large number of instructors and students can be supported by a relatively small number of support staff * Universities may be able to request new features to be developed for the next iteration of the LMS software It's very typical, in my experience over the past few years, for there to be what seems like an inordinate number of technical issues at the beginning of each semester. However, there are some explanations for this: * The LMS software isn't a static implementation, and there are updates and patches available that can get installed or applied between terms (sometimes during). These updates may introduce new bugs that are hard to discover during the testing process. * There's an extraordinary server load at the beginnings of terms: courses are being created, students are being added, content is being upload, and general site traffic increases. + The university will likely have built their LMS infrastructure based around a typical usage amount, rather than for the peak loads seen at the start of semesters. This would be a cost-saving measure. Considering most of the issues disappear after a couple weeks, it's likely the right choice. * Instructors can get consistent training, but it doesn't mean that they do, or that it's complete. * There is a lot of user-error. I've especially noted it with problems that occur during class: typically a setting wasn't applied correctly. The downside of such a large piece of software is that [there is a lot to know](http://www.blackboard.com/support/index.aspx). * There are a lot of costs associated with maintaining and improving the LMS, and how much your university is willing to pay in [total cost-of-ownership](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_cost_of_ownership) expenses will affect the quality of the implementation. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: If an organization provides Blackboard for their faculty, then they're much less likely to also provide other services that accomplish the same general goal (like private web page hosting, course-specific fileshares, etc). IT departments don't like having to maintain redundant services. In those environments, users generally don't have any other option than Blackboard. I believe the real question is why Blackboard in particular is so popular. A big reason for this is that Blackboard was one of the first CMS systems available that focused on the educational sector. Educators could try it out for free and since most schools didn't have any sort of CMS at the time, IT departments got a lot of requests for it. Over time, Blackboard has bought out several of their largest competitors, further entrenching themselves and making it more difficult for a rival product to compete. Blackboard also had a patent on an "Internet-based education support system and methods" that they've used to scare off competitors (the patent was eventually ruled invalid). The real competition in this space is from open-source systems like Moodle. They're insulated from the problems listed above since they don't live or die based on market share, and since Blackboard has pledged not to assert their patents against open-source or non-profit entities. Unfortunately, it's hard for an open-source CMS to gain the same traction as a proprietary product like Blackboard, regardless of the quality of the product. Blackboard puts a lot of resources into advertising and marketing, and open-source projects generally can't come close to matching that. Decisions about which CMS to use are generally made by high-level management (not IT, faculty, or anyone else who actually has to use it). These folks aren't likely to even know what "open-source software" is, much less what options are available, so they tend to base their decisions on what they hear from sales representatives. If there was a company behind Moodle that was pushing it as aggressively and consistently as Blackboard, I have a strong feeling that you wouldn't see Blackboard anywhere near as often as you do now (surveys frequently show the overwhelming majority of blackboard users don't like it). This isn't a unique tale. You can replace "Blackboard" above with the name of almost any other piece of "popular" enterprise software and the story is pretty much the same. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: The main reason that we were given is that students expect it, or some similar uniform interface. Additionally, fFaculty in non-science departments may not have access to a general-purpose HTML server, and it becomes a major drain on staff resources if computer staff have to implement a course web page using whatever database system the college set up for personal web-pages. BB and its ilk somewhat require you to get on board with a particular uniform way of thinking about course content, and uniformity is a virtue these days. And it does make it easy to turn in materials online, by a fixed time, which is technically doable with some script writing, but many people in arts and humanities are not so familiar with scripting. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: I think the reason why BB is popular in the US is that it was one of the first enterprise apps to hit the education market. There's a lot of other nice tools out there, but schools have been invested far too much in this broken product that getting rid of it is either difficult to justify or simply bogged down in internal politics. There's some nice paid and free alternatives out there that do a much better job than BB. One good example that I have seen taking momentum in the open source community is [Moodle](http://moodle.org) but it doesn't have the marketing drive that BB enjoys and will take time to become mainstream. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: There are a lot of answers already, but I want to add to @CreationEdge's answer: one of the benefits of LMS software is that it provides some features that would be hard to do using HTML. Probably the most important is providing a secure gradebook which shares each student's grade with that student and no one else. (In my experience, this alone is the "wedge" which drives LMS adoption---students love being able to check their grades online.) Once you've started using one, there are often some other features---class discussion forums, support for online turn in of assignments, and a course calendar, for example---which are doable in other ways but which good software can do automatically and easily. Just about every specific piece of LMS software seems to be pretty unpopular, in part because the underlying problem is hard. It turns out that every professor wants to do something slightly different. So either the software tries to accommodate everyone, requiring you to search through lots of options and get them configured just right to get what you want, or it's inflexible so a few people think it's perfect and everyone else loaths it. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: BB might be popular but is by no means the only game in town. My University used to use BB but then we switched to Sakai which is cheaper. We are not forced to use Sakai. I post problem sets in my personal page. That said how do you make student grades accessible to them without violating privacy laws and wasting lots of your time? I can not see any good alternative to a system like BB or Sakai. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: I think it has a lot to do with software patents. From the [wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_Inc.#Legal_matters) on blackboard: > > The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted the company U.S. Patent 6,988,138 for "Internet-based education support system and methods" in January 2006. The patent established Blackboard's claims to the concept of connecting together web-based tools to create an interconnected university-wide course management system.[83] The firm announced the patent on July 26, 2006, and on the same day it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against rival education software company Desire2Learn Inc.[83][84] According to news reports, the awarding of the patent and the lawsuit against Desire2Learn led to concerns about patentability in the electronic learning community. > In short, they got the patent on this kind of software, and they started muscling people out of the business on the same day. While there are plenty of alternatives now, I think that for a long time, it was slim pickings. There were open source alternatives, but they were specialized projects not getting many contributions. I can't find the version history online, but I remember that in the 8 years I was a student (don't ask), my university used Blackboard 6, and after those 8 years, Blackboard 7 came in, which looked exactly the same. Which suggests to me that Blackboard acquired a monopoly through the patent system, and then sat on their asses. And of course, even now the whole thing is a far cry from what you'd expect from a modern web-application. Considering they employ 3000 people, I shudder to think what the whole operation looks like behind the screens. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: > > Is it that most faculty do not want to learn HTML? > > > On the contrary, I find that faculty who insists in writing their own HTML even when it is inappropriate is a very common trend. Maybe you are an exception, but you should ask yourself a few questions to make sure you are not biased. Are you sure you should write your site by directly editing HTML? Is your HTML accessible? Do images have alt tags, for instance? Does it have a readable color scheme? Is it responsive / does it scale well to mobile? Does it have a look that does not resemble a Geocities website from the 90s? Have you tested it on several common browsers? Does it take you more or less time to write than Markdown or the visual editor that you'd probably find in Blackboard? How long does it take you to publish a PDF file? Do your students find your website better and easier to use than Blackboard, on average? I interact daily with both mathematicians and computer scientists, and I have found that on average computer scientists have learned not to mess with hand-written HTML in the past years, while mathematicians seem very resilient on it. It is a trend that probably comes from Latex-induced perfectionism. (And, looking at your profile, it seems to me that my guess that you are a mathematician is correct.) Upvotes: 2
2015/08/27	329	1,410	<issue_start>username_0: I only have 2 research experiences, one of which lasted more than a year and is starting to look very promising for high impact factor publication (I'll be the second author though, and it's not likely to be published by the time of application). The other is with an highly esteemed professor from the U.S. who's quite happy with my 2-month research internship in his lab. Both are willing to put in some good words for me, but that's all I got, so I need a "did well in class" letter of recommendation which will probably be worth nothing. Will this hurt a lot to my graduate application? (I'm an international student)<issue_comment>username_1: If you have two strong letters of recommendation for research work, that's already quite good. I would think that "this person is a strong student" letter filling out the set will be just fine---after all, somebody has to testify that you're good outside of the lab as well! Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: All of your fellow students are in the same boat: almost nobody has more than 2 successful research experiences (and many have fewer). You don't have to have a stellar file when applying -- it just needs to be as good or better than that of all of the other candidate, most of whom will mostly have "did well in class" letters. In other words: you're ahead of the curve. Nothing to worry about. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/27	826	3,565	<issue_start>username_0: We get occasional questions here from people who are applying to PhD programs, and are worried because they have no publications. This is puzzling to me, because most of my friends in PhD programs did not have any publications when they applied. We've also previous agreed that it is not generally [mandatory to have a publication when applying to PhD](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11825/is-it-mandatory-to-have-published-papers-while-applying-for-phd), although it certainly helps. I am interested in knowing if there are any fields that are exceptions to this rule. Are there any fields of study where (in some parts of the world, at least) most students have publications already by the time they apply for PhD admissions? By "most," I mean that publications are common enough that a lack of one is seen as worrying, and possibly indicative of some deficiency in the applicant.<issue_comment>username_1: For the context, I'm a Canadian doing a PhD in Biology. In my University and for most Québec (Canadian?) universities, PhD applicant usually have a publication under way, whether it is published, accepted, submitted or in preparation. The reason why is that most student have completed a master degree before. Altought publication is usually not mandatory in master degrees, it's becoming the norm. I would dare say that this answer could fit countries and faculties/department where a master degree is required. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I'll point toward the Max Planck School for Computer Science, [IMPRS-CS](http://www.imprs-cs.de/overview/phd/application.html), if I remember correctly they used to have even stronger wording than the current > > A successful candidate must... have performed research and published (or submitted for publication) the results > > > But the MPIs are not the norm. Mostly, you would be fine with just your Masters thesis in math, comp sci, biology, or chemistry. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: In most subfields of computer science, most strong applicants will usually have some sort of publication record, usually with one work under submission/review at the time of application. First authorship is usually not common, though. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I’ve been a part of a PhD admissions committee for a top school in the US in a field of engineering. Expectations change based on your educational background. The lack of any accepted/submitted/in process publications is a significant weakness in any applicants that hold an MS. It is generally expected that during this time you were performing research, and its quality was sufficient for a peer reviewed conference or journal. In undergraduate applicants who are applying directly to the PhD program, the lack of publications is not worrying whatsoever. There is generally little opportunity or time for them to be produced. As has been said elsewhere, applicants are ultimately judged on their ability or potential ability to perform self-driven, impactful research. An undergraduate who has clearly made good use of their available time (summer internships involving research, extracurricular activities in the sciences, etc.) with no publications will most likely be viewed as a better candidate than an applicant with an MS with no publications. An MS alone in this context is at best evidence of more successfully completed coursework, which is not what committees are looking for. At worst it can suggest deficiencies exist in their research ability. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/27	587	2,351	<issue_start>username_0: I finished my master in computer science about 2 years ago... And I just started to apply for PhD... I have received a prompt reply to one of my email and I really don't know what should I do!? here is the response : "Dear Ali, It is impossible for me to know over a year in advance whether I will take any students for Fall 2016. Your CV looks interesting and I encourage you to apply to the program so you are eligible for any potential openings." I asked for admission on fall 2016 but maybe I could ask for winter 2015 too... Should I ask for funding now or after applying? How should I reply him?<issue_comment>username_1: The issue of funding is clearly vital to you (and I dare say all prospective graduate students), so the school can't take exception on you asking for details on the matter. In fact, you should ask them for alternatives that might be available, and (if needed) where, how and when to apply for that. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Your question really contains two parts: about funding and about what to do with the email. @username_1 already answered the funding part, so I will answer the other half: This is really a rather common reply. If you apply for the fall 2016, you will likely take courses for the first year, so you're looking for someone who may start to be your adviser in the fall 2017 -- two years from now. I have no idea how my funding situation will look like that far out, nor whether I will gain or lose any graduate students until then. In other words, I cannot promise that (i) I will be able to support anyone financially this far out, (ii) I will have the mental and time capacity to accept more graduate students this far out. At least in the US (and likely in Canada), you can't generally expect to have an adviser lined up before you even apply to a graduate program -- you have to apply and accept admission to a department in the hope that when you need one, an adviser will materialize. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: (I can only speak to the system in the U.S.) In the old days, you read the catalog. Nowadays, you read the department website. It will probably tell you at least 95% of what you need to know about how and when to apply for admission and funding. It will have a contact email to use for the remaining 5%. Good luck! Upvotes: 0
2015/08/27	1,392	6,216	<issue_start>username_0: I spent a considerable amount of time to write my thesis. Now I have to create the slides for the defense. I thought it was going to be easier, but found important difficulties creating them. I would like to have a method to make it easier, at least the first draft. Starting with a section, I will try to create a slide from one paragraph, although they can be further divided in more than one slide. I thought about: * convert to bullets each sentence of the paragraph, or set of sentences of related topic. This slide may be further removed. * in a different slide, replace text from previous slide with images from cited references, and try to memorise the necessary part of the replaced text. This will be specially useful for the introduction. On the other hand, thesis results sections already have their own pictures, so they will be directly taken from thesis. Do you think this method is OK, or maybe someone has a better one?<issue_comment>username_1: You have to cut down brutally. You will have a half hour or so to show the work of a year or more, that is hard. * Explain what this is all about. A short introduction/reminder (depending on your audience!) is probably needed. * State your objectives clearly. One slide for this should be enough. * Summarize your main results. You won't be able to cover everything, but make sure you show enough to cover the stated objectives. Perhaps highlight some tricky point, or a neat technique. * Summarize your objectives again, explaining how they were met. * If pertinent, point out possible future fruitful work building on your thesis * It might be useful to have a slide with publications resulting from the thesis, both already published or in the works (submitted and waiting for approval). You might consider having some "spare" slides with more details, on which you can fall back when asked to elaborate. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Two basic rules for presentations: Think about who you are talking to, and plan top down. Look at the convention in your university and your discipline and the time constraints imposed by the rules to decide how much time you want to give the different strata in your audience. There is general public, general scientists, scientists from your general area and may be two or three who understand what you did. If your work touches different scientific areas, decide how you want to split your time between them. After assigning a certain amount of time to each part of the audience ask yourself what kind of talk you would enjoy in an area which was similarly far from you. History usually works for experts and layman alike, unless it is commonly known (to the experts). Top down means start with the large parts, break these into smaller parts and refine until you arrive at what you want to put on every single slide, then write the slide. You will have to cut down, do so by working backward. Decide which goals you want to present and don't fret about unrelated stuff. You don't have to be too precise, the audience will not be able to process all details in the short time they have for a slide anyway. "Under some rather technical condition" or "after some manipulation" usually works here. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Note that the following approach may not work for every topic and field. 1. Find out what prerequisites you can expect from your audience or how generally understandable your talk shall be. For example a guideline at my department is that a defense shall be directed at somebody who studied the same field (but did not necessarily specialise on the same subfield). 2. Take your most important result. This may be a plot, a number, a model or a hypothesis, but also that some approach that you found not to work. 3. Consider the minimal background information that your audience needs to understand and appreciate this result. For example, if your result is a plot: Your audience needs to understand what quantities are depicted on the axis, how the data was obtained and what important steps you made processing it; it needs to understand why the plot was important to make and what major conclusion follows from it. You do not need to tell it about every detail though, e.g., that you rejected three samples because they were highly implausible (and checked thoroughly that this was appropriate). 4. Structure that information and make slides presenting it. This should contain an introduction and a conclusion. 5. Test how long you will need to present this talk. If you do not cram your slides (which you shouldn’t do anyway), a rough guideline is one minute per slide. Actually giving the talk in front of a test audience is a better estimator though. 6. In the rare event that you have time left, add additional details, interesting side results or whatever you seem best fit. Preferrably add something that needs little build-up, given the information that you already intend to present. It is strongly advisable to talk to your supervisor and other peers, as they can better tell you what part of your work is most important, what guidelines and convention your field and university have and give feedback on a draft of your presentiation. > > Do you think this method is OK […] ? > > > To be frank, I think this method is horrible for the following reasons: * What is a good structure for a thesis is not necessarily a good structure for a talk. And even if it is, your method restricts how you distribute content on your slides in a way that you will find hard to get rid off, even through intensive refactoring. * Not all information contained in your thesis needs to be contained in your talk. Moreover, it is pretty normal that certain paragraphs of your thesis are devoted to technical details (and should be only mentioned as an aside) while others deserve a whole slide. * At no point do you have the top-level structure in mind – which is most important. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It might be easier for you to escape from the pages of your thesis if you storyboard your talk initially. In other words, start by choosing and inserting images, and then add text frugally. Upvotes: 0
2015/08/27	709	2,941	<issue_start>username_0: Let us say you have a paper drafted up and asked someone to comment on it. If this someone replied to you with compliments but with no suggestions on possible improvements, is it academically conventional to mention this someone's name in the acknowledgement of the paper? I intend to do that, verily. However, my concern is that I am not sure if doing this is appropriate, for doing this may be not fair to other people who made substantial suggestions and whose names are also listed in the acknowledgement.<issue_comment>username_1: As long as you decide (or are obliged for different reasons) to include one person, you can grade the acknowledgement. "I would like to thank A for providing substantial improvements to the paper, B for her caeful proof-reading (I thank her for the missing "r", as well as @DavidRicherby). We are grateful to C for his thoughtful comments, to D who provided insight and expertise, to E for assistance in the shaping of the paper, to F for voting the answer up. Last but not least, we are indebted to the reviewers for their insightful remarks. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Acknowledgements are mostly yours to do with as you please---in my experience in computer science, at least, there are few hard and fast rules. For my own part, I typically keep my acknowledgements relatively spare, reserving them for people who made significant and meaningful contributions, but who did not rise to the level of authorship. As such, I tend to not acknowledge anonymous reviewers, people who gave feedback that didn't result in large changes in the manuscript, etc. You should feel free to be more liberal in your acknowledgements if you choose, however---the only real limitation is if either a) your manuscript may have length limitations or b) you do something that can be taken as silly (which can be [OK for a thesis](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38509/whether-and-how-to-thank-a-girlfriend-or-boyfriend-in-the-acknowledgements-of-th#comment85482_38509) but generally not so much in a peer-reviewed manuscript). It is pretty much always the case, however, that acknowledgements say what a person is being acknowledged for. If you say that, then people will know how to calibrate the contribution. If you have a hard time figuring out what to write, that may be a sign that the person didn't do enough to be acknowledged. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: In general I would not acknowledge someone who read the paper but did not contribute suggestions or changes. After all, I often post to the arXiv and so I've had hundreds of readers by the time the final version goes to press. That said, if you do want to acknowledge this person C who provided compliments, perhaps consider something like "We thank A for valuable discussions, B for suggesting an improved proof of proposition 2, and C for her encouragement". Upvotes: 2
2015/08/26	585	2,423	<issue_start>username_0: Since graduating I have maintained contact with a number of professors at my university and have gone back on recruiting trips. I check in on the courses being offered from time to time and have noticed several have changed. Can asking for information or syllabi on classes be rude or inappropriate now that I am formally recruiting at the university in a professional setting? EDIT: To clarify, I am not recruiting for the University, I am recruiting for a private company at the University's career fairs, etc.<issue_comment>username_1: If you are recruiting for the University, it would appear to me that asking this question is appropriate to your job and position within the University. Ask away. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't see why it would be an issue. I've been in a similar position in the past - recruiting at the university that I graduated from. On every trip, I made it a point to visit the department office to catch up with the department chair (who was a professor when I was there), the academic advisers, and the professors. I never asked for a syllabus for courses, but I did make it a point to talk about changes to course content. I felt that doing this would help me stay closer to the department and college, but also would make me better at recruiting and interviewing since I would have a better understanding of what the students were learning in the classroom. I would encourage you to, somehow, stay in touch with changes to the classes that are core in the departments that you recruit from so you can be a better interviewer. I would also encourage you to share this information with HR and hiring managers so they know the capabilities. If there are new courses or new content, it could make the hiring process for interns or new graduates easier. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: > > Can asking for information or syllabi on classes be rude or > inappropriate now that I am formally recruiting at the university in a > professional setting? > > > In most universities in my part of the world (the US), there is a recruitment/placement/career fair office. That should be your first stop, rather than going directly to the professors themselves. These are the folks who can get you the information you need, or can tell you how to get it, without bothering the professors themselves unless necessary. Upvotes: 1
2015/08/27	425	1,867	<issue_start>username_0: My advisor is leaving academia and I will graduating and writing a dissertation on the work that I have done in his lab under his supervision. I have no problem to include him on my dissertation but the university is not allowing me to do that. Will it be misconduct if I did not list him as a contributor in my dissertation?<issue_comment>username_1: A PhD thesis is supposed to be independent research undertaken by the candidate. This means there should be only one author, regardless of the status of your supervisor within the university. However, each thesis should have in the front material a page that lists the committee members (and their signatures!) to prove that the thesis has satisfied the rules of the department/faculty/university. It would be most unusual for the university to insist the name of your supervisor be taken off this list. In addition, of course, you are free to acknowledge any and all assistance you received along the way. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: If your university requires you to list a different person as thesis advisor, then that's what you need to do---rightly or wrongly, your university determines its policy there, and you need to follow it. You, however, can certainly make the contributions of your former advisor clear in the acknowledgements. As with many ethical questions, this can be safely navigated by the application of sunshine: if you clearly state your former advisor's contributions in the acknowledgements, along with the reason that they are not listed as your advisor, then you should not have any trouble with people thinking that you unfairly chose to exclude them. Note also, that if you later make any peer-reviewed publications out of this work, then if it would be appropriate to list your advisor as a co-author, you can and should do that. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/27	341	1,525	<issue_start>username_0: I've already applied for one post-doc fellowship with one project with the consent of my possible future supervisor. I will know whether I've been succesfull in 6 months. Now I realised that there is another fellowship to which I could apply - my potential host supervisor agreed that she would support me for both fellowships. From my view I see no obstacles to ask for both, nevertheless I want to ask, what would be the opinion of a potential reviewer if he/she will get the same project for review twice from different agencies? If I will apply for both fellowships, both the review process and the results anouncement would run more or less in the same time period.<issue_comment>username_1: It's quite common to submit proposals to multiple funding agencies at the same time. Most grant applications ask you if you are submitting the proposal to multiple funding agencies. You should note this in your application. If both agencies are interested in funding your proposal then they'll coordinate awards so that you don't get funded twice. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The rules will depend on the funding agencies involved. The grant guidelines may answer your question. If they don't (implicitly) say, you can e-mail the Program Officer (whose contact info should be given in the grant guidelines) to ask. Program Officers are nice people who won't bite your head off (though they might question your ability to read if the answer is on the first page). Upvotes: 3
2015/08/28	4,638	19,368	<issue_start>username_0: I just finished my 2nd year of PhD, and my mom has been dying of cancer since the end of my 1st year. She nearly died in January but thankfully pulled through. She was just diagnosed again a few weeks ago and her prognosis is not good (resistant to chemo and can't get another surgery). My cognitive abilities and general state of mind have suffered as a result of this situation. My research is very mathematical and being unable to stay focused for longer than 20 minutes really prevents me from making any progress. My emotional/mental state has also been seriously affected. I managed to pass my qual and aced my classes the past 6 months, but lately things are getting a lot worse. I am hesitating if I should tell my advisor about my mom, but I feel that I'll just sound like I'm making excuses. Quitting is NOT an option because I have never thought about it and I always wanted to do research since I was in high school.<issue_comment>username_1: My deepest sympathies for what you are going through. You should certainly tell your advisor. No reasonable person would believe that you are using this situation as an "excuse" for poor performance. Understanding your situation will help your advisor do his/her job: advising you according to your current needs and circumstances. Your advisor may be able to direct you to mental health and other support services at your university that can help you through this time. He/she can also make you aware of other options that are available under exceptional circumstances: for example, a short leave of absence if you feel it is necessary, or an option to delay a comprehensive exam, or other similar concessions that can take some of the academic pressure off you while you focus on regaining your mental and emotional health. Upvotes: 8 <issue_comment>username_2: My mother died shortly after I matriculated to my PhD program. I actually could not finish all of my classes, and had to make up work the following semester. Everyone involved (dept. head, advisor, etc.) would have given me even more time than I took to get back on track, after a few months I dove into work as a way to deal with some of parts of the loss. Any reasonable university and advisor will give you time, most large universities even have formal bereavement policies for graduate students (in the US at least). You should certainly tell your dean/dept. head about it as well as your advisor, and even take a leave of absence if you need to. Don't be afraid to take some time, the work can wait. Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: A student in our program took a year's leave to look after his mother while she died of cancer. I am sure that anyone who thought of it, thought more of him not less of him for it. You should always give your advisor all relevant information regarding your performance. He/she has to assess your progress and will inevitably have a view regarding whether you are bright, stupid, lazy, hardworking, distractable, etc. Unless you truly think they are an ogre give them the full picture. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: I had an experience pretty similar to yours, also in the second year of my PhD program. While my father thankfully survived, he was entering surgery with roughly 50/50 odds of survival. To compound things, I was the one with power of attorney that would have had to make any potentially life-threatening decisions on his behalf should he have been unable to. Needless to say, this all had me a bit flustered. Here's what I did: ------------------ I knew the chair fairly well, and I also knew he was a really nice guy (he's jokingly called "The Nicest Man in the World" in the department), so I went to him first. This was at the beginning of the second year in the program and I still hadn't built up a close relationship with my advisor yet. He sat me down and shared stories, really tried to make me feel comfortable. He assured me that the department would be behind me and would support me in whatever way. Take however much time I needed, etc. I did eventually tell my advisor who was quite sympathetic. but given that I was still in the coursework phase of my grad career, interaction with my advisor wasn't a huge part of my life yet. It was pretty clear what to do -- take the required courses and do well -- so his advice wasn't needed as often. I only had one negative reaction, from the person I was TAing for. This professor was quite clearly irritated by my need to miss two weeks of classes, even though my co-TAs were covering my sections for me (the saints they were). But hey, 2/3 ain't bad. Fortunately, my father's surgery went well and his recovery was quick. This enabled me to return to campus fairly quickly, in under two weeks -- and largely at my father's insistence. The whole situation, while terrible at the time, had very little lasting impact on my graduate career as far as I can tell. My Advice to You: ----------------- Now, clearly your situation is quite different than mine was. It sounds like death is a near certainty here. I'm sorry for this. It also sounds like you might think you're having some worsening mental health issues. If it is available to you, I'd highly recommend seeking some sort of relevant medical help. Counseling or some sort of therapy may be appropriate, but I'm not a Doctor, so talk to one you trust. On to the more plainly academic stuff: It seems likely that in order to deal with both your stress and family situation you're going to have to take some time off at some point. You would want to talk to the relevant person in your department and tell them as soon as you make a decision so that they can find someone to replace you if you, e.g., were assigned any teaching responsibilities that semester. It seems reasonable to talk to your advisor so long as you have a moderately good relationship with them. Who else should you tell? Tell anyone to whom you have obligations or responsibilities that you won't be able to fulfill. If you have a part-time tutoring gig, those need to be cancelled. Most things I'm thinking of can probably be cancelled without reason or the generic "family emergency". Only speak about your situation to the extent that you're comfortable to and that it helps you. Assuming you do take a leave of absence, I would try to keep it as short as you reasonably can. If you can go back after one semester, great. If not, then try again at two. Always give advanced notice of your plans to return so there's a spot for you in whatever your research/teaching role might be. If you're anything like me, after a while away from research you just have to do something. Do what you can on your own. Keep in correspondence with your professors. Don't let your time away be time when you're forgotten. This doesn't mean a daily correspondence, but check in every once in a while. As you're getting ready to come back you can let them know that. Mostly? Don't worry too much about how others will respond and focus on yourself and your family. As many of the other answers have said, any reasonably decent person will understand and not hold your situation against you. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: Yes, tell your advisor and head of Dept. As someone who has been responsible for PhD students (physics), and has lost his mother, I can see it from both sides. Your life will change and you will have a very busy and jumpy mind for a long time, and find focusing difficult - but it will get better. Work on your organisational skills in order to keep on top of things - I found I let stuff get on top of me that ordinarily I would just have dealt with. As a manager, I really want to know if anyone working with or for me is having any issues. It may explain otherwise odd actions or changes in performance and most managers and advisors will realise that you need time - this time of life happens to most of us. lastly, good luck in your studies and my thoughts are with you. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: My father died of cancer earlier this year. I am trying to finish a math PhD thesis. I informed my advisor almost immediately (by email) and told that I would not be available for some time. This was not questioned. I should have told of the situation earlier, but the end can come quickly. I did not have teaching duties at the moment. My relationship with my advisor is good. If you have a troubled relationship with your advisor, then things may be more complicated. I was away from the university for maybe two weeks - I don't recall exactly. After that performance has been spotty. The sorrow returns every now and then, even if it usually stays out of consciousness. * If you have a precise set of courses you should take at precise times, then you should try to negotiate them with whoever is appropriate. Ask for help freely and explain your situation honestly. This may involve crying. * Also try negotiating any teaching duties you may have. Around here the common way is to swap some teaching with someone else; you might want to arrange this before you are in hurry. Select someone who can replace you and whom you trust. Tell them what is going on and ask if they would teach in your place for some days on short notice, if necessary. * If possible, try to stop your research at a suitable point. You can write an introduction to an article without your full mental capacity. You can also submit a paper to arXiv and to journals and consider changes suggested by referees. Finding more references is also not terribly taxing. Try to have such easier, but still relevant, tasks to return to. Also, inform any co-authors about having personal problems and not doing anything with the paper for at least a month or two. You may want to find out how a formal break from PhD studies works at your university. At least in Finland there is a fair amount of paperwork to do (hopefully you are not doing them alone) after a death. If you need to sell a house or apartment, there will be even more. Do not underestimate the emotional side of dealing with your mother's possessions and home. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_7: It's a different case but I was ill myself during a taught MSc at a British university. I was on a scholarship. Not only did the department give me a year off, they also gave me a complete new scholarship to start the whole course again. It is always worth asking. If you are worried about your CV then you can explain that you took a year (or whatever period of time) out to look after a sick relative. Unless you are dealing with truly unreasonable people then you are likely to receive help and sympathy. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Not telling about this problem will cause additional stress as you must then keep the real reasons why you aren't performing well hidden, you'll end up seeking unnatural remedies (e.g. trying to work harder when your mind and body tells you that you really can't do that anymore). Taking the initial step to start to talk about this with your advisor may be difficult, especially if you never have talked about other personal matters before, but as mentioned in all the other answers, it's something that you should do to prevent getting into trouble later. As long as you don't talk about this, you could just as well have been at some university run by machines that have no understanding of this sort of a problem. But now your brain has adapted to this hypothetical situation as if it is reality. It is reserving a lot more energy than it would actually need to do. So, just talk about it, your brain will then change the way it flags work related information. This will take away quite a bit of the stress you are experiencing and you may then find that you actually have a lot more energy than you thought you had. You can then decide a lot better on how much work you can do while taking care of your mother. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: I was working on a Master's when I got news that my Mom had terminal cancer. After some deliberation my family made the decision to move back to be with her and help in anyway we could. My school gave me an interruption for a year with no issues whatsoever. My Mom died within hours of our arrival. We made the decision to stay to get my Dad back on his feet. I ended up working in an area unrelated to my studies to be in the same place for a year and am just now restarting my Master's at a different institution closer to home. Take a while to think about your situation. There will always be time to finish your studies. There is no likely penalty for delay but you will never get this time back with your Mom. Life is more than academics and work. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: Clearly many people identify with this scenario. My mother died last year from kidney cancer and I was at the end of my first year in my PhD program. I was with my mother on the last night of her life. The next morning I had to attend my doctoral residency in another state. A few hours into my trip I received the call from my father that my mother died. I continued to the conference, informed my advisor about the situation, then returned to Atlanta, Georgia from Orlando, Flordia to attend the funeral. After the funeral, I returned to Orlando to continue my residency. Like yourself, concentration was hard for me. I would advise you to tell your advisor and take some time off. You never get another mother. Spend as much time with her as you can. I hope the best for you and your family. May God guide you to what is best. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_11: My mom died of cancer in the middle of my third year of post-graduate studies. I'm female in a (heavily at the time) male-dominated field, and I did try to put up a strong front for that reason. Even so, I wouldn't have drempt of keeping such important information from my advisor, especially as I had to take lots of unexpected days off intermittently as she was in and out of the ICU (in a country about 11 hours from where I was.) My best advice is that you do what you won't regret later. I tried to fulfill my obligations to my studies as well as to be there for my mother (who was close to death several times.) My biggest regret is that I waited too long before finally asking to take (and being immediately granted) a leave of absence. My mother died before I even left to go to her. My deepest sympathy for what you are going through. As someone else said, think about yourself and your mother, and do what's best for the both of you. The rest will fall into place. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_12: Deepest sympathies to hear of your families' troubles. I was in my 5th year, ready to graduate (i was getting my PhD in Chemistry) and go on to my new postdoc at Caltech when my father was suddenly diagnosed with inoperable cancer. He had very little time and I left immediately. It was not a choice since there was no time whatsoever. However, mulling it over and worrying about really affected my work and everything thing else...yet I didn't have the inclination to discuss it with my colleagues and friends...and I certainly wasn't sure whether I should've told my adviser. I haven't read the other posts..even though I let my slide down in unproductive misery which helped nothing at all. I had one of the most enlightened, professional, and dedicated advisors in the country..without a doubt, he was and is till a hero of mine In a weird way, I didn't have the heart to tell him i need to leave so I just kept performing sub-par work with no explanation at all. After the funeral...it was too late to go back and say...this is why my work has suffered...I didn't have the guts to tell you". Regardless of how he would respond to that explanation...if you talk to your advisor, especially you committee members IN ADVANCE...then maybe her health with return, or after some time, you will be able to return. I warn you...if you hide something this important from your advisor you are just damaging your psychology, performance, and emotions--and reputation..But being forthright NOW can not hurt you. It simply may make him disappointed, but he should also empathize and then you will have the option to return someday if you so choose Do not hide important personal life events from your advisor. A little bit of bear about him getting upset is nothing compared to when everything comes to pass, he is told after the fact and no longer trusts you or thinks you are making excuses....by that point not only his anger, but your reputation among the entire faculty will be forever damaged. That was my experience. Are you afraid of being "fired"? Are you thinking ignoring it will make it go away? You will do total damage to yourself and you will regret for many many years if not the rest of your life. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_13: You should make sure your PhD adviser knows what is going on in your life. Part of their job is to direct you to relevant resources and understand the process. You may need to take a break from your studies to spend time with your mother and potentially, to grieve. many schools offer ways to do this without harming your academic standing. While the need to perform is important in Academia, the world is not so heartless. Turn to the people around you for help, while you can. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_14: As a PhD supervisor myself I always make it a point to know what is going on in my students' lives (at least as much as they are willing to share with me; I would never pry for information they would be unwilling to divulge), as I well know that family and personal matters can heavily influence one's ability to concentrate on research. I can't speak for the relationship you have with your supervisor, but it seems to me that to make a PhD work you need to be able to be fairly open with your supervisor. If he or she is stand-offish, too busy to see you except only briefly and occasionally, then look for another supervisor. I have no truck with supervisors who are too self-important to spend time with their students. I'm very sorry about your troubles, but as I say to students and lecturers in my area: family must come first. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_15: One point I'd like to add: you may want to think about some discrete way of proving that your mother is indeed ill. It would be nice to live in a world where that would not be necessary of course, but alas we do not live in that world. People may have doubts, and worse may not express them to avoid hurting your feelings, while it may still influence their opinion. Perhaps it would be good to anticipate that eventuality by having, for instance, a letter from her oncologist or something like that which you could subtly use in your communication with your advisor and others. You could attach it without even referencing it at all, or just lightly refer to it with something like: "as you can see in the attached letter, my mother...". It may seem tasteless and to be honest I think this is by no means essential, but it's something which could potentially smooth a painful process and therefore something you might consider, although it is also an entirely valid position to take that it should not be necessary. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/28	493	2,092	<issue_start>username_0: I have observed that most papers with titles starting with "On the ..." are theoretical ones, like pure mathematics, physics, computer science, etc. Most of these papers are relatively old, though I can find a few recent examples as well. 1. Are such titles becoming obsolete? 2. If not, when is it appropriate to use it?<issue_comment>username_1: Obsolete, no. Unfashionable, perhaps. One can usually drop the "on the" and still have an acceptable title in current usage, and I expect that is just what many do. On the other hand, I, like <NAME>, have also recently published an "On the" paper, so apparently I don't really care about the fashionableness of my titles. I would suggest that you not worry about it either. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: As I always understood it, a paper called Zero-dimensional vector spaces claims to be an exhaustive overview of the topic, while On zero-dimensional vector spaces would be merely a contribution to the study of those spaces. So it is humility on the part of the authors. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: As mentioned already, it still happens and is considered acceptable by many, but others feel it is unnecessary, so I would say it's rather subjective like many aspects of grammar and punctuation. The best thing to do, if you're concerned is read the guidelines for the venue you're submitting to, and look at titles of recent articles in that venue. I've certainly seen explicit instructions to avoid titles starting "On..." though I don't remember where. The closest example I could find right now was in [the Journal of Clinical Microbiology instructions](http://jcm.asm.org/site/misc/journal-ita_org.xhtml): > > Title, running title, byline, affiliation line, and corresponding author. Each manuscript should present the results of an independent, cohesive study; thus, numbered series titles are not permitted. Exercise care in composing a title. Avoid the main title/subtitle arrangement, complete sentences, and unnecessary articles. > > > Upvotes: 2
2015/08/28	823	3,701	<issue_start>username_0: I am a student from a new undergraduate programme with only one batch of graduates. The administration is planning to create and send an official brochure/document with information about the programme to admissions committees of graduate programmes (mainly in the United States) where students may apply. What information would about the programme would be relevant to these committees to get a better idea about what our programme is and our standards? Would it be useful, for example, to include information on textbooks followed for various courses?<issue_comment>username_1: Look at how similar programs describe themselves publicly (web pages, ...), that should give a pretty clear idea. Perhaps ask around several of the interesting schools to see what they'd want to know about the program applicants went through. If there is some suggestion of curriculum in your area (like e.g. the IEEE/ACM proposals for computer science and related fields), it would be useful to mention your program adheres to them, and perhaps highlight differences and rationale for them. An overview of the faculty and their curricula, a general look at the school as a whole (what makes it stand out, is it research or teaching oriented, number of students, ...) is mandatory. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Just from my experience as an undergrad taking graduate classes for electives (I hear professors talk about their expectations very often) * Mathematics/Logical Reasoning: You haven't said the programs but even things like economics need a strong math background, and more people need logic * Student Research: Even if it's just helping gather data for a researcher (you do have those right?) * GRE Scores: I never hear about these from professors, which tells me that the people in grad programs are acceptable * General Aptitude: Goes along with GRE scores, some way to compare on a national scale to ensure students have learned something * Faculty Achievements: IMO less important than most people make it out to be, but if a faculty member has earned recognition then for sure put it on the website (any good admissions officer won't just look at your brochure). Don't go too far with this, but showing that students have been taught by able teachers is important Textbooks specifically (in my non-professional opinion) make it look like you're trying to fill up space. I've had professors who are very adamant about certain things tell me they've looked in every textbook to find a piece of information (I believe them, that's game theory professors for you). I think most professors with office phones have gotten calls from textbook reps. Most of them do probably know all the textbooks in their given field because of this. But who knows the connotation that professor associated with that book. It could also just be a department teaching style difference, either way I don't see this as always being a positive thing to add to a brochure. --- In case you're curious my searched every textbook for how books modeled Deadweight Loss in a market characterized by monopolistic competition; the struggle comes from some textbooks incorrectly showing that the marginal cost curve is flat if the market were in perfect competition, when often times natural monopolies are actually more efficient due to economies of scale, think electric power generation, lets just make a large plant rather than many small ones. He found that most either incorrectly assume a horizontal marginal cost curve, or completely ignore the topic to avoid the issue. Sorry for the aside, if you want more information from an informed student's perspective just let me know! Upvotes: 0
2015/08/28	979	4,245	<issue_start>username_0: For grad school application (US univerisity), we need recommendation from prof. I guess the process is that system send out recommendation letter request to prof's email. Do you guys know how long does it take to submit these recomendation letter? Does it need to fill extra form while submitting these letter? I ask because I want to know how time consuming it is. Should I limit the # of school I apply because it might be too much work for the prof?<issue_comment>username_1: My experience is that once the letter is written, it takes about 5-10 minutes to submit it to each institution. Usually there is a short form that has to be filled out with basic information (name, contact information, etc) and sometimes also a list of questions asking the professor to rate the candidate in a variety of ways. So you probably don't want to apply to a huge number of schools (for many reasons besides just that). It's hard to be precise, but I feel like less than 10 is no problem, and 20 is probably too many. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Only your professor can tell you that. Have you talked to your prof? In my own case, my undergraduates often use the university dossier service or Interfolio, so I only write one or two generic letters (one for academia, one for industry, for example). I do suggest that if there is a job or position that is absolutely critical for them, that I'll write a personalized one. Or if it's a job/department where I know someone, I'll also offer to write personally. However, that being said, what usually happens with American grad admissions is that you (the candidate) enter the names and e-mail addresses of your referees into the application system. It automatically generates a request to us (by e-mail) to fill in a quick summary (ranking) of the student and then upload a letter. In these cases, I usually do a quick customization. In any case, the best judge of what to do is the professor. Show them a list of the schools you want to apply to and ask for their advice. You can suggest that you're willing to use a dossier service to take the burden off of them. For my grad students, I almost always write personalized letters as there is a higher expectation there. Given the tanking of the job market, and some students applying to 60+ schools, this can become burdensome. I assume that you've done all the other things to make things easier for them: i.e., create a spreadsheet with each department's name, discipline, mailing address, e-mail address, deadline date, and misc. notes, so that the prof can semi-automate the customization process. It's important for you to note which department you're applying to as the automated letter-request doesn't always note that, and it makes it difficult for me to know how to customize the letter, so I use a generic one. The fun undergraduates are the ones who apply to security clearance level positions. Then I get to have a nice interview with the FBI or Secret Service about the student and their ethical/moral behavior. The feds always super polite and interesting people to talk to. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Its likely that you'll run out of time and/or money applying to schools before your advisor will run out of patience submitting his recommendation letter. Most U.S. Universities will charge a processing fee around $100 per application. You've also got to factor in time. Unlike undergrad, each grad program will want a statement of purpose/research which shows you've researched the university, and are in the know about faculty and research facilities available to grad students. Each grad school application should take at least a few hours on your part (maybe more), so I would choose between 5 and 10 schools and make a great application for them. Make sure each application is tailored to the university. Choose at least one "dream school" that you'd love to attend, and then choose the other schools based on acceptance criteria they post online. The profs you've chosen to write your letters of reference have likely already put several extra hours into your education because they see your potential. They will be fine spending 10 minutes per school submitting. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/29	1,223	5,253	<issue_start>username_0: I am an instructor, and the head of my department is a professor that refuses to fail students. I found out about this situation through multiple semesters where students would complain about this professor treating them unfairly, both to other students within my classroom, and to me directly; my ultimate question is: Should I talk to this professor, who is also the head of my department? For context: The professor assigns a group project with 6-8 students in each group. The projects take most of the semester and each group does 2 projects at the same time. Each student has a very heavy work load for these projects and teamwork is essential. The issue is when a student refuses to do the project. I've heard reasoning from, the student didn't agree with what everyone else in the group agreed to, or the student just didn't bother showing up to any group meetings. When students mentioned how one of their team members would not participate, which was only increasing the work load for other students who also had to worry about their other courses, the professor seemed to take the right action at first by talking to the non-participating student about the project and how important it is for them to contribute. If the student continued to argue with group decisions (sometimes they do the project their own way) then the professor would just tell the group "find something for [the student] to do." And if the student never did anything, they would still pass the course, despite never participating on the 2 biggest assignments, which equated to 60% of the grade (including participation). Back to my original question - Should I speak with the professor - head of my department - or let it go?<issue_comment>username_1: Personally I'd consider it worth talking to him, where 'talk to him' is defined not at 'tell him he's wrong' but as 'for your own peace of mind try to find out why he believes his choice is a good one'. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: This is a dodgy topic in some way and it will (!!) vary significantly from country to country and institution to institution. My comments are from the UK perspective (specifically England) - however this approach is slowly permeating into the rest of Europe. In some places (e.g. the UK) we have reached a kind of toxic education system in which rating are more important than actual teaching. Pass rates are key (primarily true to tertiary education) - while grade distributions are important in secondary education. This means that "education institutions" (schools, colleges, universities) have little interest in failing a person and instead prefer to pass them - even if it is with very low marks. This isn't too much of an issue if there are grade boundaries, however if the choice is between a pass or a fail this will seem and is extremely unfair towards those who do put in work. Pass rates or grade distributions will be used to allocate funding - and can also be a factor for chosing a specific institution. Higher pass rates will mean more funding and more students. This is an old article from the Guardian, but you can research a lot more on the topic if you so desire: <http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2011/oct/03/targets-league-tables> So my advice would be the following: First find out what policy exists in your institution - please keep in mind that you will be unlikely to find written instructions that say "pass all students". (Possibly inquire from colleagues how they would suggest you handle a weak student - a reasonable query if you are new.) Once you have established what the policy is, you have a number of option: 1) If all are to be passed, you should not complain, but: * You can try to achieve higher standards in your group. * You can try to get involved in the politics of education - but that would take years, be warned. 2) If you find that there is no unofficial requirement to be lenient you may want to talk about it with the Professor himself - he may have reasons for his choice. Also look at how other staff grade - maybe there is a culture of being lenient. 3) If you find that there is an expectation to be strict I would think you would be right to talk to the head of the department, BUT again you may want to discuss this with the Professor first. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: You are a sympathetic listener, and since you are on staff with the department, students may feel some hope that you would be an effective advocate for them. I have my doubts about that, however. Nothing personal -- it's just that it sounds like you are low man on the totem pole there. There is something positive you can do, however. You can encourage the students to take their issue to an administrator. I suppose an administrator will ask them whether they've taken the matter to the department chair, and if they say no, will tell them that's the first step. Therefore, they should go ahead and meet with the department chair, even though it will most likely be a waste of time. College students are at an age when it is very appropriate for them to advocate for themselves. Encourage them to do so. Explain to them that their voices will make the most impact. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/29	1,040	4,462	<issue_start>username_0: I will shortly be giving a seminar presentation on a research project that I worked on with collaborators X, Y and Z. We have not yet submitted our paper for publication, and one question we have yet to resolve is the authorship - it is not yet decided whether Z will be a coauthor on the paper. (The reason is perhaps the reverse of what you might guess: Z doesn't think his contributions were sufficient to deserve authorship, but others of us think that they were. We are still debating this with Z, and it will probably not be resolved before my talk.) In my talk, I would of course like to give credit to my collaborators. The usual way would be to begin the talk by stating that "this is joint work with [list names of coauthors]". But I wonder whether to include Z in this list. If I mention that this is joint work with X, Y and Z, then the members of my audience would normally expect to see Z as a coauthor on the paper when it is published. If we end up not including him as an author, they may think that something strange is going on - like maybe we improperly denied him authorship, or he withdrew from the project over doubts about its quality. But if I don't mention Z, I will feel like I am denying him credit for his contributions. And I think it would be inappropriate to explain to my audience that Z's authorship status is undecided - the debate is a private matter among us collaborators. Is there a good way out of this dilemma (or maybe trilemma)?<issue_comment>username_1: Z's name, I am sure, will be on the paper as an acknowledgement at least, even if not as an author. With that in mind, you could probably quite comfortably put Z's name up as a contributor without worrying about misleading the audience. In some fields, this is made easier by a tradition of having an acknowledgements slide rather than putting up multiple names as authors on the first slide. In this model, only the speaker goes on the title slide, and everybody else worth mentioning goes in the acknowledgements slide (typically the last slide, which stays up during questions), with no particular distinction being made between levels of contribution. If this is accepted in your field it can give you a neat manner of sidestepping the question. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: In a talk you report on work done, not (directly) on the contents of a paper. Since Z was involved in the work you are reporting on in a way that you find significant, you should certainly mention him. When you are giving the talk it will not be (sorry to say) strictly guaranteed that there will ever be a submittable paper at all, and it is certainly not guaranteed that Z's name will be absent as a coauthor. By the way, if you feel strongly that Z should be a coauthor, you should continue to discuss this with Z (not "debate"; the goal here is for all parties to completely understand each other). If in the end Z does not appear as a coauthor, then as @username_1 writes you should acknowledge Z in your paper. When someone has made significant contributions, the best kind of acknowledgment documents those contributions (or at least the most significant ones). I think that's all you need to do and all you can do. I briefly kicked around the idea that you might mention in the paper that Z declined coauthorship, but then as now that won't be public business. It is also potentially embarrassing / paternalistic to Z. After your full discussion you will be confident that Z knows the possible ramifications, both positive and negative, of declining coauthorship. Upon seeing the paper, might some portion of the room's worth of people who saw and remembered your talk wonder why Z isn't a coauthor and perhaps even speculate that Z got shafted? Yes, that could happen! Academics, like most people everywhere, turn out to be quite interested in stuff like that: almost no event is too small to be discussed behind one's office door, in the evening at a local bar, or into the night at a party at someone's house. But just add that to the list of stuff they're wondering about U, X, Y, Z and all the other letters. If they really care, they will ask. If it's all good among the four of you, it will have to be good enough for everyone else. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: The talk is yours. Put e.g. a slide at the start listing the people who worked on this, stating that you are reporting preliminary results. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/30	797	3,296	<issue_start>username_0: In the question [Is it common to review papers assigned to your supervisor?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5662/is-it-common-to-review-papers-assigned-to-your-supervisor), it is answered that it is not uncommon for the advisor to ask a student to review a paper. I was ok with it during my PhD program. But now my PhD is finished, and even though I keep working with my advisor on some research papers related to my thesis, he sent me a new request to review a paper on his behalf. I really would not like to review this paper, as it was not assigned directly to me and I'm not a PhD student anymore. On the other hand, I don't want to sound rude and, in the future, I plan to work as a teacher on the same university, so I wouldn't like to burn any bridges. How should I answer to this?<issue_comment>username_1: I assume you mean to review a paper for a journal. When a paper is assigned for review, it is supposed to be reviewed by the assignee, and not given to a student. So you should politely but firmly decline. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I think this dilemma can be best understood by separating it into two sub-questions: 1. To what extent should you be doing reviews after graduation? 2. Assuming you are doing reviews, does it matter whether they are sub-review requests coming from your former advisor? For the first question, there are already good answers on this site about [number of reviews](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/29079/22733) and about [whether reviewing is mandatory](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/52224/22733). Both essentially say that reviewing is good community service but never required, and it's better to not review than to give a poor quality or resentful review. Considering this, if this paper came as a direct review request to you from a journal / conference rather than a sub-review request from your former advisor, would you be willing to review it? If the answer is no (which I think it might be given what you wrote in your question), then the fact that it came from your former advisor is beside the point; you can politely decline just like you would if you had been asked directly. Now, if you would be willing to review if asked directly, but not when asked as a sub-reviewer by your former advisor, you need to ask yourself why this is, and frame your response accordingly. For example: * If you are concerned about getting credit for your service and the review request is from a journal, then you can tell your former advisor you're wanting to build relationships with journals and ask them to have the journal transfer the review request (conferences may be unwilling to transfer, depending on how they manage their program committee). * If you're feeling resentful because you want to "leave the nest" and the way that you were asked makes you feel your advisor is still treating you like a student, then you might respond by saying you are very busy in your current position (no doubt true) and suggesting that your former advisor send this to one of their current students instead of you. Other reasons may have other responses, but these are the main ones that I could think of, and I think may cover the most likely possibilities. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2015/08/30	2,044	8,712	<issue_start>username_0: I have a scatter(log-)plot with some 10,000 data points that plots the running time of some algorithm against the input on random instances of some problem. I have a lot of these plots, and due to space constraints I can't exactly dedicate a large amount of space to them. The plots are 1-2 inches tall. The trouble is that a handful (maybe 5 or so) of these samples have taken a ridiculously short amount of time to complete (say, a few milliseconds), whereas pretty much all of the other data points have taken 2-3 orders of magnitude longer. I'm trying to show that my algorithm is fast, so I figure it shouldn't hurt to just omit these handful of data points and generate more samples, right? I feel like mentioning anything would unnecessarily confuse the reader, and keeping them would annoy the reader since the plot would have a large amount of blank space. And obviously it's not like I'm trying to suppress evidence against my research or something---the discarded data is only in favor of my algorithm. Would I be violating some ethical code here if I just discard those samples without mentioning anything so that my plots look nicer? Is it unscientific? And if so would anyone actually care?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes. For a practical scenario, imagine someone trying to replicate your research, going only by your paper, and beating themselves over the head thinking they have a bug, because their plot shows these weird outliers. Basically, you have to give people all the information, because you don't know how they're going to use your paper. Probably, most readers won't care about the outliers, and probably they would judge the method the same, but it's not up to you to make that decision. Of course, you have to filter out the noise, somehow. Usually, the trick is to figure how to give the reader all the information, while allowing them to focus on what's important. In your case, I would just say in the caption to the plot, that 5 runs of the algorithm were so fast that they were outside the scale of the plot (or something to that effect). Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: > > Is it unscientific? > > > Yes. The purpose of these plots is not to show that the algorithm is fast, but rather to give an accurate picture of its speed. Intentionally removing outliers without explanation gives a distorted picture. It's OK if you are clear about it (for example, explaining in the caption or text about the outliers that were removed and why), but not if you do it silently. These outliers could really matter: 1. Maybe they indicate a bug in your code, in which case removing them would look like you were deliberately covering up sloppy work. 2. Explaining the outliers could be scientifically interesting and important (perhaps it could lead to an even faster algorithm), but nobody will try if they don't even know they are there. 3. If someone else implements the algorithm and compares their results to yours, they may waste time trying to understand why they have outliers and you don't. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: Science aims at revelation and insight. Before you can even consider dropping these samples, you need to understand why they exist. The reason is that unexpectedly "good" data can be just as much a sign of problems with your theory as unexpectedly bad data. Are these data points telling you that you've got a bug in your algorithm? Are they saying that the instrumentation you were using for timing was unreliable or not calibrated properly? Or is it just that under certain circumstances your random problems happen to be exceedingly easy to solve? There may be other possibilities as well. If you can't determine why the outliers exist, then you must include them, in order to help the reader evaluate your work. If you determine they exist for a problematic reason, then, well, you're not ready to publish yet. If you determine they exist for a benign reason, then you can drop them from the figure, but you must explain exactly what you've done in the text and why, or else you risk misleading the reader. At the end of the day, the data you got is the data you got, and you need to deal with it honestly. Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: To be pragmatic (and agreeing with the overall philosophy of being fully transparent always) just make your charts in the space provided with the outliers excluded and then put a big darn footnote on the chart explaining that 5 points were excluded due to size constraints on page and offer commentary there about why / how these points exist. Just my 2 cents from one long suffering academic to another... Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: As someone with less of an academia background and more of a computer science background, my first instinct for a small amount of tests failing is that these particular tests did not execute properly. Basically, your algorithm didn't complete and returned early due to a bug. This bug can either be in your code, or in your dataset, or in both. Either way, a difference of orders of magnitude is not normal. Check the results of those particular runs and see if they're normal. For all we know, those 5 datapoints might actually be the algorithm running correctly, and those 9995 other datapoints are the bugged ones (unlikely, but possible). As for displaying these outliers, have you considered displaying that graph with a log(10) Y axis? This would reduce the amount wasted space, but still show that there are outliers. Either way, removing datapoints for formatting reason is falsifying data, just like you would have if you removed them because they didn't prove your point. It can easily kill your career. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: The key issue is not whether or not you remove the outliers, but whether or not you describe and explain what you did. There are many valid reasons to remove outliers, but if you do it, you need to say that you did it and say why. In contrast to some of the other answers here, I don't think it's absolutely necessary to fully explain the outliers before excluding them. But if you don't have an explanation, you need to say that too. Ideally, you would explain the results both with and without the outliers. If the presence or absence of the outliers doesn't affect the overall conclusion, then you can still stick to that conclusion, while mentioning the outliers as a curiosity perhaps worthy of further study. Of course, how any of these strategies will be regarded by reviewers depends on your field and publication venue. But those reviewers need to be aware of whatever choices you made in your analysis. Discarding outliers is an analytical choice, and making any analytical choice without disclosing it is unscientific. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: It's always a good idea to change your plots to make your data look clearer. It's never a good idea to change your data to make your plots look clearer. There are many ways to tell readers about outliers. My favorite is to use a plot with a conspicuously [broken axis](https://stackoverflow.com/a/12431076/1644283), which calls attention to the outliers without disrupting the rest of the plot. It's good that you're worried about confusing your readers. You should think carefully about how to warn your readers about details like this without distracting them from the story you're trying to tell. However, as many others have advised you, you should never silently ignore data to make your story sound simpler than it really is. Doing this might make your paper a tiny bit easier to read, but only at the potential cost of making your work impossible to reproduce (as [Peter](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/52478/23842) said) or throwing away an odd detail that would have turned out to be an important clue (as [keshlam](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/52477/is-it-unethical-unscientific-to-omit-outlier-data-in-a-publication-when-they-are#comment121610_52480) said). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_8: If you understand the reason for the outliers, and they represent a defect in your measurement methodology, then correct the error, and do the experiment again with improved instrumentation. You don't need to publish details of all the blind alleys you went down. If you don't understand the reason for the outliers, then ignoring them is unethical, though I'm sure it is very frequently done. If you do understand the reason, e.g. sometimes the algorithm just gets lucky, then you need to mention them, but they don't need to appear on the same chart as all the other measurements if that would make the chart unreadable. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/30	2,446	10,018	<issue_start>username_0: I recently created a profile on [ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net). And to add your publications list it requires you to upload the paper. Is it legal to upload published journal articles on public servers, where everyone can download it for free?<issue_comment>username_1: > > Is it legal to upload published journal articles on public servers, where everyone can download it for free? > > > It depends on the publishing agreement you signed, which should specify which rights the authors and the publisher hold. The allocation of rights depends on the journal (and the field you are working in), and sometimes there are modifications or addenda for a specific paper. You should keep copies of the publishing agreements for your papers, precisely so you can refer to them at times like this. If you don't have them, you can get an approximation by looking on the journal's website to see what their current policies are. The policies could have changed over time (and in principle the publisher could still enforce a stricter policy you agreed to in the past), but it's probably safe to post a paper online if the publisher allows it as part of the current publishing agreement. If you're feeling nervous, you could always ask the publisher whether you could follow the terms of the current publishing agreement for your paper that was published long ago. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I've attended publishing talks from publishers. As advised by some above, it is necessary to check with the publisher for publishing guidelines. Usually, you have to wait for the paper to be published. Then, if the publisher allows, you can upload your manuscript copy. BUT do always check with the publisher in question to avoid violating any terms. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: First of all, as far as I know, [ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net) does not require uploading PDF files in order to add your research work to your profile in this website. However, it is very important to explore the possibility of uploading them, as it gives more visibility to your research and makes it available to more people. That is why I think your question is very interesting. As @AnonymousMathematician and @username_2 already said, it all depends on the policy and agreements established by the publisher. You should ask the publisher. Period. Now, I want to add some extra information about the alternatives we have to share our research without breaking any publishing agreement or rule. Normally, there are several versions of a paper till it gets finally published: a. The editor version: This is the final version of the paper, as it is published in the journal, with all the copyright stuff and so on. It is the final PDF, let us say, the one you normally keep as a record of your research. b. The author version: This normally refers to an accepted version of the manuscript. It is the version that is finally qualified by the reviewers and accepted to publish by the editor. It is just your manuscript, just raw text (and tables and figures and so on), not usually formatted with the final journal style. Sometimes it is also called a postprint version. c. A preprint version: It is also a sort of author version, but it usually refers to the submitted manuscript version before the reviewers do their job. It is the first (submitted) version of your manuscript. So, in fact, I've listed them in a sort of reverse chronological order. :D Now, if you want to make your research as visible and accessible as possible in ResearchGate (or other scientific social networks such as [Academia.edu](https://www.academia.edu/), etc.), which possibilities do you have? Let us see: 1. You can upload the final (editor) version of your paper, as long as the publisher allows you to do that, but I do not think this happens very often. [Actually, there are some journals that follow an open-access policy, meaning that the authors keep the copyright of their work. But, anyway, you have to follow and stick to the final publishing agreement and see if you are allowed to distribute your paper by yourself, etc.] If not, you do have other options: 2. You can upload the author version. You should also check with the publisher if you are allowed to do so. Sometimes there is an embargo or vesting period and, after that period, you are allowed to publish or distribute the author version of your paper on your own. 3. You can upload the preprint version. Publishers normally allow authors to publish or distribute preprints of their manuscripts, normally as technical reports. Anyway, you should ask the publisher, just in case. 4. If none of the above options apply, then you always have the option of adding this text at the end of the 'abstract' field in the ResearchGate record for your paper: > > [ Full text available at http://... ] > > > Now, I want to add some practical examples from my own experience. Hope it helps. In my case, I usually publish the preprint version of my papers as technical reports in [the official repository of my university department](http://www.upv.es/deioac/Investigacion/technical_reports.htm). It is a quite common practice among some researchers in my field. Among other benefits, it prevents evil reviewers or editors to copy or plagiarise your research. Anyway, as I told you above, you should check with the publisher whether you are allowed to do so or not. Now, this is an example of case (3): <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273349919_Optimal_Design_of_Pre-control_Plans>, which contains a preprint version of [this article](http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qre.1777) that was already published as a technical report. And here you have an example of case (4): <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45101373_Predicting_the_duration_of_chemotherapy-induced_neutropenia_new_scores_and_validation>, which contains the abstract for [this article](http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdq332) I have coauthored. I will upload the author version in February 2017, when the 36-month embargo period finishes, according to the publisher rules. [Well, it is not actually an example of case (4), as you can see a full version of a preprint in this ResearchGate record. But the preprint is quite different from the final version in this case, so when I am allowed to upload the author version, it will replace the current preprint version.] As a final remark, please, notice that it is not technically the same publish a research paper than just disseminate, distribute or propagate it. However, I have used them as synonyms in this answer, as sometimes it makes no real difference in the context of your question. [Actually, I think (I am not sure of this) that what you do in ResearchGate when you upload an author or a preprint version of a paper you have coauthored is not techincally publishing it...] Hope it helps. Any comments to this answer will be welcomed. It is always good to learn new things... :) Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: In most cases, is not legal at all. Normally you should only post the author version or post-print which is an accepted version of the manuscript. And always respect the embargo period (12-24 months...) Anyway, you should always check your Copyright Transfer Agreement. In many cases it's legal to post the author version in your institutional repository but not in ResearchGate Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: When you published your paper, you did transfer the copyright to the publisher. You did have to at least agree to, or even sign the "Copyright transfer form". It is a legal contract, and it governs your rights, depending on the publisher/journal policy. Different publishers have different (default) policies regarding the rights, retained by the authors (I am talking here about Springer, Elsevier, IEEE, etc.) Some of them allow you the publication of your paper on your page, but not on specialized sites (like Researchgate), since those are their direct competition. Some of them allow you only the publication of final submitted manuscript, before publisher's editing was applied, on your web page, etc. Please read the copyright policy of individual journal or even better, publisher. In case of conference papers, it depends on the publisher of the proceedings - if the organizers did publish the proceedings themselves without the external publishing house, ask them (but usually they will be fine with publication elsewhere). So, to sum up: 1) Read what you signed when you submitted your paper to the journal/conference - the "Copyright transfer form" 2) if 1) is impractical or impossible, check the copyright policy of the journal/proceedings publisher. 3) As a last resort, ask the publisher. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: As mentioned in the other answers, it depends on your contract with your publisher. <http://www.howcanishareit.com/> indicates given a DOI whether a paper may be shared on ResearchGate or similar websites: [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NZLML.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NZLML.png) Also, as <NAME> mentions in a comment, the RoMEO Journals database contains thousands of journals, labeled with their archiving policy ([preprint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preprint)/[postprint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postprint)/publisher's version): [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/i6bbO.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/i6bbO.png) Except of the database: [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/DmXru.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/DmXru.png) Of course, your contract is the reference, whereas those two resources are just approximations. PS: ResearchGate has quite a bad reputation due to its spam/impersonation/etc. tendencies e.g. see [Should I send a "cease-and-desist" letter to ResearchGate?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/24127/452) Upvotes: 3
2015/08/31	1,072	4,583	<issue_start>username_0: I am an assistant professor for a course on audio signal processing (for engineers) and I often write snippets of code to try to help the students follow the material. In addition, I get to lecture (1) one session of the course. I have a lot of code I wrote over the last couple of years for this particular session but I realized my comments on it are not consistent at all and I have not found any sort of standards or guidelines for pedagogically appropriated commenting style. Should I comment this code like I normally do with any code? I usually add a header comment explaining which course the code was written for and something about what it is showing. But I also tend to comment the code with some trivialities in order to state somethings that I think would be obvious to developers but not to engineering students.<issue_comment>username_1: The same way you would comment this if writing it professionally -- unless you really think you're doing something too obscure for the students to follow after you've pointed it out. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This is not a standard, but these are some considerations that have helped me: If I give code for students I take special care to be consistent (I am not always successful). Students tend to find inconsistencies and think there must be a reason for that and start looking for reasons where none exist. I also consider the purpose of the snippet: is it an example of best practice or an illustration of how such code works. In the former case I would be less verbose with my comments then in the latter case. Sometimes it helps to have a list of trivial tricks separate from the example code. [Here](http://maartenbuis.nl/example_faq/index.html) is an example I have used. This can be an alternative to commenting tricks in your code that are not central to the point you want to make with that example. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I think the [Linux kernel](https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/CodingStyle) is a good standard. In general, don't explain what are you doing, that should be obvious from the code. Do tell why you are doing it. Let me show an example: ``` data_padded = pad_with_zeroes(data, 2**ceil(log2(len(data)))) fft(data_padded) ``` Everybody can see that I am padding it with zeroes, and any engineer student should see I am doing it to the next power of two (modulo bugs). But they may not be aware why are you doing it: a comment should point out that a FFT is fastest when the input length is a power of two. Also, since this is a very technical setting, add the full names of the algorithms, with alternative names if they are common, and at least a reference using the same definition as you are. Tracking down factors of 2 π can be a pain. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: > > Should I comment this code like I normally do with any code? > > > Apart from the answers on good commenting style, I would consider copyright or license in the header comments. Make it explicit. See <https://stackoverflow.com/a/134249/1168342> for the accepted answer that mentions copyright/license (and other perspectives). My university uses similarity-detection software in programming assignments ([MOSS](https://theory.stanford.edu/~aiken/moss/)), and also requires students to cite sources of reused information (code). Adding license/copyright info could be useful if students copy your code and re-use it in a project without citing the source. Since adding a header to every file could be a lot of work, there's a possible solution. Assuming you want it to be open source, putting all your code snippets in a github repository with a chosen license might be a good idea. See <https://help.github.com/articles/open-source-licensing/> for details. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: There is a fundamental conflict in producing code for teaching in terms of comments between providing the high level of detail required for people who are learning and will not understand even the simpler parts of the code, and acting as a role model for how professionals should be commenting their code. The majority of example and tutorial code I have seen solves this by simply ignoring the second of these aims. I do not think this is necessarily a bad thing, however, if you are more concerned about demonstrating the latter then I would suggest that you comment your code with a more minimal approach and then provide an annotated version of the code with the additional information needed for teaching. Upvotes: 1
2015/08/31	977	3,825	<issue_start>username_0: I wrote an essay for a professor of mine, in which I cited a book he had written. As it so happens, the citation is based on my having obtained a (most likely) pirated PDF copy of the book. The text is quite expensive, not readily available anywhere (library, textbook store, or Amazon) aside from the publisher, and the subject matter is esoteric and poorly addressed in other papers. I am only citing less than 10 pages worth of material, mostly on definitions and problem formulation I am going to be presenting this essay in front of the class, and my concern is that he will notice the citation of his book and ask the potentially uncomfortable question of "...so you have one of my books...?" I'm wondering what I should do in this case. Should I simply remove all references to the problem texts and cited portions and pretend that nothing ever happened? Should I not do anything? Is the citation of a text that you pirated really a big deal in academia?<issue_comment>username_1: 1. It is incredibly uncommon to assume that someone bought a book just because it is cited. While in theory, the professor could ask this question, why would (s)he care? 2. If you are geniuinely concerned about the question, perform an inter-library loan with your university library on the two books now, and should that question ideed pop up, reply that you performed an inter-library loan. 3. Use legal sources in the future. Libraries spend tons of money on buying literature, so use it. Most jurisdictions also allow limited copying of a book (e.g., the most relevant pages for your own work). Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It may also be worth pointing out that your professor is unlikely to really care that you ‘pirated’ the book. While he or she will receive occasional royalty cheques, very few textbooks make more than beer money for the author. They might object to the non-standard download on principle (and that's reasonable enough), but I'd be surprised if they made a big deal of it, even if they bothered to ask whether you'd bought the book (which, as others have mentioned, is unlikely). That said, they quite possibly would be annoyed if they found that the university library didn't have a copy of the book. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: Your use of the material should be covered under [Fair Use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use). This doctrine provides for the legal, unlicensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work. However, there was no need to resort to unethical means to obtain the material. Honestly, had you told you professor what you told us - that the subject poorly addressed in other papers - and asked to borrow a copy, I'm sure he would have been delighted and probably given you some brownie points. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Were I that professor, I would be thrilled. Because I would know that: (a) students are paying huge fees, are in debt, and can't afford new books; (b) royalties on academic books are derisory, so I as author lose at most the price of a beer by foregoing a sale; (c) many academic publishers [are sharks](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/dont-let-science-publisher-elsevier-hold-knowledge-ransom). I would rather someone learn from my book than be deterred by its price. In that paragraph, I was writing as I would have in 2015. But now, in a world the OP would never have suspected, I would be even more thrilled. Universities are still running their courses, but have not (or at least mine has not) augmented their stock of e-books to include all the paper copies now inaccessible because of COVID-19–induced library closures. Unfortunately, piracy often seems to be the only solution … Yes, I would let the professor know. Upvotes: 2
2015/08/31	1,243	4,986	<issue_start>username_0: So I'm bipolar, and earlier this year my doctor put me on antipsychotics. They made it really hard for me to think, and my advisor expressed frustration with me not doing calculations fast enough, and not being able to keep our entire project in my head at once. (I didn't tell him about the medication.) This summer my doctor switched me to antidepressants, and I instantly became smarter and more productive, and my advisor became a lot happier with me. But it looks like I'm having a hypomanic episode, so my doctor will probably want me to restart antipsychotics when I see her this week. How should I explain to my advisor that I'm about to become stupid again, possibly for the rest of my time in grad school? I have a wonderful advisor who seems to genuinely care for my well-being, but I'm afraid he might fire me if he thinks I'll be permanently unproductive.<issue_comment>username_1: In the UK, disability legislation says an employer has to make 'reasonable accomodations' for long term health issues like yours. Mental health problems are (sadly) not uncommon in academia. It sounds like you get on well enough with your supervisor that you could just tell him what's up. If you're not comfortable with that, you might consider going through more official channels. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: You don't say where you are studying, but in the US, mental illnesses ARE covered under the American Disability Act and your program must accommodate you. A student with a disability (learning or otherwise) has the right to accommodations under Federal Law (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973). In most cases when a hidden disability such as a learning disability or mental illness is diagnosed, a plan, typically referred to as a 504 Plan, is developed with the school for what accommodations are to made. This can mean someone in class to take notes for the student, extra time for assignments and exams. The big difference between elementary and post-secondary education is that after high school, the student must self advocate. That means you have to take the initiative and tell the school and your adviser about your illness and work with them to determine what kind of accommodations you'll need to be successful. A good discussion of how the ADA applies to post-secondary education is [here](http://www.pacer.org/publications/adaqa/504.asp) While it's common to think that the ADA only applies to conditions like ADHD or dyslexia that are commonly termed as "learning disabilities", Section 504 defines a disability as "individuals with disabilities are defined as persons with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities" The [HHS Factsheet for Section 504 (pdf warning)](http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf) specifically includes mental illness as a disability. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: When I found out my son has <NAME>, there was a short period of sadness, disappointment and fear... but quickly I started to feel that I had been given the key to understanding my child. Learning about his neurological disorder helped me see which of my expectations weren't fair to him, and also helped me find coping mechanisms. I have had a hearing impairment all my life. In my early thirties I lucked into a Coping Mechanisms for the Hearing Impaired class, and I stopped seeing my difficulties hearing in certain environments as solely my problem, and started to learn how to let people know about my hearing impairment, and to let them know what helps. That was a game changer for me! Before taking the class, I used to have to talk past a lump in my throat just to tell a professor about my impairment (for example, to get a guaranteed seat near the front, or to ask him not to talk with his hand covering his mouth). After spitting out the difficult sentence, I would make a beeline for the bathroom to let the tears out. Even in grad school! After taking the Coping Mechanisms class, I would make a point of letting each instructor know about my impairment at the beginning of the semester, to lay the groundwork in case I ever needed to ask for an accommodation. Each time I did it, it became easier and more comfortable. Imagine that you are a professor, and you have a student with a hidden disability. Wouldn't you want to know about it, and understand how you can be supportive? Tell your advisor. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: My opinion is that all the legal protections in the world won't help if your professor wants top-notch performance and a student delivers inconsistently. They might graduate you, but recommendations could be lukewarm. I'd refrain from admitting to any diagnoses or medications until necessary as a last-ditch effort to save your hide. guess this is the cynical view, which might not be appropriate in your department, but it was where I earned a my degree. Upvotes: 1
2015/08/31	418	1,822	<issue_start>username_0: Today I got letter from the editor of a journal saying that the reviewer found my work interesting but there are some points which he wants me to clarify. Now, one of the points he made is that he doesn't understand how I got from equation x to equation y and he wants to clarify how. Does that mean that I need to explain this in the paper itself or in the document that is send along the revised version, which explains my respond to the reviewer and what I have changed in the revised version?<issue_comment>username_1: 1. Include the full derivation in the response letter. 2. In the paper, include more hints. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: It doesn't matter what the reviewer wants - you need to do what's best for your paper. ... which is to clarify things in the paper itself. Think about it: a reader of your paper - one who was trying hard to understand it -was not able to understand your paper, or at least was unsure enough about it that it was worth mentioning. Since they are a reviewer you have a chance to explain things privately to them, but that's not going to be the case for most of your other readers. Some of them are going to hit the same roadblock, but instead of contacting you, they're just going to toss your paper aside. At best you lose a possible citation, worse, they could come away with a low opinion of your rigor and of you as a researcher. Remember that the paper will need to speak for itself, without the additional comments to reviewers. If one person found the paper confusing, then others are likely to as well. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: It's your task to ensure that your paper must be self-contained. One addition, you can add the derivation or extra expression as Appendix, if there is no page limit. Upvotes: 0
2015/08/31	1,542	6,526	<issue_start>username_0: Going to sound dramatic, but something just isn't right about my research adviser who is trying to give my research to another student. I don't know the student at all, but they are attempting to force me into a "partnership" with them. The student has zero research accomplishments in my research area, but I've been told to tack them onto my research and share a years worth of findings with them. Yes, really. What would you do? Have you even heard of something like this before?<issue_comment>username_1: Cooperate. Apparently you are a student. When you apply for your next job, you will need to say how you worked in a team and how you supervised junior researchers. This is an opportunity to add to that experience. In addition, when you graduate, someone needs to know enough about your work to continue doing it. You are responsible for making sure that person has enough training. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: What would I do? Mentor the guy, get him involved in my project, train him up. If you're as experienced as you claim, and he's as inexperienced as you think, you've got nothing to worry about except the time investment it will take to get him up to speed. Have I heard of something like this before? Yes, it's absolutely normal. Your research advisor is paying you a compliment -- she obviously thinks you're ready to mentor someone more junior. As someone who supervises more than one person, she's probably also planning for the future -- when you leave ultimately, someone will need to understand your work so that others in the group can build on it (this is a plus for you, in that you'll hopefully get citations). There's absolutely no mileage in being melodramatic or defensive about your work. If someone were trying to take credit for stuff you'd done, that would be one thing (and there are ways of dealing with that), but in this case it's nothing of the kind -- you've been asked to mentor a more junior student, and the right way of looking at it is as an opportunity. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: Apparently, a common mistake at the beginning of one's life is to treat one's work as one's baby. It takes time to realize that one's work belongs to others. It is good to share your findings and spread your word and to have students and followers. If you put yourself in the other student's shoes, it looks perfectly normal and it will add value to your career and your work. What you would realize, is that when you are mentoring him, you are mentoring yourself also, as he finds holes in your arguments. When you are trying to explain it to him, you are going to revisit your findings with fresh eyes and it would give you incredible insights. So, inspire him and be inspired Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Do you remember a time when you had zero research accomplished in your area? When you were young and eager to learn? I guess you do. By the way, I recall very clearly how happy I was to enter the world of research. My professors, my advisor, my research group and the fellow students (both undergrad and phd students)... everybody was keen on sharing an idea, a nice paper that had found, and so on. It was only natural, and enriching in itself, to learn to work with other people, at first more experienced than me and later both more and less experienced than me. I hope to have been able to help a younger fellow when it was my time, like they did with me when I was starting. Cooperation is one of the nicest part of doing research! Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: My father is a retired professor of theoretical physics. Well, if you want to call it retired. He has passed 80 and is still publishing and giving conference talks. He does not know when his clock will be running out, and it takes time until people take up what you've been working on. So basically the last few years of his work will be lost because no-one will take it up. I once was in a doctorate position in Electrical Engineering but due to personal problems, I never finished. Part of the problem was that I tried to prove the stability of my approach (basically Kálmán filters in a continuously linked two-dimensional arrangement) which produced very good results for tracking object movements given multiple but shaky sensor data and there was always some more thing I had not covered completely. Of course, had I realized that my approach was a generalization of fluid dynamics where instability is known to occur for certain parameters, I'd stopped wasting time on that angle of the theoretical underpinnings. I did not actually need the PhD in my later life. But this work (for which there is not sufficient self-control or an occasion to complete it) is reasonably important and unique that it will take considerable time for someone else to rediscover that approach. And that is a burning shame. I have my suspicions that my former diploma advisor (a PhD student then) independently marketed my approaches results of my diploma thesis. Looking at abstracts, I was wary or resentful. I never acted upon that, anyway. Maybe my suspicions were right, maybe not. No idea. The resent I felt at that time is no match to the resent I feel for my unfinished work. Entirely different scale. If your work has anything to do with science, if it increases the knowledge and skills available for getting at things, don't hoard. Yes, if you fail to market it yourself timely, someone else may. That's the point of science. As long as you stay active in the field, nobody will be able to beat the skills you have at working with your own creation. And if you drop out, your baby will not die along with you. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_6: This is actually a very interesting optimization problem that can be modeled as two person zero-sum game. The goal your adviser tries to optimize is to create redundancy so that if you get hit by a car tomorrow, the research doesn't go away with you. This is the same goal of many commercial organizations, everyone should be dispensable so that there is no single weakest link. Of course, your goal is to monopolize value so that you can increase your academic reputation and be a well-known expert in the field. Hence a clear trade-off is formed. Your best action should be to publish as many papers as you can and share different pieces with different partners so that no one person can recreate what you know. This is what is called split knowledge in cryptography. Upvotes: -1
2015/08/31	1,998	8,311	<issue_start>username_0: This is going to be a long post but I believe is the only way to understand my situation. I studied B.Sc in Information Systems Engineering in a small private university in Latin America, it's not a research oriented institution and thus does not have a high reputation, especially outside my country. My GPA is very high (here grades range from 0 to 100; I have a 84.5 GPA which is top 12~15% of the class). After having completed my first degree I wanted to study M.Sc in Computer Science, in a different university, much larger and public-founded, that has a relatively good reputation worldwide(ranks consistently among top 300 universities in the world). To get into the program I was asked to complete some supplementary courses and get a certain minimum grade average. On my first semester I got good grades BUT I ran into some serious trouble in one final exam. In this final exam, I fell asleep and arrived a few minutes after the exam had started, with all the hurry and all I forgot to take my phone out of my pocket (It's forbidden to have a phone on you during test). One of the exam supervisors noticed it and I was found guilty of academic dishonesty (which meant I had no chances of continuing towards this degree). I was pissed off but instead of quitting, i pursued another degree, in the same university but in a different faculty. I pursued M.Sc in Information Systems Engineering. To be able to get into this new program, I was asked again to complete some supplementary courses, this time I got excellent grades and didn't run into any problems. Now I'm about to start my first semester in the M.Sc, and I started to think about PhD. So finally I can ask the question: will this incident affect my chances of getting into a good PhD program? I mean if I wanted to go abroad say to study in the US, will this incident hurt my chances beyond repair? Edit: Possibly a new issue has arised. I started to worry about being rejected from this M.Sc., even if I completed all the sumplementary courses with grades higher than requested? After this incident had ocurred and after the discipline hearing in which I got "disqualified" instead of the actual grade as punishment, I applied to this different M.Sc program at the same University. I did send an email to one professor that is in the acceptance comitte of this different Masters program, asking about my chances of getting into the Masters(I didn't mention this incident, I just asked if I stood a chance). He replied with the list of supplementary courses but now that I think about it, he probably didn't even look at the current transcript of the university, He probably just look over the transcripts of the B.Sc. I mean I have with me a letter (which I received after the hearing) that says: You have to complete all these courses with minimum GPA of X, which I did, and every grade has to be no less than Y, which I also did. Should I be worried?<issue_comment>username_1: To some extent, the answer depends on the university policies, which you probably need to (find out and) specify in the question itself. If that action constituted an act of > > academic dishonesty (which meant I had no chances of continuing towards this degree) > > > If they consider it that serious an offence, they must have recorded it somewhere in your official transcripts - even if not containing an explicit description of the offence, at least in the form of a (code) symbolic grade, which stands for such generic cases. (I'm imagining something on the lines of my university, which, for example, awards a W grade for every course from which a student withdrew before satisfying the passing requirements.) if the above happens, it goes down as a permanent blot on the academic career, and then there may be problems in subsequent academic pursuits. However, you also mention that: > > I pursued another degree, in the same university but in a different faculty. > > > That tells me that my apprehension is incorrect. If they believed it was that big an offence, there is no way they would let you do that. Plus, it appears to suggest that it hasn't been recorded in the transcripts (I hope so, or else, they disregarded it, which again means they don't think it is that big an offence to warrant complete disqualification). In general, that very university which recorded an instance of academic dishonesty, is quite likely to take a strong view of the same while considering your candidature in other academic pursuits. If it wasn't a problem in your more recent degree (subsequent to the prior one), I don't think it will be a problem in still more subsequent ventures. Hope that helps :) Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A citation of exam disqualification on your official transcript will probably arouse some concern in those who see it. (FYI, although most or all graduate programs will ask for your undergraduate transcripts, it is not guaranteed that a given admissions committee will read them carefully enough to catch this.) Switching into a different master's program at the same university is a good idea. If you succeed in doing that, then the issue was clearly not of the highest level of seriousness, i.e., not serious enough to get you kicked out of the university. Assuming you can switch, Captain Obvious has just told me to inform you that you should keep your nose absolutely clean (and leave your cell phone at home!) for the remainder of your new master's program. Also I would put more than the normal effort in to make sure you get the best possible grades. Now what happens when you apply for a PhD program elsewhere, e.g. at a good American university? Assuming that the disqualification will continue to appear on your transcript, in my opinion you should address this in your personal statement and also ask a sympathetic faculty member to confirm your story in their letter. The tone here is very important (and it is also important that you do not dwell on the issue too much; more than one paragraph would probably be excessive). If this is handled well then it becomes somewhat in the eye of the beholder how seriously to regard the issue. For my part, assuming I believe the story you've told I have a lot of sympathy for you: forgetting to remove your cell phone from your pocket is a failure to comply with an exam directive. I am a mathematician so can be very literal-minded, but I think that to call something "academic dishonesty" there must be some actual dishonesty involved, i.e., an attempt to cheat, deceive or take unfair advantage. [This means that plagiarism can be separate from academic dishonesty, which is a fine cutting but I think correct. Also plagiarism has a victimized party, an important distinction.] So to me calling your action "academic dishonesty" seems extreme and unkind. This is also colored by the fact that in my academic culture (public university, US) we would generally not ask students to remove items from their own person before taking an exam nor would we feel comfortable searching a student's person in an exam situation. It may be that in your own culture the removal of cell phones upon taking an exam is so standardized that the failure to do it looks self-servingly negligent. Still, for me it is not a big problem. As an example, when I give exams in freshman calculus, calculators are not permitted. Once I noticed 5-10 minutes into an exam that a student was in fact using a calculator. I walked over to him, pointed out where it said on the exam sheet that calculators were not permitted, asked him to put away his calculator, took away the work he had done on the exam so far and allowed him to start fresh. I thought it was an honest mistake which gained him little if any advantage and I didn't see the point in making a big stink about it. Others might feel differently. In fact, "Others might feel differently" is one of my main points: I think that you should apply to a larger number of programs than you otherwise would because some programs and people will find this problematic and others likely will not, in a way that will not be possible for you to predict in advance. Anyway, good luck and remember that cell phones are the root of all evil. Upvotes: 3
2015/08/31	909	3,747	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a recent BA graduate. In my field (linguistics), it seems like most successful applicants to PhD programs at top schools have Master's theses, and writing samples in the field are probably the most important part of the application. My writing sample will probably be only 20 pages long at best, even though I think it's really interesting and good. Am I at a disadvantage? Would it be better for me to get a Master's before trying again? Or do they only just care about the kind of research that you do?<issue_comment>username_1: I wouldn't say you will be at a disadvantage without an MA. I have a PhD in linguistics. I didn't have an MA before I applied. Many people in my program didn't have an MA when they applied. When I met prospective students at other schools I applied to, many of them didn't have an MA either. (These were at well-known, tier-1 research universities.) Some people certainly have MAs, but it's by no means a requirement. My impression is that many if not most linguistics PhD programs in the US are designed as combined MA/PhD programs, where they expect you to get the MA along the way to the PhD. If you already have an MA, you may be able to skip some coursework, but it's not expected that you'll have one. A good writing sample is definitely important, but it doesn't have to be a thesis. Many people (including me) just submitted what they thought was one of their best term papers from a class they took, maybe polished up a bit or edited for the purposes of the application. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I have a fair amount of experience in reading applications to linguistics grad programs. Very few students have an MA in linguistics or anything else, and nobody ever raised the lack of an MA as a relevant point (this is in the US: life is different in Europe). What does count is the writing sample, i.e. proof that you can do research (an MA thesis being obvious evidence that you could pursue a PhD). I would say that in 30 years, I saw two MA theses submitted (and yes, in one case it made a difference). A good 20 page research paper would actually be better, as long as it really was novel research and not a book report type of "research paper", since it's much easier to read a 20 page paper than it is to read an MA thesis which can stretch on for a couple hundred pages. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Ph.D. student in linguistics here. I'd say "probably not," especially if you and your educational background are both American as well. Stand-alone MA programs in linguistics in the U.S. are difficult to find. Where they exist, they tend to be focused on applied linguistics and education. Most domestic applicants will have only undergraduate degrees. Focus on demonstrating that your research interests are well-defined, that you have a good sense of how to pursue them, and that you have a rock-solid understanding of why the University of X would be a great match for you. Don't worry too much about the writing sample; mine was just a small course paper that the professor liked. That being said, it can't hurt to have an MA from a reputable school, and aiming for that might make sense as a backup plan. I've seen several people move to Canada or Europe to do an MA in theoretical/quantitative linguistics, then come back to the U.S. for a Ph.D. One of these ended up saying that their MA experience north of the border was something they'd wholeheartedly suggest to people having trouble getting admitted to Ph.D. programs in the U.S. I've heard that there are even a few schools up there that provide funding for international MA students in linguistics, though I'm not sure which ones they are. Worth looking into, though! Upvotes: 2
2015/08/31	5,051	20,875	<issue_start>username_0: As a student, I almost always prefer when instructors use the board, rather than slides. As a relatively inexperienced instructor, though, I keep reverting back to slides (unless I'm working out problems), because frankly, it's a useful crutch. Specifically, I find it difficult to teach from the board because: * When preparing a lecture, I know exactly what to do if I'm preparing slides. I don't know how to prepare to teach from the board. I'm not going to read off of lecture notes (what would be the point of me being there if I did?). I'm not experienced enough to teach a class without preparing something to keep me from rambling for 3 hours + scrawling gibberish all over the board. * I am uncomfortable spending so much time facing away from my students. * It's hard be effective at writing and delivery at the same time. * I'm concerned about legibility. This is partly addressed in [Techniques for good board handwriting](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/36746/techniques-for-good-board-handwriting), but I'm also concerned about diagrams and drawings (I'm not much of an artist). Any suggestions on how to overcome these issues and make teaching on the board easier? ("Practice" is always a good approach, but I'm looking to reduce my learning curve so that my students won't suffer as much.) Related: [In teaching, what are the advantages of using slides over doing board work?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/29322/in-teaching-what-are-the-advantages-of-using-slides-over-doing-board-work).<issue_comment>username_1: My answer addresses mainly your first bullet point. > > I'm not going to read off of lecture notes > > > I take a variant of the "read off of lecture notes" approach when I want to use the board. I create an "outline" for the lecture, which summarizes the key concepts I want to cover, along with some illustrative example problems that I want to work through, if needed. I divide up how much time I want to spend on each section of the outline and example problems. > > (what would be the point of me being there if I did?). > > > If you use an outline as I've described above, the point of you/me being there is to bring the outline to life: the outline is not (intended to be) exhaustive. An outline helps keep me on track so that I'm not spending too much time on one particular topic, and to get a quick reminder of what I need to move on to from wherever I currently am. But, the extra stuff that I add to the lecture that is not in the outline comes from my own experiences with the topic, such as: key pitfalls that previous students have encountered when learning the material for the first time, practical implications of the material we're discussing, and so on. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I personally use slides and the board together when I teach (granted you need to have ample space to do so) I use the slides as a point of reference for myself and for the main topics students need to know. I then use the board to go into more detail of the topics and write/draw visuals and to elaborate on any student questions. For example: If I'm teaching about social media marketing on one slide the title may state "Most commonly used social media platforms" with the the information on the slide saying "Facebook" and "Twitter". On the board I would outlines using Facebook and Twitter as a social media platform and may mention points that will later be seen on the slides. I engage with my students a lot and stress all questions being asked (even stupid ones). If a student were to ask me "What about Linkedin?" I would then use the board to as a visual to what I'm saying. > > I'm not experienced enough to teach a class without preparing something to keep me from rambling for 3 hours + scrawling gibberish all over the board. > > > Using slides with the board is my prefer method as I can have the slides as a reference while elaborating on a free-form way by using visuals. If your classroom has a lectern you may want to keep your own outline there as an additional point of reference. > > I am uncomfortable spending so much time facing away from my students. > > > Completely understandable and I think this comes with practice. When I was taking courses I had instructors that would always face the board when writing but I also had instructors (I hope I can put myself in this category) that would write on the board, look back at students, write again. You can keep track of the students body languages with occasional head checks so you know you're not getting ahead of yourself. I think this is a matter of trial and error. > > It's hard be effective at writing and delivery at the same time. > > > This is also something that takes practice. If you have the time, try to take a public speaking course that relies on speakers using visuals. This can give you a setting for constructive feedback where you may be showing visual images and writing words or phrases on a board. I did this while I was still a student and It's help me a lot throughout my career. > > I'm concerned about legibility. This is partly addressed in Techniques for good board handwriting, but I'm also concerned about diagrams and drawings (I'm not much of an artist). > > > I, personally, have terrible handwriting (maybe because I'm left handed??) and when something is illegible it's rare for not a single student to mention it as there's almost always an avid note taker within the class. Drawings can be tricky if they're more complicated diagrams but try to simplify things. If you need to draw a car for an example just make a rectangle and put a label inside the rectangle if you really need to. Unless you're an art teacher, I think students will understand your drawing ability. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: So, as with anything in teaching sometimes we have to adjust our styles to play to our strengths. I don't like to be turned away for a long time so I rely a bit more heavily on things like PowerPoint. Not as a teaching/presentation crutch but to display materials quickly without my having to write them out first. If that's not possible consider handouts or using some web-based learning system so you don't have to stop class to write out a list. And if you do need to turn to write something out, be sure and stop after each item to explain it and talk about why you put it up there. (Repeating the item name also takes care of your legibility problem.) Yeah, you're gonna need some practice, but give yourself time. I think it takes three semesters to become a good teacher: the first to make a bunch of stupid mistakes, the second to over-correct for those mistakes, and the third to finally hit your stride. So don't be too hard on yourself just starting out. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: > > I don't know how to prepare to teach from the board. > > > I generally prepare an outline of the lecture, with the titles of the most significant points. When needed, I prepare also sketches of the most complex diagrams and of the longer proofs with the most significant equations. I do this mainly to keep the notation consistent. If I have to give precise definitions of a few terms I write them down too. For a 3-hour lecture, this material can take between two to six A4 pages, depending on the lecture. > > I am uncomfortable spending so much time facing away from my students. > > > You should not. You don't say which subject you lecture, but if you have to write equations or diagrams, write or draw them in small pieces and in between turn your attention to the students and explain what you are doing. This is actually the most difficult part, something that many people don't know how to manage. I noticed this when examining students at an oral examination: if, for instance, I ask them to describe how a dual-slope analog-to-digital converter works, most of the students firstly draw the whole block diagram and then, only then, they start to speak. This is something that you, as a lecturer, should avoid because it would mean losing the class. > > It's hard be effective at writing and delivery at the same time. > > > The hardest part is to keep your boards neat: when starting to explain something think carefully at what you need later and try to write this stuff on a board apart. > > I'm also concerned about diagrams and drawings (I'm not much of an artist). > > > Don't rush, draw slowly. In any case, if it can be of comfort, I discovered that students are good at obtaining very good, coloured diagrams from my messy black-and-white ones. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Indeed, a big question is how to make a "lecture" have more value than the text alone. After all, why not just print things up and hand them out? First, to reiterate the obvious, much practice, a.k.a. "rehearsal", is necessary before one can do all the little things that make a live performance go better than a pre-recorded or lip-synced one. I do think those comparisons are apt. That is, it's only when you've gone through the material so many times that you can remember it nearly effortlessly that your delivery of it could be natural, fluid, and unhesitant. About technique: as other answers noted, don't let there be too much absolute-quiet while you're writing. Until you can learn to talk about what you're writing while you're writing it, it is best to write a little, talk a little, write a little. This also lets note-takers catch up. With practice, it seems possible to say a different thing than one is writing, although sometimes one's hand chooses a different syntax than one's hand, resulting in minor grammatical hilarity... Indeed, be sure to spend most of your time facing the audience, looking people in the eye, etc. So, indeed, this leaves not-so-much time for writing, which, in fact, has (I claim) the excellent outcome that one is forced to choose "highpoints" only, to write, and then "discuss". Altogether, I'd say write very "telegraphically", meaning no complete sentences, indeed, very few English (e.g.) words. After all, formulas can be written, while sentences can be spoken. The two mediums can complement each other. I've recently stopped giving long, complicated proofs in lecture (mathematics...), but only giving the highpoints, with complete details available in PDFs on the course web-site. Often, I get the PDFs done in time so that students can either look at them during lecture on a tablet and use some mark-up software, or print them out (!?!) and mark on them. Handwriting takes practice... Use your whole arm, make big motions. It's not handwriting, but arm-writing. Every time you get a few critical things written, you can move around (which will result in better breathing, better projection, better connection with audience) and (expressively, both in intonation and body language) elaborate... referring to the on-line or off-line supporting reading material for finer or uglier details. So, yes, some lower-level technique needs to be practiced, and also some larger-scale viewpoint made very clear in one's mind, so that one knows the "highpoints" vividly, and can nearly-effortlessly summon up and convey them. So, yes, I think it is possible (if one wants it, and if one practices) to make a "live" lecture have much more psychological impact on the audience than a mere text. (Or than reading a text out loud... which is what any sort of slides very easily degenerates into...) Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_6: A technique that I've found useful is to write your outline on the board at the start, as a list of bullet points and leave it there for the whole lecture. Re-use the rest of the board area as you need to. It reminds both you and the students of the "big picture". You can "tick off" each point as you start or finish that section, to keep everybody "on the same page" and avoid any "are we nearly there yet?" feelings developing through getting lost in the details. This can work over more than one "lecture" session. For example I give training courses that last a full nine-to-five day, split into several sections. It's useful to start off with something like "OK, to carry out this process, we need to do the following things: A, B, C, D, and E" and write them up as a list in a corner of the board. "We'll cover A and B this morning, and C D and E after lunch..." And if some of the details of A are only necessary because of E, you have a "road map" of the whole process on the board to refer to at any time you need it. Of course the students will almost certainly have the "road map" already as part of the course contents and handouts, but during the course I want them to be looking at me and at the board, not shuffling through their paperwork. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I once took a class in Farm Machinery and Implements. The school was brand new and there were almost no books in the library. Students were not asked to buy textbooks. The instructor prepared his diagrams ahead of time (for example, showing how the tractor engine works) and would unroll them and tape them to the board. Then he would talk about his drawings. It seemed a little bit dinky but it worked well. I visited a physics lecture recently where the professor used two overhead projectors and powerpoint slides. There were three screens. He would just walk back and forth to change the transparencies. What I like about board lectures is that I can glance at the motivation and theorem statement in the first panel, glance at the proof in the second panel, and glance at the application problem in the third panel, and go back and forth at my own pace. With the scrolling slides or smart board presentation, I lose control over the scrolling, and I can't look back at what appeared two screens ago. Unless you're in a 200-seat auditorium, I doubt you're going to be able to work with three screens. But you may be able to come up with a hybrid approach, with the sketches prepared ahead of time, on large paper and/or projected on a screen (either powerpoint or transparencies) -- since it sounds like the drawing is the part you're having the most trouble with. Now, what sort of notes to have in your hand while lecturing at the board? To answer that, let's think about what makes a good powerpoint slide: stay away from full prose, and go for skeleton writing and bullet points. Well, you can do that too in the board lecture prep notes. Do make sure there is something (outline or prose, it doesn't matter) available on your website that students can download after the lecture, so that they don't pay more attention to their notebooks than to you. For a 50-minute lecture, you'll probably have three pages of notes to carry around with you as you move from panel to panel. You can staple them together at one corner, or use a binder clip. Schedule yourself in a classroom that is unoccupied right before your class. Get there 15 minutes early and write some key material on the board before anyone gets there. It's hard be effective at writing and delivery at the same time. It's okay to simply pronounce the words as you write them if there's something you have to write down with clarity and precision, such as a theorem statement. It's also okay to be silent. You don't need to be scintillating every minute of the class. There is a certain soothing effect to be had from allowing people's minds to occasionally have a little rest. Make sure there are opportunities for give and take with the students. The more they are participating meaningfully, the less you'll feel like a fish in a fishbowl. Be quite explicit about what material you want the students to have read before they arrive for that day's lecture. If you see that a significant number of your students aren't managing to do that, you may need to do some little quizzes or clicker questions to train them into doing the reading before class. (The minimal material you want them to read before class should be rather short -- to make this reliably doable.) This will help prevent you from feeling that you have to reproduce a textbook chapter on your blackboard. If it's a class of 20 or less, let some students put some problems on the board sometimes. Everybody benefits from some blurring of the line of demarcation between instructor and students. Ask a friend to come in and observe, to give you feedback. It doesn't need to be someone in the exact same field. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: If you have any ability to influence the structure of classes or pick a class to offer, I cannot more highly recommend the instructional value of teaching the same course in two sections - even if it's just a 'lab' or 'discussion' session that you get to split into two. My very first experience with teaching was like this, and there is a huge benefit in being able to "do it again" very soon after the first time you did something. I think it's better than having a year of experience, but all compressed into a single semester. The first time you are teaching something, you really don't know what all is going to come up. What will student's find difficult or confusing? What joke will students think is kind of funny? What sort of questions will be asked? How much space do you need to cover a certain explanation, and can you skip some steps - or will those steps be what students want explained? When you have never done it before, your instructional quality is based on improvisational skill as much as preparation. Sure, being prepared is important, but I found that beyond a not too hard to reach point I wasn't really preparing for a given class anymore, so much as just increasing the amount of material I wasn't going to be able to cover in the time allotted anyway. I was just too far from the point when the material was new and mysterious, as it was to be for most of my students, to know what questions to prepare explanations for. However, when you get two sections you get a wonderful chance at a do-over - and you don't have to wait until next semester! You can test your preparation on the first section, and make improvements and some little extra preparation for the next section and see how that goes. More often than not, I found that the questions in the first section would, over 90% of the time, be questions that people had in the second section. Sometimes I pre-empted the questions by revising how I explained the material, and sometimes I just waited for the question to be asked, exclaimed what an excellent question that was, and then was able to launch into a highly compacted and effective explanation of what had before left me sweating to explain in an understandable way. Equally enjoyably I got to improve the delivery of some of my jokes, which sometime resulted in a nice laugh - and others in a reminder that my sense of humor is not a human universal. In the end I realized how the great teachers in my past had been able to answer some tricky questions so deftly and with such ease - I wasn't the first to have asked them! Teaching looked easy when they did it, because each time they did it they sought to get a little better at it. If this multi-section option isn't available to you, I've known a few instructors that would actually ghost-teach the class to an empty room, writing out everything on the board they planned so they would now how to physically organize their thoughts, give themselves proper room and spacing, and so on. They would even take time to step back at a point and attempt to imagine what sort of question might come up at a given stage and write it down, even explaining it to the imaginary person on the board. It beats going in cold, and they seemed to do a remarkably good job on material they'd never taught before (or taught only once). TLDR; practice, practice, practice. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_9: > > I keep reverting back to slides > > > If you already have the slides, you can use them as notes, without actually showing them to the audience. When I started teaching, I prepared slides carefully, and it was very good as it helped me to thing everything over in detail, realize possible corner cases etc. But then I realized I didn't like presenting using slides that much and that using a board would be better. So in the next years, I just kept the slides as a private reference for me, explaining everything on the board. Also: You can't completely avoid making mistakes - every teacher makes mistakes, a good teacher learns from them. It will happen that you'll say something wrong, or that you'll stay in front of your audience and won't be able to remember something. Just take with humor, learn from it and go on. Upvotes: 0
2015/08/31	1,271	5,603	<issue_start>username_0: In my PhD, I am assigned mathematical modeling topics and my supervisor's work is related to mathematical biology. But I don't want to work in mathematical biology. Because actually there is not so much real application of that and I don't like biology. Instead, I want to work in fluid dynamics. But my supervisor's research area is totally different. Is it possible to do independent research work without supervision of supervisor?<issue_comment>username_1: Theoretically speaking it is possible to do a PhD under a supervisor who is not an expert in your area but it can get very difficult for times when you need help and "supervision." PhD students are not completely independent researchers and generally follow the directions set out by their supervisors. So if you really want to do something different, the best way would be to change supervisors. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In summary: is it possible? Yes. Should one do it? No. You need an advisor to tell you which problem is important to solve, which direction may not be feasible to investigate, which conference to submit your work etc etc. If you have to do all these alone, you may waste years going nowhere. That being said, I happen to know a couple of people who successfully did their PhD without working with their advisors. All are very talented, and extremely confident with their research. One of them is a very young PhD student in my former school, who has published 3 solo papers (and co-authored some others), and invented a new sub-field of cryptography. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: No, this is not possible. Having a supervisor is not some formal paperwork you need to do to please the management. A supervisor exists for a reason. If you work alone, your work in fluid dynamics is unlikely to be successful. Most probably it will be about "reinventing the wheel", as proposing a doable topic with the potential of scientific novelty requires lots of competence. You cannot have also your PhD defence without the competent opponents; they will come and may find lots of issues. A supervisor may only be partially competent if the project bridges multiple disciplines. For instance, if you are doing mathematical modelling in biology, your professor may be highly competent in mathematical modelling or in biology, but maybe not in the both areas at once. Also difficult but I have seen this working, and professor should normally try to arrange at least some co-operation with researchers competent in the complementing area (how successfully, another question). However simply ignoring the supervisor and going just on your own does not make any sense. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You need someone to help you with the technical side of your work, and that person needs to be an expert in the field (remember, for a PhD you need to do new research, which google won't do for you). However, the person who supervises you in practice does not ultimately have to be your supervisor in name. One option to consider would be co-supervision, so one supervisor brings experience of academia and research, while another brings technical knowledge. If it works out, that can also be a benefit to a young academic who is new to supervision. I've also known people whose supervisors were sufficiently absent that they weren't really much use. Much of the supervision was actually done by postdocs who were working in the same lab. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: It depends on the field. Just as a positive example from my field, I know people in geophysics who regularly do PhDs and research based masters with people who have little knowledge of their specific project at the start. For example, one of my colleagues is doing a PhD with a very very well known geophysicist, who is known more for is observational and experimental work, but has developed a modeling project with him. Because my colleague has very strong computer skills, and access to advice from other people, the actual "modeling" part he doesn't need as much advising in as the actual general scientific skills. In my opinion, his dissertation work has turned out to be very good because of this, with many more productive collaborations than the normal PhD students tend to have out of necessity. Another strong point about his program is that because he is using unusual methods for his lab, he already shows strong independence from his PhD advisor, which might look good on job applications. So I will say that it might be smart to do this depending on the quality of scientist you are at the beginning of your PhD work, and the quality of your advisor. These are two things that are very hard to evaluate, and I think that it turns out bad more than it turns out good, but there is clear upside and potential to create a truly unique educational experience regaurdless. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_6: Is it appropriate to change supervisors due to lack of expertise in the field? Any hard feelings? Doing a research under one who doesn’t have a good understating about the topic is one lonely journey. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: I think it's easier to do this in experimental topics than theoretical ones. Big physical lab groups really have little supervision, apprenticeship anyways. Overall, it is going to depend on how independent you are, how feasible the problem is (pick something doable). Also that the advisor is at least not an active hurdle--it's one thing if you pull your own sled but if you have someone fouling the runners? Upvotes: 0
2015/08/31	1,414	5,808	<issue_start>username_0: I am an undergraduate student at a university in the US. Unfortunately, I have a concern regarding one TA of a class I took this past year. This individual insults other students in the university during his TA session, and I also found out from other people that this TA has been talking to other people (not just the professor and TAs for the class) about people's grades in the class. My question is, is it within my power to lodge a formal yet anonymous complaint that will be taken seriously about this? I am concerned about my identity becoming known because this TA is a strong student, and seems to have a lot of power in the department (and is close with the professor teaching the class).<issue_comment>username_1: When you have a complaint about a teaching assistant for a course, you should generally address it to the instructor of record first. Even if you believe the professor will dismiss your complaint, going straight over the professor's head will make you look bad. Here are some suggestions for making a well-received complaint: * Make your complaint in writing (email). * Do not include any subjective judgment of the TA's behavior, only objective observations of what you have seen and experienced. * Give specific evidence to support your claims. * Phrase it as if you believe the professor is not aware of this behavior, whether you truly believe this or not. * Don't offer suggestions on what actions to take ("I think you should prevent this TA from working in future courses"), just describe what you have seen. * You can specify what steps you would like the professor to take to keep your identity a secret from the TA when discussing the complaint with him. (Only you or someone close to your situation can know how identifiable such a complaint will make you, and what details need to be omitted to anonymize you effectively.) If the professor does not seem to take the matter seriously, you can escalate your complaint: * To the department head * To a student ombudsperson at your institution Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: You have the right to skip over the instructor of record and go straight to whatever level of administration you trust. This is to be recommended in this case, due to your fear of retaliation. I advise you to leave out the general remarks. Your observations about the ill effects on the department and the community are your private motivation for blowing the whistle. So keep your complaint simple and specific. If, after having selected the level of administration you wish to present your complaint to, you are still uncomfortable with your identity being known, then here is what you can do: create a new email account solely for this purpose. Use that email address to write to the administrator you have selected. Begin with a paragraph about how if anyone else opens the email message they should not read it. In your letter, present an itemized list of unethical things the TA did. You may add one or two sentences about each item. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: > > It also does not really help that he is one of the strongest undergraduates in the major at my institution, and that he has and exerts a tremendous amount of influence on the community of my major. > > > Indeed; you have a classic case of a [destructive hero](https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=destructive%20hero). I would follow the top upvoted answer meticulously, but add steps at the end. If you experience retaliation or consequences or failure in the steps outlined by username_1, I would [file a formal FERPA complaint](http://familypolicy.ed.gov/complaint-form). People who retaliate against you for squealing might turn around really quick once they know the federal government is watching him. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: This is a real moral dilemma because such a person is destined to become a really bad boss some day. Here are some things to be careful of. 1. If there is an enquiry then person X will turn up with friends ostensibly for moral support but in fact to back him/her up and probably knock you down. Make sure you have some allies to support your case otherwise you will lose. 2. Once a complaint is out there, you lose control of anonymity. Your identity can get back by gossip or through a retrospective appeal to freedom of information or similar. 3. Sometimes doing the right thing is just hard. Read about Gandhi if you want to be convinced of that. Decide if you are tough enough. You can be sure that X is. 4. Speak to an official student counsellor. They are bound to confidentiality. 5. Without gossiping, put feelers out to see who supports your point of view. Rather than making suggestions, ask questions like, Do you think we can do anything about it? Let them talk and gauge whether a joint complaint is necessary/worthwhile. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_5: > > I found out later that the aforementioned TA was telling a lot of > other students (beyond the professor and other TAs) on campus people's > grades in the class and mocking those with low ones. > > > This is almost always against the university's code of conduct, and if you're really serious about getting rid of him this semester probably your best shot. If you can prove that he gossiped about student grades regularly, that will likely force the department's hand. If at all possible, I'd suggest getting through the class first. Complaints by current students (with low grades) towards a TA or prof are generally greeted with skepticism by administrators. If you have proof, I'd suggest going to the dean or provost. This is your best chance to avoid any sort of retaliation from the TA or prof, but be prepared. Upvotes: 1
2015/08/31	1,497	6,213	<issue_start>username_0: I find myself experiencing back to school anxiety as a new semesters begins in less than three weeks, mainly because the unpredictability associated with graduate life. In some ways it feels less structured than other endeavors such as starting a new semester as an undergrad, starting a new job or moving to a new country, since in graduate school you have to constantly prove yourself using your creativity and intellect and you have to do it alone. Whereas in industry (or some other structured work) you always have the opportunity to move up, or stay where you are at just by showing up to work, in academia there is plenty of room to free fall. Things are on my mind at the moment: * How do I maintain a healthy relationship with my professor(s), how can I get them to look favorable toward me as a student while not appearing overzealous? * How can I find a new research topic that is interesting to me AND has practical application AND leaves room for future works AND satisfies my supervisor's research direction AND get it published AND host a conference about it AND grabs attention AND leaves room for collaboration AND... ... ... * How do I balance these extremely open ended research oriented courses? Will I find time to keep up my health and keep up my grade? Is my body even capable at waking up at 8:00 in the morning anymore? * Can I still learn given that I have forgotten so much and can't even understand the things I learned 4 month ago? * What if I hit a dead end and fail? What happens next? It is unthinkable. Yes we all experience anxiety from time to time, but never is there a time when all these anxieties are bundled together then unleashed all at the same time. Of course I could always pretend that things are going to be okay and just "deal with it"...but I find going into a new semester with a lot of anxiety does create problems, such as getting extremely upset at professors when they make a small mistake (it would be as if they are "intentionally" ruining my year), becoming overzealous at proving myself that I miss the point of a course altogether and professors are annoyed by high-fi questions only tangential to their course. Is this feeling normal and is there anything one could do to alleviate some of the anxieties?<issue_comment>username_1: Hard to answer. Yes, such changes are stressful, being anxious about it is quite normal. As you state, you are through a few such changes already, so this should be another one. Even after teaching for 30+ years, I'm still anxious when meeting a class for the first time... If this is a really big problem for you, you might want to seek professional help. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Take it one day at a time. Stay organized. Ask a lot of questions. Show that you're an independent worker, but seek clarification if need be. Get openly excited about research that you're fascinated by. Work, work, work. If you find a supportive department, make friends and talk about problems, which are likely common to everyone. Push distant things to worry about into the future: there's no reason to think about conference viability, for instance, before you've even nailed down a research topic. Many graduate students run into problems of some sort or another, but the likelihood of running into so many issues so simultaneously so suddenly that you have to drop out overnight is extremely small. If something's going wrong, talk to a faculty member and work it out. Then it'll be behind, and honestly, most faculty are so busy that they forget about little hiccups within days. (And even big hiccups. I wrote an absolutely abysmal course paper a few years ago, and it nearly sunk my grades for good. Recently ran into the professor and got very self deprecating about the paper, because he can be critical. He didn't have any memory of it!) Anxiety and catastrophizing are normal to some extent, but if they're really getting away on you, look into cognitive behavioral therapy. Best of luck! Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Early in my grad school career, I dealt with many of the same feelings that you describe. Often, I could not sleep or function well academically or personally because my anxieties were uncontrollable and intrusive. If you are finding it difficult to deal with your anxiety, I would suggest visiting student mental health services or a similar resource available to you as a graduate student. They may be able to help you determine whether your anxieties are typical or reaching the level of clinical impairment, and suggest behavioral and/or pharmacological strategies for managing your anxiety. One of the thoughts that most delayed my seeking help was the notion that I should just be able to "deal with it" or "stop stressing out." But sometimes it's not possible to do that without help. Today, even having received, and continuing to receive, help for my anxiety, sometimes I find myself at particularly stressful intervals and dealing with the types of thoughts you describe. In addition to continuing to follow my medication regimen, I use some of the following tools: * Regular exercise * Good sleep hygiene (<http://www.sleepeducation.com/essentials-in-sleep/healthy-sleep-habits>) * Meals with adequate protein and fruits/vegetables (e.g., not just fast food/delivery even though it's easier) * Progressive muscle relaxation--you can find cheap or free audio files on Amazon or iTunes that will lead you through this exercise * Try exercises in the Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne. * Avoid becoming overwhelmed by setting concrete, achievable goals and breaking larger goals down into smaller pieces. Make daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Ask your advisor(s) to help with accountability for certain self-imposed deadlines. I have found habitica.com to be a fun way to help keep myself on track with my to-do lists; you could set up a group on there with fellow grad students to help each other stay on track. * Inviolable "you" time, set aside at the same time every week. Don't work all the time. Make time for an activity you enjoy. You'll be more productive and creative afterwards. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2015/09/01	660	2,603	<issue_start>username_0: I sent an email to a professor for possible acceptance as a PhD student, but sometimes it takes too long to hear back. I know another professor, that has a good knowledge (experience) with the first professor. Can I ask this second professor, in polite way, to contact the first one, and discuss with him whether to accept me as a student? Is this possible? What should I say to the second professor?<issue_comment>username_1: Let us of think of it from the point of view of the second professor. If I were that second professor, I wouldn't bother slipping in this kind of a recommendation to my colleague, unless you possess a very high standing in my eyes, i.e. I'm familiar with your academic work and I feel that your academic profile (which includes the ability as I judged, not just where-you-did-what-from) makes too compelling a case to be turned away. But in that case, if you could impress me that much with your abilities in a fair way, I would argue to myself that you are academically sound enough to also be able to impress the other guy in a similar, fair manner. In that case, you could really make the cut yourself too, even without my recommendation. On the other hand, if I slip in that recommendation, and the other guy is stupid enough to simply take my word for it, and hire you on the basis of my word, and he/she later finds that you are not up to the mark for him/her, it is going to reflect badly on me too. So, that's another reason in favor of not doing it. So, I think it is best not to take this route. An additional disadvantage could be, that you risk creating an image of a person who is willing to advance in his/her career on the strength of his/her connections, rather than the fair way. And this is never a good image to possess. Hope that helps :) Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If you know the second professor well, there's no harm in hinting. By "hinting", I mean, you're having a chat with Prof. 2, and you mention that you wrote to Prof 1 but haven't heard back. Ask for Prof 2's advice -- for example, "Do you think I should try sending him a second email?" If you're lucky, Prof 2 will at this point offer to speak up on your behalf with Prof 1. If not, during this conversation you will hopefully get vibes in one direction or the other, and will know whether it would be worthwhile to make the request. The worst that could happen would be that Prof 2 says no. By the way, I hope you have tried re-sending your original email. People are fallible, especially when it comes to answering email. Upvotes: 2
2015/09/01	397	1,736	<issue_start>username_0: It seems that if I were to just express interest in a single subdiscipline (computer networking for example), and none of the networking professors are taking on students, I would not be considered based on any other merits my application may have. But if I were to express interest in several subdisciplines it may be difficult to create a structured statement of purpose.<issue_comment>username_1: A PhD is about expertise in a narrow field. Showing too wide spread interests is counterproductive, you should have a rather clear idea what your principal interest is. It is OK to have wider interests, but you need a focus. Do your homework beforehand, select prospective advisors and contact them for openings. Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: If you can tie it in well, and show sincere interest, I would say that it could be helpful to include a second area. In the computer science department I attended, one was expected to choose either two or three areas to specialize in. One was not enough! The department didn't want people graduating with too narrow a focus. Once you had sufficient background knowledge in an area, you took an exam in that area. Look at the list of areas in the department you're applying to, and pick one that looks interesting. Perhaps Theory of Computing would go well with Computing Networks, for example. You can talk a little bit about the second area in your statement. Note that you'll likely be busy with coursework and preparing for exams during at least your first year. Check in with the networking people from time to time, to renew your interest. As a professor gets to know you, (s)he may be more motivated to squeeze you in. Upvotes: -1
2015/09/01	708	3,093	<issue_start>username_0: I've been working as a TA for an on campus program for the last year and a half. The director really likes me; she has a Masters in Mathematics and runs the learning services program for the STEM programs but she doesn't teach or do research. I'm planning on applying to Master's in Computer Science programs and want to eventually do work in mass education programs (like Khan Academy or Coursera). Would it be acceptable to ask for a letter of recommendation from her? I figured it would be "different" in a good way; also, any other letters would be "average" at best. I was a good student but not much more in my classes.<issue_comment>username_1: This sounds like a good way to strengthen your application. Also, there is something you can do to strengthen the other potential letters. If you get to know a professor from a class you have taken, by going to office hours at least once, to show interest in the professor's research, and share something about yourself, the professor will be able to write a slightly less cookie-cutter letter. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: it depends on the university, for instance on my university the hierarchy of letter of recommendations goes like this: * Top priority: Faculty (same/different institution) * Mid: Staff (on same institution) * Low: High-school Instructors Of course having faculty give you letters of recommendation is better. Just remember that "usually" you need 2-3 letters of recommendation. I would suggest to use the letter of recommendation from this director that you mention, If and only if you cant get letters of recommendations from faculty. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: The stakes are usually a little lower for masters programs, so this might be okay. If the primary funding source at your new program is a TA-ship, then your experience teaching could count in your favor. Its better if the teaching experience is directly in your new research area. Your reader wants to know that you are ready to start developing more specialized skills in your research area. If you're teaching in that area, then it shows that you understand the basic issues well enough to break them down for a less sophisticated audience. That's good. Make sure the writer really focuses on your engagement with CS more that your engagement with the students. Ask your writer to describe the areas that you were teaching on, and how you handled the material or broke it down, how you dealt with answering questions when you didn't know the answer (did you do research? That's grad level thinking). Have her give examples. Also ask to avoid using feeling language (e.g., she is a caring an compassionate teacher) or personality characteristics (e.g., she is very enthusiastic). If she hasn't written many letters, then she might not know to avoid this. I will also note, as someone with somewhat eclectic credentials, "different" is rarely a good thing in academic. The goal is to have her tailor the letter to align you as closely as possible with your discipline. Upvotes: 0
2015/09/01	240	1,014	<issue_start>username_0: When I went to college, I remember there was an office that would help students, graduates and alumni get their first job. What is that office called? P.S. If you feel the English Stack Exchange more appropriate for this question, please move it there instead of down voting it.<issue_comment>username_1: On campus, my career/alumni connection office was called the career center. They help students with their cover letters, resumes, interviews, connections and job postings. I am not sure for other schools if they have an office just dedicated for jobs, like a head hunting agency ran by the school. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: In US universities, this office is commonly called *Career Services* or some variation on that, such as "career center", "career development", etc. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: It is called by various names - placement cell, placement center, career service, career center. There is no single name for it. Upvotes: 1
2015/09/01	1,316	5,420	<issue_start>username_0: ### Context I've submitted a paper - it was sort of a side-product of my main project - to a high ranked journal from an adjacent field. Recently I got a revise & resubmit that was close to a reject, but the editor sounded really interested in the paper being multidisciplinary. I'm suggested to contextualize my research stronger within the journal's field. I feel like getting one of my experienced in that particular field colleagues involved in the revision in order to get the paper accepted. --- ### The question If a person helps you a lot during the revision, are you allowed to include him as co-author?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, you can do that. "Revise and resubmit" means that they intend to put your paper through the same refereeing process upon resubmission as they did on the initial submission. So at the very least, the journal can treat it as a completely new paper if their system doesn't allow authorship changes between drafts. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Absolutely you can add a coauthor in revision, if there is good reason for doing so: in fact, I have recently done so myself on a paper where revision involved some new experiments with the aid of a colleague not previously involved. Most journals that I know consider authorship changes routine and even explicitly support such changes by asking you to review and, if necessary, modify author lists as part of submitting a revision through their system. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: EDIT: this contribution has received downvotes, and I guess I was not clear enough. Even if I do praise probity, academia is not homogeneous, neither do so-called scientific fields. Authorship, work, citation and evaluation habits differ a lot. So I will describe three practices I have witnessed. Completed by the conference [Evolution of Scientific Publications: the Point of View of Scientists](http://openaccess.inist.fr/?%20Evolution-des-publications%20) (in French, Colloque de l’Académie des sciences, 14-15 mai 2007), which I attended. First, maths. Traditionally, many consider the contributions are equal as soon as people co-author. And the authors are put in alphabetic list. Yet I know a person who gained a professor title from a developing country, and was offered a certain amount of money to add local co-authors to a paper. Who did not have the level to contribute. Which the person accepted. Second, in my community, some consider the student ought to be first author, even though the student did not do most of the work. The student should find a position, after all. The advisor is often put at the end (even if she/he did nothing). I was once strongly suggested (by a boss) to add somebody else, because "he was important". I was young, and did accept. I do regret that now. After all, rules in our field are not so strict as mathematicians... Third, in medicine (a close friend's experience). Papers can have much more authors. My friend told me (exaggeration) that the first author writes, the last proof-read, the others are... there, with varying good-will and contribution. Indeed, in the above mentioned conference, I have seen in a row a mathematician claiming that authors are of equal importance, and a biomedical pundit asserting that: the first place and the second are important, and the last and the penultimate too. Indeed, I know at least a ranking in France that rewards services if a member is a co-author of a publication with different weights: w1 for the first and last, w2 for the second and penultimate, w3 for the third, zero for the others. I let you dream about the fights to change positions from 4th to 3rd... And I know an author who often add (his/her) spouse to the co-author list, even if the spouse is not knowledgeable in the field. And the other authors accept that. So there are habits, conventions, pressures of different sorts. And the borderline is easily crossed, and fluctuates across fields. If you are strong enough to make your own rules, do want you want, at the risks of hitting local habits. So you "can" add a co-author at this stage. A "revise and resubmit" is a new paper. In some fields, this is common practice, but might be borderline inappropriate if you just add a "name" to help the paper go through the next review. To improve your paper impact, and strengthen your ability to cross disciplinary borders, I would suggest you to re-elaborate the novel paper (collaboration = work with) with your putative co-author, instead of performing a mere scaffolding, probably less painful, but likely, in the end, to be less beneficial. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: As mentioned in the other answers, almost all journals allow you to change the author list at any time before final acceptance. Sometimes when the reviewer asks for some extra information, additional experimentation/analysis may be needed and in this process new people may get involved. So a resubmission would have an extended list of authors. > > If a person helps you a lot during the revision, are you allowed to include him as co-author? > > > Of course you are allowed to do so. Denying authorship may be unethical but even for that there are no strict rules. You may choose to specify how the new authors have contributed, in the Author Contributions section of the paper. Many journals actually ask for it. Upvotes: 3
2015/09/02	1,803	7,557	<issue_start>username_0: I'm a mathematics student just starting my third year. Since entering grad school, I have become rather firmly convinced that academia is not the place for me. The intellectual work is great, but the life side sucks. I hate the administrative bloat, the grad student/post-doc slavery system, being constantly surrounded by people with no social skills, the whole toxic self-sacrifice culture. I think I want to just go into industry, find myself some niche, or work my way up a corporate ladder. Probably in tech or finance since that's who needs mathematicians. Problem: my research area is real pure, pretty much no direct applications at all. So, since deciding to go into industry, I've started to look at another field which I have taken a class on and is interesting to me, but I don't really know very much about yet. It's a relatively new discipline which has seen recent applications in data. There's a couple of people in my department who do related work so I might ask one of them to be my advisor. (I don't have one yet- the first two years here are very coursework heavy and this is the semester to choose.) The trouble is, I feel like I'm starting back at square one. I fell in love with my original field during undergrad and have been going hard on it ever since. I was research-level before entering grad school, published a paper in top journal, had a bunch of ongoing side projects, and have read enough that I can easily hold conversations with professors about most topics. I know 100% I could bang out a thesis in the next three years if it was in this field. I even have an original topic based on a generalization of my earlier paper, and have made some progress on it on my own. In my new field, I feel like a beginner. If my peers in the new field have the same level of expertise as I did in my original field, then I'm way behind. I might take longer to graduate, or have a crappy thesis. Or maybe I'll discover I just have no talent in it, that my brain is only built for original field. I don't know. > > I am very confident in my original field, but from an applied perspective it is useless. Is it worth anything to get a PhD in a pure field if you know 100% you're going into industry? Would it be worthwhile for me to attempt to change to something more relevant in which I am a beginner? > > ><issue_comment>username_1: You're in a great position to try the side path, because you have a pretty solid contingency plan (go back to the original area and topic). But, um, if you like coding, it sounds like applied math could be a fun direction for you to go in. And it would give you an easier transition to industry, I would think. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: It's hard to say much without more concrete info about which fields you are talking about. I switched from geometric analysis as academic to quantitative finance in industry pretty easily. But it was probably easier at the time in that they didn't expect you to know much, just be smart. Being an analyst meant that the distance to applications was much shorter than from many fields. However, the PhD badge does help whatever your original field; I have helped people with topology PhDs make the switch. My general advice to people planning to switch is to do something related to probability or statistics. There are plenty of pure problems but it leaves you well placed for applications. (see my guide on www.markjoshi.com for more discussion.) Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: A pseudo-answer: It is my impression that academic "applied" mathematicians who style themselves "applied", and the topics they pursue, are not at all reliable perceived as knowing or doing anything relevant to actual industrial, tech, business pursuits. This is explained by inertia, by the cachet (such as it may be) of hijacking "applied" as a modified for one's enterprise, etc. Then there's the issue of passion... Indeed, it's hard to excel at something one doesn't really care about, and if that thing is not what one thinks it is anyway, it is doubly a waste of one's life. I've had about 2/3 of my PhD students decide to go outside academia for various reasons. Usually insurance, phone companies, banking. Yes, necessarily, mostly this was 10-20 years ago, so things may be tighter now. But all the reports back were that having a PhD in math (of any serious kind) from a good university is at worst a certification of one's brains, perseverance, and analytical talents. The traditional notions of "applied-or-not" are largely ignored by anyone outside academe... in case there were any doubt. If anything, perhaps having "applications" pretense without genuine knowledge of current practice is more discrediting than a more honest "here's what I have done and know about". (After all, it still seems to be essentially that PDE and/or numerical solution schemes for PDE have claimed exclusive rights to "applied math". That is, "applied math" doesn't mean (in many peoples' minds) math that's applied... Crypto still doesn't count, nor error-correcting codes? Ignorance, yes, but inertia and pop-culture trump facts always.) Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You are not going to use very much of your specific pure math PhD thesis knowledge anywhere in industry (or even applied math for that matter). Most employers will not care about your specific thesis topic. You will use your soft skills more than any (pure math) domain-specific knowledge, and you will be better off getting into industry as soon as possible. There is no substitute for learning on the job, and PhDs tend to be rather good at learning. Trying to go into a new field (that you guess is more relevant) without knowing exactly what it is you want to do is not worth the lost couple of years of industry experience. The opportunity cost of losing real world industry experience in order to hopefully make yourself more marketable does not pan out. Switching fields or focus requires you to rely on your soft skills more than your intimate knowledge of how to run an R simulation of some uber-specific blah blah monte-carlo sampling nonsense. Here are some of the soft skills that you will use, regardless of your specific thesis work: * You will know how to chip away at a big problems and make incremental progress. * You will most likely be pretty self-directed, and so do not need much supervision. You will be able to make estimates, organize your own schedule, and set deadlines on the month/year/multi-year time scale (compared to the day/week timescale). * You will most likely be rather tenacious. Getting a PhD is hard work that is often extremely unrewarding. People with the perseverance to push through and get to the finish line are sought in all industries, especially tech. * Most importantly, you will know how to think: Logical thinking, "big picture" thinking, and identifying implicit assumptions are skills that people value. Of course, you will need to cut the mustard with your "hard" skills as well, but for an industry job those hard skills will almost certainly be much more generic than your thesis research (those pesky google-style algorithms-and-data-structures type questions come to mind). If you are sure that academia is not for you, I would certainly recommend you take or sit in on some programming/stats/"applied" courses while you are still enrolled as a full time student (or whatever courses you see fit). Take advantage of the opportunities you have as a student. Good luck! Upvotes: 1
2015/09/02	385	1,670	<issue_start>username_0: I'm planning to see a professor today, in our department, he is the director of one of the labs there and a PI of a couple of projects. I knew that, he's looking for some student to join his project/s. I contacted him, he told that he's a couple of funding projects and make an appointment for me to see him. So, I'm thinking what are the best question that I may ask during this first meeting.<issue_comment>username_1: Ask the prof to tell you about his work. Then ask what expertise/skill set is most important to him among his lab team. Listen closely and then look for opportunities to describe how your skill set fits what he needs in his lab. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Ask: What kind of questions is your research trying to answer? Is that a question that the field itself has asked, industry, or personal interest? My experience is in X and interests are X Y and Z. Might I be able to assist you? Where do you think an answer might take you? Is there the possibility of sharing authorship? You have to asked these relative to what experience, interests, and ideas you might have. If the research is coming from industry, the approach to join would be quite different, than one from academic inquiry itself, for example. In any event, my suggestions are not really a template for you to follow, but to prompt you to have a conversation trajectory in mind. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: What is your management style? What do you contribute to the research group? How do you get funding? How do you help your students succeed? Can I meet your current students? Where are your alumni now? Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
2015/09/02	1,021	3,766	<issue_start>username_0: I have been invited to review a manuscript written by several authors. One of them has been the editor of one of my recently published papers. This is the only interaction I have ever had with the author of the manuscript. Would it be OK for me to accept the review request? While I personally do not see anything wrong with it, it might be the case that I am positively biased towards the paper, without realising it. Hence my question. Bonus question: the journal adopts an open peer review system, where the reviews and the reviewers' names can be published alongside the paper. Shall I accept the review request, would it make sense to disclose my concern in the review I submit? Assuming that the paper gets accepted, of course.<issue_comment>username_1: Short answer: yes it is ok to accept the review. Long answer: Yes, it is (still) ok to accept the review. If you can only review paper written by authors you have never ever interacted with, at some point in your career, you'll stop reviewing. Especially if you are working in a small field of research. For me, in your case, it is more than fine to accept the review. The question becomes more tricky if it is from someone you work(ed) with... If you want to try out some really tricky reviewing scenario, try out this test: <http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcblog/2015/08/21/quiz-can-navigate-tricky-peer-review-scenarios/> Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Several institutes have detailed guidelines that clarify what is a conflict of interest and what is not. While it's hard to make hard rules that cover all the cases, it can be useful for a young researcher to see something like this to get a hang of what is considered appropriate. For instance, the research grant program office of the [university of California](http://www.ucop.edu/research-grants-program/_files/documents/srp_forms/rgpo_coi_policy.pdf) considers a person in COI if: > > 1. Is a close personal friend or family member of an applicant or grantee. > 2. Is a recent (less than 5 years) > employee/employer/mentor/student/teacher/co-worker of an > applicant or grantee. > 3. Serves as a volunteer for the applicant or grantee organization > (volunteer staff member, committee member, advisor, or board > member). > 4. Serves as a paid or unpaid consultant for the applicant/grantee or > applicant/grantee organization on other projects. > 5. Is a co-investigator or research collaborator with an applicant or > grantee. > 6. Has co-authored scientific articles with an > applicant/grantee/reviewer during the past five years. > > > I have seen similar rules in several other places, sometimes with the 5 year period reduced to 3, or with stricter defintions of "personal friend or family member". As you can see, in your case the interaction with the author is very far from being in the danger zone. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: So I repeat what I read in your post: 1. You published a paper XY to Journal A where <NAME> handled your paper. 2. <NAME> from Journal B asked you to review a paper ZZ by <NAME>. I don't see any reason why you couldn't do the review. Still, if you are in doubt, you can ask <NAME> if he -- the editor -- sees it as a conflict. A short mail would do: > > Dear Josh, > > > I'm ready to review the paper ZZ by <NAME>. However, he was the editor of a paper I published in Journal A. Do you see it as a conflict of interest, or can I make the review nonetheless? > > > Best regards, > > > In the end it's more the journal's policy that matters than your point of view, as long as you are not being pushed into blatantly non-ethical behaviour you're not willing to do; but that's not the case here. Upvotes: 3
2015/09/02	441	2,031	<issue_start>username_0: *Is* there any upper limit for the number of recommendation letters for an application? *Does* the strength of an application get enhanced by containing more recommendation letters? *What* if the additional letters are coming from less-related (to the field that one is applying for) staff, but impressive enough? For example suppose one is going to apply for Physics and 2 recommendation letters are required. He gets two letters from physics professor and besides he is sure he can get a good letter from a math professor. What should he do? Thanks. PS: The target is a Grad school.<issue_comment>username_1: I'd place a limit at around three. To add too many might come through as bragging about the people you know, or trying to add weight by collecting all fluff you can get your hands on. Make sure you get strong letters from people who really know your work. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Does the strength of an application get enhanced by containing more recommendation letters? Not necessarily. Having too many recommendation letters can overwhelm the person reviewing your application and it may leave a bad impression of you in a couple of ways. One example is you do not know if the the reviewer will go through all of the letters that you provided. This may lead to the reviewer not being able to have a clear picture of who you are, what is your work ethic and how driven you are (these are just some general examples of what a reviewer could be looking for). Generally, most applications ask for 2-3 letters of recommendation. What if the additional letters are coming from less-related (to the field that one is applying for) staff, but impressive enough? If it doesn't specify what kind of letter you need to submit, the letters of recommendation that you think will help the application the most is the ones you should send. If you are still unsure, you can call them and ask how many letters of recommendation people usually send them. Upvotes: 1
2015/09/02	648	2,845	<issue_start>username_0: I have recently been admitted to teach some TOEFL courses in an institute and the course I lecture is reading and writing. According to the institute policy, each teacher is free to have his/her own material of teaching. I am spending a lot of time observing classes and I prepare powerpoints to present in my class which takes a long time to prepare them every session. The students have been pleased so far but in one of the classes another instructor has given the students 7 gigabyte of additional material and also sends them about 10 sample writings each session and all in all has a wealth of teaching stuff to give to the students. They have about 3 years experience teaching TOEFL. I am new but I know I am doing my best. However, I feel bad for my students to be deprived of the material that other students have the privilege to have just because their teacher is someone else. The other instructor does not share his material with anyone and it is of no use to ask him. I would appreciate if someone let me know how I can compensate for my students and if you know any good sources of TOEFL writing samples please let me know.<issue_comment>username_1: You will have to build your own corpus of materials! Every teacher has to start somewhere. I would be surprised to find this instructor ginned up 7GB worth of material on his own so in the mean time a very good place to start is either at the institute library or writing center or your own local library. I'm sure there are stacks of books on TOEFL that have plenty of links to relevant topics. And a Google search for "TOEFL teaching material" returns nearly a half-million hits. A sort of more passive approach you can take as the semester and years progress is to keep a notebook or folder with materials you find useful. If you read an article in a magazine you think would be useful as teaching material, clip it and stick it in this folder. Over time these tidbits can become the basis for your own custom reading materials. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: It is a common misconception among beginning teachers (including me when I first started) and some experienced teachers that it is good to include more materials in your teaching. However, since students have a limited ability to learn, it is better to keep the quantity of material within that limit. Pick the most important stuff, and make it really good. Then review as much as possible to help students remember. When designing your teaching methods, start with objectives (e.g. improving students' TOEFL score), then pick your assessment (the TOEFL), then design the content (practicing things that are likely to be on the TOEFL). When I teach, my challenge is getting rid of unimportant material so it does not distract students from the important information. Upvotes: 4
2015/09/02	1,809	7,681	<issue_start>username_0: I'm writing a paper on graphs. Personally, I've always disliked the vertices/edges terminology. I found it very confusing when I started working with graphs, and I much prefer the alternative names nodes and links respectively. These terms are used, but far less than vertices/edges, and it depends highly on the field. I think nodes/links is more intuitive (to a modern audience) and I would like to see people move to this convention. Now, I have a habit of choosing less common conventions if I don't like the common ones, sometimes to my own detriment. On the other hand, if nobody ever bucks the trend, there's no chance of poor conventions ever improving. So my question is, specifically, is it acceptable to use nodes/links, and would it give a reader/reviewer that immediate slight sense of distrust towards the paper? Are there fields where it would simply be unacceptable? My paper is somewhere in between practical computer science and machine learning, but I'd be interested in the unwritten rules of other fields as well. As a secondary question (if you care to elaborate), how should these situations be judged in general? Is it ever smart go against the most common convention, just because you don't like the common way? Are there good heuristics for such decisions? EDIT: I edited the question to make it a bit more subtle. The original phrasing suggested that I'd made up the nodes/links terminology myself, when it's more about choosing between a popular and an unpopular convention, rather than introducing a new one. Apologies for changing the question after answers have been given.<issue_comment>username_1: And what if the next author likes neither your terminology nor the previous one and decides to call these elements bars and joints? And then the next one goes for arms and knees? I'm an electronic engineer: what if I decide that I don't like the terms resistance, capacitance and inductance, and I decide to use the terms opposance, tankance and springance? Readers should not struggle to follow author's idiosyncrasies about terminology, the effort is already enough to understand the new concepts that are typically introduced in a paper. And recall that the first readers of your papers are the reviewers, and sometimes the reviewers complain for even more conventional terminologies. Moreover, if you are free to make your terminology choices, they have even more freedom in rejecting your paper. Here is an example. As I said in the above, I'm an electronic engineer. However, due to the tradition of the field in which I work, most of my readers are physicists. When I write a paper, I typically use terms and symbols that are widely employed by the engineering community, and are even defined by standards. For at least three papers, the reviewers complained that I haven't used standard symbols or terms (standard for them). And so I had to reply with references to standards, literature etc. It's annoying, but at least I had references to provide, and eventually symbols and terms were accepted. What do you have to backup your choice of terminology? > > I think it's more intuitive (to a modern audience) and it would be better if people adopted this convention > > > Aren't you generalizing too much? > > we'll never get rid of all the poor choices made in the past. > > > Are you sure that there are so many poor choices? > > So my question is, is it acceptable to use nodes/links? > > > I think not or, better, as I explained above, I think there is no sound reason to use nodes and links in place of the accepted terminology. > > Is it ever smart go against convention, just because you don't like how things are done? > > > It is seldom smart, unless there are good scientific reasons or the existing terminology is really misleading, but before going against an established convention, you have to provide evidence that that convention is wrong or misleading. An example in this sense is that of relativistic mass, a term which was introduced at the beginning of the theory of relativity. In later years, however, the concept has been criticized [see e.g. [Adler(1986)](http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.15314)] and the term is now considered utterly misleading, and modern books on relativity avoid it altogether. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Your Case ========= Candidly speaking, I really like your terminology better than the established terminology, and hope it catches on! Because the convention is established, you should at least acknowledge it, perhaps as follows: > > In this manuscript, we will refer to what are conventionally called vertices as nodes, and what are called edges we will call links. We believe that this terminology is superior to the conventional terminology because ... [briefly support your claim]. > > > General Case ============ If you submit a paper with your own convention, acknowledge it and support it! Give a reason to convince your readers that your way is superior, but don't belabor the point. If the reviewers don't like it, they have an obligation to say so. Bucking the convention without acknowledging it might make it look as though you aren't familiar with the convention (or even the field?) in a slight way. As you said, there might be an element of mistrust. The wise reader/reviewer will be able to to sense the mistrust and ignore it. If they prefer the conventional terminology, they will be able to mentally replace your terms with their preferred terms. While this would certainly annoy some readers, it might please other readers—especially those less "set in their ways" (particularly those newer to the field). ### Value of a Convention (generally speaking) Conventions usually—but not always—become established for a reason: perhaps they better avoid confusion, say more for less, or they just express something "better" —compared to the alternatives. Certain terms and phrases can serve as quick aliases for larger issues, and following conventional terminology usually help prevent confusion or misunderstandings. If you go against the convention, you ought to have a really good reason for doing so—one that outweighs your readers' annoyance and risk of confusion. Of course, not all conventions are the best. There's often room to improve or replace them, though changing conventions is uphill work. If you feel your convention is better than the established convention, discuss it with those who are familiar with it to see if you can build support. Conclusion ========== While my discussion has been primarily general, I suggest that you discuss this with several colleagues and collaborators whose opinions your respect. Perhaps there's a good reason to prefer "edges" and "vertices" over "links" and "nodes"? If your terminology has the support of your peers, then—by all means—submit your paper with it. If your peers don't approve, then maybe you can introduce your terminology in more subtle ways (e.g. a footnote or parenthetical statement, or even in conversations with peers), but publish according to the established convention. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: You worry about two words you don't like. Your question does not even explain why you would think that "nodes" is a better choice than "vertex" (I find both perfectly understandable, and certainly can't see why you'd think that "vertex" and "edge" would be a "poor choice"). In other words, you're trying to fight a really small, unimportant battle. Save your argumentative powers for the things in your paper that really matter. Upvotes: 2
2015/09/02	643	2,780	<issue_start>username_0: I submitted one of my papers to an IEEE conference: [NGCT 2015](http://www.ngct2015.com/home) which is supposed to be happening soon (the final paper submission deadline is gone) and I had submitted my paper in PDF format, written in latex, without getting it approved using [PDF express plus](http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/publishing/pdfexpress.html). Is it necessary that I should have submitted the PDF express plus paper? If yes, do I still have an option of changing the submitted paper? I tried contacting the conference organizers but they were unreachable for quite sometime now.<issue_comment>username_1: [PDF Express](http://www.ieee.org/conferences_events/conferences/publishing/pdfexpress.html) is basically an automated means of making sure that you didn't mess up your document preparation in a way that will later become a headache for you, the conference organizers, or the IEEE. For example, you might have things misconfigured such that you ended up with A4 instead of US Letter paper, or have some bad fonts in there. If you're using the standard IEEE LaTeX templates and not doing anything particularly creative with your formatting this shouldn't happen, but even then sometimes it does. The IEEE camera-ready sites will typically tell you that you are required to check beforehand, but de facto allow you to submit. This is sometimes very important, because sometimes PDF Express isn't working (we had an issue of this type with a conference earlier this summer). Checking with PDF Express is a good practice to follow, however, because it's a few seconds of insurance against the possibility of a whole bunch of headache for yourself and others down the line. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You can indeed avoid using PDF Express. I have on one occasion submitted an IEEE conference paper that was not checked with PDF Express, and that was published without problems. However, you should make sure to: 1. Read the instructions for authors very carefully. Make sure you use the right font size, paper size, column layout etc. Also make sure you use the correct options for the IEEE LaTeX template. 2. Check that your fonts have been embedded properly. On Linux the `pdffonts` command lets you do this. (It's OK to have fonts embedded as subsets.) On Windows, Google is your friend, but I think some versions of Adobe Reader can check it. 3. Make sure any figures are of appropriate resolution: good enough to look crisp, but not so huge that you get a 50 MB PDF. As a rule of thumb, you want a full-width figure to be ~ 2000 pixels wide for single column layouts. This is approximately what is called 300 DPI. For line graphs, vector graphics (like .eps) are always best. Upvotes: 1
2015/09/02	748	3,157	<issue_start>username_0: I am about to finish my undergraduate thesis. The interpretation/conclusion i wrote is basically a statement which matches well with research of other groups and has a widely accepted scientific background. After letting my supervisor (who has been mentoring me) and then my professor(who gave me the topic and is in charge of the decisions in the group) control my thesis, my professor wants me to edit my interpretation and write one which mainly goes along his research but is not widely accepted in science. My supervisor said I should do what my professor asks me to. Should I? Edit: My professor asked me to change because I had no clear evidence for my assumptions. But I would not have any evidence for his suggestions neither.<issue_comment>username_1: If you have no clear evidence for interpretation/conclusion A (drafted already, by you) or for interpretation/conclusion B (suggested by your professor), then it sounds like it's time to draft a new ending to your write-up. How about the following: Lay out A, with some supporting argumentation. Lay out B, with some supporting argumentation. Both would be worded as conjectures. Then talk about what work would be needed to be able to support or rule out one or the other. And then comes your Bibliography! Since this is not a PhD thesis, you can sit on the fence. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Stick to the truth: * Write up the results that you obtained (which are the facts of various kinds). * Say that "I conjecture that [A is true]." * Say that "In a personal communication, [insert name here] suggested that [B is true]." Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It sounds like there may be potential arguments in favour of both interpretations. First pin down what they are - then you're in a better position to have a discussion with your professor. It may turn out that one of you is unambiguously right - and that's a good way of finding out. More likely, there are arguments for both interpretations, in which case you might be best off presenting both together with some critical analysis. TL/DR: Follow the evidence. Without providing any evidence, neither of you is demonstrably right. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: You should bear in mind who will be marking your thesis and later on writing letters of recommendation. If you want to stick in the same field for later study, people who hire you will almost ask either your supervisor or the professor in your group of their opinion of you. You should offer some concession to the professor. Maybe a good middle ground would be to evaluate both viewpoints, and lay out the whole field as username_1 suggests. If you really think your interpretation is right, maybe you should talk to the professor about it, and see if (s)he can persuade you or vice-versa. Note that if you are going to dispute this with the professor you really need to be understand the debate, with well thought out reasoning (not just "big wig professor" says so). At the same time, intellectual dishonesty on your part helps nobody - don't write a conclusion you can't stand behind and defend. Upvotes: 0
2015/09/02	1,855	7,085	<issue_start>username_0: I get confused with some comments of [JeffE](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65/jeffe) on [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17933/good-slide-design-for-teaching). Those are: > > ...avoid bullets entirely. > > > Powerpoint doesn't kill people. Bullets kill people. > > > The comments got a lot of upvotes, so there are many people agree with them. And I don't understand why. I use `block` and `itemize` extensively, and I think they provide a clear structure to my presentation. The bullets are the key points that I want to present on that slide. So why people think they are so bad? I have to emphasize that the question above asked about teaching, while I only give presentations. Are there any differences? --- UPDATE ------ Thank you for the excellent answers (I still want to hear from JeffE). I can kind of understand that using only bullets is not enough, but avoiding them entirely is a personal opinion, not a general rule. By the way, the best presentation I've seen so far is [the last lecture](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo) of <NAME>, in which he used a fair amount of bullets.<issue_comment>username_1: TL;DR: A bulleted list onlys show one kind of relationship (either sequence or membership in a set). If you want to show another kind of relationship, it's better to use something else. If you want to show sequence/membership AND something else, you can either use a different visual tool (not a list) or a list + additional dimensions. --- Bullets are useful to help speakers remember what they wanted to talk about, but they're not a powerful way to visually convey ideas and relationships between ideas. To quote <NAME> in [The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint](http://users.ha.uth.gr/tgd/pt0501/09/Tufte.pdf): > > By leaving out the narrative between the points, the bullet outline > ignores and conceals the causal assumptions and analytic structure of the > reasoning. > > > He in turn quotes the Harvard Business Review: > > Bullets leave critical relationships unspecified. Lists can communicate > only three logical relationships: sequence (first to last in time); priority (least to most important or vice versa); or simple membership in a set (these items relate to one another in some way, but the nature of that relationship remains unstated). And a list can show only one of those relationships at a time. > > > Bullets may be OK when you want to convey sequence or membership in a set. But even then, lists often have more than one dimension, in which case there are almost certainly better ways to present this than just as a plain text list with bullets. For example, take this slide showing an outline of a [talk](https://gnuradio.org/redmine/attachments/download/205/rondeau_sdr2010-grtutorial2.pdf) by <NAME>: [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/zsxE5.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/zsxE5.png) and compare it to the classic way to show an outline with a list: [![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QowGK.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QowGK.png) The point of this example is to show that the "plain" list, which is a fairly standard way to show an outline, conveys one dimension. The list version conveys sequence, which bullets can do fairly well (the parenthesis attempt to add another dimension, but it's subtle). The graphical version shows the sequence of the talk and also adds a color dimension to show the content of each section and its classification. You could of course add extra dimensions to the list, too. This image was contributed by [Eddie](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/39513/eddie): ![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vFYrh.png) But if you are just listing points and not trying to show order, priority, or membership, all the more reason to stay away from lists. Also see [Bullets versus sentences](http://betterposters.blogspot.com/2015/05/bullets-versus-sentences.html) in posters (I hate bullets in posters). Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: <NAME> [says it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJUblvGfW6w) best: > > You know what I call slides with a lot of text? Your notes. > > > If you give people a slide with a lot of text, people will start reading the text. When they read, they can't listen. The attention should be on the words you're saying, not the ones on the slides. In most cases, a blank slide is better than one with too much text. Of course, bullets don't necessarily mean blocks of text, and if you have three bullet points with three words each, the bullet list may not be such a bad option. But a sentence per bullet is pushing it already. If you make your presentation by opening powerpoint and typing the things you're going to say into a list of bullets, you're writing your notes, and the audience don't need to see those. Bullets are also the first type of slide that comes to mind, and the first option powerpoint shows you. They are a crutch that stops you from coming up with a better slide. Try drawing the slide you need for your story on paper, and then figuring out how to get get it drawn on the computer. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: Adding to the others, one more excellent resource: [<NAME>'s "How to Speak" lecture](https://vimeo.com/101543862), which recursively self-demonstrates every heuristic point it makes. The version I've linked to is from before the dominance of PowerPoint and is primarily a chalk-talk, but it has a section on overhead transparencies that hits the same key points. This talk provides a lot of good heuristics on communication that includes why you want to not use dense bullet points. Among other key ideas: * Mixing images and words gives two cognitive channels of communication, which greatly improves understanding. * You need to slow yourself down, so that people have time enough to digest what you're saying. * Having lots of words means people will be reading the slides rather than listening to you Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I think it is important to balance bullet points (or other text) and visuals. While it is awful to have screens full of text, the key points should additionally be made with text on the slides. (1) Massively helps people who can't hear you, who are working in a language that is difficult for them, or can't understand your accent. It is very important that there is text for them to read so they can follow the messages of the presentation. In academia, you should always assume there are some people in the audience who can't comprehend as quickly as you speak. (2) Makes your slides useful later. If the key points are written on your slides, then you can hand out a copy of your slides. I don't write an additional paper when I present, the abstract and slides are sufficient. A presentation that is all images is much better to participate in, but hopeless for later remembering what the brilliant presentation was actually about. Upvotes: 3
2015/09/02	1,380	6,106	<issue_start>username_0: I have a class in a US university that is using a 3rd-party site to charge students a fee to access some of the homework essential to the course. One of the instructors (not mine) holds the copyright to these required Excel spreadsheets, and so every student is being assessed a small fee in order to complete their homework. With online classes using an ebook publisher's website, paying to be able to do homework is common practice. But that fee is usually assessed and disclosed as part of the textbook/ebook access fee. For this course, we are already paying such a fee for the ebook publisher's website. Is it normal (or generally acceptable) for an instructor to create a privately-owned website in order to collect "copyright fees" from students because that instructor created original homework files? Is it normal for instructors to require students to pay to use intangible, intellectual property? Or, failing being a regular occurrence, does it at least happen with a high enough frequency to be a noticed, if not often used, practice? We are explicitly being told the charge is for the use of the copyrighted materials and is a copyright fee, rather than a licensing or maintenance fee. I've never come across this or even heard of it being done before, so I call on the experience of those more grounded in academic norms. This isn't a matter of purchasing supplies or textbook fees, as those are already assessed by the University or comply with University policy. The nature of the assignment and materials is also not so complex or technically difficult that assignments, or reasonable alternatives, could not be provided using existing University resources. --- While I greatly appreciate the input of the SE community, I know that I also have ways to investigate this at my specific institution and am not using SE as a substitute for doing my own due diligence.<issue_comment>username_1: It is like charging students for handouts, which could include homework assignments, and also like charging students to acquire a mandatory textbook which contains homework assignments. Suppose that the institution had no printing / copying facilities available to the instructor (there are such places). Then you probably would not expect the instructor to provide free instructional materials, any more that you would expect the instructor to provide free sulfur if you were taking a chemistry lab class. So I think the web page matter does cloud the issue, or at least complicate it. Since this involves a third party website, it is reasonable to assume that the copyright holder has some contractual duty to that company to provide revenue, that is, they probably get a percentage, and the copyright holder isn't allowed to give out free copies to his own students. If indeed the author created his own company for distributing the materials and thus can set policy, he could in principle give his own students a free ride (and we would then expect a question about whether it is fair for an instructor to give free access to just his own students). So that could mean that it is possible for the author to make materials free to his own students; that does not mean that he is morally obligated to do so. It seems to me the question boils down to the broader issue of whether an academician should profit from the sale of his intellectual creations to his students, or to any students. That's not the question that you asked, but if you agree that it is proper for a person to profit from the sale of his intellectual creations, then I think you would have to agree that that extends to sale to one's own students, and that the textbook / homework distinction is not material. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The main point is that it seems that the only reason why the website is set up is to collect the fees, as it would be no problem to distribute them in another way. To me, this is a big difference to the charging for a paper copy scenario, where actually costs occur: If the instructor is not provided free printing facilities, then it would not be unreasonable to actually ask the students to pay the price he has paid to make the copies (in fact, I remember having paid such copy fees). If he does not do this for profit, but only in order not to have to pay the copy out of his own pocket, it's fine. Charging when the instructor does not have any expenses (or could avoid them easily by using free university services), in contrast, would be unethical, I believe, Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: I think that, at best, there is a conflict of interest for an instructor to force students to use a web service that charges money of which s/he gets a cut. That said, are you sure that that's how it is? For textbooks -- where the same conflict of interest exists -- it is common practice at many universities that if a professor uses her own textbook for a class, that that part of the royalties that the professor receives through his own students' purchases actually goes into a university fund outside the professor's control. The same may in fact be the case at your university -- the professor may simply never have talked about the details in class. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Sounds fishy to me...having to pay a "copyright fee" to access required homework/classwork. And, who is getting this fee?? I can understand buying a textbook, paying for copying/handouts (usually in my case, those were just the cost of making the copies), paying for supplies (for extra things or were included in the course's cost, e.g. an extra lab fee). In those cases, you got a tangible product in your hand. And, as was stated, you could buy new or used and via alternate vendors -- especially books. Shouldn't that "fee" be included in a courses costs, not paid for by students directly? If it's truly "necessary" for class, shouldn't it be part of the course's cost -- not an additional charge? True, I've been out of school for many years...so the commonality of this I can't answer...but, it sounds rather odd. Upvotes: 0
2015/09/02	1,604	6,650	<issue_start>username_0: Over the last four years I did a bunch of experiments (biotechnology, protein purification). Some of them are more valuable, some of them were just poorly designed (e.g. temperature not controlled, etc.). Some of them turned out to be important one year after I collected the data. The data is highly heterogeneous (microscopic images, ELISA, SDS-Page, HPLC of various suppliers, settling velocity, filtration tests etc.; formats are doc, tex, xls, txt, csv, tiff,py, ipynb, png,pdf and proprietary formats like leica`s lif format) Usually, I started a new folder on our network drive for each task (like afm\_particles/2015\_01\_13\_particle\_1). Over time I gathered about 50 Gb of heterogenous data. Usually, I do not alter the data in place, but load it into an Ipython notebook and do the calculation and plotting with python. The calculation files are stored in the same folder as my data. I have a file called `INFO.txt` in every folder with a brief description of the data within the folder, experimental conditions etc. Usually, I know where I can find my data, but recently I wanted to change a plot for my thesis and spent about 15 minutes searching for the right sub-folder. In the end I searched for the name of the file and found it. A colleague of mine quit his job a year ago, and if I wanted to reproduce his experiments, I would have to invest several hours in order to find the specific file containing the raw data (hopefully with physical units stated somewhere). We do write quarterly reports and paper-based lab journals (some more thoroughly than others). However, navigating through my own data is challenging. Not to mention someone else's data. How do you handle heterogeneous data collected throughout a project (3 - 5 years) ? Have you found a solution satisfying for both, people who have to document it and people who might continue the project ? It would be great if I can browse the collected data without going through all the subfolders. For example by some form of index with information for each folder like: title, short description, usefulness of experiments, worked out as expected, totally crap, totally different than expected but interesting. Are there tools capable of such a thing (Linux, Windows) ?<issue_comment>username_1: I have been using a very simple system and am very happy with it: * have one `projects` directory * have one `private` directory * have one `life` directory Inside these directories, I create one new directory per year, for example `projects.2015`. Inside this directory, each new sub project gets its own folder that starts with the date at which I begun this new project, for example `20150902 rendering performance analysis`. Everything related to this project will be placed inside this directory, no matter when it is done. When your projects get too complex, you can always add a text file describing the content of your files in more detail, and place this file inside the `projects.2015` folder. However, do not place anything else in this folder! Only folders starting with a date and maybe one file giving more information. This system has worked for me for about ten years and I see the following advantages: * very easy to implement * does not depend on software that may or may not be available in 5 or 10 years * works on Mac, windows, Linux, etc * can be backed up easily, for example by placing your files on your cloud storage folder * future ready: when I started online backup, for example, did not exist yet and we do not know what will exist in the future; but system will probably be compatible. * very comprehensive: chances are you will remember what year and maybe what month you did a specific project, so it will be very quick to find your stuff. Finally, if many projects contain a similar structure, stick to an identical organization of your data. Whatever your structure, sticking to a system will make it easier to retrieve your files later. For example, inside your folder `20150817 afm study 1055nm grating` and any other measurement folder, you could have the following sub folders * `00 notes` * `01 code` * `02 raw data` * `03 processed data` * `04 plots` Personally, I often use numbers because this orders the list of items in my desired way and because in Unix, Mac, etc, I can just type `cd 03[tab]` and the system auto completes. Whatever you end up choosing as a system, my recommendation is that you look for something trivial to implement that does not slow you down. The more trivial the logic, the more likely you will stick to it over the years and benefit from the ordering you have. Have fun Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I am going to answer the "I wanted to change a plot for my thesis" part. I write in LaTeX. I create a symbolic link to the plot file's directory. When you have to share the LaTeX, such as during submission to a journal, you need to collect all the images together. I do this using a shell script that copies the figures into the same directory as the LaTeX. It also helps to have everything in one directory for some version control systems. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I have been thinking about this myself as well. I did a few projects before I started my PhD and learned a lot during those. Now I have several folders which each have specific files in it. I have a folder for References, Data, Experiments, Presentations, Conferences, Manuscripts, Protocols, Information, and a few more. For each experiment I do, I make a new Word-file. This file is saved using the date of the experiment; I often have an Excel file per experiment as well which has the same/similar name and '\_setup' in the name. I have one Excel file with each experiment written in it (date and brief description). My 'Data' folder has a subfolder per technique, so I have one for ProteinGels, Chromatography, CD, DLS etc. In there, depending on how many files, I made subfiles per year. All data is saved with the date of the experiment in the file and usually a description of some sort. I have two back-ups of all my stuff that I save at different locations in case my laptop gets stolen. Don't want to do the PhD again ;). It's still not 100% but I can easily find experiments and the data. I also have a labbook where I write things as I go, and I scan this when it's full and I start a new one. The labbook for me is just daily notes about making solutions etc because it wouldn't work for me to write details of every experiment in there. I do find it hard to keep an overview of everything I've done and this is something that I can improve on. Upvotes: 0
2015/09/02	6,865	28,956	<issue_start>username_0: I never really understood the point of having a course with lectures when the course has a textbook. Sometimes the subject is so high-level or specialized or so modern that the contents are changing rapidly that there is no textbook (for example at the graduate level). But more often the textbook includes everything that will be said in the lecture, and much more: extra content, exercises, answers to exercises, appendices, etc. I assume a STEM context, that is we can assume the textbook is available in the sense that there is one comprehensive source that contains undisputed facts, as opposed to a broad literature with lots of interpretations and opinions (as may be the case in non-STEM contexts). So what is the point of a lecture?<issue_comment>username_1: Everyone learns in a different way. There are a variety of different learners. In this I mean that some people may be able to grasp and understand the material and information better by hearing someone speak or by seeing it in written words. Some have combined learning styles, while others have a preference for one type of learning. There is a wide variety of ways that a professor or teacher can give the material to the student. The best would be for a teacher to give students multiple means of understanding or getting the information, as to not leave any one behind. If only this was done in more education settings, it would be ideal. Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: Think about a standard book: you can read it, or hear the audiobook. The first one is at you pace, the second at the pace of the narrator. I remember I heard a text I read before, and found dull, read by a great narrator. And I found the text wonderful afterward. Because I was now able to catch the inner pace of the writer, the important turnpoint, and I needed someone to guide me. A written book can be somehow flat. A great teacher can understand when a student is lost, and provide alternative explanation, or a different narrative. Or play with time. Finally, some people cannot read, or do not have hands to turn pages. We do have our own means to remember or understand. There are different kinds of learners. Some are more visual, some auditive, some kinesthetic. It is likely that visual ones may be ok with the book, but sometimes senses merge, and sight + audition reinforce themselves. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: Repetition increases retention. Information encountered in both a textbook and a lecture will be remembered better than information encountered in only one. Neither textbooks nor lecture are optimal learning tools. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The lecturer can react to the audience, which a book can't. You can ask the lecturer to clarify, to solve another example. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I have seen the effectiveness of lectures through teaching ground (in class) courses and online courses. My ground courses use lectures and a textbook as a teaching method whereas my online courses only use the textbook (I'll post helpful notes such as "On chapter 3 disregard pages 50-52" but other than that and answering emails there's nothing but the textbook - I use Blackboard in case that username_22ers at all) What I've noticed by teaching the same course through online and ground is that students almost always retain more information during the ground courses where there are both lectures and the textbook. Not only can students read the course material but they can also hear it and visualize it in some cases. A textbook can also sometimes be difficult to follow for some students. For example: When I was taking an accounting course during my undergrad I took it online - HUGE mistake. I ended up having to drop the course after 2 weeks because I didn't understand anything that was in the book. The next semester I took the same course as a ground course that used the same textbook and lectures. I passed the class with the top score among my classmates and I'll never forget what my professor said on the first day of class "Don't read the textbook first. If you read the textbook first you'll be confused and filling up my inbox. Attend lectures and then read the textbook to reenforce what you learned." Some students can follow a textbook and do well is almost any course. Others can just listen to someone talk, take notes, and do well in the course. There are also those who need both resources to retain the information. Using both methods (lectures and textbooks) will cater to all 3 of those student segments. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Questions of this nature keep occurring through the history of education. You have suggested that with books we do not need classes; yet we have had books for the masses for quite some considerable time and we still have schools, we still have universities and we still have classes. [One Hundred years ago the role of Books themselves were controversial and some felt that they would be replaced by the movies](http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/02/15/books-obsolete/), and then television and then the internet, and then .... Yet people still go to class and we still teach. Its because [being an autodidact is rare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodidacticism). However if one is lucky enough to be an autodidact then [one can manage without the lecture, without the class, without the university](http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/feb/28/could-you-be-an-autodidact). But then you'd be one of the few. But what if we could teach you something? How would you ever find out if you only use the book, the movie, the internet, the phone, ..... To quote one of my students: "You really know something don't you? You know? You really, really know stuff..." Up until that point there was a belief that we just read it out of a book. Some of us do "Really, Really know stuff..." and some come and find out what it is. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: In my experience, lectures are almost always worthless. You learn more in 30 minutes of reading than in 4 hours of lectures. Still, some people prefer lectures, and their preferences seem to be empirically justified. In a similar way, I find it almost impossible to have a productive face-to-face discussion. Offline discussions work so much better, because you can always think about the issue for a few hours before replying. Again, other people seem to be more productive in face-to-face discussions than in offline discussions. These two issues are probably related. Maybe some people are better at processing real-time information, while others process information in a more asynchronous fashion. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: The other answers address important aspects of this meaningful, elephant-in-the-room question. But, yes, the ideal, that you can ask questions, that something more than the mere text is conveyed, is not reliably met. Yes, very-good lecturers "add value", but this is not so common, in my field, mathematics. Sure, there's the human element, the reiteration, but if a student/learner has the modicum of self-discipline to read (several) books, there's scant reason to go and sit in a hard chair in a too-cold or too-warm room at randomly-chosen moments. I think only exceptionally gifted experts, or exceptionally gifted teachers, make going to class worth-while for a highly-motivated learner. The "problem" is that most students cannot accurately identify their own state, their learning "tendencies", and so on. So their appraisal of "lectures", or, probably any classes at all, are not reliable, even for their own best interest. E.g., even the "just read the book", as objectifiable as it might seem, depends on "the book" being up-front about underlying assumptions, for example. Yet there is a nearly-universal conceit in math texts that there is no context, nothing implicit, ... everything is absolute. And some of the absolutes are not acknowledged, either. So, yes, self-learning by reading can be made difficult by the secret obstacles... but/and in-class learning can be made difficult by the very same things, merely said out loud and in a ponderous voice by unhelpful instructors. So, yes, often, one can learn more from browsing around libraries/internets than from going to class. But it requires more effort, in fact. So, yes, many "classes" are not of value, maybe even negative net value if they interrupt more productive thinking, or, ... sleep. Depends, yes. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_9: I started writing a post about all the things I like to do that the book doesn't: offer an intuitive overview, a fresh perspective on the basics, etc. Then I realized that of course, there's no reason that the book couldn't do these things. Most of them don't, but there's no fundamental reason not to. Everything I do in a lecture to help students see the subject from all sides could be translated to the book. So I guess the main point of lectures is just that it's another medium. Yes you could learn from only one medium, but it goes faster if you use multiple media at the same time. Not just books and lectures: websites, games, audiobooks, documentaries, programming, role playing. Each medium has it's own slight advantages, and idiosyncracies. Even if the story is the same, the energy you have to put in, the mixture of senses you use, and the parts of your brain you activate are all different. So what, specifically, are the benefits of the medium of a lecture? Here's what I can think of: * Obligation: You are expected to be there. It may be childish, but for a lot of students, it's difficult to work if someone isn't making them do it. * Interaction: It's not just that students are able to ask questions: lecturers can ask te audience a question too. And even if you're not the one answering, you're definitely checking in your head whether you know the answer, which means you're interacting with the material. A book can do this too, ask a reader to consider a question: but the sense of stress isn't there. * Intonation, rhythm and storytelling: A good speaker can hold the attention of an audience. If you're reading, you have to do all the work to keep the attention. The author simply has fewer tools to keep you interested. * Presence The fact that there's an actual person present in the same room as you, makes you sit up. This is a simple human convention. As most lecturers know, it's a convention that students find easy to dismiss, but the basic sense that you're in a room with another person still changes the energy. * Speaker guidance A good speaker will sense the energy of the room. This lets her change speed, take a break, or spend a bit longer on a subject if she notices the room isn't following along. This makes each lecture tailored to the audience. The smaller the audience, the more different the lecture from audience to audience. Of course, it takes a special lecturer to understand these points and try to capitalize on them. Many don't and just follow the book. Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_10: > > What is the point of a lecture when you have a textbook? > > > If "lecture" means the professor presenting material while students sit in their seats and take notes, then for a great many subjects, the evidence is that there is no point. See, for example, Freeman et al., "Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics," <http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/05/08/1319030111> . This is a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of active learning compared to lecturing. Active learning is significantly better, at the 95% confidence level, in essentially all STEM fields, as measured by success rate or normalized gain. Lecturing originated in the middle ages, when books were so expensive that it was impossible for students to buy them. Students would listen to a professor read the book out loud, and they would copy down the contents of the book, so that they could have their own copy. Today, lecturing continues to exist for a variety of reasons. It's a cheap way for a university to offer a course to 300 students. Students also tend to like lecturing because they can be passive rather than being put on the spot and asked to do something. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_11: It depends on the lecture. If it is simply just a summary of the textbook, then it may not be very helpful. But a lecture that is interactive, uses the Socratic Method, and is similar to storytelling (as Peter pointed out), is very effective. Sometimes the material is so difficult, that you need a professor to facilitate the learning. Finally, an expert can inspire learning in ways that an expert textbook can't. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_12: Lectures help lazy students who don't want to read the whole book and do all the exercises in the book, to pass the exam. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_13: Learning from lectures alone is very slow. Learning from books alone is faster. Learning from both books and lectures at the same time is very fast. Edit: Since this answer is apparently unpopular, let me explain it a little bit more clearly. I have a PhD in Chemical Engineering and taught college-level chemistry for a few years, so I know something about how people learn difficult material and what makes a class effective. I don't have research data to back up these statements, so it is possible that other people would have a different experience. However, I have never met a person who did. I don't mean I have never met a person who did well in school without going to lectures, or without reading the book. What I mean is, I have never met a person who did not learn fastest from both lectures and the book. Yes, you can learn via either method alone, and different people tend to learn more easily from one or other. It is also possible that a good lecturer can be more effective than a bad book, and vice versa. My statement assumes that the quality of both the lecturer and the book are good (or at least equivalent), and is about efficiency - how much time/effort does it take to learn something. The reason books are more efficient than lectures in general has to do with information bandwidth. A book can communicate more complex material in a shorter time than a lecture can. The reason that lectures in conjunction with books are the most effective way to learn is that a good lecture can tell you what parts of the book to focus on - a good teacher points out the most important details. It also gives you a different view of the same material, and reinforces memory through repetition. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_14: Let me give you an answer in the form of an analogy. Say you head to a city in a foreign country where you do not know the language, have no friends, do not have a guide book, maybe just have a map, but most of the words are the local names, and you do not have an idea of what they all mean. Now you could look at that map and resolve to follow every single street until you have walked the entire city. You could even make notes on the map of every place of interest, but that will take you a long time, and a lot of effort. A large majority of the streets that you walk down will hold no interest for you and some of them may look like they lead somewhere, but due to construction have become dead ends. Now let's say instead that you go to the same city but you hire a local guide that is very fluent in your language, or it could even be a friend that lived there for several years. With a few questions they will likely be able to figure out your interests, what you will find fascinating and what will just waste your time. They may even know of some hidden gems that, in the prior example, you got to towards the end of a day when you were totally exhausted, and you just didn't notice them, so you missed out. Well, even an average lecturer, especially one that is actively involved in research in that field will be that tour guide in that subject. You will be more productive, you will learn more of the relevant information, and will allow you to skip the 300 pages of filler material that the publisher made the authors include to justify the $200 price tag on a new edition to a text whose prior edition was only two years before. A great lecturer will get you to see how all of those facts are actually linked together in a consistent and coherent whole and will start you thinking about the material as an expert would. They can provide you with insights that will refocus the material and let you see it with new eyes. They can make you think about ideas and draw conclusions that you may never come to on your own... That and they also give hints about what they feel is important and what is going to be on the exams. Also, if you need a letter of recommendation, the authors of the book aren't going to write it for you and the clerk at the campus bookstore isn't going to carry very much credibility. So prep by skimming before lecture, read in detail after lecture, but most importantly, get yourself into a seat in that lecture hall and maybe make the additional effort of heading to their office hours as well. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_15: Usually in science it's not all about being locked up in an office and learning and to acquire as much knowledge as possible, but also about meeting and discussing. Let us assume we have a textbook that relates perfectly to the student's personality, his background, his prior knowledge, and is perfectly aligned with the course's aims. Let us further assume that the textbook is accurate, up-to-date, stimulates reflection of the material, and relates the lessons learned to the student's past and future (professional) life. Let us assume we have a lecture that achieves the same. A good lecture will add to what a good textbook provides: * a platform for interaction with an expert in the field, * a platform for social/peer interaction, * a platform for networking, * a platform for scientic discourse on a small scale. Not considering the likelihood of establishing either a textbook or a lecture that actually meets above assumptions, I think the "social" aspects of a lecture outweigh the theoretical throughput of information one can feed into a student's head. Yes, I think colloquia and seminars do even better serve this purpose than a lecture. Yes, I admit, the number of lectures not worth attending is probably larger than the number of textbooks not worth working through. But this strongly depends on the place you study at. If you're not satisfied at your current place you might try for a change. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_16: One aspect that doesn't seem to have been mentioned so far (pointed out to me by a colleague earlier this week): the goal of a textbook and the goal of a course are different. A textbook is typically written to be used in many settings for one or more courses, and is meant to fit a broader curriculum than whatever specific course you are taking. For instance, when I lecture, say in a calculus class, I don't typically present all material or examples in every section we cover. So the lecture ends up being a more focused presentation than what is in the text. Also, I often present things differently than the text, including some things not in the text. I think these things are mentioned in other answers, but let me emphasize the usefulness of seeing different presentations of material when learning a subject, which I think is different than pure repetition. It's pretty common when you reach a higher level of mathematics to learn a topic by reading several different books in tandem--seeing different perspectives helps you get a more complete picture and balances out deficiencies in specific presentations. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_17: Some good answers here, but I don't think I've ever heard or read a better explanation than that of <NAME>'s ([full text available here](https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~twk/Lecture.pdf)). It's specifically about math lectures but still largely relevant for STEM. Rather than attempt to summarize and do injustice to the full text, here are some choice quotes, starting with the bold claim: > > "Many mathematicians find it easier to learn from lectures than from > books." > > > On the advantages a good lecturer brings: > > "If the mathematics is hard, the lecturer...[is] compelled to go > slowly, but they can speed past the easy parts. In a book, the > mathematics, whether hard or easy, slips by at the same steady pace." > > > "Most lecturers can sense when an audience is puzzled and respond by > giving a new explanation or illustration." > > > "The lecturer is forced by the lecture format to concentrate on the > essentials." > > > On learning by watching: > > "A lecture presents the mathematics as a growing thing and not as a > timeless snapshot. we learn more by watching a house being built than > by inspecting it afterwards." > > > "we learn by watching experts [...] and imitating them. Unguided > practice is generally useless and often worse than useless. People > who teach themselves to program acquire a mass of bad programming > habits... Mathematics textbooks show us how mathematicians write > mathematics, but lectures show us how mathematicians do mathematics." > > > Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_18: I've routinely found that the big advantage of having a teacher over reading a book is that a teacher can answer questions. I often have the experience when trying to learn something from a book that some question comes to my mind, and I search through the book and spend considerable time trying to find the answer. Sometimes I never find the answer. But a human teacher who knows the subject can answer immediately. Or, if I don't understand something, with a human teacher I can ask and the teacher can attempt to explain the idea a different way, and can adapt his explanation to the specific difficulties that I express. With a book, the writer may try to explain the same idea in multiple ways. But usually not. And even if he does, he can't adapt those explanations to every reader, he can only give maybe two or three variations. When I was in college, I had many times that I engaged a teacher in a back-and-forth conversation until I was sure I understood the concept. If by "lecture" you mean the lecturer enters the room, gives his speech, and leaves, without allowing for any questions, then okay, what I just said doesn't apply. Others have made some relevant points, like some people may learn better by hearing than by reading, that a student's personality may be such that he will listen to a speaker but is unable to concentrate on a book, a student may show up for a lecture who wouldn't bother to read the book, etc. I won't repeat what others have said any further, I think they've made the relevant points. But really, if you have a human lecturer, they are almost always willing to answer questions. I've seen some advertisements for video lecture series that say things like "now you don't have to try to learn from a book, you can have the advantage of learning from the best teachers in the world". My usual reaction is: No. For me, watching a video of a lecture is usually inferior to reading a book. The advantage of the human teacher is that I can ask questions, but of course a video teacher cannot answer. There are cases, of course, where a video is superior to a printed book: a video can show action that a book can only describe or perhaps show still photos. So if you want to learn how to perform some physical action, like how to play golf or replace a transmission filter or whatever, a video might be able to show you in ways that a book could not. That could also be true of a human teacher: he could demonstrate steps in a process in ways that a book could not. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_19: The Cone of Learning is the key to the answer. We retain a lot more of what we hear than what we read silently. [![Cone of Learning](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ltYkn.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ltYkn.gif) It's analogous (though not as extreme) as arguing that music students who can read notes don't need to listen to music, they can just read the sheet music. You're not stimulating as wide a range of nerve receptors. (less relevantly, as someone who has a reading disability (but went to an Ivy League university), I can assure you from personal experience that I got 85% of my knowledge from lectures and 15% from textbooks, though I tried sincerely hard to do all the reading assignments.) Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_20: My lectures are designed to compliment the book, not mirror the book. Similarly, the book is a supplement to my lectures, not a summary of my lectures. When a professor does little more than rehash the content of the assigned readings, then, for all practical purposes, students can either read the book, or attend the lecture. There may be some benefit to doing both, but doing one alone might well suffice. That said, the authors of a book don't have my experiences; they can't tell my "war stories." They don't know where students had trouble understanding concepts last year. I can also offer a critical analysis of the text, perhaps even disagreeing with something in the book while presenting opposing views. I can also relate course material to current events, where publishers lag a year or more behind. In short, there are several ways instructors can use class time to expound upon the foundation laid by the assigned readings. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_21: Interesting question. I've often asked myself the same question during my undergraduate years. You shouldn't just attend all lectures because not all will be useful. You should also not just ignore all lectures and study from a book. Its a judgement you have to make personally in finding the right balance. A few points might help: the subject, the lecturer and the student's preferred style of learning. 1. Subject: There are certain subjects that are quite easy to learn from a textbook. For example I would say biological sciences/history should be fairly straight forward to read from a book-in fact its often necessary to get a good background from a book in order to make the most of a fast paced lecture. One advantage of attending lectures though is to learn about new or cutting edge knowledge in a particular field. A lecture can also give you useful insights that you've never thought about during your personal reading. By attending a lecture, you often get a feel for what a lecturer cares about and hence what's likely to come out in your exams. 2. The lecturer: I think good lecturers have a way of injecting life into their subjects beyond anything you can experience from a book. However, habits such as reading directly what's already on the powerpoint slide just doesn't motivate students-you might as well just read the slide in your room. A student will definitely get more out a very interactive class and get to learn from other student's mistakes. Other students often ask questions that you're too shy to ask yourself and you learn from it. So in summary, attend the lectures of the really good lecturers on your course. Students are good at spotting good lecturers and their classes are often very packed. 3. Preferred learning style: I think its important to get to know yourself and understand your preferred learning style. Some people learn a lot from lectures, some like making notes during lectures whilst others learn more from books. Whatever your learning style is though, there's a high chance you will learn from a very good lecture. All in all, I think learning is a two way process: you can read all you can but you also need to obtain feedback from others to consolidate your learning. This you can get from very good lectures. At the end of the day, its your time and you have to decide how best to spend it. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_22: A lecture involves the medium of audio, and some people find this medium more conducive, or the combination of the whiteboard and audio to be more conducive to absorbing new information. Besides this it is to some extent a social experience and a time-constrained activity, the latter helping people with low self-discipline or self-motivational capability, pace their study. To others it might be a nuisance. Notwithstanding the other analyses about the historical roots and relation to modern technology, I think this is one succinct response to the question. Personally, I find that lectures should be more of a thing of the past as things go forward, but finding the `right` replacement, or evolution, should be done with experimentation and care. Upvotes: 0
2015/09/02	426	1,854	<issue_start>username_0: Several months ago, I was undergoing the process of transferring to another university overseas, and I asked my undergraduate adviser if she could write me a letter of recommendation. However, since she gave the letter of recommendation to me (I was supposed to include it in the mailed transfer application), I've had some money issues, and now I'm not entirely sure that I'll be able to transfer after all. If I don't transfer, I will be applying for various scholarships/internships at my current university, most of which will require letters of recommendation. I'm pretty close with my adviser and I think that, out of all of my professors, her letters of recommendation would be the most genuine/positive; however, I feel like asking for two/ letters of recommendation over the course of several months gives off a negative impression, especially since I didn't even end up using one. I don't want her to think that I'm unreliable or that I don't appreciate the time/effort that went into the first letter. Taking all of this into consideration, should I ask her for another letter of recommendation? And, if so, would it be possible for her to just modify the first letter she wrote me so I don't waste too much of her time?<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, ask her. Advisors know that they will be asked multiple times. Yes, she can modify her previous letter. That's the beauty of word processors and a hierarchical file system! Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I have a colleague who had a student ask for SEVENTY letters. The university at which my colleague works uses a reference service, so this is something that the SERVICE handles. My colleage wrote one letter for the student, and the service handles the rest. There is a very real "problem" of the student handling the recommendation leter... Upvotes: 2
2015/09/03	1,041	4,183	<issue_start>username_0: I am curious about how competitive is publishing a paper in the United States' [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)](http://www.pnas.org) in comparison to leading journals in a field. Is PNAS on the same level as Science? Thoughts will be appreciated, but factual materials (i.e., links to research studies or other information on the topic) even more so. Do they consider/publish survey papers? Additionally, I am interested in answers to the following related question. PNAS defines itself as a multi-disciplinary outlet, while my brief review of their [editorial board](http://www.pnas.org/site/misc/masthead.xhtml) left me with an impression of a strict field-based classification. Then, the question is: how one would submit a multi-disciplinary paper, in particular within information systems field of study, considering such classification? The paper that I have in mind is a survey paper (or similar, i.e., [position paper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Position_paper)), based on my dissertation (its literature review, that is). The paper would cover the following domains: Economic Sciences (via ecosystems), Engineering Sciences (via software engineering), Social and Political Sciences (via ecosystems), Computer and Information Sciences (via software engineering). Final question: does PNAS accept submissions from unaffiliated (independent) researchers?<issue_comment>username_1: You've got multiple questions here, but I'll answer them in turn. *1) How does PNAS* compare to Science, Nature, etc:** The comparison depends a bit on whether you are interested in impact factor (Science and particularly Nature are quite a bit higher) or reputation. My understanding is that while in the USA Science and Nature are more prestigious, but that in parts of Europe, the converse is true. In my opinion as reader, the work in PNAS tends to be stronger though less flashy, but of course there is huge variance. *2) Is PNAS* multidisciplinary?** I think you are confusing what PNAS means by "multidiscipinary" with "interdisciplinary". Multidisciplianry simply means that they publish papers from many disciplines, not that they focus on papers at the intersections of disciplines that way that say Journal of the Royal Society Interface does. *3) Does PNAS* publish survey papers or position papers? Not really. As far as general submissions from are concerned, they are looking for new primary research papers. The proceedings of Sackler symposia and the occasional position paper from a member of the National Academy are the main exceptions. 4) Does PNAS accept submissions from unaffiliated authors?** Of course. But as a highly selective journal, the majority of submissions are rejected without review by the member-editors who handle them. I'd like to think that your affiliation would have little effect on this process, but I'm not sure that's the case. Doubtless this will vary from editor to editor. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Depends on what you call as level. Its impact factor is less than that of Science but nonetheless it is highly competitive. Publishing in PNAS is not an easy job even if you think your work is good enough. In general Science publishes strikingly novel work while Nature usually publishes extensive work. PNAS papers are not that remarkably novel but some of them present interesting and new ways of analysis. They have field based classification but publish interdisciplinary articles as well. They feature simultaneously in different sections. For example, if your article is accepted, then it will be listed in Computer Sciences as well as in Social Sciences. PNAS does have opinions sort of articles such as [this](http://www.pnas.org/content/112/34/10565) from the current early edition. But number of such articles is comparatively less than that in Science. They do accept articles from freelance authors but I haven't read research article of that sort any yet. There are other articles such as [this](http://www.pnas.org/content/112/33/10071) which is written by a science writer. Upvotes: 1
2015/09/03	1,214	5,049	<issue_start>username_0: My school is offering a graduate school fair in one week, and I am interested in graduate school. I am already planning to take my Biology GRE as soon as possible, but not soon enough to bring the results to the fair. So, how should I prepare myself for this event, this being my first time at one? Background info: They state that there will be recruiters there, so I assume formal/semi-formal attire. But do schools really even bother recruiting for graduate programs at these events or is it more of a general advertisement/ tour? I also assume bringing my CV would be smart, but my GPA is not stellar ( 3.0ish at lower-end school), so would that leave a bad impression or no? The "nail in the coffin" for me is my indecisiveness in what to actually study in biology. My advisors often tell me to only consider graduate school if you have something you are really "passionate" about. I never really felt "passionate" about biology or any subject though, I simply liked it better than others and found it cool. I have done so much in my undergraduate studies that I have liked, such as working in a greenhouse, to doing undergrad reserch in genetics, it is hard for me to set my heart to something. This is all assuming I could afford to attend grad school without sinking myself further into debt, given I have no more financial aid or federal loans left to my disposal. I have read that some people get "free rides", but those are few, far between, and for the very gifted/focused students I assume. Thanks for your time.<issue_comment>username_1: The schools, will inevitably be trying to sell themselves and attract applicants. However, I would mainly look at this as an opportunity to answer your questions which seem to be * Do I actually want to go to grad school? * What are the costs/funding situation? Personally, I would view it entirely as a fact finding exercise, rather than trying to sell yourself and wouldn't even bother bringing a CV, although I suppose it doesn't really hurt. Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: A grad school fair is not quite like a job fair, where many people bring CVs and hope to get interviews---no one is expecting you to apply to a grad school at a fair. It is a place for you to go to learn about grad schools: what programs are out there, what they are like. As for how you should prepare: think some about what you might like to study and what things would be important to you in choosing a grad school. For this, it may be helpful to first try to find general advice on choosing grad schools. Then you can ask appropriate questions to each program. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Good answers already provided. Additional remarks: You don't need to make a final choice yet. Try to think of two or three things you like a lot to talk about in your application. No one is going to ask for their money back if you change your mind and move over to a different area of biology after one or two semesters. Try to get a teaching assistantship. That is a great way of supporting yourself during graduate studies. You may want to consider working for a year or two before starting grad school. That could help you narrow your focus and could also reduce your undergraduate debt. It's also good self-protection for when a professor tries to tell you you know nothing about the real world out there. Edited to add "Free ride" is a term that would make more sense to me in the context of undergraduate studies. The two most common ways for an institution in the U.S. to support a student's graduate studies are * Research Assistant (RA): Here, you are funded by a specific professor's grant. This is more competitive than the next one. * Teaching Assistant (TA): If you are in a department that services large numbers of undergraduates, there will be a large number of TAs. I would imagine that Biology would be such a field. A note about mentors: It is very important to choose as your mentor someone who believes in you. Don't waste your time asking for advice, guidance or recommendations of a professor who has any lukewarm feelings about you as a student. Once you find the right mentor, your mentor can help you choose grad schools to apply for, give you feedback about your application, and write a strong letter of recommendation. Certainly, a strong showing on the GRE would be a big plus. However, a strong statement of purpose, together with a strong recommendation, would also help counter a so-so transcript. (I would limit myself to seeking advice from professors who have a strong belief in my academic potential. Anyone else might drag me down and have a detrimental effect on my academic self-esteem.) Just to mention another option for you: some people find that working in a related field for 1-3 years helps them find out what sub-field(s) they are most interested in. And sometimes the employer will fund part-time graduate study. So that's another option you might want to consider. Upvotes: 0
2015/09/03	596	2,614	<issue_start>username_0: I am thinking of quitting my PhD program to leave with a master's degree. I don't think I learned much in my PhD so far, and I would have gained more skills if I got a normal master's and took a bunch of classes instead of spending the past two years doing research. Is it a good idea to quit my PhD program and then apply for a second, coursework-based master's degree in the same field? Or is there some way I can accomplish this at my current school?<issue_comment>username_1: The main thing that a student should learn as the result of studying for a PhD is how to be an independent researcher, which means being able to formulate new research questions, generate hypotheses, design experiments to test hypotheses and analyze the results. Another important aspect of research is being familiar with the work of others in your field (which means reading lots of papers), both as a source of ideas, but also for proper evaluation of your work. Sure, you will also gain some new technical skills in the progress, but that is not the primary goal. To be a researcher you need to learn how to gain these technical skills without being taught them, because if you are near the state of the art, there is largely nobody there to teach you anymore (other than by reading their papers). The important question is why are you studying for a PhD, what to you want to do as a career? If this is not research based, the need for a PhD is perhaps questionable. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: If you want to try making a few changes, to see if they have a positive effect, before deciding, here are some ideas: * Each semester, take one of the classes you're interested in. * Before reporting the week's results to your advisor, anticipate what he might prescribe as the next step. Write up your ideas about next steps each week, to show to your advisor for his opinion and/or green light to go ahead as you proposed. * Set aside one or two hours every day for literature research (reading of papers). In the beginning it might take you more than a week to get through a paper, but it will get easier with practice. Please note, your distractibility is something you could talk over with a doctor (general practitioner), if this is a significant problem for you. There are a number of things you and your professors can consider trying that might help. If your doctor screens you and finds a noticeable difference between you and the general population in this regard, you can get some assistance with management of the distractibility from your university. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
2015/09/03	1,505	6,540	<issue_start>username_0: I'm from an empirical social science background and observe that several research projects build project websites, similar to job market websites of academics. Those that I am aware of are often related to data collection projects (see for example [<NAME>'s indian data](http://economics.mit.edu/faculty/eduflo/social)), but I guess this phenomenon exists in other [sub-]disciplines as well. Such websites tend to do little more than give a short introduction and list the papers that were/are written in and around the project. So what is the purpose of these, if they are not to make the data publicly available? In particular: 1. Are they an effective means to increase visibility of projects? 2. Under which circumstances does it make sense to set up such a website? 3. What makes such a website a good website? Cheers.<issue_comment>username_1: This answer is from computer science rather than the social sciences. However, I am not sure whether the difference matters much in this context. Generally, project web sites are done for the following reasons: * Provide a central entry point for a given research endeavour that one can point interested people to (e.g., at conferences). Many projects lead to dozens and dozens of small and large publications distributed over many project partners, so the website of the project collects and often summarizes the main outcomes in a way that is easier to digest. * Advertise the project. It is hard for a project to be successful if nobody knows that the project exists. A website is an easy means to give a "face" to an otherwise pretty amorphous construct. * In some cases, websites have an internal, password-protected area, which the project partners use to exchange documents, discuss in forums, etc. So the website if also a sort of collaboration tool for project partners. * Last but unfortunately not least, project website are often simply a deliverable that the funding agencies expect / require, so they need to be done no matter if it having one serves any concrete goal outside of its mere existence. That being said, there are of course plenty of websites that are simply useless. The thing is, it is hard to say in advance whether a website will actually be useful for a specific project or not. You may often think in the beginning of the project that you will need a website e.g., as a discussion and dissemination platform, but then nobody ends up using it and it slides into general uselessness. To answer your questions: > > Are they an effective means to increase visibility of projects? > > > Maybe, but only if they are very well done and linked in a highly visible way. I would say most websites are not particularly effective in terms of visibility, even though this is typically one of the main goals. > > Under which circumstances does it make sense to set up such a website? > > > I will always set up at least a rudimentary website. Doing a simple website is close to no effort, and having one (even a simple one) is usually better than having none at all. > > What makes such a website a good website? > > > This is hard to answer without knowing what specifically the website should do for a project. I assume you mean primarily as a dissemination tool - in that context, what you really need is high-quality content (which is targeted at whatever your audience is), fresh content (try to have a regular schedule, e.g., a monthly research blog), personal touch (photos from meetings, opinion pieces, ...), highly visible linking (the way how Google and other search engines work is that they assume that website linked from important websites are also important, so you need to get your website linked from other highly ranked sites, so as to improve your page rank), and pleasing visuals (make sure that your website is technically up to date). Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: You have omitted one crucial reason for setting a project website. It is mandatory to set up a website for the project by the funding agency. This is true for most EU projects I know of and usually the project website is also a separate deliverable delivered early (months 2-5) in the beginning of the project. This is good for everyone (project partners, project officer, reviewer) because it shows that the project has taken off, especially in the first few months where there are no other deliverables to show. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: As other answers state, they serve useful purposes both internally and externally. Specially if the proyect is longer running. But setting up and maintaining a good website is work. You'd have an assistant with the task to keep it up, pester people to enter their papers, do write up the meetings and keep up their worklogs. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: As these answers show, there are a lot of reasons to set up a project website. Addressing your third question is a bit more difficult and many projects plan-behind on their website, causing it to feel more like a nuisance than an asset. At the very basic level, a project website should be designed for the specific project and aid in the success of that project. It should serve as the nexus of all communication for the project and be incorporated into the everyday workflow. If you're working with it every day, it's also less likely to be out-of-date. A few guidelines that I would suggest: Required: * Public and restricted sections * Mobile friendly (Who hasn't had an idea when nowhere near a computer?) * Document version control (Email chains with file attachments rank somewhere between torture and mutilation) * Database access point (Don't lug your data around in Excel files) * Easy input area for notes and worklogs. * Restricted discussion board and schedule. (Seems odd until you try to lean on memories of old conversations) Optional: * Public discussion board * Visualizations of data * Links to similar/related projects * Upload point for any data/files generated elsewhere. * Workflow/Issue tracking (Especially if collaborating with distant colleagues) My biggest suggestion would be to sneak into the nearby CS department and kidnap a Web guru as early in the project as possible. Have the entire team outline the project and discuss what a website could do to help keep everything organized. Then, make sure the site is easy to update/maintain and be sure everyone knows how to work with it. Upvotes: 0
2015/09/03	690	2,810	<issue_start>username_0: Strangely I could hardly find any information about it on the internet. The question is simple: should a student expect to shake hands with a professor who is * academic advisor * the supervising professor who you're going to do your final year project with * A teacher who taught a class this semester and you're saying thanks to him/her on the last class I'm an undergraduate student so the above refer to undergrad situations. Though I guess the question is equally valid for a graduate student.<issue_comment>username_1: Greet them in whatever way is natural to you. In university settings (where contact with different cultures is common, more so in graduate studies) they'll probably take it in stride. If they offer to shake hands, do so. Doing otherwise is certainly rude. Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: In the U.S., it is acceptable to shake hands in this environment. But in the classes that I teach, it normally only happens after the last lecture to say farewell. The handshake isn't required. Some students have kept a distance, while politely thanking me for teaching the class. That is perfectly acceptable too. Other students have thanked me via email. It depends on what the student is comfortable with. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: If shaking hands feels good to you, go for it! People in the U.S. tend to get a little lazy about it, but for most people, it's good to have more opportunities for touch with other human beings. (The only exception would be someone suffering from OCD who has a contamination phobia. But you will notice that pretty quickly if you try holding out your hand to the person.) Example: a few weeks ago my son and I felt fortunate when a medical specialist squeezed us into her already busy schedule. I shook her hand at the end of the appointment and thanked her by name, and I encouraged my son to do the same, since we both felt that it had been one of the most helpful and pleasant medical appointments we had ever experienced. She seemed a bit surprised, but pleased. My son and I felt good about it, because we really wanted to show her how grateful we were. When we went for the follow-up appointment two weeks later, this doctor herself took the initiative to shake our hands at the end of the appointment. (This time we were a bit surprised -- but also pleased.) I think this meant that the contact felt good to her. So -- if you like shaking hands, don't let social hierarchy or cultural customs hold you back. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: Of course, but do not do it often or it might become uncomfortable for the teacher. I just saw my professor today and he gave me a cute fingertip handshake and smiled. I was so happy but it was in no way threatening or predatory. Upvotes: 0
2015/09/03	838	3,750	<issue_start>username_0: Consider the scenario where an author sends his paper to Journal A. Journal A then sends the paper to reviewer X and the reviewer rejects the papers. After rejection, the author send his paper to Journal B. Journal B then sends this paper to reviewer X. Does this ever happen? What does the reviewer do in this case?<issue_comment>username_1: It happens all the time. I think it is the reviewer's responsibility to respond to the editor saying that he or she has already seen the paper. Then it's the editor's call. Ideally the paper would be sent to a new reviewer, but depending on the subject of the paper the pool of available referees might be small enough that the editor requests the reviewer to reread the paper anyway. Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This happens a fair amount in my field. Sometimes, it is even arranged. The author(s) tell Journal B that Journal A rejected the paper, and the editor at Journal B asks the editor at Journal A who Reviewer X was so that they can use the same Reviewer. Of course the authors are not stupid; this only happens when the paper was originally rejected solely for not being good enough for Journal A and Journal B is a less prestigious journal. It is good to let the editor know (if he or she does not know already), but generally, having reviewed the paper before is a good thing. It means that you can submit a report quickly rather than taking 6 months or a year. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: When I, as a referee, see a paper that I've already reviewed, I just send the second journal the same report. Generally, minor changes are required, but I generally try to keep the report basically the same, so that the authors will know that the report came from the same referee. I can't say I have a particularly well-thought-out reason for doing this. However, I do think it serves to make clear that multiple editors have seen fit to pick somebody (that is, me) as an expert who is qualified to review the manuscript; the reports are not coming from people who were unqualified to referee the submission and should never have gotten it in the first place. I do not inform the editor about this unless there is a specific reason. Since these situations pretty much always involve rejected manuscripts, the authors sometimes get angry in their response letters. If I feel that the authors have behaved inappropriately during the first round of submission, I might mention that to the second journal's editor. Similarly, if I rejected the paper the first time due to outright plagiarism, I will mention that to the second editor as well. Whenever I have done this, it has been to give the editor a specific heads-up and there may be abnormal difficulties with the paper. I am also more likely to recommend outright rejection by the second journal if I recommended major revisions at the first. If the authors were unwilling to make the revisions to get the article published in the first journal, it's probably wasting people's time to suggest publication may be possible after the same revisions the second time around. Once, I had to recommend rejection of a paper at the first journal even though the authors had made useful changes. (They fixed one of the two serious problems but were unable to deal with the other.) When I got the paper to referee again at a second journal, they had reverted to their original version of the manuscript, with both problems present again. I was particularly unsympathetic in my report in that case, since the legitimate efforts I had made to help the authors improve their paper had evidently been tossed away. (I think I informed the editor in that case as well, but I'm not certain.) Upvotes: 4
2015/09/03	4,652	19,137	<issue_start>username_0: I know a PhD is supposed to be an apprenticeship for future researchers. But what if you enjoy getting the PhD, but have no intention of doing research in the future? It seems like being a professor is really stressful and there is a lot of competition, and same thing for other sorts of non-grad-school research jobs. If you think this way, does this mean you shouldn't get a PhD, and why?<issue_comment>username_1: You seem to have the answer already. PhD programs are training programs for research. We generally don't waste time and money training firefighters or cops that we don't deploy into service. The same reasons hold for PhD students. If you don't want to be a professional researcher, a PhD program is pretty inappropriate, a lot of work, and expensive for the funders. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Research is not just the most important aspect of any PhD program worth the name; it's the entire point. Everything you do as part of the program (teaching duties aside) is to prepare you for a career as a researcher. So getting a PhD without any intention of putting this research training to use would be like spending years as a baking apprentice without any intention of becoming a baker: maybe not a complete waste if you really like baking (but not enough to make it a career?), but almost inarguably not the best use of your time. Lots of people get PhDs and don't become researchers, but if these people had known beforehand what industry they would end up in, odds are they could have gotten a better jump start on their career by getting a Master's degree focused on that industry and entering the workforce after one or two years (rather than 5+ for the PhD). There are exceptions to this principle, but they are relatively uncommon, and usually involve industry jobs that somewhat resemble research anyway. I can think of only two other justifications for getting a PhD: learning for learning's sake, and prestige. The former is a noble goal, but if all you want to do is learn without contributing to the body of knowledge in your field, this is contrary to the spirit of (good) PhD programs as stated above. Furthermore, you can learn all you want in your free time without entering a PhD program. Find out what the standard graduate-level textbooks are in your field, and work through them. If your knowledge gets up to the research level in a particular topic, you can start reading recent research articles. (Your local library will likely have access.) As for prestige, this may be subjective, but spending five years of your life for a piece of paper is unlikely to be satisfying in the long run. And, speaking as someone who has a PhD, you'll soon learn that most people will not really want to address you as "Doctor." Having said all that, if you do like (or think you would like) research, but are put off solely by the expected competition and stress, I urge you to be more open-minded. Academia is certainly competitive and stressful, but so are most careers worth having. Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: Although the primary goal of a PhD is to train you in performing scientific research, a career in academia is definitely not the only possible result. In fact, more PhDs end up not staying in academia and not becoming a professor. A lot of people I did my PhD with either work for research institutes or consultancy companies. They are in positions where their abstract thinking skills serve them well, and are appreciated by their employers. I ended up in a data scientist like position, where my programming skills, abstract thinking, quickly learning complex topics, and data analysis skills really shine. In this field a PhD is not exactly a requirement, but a big plus nonetheless. Where your PhD hurts you if you for example apply for pure programming roles. There you have to compete with people who have exclusively spent their time programming, and your research skills are not a plus. So, it is also a matter of finding the right position where a PhD adds value. Note that this answer may depend on the country you live. My impression is that in the Netherlands the attitude towards PhDs is not very negative. The impression I get from this site is that this is less the case in the US. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: I think doing a PhD in a subject you like for the love of the subject/topic is a completely valid reason for doing one. Whilst a PhD is primarily structured with an academic career in mind, you do learn very useful transferable skills that are of great value to the industry-problem solving, quick to learn, logical thinking, etc. A career in academia may not be for everyone who completes a PhD and depending on the subject, there are arguably better prospects in industry with better financial remuneration. As mentioned, there are lots of jobs in industry that specifically require a PhD qualification-quantitative analyst, engineering, etc (see [siam](http://www.siam.org/reports/mii/2012/role.php)). So in most cases, whether you remain in academia or not, a PhD qualification will still serve you well. I do however think this is very much subject dependent. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: People say it as a warning, not as a truth. Many bright young people, who love knowledge and discovery and love immersing themselves in a subject (even if the work is challenging), do a PhD because it feels like a dream job. But afterwards, they struggle to survive in the competitive research environment, and struggle to find a decent-paying job elsewhere. If anything it seems like the PhD set them back. Nobody wants to see yet another young adult waste half a dozen years of their life. Hence this warning. However, not all students are identical, and not all PhDs are created equal. The years I spent pursuing an engineering PhD (which I did not complete) were among the most valuable years in my life. Since I created my own highly innovative research topic, I quickly got a huge amount of experience in both pursuing, and communicating, controversial ideas. I learned how to manage the egos of the establishment, the critics who will shoot down anything that doesn't fit well with conventional ways of thinking, and how to express a complex new approach in a thirty-second or 2-page limit. Now, I'm an entrepreneur and innovator, following my dream of bringing about real change in the world, and these skills are vital to me! The warning is, you won't automatically get that out of a PhD. But if you're confident that you can make it happen, who is anyone else to say you can't? Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: Although there are many different contexts, depending on subject matter, I really don't think that there's any general understanding that getting a Ph.D. is "exactly" "preparation for research". For that matter, there does seem to be a general misunderstanding of the various possibilities for "research", given the noise about "impact factors", and the belief system in which a clever person doesn't need to know much to "do research", and so on. (True, at the other end are the gate-keepers, status-protectors...) In my field, mathematics, I think the idea is that engaging seriously with live mathematics, with a few years' preparation, is the most plausible way to develop a sense of what it really is... whatever one does subsequently. Being a teacher of mathematics is arguably enhanced by having some idea of what the subject is, although, indeed, this does not automatically make anyone a good teacher. My students who have "gone into industry" generally report that everything else is easier than was their PhD work. Perhaps a good PhD extends one's horizons, one's self-knowledge. Gosh! :) There is also that "scholarship" thing, ... Organizing and preserving human understanding? I myself don't find the start-a-startup or bring-a-product-to-market version of "research "very interesting", and that helps explain why I'm not rich. :) If one is interested in something-or-other, while it is in-principle possible to learn much of what's known on one's own, on-line, whatever, in fact there are some senior people whose expertise is not made obsolete, nor eclipsed, by on-line stuff. Then it's useful to be in close contact with them, if the goal is getting a sense of the extreme cutting-edge of the thing, whether it's "products" or understanding of very old things. (Also, I note that the objection that doing a PhD with no plans to "do research" in a conventional sense is somehow "wasting resources" overlooks the point that nearly all RAs and TAs are paid very low wages, hence, are a terrific bargain...) In fact, I do claim that the miracle of "getting a PhD" is that if one has no serious financial obligations, that point in one's life is a marvellous opportunity to behave very idealistically... and worry about "making a living" later. (Yes, if the "opportunity cost" bothers you, then don't do a PhD.) That is, people with the luck to have the opportunity to be "pure intellectuals" for a few years when they're young and idealistic and energetic do indeed have good fortune. Worrying about optimizing job situations can wait, maybe? Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: > > Why do people say you shouldn't do a PhD unless you want a career in research? > > > Wow, do people really say that? That's the most foolish advice I've ever heard. An active researcher at a university produces some significant number of PhD students. There is simply no way for the number of research jobs to grow fast enough for all of those students to get research jobs. This is why people talk about PhD birth control. Better advice would be: 1. Don't do a PhD unless you think you'll enjoy doing research in the process of getting the PhD. 2. If you have your heart set on a career in research, readjust your expectations and figure out a backup plan so you won't be bitter and unhappy in the overwhelmingly likely event that it doesn't work out that way. Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_7: To take a different tack than some of the other answers: getting a PhD typically involves spending several years working your butt off for fairly low pay (or, in some fields, no pay, or even negative pay in that you may take on debt). That's in addition to other more minor negatives you may or may not encounter depending on the personalities you interact with; you may be treated as slave labor, browbeaten, ignored, or looked down on. For many people, the light at the end of the tunnel is the possibility of a career where they get to do research as a living. If that's the career you want, a PhD is usually required. If you don't want that, a PhD is a lot of work with limited payoff. In short, the main difference between having a PhD and not having a PhD is that if you have a PhD you can be a professional researcher. If you don't want to do that, you probably don't need a PhD, so why go to the trouble of getting one? That said, I personally don't agree that you should never get a PhD unless you want a career as a researcher. If you're in a good program, getting a PhD can be a fun and stimulating experience (although still a lot of work). The main thing I would say is, you should be deriving some net benefit from getting a PhD. You can benefit either from the experience of getting it, or from the doors it opens for you after you get it, but if what you're getting in those two areas isn't worth the effort you're putting in, you shouldn't do it. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: I have worked as a researcher for 20 years and studied part-time courses in business and information analysis but never did do a PhD. A colleague of mine who did do a 7 year PhD following a BA and MA said the reason he did it was to stay in academia, however he felt like that much work involved in carrying out research even though his subject was psychology would be better spent applying the techniques and tools that he had learned to work as a researcher, running large postal surveys, analysing statistical data, managing research projects etc. I realised that he knew SPSS inside out, could explain statistical terms and concepts to me that I couldn't understand and teach me certain research methods that I hadn't heard about. So with all of those advanced skills, I'd agree that research work would be a job that wouldn't be too difficult to get following University. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_9: In Sweden you have the possibility to become a industrial doctoral student. This might be a good compromize if you like to research but want to end up in industry and in an R&D department on a (larger) company. Example from Chalmers University of Technology: <http://www.chalmers.se/en/research/doctoral-programmes/becoming-a-doctoral-student/Pages/industrial-doctoral-students.aspx> Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: I saw an article today on my Linkedin Pulse titled: [24 Highpaying jobs for people who hate stress](http://www.businessinsider.com/high-paying-jobs-for-people-who-hate-stress-2015-9#ixzz3kbt1I8wA) At least half of them requires master to PhD level education. So I'd say that's not true, but it depends on what your PhD is on. Also, I'd like to point out [an article from Hootsuite](http://blog.hootsuite.com/not-the-manager-type-maybe-youre-a-guru/) yesterday (though this may only apply to the tech industry for now). The article claims that traditionally, the only way to climb up the corporate staircase is to slowly move up the manager position( and then manage more... a team, a department, a company, etc.) However, they claim that companies like google (and themselves) long recognized that some highly skilled people are not fit to be managers and don't want to manage other people, so they set up alternative career track "the guru track". This basically allows people with high knowledge in a specific topic to move up, without having to manage. I don't know if this is the path the industry (and any other industry) is heading, but if this becomes more common, I suspect that graduate education will be more valued than they are now in the corporate world. Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_11: Academia vs industry perspective ================================ So most of these answers seem to be written from the perspective of academia - not industry. This is a bit late, but I think it might provide that valuable perspective. > > I know a PhD is supposed to be an apprenticeship for future researchers. But what if you enjoy getting the PhD, but have no intention of doing research in the future? It seems like being a professor is really stressful and there is a lot of competition, and same thing for other sorts of non-grad-school research jobs. If you think this way, does this mean you shouldn't get a PhD, and why? > > > Companies hire people mostly because those people can make them money. Which makes the decision about having a PhD purely a question of, "does this allow you to add more value to the company?" For many jobs, the answer is, "no, it does not." And so a PhD doesn't really add value in those cases. As much as we'd like to dream that everyone has a perfect job, many jobs are just jobs. Many (most?) don't need the skills Hiring manager perspective ========================== If I'm looking to hire someone for a position, and my options are someone who is early career (we'll assume it takes 5 years after a bachelors to get a PhD total, probably optimistic..) and they are: * Person with a PhD and 0 years industry experience * Person with no PhD and 5 years industry experience Who is more valuable to me? It's almost always going to be the person with no PhD and relevant business experience. * PhD will want higher salary * PhD will have less experience in a work environment (which can be VERY different than grad school) * Huge negative stigmas in industry against people with PhDs and their ability to get stuff done * Most jobs will not require the detailed depth of research a PhD provides * Often a PhD means you are not using as much of your undergraduate practical experience during your PhD (for example, a PhD in Computer Science normally doesn't do as much programming as someone working) and so it can hurt your undergrad experience. When is a PhD useful for industry? ================================== Now there are situations where a PhD is useful. It's of course not fair to make blanket statements that "all PhDs are not useful for industry jobs." Here are some situations where a PhD can be useful even if you have no interest in research: * You love the subject matter of your PhD and want to work in the field doing that sort of work. In this case your PhD work may be useful because it means you have a depth of knowledge deeper than someone who may have worked in industry during that time. * Keep in mind that if someone has worked in industry in that field for a while, they may still be preferred by managers * You want to work for a startup. Skills required and learned while doing a PhD translate reasonably well to what is required for a startup. * Some companies like hiring people with PhDs (Google, etc). But keep in mind you are going to be competing with tons of people who want to do research-y types of work at this point. What are the drawbacks of doing a PhD if you don't want a career in research? ============================================================================= There are drawbacks of a PhD for someone in this position. * More limited job availability * Opportunity cost. Even if you get a stipend, for many (especially in technical fields) you are losing a significant opportunity cost in your career earnings. + Working 4 years at $25k vs 4 years at $50k is 100k in "lost" earnings * Companies may not value your PhD experience (especially if it doesn't directly related) * You lose 4 years of experience * People will associate a negative stigma against you (no this isn't fair, and yes it happens) * You probably will work harder/longer on your PhD than an industry job So what? ======== I would recommend you be aware of the downsides of doing a PhD if you don't really want to use the research long-term in your career. Ultimately it's your life, and you can do whatever you want. But you need to figure out your goals and see whether this sort of choice meets them. It may, it may not, ultimately no one can answer it for you. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_12: Let's assume you are researching about information retrieval, and you found a better formula for retrieval documents based on a query and it is more effective than existing methods adopted by companies. That company will call you and ask you to come to their company and apply your research there. My point here is, it is not the degree or you that will make a difference, but the research that you made will make the difference in the exact place to be applied, so make sure about your research and do it in an active area, don't be like, I have a PHD. Good luck! Upvotes: 1
2015/09/03	873	3,792	<issue_start>username_0: As part of the introduction of a paper I want to write some critique on previous research which was published at some reputable conference. It basically amounts to their research methodology being invalid. Their results are useless, because they did some things which basically amounts to cheating their scores. However they claim to be state-of-the-art. Now it takes a couple of paragraphs to explain what was all wrong with their work, which might clutter the introduction. The audience of the paper may not be familiar with the reason. My intention of the paper is to present something with a correct methodology. The main point is: if you have some critique on related work, how do you include this in the paper? How polite should you be about the previous work?<issue_comment>username_1: Include the critique (to motivate your material, and to demonstrate its relevance), be very polite (do unto others etc.), and don't put it too close to the beginning (since that is not the primary purpose of your paper). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: First of all, I do not like the tone of your question (no offense). It seems like you are having a personal vendetta with those authors, which is a) silly b) unjustified (they did not anything to harm you personally) c) counterproductive for your purpose of publishing your work. Let's summarize some facts: > > However they claim to be state-of-the-art > > > Either they are or they are not. If this paper is not the state-of-the-art, you should compare your work against the "true" state-of-the-art. If they are considered the state-of-the-art by the community, you should acknowledge that fact. In fact, if this paper has obvious disadvantages, this is even better for you, since it will be easier to show why your approach is better. > > they did some things which basically amounts to cheating their scores > > > You are probably exaggerating. Some kind of overselling results is normal, but you are implying malpractice, which is not that common. So, tone it down and try to express a cold, neutral and objective evaluation of the other paper, with lots of arguments and experiments that back your opinion in your paper. Also, when you are objective and not trying to trash the other paper, reviewers will buy more into your argumentation. Also, consider that the authors of this paper might also be: a) your future reviewers b) your future collaborators c) your future employers. So, treat your "opposition" with respect. This makes it easier for them to treat you with the same respect and more easily acknowledge and digest the fact that your method is better and their method is worst (they are after all a part of the same community), which makes future collaborations easier and improves your visibility. > > As part of the introduction of a paper I want to write some critique > on previous research > > > Critique is not a motivation. You should first discuss the problem, why it is important, very briefly what previous methods have done on this problem and then you say very briefly and in a very neutral way the shortcomings of previous methods (not just this one paper but all that have come before) and why your work will be better. Then you slightly augment this argumentation in the related work section (about their shortcomings) again neutrally. It is your experiments section that needs to truly show why your method is better and how much better it performs, only after very thorough and exhaustive experiments that will overcome every reviewers' doubts. TL;DR. Keep your critique short, neutral and objective. There is not need to be humble about the advantages of your method but that does not need to be by trashing previous works. Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]
2015/09/03	651	2,875	<issue_start>username_0: I am PhD student and I started working with my advisor a year ago. We wrote a paper and submitted it a couple of months ago to a good journal. In the meantime, my advisor told me that he got a better position in an other university and he will be leaving without having the intention to take me with him. So I found a new advisor and started my research from scratch. After a couple of months the reviewers' results came back and it was very satisfactory.however, my first advisor changed his affiliation to the new university and removed the acknowledgement part (he payed me from the seed grant)What is bothering me is that He has't left yet and will be here for another semester. The paper is published now so I didn't want to do anything about it. But recently he asked me to write another paper for him and he also offered to pay me for that. I have a feeling that he is taking advantage of me to get tenured faster in the new university. I was thinking to bring up this issue to the Dean or whoever that is in charge of dealing with unethical practices. What do you think?<issue_comment>username_1: Alex, you may not realize this, but if your advisor indeed got a position at another university, it is quite likely that he is technically already considered a member of the faculty at the new university, even if he is still physically present at your old institution for another semester. If that is indeed the case, he has every right to represent himself as having an affiliation with the new university. This situation is very common in the academic world: Professor X has a job at University Y, then is offered a new position at University Z. He accepts the offer but on the condition of being allowed to remain at University Y for another year (to finish up some projects, or for family reasons, or because he has a student he does not want to abandon). This type of request is almost always granted by the hiring institution. Professor X is then officially appointed to the faculty at University Z but put on unpaid leave status for a year. During that year, he is temporarily a member of two departments at two universities. It may sound strange but there is nothing untoward or improper about this. So, based on the information you've provided so far, the scenario I described above seems to me like a perfectly innocent explanation for your advisor's behavior that does not involve any unethical behavior. If I'm off the mark here, please add more details about the situation and what you find wrong with the affiliation change. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: It sounds like a win-win situation. He expands his publication list, and you add a big feather to your cap (as first author!). But there may be something I'm not appreciating about the situation. How about if you talk with your new advisor about this? Upvotes: 1
2015/09/03	545	1,862	<issue_start>username_0: I want to cite a paper `[A]`, which has been corrected by an erratum `[B]` in the same journal. I have not found a rule how to cite this case. Is it proper to cite `[A,B]`, or just `[A]` or just `[B]`. I am rather looking for a recommendation by some sort of scientific organization or major journal than for personal opinion, so please provide a link.<issue_comment>username_1: An erratum would usually only include the part to be corrected from the original publication. Hence it would be insufficient to cite just the erratum and not the original article. Examples of such errata are shown in the [US NLM](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/errata.html) site. Thus you must cite both original article as well as the errtum. But there is a method to cite errata. You should cite the original article `[A]` in the main section and cite the errata `[B]` after the citation info of `[A]` in the references section. Similar to this. > > References: > > > [A] Authors of A. Title of A. In conf./article/report/etc. Erratum. Author of B [B] > > > [B] Info of B... > > > A simple example is provided in the [answer here](https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/219792/how-do-i-include-erratum-ibid-in-a-bibtex-entry). Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: @Ébe's advice is probably best for the [1] [2] scientific style of references. In many humanities disciplines using footnotes, however, it's simplest and most common to append the errata information to the end of the publication unless you want to discuss the errata individually. So something like: * <NAME>, "Common tones in simple time," Journal of Music Theology 11 (2016), pp. 220-230, errata v. 12 (2017), p. 294. Whether to italicize errata in a citation like that (is it still Latin? or now English?) is up to you. Upvotes: 3
2015/09/03	893	3,676	<issue_start>username_0: I know some of you may say "it depends", but in the US is a lecturer position inferior to Asst Professor? I am in the job market and get lots of calls for adjunct or lecturer. In the interviews, it is emphasized that "you will be teaching large classes and your job will be just teaching". My question is that if I get into a lecturer position at the start of my career - will that be a bad thing? I do hope to keep applying for tenure track jobs, so will my lecturer experience be considered?<issue_comment>username_1: Generally, yes, in the U.S. "lecturer" is a lower-tier, non-tenure-track job, while "assistant professor" is tenure-track. "Inferior" in that sense, yes, although it does happen that assistant professors fail to get tenure and must leave, while lecturers go on and on... admittedly, often term-by-term. I think that once-upon-a-time any job other than the deluxe ones would have been a sign that you'd already not "made the cut", but nowadays things are so much tighter that it is widely acknowledged that not managing a "research post-doc" or similar is not a disgrace, but as much just bad luck. It is true that the same factors that push one to a certain threshold so that bad luck becomes the dominant factor will most likely still be in play, so hedging one's bets should take that into account. Your experience in doing serious teaching will be taken into account in the positive sense that not everyone is able to cope with this, but it is very much the bread-and-butter of academic mathematics, no matter what anyone says. Not glamorous or heroic, no, but... So when you ask "will my lecturer experience be considered", well, yes, that's legitimate work, and not everyone manages it. But/and if you're applying for somewhat-upscale tenure-track jobs (=assistant prof), those lecturer jobs are approximately neutral. The question will be about what papers you've written/published... given that you apparently pass the minimum threshold of not-awful/intolerable teaching chops. The most awkward part of such situations is that, often, doing sufficient adjunct/lecturer teaching to make a living leaves insufficient time/energy for scholarship/research/thinking, and this is not usually taken into account formally... Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm not sure about the U.S., but if your aim is to be a professor that do research, if you accept a position where you are not required to do research (e.g. lecturer), it will certainly not help. To get a professor position where you do research, you need to get some good publication record. If you are a lecturer and do not have enough time to publish and do research, then, yes, it could have a negative impact on your chances to get such position. By being a lecturer, you would get teaching experience, which is worth somethng but for position where you need to lead a research team, your publication record is generally MUCH more important than teaching experience. In fact, for an assistant professor position, I have often seen universities hiring persons without prior teaching exprience (in Canada). So in my opinion, it is better to do a post-doc than to be a lecturer if you want to get a professor position where you lead a research team. Being a post-doc will let you continue building your publication record. If you are a lecturer, what might happen is that you may teach too many courses and not have time to publish papers, and thus your publication record may even look worse because you may not publish for a few years, which may leave a huge gap in your CV, and as a result you may never get an assistant professor position. Upvotes: 1
2015/09/04	479	2,163	<issue_start>username_0: When the time has passed (5 years I think) and a faculty is being evaluated for tenure what aspects play a role for anyone getting tenure or not? do comments from current students play a role in it?<issue_comment>username_1: Applications for tenure are typically evaluated based on * Research * Teaching * Service Some institutions will solicit comments from students when they are evaluating teaching. Commonly students' teaching evaluations are considered as well. How strongly different factors are weighted depends on the institution. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Depending on the area of study, the most common university-level factors for tenure are how much you've published, and with whom, and evaluations from your peers. Those are primary, though other things can come into play. Consistently awful student evaluations can be a factor. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: It depends on the school and how important teaching quality is for the tenure. But even at an R1 (doctoral/research-focused school), my experience is that students writing letters won't hurt. Thought they probably won't have a major impact and are unlikely to be persuasive in urging a particular decision, student letters (sent early to appropriate people in the department) can tell anecdotes and stories about the professor that can help her or his peers craft a story about them as a person that can affect their chances. However, do know that these are likely to affect only the most borderline of cases: As much as you have the knowledge to do so objectively, look at your favorite professor's research profile compared to the profile that the university or college generally expects for tenure; if your professor's publications (or art production, etc.) are significantly below the mean, all the testimonies that he or she is the greatest teacher on earth probably won't keep them around. (If they do leave though, it's likely that they'll be picked up by a school that has research and teaching expectations more in line with their own desires and talents, so it is not always a bad thing for their happiness or future). Upvotes: 0
2015/09/04	2,347	9,978	<issue_start>username_0: Ideally any research paper should contain novel thoughts, ideas, procedures, observations, methods, etc. of some form or another. That being said, is it really necessary to remind the reader about it by using the words novel, revolutionary, or never been done before as opposed to just comparing it to existing studies and noting the differences between the two?<issue_comment>username_1: I'd say, if your approach is novel there is no problem in mentioning it. A word like "revolutionary" I would be much more careful with. If something causes a revolution or not remains to be seen after publication and feels to me like unnecessarily hyping your results. So, as long as you use factual words (novel, extends, applies to new application setting) there is no problem in my opinion. But stay away from hype words mostly used by shady business men trying to sell you snake oil. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, I would advise against using the words novel or new for the following reasons (which overlap with what you already argued): * It’s almost impossible to fully ascertain that something is new. Even if you just discovered some outstanding and surprising effect like superconductivity, somebody else may have discovered it a month earlier and is just about to publish it. * At the same time, you are expected to have ascertained the novelty of what you are doing as well as reasonably possible and to document it in your introduction or literature review. To quote [JeffE](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/48889/7734): > > The message you want to send is "I have read every paper on this topic, and none of them do this thing that I'm about to do." > > > If you have any reason to believe that what you are doing is not novel, you should either document this (e.g., “we tried to reproduce this experiment”) or not try to publish at all. Thus, there is never any reason to claim something is novel – it is implicit that everything you write that is neither common knowledge nor equipped with a citation is novel to your best knowledge. The [following memo](http://journals.aps.org/authors/new-novel-policy-physical-review) by the American Physical Society (one of the most prolific publishers in physics) argues similarly: > > Physical Review adheres to the following policy with respect to use of terms such as "new" or "novel:" All material accepted for publication in the Physical Review is expected to contain new results in physics. Phrases such as "new," "for the first time," etc., therefore should normally be unnecessary; they are not in keeping with the journal's scientific style. Furthermore, such phrases could be construed as claims of priority, which the editors cannot assess and hence must rule out. > > > Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: tl;dr: The answer to the titular question (which is asked the opposite way of the questions in the text) is: No, absolutely not. Do use "novel" to highlight what aspects of your paper are new. This is my perception from a CS field: > > Ideally any research paper should contain novel thoughts, ideas, procedures, observations, methods, etc. of some form or another. > > > Very true. A research paper should contain a contribution that will usually build upon and be embedded within related work. > > That being said, is it really necessary to remind the reader about it by using the words novel, revolutionary, or never been done before as opposed to just comparing it to existing studies and noting the differences between the two? > > > Yes, it is! The contribution, the novel aspects, need to be clearly and explicitly pointed out several times throughout the paper. It is a way of highlighting the point of the paper. While to you as an author, the contribution is entirely clear - you know exactly what you have done yourself - the same cannot be taken for granted for a reviewer. A reviewer will start reading your paper usually with only a vague grasp of what was there before (reviewers tend to know the particular subfield, but not necessarily your concrete research question for the paper) and starting to build a mental picture of what they perceive as new in your paper. Therefore, the clearer your contribution is marked as such, the better. Otherwise, you increase the risk that your paper will be rejected simply on the finding that "the contribution is not clear". Explicitly highlighting the contribution involves direct statements such as "Our contributions are ...", but also certain marker words, with "novel" certainly being a frequently used and understood one. Note that while "novel" is typically understood as such a marker, and while "never been done before" should usually be extended by "to our knowledge" (as opposed to "novel", it is verbose anyway, so three more words won't hurt), I would advise against "revolutionary". The other two options just state something inherent to your contribution, which you can make a statement about, whereas "revolutionary" implies that not only your contribution is novel, but that it changes the way other people will continue to work on the topic. That is a somewhat presumptuous claim to make before your contribution has even been peer-reviewed, let alone published. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You definitely should make clear what the central point of the paper is, but claiming that it is "novel" or something such isn't the right way to do it. You really can't know if you aren't rediscovering something Euler did, and has since then been slumbering in some hitherto unpublished manuscript. Better stick to the facts. You can claim that your method is easier to apply, or simpler to understand, or has wider applicability, or gives better results than competing ones, and stating that conveys useful information. A clam of novelty in itself doesn't. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: For "novel", it depends on context. Obviously, any research paper is expected to contain something that is novel, so pointing this out is likely to be redundant. However, many research papers also contain much that is not particularly novel. For example, you might use the well-known techniques A, B, C, D and E to get to a situation where your novel technique F applies. Given the large amount of non-novel material that might end up in the paper, explaining how to use techniques A-E in this particular setting, I don't see any harm in pointing out that technique F is the novel part. On the other hand, you might not necessarily use the word "novel" to say that: you could, instead, write something like "We introduce technique F" or "Our contribution is to use technique F". Or it might even be that the novel part was just using techniques A-E in combination. But certainly steer clear of describing your own work as "revolutionary". Almost nothing manages to start a revolution before it's even been published. If it truly is revolutionary, this will be obvious, so you don't need to say it; if it turns out not to be revolutionary, you'd look like a dick if you said it was. I'd also avoid claiming that something has "never been done before" without at least a "to the best of our knowledge"-type disclaimer. At least if a claim to novelty turns out to be incorrect, it's still true that it was novel to you; a claim of "never before" is absolute and, if it's wrong, it's just wrong. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Highlight and separate the novel parts -------------------------------------- I would consider this usage acceptable and recommended not for describing the whole of your result (the novelty of it is implicit, and should be shown during the paper, not just claimed), but in cases where it is neccessary to highlight to the reader (and editors) which part of a nontrivial process is your novel contribution. For example, if your paper claims that you can achieve great results in frobnicating foobars by doing A, B, C and then D; and A, B and D have often been used in previous approaches (and are still neccessary for your approach) but doing C in this situation is something new - then by all means you should point out explicitly by saying that C in this context is novel, unlike the other parts. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: The crux of this debate comes down to the scientific discipline and the definition of 'true'. Whilst in Mathematics a concept can be said to be provably true or false, very little if anything in Biology is so certain, since we sample observable processes rather than deal in hypothetical absolutes. Our *theory* of Evolution, although it has never ever been seen to be incorrect, cannot be proven also to be correct - at least not with absolute certainty - because it is a phenomena that is happening all the time, rather than, say, set theory which is demonstrably provable with just a pen and paper today, tomorrow, and in a million years from now. So when a Biologist says 'X is true', they are always implying 'to the best of my knowledge, X is true'; but to actually add this qualifier to the end of every sentence would be a complete waste of everybody's time because you would have to say it after every point you make. To say 'you should not use the terminology "novel" because you cannot be certain of novelty' is akin to say 'you should not say polarbears cannot survive in space because you haven't put all the polar bears up there.' OK, I could say "to the best of my knowledge, polarbears cannot live in space", but not only is it a waste of time because it is implied, it is also dangerous because when someone else says "all crabs can live in space", you might entertain the idea, just for a second, that the qualifier "to the best of my knowledge" doesnt apply. And this, leads to believing nonsense. The qualifier always applies, no matter who is saying it, and no matter how novel they think it is. Upvotes: 1
2015/09/04	467	1,952	<issue_start>username_0: I got a major revision and I will prepare a revision letter. The editor asked me to review my manuscript for grammatical errors, in addition to the scientific comments he made. Should I present all the grammatical changes I made on the manuscript one by one? There are lots of minor changes (i.e addition/insertion of commas, "the", "a/an").<issue_comment>username_1: Since they haven't pointed out what mistakes you have, it is unlikely they have a list of errors they have found; therefore, enumerating your changes is pointless. Also, since you got "major revision", a good chunk of your text should be changed anyway. Just make sure you double check the language before resubmitting, preferably by someone else (native speaker would be ideal). Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: > > Should I present all the grammatical changes I made on the manuscript one by one because there are lots of minor changes (i.e addition/insertion of commas, "the", "a/an")? > > > This seems unnecessary. What I usually do is report all the mentioned grammatical errors, and then just remark that I fixed all of them. That being said, if there are so many grammatical errors that this is an actual problem for you, you definitely need to tighten up the writing of your paper. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I very much doubt they care for you to acknowledge every problem they point out to you, they just want you to fix them (and others you might find in the process). If you disagree with some of the suggestions, then it makes sense to speak up and explain your reasoning (should probably do it in the text too, if whoever did the revision didn't understand it, chances are it will confuse other readers too). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You can submit two versions -- one with Track Changes turned on, showing all the changes as edits, and one with all the proposed edits 'accepted'. Upvotes: 1
2015/09/04	341	1,423	<issue_start>username_0: I've recently published my first paper. Do journals usually send authors a copy of the issue in which their paper was published? Does Science magazine do that?<issue_comment>username_1: Some journals do, and some journals don't. In my experience, it seems pretty random which do and don't. Off the top of my head, I am not certain whether Science does. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: I got a dozen or so separate copies (in the format of the journal) of my papers when I published in some IEEE transaction a while back. Just the paper, not the whole issue. From other journals I got a copy of the issue, sometimes just a letter of confirmation that it was published, or not even that. Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: There are far too many journals to make a single, authoritative statement on the issue, beyond "Not always". In my experience, and in my field (biomedical) it's quite rate. Of the papers I've published, only the single paper I've gotten in Lancet Infectious Diseases provided full copies of the print journal. All other papers I have where I have a physical copy I either ordered, or happened to subscribe to the print journal already. Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: No, Science does not give paper copies to authors, I was in your same situation. You can buy a separate issue if you request it, and it’s cheaper when yours is the current issue. Upvotes: 1
2015/09/04	1,865	7,959	<issue_start>username_0: With regards to PhD thesis that spans several disciplines, at what point does one assume that an article doesn't require explanation and it is standard knowledge? I have had this discussion with several academics and there doesn't appear to be consensus. One suggested a middle ground that I quite liked: Anything considered standard knowledge, should be placed into an appendix so as to not disturb the flow of the thesis but still somewhere handy enough for the reader to bush up on or explore. Is this a common technique? I've read so many theses that contain waffle and filler explaining (what I consider to be) the basic requirements of the field, however my option of "basic" is just that; An option. People have different degrees, life experiences, interests and so their options will no doubt differ regarding what is considered standard knowledge. So at what point is something consider "standard knowledge"? If a technique/paper/method is widely written about in master/Bachelor's course texts, journal papers and has a wiki page - does that qualify? For example; consider the most basis statistical techniques, such as chi squared test etc - does one really need to explain, in detail, what it is? Would a reference suffice or would a thesis begin to look ridiculously short? Perhaps placing it into an appendix? Is there a general accepted rule of thumb that I am unaware of? Or is it truly a black art? I don't want to look lazy by not including material, but at the same time I don't want to waffle on.<issue_comment>username_1: I'm struggling with this problem myself at the moment. I think there's no one-size-fits all situation. It's your book, you have to consider who your audience is, and how you're going to tailor the thing to them. Start with your committee, make sure that they have the tools to understand what you've written. After them, the most important people to think of are probably the other PhD students entering your field, possibly building on your work. Think back to what you struggled with when you first started and what kind you would have liked to have. Here's a few tips and tools I plan to make use of: * A tutorial appendix: This is a great way to make sure that you satisfy both the expert reader, and the novice who's willing to work. Make it short, ideally five to ten pages that will require some dedicated work but just explain the required concepts for your thesis. End with some pointers to longer tutorials. This also gives you the opportunity to write the tutorial you wish you'd had when you started out. * An informal introduction: I like the idea of trying to write an introduction that my mother could read. Something that describes the ideas in such informal language that everybody who's willing to put the time in can get through it. This gives you one part of the book that you know absolutely everybody can read, and for the more expert readers, it gives them a motivation to guide them through the technical matter. Perhaps the same could go for the conclusion, to create a bookending effect. * Err on the side of caution: I think it's better to insult people by explain too much than to lose them. So when in doubt, make sure things are properly explained. * Pretend you have a page limit: The danger of erring on the side of caution is that you'll just ramble on and on. Nobody will read your work if you don't get to the point as quickly as possible. This is the basic contradiction you have to deal with when writing. Explain as much as possible, and get to the point as fast as possible. See if you can keep it under a hundred pages. Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Generally, the target audience of your doctoral dissertation is your doctoral dissertation committee. Write to their level. In disciplines where your dissertation gets turned into a book (or series of articles), then you may consider writing at a lower level or with explanation for people outside of your specific subfield. You can certainly do this if you have the time or luxury to do so, but if you are short on time or funds, then it is perfectly acceptable to do what is noted in paragraph #1. Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: This is one place where I think even with a single field, explanation can be key (remember, not every math person is up-to-date on every field of math, etc). For your example with the chi-squared test, you could just say "To reach this conclusion, we used a chi-squared test". But it is beneficial for everyone (statistician or not) to understand why you did it. So you could rewrite it as "To reach this conclusion, we used a chi-squared test which is the normal method used for calculating X given conditions Y with the desire to interpret Z". People unfamiliar with statistics need not know the underlying methods, but they will fully understand what you're aiming to do and why and the statistician can then further verify correct usage of the method. For terminology issues, this can often happen within the same field (at least, in my field of literature). Different authors or schools of thought may use two terms that have effectively the same meaning. It's common to see something like "...what is effectively an X, or what so-and-so termed Y, due to Z". Notice that because we indicate Z, we establish to the people who do know X/Y (people in-field) can verify we know what we're talking about, and people who don't know X/Y (out-of-field) can still follow along because Z gives them the gist of it. In fact, if your paper will regularly be cycling through fields or integrating them, it's highly advisable to establish a standard set of terms in early on (indicating their amongst fields then only) to aid the flow of the paper later on. Also, don't hesitate to use footnotes quite liberally initially. As you go revising your dissertation in conjunction with your committee —or simply having people from various fields reading it— you'll get feedback letting you know which footnotes would be best integrated into the main paper (very important information for the out-of-field people), which ought to remain as footnotes ( pertinent, but not super necessary for out-of-fielders to know), and which can be removed entirely (way too basic, or not really important at all). Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: The answers given by [@Peter](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6936/peter) and [@username_2](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885/robokaren) are good, and therefore my answer is an addition to theirs. My Experience My dissertation is very interdisciplinary and so is my committee. The core problem I needed to solve was *how to give clear, explicit definitions to many key terms (incl. references) without cluttering the main body* of the dissertation (which is long already). It would not be sufficient for me to simply give a reference next to each key term. My solution was to have a Glossary at the end, with hyperlinks in the main text pointing to glossary entries. This means I can nearly always put all of my definitional text in the glossary and focus the main text on exposition. This can help my readers (the committee) because they will know to look to the Glossary for all key definitions, and not the main text. General Advice: Figure out what needs to be accomplished relative to the 'basic' or 'common' knowledge, and then choose a design and writing strategy to meet this goal. "What needs to be accomplished" is *specific* to your dissertation and to your committee. For example, do you need to simplify the reading process? Minimize confusion? Justify your methods? Provide tutorial assistance to a reader outside of a given field or specialty? Each of these goals might call for a different design and writing strategy such as those listed in the answer by [@Peter](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6936/peter). Upvotes: 2