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thread-2604 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2604 | Electronic journals with 'print on demand' | 2012-07-24T18:53:51.660 | # Question
Title: Electronic journals with 'print on demand'
We're thinking of starting a journal for undergraduate research. I'm vaguely aware that some electronic journals have a 'print on demand' capability, so that someone who wants a printed bound copy can get one. Can anyone point me to a journal that does this?
# Answer
According to their website, the "Journal of Academy of Medical Sciences, a publication of Osmania Medical College, is a peer-reviewed online journal with Quarterly print on demand compilation of issues published."
> 3 votes
# Answer
It hasn't begun operating yet, but Cambridge University Press's Forum of Mathematics will work that way. The journal will launch later in 2012.
> 7 votes
# Answer
Journals of the American Diabetes Association (found this through the second hit via Google):
http://www.diabetesjournals.org/site/misc/AdvertisingRates.xhtml
> 3 votes
# Answer
I don't think American Journal of Neuroradiology does this yet, but here is an editorial from their Editor-in-Chief, discussing the merits of such a system.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications
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thread-2668 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2668 | How to find response time for a given journal in engineering? | 2012-07-29T13:42:55.303 | # Question
Title: How to find response time for a given journal in engineering?
I would like to find journals response times? A google search does not give any good results. May be I am using wrong key words.
I am open to find particular subset of journal response times too. Any pointers about this is welcome. this answer gives a list of backlog for mathematical journals. Are there any such other list? How can I find them?
Thanks for comment. Actually I would like to learn "From submission until a decision". I know "Total time from submission to publication" can take a lot of time.
# Answer
> 9 votes
Some journals insert the submission date and acceptance date in a footnote on the first page of the article. For those, it would be easy to look through the latest issue and see what is typical.
# Answer
> 3 votes
I would send an email, or ideally go down the hall, and ask someone who has published in the journal how long it took.
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Tags: journals, peer-review
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thread-2673 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2673 | Under what circumstances can one republish a conference paper/presentation? | 2012-07-30T11:18:04.717 | # Question
Title: Under what circumstances can one republish a conference paper/presentation?
For conferences that "peer review" and "publish" full papers, when, if ever, can you resubmit essentially unchanged versions for publication in a peer reviewed journal?
In my field, when conference papers appear as book chapters, people often "republish" them as journal articles.
I have just had a talk accepted at a conference which is now (decided post submission) planning on publishing the proceedings as a special issue of a journal. It appears the journal is complete crap with an extremely light peer review process in general, no impact factor, and essentially not indexed. I think this "article" will be worthless, but I am concerned that I will not be able to republish the results in a respectable journal.
# Answer
> 8 votes
In math, FPSAC (Formal Power Series and Algebraic Combinatorics) accepts and referees "extended abstracts" for presentations. Presenters are selected based (in part) on the quality of these abstracts, and the abstracts appear in a special issue of DMTCS. The submission guidelines for FPSAC state
> The authors will retain the right of publishing a full version of their work in another journal. Authors who do intend to publish a full version elsewhere should however make sure that their conference contribution is clearly an extended abstract of this full version.
Several conference centers publish proceedings of their workshops, for which presenters are asked to submit extended abstracts of their talks after the fact; for example, both AIM (the American Institute of Mathematics) and Oberwolfach (formally known as Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach) do this. Again, the norm is that the abstract should be a summary of your presentation, with less detail than the published version.
I think that the main answer here is going to be "see if the conference organizers have made a statement, and check with some more senior people as to what the unwritten norms are".
# Answer
> 13 votes
This varies by field. In (most) fields that have journal-based publications and no tradition of selective refereed conferences, it might be quite hard to publish a paper in a journal after it has appeared in some proceedings, without substantial changes.
In computer science, in which conference publication is the norm, it is expected that journal papers have first appeared in conference proceedings. This is especially true if the full paper does not fit in the page-limit of the conference proceedings, and proofs or other material had to be left out of the first publication. Typically you have to make some small changes between the conference and the journal version (i.e. include full proofs, include a fuller discussion of related and subsequent work, etc), but in CS, the delta between conference and journal version can be relatively minor.
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Tags: publications, journals, conference, peer-review
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thread-2685 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2685 | Acknowledging funding | 2012-07-30T22:21:47.983 | # Question
Title: Acknowledging funding
I often read in research articles acknowledgments such as
> The first author is (partially) supported by a grant of the National Science Foundation of Sikinia no. 1234567890.
What are the guidelines for acknowledging funding agencies? Should I mention, for instance, grants that cover some research expenses or sponsor my participation to a conference? Or only those who pay me directly?
# Answer
> 8 votes
Generally the funding agencies provide guidelines regarding the kinds of acknowledgements you need to use. When reporting to the funding agency, some will only accept papers that have been appropriately acknowledged. Others are happy just to see papers produced by the people they fund.
For instance,
* EU Projects require acknowledgement, and a specific phrase must be used.
* Flemish FWO projects require no such acknowledgement.
In any case, it never hurts to acknowledge your source of funding.
# Answer
> 13 votes
The general rule I recommend is extremely liberal: If you write or publish a paper while being funded by a grant in any capacity whatsoever, acknowledge the grant. ("Work by this author was partially supported by...")
When in doubt, say thank you.
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Tags: publications, etiquette, funding
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thread-2677 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2677 | How to let a journal know that its submission process is very painful? | 2012-07-30T12:16:34.193 | # Question
Title: How to let a journal know that its submission process is very painful?
I have recently decided to no longer publish, or at least publish less, with a well respected journal in my field. How do I let the journal know in a meaningful way that the submission process is very painful?
The required Microsoft Word and LaTeX templates are extremely dated and do not match my (or anyones) workflow. The review time (6 months), number of reviewer (3-4), number of rounds of review (3-4), and delay from in press to available online (8 months) are all too much. The lack of communication is extreme. The online system tells you if the manuscript is on your desk or the journals desk and nothing more. Editors do not respond to queries other than to tell you it is being reviewed.
# Answer
You may get the best response by using informal channels. If you know the managing editor of the journal (my field is small enough that I often do), you might send an informal email, or even just express your concern in person. As Ben Norris mentioned, **the key is that you communicate in a calm, rational, and deliberative way**.
> 15 votes
# Answer
Aside from writing a letter to their editor, I don't think there's much you can do, particularly if the journal is well-respected. There are plenty of fish in the sea, so to speak. Unless you're the leading researcher in the journal's field, your ideological protest, while commendable, won't make the slightest difference to them.
> 10 votes
# Answer
The best method to send the message that you disagree with one or more of its policies or practices to a journal is to stop publishing in it (regardless of prestige) **and** to convince as many of your like-minded colleagues to stop publishing in it as you can. Publicizing your intent in a calm, rational, and deliberative way, does not hurt, either. See the ongoing Elsevier Boycott, which has already gained the attention of Elsevier and earned some concessions from the publisher.
> 8 votes
# Answer
I am answering my own question with an option that hasn't been given yet. If the journal is linked to a society (which it is in this case) with an annual (biannual, etc.) conference, then there may be a special conference session on the journal which the managing editors attend. For the journal in question, the concerns have been raised at the annual meeting for the past few years and there is a growing community of dissatisfied people who are taking stances like mine.
> 6 votes
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Tags: publications, journals
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thread-2696 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2696 | When should one opt for a one-year master's program in the US? | 2012-07-31T07:13:10.057 | # Question
Title: When should one opt for a one-year master's program in the US?
Some US universities offer a master's program that lasts for just a year. At times the cost of such programs are higher than the regular 2-year MS programs.
When should students opt for a one-year master's? What are the merits involved in such an option? The demerits seem to be many: lack of time for courses or internship opportunities or learning in general, less useful for a research career, etc.
# Answer
One-year master's programs in computer science are usually terminal course-based degrees. They are essentially useless for a future research career, because they do not include time to do research. (PhD admissions committees care about your research potential much more than your grades.) Put brutally, professional MS programs exist for the sole purpose of trading tuition for the promise of a higher salary. The advantage of these programs is that successful graduates (at least from my department) actually *do* get higher salaries, and the program only takes one year. Also, if you work for a particularly enlightened employer, they may be willing to (help) pay your tuition.
Two-year master's programs in computer science are more research-based. In addition to classes, most research master's students write a thesis describing original research; that's why it takes two years instead of just one. That's also one of the advantages of the program; you have more time to learn outside the formal classroom environment. You *may* also be able to secure funding through research or teaching assistantships; these are almost unheard of for professional master's students. The disadvantage is that if you're *not* interested in research, the program takes two years instead of one. On the other hand, a research masters seems to have the same effect on salary as a professional masters, in part because it's impossible to tell from a resume what type of MS you have.
> 15 votes
# Answer
I don't think the length of program should be a direct factor when deciding on a masters program. I think you need to think about what each program gives your for your investment (time and possibly money).
> 0 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, graduate-admissions, masters
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thread-2717 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2717 | What to do if asked to write a letter of recommendation for a weak candidate? | 2012-08-01T11:43:20.197 | # Question
Title: What to do if asked to write a letter of recommendation for a weak candidate?
How should a professor proceed when a student or colleague asks for a letter of recommendation and the professor does not have a high opinion of that person?
# Answer
> 42 votes
Although it may be quite awkward, it is certainly acceptable to tell the student/colleague that you do not feel you can write a strong LoR for them, and to suggest that they ask someone else. This may seem rude or even unkind, but it's much better for the student/colleague in the long run than a lukewarm or poor letter.
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Tags: recommendation-letter
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thread-2699 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2699 | Are pay announcements worth their price to hire people? | 2012-07-31T08:01:17.753 | # Question
Title: Are pay announcements worth their price to hire people?
Recently in my university research group (scientific fields: computer science and bioinformatics) we had some open positions for PhD students and PostDoc. For the hiring phase, we decided to insert some announcements on many free websites. We avoided pay websites, such as IEEE Job Site or others.
Now, the hiring phase has just ended up. We've found some good applicants, but not so good as we expected. So I am wondering what would have happened if we had chosen the pay way.
I searched for some prices for a 30 days announcement on some popular job websites, and here are the prices I've found:
* Linkedin: 140 €
* ACM Careers: 380 €
* IEEE Computer Science Society job board: 400 €
* IEEE Job Site: 212 €
**Do you think that these prices were worth to find better PhD or PostDoc candidates?**
Do you think that next time we should pay one of these announcements in order to get better candidates?
Have you experienced before with them?
Many thanks
# Answer
> 13 votes
**Yes**, it's worth paying for an advertisement if you end up hiring a stronger candidate. I tend to be fairly frugal, but I think of your situation in terms of *one-time cost* vs. *recurring cost*. When you pay for the ad, **you pay just once**. When you hire a weaker candidate, **you pay every day** in terms of lower productivity and lower quality results.
In the U.S., a typical annual salary for a postdoc in math might be in the range of $40,000-45,000 (33,000-36,500 €); in CS, it would likely be higher. Even the IEEE price (the highest of those you list) is roughly 1% of that. So, if you're fairly confident you'll get a better candidate by paying for a few ads, IMHO, **you'd be foolish not to do so.**
# Answer
> 7 votes
The research center I am affiliated with had a difficult time filling a couple of the senior level posts. Basically, they were looking for people with associate professor type qualifications who were willing to work on a 3 year project with limited research freedom, but generous funding. We resorted to using a head hunter, which was a couple of order of magnitude more expensive, but well worth it. The head hunter found candidates that we couldn't.
For studentships and postdocs, I am not sure the people you are looking for are browsing the pay sites. The amount of money is small enough that it is probably worth it, especially if you can get a couple of posts into one advertisement. I would suggest building up your groups network. Talk to your colleagues at other universities. I think in general there isn't a shortage of good phd students and post docs, it is just getting an inside scoop on who they are.
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Tags: career-path, job-search, job, announcements
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thread-2707 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2707 | How should a PhD student approach a collaboration? | 2012-07-31T23:01:38.047 | # Question
Title: How should a PhD student approach a collaboration?
I'm a PhD student at a top-ten university in the UK. I'm just starting the second year of my social science doctorate. I'm way 'ahead' of where I should be at the moment in terms of words written, research done etc, so I've got some time to build my CV and that kind of thing. In the past few months I've come to recognize the critical importance of getting published during the PhD to getting a postdoc at a good University, so I want to get something published. I'm working on two papers on my own - one a full length, one more of an opinion piece (the journal in question calls it a 'viewpoint'), but I recently met at a conference someone I'd be very interested in doing a collaboration with.
So, my basic question is - should I just email him and suggest my idea? Or should I begin by just chatting about the conference? He's a lecturer in another university, one higher up the league tables than we are (not Oxbridge). We got on really well at the conference and had a lot of academic work to talk about. I also considered getting some of his papers/books and getting a much better feel for the details of his work and then starting a conversation based on some questions/comments on his work. This therefore feeds into a wider "mechanics of academia" question - is this how collaborations start in general? Person A just finds a suitable Person B and emails them with an idea for a paper they both have appropriate expertise to write? Thanks in advance!
# Answer
> 24 votes
The best way to start a collaboration is to engage in a face-to-face brainstorming/working session so that you 1) formulate a problem of a mutual interest, 2) jointly sketch a scaffolding of a joint paper, and 3) come up with a plan to proceed, or at least agree on how to arrive to such a plan. Before the meeting consider the topic semi-open (unless you are dead-sure you know what you want to work on with the person), you never know what new/interesting/unexpected will come out of your discussions.
Now to get to a meeting/a few days stay, you need to arrange for a visit at the (future) collaborator's place and it seems that what you are asking is about a particular way to do that. From my personal experience, there is no *right*, nor a *wrong* way to do it. I understand these things in terms of *signalling*. That is, the form is **less** important that the signal you are sending. In my opinion/experience it does not matter whether you write a short notice like
> Hello Joe, we met there and there and I got intrigued by the topic we discussed. Would it be possible for me to visit your lab/group and expand on those ideas? Fred.
or expand in a two-page argument about why it is beneficial for both of you to meet. In both cases the signal is the same: **would you be willing to speak to me?** and that is the only thing which matters.
And you should read the reply in exactly the same manner. Whatever is written there, the only thing which matters is whether the answer is **yes, let's see what comes out**, or **no, blah, blah**. All the rest can be discussed during the meeting, given the reply is positive. If it's negative, most probably the collaboration wouldn't work out anyway. Being open-minded is a state of mind, a personality trait.
Now to your concern about the collaborator's higher rank/position at a prominent university: I do not know about the culture and social interactions in communities concerned with humanities, but my general observation is that the *better* a scientist (whatever *better* means), the more humble and modest the person is with respect to the corporate structure and seniority ladder. That is, the majority of really good/respectable researchers in my experience do not care for your rank, they care for what you say.
The point I wanted to convey above is the following:
> if the person you want to collaborate with is open minded and thus a potentially a good collaborator, it does not really matter how you approach him/her, **just do it**. In the case you have something important/significant/novel to say, he/she will engage you and the collaboration will start. Just remember, it's you who approached the other party, hence you want something from her/him, therefore it is important that you understand that you will be the driver of the collaboration, at least at the beginning - the ball is initially on your side - unless you touch a topic the other party is working on and has some solutions for anyway.
# Answer
> 5 votes
There's no sense beating around the bush. Just ask. If they are interested they will show a sign. If not, then at least you havn't wasted weeks writing up documents that may never get used. It's flattering to have someone approach you out of the blue.
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Tags: phd, publications, cv, authorship, collaboration
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thread-2672 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2672 | Good resource/advice on mentoring undergrads | 2012-07-30T06:15:42.510 | # Question
Title: Good resource/advice on mentoring undergrads
As a graduate student I will mentor some undergrad students so that they can help me with my work and get some useful experience working in a lab.
From my past experience, I realized that they lack knowledge. So I do not want to them work on data analysis at least for a semester (unless they show promise) but at the same time do not want to just work on tightening nuts and bolts.
Also they lack time to get up to speed on doing research on their own. What is a good way to get them interested in learning more? Also if you can point to some good resources on mentoring that would be helpful.
Edit (following eykanal's comment): I do not need to interact with undergrads on a regular basis. So I am not thinking about getting them interested in research, in general. I believe most of the students, who come to work in lab, are in general interested in learning, ignoring few who are just want to beef up their resume.
Last time I worked with a student, I had assigned him some data analysis related work only to realize later that he was more interested in working in the lab then in front of a computer. Lesson learned the hard way, because we ended up wasting time.
What I am looking for is the missteps to avoid when mentoring a student so that they would stay interested and try to do things on their own.
# Answer
> 9 votes
*All of the below stems from my own experience mentoring and working with undergrads, both as a grad student and as a postdoc.*
Firstly, realize that many undergraduate students aren't ready to do research on their own when they first arrive in a research lab. (Heck, neither are many graduate students...) Additionally, many will not *want* to do their own research, but they're very happy learning what you do and helping you set it up and work through it.
That being said, you'll want to start with simply talking to them *during the interview process* to determine what they want to gain from the experience. Most won't have a solid answer, but for the few that say something like, "I want to improve my MATLAB skills," or "I want to gain experience doing cell cultures", you now know whether they're a match for your lab.
The majority don't have specific interests, though. For those students, consider allowing them to work on a variety of projects with multiple graduate students. This allows them to observe different research techniques, different approaches to solving a research problem, and the different tools used in research. If you have the time, you (and the members of your lab) can take a more hands-on approach and actively mentor the student, showing them the various steps involved in constructing an experiment and the logic behind the data analysis stream.
# Answer
> 4 votes
First, mentoring undergraduate students depend highly on their skills and motivation.
Second, you should expect that an undergraduate needs to learn the technique. Even if there are after many courses, real research involves learning particular theories, techniques, etc.
Consequently, you will need to invest some time in teaching them. Almost for sure it will be beneficial for them (unless there are not smart enough or lazy; or you overshot with a way-to-difficult problem). If they will pay back - it's hard to say.
Out of my experience (as a PhD student) - working was interesting and enjoyable, but I benefited only in terms of learning how to collaborate and lead projects (a crucial skill). In terms of boosting me research - well, I would have done the same (or more) by doing things by myself.
(But the main problem was that it was never so formal, so they had a limited amount of time to spend on the project; OK, once mentoring a high-school student it was *very* beneficial for them (the first prize in an international competition), but it's a different story than a collaboration.)
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Tags: mentoring
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thread-2175 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2175 | What are "getcited.org" and "getcited.com" for? | 2012-06-26T17:42:55.510 | # Question
Title: What are "getcited.org" and "getcited.com" for?
What is the purpose of getcited.org and getcited.com?
I am completely new to researching and paper publishing and I frequently get results from this site in Google Scholar Search.
I am absolutely not able to make out what this site does, it just gives the name of the paper, the author and the publication. It does not give a link to download them, neither does it give any abstract.
There are these *link buttons* which ask you to enter a username and password each time. Even after creating an account and logging in, I am asked to log in each time I click on a link button and the link button just opens my profile on the website.
# Answer
From the wikipedia page:
> GetCITED is a website database that lists publication and citation information on academic articles whose information is entered by members. It aims to include not only journal articles but also book chapters and other publications, both peer-reviewed and non-reviewed. The objective is to make this information publicly available, as such information is presently held in restricted databases. It indexes over 3,000,000 publications from over 300,000 authors.
However, on the actual getcited.org webpage, we see the copyright dates *2000-2006*, which makes me think the page has not been maintained in 5 or 6 years. So basically, it seems to be a dead website, that is still available mainly because domain registration is so cheap.
> 4 votes
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Tags: citations, literature
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thread-2734 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2734 | What is a "full-time teaching faculty" (and does advising count)? | 2012-08-02T15:29:47.140 | # Question
Title: What is a "full-time teaching faculty" (and does advising count)?
Ed Tufte offers a discount to his seminars for "full-time teaching faculty" (as well as full-time students).
Does "full-time teaching" exclude full-time faculty who spend part time doing research? Does advising count as teaching?
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**Update**
I contacted the organizer and they clarified that "full-time teaching" excludes most "research" faculty; it is intended for faculty whose primary job is to teach, not research faculty who also teach.
# Answer
> 4 votes
You'd have to ask him to know for sure, but I would expect "full-time teaching faculty" to refer to full-time faculty whose duties include a substantial amount of teaching. It would exclude adjunct professors and other part-time faculty, and would also exclude faculty who never or rarely teach. I expect that very few college or university faculty positions literally involve teaching "full-time".
# Answer
> 4 votes
I don't think there is a single definition. The website refers to
> Full-time students not currently working, and full-time teaching faculty only
I think in this case, it means people who do not have jobs outside the university, but it may exclude people who have a portion of their salary paid by grants (e.g., post docs). The best thing to do is to ask.
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Tags: professorship, job, teaching
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thread-517 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/517 | When is it a good idea to let an academic department (or a professor) know that I have Asperger's (or ADD)? | 2012-03-02T19:57:27.947 | # Question
Title: When is it a good idea to let an academic department (or a professor) know that I have Asperger's (or ADD)?
With Asperger's, the trick is always when to explain it (in a non-awkward situation). I'd like to avoid mentioning it if possible, but it has gotten to the point that I only mention it after committing a major social faux pas, in which case it might be seen as an excuse.
With ADD, this is an issue that happens when people explain things to me. I often don't parse things very well when they're communicated to me verbally since I do have attention lapses. That's the major issue, anyways.
With that said, I do (indirectly) imply that I have both diagnoses on my personal website.
# Answer
I agree with aeismail's answer, however I would just add that you might need be careful about the perception of your condition(s), especially the negative aspects. For instance, with the ADD, it's better to ask people to send written copies because you have a visual memory, because it's a constructive remark, rather than saying that you don't fully understand verbal explanation. Myself, I ask people to send emails about important things, and I clearly state that it's due to my great visual memory and my terrible auditive memory.
In other words, I think it's a good idea to inform people that you have Asperger or ADD, especially those you work closely with, but it's more important to explain the positive aspects rather than just stating your condition.
> 18 votes
# Answer
This is a difficult situation. If you believe that you will be placed in situations where a someone in question will need to know that you have Asperger's, lest he or she misread your actions in that situation, then you should inform him or her before it becomes a problem. As you said, informing them afterwards can make it seem like an excuse.
However, if your diagnosis affects your "job" performance (academic or research or otherwise), then you should let them know as soon as possible. If there is the possibility to make appropriate accommodations for your condition(s), then you should have this entered into your official records, so that it's available in case it becomes necessary.
> 11 votes
# Answer
From personal experience, I would say not to tell unless your impairment is extreme enough to have required accommodations all throughout your schooling. I personally had always struggled at some things more than others and excelled in area that no one else could fathom and was considered a little 'quirky'. Because of some advice that I received, I did notify the university, as I had just been diagnosed with ADHD (at the age of 50) and just prior to turning in my final thesis, was told that I didn't belong in grad school. Unfortunately I was too humiliated to stand up for myself at the time and when I could, the statute of limitations (one year for discrimination) was over. There is still quite a stigma attached to both diagnoses unfortunately. The stigma won't be resolved with the secrecy but it depends on what your top priority is; challenging the stigma or graduating. Unfortunately, this was my reality and it tends to be rather ingrained in most of higher academia at this point, truth be told.
> 8 votes
# Answer
If you were a student in my class, I would recommend that you tell me as soon as possible. That way we could brainstorm effective workarounds for you *before* you possibly fall behind. I've had a number of students with some type of learning disability (I realize this isn't the same thing, but my response is similar). If you can get cleared with the university for extra time to take exams, I'm happy to provide that. For one student who had trouble concentrating on quizzes during class, I let her take them outside of class (beforehand). Many people will be happy to work with you, but they won't be able to unless you tell them about your condition and how they can help.
> 6 votes
# Answer
Many universities have offices dedicated to help people which might have learning and other kinds of difficulties, the office in University of Toronto is called "Accessibility Services". Their job is helping people who have such difficulties. I suggest that you check if your university has such an office and register with them.
Generally it is better to discuss this with them and let them inform the departments and instructors as needed. They can also provide advice to you and to the instructor and tell the instructor about the kind of special considerations they need to provide for you while keeping your personal information confidential as much as possible.
It also has the benefit that you don't need to explain it more than once, the office will do it for you.
It is also helpful for instructors. An instructor might not be knowledgeable about your difficulties and how he or she can help you. The office can tell your instructors what they have to do exactly to help you in their courses.
> 6 votes
# Answer
Depending what country you are in, they are often required to make accommodations by law, but that is only if they know about them.
That said, if it is 'just' social interactions that are the issue affecting you, then it is worth examining exactly what you hope to gain out of telling people, because it is more of a gray area in terms of your rights as far as I understand it, anyway.For example:
If you are always being expected to work in a group and you feel worried about this and want to work on your own, it might be worth it. However, if it is just a bit of understanding you want for when you say inappropriate things then you might also be disappointed by how ignorant educated people can actually be about these sorts of things... It depends on you though, some people are more bothered by what people think than others are!
> 2 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, health
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thread-2479 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2479 | Good practices for skipping chapters when reading | 2012-07-16T19:49:01.233 | # Question
Title: Good practices for skipping chapters when reading
Assuming I am reading a textbook/paper or any kind of rich material and then there is a point where I feel that the chapter I am reading is unnecessary or insignificant (I can get back to it later if I am wrong) or at times unmotivated or boring, what are good practices to skip such chapters?
(Assume Math/Engineering books)
How do you make sure that the content you skipped doesn't get in the way of the subsequent chapters? (i.e. Skipping does not carry any drawbacks)
# Answer
I'm usually backtracking, i.e., I try to read a subsequent chapter, then I usually discover that there are some definitions/concepts that I do not understand, so I go backwards to look these up, and, once I've understood these notions I can resume the reading of the subsequent chapter.
> 7 votes
# Answer
Often **the authors will tell you** which chapters or sections are prerequisites for others. The most common place to find this is in the preface or forward. If you don't find it there, you may also find this information throughout the book. One book that I'm working through right now has 25 chapters, grouped into 9 sections. At the start of each section, the authors spend about a page outlining the goals of each chapter. **Nearly any time I plan to read much of a book, I first read or skim the introductory material.** These sections usually don't take much time, and they often give me a decent sense of what to expect from the rest of the book.
> 10 votes
# Answer
There is absolutely no compulsion to force yourself to read every section ... on a first pass, or second, or on any particular pass through a book. Often, seemingly obscure choices become clearer only later, and, even then, often only on the fifth or tenth time through. That is, genuine reading of sources is essentially never linear, and takes many passes through, both to get an idea of the content, and to absorb it in varying degrees. Certainly we should not feel bound by artificial rules, although the physical linearity of books and papers perpetually misleads us.
> 5 votes
# Answer
In addition to the existing suggestions, if you know someone else who has read the book they might have very good advice on which sections are essential or can be skipped.
> 1 votes
# Answer
How do you judge that the chapter is unnecessary or insignificant without reading it?
I know it is tempting to skip the boring stuff, but I don't see how you can decide that a section is not needed except in hindsight.
> 0 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, reading, stem
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thread-1695 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1695 | How to indicate shifting research interests on a CV or a website? | 2012-05-25T09:44:42.283 | # Question
Title: How to indicate shifting research interests on a CV or a website?
My research interests are shifting, due to papers I read and talks or conferences I attend (and also due to change of tastes).
However, I don't know how to communicate it on my CV or my website.
One the one hand, I am eager to move into new fields, and I am eager to learn more (and they are my first preference, when it comes to the further research).
On the other, neither I offer "expertise" in them nor I have a collection of relevant publications (at best 1-2 somehow related papers).
So, should the new interests be listed in "Research interests" as:
* the first ones,
* the last ones,
* other (don't list them, or do sth else)?
Of course in longer research statements it is easier to explicitly state what one is doing and where the interest are going.
If it is relevant, I am a PhD student.
# Answer
As suggested in the comments above, the answer will depend on whom you are targeting.
* If you are a professor targeting graduate students in a new field, I would just list the new field as an interest on your webpage, with links to your few papers. It should be enough to indicate to potential graduate students that if they have an interest in this field you would be more than happy to work with them.
* If you are a professor targeting grant agencies, then just write grants targeted at whatever field you're interested in. Note that, if you have a poor publication record in the field of interest, it may be a good idea to find a strong collaborator or co-PI (if applicable in your field) to boost the likelihood of acceptance.
* If you are a post-doc looking for new positions, I think it's pretty widely accepted that your interests will and should be changing. I would indicate it explicitly on your CV in your objective statement (assuming you have one) that you're interested in branching out, and again in the cover letter. Regarding your previous research, just list it under "experience"; the reader will understand based on your resume, cover letter, and the fact you're applying to jobs in different fields that this was intentional. As you stated, there is a not-insignificant chance that your lack of publications in the new field will negatively impact your application.
* If you're a student, then you barely *have* research interests; you just have the research you've worked on for 2+ years, which you did so you could earn a PhD. Your colleagues will recognize that you're still familiarizing yourself with the field. Unless the shift is so substantial that none of your previous expertise would be useful, I wouldn't even bother to mention shifting interests; it's healthy and expected.
> 9 votes
# Answer
CVs usually have a line for research interests, and you can put whatever you want there. Similarly for a website. But if you're in a position to be evaluated based on your CV, be careful - you could be asked about these interests and you should have something to say.
Ultimately, if you're really interested in an area you'll start publishing in it and that will then be reflected in your publication list.
> 5 votes
# Answer
I find that **few of my research opportunities come from what I put on my CV or website**. I think much more **they come through my personal network**. If I'm invited to speak in a conference session, it's usually because the organizers know me, know my work, or (occasionally) know my PhD adviser (even though I finished more than 5 years ago). When I'm asked to referee a paper, it's often because my work is cited in the paper. One time I decided to go to a workshop in an area where I had not worked much. Not long after I committed to the workshop, one of the organizers asked me to referee a paper on that topic.
All of that is to say, that I don't think what I list on my CV among my "research interests" contributes much to my research opportunities. So, **if you want to generate more opportunities**, what should you do? **Go to conferences**. If you have work to talk about, great. If not, go to sessions on the areas you want to move into. **Ask good questions. Talk with the people you meet there** about possible research and workshops, or what's the next big thing in the area.
> 4 votes
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Tags: cv
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thread-2749 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2749 | Is it desirable to compliment a seminar speaker before asking a question? | 2012-08-04T20:02:27.407 | # Question
Title: Is it desirable to compliment a seminar speaker before asking a question?
Some people, when asking a question at the end of a seminar, make comments on the talk first along the lines of "great talk," "really enjoyed this talk," or similar phrases. Is this a desirable thing to do? I've noticed that most people don't do this, but some of my favorite scientists do.
# Answer
> 23 votes
My personal preference is **not to offer a compliment in this setting**. It often strikes me as less sincere (off-handed or perfunctory). If I really want to compliment someone, I tend to catch up with them later and start with something like "I really enjoyed your talk. If you have a minute to talk, I have a question for you about..." On the other hand, I know that some people feel like asking questions (especially if they are critical of some aspect of the work) can feel hostile, and so they find the compliment as a good way to off-set that.
# Answer
> 18 votes
If it's your honest opinion, then I would compliment the talk. However, I wouldn't do it just to be polite. There is no need for false kindness.
# Answer
> 8 votes
When asking a question, it is desirable to explicitly establish a non-confrontational tone. **It is natural and common (though of course not correct) to interpret even well-meaning questions in an antagonistic way.** If the speaker feels threatened, they will be less able to focus on the content of the question and may instead become defensive. **A question that is interpreted as non-confrontational is therefore likely to get a better answer.**
Complimenting the speaker is one way to make your subsequent question non-confrontational, and is a good idea as long as you are sincere. Other ways include saying something nice about the topic itself ("you're studying a very interesting question"), smiling, and carefully controlling your tone of voice. These are especially important if your question amounts to a criticism of the presented material.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I think if you reason why you compliment the person, like "I really enjoyed your talk **because** \[state your specific reason here\]", it will always be warmly accepted.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I agree with the other posters.
Personally, I try to make my tone of voice, attitude and choice of words respectful when asking a question while the conference is in session (and of course otherwise). I try to indicate indirectly that I enjoyed the talk (if indeed I did), without offering a direct compliment.
You note your favourite scientists being complimentary to speakers. I expect that these scientists are well-established, well-regarded and that they know that any praise from them would be a particular boost to, in particular, more junior scientists.
# Answer
> 1 votes
It is not desirable, but you can do it if you want. But do it shortly, because there is not a lot of time for questions after a talk. Personally, I think that saving the compliment as a way to start a discussion later with the speaker is preferable.
To tell the truth, I also think that, except for clarification requests, questions are better asked in a discussion with the speaker, after the session. This is the only way to have complete and clear answers.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Somewhat like @Dan C suggested...
If you really felt inspired and got something new from the talk you should offer verbal appreciation. If you very much liked the presentation and is relevant to your research, it would be a good idea to talk in person.
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Tags: etiquette, seminars
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thread-2778 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2778 | Factors determining a feasible research field | 2012-08-07T11:00:20.077 | # Question
Title: Factors determining a feasible research field
It was discussed in prospect of PhD research proposal previously, but this question is for all ages of researchers.
* What factors should one take into consideration before selecting a research field?
# Answer
> 16 votes
* **Are you passionate about it?**
* **Are you good at it?**
* **Will people pay you to do it?**
Everything else is noise.
# Answer
> 5 votes
Some points for STEM:
* What are worldwide current emerging technologies? Which topics become attention by scholars, industry and funding institutions in journals.
* Funding: What topics (like green energy in Germany) are on the local research agenda of your country for the next decades?
* Fundamental research: where are contradictions of widely-accepted but incomplete theories in a field. Are the major paradigms consistent? (e.g. bringing together general relativity and particle physics). See my answer here on open problems
* Meterology improvement/measurement methodology. Often very tricky, time- and cost-intensive engineering problems, but often making falsification/discovering of new phenomenons possible at all, opportunity to develop patents
* Are there enough possible and qualified students, scholars for collaboration in a special (new) research field you can hire/attract? Of course, someone has to make the first step, but in STEM money and manpower is often the crucial factor to compete with other research groups, otherwise it's easy to waste a lot of money and time while someone already published the results you are still trying to measure. Without good students and a well-equipped lab it will be hard to attract money, students and scholars. In Germany you see this in form of "clustering" of several research institutions interested in semiconductors and chip-technology in German silicon valley near the city of Dresden.
* Can you and your group dive easily into a new or related research topic? Do you have the infrastructure, is the gap of knowledge too big? How big is the risk, if you fail in this topic or it becomes suddenly un-trendy/unimportant. That's why research groups often do some diversification of research interests. Don't put all your money on a single stock.
* a really good nose, overview and knowledge of current state of the art and knowledge.
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Tags: publications, research-process
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thread-2782 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2782 | When should an author retract their paper as a result of misinterpreted results? | 2012-08-07T18:50:23.607 | # Question
Title: When should an author retract their paper as a result of misinterpreted results?
I'm curious when should an author make a call on retracting their paper vs. sending an errata or a correction. Many say it is when an error is involved that influences the interpretation of the paper.
I'm finding it hard to understand when a paper should or shouldn't be retracted, since there are plenty of papers out there with errors at every step of the process but they are still available. There are also several papers that have been outright wrong but they are still available. There are several papers that have been performed incorrectly, interpreted incorrectly, and still published in a high profile journal that haven't been retracted.
This is distinct from retractions due to fraud or other ethical issues.
# Answer
> 20 votes
Outside of ethical issues, I'd argue that the only time that retraction of a paper is warranted, is when there is a methodological error that is so great that it completely invalidates *all* or *almost all* of the paper's **key** results. For example, if a paper is supposed to observe phenomena A, B, C, and D, I wouldn't retract the paper if the experiment that was supposed to measure D was done incorrectly, but the results of A, B, and C remain unchanged. A correction or erratum should suffice in such cases. However, if a paper was trying to derive X, Y, and Z, but faulty assumption Q invalidates *all* of the derived results, then that paper should be retracted.
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Tags: publications, journals, ethics, retraction, errors-erratum
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thread-2745 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2745 | In the social sciences, is it easier to get a post doc than a PhD? | 2012-08-04T09:45:14.677 | # Question
Title: In the social sciences, is it easier to get a post doc than a PhD?
I am completing a PhD in Global Studies in Germany, and would like to apply for a post doc in North America, especially Canada. However, I am not sure if there is funding for post docs in the social sciences. For international students is it easier to apply for a PhD than for a post doc? I have a publication in an edited book from a prestigious publisher, another in English in a peer reviewed journal published from Germany.
# Answer
If you already have a PhD, the chances of being admitted into a second PhD program are quite low, I would imagine. Furthermore, I would not recommend such a strategy: the possibility of being labeled as a "perpetual student" could have negative ramifications on one's career.
That said, there is funding for post-doctoral associates in addition to graduate students, even in the social sciences; in particular, there are a number of fellowships that are designed specifically for postdoctoral candidates in the humanities and social sciences. Of course, there is relatively more funding for PhD's than for postdoctoral associates.
> 3 votes
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Tags: phd, application, postdocs
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thread-2791 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2791 | In writing a paper, how far can criticism of previous works go? | 2012-08-08T16:53:10.513 | # Question
Title: In writing a paper, how far can criticism of previous works go?
What are the appropriate limits when criticizing the previously published work of others that you're citing in a paper? Are there limits with respect to maintaining decorum and decency?
# Answer
> 26 votes
Generally speaking, any critiques should be brief and directed (i.e., "the cited works failed to consider \<X\> in their analysis", "to simplify their model, they assumed \<X\>, whereas in reality \<Y\>").
If you're criticizing **assumptions**, be sure to specifically state which assumptions you challenge, and clearly deliniate (with references) why they are incorrect. Note that many papers use incorrect assumptions to begin work in a new field, and your critique should recognize that (i.e., "The seminal paper assumed \<X\> \[1\]. We extend this work by removing said assumption.")
If you're criticizing **conclusions**, again state specifically which conclusion you disagree with, and be sure to provide data/analyses to back up your conclusion.
If you're challenging their **data**, note that (in neuroscience, at least) this is perfectly common; findings differ all the time. Progress often stems from finding the cause of these differences between data. You should note the difference and mention something along the lines of "Our findings differ from those of \<X\> \[1\], and we believe this is because \<Y\>". Note that it is almost a requirement to mention something like this; if you don't, (1) the researchers whose paper you missed will probably mildly insulted, and (2) people familiar with the field will assume you didn't do your basic literature search, which makes you look stupid.
Needless to say, ad hominem attacks are always inappropriate and should never appear in scientific literature.
# Answer
> 4 votes
I think that simply by thinking in terms of "criticism" you have already gone too far. I try and point out what the previous work has done and demonstrate how my work builds on that. Things like reducing the number of assumptions, doing additional analysis, or using a better method, don't require you to criticize the previous work.
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Tags: publications, journals, writing, ethics
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thread-2793 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2793 | How can I stay active in academia from an industry position? | 2012-08-08T20:46:49.587 | # Question
Title: How can I stay active in academia from an industry position?
Places like the old Bell Labs and Genentech gRED have an environment where the scientists publish quite a lot. Suppose I wanted to build my research R&D departments to have strong academic ties. What would I need to have in place to keep in touch with academia?
# Answer
People tend to do whatever gets rewarded. So if you want your department to establish strong academic ties, then find ways to formally reward that. In addition, people do stuff that they like to do when they don't have to cut through red tape. In particular, you should
* Make it easy for your researchers to attend conferences
* Establish a culture of seminars, and make it easy to bring external visitors
> 5 votes
# Answer
Start collaborative projects with members of university departments. Initially, this could begin as informal collaborations, but ideally start submitting collaborative research proposals to relevant funding bodies. For certain funding sources, having an industrial partner strengthens the collaboration. In fact, some funding sources are only available if an industrial partner is on board. The catch here is that sometimes the funding agencies require that the industrial partner commit resources, although others (such as EU FP7) will provide funding for industrial partners.
Many academics in university departments will be willing to form such a collaboration if it provides them another (potentially easier) way of getting funding. From that perspective, you have a strong position, assuming that you have the track record to convince funding agencies that giving you money is a good idea.
> 5 votes
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Tags: industry
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thread-2785 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2785 | What is the purpose of the weekly research meetings that advisers often have with their research group? | 2012-08-08T13:33:58.060 | # Question
Title: What is the purpose of the weekly research meetings that advisers often have with their research group?
Does it usually happen even if all of the adviser's students have very different research interests?
# Answer
These meetings can serve a variety of purposes, but many of them fall into the broad category of **keeping the adviser and all the group members updated on what everyone in the group is doing**. Below are some of the secondary benefits of a group meeting:
* saves the adviser time (compared to meeting with students individually)
* motivates the students to keep doing work, so they have something to report at the meeting
* fosters a sense of community with the group
* provides the students experience giving informal presentations
* often leads to the more senior students mentoring the junior students
To answer your follow-up question in the description, **no, some faculty meet with each student individually**; in fact these separate meetings are common, for example, in mathematics.
> 16 votes
# Answer
As one of these advisors who has both individual meetings with students as well as group meetings, I can attest that I use the group meetings more for skills development rather than just rehashing research-related issues.
It serves a number of purposes:
* Presentation of skills and tools that will be useful to the entire group (for example, in my group, that means programming tools, content management software like Git or Subversion), as well as things like "How do you write an abstract?"
* Presentation by group members of their own research work
* Presentation by group members of *other people's work* (often through a discussion of a paper in the literature, or a group of papers clustered around a common topic)
Now, my group happens to be bifurcated in purpose: I have people working in two very different application fields. I still have everybody present to the entire group for the simple reason that if they can't inform group members with whom they have methods and techniques in common about their research, how are they going to explain their work to anybody else?
> 12 votes
# Answer
Aside from Dan's answer, which is probably one of the main points, having the lab members present in group meetings also helps significantly in developing public speaking skills in a low-pressure environment. Many of the lab meetings that I've attended focused on the ability of the presenter, often a graduate student, to present an idea clearly, concisely, and persuasively. As an added bonus, at well-run meetings, there are often many questions, which helps the presenter learn to field (sometimes difficult) questions on-the-fly. These skills are pretty important in academia.
> 10 votes
# Answer
The main purpose is to waste some time. Probably the only thing that does not happen during these meetings is work. Unfortunately, lot of managers and professors think that we need to meet in order to know what everyone else is doing (seen from PhD position). We **do** meet each other in the coffee room, in the lab, while commuting, after hours, in the elevator and so on. We talk. We know. If we have a problem, we talk. Sorry for the rant, but I had to counterweight all the positivity in other answers.
> 6 votes
# Answer
While I generally agree with the other answers, I see three additional purposes of group meetings that I cannot accomplish easily in my individual meetings. While the meetings are weekly, I like to have lab members think about the upcoming month.
* Notifications about upcoming events: I might tell people about an upcoming conference deadline at our individual meetings, but I often will forget to tell someone.
* Management of shared resources: Getting everyone to briefly say what they are planning to do in the upcoming weeks often highlights that there is going to be high demand for a resource and lets us work out alternative arrangements
* Managing my (PIs) time: Maybe this is also a shared resource, but I try and let people know my teaching, marking, reviewing, writing, etc loads. I also try and get people to tell me what they want me to do over the next month. I think this helps people (both myself and lab members) adjust their schedules so that we can tackle tasks efficiently.
> 2 votes
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Tags: graduate-school
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thread-2810 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2810 | How to ask someone (outside the department) to be on the thesis committee | 2012-08-10T14:54:25.747 | # Question
Title: How to ask someone (outside the department) to be on the thesis committee
I have to request a faculty member outside of my department to be on my thesis committee and I was wondering how I should go about doing this. To be frank, I don't really see why someone would be willing to be on the thesis committee for someone outside their department and even field - apart from the altruism of wanting to help others in academia and all, but I assume professors are busy! Therefore, I imagine that it's hard to convince someone to do this?
In any case, I was wondering:
> what information about myself should I aim to include in an email request to a potential thesis committee member outside my department?
In addition, while I need to find someone to file my candidacy papers, but I have only a vague idea of what my final thesis will look like (I know the field, but not the particular question it will address.)
Some things I have come up with include:
* a rough description of the subject area
* 'expected' graduation date and number of years spent in graduate school so far
* if they have been on the thesis committee for someone else with a similar thesis (by looking at the thesis committees of former students who worked with my advisor)
# Answer
> 12 votes
From my experience, having cross-department committee members is very common, and can actually be very beneficial to the student, as you gain access to expertise and perspective you might otherwise miss. There's usually at least some connection between the research being done and the expertise of the faculty member. To use myself as an example, my research involved behavioral neuroscience, but I had both an electrical engineering faculty with signal processing experience and a psychology faculty on my committee, and they both gave *very* useful advice with my project. That being said, I had a committee member who was completely unrelated to my work (my focus shifted midway through my PhD career), and he requested to still stay on despite the lack of direct research connection; he was happy just to give advice and provide feedback.
You can find potential committee members by talking to other graduate students, and by looking at what theses professors have worked on (as you suggest above). I definitely recommend talking to other students; some professors are more difficult to work with than others, and you likely won't get that type of information from your advisor.
Regarding how to go about talking to the professor, I would just send a simple email asking for a meeting about this topic. If they're simply not interested, they'll say so, and you'll save yourself time. If they are, meet to discuss the following:
* who you work for
* what you're researching (both the ten-year research goal, if there is one, as well as your specific project)
* why you think this faculty member can help you
* why this person should be interested (this should be tacit; i.e., you shouldn't have to say it explicitly, he should understand it from the above items)
# Answer
> 8 votes
As eykanal mentioned, this is very common. Likely the same requirement exists in the other departments at your institution. Your request will not get rejected solely because you are from a different program. They may still decline if they feel that they know too little about your field.
If you want to maximize your chances of identifying a professor who will agree, then approach professors who have participated in the committees of other members of your group. Which professor(s) sat on the committees of recent graduates? Which professors have your fellow group members gone to? Perhaps your adviser has an unofficial reciprocal agreement with one or more faculty members in different departments. Mine did.
If there is already a connection between your group and a professor, then an email from you like the kind eykanal describes will not actually seem so random to that individual.
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Tags: graduate-school, advisor
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thread-2818 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2818 | Is there any disadvantage to having PhD from a non-main campus? | 2012-08-11T14:38:29.067 | # Question
Title: Is there any disadvantage to having PhD from a non-main campus?
What if one pursues a PhD from a university campus which is not the main campus, rather in a different city hundred miles away. The certificate is given by the main campus authority. Is there any discrimination towards the graduates?
As an example, say the campus is ADFA which is a sub campus of UNSW, Which is also known as UNSW Canberra (details). more on this is here.
# Answer
> 10 votes
The quality of the department has much more influence on the degree than the "famousness" of the campus—whether it is a "main" campus or a "branch" campus.
For instance, in my field, Chemical Engineering, the University of California has two departments that are widely acknowledged to be top ten: Berkeley and Santa Barbara. A degree from either of these schools would be recognized as essentially equal; degrees from campuses like Davis or Los Angeles would be slightly less well received, but still be considered good.
So, to some extent, it's more the issue of the resources available at a given department, and its reputation within the community as a whole, that makes the difference. The campus as a whole is a distant second. (As a similar example, the University of Minnesota is recognized as a top-five program in my field; nobody would rank UMN as top five nationwide overall.)
# Answer
> 9 votes
Often a university will have many campuses, and some campuses will be **much more prestigious** than others. (One well-known example is the University of California, Berkeley, versus UC Merced.) In that case your degree will generally be more highly regarded if you go to the more prestigious campus.
However, I think the example you mentioned does not fall into this case. (After reading the link you sent, I couldn't quite decide, but I got more information from the wikipedia page for UNSW.) So in your case, I would ask about which resources, particularly classes and faculty members, you will have access to. Elsewhere I've written about why you should go to the best grad school you can get into. One big reason is **networking** and another is the culture and **mindset** you will absorb from your classmates and faculty. Even if you have the same degree on paper, many people will know (or think they do) if there's a difference in the quality of your training.
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Tags: phd, graduate-school, research-process, education
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thread-2815 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2815 | PhD thesis layouts from around the world | 2012-08-10T23:54:05.750 | # Question
Title: PhD thesis layouts from around the world
About to do this PhD thesis here - but am not really satisfied with my layout. Could somebody point me to some interesting layouts, templates or whatever?
# Answer
Use the one that is provided by your institution. The formatting guidelines are not "guidelines", but are instead "requirements" that are checked by someone who deeply cares about them. So you should use a template that has successfully been used in the past at your institution. If you do otherwise, you are setting yourself up for a **lot** of formatting work. All of that said, University of Oregon's style file, which I used for my degree there, may be found here: http://www.ctan.org/pkg/uothesis
> 15 votes
# Answer
Look at these options, I personally prefer the third option as Latex is always the best.
1. http://www2.imm.dtu.dk/teaching/phd/
2. http://www0.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/c.clack/phd.html
3. http://theoval.cmp.uea.ac.uk/~nlct/latex/thesis/thesis\_a4.pdf
> 5 votes
# Answer
The following are all LaTeX related.
I really like Uggedal's thesis design. You may download the sources from https://github.com/jrk/uggedal-thesis.
Other starting points are Andre Miede's `classicthesis` and Lorenzo Pantieri's `classicthesis` packages.
```
@Manual{classicthesis,
author = {Miede, Andr{\'e}},
title = {The Classic Thesis Style},
keywords = {latex},
date = {2010-01-24},
}
@Manual{arsclassica,
author = {Pantieri, Lorenzo},
title = {Customizing \texttt{classicthesis}
with the \texttt{arsclassica} Package},
keywords = {latex},
date = {2010},
}
```
> 5 votes
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Tags: phd, publications, thesis
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thread-2824 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2824 | Is research experience in a different field relevant for PhD application? | 2012-08-12T09:13:45.150 | # Question
Title: Is research experience in a different field relevant for PhD application?
I am a economics major undergraduate student who will apply for grad schools in the coming semester. I think I have quite a strong research experience in mathematical statistics (asymptotic statistics to be specific), but, unfortunately, not much in economics itself. So I am curious if economics departments in graduate schools will care about my research experience in statistics?
Maybe a broader question is if grad schools care about applicants' research experience in a different (maybe even unrelated) field at all? I guess in my case statistics and economics are still quite correlated, but what about other more distant combinations of target departments and previous research experience?
# Answer
While field-specific research experience is always the best kind, I think there is a role for good research experience in any *related* field. Close-by disciplines that share similar research methods and approaches will carry much more weight than something much further removed. (For instance, as a chemical engineer, I wouldn't put much stock in somebody doing sociology or clinical medical research, but somebody who had a background in research in applied mathematics or mechanical engineering would be potentially of interest.)
So, if you're going to go into an area of economics where your mathematical statistics background will be of benefit, I think that will (or at least *should*) be viewed favorably by an admissions committee.
That said, you will want to make sure that your research supervisor understands that you're applying to economics programs, and tailors her letter of recommendation accordingly. Also, if you have a lot of experience in a different field, you will need to make clear to the admissions committee why it is you want to pursue the new field.
> 13 votes
# Answer
A graduate program in any research field considers a variety of criteria for each applicant. The contents of a good application to graduate school have been addressed here before.
Most admissions committees look at several criteria, which are often weighted, but none weighted so high as to dominate the whole decision. A strong showing in one category can offset a weaker showing in another. Among them are:
* Basic knowledge of the field: You demonstrate this by completing a Bachelor's Degree in the field or a related field, or presenting evidence that you will do so by the time you matriculate. For example, in your question you mention that you are majoring in economics and want to go to graduate school in economics. No conflicts there. If you were majoring in philosophy and wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry, you would be a harder sell. What constitutes a related field may vary, but I know that a B.S. in mathematics can get you into graduate programs in engineering.
* Academic ability: You demonstrate this through your grades in your courses, especially those relevant to the graduate program you want to enroll in, and through your scores on whatever standardized tests the program asks you to take before you apply.
* Research potential: You demonstrate this one of two ways. If you were lucky enough to publish your research as an undergraduate, then the committee can assess what you did directly. If not, then you need one or more letters of recommendation from someone who has supervised you in a research setting. The admissions committee wants evidence that you have certain qualities that make good researchers, regardless of discipline: curiosity, critical-thinking, creativity, strong work ethic, passion or drive, etc. A good research experience in another field is worth much more than a bad one in your own field.
* Communications skills: You demonstrate these through your personal statement (or essay or letter) that you must write. Spelling and grammar errors or worse writing problems in this document are more damning than a bad letter of recommendation!
* And as JeffE mentions in his answer to a related question: **No Red Flags**
> 6 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, research-undergraduate, changing-fields
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thread-1911 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1911 | How to manage the web presence of a research group | 2012-06-06T09:08:35.700 | # Question
Title: How to manage the web presence of a research group
Given the importance of web presence how does one manage the web presence of a research group? The simplest approach seems to be to use links to the personal webpages of the group members to supply content. Is it worth creating content specifically for the group and if so should it reflect the interests of the current group membership or the interests of the PI, which will need updating less frequently?
# Answer
> 13 votes
There are many things that could be useful for the web presence of a research group, namely:
* A brief presentation of the aims of this research group
* The members of this working group (past and currents) with a link to their homepage
* a list of publications by this research group
* if there are working groups organized by this research group (for instance a presentation every two weeks by one of the member of the work done)
* Other results such as software ...
* Maybe a link to the people funding this research group, a little advertisement never hurts.
# Answer
> 13 votes
To add to Gopi's answer,
* A list of lab alumni and optionally where they currently are working, it can help lend credibility to the lab ("look at how awesome we are, former postdocs from our lab are now working at MIT")
* In the publications section, I would add downloadable PDFs of your papers, as that's the most common reason people will be visiting your website
Regarding your mention of content for the lab specifically (i.e., an intranet), we had such a page in our lab, and we used it solely to distribute (and keep historical records of) papers discussed in lab meetings.
# Answer
> 3 votes
In addition to the components listed by eykanal and Gopi, my group webpage includes pages for
* Software developed by the group
* Open positions (Ph.D. studentships and post-docs) available within the group.
These things could be maintained on my personal webpage (as PI), but I consider the group to be more than just "people who happen to be working with Prof. X".
In case it is helpful to have an example, here's mine: http://numerics.kaust.edu.sa/. I could give other examples of group sites I think are better than mine, but I don't know if they would like me advertising them as such.
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Tags: website
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thread-2827 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2827 | How do you cite an internal report? | 2012-08-12T19:16:08.203 | # Question
Title: How do you cite an internal report?
In the field of numerical modeling, Researchers often times find conference papers or journal articles which cites an internal report as the core of the paper. The main authors may have access to the internal report but what about the others? How does one cite an internal report in doing further research based on the main article?
As an example, This paper and this paper cite both of the papers below -
1. M. Saeedvafa and R. J. Asaro, “Transformation Induced Plasticity,” (LAUR-95-482, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1995)
2. Saeedvafa, M, “A Constitutive Model for Shape Memory Alloys”, Internal MSC Report, (January 2002).
# Answer
> 10 votes
When you cite *any* source, you should give enough that the reader can, at least in principle, read that source for themselves. This information is especially important when you cite something *as a source for further information*, as it is in your example paper.
> This paper presents the framework of such a complete phenomenological model **outlined by Sayeedvafa (2002)** that provides a description of a wide range of the observed behavior, which are both tractable from analytical as well as computational viewpoint.
For example, citations of technical reports (like your first example) should uniquely identify both the institution and the report, so that the reader knows who and how to ask for a copy. In particular, if the report is available on the web at a stable location, the citation should include a stable URL.
If a source is likely to be inaccessible to most readers (like your second example), you should also cite an accessible secondary source that describes the relevant content in detail. (If you really want to be helpful, the primary source citation should include a pointer like "Cited in \[xxx\].") Otherwise, you're just asking for the reader's *blind trust* that the source has the missing details you claim, or proves the result that you claim, or is as important as you claim, or even exists at all.
# Answer
> 7 votes
Citing a paper serves two roles. One is as a reference - a place for the reader to go and check the details. @JeffE's excellent answer deals with this case. For the completeness of the answer, let me discuss the other case.
The other role of citation is *acknowledgment*, that is, acknowledging that somebody else did that piece of work, rather than the authors. That should be the only reason for you to cite a paper which is not publicly available (for instance, because it is not yet ready, etc.) Some time you can find a citation that says "Author A., Private Communication", which usally means you had a bunch of emails from Mr. Author, and the result/claim/lemma is actually based on what he told you or the draft of his paper that he sent only to you, etc., and you fully acknowledge him for that contribution.
Personally, I never liked citation to Private communication, but they do exists.
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Tags: publications, research-process, journals, etiquette
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thread-2480 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2480 | Advice - MS in mathematics to increase competitiveness for PhD programs? | 2012-07-16T22:27:59.447 | # Question
Title: Advice - MS in mathematics to increase competitiveness for PhD programs?
I am a senior maths major (computer science minor) who is pretty worried about the next step in my academic career. First, let me state that I'm about as sure as I can be that I want to get a PhD in mathematics. Unfortunately, I didn't realize what the field entailed, or my passion for it, until I had made many really poor decisions - mostly in the form of bad attendance. For example, I basically just showed up for tests in calc 2, 3, linear algebra, and differential equations, and consequently, my field of potential letters of recommendation is quite small. To make things worse, I come from a party school - I need letters!
I've had one professor (abstract algebra) offer to write me a letter, and I've taken my advanced calc sequence under a professor who I think could write me a good recommendation (adv calc 2 was a graduate course; had \[i think\] the highest grade out of about 15 students). I'm also taking topology (graduate level) this semester, and am hoping to impress my way to a third letter.
My GPA is okay - cumulative about 3.61; math is all A's and one C in linear algebra. I've also been working through a few books (Spivak's "Calculus" and "Calculus on Manifolds," and am about to start Birkhoff and Maclane's "Survey of Modern Algebra." Although I love the material, and enjoy learning it, the independent studying probably stems from some feeling of inadequacy due to my past immaturity.
I got a 169/170 Q, 165/170 V on the general GRE. Also, I think I can crack 80% on the subject test, but am not overly confident about this. One glaring hole is that I have done zero research, and have done nothing extracurricular - I literally have nothing "extra" going for me.
My concern is that I've seen the resumes of many people accepted to top universities (PhD track), and I just don't stack up. But if my goal is to become a professor one day, it seems that where I go to school is extremely important. So should I just hope that I can get accepted into a top 30-50 school, or would it be beneficial to consider improving my resume in a solid Masters program so that better schools become available?
And if a masters is a viable option, what caliber of school would I need to excel at in order to be a competitive applicant for a top 10 PhD program?
# Answer
> 14 votes
If you have a thin B.S. background in math, it is definitely very helpful to get a M.S. in math before (re-) applying to Ph.D. programs. (I say this having been on the Grad Admissions cte, and having been Dir Grad Studies in two different incarnations...) In the U.S., *many* undergrad programs are really very thin, due to the requirement (otherwise wholesome) of "breadth".
The "undergrad research" episodes in summers, and during the academic year, are good for generating enthusiasm and camaraderie, and especially for getting outside the rigid classroom/textbook atmosphere, but (apart from very broad features) are not at all good indicators of what serious research is or will be like. Those programs are *designed* to be fun (pizza parties, etc), so "doing research" in that sense is fun for nearly everyone.
So, apply to MS/PhD programs at the top 30-50 schools, and do the best job you can in the standard/required PhD curriculum (usually, there is no distinction between PhD curriculum and MS, except that the latter is designed to accommodate, if necessary, weaker students, perhaps weak enough so that the MS will be their last degree in Mathematics... don't be misled into taking an "easy route"). And, in the course of doing the coursework, don't be a stranger to the instructors of those courses, who will be your letter-writers for either re-application to "better" schools in a year or two, or will be your letter writers if you need to re-apply to that institution itself for the PhD program, for bureaucratic reasons.
Grades in non-math courses, and grades in calculus and lower-division courses don't matter much, although obviously good grades are a not a bad thing. Admissions committees are well-acquainted with the changes people go through around age 20 and so on. The question is not so much what silly things one has done a few years back, but where one is heading *now*, and what documentable evidence there is for this.
In particular, although self-learning is the most significant long-term way to develop scholarship, it is obviously hard to document. Perhaps the best way is to sign up for courses that appear to re-iterate (serious) content you've already studied. Presumably, you absolutely ace the material and draw the instructor's attention... since self-study beyond "requirements" is, strangely-or-not, extremely rare. Evidence of non-passivity is excellent, if it really proves to be what you feel it is (rather than, say, mere obsessiveness).
So, again, yes, think about "proving yourself" during a year or two of "MS work". No downside, really.
# Answer
> 8 votes
I was in a similar situation 1.5 years ago: made a series of bad decisions, have 0 publications or research experience, nothing outstanding about my academic CV. I was in fact wavering between pure and applied mathematics, not really knowing much about research in either area.
After doing a 1 year mathematics MSc at a top-tier university, would I say that in situations similar to yours and mine, doing an MSc is a **very** wise choice. Doing well in a good MSc will **certainly** overshadow what you did in your undergrad.
**The primary goals of the MSc are:**
1. Obtain good grades and recommendations letters.
2. Do Research! It is absolutely vital that the MSc has a significant research component.
**Things I wished I knew back then:**
1. Take courses to maximize your grades. This could mean taking courses you have already taken before. Its not strictly a waste of time: you can see this as a test to see if you can perform in the topic at a graduate level. Also, if you're interested to do research in it, this would seriously help reinforce your knowledge in that area and you can take the opportunity to know the professor teaching it, even doing your dissertation in it.
2. DO RESEARCH. Grab any chance you have to do research. In fact, be prepared to stay behind for a few months after graduation to turn your dissertation into publishable material or for an internship in the department.
3. Pin down your interests ASAP. Do your MSc dissertation in that area if you can. It is such an advantage to have a dissertation project in and a letter of recommendation from someone in the area you're applying to. Contact relevant professors about graduate applications asap.
**Advice for applications:**
IMHO you should aim as high as possible when applying for MSc. Top tier self funded MScs are a lot easier to get into if you don't have terrible grades.
Its not about the prestige of the department. Rather, more competitive places tend to attract highly motivated and competitive people. Being in that environment would seriously inspire you to push harder and accomplish more. Also, they tend to have more "intellectual resources" - brilliant professors, brilliant classmates etc for you to learn from.
**P.S.**
I am a student still in the process of applying for a PhD in Applied Mathematics.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I've always thought that one good indicator of whether or not you even have the motivation to complete an entire PHD is whether or not you do the practice problems in text books. If you enthusiastically do those practice problems, like you solve them in the shower, then I would say that, barring talent, you at least have the requisite level of enthusiasm for the subject. In other words if your not a fan of practice problems, your prolly not gunna like the 300 page writing part of the PHD, nor the fact that not all 100% of the work you do will make it into that writeup (there's alot of tangential calculation and verification). In this way, personal interest and commitment to mathematical activity is absolutely requisite.
You should wait until you finish that course in topology. Math takes on a different character when you get into analysis, manifolds, algebra and beyond. For me, smooth manifolds was as far as I needed to go in the analysis route to satisfy my curiosity. Then I became interested in other things. If I had had that shift of interest midPHD then I don't think I would have been able to finish.
You should also just sit down, learn LaTex if you haven't already, and write about something that interests you, exploring it to the absolute highest level of detail while always leaving an obvious path for generalization and application. Make it lucid and interesting. Convince the reader you have an idea and entertain them with it. Put it on the Internets, have a proff edit 1 or 2 pages, show it to a friend or classmate, stick it in a library book, whatever. This is one defining characteristic of a mathematician, communicating your thoughts to paper so that they may survive.
You should read this The Best Writing on Mathematics 2011, it will give you a good idea of what doing math as a profession is like. Regardless, you may have an excellent academic record, but what makes a good mathematician is a commitment to doing math and that should be your primary focus, grades second. Although there's nothing wrong with being competitive academically, if that's your thing then go for it.
Personally I didn't like Spivak's manifold calculus text. I went Munkres' Topology, to Lee's Topological Manifolds, and have yet to finish Lee's Smooth Manifolds. If your looking for a reliable publisher, just stick with the yellow covers.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, application, masters
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thread-2772 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2772 | Are there any specific teaching techniques to handle "virtual" classroom sessions? | 2012-08-06T17:25:17.940 | # Question
Title: Are there any specific teaching techniques to handle "virtual" classroom sessions?
In the past, I have attended a few "virtual" classroom sessions as a trainee and I always found it a little boring. I could notice the sincere effort that the trainer has put through but I couldn't control the feeling of boredom.
Are there any techniques specific to teaching in a "virtual environment" that can improve the pedagogical experience and keep students motivated? I do have a list for a normal environment but it is of little help in this new medium!
Thanks for helping.
# Answer
When I read this question, I immediately thought of this TED talk.
In it, Peter Norvig, who taught a huge online course on AI, shares what he learned about teaching to a large virtual audience.
His main points:
* Mimic a one-on-one teaching style by positioning the camera overhead as you write and speaking as if it is a single student.
* Alternately, use a livescribe pen (I've had experience with this for a math class; loved it)
* Make short, \<10 minute videos to retain attention
* Ask questions to check understanding (they will pause+answer) and then go over them
* Have due dates for watching the videos; students need motivation to watch them in a timely manner
* Encourage online forums because peers are great tutors they "remember what it's like to not understand"
> 6 votes
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Tags: teaching, training
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thread-2133 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2133 | Well-regarded institutions offering distance education (PG) in applied Math | 2012-06-24T15:16:48.100 | # Question
Title: Well-regarded institutions offering distance education (PG) in applied Math
Which are the well-regarded institutions in Europe (apart from the Open University in the UK) and America offering distance learning postgraduate degrees? I'm especially interested in Applied Mathematics.
# Answer
> 4 votes
There are a number of schools that have distance-learning programs, including for applied mathematics. For instance, the University of Washington offers an online master's of science program in Applied Mathematics.
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Tags: graduate-school, distance-learning
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thread-2845 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2845 | How to mark/cite text that you only translated? | 2012-08-14T09:49:51.967 | # Question
Title: How to mark/cite text that you only translated?
In my thesis I included some pages of a foreign specification. To improve the reader's convenience I have translated them as they are vital to my topic and I can't paraphrase them.
How do I properly cite these five pages/mark them as not my own?
# Answer
If this section of the thesis contains only the translated passage, then it is silly to use one of the quotation notifiers. As I said in my comment, preface the whole section with a notice about the origin of the passage. Then, present the passage unaltered (except for the translation). The contents of that notice will depend on which of the following categories the original passage falls into:
**Public domain**
The original passage is in the public domain (for example if it was written by a government employee in the course of their normal duties or if the author released into the public domain or if the passage is old enough that any possible copyright has expired) - then say something like
> The following section is was translated by (your initials) and is reproduced without any further alterations from (original source). This passage is in the public domain (rationale if possible).
**Fair Use**
Since a thesis is a document created in the course of obtaining an education, you can claim fair use for educational purposes. The passage represents less than the fair use maximum set for the original document (typically around 5% or less of the original work), then you can state something like
> The following section is was translated by (your initials) and is reproduced without permission and without any further alterations from (original source). Since this passage represents a minimal part of the original document, it constitutes fair use.
**Public License**
The creator of the document could have released the document under a license that allows reuse for non-profit purposes with appropriate attribution. See Creative Commons Licenses and GNU General Public Licenses. Licenses like these generally allow you to reproduce the work if you include the appropriate statement. Make sure the license allows derivative works (because that is what your translation is).
> The following section is was translated by (your initials). It is reproduced from (original source) under the Creative Cmmons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) License. The original copyright is held by, and all other rights are reserved by, (original copyright holder).
**Express permission**
If you have obtained written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the work in your thesis, then you would state something like the following. You should include the evidence of written permission in your appendix.
> The following section is was translated by (your initials). It is reproduced from (original source) with permission of the copyright holder. The original copyright is held by, and all other rights are reserved by, (original copyright holder).
**None of the above**
Without permission, a license, fair use, or public domain, you are violating copyright by reproducing the passage, even if you translated it (translations count as derivative works, which are still a no-no). Get the appropriate permissions or reduce the length of the passage so that it becomes fair use and see above.
**US Copyright**
Note that this answer primarily to US Copyright Law, with which I am most familiar. The copyright laws in other nations, as well as international copyright law, will vary, but many have similar provisions. However, some parts of my answer will be inapplicable in some countries. In these cases, behave as if the material is copyrighted. The concepts of *public domain*, *copyright*, and *license* are fairly similar in most places. Generally, the existence of a license supersedes copyright, with the exception that a license cannot supersede the public domain status of a work. *Fair use* may not exist in all jurisdictions. If you are unsure whether your nation has a fair use or similar exception in its copyright law, act as if it doesn't. Better safe than sorry.
> 17 votes
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Tags: citations, translations
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thread-2837 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2837 | When someone says a paper is published "in Nature", does that mean it's published in *Nature*? | 2012-08-13T10:25:42.040 | # Question
Title: When someone says a paper is published "in Nature", does that mean it's published in *Nature*?
Oftentimes, researchers talk about a paper that's been published "in Nature" (typically to establish its notoriety). However, I would like to clarify exactly what this means.
Along with *Nature*, the Nature Publishing Group publishes a wide range of journals, including journals with the word "Nature" in the title, such as *Nature Biotechnology*, *Nature Cell Biology*, and so on. Other journals published by Nature Publishing Group do not include the word "Nature" in the title, such as *Heredity*, *Molecular Systems Biology*, and so on. (See the journal index.) With this in mind, it does not seem clear to me exactly what it means to have published "in Nature".
> **Question**: When someone says they've published "in Nature", does this literally mean they have published in the journal entitled *Nature*?
# Answer
> 12 votes
The answer to your question is probably "Yes and No" or, more properly, it depends on who is telling you this and why.
If the individual wants you to find his or her research, then "in Nature" might mean in *Nature*. However, if someone wants you to find research, why aren't they giving you a full citation?
Usually someone would say their work is published "in Nature" to make themselves sound important (sometimes rightfully so). In this case, I doubt that the individual would make a distinction between *Nature* and the derivative journals, most of which also have high impact factors. The person is more likely to be vague if the field-specific NPG journal in which the work is published has a much lower impact factor than *Nature*.
In the field of chemistry, *Nature Chemistry* is relatively new, 4 years old. Since *NChem* is so new, most folks I talk to distinguish whether they mean *Nature* or *NChem*. *NChem*'s newness leaves it with a lower impact factor (20.524 for 2011, the first year it qualified for one) vs. *Nature* (36.280 in 2011).
# Answer
> 14 votes
I've never heard a neuroscientist say they published in Nature, if it was in Nature Neuroscience.
# Answer
> 7 votes
This Nature guide to authors uses the phrase "*Nature* and the Nature research journals." Also, the editorial policies website states
> The Nature journals' editorial policies concerning publication of primary scientific research can be found on the pages listed below. The policies described are those of *Nature* and the journals with "Nature" in their titles.
This implies that when the Nature Publishing Group uses the word "Nature" in italics, they are referring to the journal *Nature* and not to their other journals. If they want to refer to any of their journals, they use the phrase "Nature journal" (without italics).
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Tags: publications, journals
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thread-2860 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2860 | How to maximize performance in social science PhD program? | 2012-08-16T01:24:15.720 | # Question
Title: How to maximize performance in social science PhD program?
I am currently enrolled in a social science (management/information systems) PhD program, and I have spent a lot of time thinking/experimenting with how to maximize my performance. First I tried working 80 hours a week - this led to a hard time focusing, more time spent doing support activities (e.g. reading) rather than core activities (e.g. writing, coding etc.). Now I'm starting to settle more towards a 40-50 hour week that keeps me more energized the hours that I actually work.
I'm wondering, in your experience, what is the optimal balance of work/rest for graduate academic performance in the social sciences? Other factors that stimulate your academic performance?
# Answer
> 9 votes
I too have struggled at times to find this balance. I'm coming from math and computer science (rather than social science), but I think the field matters less than the type of work. If what you're trying to do is cognitively intense, then it's really important to be well-rested and to maintain focus. In grad school, I often would bang my head for hours on problems without much progress. Now **if I work for 45 minutes or an hour with little progress**, I'll go for a short walk, get a light snack, do jumping jacks, or play a quick web game; all of these are ways to **reset my focus and attention**.
Probably the single **most useful skill I've learned** is to **be more aware of my current state** (energy level, focus, sleepiness, hunger, emotional state) and try to **choose work appropriate for (doable in) that state**. For more thoughts on this idea, I recommend the advice given by Terry Tao here: http://terrytao.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/on-time-management/
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Tags: phd
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thread-987 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/987 | Data publication basics - where, why, how, and when should I publish my unpublished data? | 2012-04-03T01:17:02.620 | # Question
Title: Data publication basics - where, why, how, and when should I publish my unpublished data?
Many researchers have unpublished data. Some of this data may never be published as a manuscript. But I would like to make scholarly contributions of data that I have no intent on publishing, e.g. by publishing a "data paper"
The term "data paper" may be too new to be familiar, so here is a description from the Ecological Archives website:
> Data Papers are compilations and syntheses of data sets and associated metadata deemed to be of significant interest to the ESA membership and the scholarly community. Data papers are peer reviewed and are announced in abstract form in the appropriate print journal as a Data Paper. Data papers differ from review or synthesis papers published in other ESA journals in that data papers normally will not test or refine ecological theory. Data Papers can facilitate the rapid advancement of ecological knowledge and theory at the same time that they disseminate information. In addition, Ecological Archives provides a reward mechanism (in the form of peer-reviewed, citable objects) for the substantial effort required to compile and adequately document large data sets of ecological interest
This brings up the following questions:
What makes a good data repository?
Which data repositories provide a doi: for raw data?
Should published data be separate from articles on a CV?
# Answer
> 20 votes
There are a few things that I would consider when choosing a data repository:
* Does it let you release your data under a license you're happy with?
+ Applying too restrictive a license can prevent anyone from doing anything useful with the data, so think about what you're prepared to allow. In particular, remember that most of the research done in academia could be considered "commercial" from a legal perspective. On the other hand, you may wish to choose a license that ensures you get credit for your work. You may or may not agree with them, but reading the Panton Principles will give you some idea of the issues here. Also take a look at this list of licenses written with data in mind
* How easy will your data be to find?
+ People will only use your data if they can find it. I recommend Googling (other search engines are available) for some datasets you know of in your field and see if they come up — those repositories which are indexed by the major search engines will put you at a big advantage when it comes to attracting citations.
* What repositories are well known in your field?
+ Your institution may have a repository which you can easily deposit in, but it won't be the first place colleagues in your field will think of to look. If there are well-established repositories I would prefer those, or make sure your data is indexed by a well-established aggregator (I know ANDS runs a national aggregator in Australia).
* What does your institution allow?
+ In many cases, your institution will own (or otherwise have a claim to) the data you generate as part of your research, so check what your local policies are and if need be ask your supervisor, head of department, legal team, etc. This will particularly affect your choice of license.
The other parts of your question can probably be answered better by others here (or maybe it should be split into several?)
# Answer
> 7 votes
Figshare provides online hosting and a permalink to your dataset, though it does not provide a DOI. I've been posting some figures there, but not data, and I quite like the service. They allow the option of keeping the data private as well, so you can use to store the data and later release it when you're done.
# Answer
> 3 votes
I think the best place for data is in a subject-focused data repository, but in the absence of that, there are repositories such as Dryad.
Biomed Central just announced a partnership with a site called LabArchives to host data of BMC authors, including DOIs for the data and the re-use promoting CC0 license, but I don't have any experience with the site.
# Answer
> 3 votes
If you have a website with free preprints of your work (which you probably should have), put your data (and code) there. Alternatively, I know people who use GitHub (or similar) for the purpose of (distributed) storage. This has the charm of persistence and an immediate potential of collaboration.
For a (hopefully) persistent approach to citability, DataCite looks legit. In particular, they issue DOIs and are funded by libraries and research facilities from around the globe.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Sounds like it might be appropriate for Pangaea: http://www.pangaea.de/submit/
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Tags: publications, data, reproducible-research
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thread-2864 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2864 | How to create HTML Slides with audio for online lectures? | 2012-08-16T06:08:51.837 | # Question
Title: How to create HTML Slides with audio for online lectures?
This follows on from a recent question about embedding audio in PDF slides. I don't like the thought of users needing to use a particular PDF viewer in order to hear the audio and I don't like the thought of needing proprietary software just to create the presentations. Thus, another option would be to create HTML slides. There are a range of HTML slide production approaches (e.g., S5, DZSlides, Slidy, Slideous).
**Update**: I was thinking about using pandoc to convert markdown into one of the slide formats. @Federico mentions the audio HTML tag. I assume that would be part of an overall solution. This presumably represents a basic answer, but I'd be keen to get some guidance about how this works on a practical level:
* **Are there any examples of implementing audio in HTML slides?**
* **Are there any strategies for increasing the usability of consuming and activating the audio?**
* **Are there any browser or operating system compatibility issues?**
Thus, in a broad sense my question is
**How can HTML slides be created in an effective and efficient way with embedded audio?**
# Answer
If I read correctly, in all those HTML slide systems you write the HTML file directly, it is not produced by some external tool. So I think you can simply put an audio tag in it. Or am I missing something?
> 6 votes
# Answer
A different option would be creating a screencast. A screencasting program would record your slides as they play as well as recording voice (or other sounds) from the microphone. Jing is a free, though limited, screencast program. CamStudio is another free program. There programs you can purchase that include advanced features, including editing and post-production.
The benefit of this method is that your lecture is now a video file, which rarely requires any type of special software, and you can share them easily on youtube, vimeo, or social media.
> 3 votes
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Tags: teaching, presentation
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thread-2776 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2776 | How to ensure proper peer-review for a self-published book? | 2012-08-07T06:23:07.560 | # Question
Title: How to ensure proper peer-review for a self-published book?
In this day and age, with more and more people going the self-publishing route, I'd be interested in experiences from/opinions about how to go about having your self-published book properly peer-reviewed.
# Answer
In mathematics, traditionally, and I think currently, very few books are reviewed at all in any serious sense. One possible sense would be "critical appraisal", and this is rare: a handful of books is given serious reviews in the Amer. Math. Soc.'s "Bulletin". The other possible sense of "peer review" is in a sense adding something to one's CV for jobs, tenure, promotion, grants. Almost by definition, this never happens. That is, "refereeing" is done for the conventional *journals*, whether paper or electronic, and referees are solicited by the editors, for *papers* submitted to that journal. The "valuation" of books is typically done not via "reviews", but by the status of the publishing house, and the status gain from publishing a book is probably less than a small paper in a medium-status journal. Thus, in particular, self-publication confers none of that cachet. And I'd wager that self-publication would compromise "review" in the sense of *appraisal*, as well, because other publications would have higher priority for the reason of status.
(I do hope things improve, but I do think this is the current state, in mathematics.)
Edit: As examples of "self-publication", disregarding the "peer review" idea entirely, a certain number of relatively senior (and not only!) people put book-like items on-line at their web-sites, often at universities. I heartily endorse this (and have been doing it myself for quite a while!) However (?), this appears to confer even less status than "books" published in physical hard-cover, I presume because there has been no hurdle of sufficiently-impressing publishers (who do ask opinions before "consenting" to publish).
The more legitimate issue of "(peer?) review" to ascertain correctness, or helpfulness, etc., I think has so few precedents that little is happening. First, Math Reviews has no procedure in place to review such things, and it doesn't happen. Second, there appears to be considerable reticence to *cite* such things, even in stable situations, for a variety of (not entirely sensible) reasons. Third, while one might imagine that on-line, thus, *dynamic*, documents *could* be *more* reliable, by virtue of being *correctible* (indefinitely!), this actually disturbs/perturbs many people... Further, third(b), disappointingly to me, very, very few people have ever given me any feeback/corrections about my on-line stuff, or even asked for clarification (in some cases leading to correction or, anyway, better writing). I can imagine that some of this is politeness, or respect, which is understandable.
But, I might claim, the real "problem" is lack of precedent. The "refereed journal" model is 150+ years old, and itself depended upon evolution beyond the "reading before the Academy" 200+ years ago when printing itself was a non-trivial matter, etc.
Thus, rethinking the action-oriented sense of the original question: since "self-published" ought mean nothing, really, in today's context, apart from the fact that it doesn't have a "prior" approval from status-conferring entities... to "get an expert opinion" one ("gosh, let's just try to think clearly for a sec!" :) would send th'thing to (web-obtained?) experts, asking very politely whether they'd be so kind as to offer critical remarks... and as a very polite secondary question, whether they'd be willing to be quoted in such remarks.
(This has led me to thinking that the difficulty in quantifying "civility" and "politness", especially between different generations (if only in convention and usage), potentially causes substantial difficulties in on-line forums, and/or "stack-exchanges", and or . Not that I think high-status entities have a "moral" superiority, which is the stereotypical exaggeration-to-disqualify, and which is a popular (mis-) interpretation of that elite, but that experience *can* be worth something, and that something is not easily acquired by any other means.)
> 12 votes
# Answer
The question is extremely vague. The OP could be a professor of creative writing who has written a novel, a math professor who wrote a calculus textbook, a sociology professor who wrote a monograph on water rights in 19th-century Oregon, or a physics crank who wrote a book proving Einstein wrong.
In the case that this is research: --- In some fields of academia (e.g., literature, sociology), it's normal to publish books and monographs on one's research, and these are considered professional pluses (e.g., for tenure). In other fields (such as physics), this is not normally done, and a book is not a feather in the author's cap. If this is a field where research often is published in book form, then the way to get peer review is to submit the book to publishing houses, whose acquisition editors, if they think the proposal/manuscript has possible merit, may try to get academics in the field to review it. Yes, the acquisition editor is a gatekeeper. No, there is no way to get around the gatekeeper and convince random academics that they should read a manuscript. There's a reason that acquisition editors are paid money. It's because the job they do is dreary and thankless. Random academics are not going to wade through a slush pile for free.
In the case that this is a textbook: --- There is a model that has been going on forever, which is that you distribute the book to your students via the best available technology of your era (quill pens, purple mimeos, internet), hone the book over years of teaching the same course over and over, and then, finally, send it out to publishers. A typical modern exmaple of this model is that Sean Carroll posted his textbook on general relativity on the internet here in 1997, and in 2003 it was published in dead-tree format by Benjamin Cummings. If, like Sean Carroll, you're ethical, you make sure that your own students can get the book without paying you money. If you succeed in getting the book published in print by a traditional publisher, you can usually, if it's important to you, negotiate a clause in your contract allowing you to keep the book online for free.
Some people do self-publish textbooks as an alternative to traditional dead-tree publishing (rather than as a preliminary to dead-tree or a last resort after failing at dead-tree). A few of these projects are successful in the sense of gaining adoptions by other professors. This path does not involve peer review.
> 8 votes
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Tags: publications, peer-review, books
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thread-2887 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2887 | Submission procedure for letters of recommendation | 2012-08-18T09:41:18.547 | # Question
Title: Submission procedure for letters of recommendation
I intend to study for a Master Program in the US. I'm from foreign country, so I don't know what's the procedure to submit letters of recommendation.
My initial guess is, the ones who write the letters for me have to submit it (otherwise it would be meaningless to submit it myself). But I wonder, do I have to create separate accounts for sending the letters, or I have to send my application account to my writers? If so, can I create accounts for them, because they are very busy? Finally, is it possible to submit same letters to multiple universities?
# Answer
> 8 votes
Consult the application page of the school you are applying to. Most institutions make it pretty clear how letters of recommendation are to be submitted. From an ethical standpoint, the letters should never pass through your hands, just as your transcript should be mailed directly from your undergraduate institution without going through you.
If the application process is completed online, as most are these days, you will have to provide email contacts for your references. They will receive emails from the application system on how to proceed. Their access to the system should be generated automatically. Neither you nor they should have to create accounts for them.
If the institution is insistent on using snail mail as the means of submitting information, then provide each of your letter writers with an envelope that is already addresses and has proper postage. That way your letter writers can seal the envelope themselves and drop the letter in the mail.
It is possible to submit the same letter to another institution. I have read some letters that were clearly done that way (e.g., addressed to a different institution, describing the candidate's aptitude for an unrelated position, photocopied, or dated five years ago). **I would not do this.** Submitting identical letters to multiple institutions (and it is usually obvious, because a good letter is tailored to that institution), implies three bad things about you:
* You are too lazy to ask for new letters of recommendation.
* Your letter writes did not know about the second application, so their comments are not relevant.
* You didn't trust your letter writers to write you a good letter for that position.
Just ask your letter writers to write new letters to each institution. This second letter will not be written from scratch, so it won't be as much work for them. Likely, they will edit a letter they wrote about you previously to create a new letter specific to the new institution or position.
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Tags: recommendation-letter
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thread-2878 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2878 | Is it safe to post my CV online? | 2012-08-17T17:05:10.570 | # Question
Title: Is it safe to post my CV online?
Is it safe to post my CV online (with my physical address included)? Should I be worried about identity theft in doing so?
# Answer
Considering that public telephone directories with names, addresses, and phone numbers have been around for decades, I don't think there's a significant risk of identity theft here. You could consider using a distinct email for your resume such that if you begin getting too much spam you could manage it separately, but even that's probably not necessary.
> 15 votes
# Answer
Supporting @eykanal, it is not a big issue since data pertaining to many of the social network accounts are not completely private and many do have access to them for various reasons. One option is to put your university/office address on your CV since your name would in general be there on the university website. Also, as a side point at least do not put your photograph on the CV.
> 7 votes
# Answer
I know many professors and graduate students who post full information in their website copy of the CV, including home address & home/cell telephone numbers.
I don't think posting this kind of information is necessary at all for the online CV. I guess most readers/browsers of your *online* resume are interested in learning about your background, education, honors, grants, projects, experience, positions, and publications, rather than calling you on the phone, or paying you a home visit. Including your email adress is enough I guess.
> 7 votes
# Answer
To complement the other answers, very often nowadays home address and home phone can be suppressed, and, indeed, are not "public" information in the U.S. Workplace contact info suffices.
> 4 votes
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Tags: cv
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thread-2890 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2890 | Giving up good position because of studies | 2012-08-18T16:50:12.123 | # Question
Title: Giving up good position because of studies
I earned my Bachelor Degree in Computer Science 5 years ago. From the moment when I have a diploma in my hands, I thought, enough I never return to academia, no matter what happens. I was very keen to start working.
By the moment I changed few workplaces. I wanted to try all kind of positions that computer science man can get. All my positions were not very interesting. I wouldn't say I became very experienced programmer, I have some experience, but I don't have a field I am good at, and actually I am not too worried about that. The main problem I think is I don't feel that I do something useful or something challenging, actually, I feel that I waste my time. I do my job, but I don't feel I contribute to myself.
Few years ago I realized that may be it's worth returning to academy. Simply, just because I remember it wasn't boring. I sent few application letters to few good universities in my country, but they didn't apply me. There were universities that just refused without any explanation, and in few of them I fault in interview.
In this situation, I decide if no official program is allowed, I can just take few courses of Master Degree in any university. The result of my first course was very terrible, I think I was the worsen student on the course. But afterward there was a gradually improvement in the grades (I never took the same course twice). This year again I sent few application letters with my grades, and I was applied by all universities.
The problem is by now I have a very good position in very successful start-up company. The position is very hard and almost all the time in the office I am under a high pressure, but of course, there are benefits of a successful start-up company, fast promotion, investment, but still I have a feeling that I am doing something wrong.
I don't have a decision yet, either postpone my studies or give up good position. Have you found yourself in a similar situation, when you have give up a lot, just because you want to do something you was dreaming about? Particularly, have you gave up you job for studies, and do you regret about your decision?
**tl;dnr:** A few years ago, I didn't like my computer programming job. I was good enough at it, but the job wasn't very challenging and didn't offer much room for personal growth. I felt like I was wasting my time. Even though I had sworn that I never would, I applied to grad school. I was not accepted as a full-time student, so I just started taking classes as a non-degree student. Initially I did badly, but over a few years I improved. Recently, I was admitted to grad school. But by now I have a great job in a fast-paced startup. So I'm torn about whether to quit my job to return to school. What do you suggest?
# Answer
An important consideration is **"window of opportunity"**. How long will you have the chance to go back to school? Will the school be happy to let you defer for a year? In contrast, if you leave your current job for school, is there a good chance that you could return to work there after you finish a masters degree?
Also ask **"What are my long-term goals?"** It sounds like you mainly want to be challenged and experience personal growth; perhaps also to "do something useful". Do you have others long-term goals? How likely are you to be happy and on your way to these goals in 5 or 10 years if you stay at your current job. Grad school can be fun, but it's often just a way to delay "real life" for a few years. If you get a masters, will that really help you to be happier with your life and where you're headed 5 or 10 years after you finish school?
> 7 votes
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Tags: career-path, job, masters
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thread-2901 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2901 | Does disability impact on prospects of employment in academia? | 2012-08-19T14:08:42.680 | # Question
Title: Does disability impact on prospects of employment in academia?
The impression I get in my field of research (theoretical chemistry) is that candidates for postdoc and more permanent research positions are judged partly upon their publication record. I suspect this is true of other fields, particularly the sciences.
I suffer from a long term chronic illness which means currently I cannot work full-time. I manage 75% of full-time hours working on my PhD currently, so while I am well enough to do research, I am not well enough to do as much as I'd like. I am concerned that, should my health not improve, this will prove problematic as I try to move from being a student to an employee. My academic output would likely be less than an able-bodied person in the same position. While it may be of the same quality, there would be less of it.
There is legislation in many places that prevents discrimination against disabled people, but I suspect this would not apply where candidates are being judged based on previous academic output. My worry is that because academic employment seems so performance/output-oriented, I will be left behind, even if my work is of good quality.
Thoughts and experiences regarding how disability is treated in academia, particularly with regards to selecting candidates for a new position, would be greatly appreciated. I would also welcome advice on how to mitigate the possible issues arising from this.
I was initially unsure whether to post this, as it would be possible for potential employers to identify me from this posting. However, I think this topic is important to discuss and there are potentially other PhD students in the same situation as me.
# Answer
Self-identifying a disability at some stage during the interview process is usually in your best interest. Being upfront with a potential employer can make all the difference, especially because of the legal protections it affords you in most academic settings. It's also important because then expectations are properly set at the beginning of the process, rather than having to "adjust" later on.
Additionally, many application processes (at least in the EU) allow for self-identification of illnesses and handicaps that could "slow down" one's career. This allows one to "lengthen" the eligibility clocks for many programs. This helps to ameliorate the problems you mentioned of being judged against a cohort that has had more time to work.
> 8 votes
# Answer
I'm not a recruiter (we have some here, I hope they'll answer to you), but I've been applying to quite a fair number of positions in the past years, so I can tell you how I've *felt* I've been judged and evaluated.
For a project postdoc (i.e., a postdoc where your research plan is already predefined), you need to prove that you can address the research problem of the project. I've usually felt that the evaluation process could be quite fast, and in this case, you might be judged a bit in the absolute: if there is another candidate with a better application (which is of course not limited to your publication track), she might be selected. Furthermore, in this case, the problem could mostly be the fact that you can't work full-time: if I have a budget for a 1 or 2 years postdoc, I might not be able to use the 25% of the budget elsewhere, so I might have little incentive in hiring a 75% postdoc.
For a permanent academic position, there are a priori hiring for life, and you might be more judged on your long-term research agenda. I've been applying to some positions in the UK, and all the forms ask you to indicate if you have any disability and if you need some specific treatment (for instance, if you are in a wheelchair, you might not be able to access some parts of the building). I would think that having a part-time is not necessarily a problem, as they can probably reuse the 25% of the budget (but of course, that would completely depend on the university).
In general, I've had the feeling that you're judged before all on how you have used the resources you had, and how you have progressed, rather than a simple look at your publication list. An academic application is quite huge, you can have a cover letter, a research statement, a teaching statement, a description of your best publications, a full academic CV, and some recommendation letters.
So, in summary, from how I can see people think and act in academia, I don't think they would care about your illness, and you should be evaluated taking that factor into account. The main question might rather be whether they would be interested in a part-time position.
> 4 votes
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Tags: job, disability
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thread-2870 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2870 | How successful would one be in switching fields from PhD in computational biology/neuroscience to postdoc in computer science? | 2012-08-16T21:07:12.023 | # Question
Title: How successful would one be in switching fields from PhD in computational biology/neuroscience to postdoc in computer science?
How successful would someone be who completed his PhD in something such as computational biology or neuroscience but wanted to pursue post-doctoral training and beyond in computer science?
I say computer science because, presumably, dissertation work in computational X involves programming and a working knowledge of data structures and algorithms.
# Answer
> 12 votes
I believe that career changes and "reinventions" are a regular part of modern careers in highly specialized fields. Very few people will be able to work in a single domain for their entire careers, and the ability to move laterally between "adjacent" fields will be a critical skill enabling one to have greater chances and opportunities for success.
Now, that said, your chances of success in any *particular* job hunt will depend to some extent on how "enlightened" your future boss (or hiring staff) are: some will actively seek out anyone with the appropriate skill set and enthusiasm for the work, while others will be more focused on people who have the "direct" skills they need, assuming such people will require less training to be able to carry out their work. Neither of these positions is "better"; they just happen to coexist.
# Answer
> 3 votes
The most important of all criteria is the interest you have and confidence you feel in the new or adjacent field. In addition to this you need to convince your future post-doc supervisor that you are capable of pursuing post-doc in computer science. This would need from you a specific and honest cover letter and curriculum vitae that highlights your new intentions.
Also, *computer science* is a broad area and I am not sure if someone offers post-doc in just *computer science*. This supported by @JeffE (see his comments down) also.
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Tags: career-path, postdocs, changing-fields
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thread-2897 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2897 | Will a good GRE Computer Science subject test score overcome a "weak" academic record? | 2012-08-19T09:49:22.840 | # Question
Title: Will a good GRE Computer Science subject test score overcome a "weak" academic record?
## Disclaimer: The GRE Program discontinued the Computer Science Test
I'm from an unknown school in Georgia. I want to apply for grad school in U.S, but I don't have a good GPA although I am at the top %15 of the class. Here we have some strange grading system - we use 4.0 system but grading is not similar to the western world. I am confident on my knowledge and I believe that I can do well on GRE CS Subject exam.
So do you care about or value GRE Subject test results ? If so, what score do you expect from a candidate ? Is it possible to get some funding at top 40-70 range schools? Regarding research, I don't have possibility of doing any research and it is not a top priority here, so we aren't provided opportunities for research.
# Answer
> 16 votes
> Regarding research, I don't have possibility of doing any research and it is not a top priority here, so we aren't provided opportunities for research.
For purposes of graduate school admissions, any self-directed intellectual activity counts as research. Have you contributed to any open-source projects? Have you written any Android or iPhone apps? Did you solve all the double-starred problems in Hopcroft and Ullman? Did you write a confluently persistent graph data structure library? Did you participate in (or better yet, coach for) the International Olympiad in Informatics? What about Google Summer of Code? Do you contribute regularly to a StackExchange site? Have you rebuilt a pinball machine? **These are all real examples.**
Research opportunities are not something you're *provided*; they're something you *hunt down and kill*.
# Answer
> 10 votes
The GRE subject tests are useful measuring sticks in disciplines where it's available, as they test understanding in a single discipline in a way that is hopefully "neutral" across different schools.
That said, you'll need to have a very strong *overall* package in order to overcome the weakness in your GPA. A strong showing on the GRE subject test will help, as will strong letters of recommendation from several of your instructors. These letters should clearly indicate structural reasons why you can't do research, and should find some way to indicate your aptitude for graduate studies. If it is possible, you should also get an official note on your transcript indicating your class rank.
I can't really comment on the funding situation in CS; perhaps one of our other site users can fill in that part of the picture.
# Answer
> 5 votes
Pure anecdote.
I got a peak at the notes that were written on my file<sup>1</sup> at one place I applied to after a ... uh ... less than stellar performance at my undergraduate institution.
Things on the lines of
> Great test scores. What was he doing in school?
That program offered to admit me without support. In fact, a lot of places offered to admit me without support.
Grad school is *very* hard if you have to work too. The program I eventually chose gave me support about a year in, and it is just as well because I wouldn't have been able to keep it up much longer.
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<sup>1</sup>No cloak and dagger stuff here, the reviewers wrote summaries on a sheet affixed to the front of the file which was left were I could see it while the departmental admin stepped out to flag someone down.
# Answer
> 3 votes
In short, a good GRE score does compensate for your getting an undergraduate degree from "not among the best institutes". As for funding, a graduate student in US generally gets funded through either (1) some research project funding, or (2) the department. In the former case you become a Graduate Research Assistance (GRA) where you assist a professor or a researcher in his/her research. In the later case you help the department (through some professor/teacher) in work related to teaching e.g. grading homework and so on. This position is called Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA). Apart form these two ways of getting financial support there is fellowship but that is achieved generally by those with exceptional academic and research experience.
With your background and expertise, the only feasible option is to get a GTA. I would suggest doing your best to get good GRE score (general and specific -CS) and then do a good search on available GTA and write to the professors (top and medium level universities) how you can hep them teach classes. Your cover letter must clearly and honestly state your abilities and interests.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, gre
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thread-2926 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2926 | How do multiple PhD scholarships combine? | 2012-08-21T14:51:17.750 | # Question
Title: How do multiple PhD scholarships combine?
I'm currently in the process of applying for various scholarships to fund my PhD.
Since I'm writing to many different organizations/institutions/etc., I started wondering whether these different funding schemes can be combined. I found it hard to find any reliable information on this matter, so I reckoned I'd ask it here:
Suppose I successfully obtain two scholarships, in two different countries, amounting to roughly $15.000 and $25.000 annually, both *excluding* coverage for university tuition fees. Should I notify both of them of having obtained the other? Or should I make absolutely sure they'll never find out :) ?
I suppose there'll be severe consequences to keeping it silent -- if so, what?
# Answer
Dave's answer is mostly correct: you should not accept both *without the explicit written permission of both scholarship providers.*
Some scholarships can be combined, if the fellowship sponsor allows it. However, in general, large-scale fellowships cannot usually be accepted in conjunction with other fellowships. You'll need to choose one or the other.
On the other hand, if you're talking about actual scholarships—by which I mean cash awards directly to you, without being tied to a specific course of study at a specific university—the rules may be more relaxed.
The important thing is to read the rules and conditions associated with each award, and then to ask the sponsors if you have any questions.
> 15 votes
# Answer
You should not accept both.
To check the rules, you should notify each of the providers, in case this is not allowed by one of the universities. I know of one student thrown out of two universities because of this (one of them was a Dutch university). This is more or less equivalent to **goodbye academic career**.
You may be able to get funding from one university and supplement it with further funding from the same university, assuming that this is within the rules.
> 13 votes
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Tags: phd, funding
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thread-2935 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2935 | CS PhD application with low GPA but extensive research experience | 2012-08-22T11:04:31.937 | # Question
Title: CS PhD application with low GPA but extensive research experience
I have recently graduated from a non EEA university—though arguably one of the better/best schools in its field in my country—with a CGPA of 2.90, majoring in Computer science. I used to study Bioengineering/Bioinformatics—from which I hold a publication—before switching to CS. I suffered from an extensive period of burnout and some personal problems starting my second year in college—after getting a 3.30 in my freshman year, not exactly an upward trend in my grades in following years either—resulting in my current CGPA. I did a summer research at my school after my 2nd year which resulted with that conference publication I mentioned above, did two internships of Computer science (first one at a company, second one at one of the top 3 CS universities in the USA), I have two posters from my graduation project (one presented at an international conference the other one not-so international), and an upcoming journal or conference paper depending on deadline circumstances.
So, my cliche question is: **should I take my chances with good/top Computer science master's programs throughout Europe (e.g., TU Eindhoven, EPFL, RWTH Aachen or TU Munchen) before applying for a PhD, or should I stay at my school for my MSc and then apply for the PhD?** I'm not even hoping for a scholarship at this point, just an acceptance. I haven't taken the TOEFL and the GRE yet since now I'm in my gap year, I will be taking them soon in order to start my application procedure.
# Answer
You need to check the requirements of the individual schools to see if a transfer is even possible. For the German schools, at the very least, the computer science degree is often subject to "continuity" requirements, which make it very difficult to enroll in a master's program unless you already have the bachelor's in the same subject from a German university (or can demonstrate "equivalence" of your degree if it's coming from abroad).
In addition, admission often depends fairly strictly on GPA, at least at the master's level. Recommendations hardly matter, if they even count at all. At the PhD level, the process changes, and becomes more like getting hired for a job. So it may be better to wait until you're applying for PhD positions.
> 8 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, graduate-admissions, masters, grades
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thread-2915 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2915 | Do Physics grad schools accept non-physics students with good Physics GRE score? | 2012-08-21T03:29:01.713 | # Question
Title: Do Physics grad schools accept non-physics students with good Physics GRE score?
These two questions https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/110303/is-a-good-gre-score-enough-for-a-non-math-graduate-to-be-accepted-in-a-decent-pu?rq=1&fb\_source=message and https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/110303/is-a-good-gre-score-enough-for-a-non-math-graduate-to-be-accepted-in-a-decent-pu?rq=1 inspire me to ask this question.
Unlike Math GRE in Physics GRE, almost everything taught in first 3 years of undergrad is examined with almost equal percentage of total questions (Classical Mechanics 20%, EM 18%, QM 12%, Optics 9%) while in math, 50% can be scored only with good calculus skill.
1. Can one expect to be accepted in good physics grad schools if he has good Physics GRE score?
2. Another question is, can one go to theoretical physics grad school only with good score in Physics GRE?
I hope this is appropriate place to ask these questions.
# Answer
> 4 votes
Graduate admissions is based on lots of different factors. I don't think any one thing will make you in-eligible for acceptance, at even the best institutions---including not being a physics major. That being said, unless you have physics (or similar) experience, or are in a related field, it will hurt your application. I know numerous people with math, computer science, engineering and chemistry backgrounds who have joined (and are doing well in) prestigious physics programs (e.g. stanford, chicago, columbia).
If you have experience in a not-too-distant field (e.g. chemistry), one way to make your application more appealing - would be if you are interested in subjects somewhere *between* physics and chemistry (for example).
If you can demonstrate that you have excelled in your own field, and have an aptitude for physics (e.g. good GRE scores), you shouldn't have a problem!
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Tags: education
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thread-2937 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2937 | Can I publish parts of the Ph.D thesis as a paper in a journal? | 2012-08-22T15:26:10.333 | # Question
Title: Can I publish parts of the Ph.D thesis as a paper in a journal?
I recently finished my PhD thesis which will be published as a book soon. Now I'm wondering if it's possible or allowed to submit parts to a journal?
Normally the process would be the other way round I think: Submitting papers and "gluing" them together for the thesis. I've read the guidelines of some journals which state "that the work described has not been published before" or that "Papers must present scientific results that are essentially new".
# Answer
As a general rule, you cannot publish anything as original research that has already been published. (You may be able to reprint it in other venues, but most research journals do not do this.)
Of course, the trick is what counts as "already published". Nowadays, many publishers (including all mathematics publishers, for example) do not count informal distribution on the internet as prior publication. It's common not to count extended abstracts from conference proceedings, although the journal may require some revisions or extensions. Nobody counts submitting a dissertation as prior publication, even if the university makes it available for download or purchase, and technical reports are generally in the same category.
On the other hand, publication as a "real book" definitely counts as prior publication and would rule out journals. Of course, this just brings up the question of what a "real book" is. Basically, if it's published by a serious academic publisher, with some nontrivial selection and editorial advice, then that counts as publication. On the other hand, if it's some random publisher printing copies of Ph.D. theses and selling them online, then you could make a strong case that it's not really published (and that this is not so different from ordering a dissertation copy).
However, I think you need to discuss this explicitly when submitting your paper. For example, you could add a sentence to your submission letter along the lines of "This work is based on my thesis from University X, which is available for sale by Y but has not been traditionally published". It's much better to deal with this upfront than to have someone later ask "Wait, why is someone selling copies of this work online?"
> 31 votes
# Answer
In general, this is allowed, even encouraged.
The answer depends on what kind of book you are publishing. If it is the regular dissertation, then you can publish in journals. If it is a properly published book by Springer or equivalent, then I doubt that you can publish again.
> 18 votes
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Tags: phd, publications, journals, thesis
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thread-2917 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2917 | What do I have to do in preparation for applying for a PhD? | 2012-08-21T07:18:30.643 | # Question
Title: What do I have to do in preparation for applying for a PhD?
I'm just about to go into my final year of my computing degree, and I want to continue to a PhD after completion. What preparations do I need to do prior to applying for grants/scholarships/funding?
# Answer
> 13 votes
* Get good grades.
* Make sure (some of) your lecturers know who you are, so that you can ask for a recommendation letter.
* Get involved in some kind of research, either a thesis or something extracurricular.
* Work out what topic you want to study; at least have a first idea.
* Select relevant coursework based on the previous point.
* Don't be afraid of going abroad. Prepare yourself mentally for this **now**, so when the time comes to actually decide, you'll be ready. Check details such as visa requirements, as these can take 3-4 months to obtain.
* Research good universities who do what you want to do. Find out about their application procedure is and their deadline.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Every school has its own requirements: typically, letters of recommendation, GRE tests, language tests. Check them with much advance: 1 year is not too soon, especially if you are applying for a US school as a foreigner.
Apart from that, nothing special: have a good academic record, and make sure that the first Google result for your name is not a college party Facebook picture in which you are drunken and naked.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Apart from @Dave 's quite long list, I would also like to mention that by now you may decide on what area of research are you interested in and feel most confident about. This would help you to find the right professor/adviser and university and also keep you motivated in all good and bad times during your PhD.
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Tags: phd, preparation
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thread-2959 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2959 | How does shifting of jobs affect designation and tenure in academia? | 2012-08-23T17:30:06.140 | # Question
Title: How does shifting of jobs affect designation and tenure in academia?
I would like to know how job transfer of faculty members affects their designation. Will they retain their designation (Prof/Assoc/Asst.) in the new institution?
Similarly if a faculty member faces an unavoidable need to shift job after getting his tenure, will his new department recruit him with tenure? Or should a few years pass in the new place before he is evaluated again?
# Answer
This all depends on what is offered in the new position and on your negotiation skills.
Generally one tries to go up-hill, so to speak, or at least stay on the same level. The new institution hardly will expect you to make the transfer if they offer you a lower position and tenure track when you have tenure already.
If you are forced to move, then you have a weaker bargaining position and might have to take a tenure track position, and go through all the evaluation process again. But this would probably mean that you have bargained poorly or accepted bad working conditions, or it simply could be because there are so few academic jobs these days.
I have heard of one case where someone traded in a tenured Associate Professor position for an untenured Assistant Professor position at a better institute. (The risk paid off in the end.)
> 11 votes
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Tags: professorship, tenure-track
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thread-2944 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2944 | Should one include irrelevant background on CV after career change? | 2012-08-23T02:00:49.713 | # Question
Title: Should one include irrelevant background on CV after career change?
If one changes careers/subjects dramatically, would it be necessary in the interest of full disclosure to include irrelevant aspects of the educational background and work-experience etc. ?
For instance if somebody has an undergraduate degree in politics and 2 years of experience in PR but then goes on to an academic career in theoretical CS (essentially starting from scratch i.e. including an undergraduate degree), would it be better/necessary to clutter the CV by mentioning that earlier background ?
I guess there must be a certain degree of flexibility, as people would not include say a part-time job in the cafeteria etc. pp. but I am not sure what the academic conventions are in different scenarios. ( I am thinking about this in the context of applications for conferences, funding, workshops, travel funds etc. pp. )
# Answer
The context for what the CV is going to be used for is key. I have a single CV that includes "everything" since I started grad school and selected things from before then including seemingly unimportant part time jobs. Having a long CV makes it easier for me to create short CVs because it means I need to delete things instead of remember things.
For your intended context, I would not include the work experience, but might include the degree in politics. Including that degree will likely lead people looking at your CV to think you are older (which might be a pro or a con). If you are worried about age discrimination, I would drop it completely.
> 7 votes
# Answer
Your intuition is correct; filler like that is very easily detected as filler. However, it does serve a useful purpose, in that it informs the person reading the CV what you've been doing for the past few years. If you do mention anything, I would just list the single most recent item. Any more than that would simply exaggerate the fact that you made a career shift, and doesn't provide any useful information.
> 2 votes
# Answer
If I understood you correctly, even for getting the side benefits (attending conference,travel funds) you need not include *irrelevant* information in your CV.
One need not *clutter* the CV with something that is far from the requirement of the job. It does not matter how many things you did but rather how much of few things you did. These were my thoughts on your question.
> 1 votes
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Tags: cv
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thread-2962 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2962 | What information should I include in a letter of support for a grant? | 2012-08-23T20:24:13.170 | # Question
Title: What information should I include in a letter of support for a grant?
What are the key information that should be included in a letter of support on a grant application? What information should I avoid?
I'm a theorist and I am planning to list my expertise and experience in similar problems. But I don't know how to convey that I would actually support the project if funded.
# Answer
> 7 votes
A good letter of support, in my mind, should:
* Convey a clear understanding of the proposal in question;
* Demonstrate that the letter writer is in a position to support the application—in other words, she has the requisite experience to contribute;
* Clearly indicate what the writer will do to support the grant in the event it gets funded.
I recently contributed such a letter for an educational grant. I cited my research, which was a fit for the program; and conveyed support for the program as the academic administrator of a summer program as well as a mentor in that same program. I also clearly conveyed my intention to support the program by directly mentoring a program fellow.
# Answer
> 6 votes
There are usually specific guidelines for letters of support. For example, the NSF discourages letters of support for typical grant applications unless the support letter lists concrete things the letter writer will be contributing to the project (and then those things need to be listed). Since you're writing a letter for someone else's application, it's best to ask them.
# Answer
> 6 votes
Avoid writing anything negative in the letter, even if it is constructive criticism. Some committees processing grant applications will use any evidence they can find to kill a proposal.
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Tags: writing, funding
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thread-2760 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2760 | Organizing my reading list in Mendeley | 2012-08-05T02:16:36.007 | # Question
Title: Organizing my reading list in Mendeley
I keep publications from the literature in Mendeley for later reading on my iPad. There are many publications, so I need some sort of way of prioritizing the ones I need to read first versus the ones I might read someday. Right now, I use folders with varying priority levels. The biggest problem is that I cannot move articles to different folders on the iPad, so I have to do this prioritization while I'm at my computer (where I usually have more important things to do). Also, I feel like I spend most of my time assigning priorities to articles rather than reading them, which is not ideal.
Do you have better suggestions on how to prioritize and organize the publications I want to read using Mendeley?
# Answer
> 8 votes
One option would be to create a tags P1, P2, P3, P4 ... and assign "rating" to articles how much priority they have. Tags could be updated as priority changes.
(similar system could be used with Delicious.com tags to websites)
Tags are more flexible then folders. Mainly - Multiple membership in more than one tags
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Tags: reading, literature, reference-managers
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thread-2928 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2928 | What are the benefits of getting a PhD in statistics over a MS in statistics? | 2012-08-21T15:48:28.250 | # Question
Title: What are the benefits of getting a PhD in statistics over a MS in statistics?
What are the benefits of getting a PhD in statistics over a MS in statistics (other than being a professor)? Do people with PhDs in statistics earn significantly more than people with MS degrees in statistics?
More generally, does a PhD in a quantitative field provide a salary advantage over a MS in a quantitative field?
# Answer
Actually, this greatly depends on where you get your degree from. Sometimes people who have done just MS are able to get to the bottom of the thing and can use their knowledge of statistics on a practical level. It depends on how solid your concepts are. Once you are in some position earned through your sound academic record you can grow quite fast.
So, if you have good record (not just grades but grasp), you may be able to get to the same level of salary as a PhD would. This is because statistics is an applied branch and is in demand.
> 1 votes
# Answer
Well, there's something different to consider. As a MS student you pay to study. As a PhD, you are paid to study. I know that depends between countries but where I am, a MS is terribly expensive.
The only reasons I see to do a MS instead of a PhD is when someone doesn't have good enough grades to get into a PhD or because they want to shift their area a lot: for example, a chemist taking a master in Biochemistry because he wants a PhD in Cell biology.
> 0 votes
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thread-2709 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2709 | Graduate early with average GPA, or later with better GPA? | 2012-08-01T02:13:31.070 | # Question
Title: Graduate early with average GPA, or later with better GPA?
I've seen similar questions here, and I wish there was a narrower tag than the broad soft-question and career-development.
I am currently a freshman/sophomore-to-be at a top ten math program in US. My major GPA is around 3.5-3.6, and so is my overall GPA. Due to fast progress in my courses (skipped all lower divs) I will be ready to graduate in a year or year and a half. The question is whether I should do that.
I do not see myself outside of academia, and dead-set on pursuing PhD in math. With my GPA far from being stellar, I was going to take more grad courses to improve the situation. The college is quite pricey, with me being an out-of-state, and so I am not really sure whether I should just graduate and take those courses back home (or apply for masters).
Recap: is it better to graduate early, with an average GPA and no hooks (e.g., research, high Putnam grade, no grad courses), apply for Masters program and save money, or graduate later and improve my record as an undergrad?
# Answer
> 18 votes
Your answer will depend partly on what you want to do in academia. If you want to teach, but don't really want to emphasize research much, you might do fine to graduate now. However, if **your goal is to become a professor at a research intensive school, then you really should go to the strongest grad school you can get into.** (Based on your description, I strongly suspect that if you bust your butt for another year or two, in particular working to earn one or two strong letters of rec, you could get into a better grad school than you can currently.)
Yes, I know there are considerations about who you will work with, perhaps geography, potential two-body problems, etc. So, why's it so important to go to the best school you can? Again and again I see that in academia (as everywhere) networking is crucial. Generalizing and stereotyping a bit: *the best schools have the best researchers, who know the other best researchers, who have the biggest grants, which fund the nicest postdocs, etc.* **If you want to thrive as a researcher, you will do well to get into that network.** (To a large extent, it's a rich get richer system.) As an undergrad or early grad student, one way you can get into that network is to work with a professor who is a central part of it, and is willing to weave you in. And your chances of working with said professor typically go up with the reputation of the school.
Now a personal digression. Through high school and undergrad I was in a hurry to get to the next level as soon as possible. I skipped 7th grade, finished undergrad in 3 years, and started grad school at the age of 20. I even turned down a year abroad in the Budapest Semester in Math, because I was worried I'd miss out if I waited too long to get to grad school. The sad truth is that I wasn't ready. Maybe *you* would be; I've never met you, so I can't say.
Eventually (after 8 years), I finished a PhD, and am fairly happy with where my career is headed. However, I don't regret that time in grad school at all. I learned a lot of useful stuff. In fact, I think it's *because* I took my time in grad school that my career has gone as well as it has. One interesting feature of academia is that you're typically judged by your productivity relative to the time since you earned your PhD (rather than your age). As a result, I encourage you to take your time and learn as much as you can. You'll never again have as much free time as you do now.
# Answer
> 15 votes
I want to add a couple of remarks to Dan C's excellent answer.
**No, you should not graduate early, unless your finances force it.** Except for cost, there is *no* advantage to finishing early. Admissions committees will compare you to other undergraduate applicants, not other applicants your age; age discrimination is illegal. They will not care about your grades, as long as they're good; everyone applying to those departments has fantastic grades. I suspect almost all applicants to top math departments skipped their low-level math classes. I assume you'll ace the math GRE, but then so will everyone else.
What sets the successful applicants to top PhD programs apart is **strong evidence of research potential**. To gain admission to the top departments you *must* have strong letters *from faculty* that directly praise your potential for mathematical research in specific, personal, and credible detail. The only way to get those letters is to work directly with faculty *outside* the classroom. Fortunately, because you skipped your freshman classes, you have room in your schedule to do that.
You mention "out of state", so I'm guessing you're at a big state school (like mine); your classes so far probably had hundreds of students, and many were taught by graduate students or adjuncts. You have to break out of that; you *must* get to know some faculty. And because you're at a big state school, this is going to require considerable initiative on your part.
Taking graduate classes is a good way to meet faculty, but it's just a start. **Do not just sit quietly in class and get an A.** Meet with your instructor early in the semester, explain you ambition for academia, and ask about opportunities for research and/or independent study. Be prepared to explain what kind of mathematics you're best at, and what kind of math inspires you. The first prof you talk to is not likely to be a good match for your specific interests; ask them for suggestions of other faculty to talk to. Repeat ad infinitum.
There are many other reasons not to graduate early, which are less professional, but no less important. Give yourself some time to grow up.
# Answer
> 6 votes
Too long to be a comment, and originally written for Math.SE -
Firstly, if you're set on a math PhD, then you will probably never apply for a Master's program. Most math PhDs apply straight to PhD, and these are generally funded (this is all under the assumption that you stay in the US).
The typical accepted candidate to a good math PhD program has a good background in the following:
1. GPA
2. Research
3. Math knowledge
4. GRE/Math GRE
5. Recommendations
One doesn't need to be perfect at everything, and everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. The exception to this rule is that you must have great recs - there is a certain recommendation inflation right now, and it seems to me that recommendations are judged just as harshly by what is not said. I say this only because without grad courses/research/high gpa, it might be challenging for one of your professors to speak highly on your behalf. Or maybe not - it's case by case, right?
I cannot speak as to how strong your exact application would be, as I don't know the specifics. Your best feedback would probably come from a mentor or advisor from your department, or one of the professors whom you would ask for a recommendation.
Without knowing specifics, I might also ask: what is the rush for? (rhetorically)
As a final note, I should mention that it might be possible, depending on your school's policy, to apply for grad programs and decide to actually graduate only if you get accepted/have positive feedback. But this is not ideal, as it's sort of a punt. Were you to not get accepted, you wouldn't have set up summer plans and your last year would be somewhat hodge-podge. Yet these are the exact things that would improve your application for the next year.
Food for thought.
# Answer
> 3 votes
To complement other answers: the "research" issue is volatile. Ill-informed, childish "research" is not a plus in applications to elite grad programs. I think it might be more apt to be able to give evidence of \_getting\_in\_sync\_with\_ some contemporary *serious* research, even if one isn't yet able to make one's own contribution. Better to be an apprentice at something serious, than journeyman at something of dubious interest to professionals.
And, the same thing said in a different context: coursework per se is nice, but is (almost entirely) miles away from live mathematics. Thus, the point is not to "bluff" "research", but to get beyond the sterile, formal classroom/textbook mathematics. Live discussions with faculty and presence in seminars are substantive steps in the right direction, without the too-facile pretense that one is doing a big research project in 10 weeks in the summer, based on scant prior information. :)
Being able to have people speak on your behalf, that you have ably moved beyond "school math", and that that's what you are interest in, and have talent for (never mind classrooms) is what will get you into an elite program.
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Tags: graduate-school, graduate-admissions, undergraduate, grades, preparation
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thread-2993 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2993 | How to sort search results from SCOPUS or Web of Knowledge by number of citation in a specific field? | 2012-08-26T14:48:50.807 | # Question
Title: How to sort search results from SCOPUS or Web of Knowledge by number of citation in a specific field?
I use SCOPUS or Web of Knowledge to search papers. What I need to do is to sort the result in a descending order of number of citations. SCOPUS and W\_of\_K both provide this feature.
But I further need to confine those citations only in a specific field. For example, statistics paper can be cited in another statistics paper or in a medicine paper. What I'm interested in is how many times this paper is cited in another statistics paper.
Using scopus and Web of science, I can see all the papers that cited this paper and then confine to a specific field. But I have to do this for all papers one by one. Thus I wonder if there is any search engine that can to this automatically.
# Answer
There is no automatic solution to this - it is an extremely time-consuming labour, sometimes performed by bibliometricians - and often only by those with access to full editions of either database (not the web-interfaces, with strict limitations to download sizes).
It is also a tricky subject, as the defionition of e.g. a statistics paper may differ from what you are actually looking at: journal categories. Papers on any topic are also published in journals not directly related hereto, there are plenty of translational and multi-disciplinary journals as well - in other words, what may appear to be a trivial task is actually very complex.
> 3 votes
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Tags: research-process, citations
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thread-2950 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2950 | Is it possible to attend graduate school in pure math after undergrad in CSE? | 2012-08-23T09:09:59.917 | # Question
Title: Is it possible to attend graduate school in pure math after undergrad in CSE?
I am a Bangladeshi student studying CSE in the best university of my country. At the beginning of my second year in my university, an interest towards pure math grew in my mind. But my university does not offer courses in Abstract algebra, Real Analysis, Topology, Complex Analysis, Algebraic geometry, etc. I have seen this related post, but the advice there doesn't help me because there is no computer scientist in my university whose research interests lie between CS and Pure Math.
I met a few of my professors to discuss about my situation. Some of them asked me to study math by myself and also to try to study a paper by mathematicians under whom I want to work, then to write a paper which demonstrates I understand all (at least most of) the things written in the paper, and later send it to them asking if they are interested in taking me as student. They also asked me to get prepared for Math GRE. But is it possible to switch to pure math if I do so? If not, how I can go to a pure math grad school?
# Answer
> 9 votes
As Dave mentioned, what you want to do will be *very challenging*. One possibility would be to **change to a different university** that offers the math classes you mentioned. However, I will assume that switching schools is not an option for you. **If you are very dedicated to this goal, here is one possible route.**
* finish your current studies in CSE
* get a job in a town with a university that offers the math classes you desire
* start taking one class each semester as a *non-degree student*. I don't know about policies elsewhere, but many school in the United States have less strict admission requirements for non-degree students. Your goals for these classes should be two-fold. (1) Learn the material as well as you can. Your understanding of this material will be important for both *getting into* and *succeeding* in graduate school. (2) Impress your professors with both your *ability* and your *desire*. When you eventually apply to a masters program, you will **ask some of these professors for letters of recommendation**.
* apply to a masters program in mathematics. Ask for letters of recommendation from both your current professors in your CSE program and from those who know you from the math classes you take after you finish your BS.
* as you near the finish of your masters (where you have worked hard to prove yourself) apply to PhD programs
I know this is a long-term plan, but with hard work and dedication you could make it work. Here is another question Advice - MS in mathematics to increase competitiveness for PhD programs? that you may find to be helpful.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, mathematics, changing-fields
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thread-2994 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2994 | Coordination of a class taught by different professors: how to be fair to the students? | 2012-08-26T18:51:08.810 | # Question
Title: Coordination of a class taught by different professors: how to be fair to the students?
A typical freshman course on calculus has about 100 students every semester. If the course is divided into 4 sections, each has 25 students and a different instructor.
Because the instructors are different, a student's grade may strongly depend on who teaches his section. Lazy students could ask other students before registering who is the easiest grader or who makes easy or straightforward exams, etc. This is unfair to the rest of the students.
Has anybody else faced the same problem? And how did you overcome it?
What criteria one should impose to guarantee that a student's grade will only weakly depend on who is teaching him?.
We are thinking about giving all sections the same midterms and finals. But, obviously this is not enough
# Answer
The more common problem across multiple sections of large courses taught by several different instructors is content drift, not grade drift. At my institution we have three General Chemistry I sections, and the distributions of A's, B's, and C's among the students does not change significantly depending on which of 6 people teach the course. The distribution of D's and F's does vary, however. What is more troublesome to us is that some instructors will cover 8 chapters, some will cover 9, some 10, and so on.
However, if you really want to minimize grade drift, then do the following, which will also eliminate content drift:
1. Coordinate the class - same textbook, same syllabus, identical assignments, exams, everything.
2. Agree ahead of time on a common grading policy, including cutoffs, curves, grade disputes, etc., **and enforce it uniformly**.
3. Teach from a common outline so that all sections get the same material in the same week.
4. Meet frequently, including at least one meeting before the class starts.
5. Grade equitably, which may seem difficult, unless you do the following: Professor A grades all of Assignment 1 across all 4 sections. Professor B grades all of assignment 2, etc. Better yet, hire one person (a grad student maybe) to do all of the grading for all 4 sections.
> 10 votes
# Answer
So far, I think this is better to make a rotation of the instructor. Split the course in 4 parts, each part being taught by one instructor to all the students. Each part is graded independently by each instructor as well.
If this is not doable (slots in parallel, with a strong sequencing of the content), then the only thing I can think of this making as much grading as possible in common (same exam, etc.) and normalize the grades for the rest.
Another possible way of action is to randomly select the correspondence between groups and exams. Let me be clearer: let say that two instructors A and B give a lecture in common. We toss a coin to decide whether group A (or B) have exam by instructor A. In that way, students cannot have a strategy that maximizes their grades.
> 6 votes
# Answer
You already said, *"we are thinking about making same midterms and same finals exams to all sections, but obviously this is not enough"*.
In effect it is not possible on a practical level to be equal since it all depends on how each professor teach and interact with his/her students. Each professor has specific personality and way of doing things which different people/student would like and dislike. However, somehow the following principles are followed by each professor, each class may be comparably good:
1. Professors are dedicated to student's welfare
2. There is a good understanding among the professors and they are in agreement with what should be taught (This may include regular meetings among themselves)
Apart from this each professor has his/her natural way of teaching that he/she is most confident about and this cannot be separated.
> 5 votes
# Answer
The above is the common situation in Israel. Most of the freshmen-year classes are given by multiple lecturers, while the students are tested by the same midterm and final. They also have exactly the same homeworks and due dates, etc.
Officially, the sections are "identical". One professor is declared as the leading-professor and s/he sets the syllabus and takes any course-wide decision. Since all the professors are aware that the homeworks/exams are the same, they all teach the same material, more or less, giving the same emphasis on different subjects, more or less, etc. It should be the case that if one student misses one lecture at some week, s/he can go the the other lecture and be able to continue from the same point.
Of course, this is not perfect, and the different sections are not "identical", but rather, "close enough". In addition, an important thing is that students can choose which section to go. Indeed, sometimes "good lecturers" gets a class full of students (with people sitting on the floor, etc) while "bad" lecturers teach a half-empty class. Most of the times, there are no "bad" lecturers (there are better and worse, but many time the difference is not substantial enough that students change their schedule), so most of the classes are 70-90% full on avg.
Exams are graded by the same team, regardless of the section you are enrolled to. In general, the sections are "technical" partition, and any decision is course-wide and not section-wide. All students from all sections should be treated the same in the most objective way.
> 5 votes
# Answer
I did upvote most of the other answers... but would like to add something:
Yes, it is important to try to be "fair". Sometimes, "uniformity" is the best approximation we can systematically arrange to "fairness". Other answers discussed how to implement this (common mid-terms, common finals).
However, there is sometimes a danger that "uniformity" seems to demand that everyone's situation be degraded to that which can be guaranteed for everyone else. That is, while it is highly desirable to guard against bad effects of poor teaching, it is surely also desirable to not prevent *benefits* of *good* teaching, as a side effect of administrative design.
Similarly, while the impulse is understandable, keeping instructors "secret" so that students cannot seek out desirable instructors (desirable for both wholesome and less-than-wholesome reasons) is a bit perverse, in my opinion. Namely, it always seems to me that "equality" achieved by suppressing information is not at all moving to maximize social welfare, but only "equalizing" it in a rather poor, default sense.
Students "voting with their feet" is a "problem" at all levels, and some of that is reasonable, some unreasonable, of course. But the "solution" of having instructors be "secret" amounts to merely ignoring *genuine* issues in the situation by trying to obliterate information.
> 5 votes
# Answer
Aside from having common exams, one possibility is to withhold the names of the instructors until the registration is finished. In that way, students cannot choose sections based on who is teaching it.
Another possibility is to have all, say, 4 teachers teach all 4 sections: Teacher "W" teaches section "A" during the first quarter, then teaches section "B" during the second quarter, ..., while teacher "X" teaches section "B" during the first quarter, etc.
I do not completely agree with your statement that "the student grade in any section will strongly depend on who is teaching it." I think that the teacher is a factor, but not the main factor. An extremely lazy and weak student will fail no matter who the teacher is; An extremely hardworking and strong student will pass no matter who the teacher is. I believe the student is the main factor.
> 4 votes
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Tags: professorship, teaching, university, education, undergraduate
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thread-3004 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3004 | What should a progress report contain? | 2012-08-27T22:46:52.853 | # Question
Title: What should a progress report contain?
What are the key components of a progress report? There are no official guidelines from the funding agency; all I have is a set of project objectives listed in the original proposal and a target length: three pages.
I am at the stage of putting together a draft for the PI, and I would like to due my due-diligence (get some basic guidelines here) before asking the PI for further input.
Here are some of my questions:
* What sections should it include?
* Are there any essential "key concepts" to include?
* Is it acceptable to cut and paste from the proposal?
* Should I include figures and graphs from unpublished findings?
* How would the writing style compare / contrast to a proposal? To a research paper?
Finally, is there a good resource that provides a comprehensive (if brief) overview of writing progress reports? I have a few books on scientific writing, but none specifically adress progress reports.
# Answer
Good engineering practice suggests:
1. An **executive overview**: a couple of sentences (3 lines) which states either "The objectives for the period have been reached." or "The objectives have not been reached, because ..."; then "No obstacle in the way to the next objectives." Or "Possible obstacle are ....; contingency plan is ....".
2. A **summary**: what were the objectives for the period; then for each objective what has been done towards that objective. A little reuse of figures/graphs here is acceptable.
3. a **main results** section, as space allows: here you select one or two "main achievements" from the previous reporting period, and you give more details about that, with possibly references to external reports / draft papers / additional materials that the report reviewer can go analyse if they are interested.
4. an optional **obstacles & contingency** section: if the executive summary lists problems, here you details what these problems are (either the obstacles in the previous period, or the foreseen obstacles in the next period, or both). Also detail your planned contingency actions.
5. a **report of effort spent**: here you detail where your budget (and man-hours of work) was allocated to each objective/task.
Also, don't make it too long. It's extremely important that the reviewers of your project can get an overall impression of the progress in a very short time. (they will typically have many projects to evaluate in a short time)
> 12 votes
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Tags: writing, funding
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thread-3005 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3005 | NSF sponsoring scientist already having postdocs under their supervision | 2012-08-28T01:05:13.840 | # Question
Title: NSF sponsoring scientist already having postdocs under their supervision
This question seems reasonably focused and of interest, but is perhaps unanswerable. I'm a mathematics student graduating and would like to apply for the NSF postdoctoral fellowship. I wanted to know whether choosing an NSF sponsoring scientist who already has postdocs under their supervision damages one's chances of obtaining the fellowship. I'm not as interested in the question of whether such a sponsor will do as good a job in their role. I'm especially interested in answers which provide some evidence which bears on the matter. This seems slightly(very?) field specific, so answers from people with experience in mathematics or related fields are preferred.
Thank you!
# Answer
> 2 votes
I am not directly familiar with the NSF scheme, but for the NIH NRSA scheme choosing a PI with previous post docs is a huge benefit. In fact, from what I have heard from young colleagues, if the PI does not have current or previous post docs, the NIH likes to see a more experienced co-supervisor listed.
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Tags: career-path, application, postdocs, nsf
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thread-3007 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3007 | Is an emphasis on "novelty" necessary in academic papers? | 2012-08-28T06:58:13.953 | # Question
Title: Is an emphasis on "novelty" necessary in academic papers?
I often come across papers which have a 'Novel' in their titles. In the content the authors go out of their way to explain how their work is the *first to the best of their knowledge* to come up with the results.
Isn't novelty a necessity in research papers? Is a separate emphasis really needed? What is the best way to convey novelty without sounding extravagant?
# Answer
> 17 votes
The authors need to make it clear that the paper makes a contribution and to be explicit about what that contribution is. Otherwise the work is not original and does not deserve to be published. (This excludes survey papers and such things.)
The emphasis on novelty need not, however, be placed so explicitly in the title.
Good ways of emphasizing the novelty are
* Include a short discussion at the end of the introduction stating explicitly what the contributions of the paper are.
* Back this up with **evidence** in the body of the paper.
* A proper **comparison** with related work. (As El Cid's answer states.)
# Answer
> 9 votes
I would rather comment on @Dave's points, but since I have no reputation, here goes my comment/answer :-)
I personally was taught not to put "novel" or "to-the-best-of-my-knowledge" or any other weasel words in the papers, so I also do not like the cited examples, if and when I review papers.
What is most often overseen in papers is the "related work" (apart from the discussion section, which I believe belongs more to a journal-type publication), and how the paper makes an advance to the field. The authors should emphasise what the state of the art is, and how the paper advances it. That is what makes me judge for an accept or reject, rather than "incredible results". But it is also true that when you're growing "older" you look for different things in papers, and that "younger" reviewers are more easily captivated by strong claims.
# Answer
> 6 votes
I usually employ the following interpretations:
* "best-of-our-knowledge" means that the authors were too lazy to search for existing work.
* "novel" and the like in the title means that something very close already exists for ages.
Novelty (a contribution improving on the previous state-of-the-art) is necessary, such emphasis is not.
Regarding how to "convey novelty": It is absolutely required to explain why it is new instead of asserting that it is. This holds for both the title and the body of the article.
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Tags: publications
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thread-3022 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3022 | In conference review process, what do "author response" and "author notification" mean? | 2012-08-28T13:33:41.997 | # Question
Title: In conference review process, what do "author response" and "author notification" mean?
I just visited a conference website where organizers, for the submitted paper review process, listed a date for paper submission, a date for **"author response"**, and another date for **"author notification"**.
It's the first time I see this double wording. I suppose that "author notification" is when they communicate to authors if their papers have been accepted or not, but **what does "author response" stand for**?
Thanks
# Answer
It has to be a conference with a *rebuttal* phase, where the authors can answer the main points raised by the reviewers, who in turn will be able to draw more conclusive remarks on the paper itself
see also here: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/mckinley/notes/blind.html
> 16 votes
# Answer
As ElCid and Pieter said, there is a rebuttal phase in the reviewing process (last paragraph of the CfP).
> The review process this year incorporates several improvements. Authors, reviewers, and area chairs indicate subject areas. With the help of these subject areas, area chairs and reviewers bid for papers. A first reviewer for each paper will be selected from those bids. New this year, two area chairs will also be assigned to oversee reviewing of each paper. Each area chair will manually appoint an additional reviewer for each paper using input from the bids. Authors will have the opportunity to see and respond to the reviews (and optionally revise their paper) before a final decision is made. Final decisions will be made using the input from all reviewers, the author feedback, the area chairs, and the program chairs. Reviewing for ICML 2012 is double blind between authors and reviewers.
> 5 votes
# Answer
I assume that during this period you can respond to any questions or criticisms raised during the review of the paper. After this round of feedback the final decisions will be made.
> 2 votes
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Tags: conference, language
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thread-3017 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3017 | What year to use when citing second editions of books | 2012-08-28T11:48:43.963 | # Question
Title: What year to use when citing second editions of books
This seems like a silly question, but I can't find a clear answer online. If Dr. Brainiac's Big Book of Science was first published in 1974, but I have the second edition, published in 1996, should I cite it as (Brainiac, 1974) or (Brainiac, 1996)?
I realise that this is the sort of thing that might come down to the policy of the journal, but it happens that the journal I'm submitting to doesn't offer any specific guidelines on this particular topic, so I was wondering what the standard practice is, if there is one.
**edit:** for clarity, of course I would mention in the references section that I was referring to the second edition. I guess it would look something like this:
Brainiac, Q. Big Book of Science. Aperture publishing, 1974. (2nd edition 1996.)
or
Brainiac, Q. Big Book of Science, 2nd edition. Aperture publishing, 1996. (First published 1974.)
Where in the first case the in-text citation should be (Brainiac, 1974), and in the second it would be (Brainiac, 1996). The question is which of these is considered the best, or at least the most usual, way of doing it. In my particular case I'm citing a specific fact that is almost certainly in both editions, but of course I can't be sure.
# Answer
If the journal uses the American Psychological Association (APA) style, then you cite the year of the edition and you do not mention earlier editions.
For example, if you are using the 4th edition (published in 1994) of the APA publication manual, you would cite it as (American Psychological Association, 1994) and its bibliographic entry would be:
American Psychological Association. (1994). *Publication manual of the American Psychological Association* (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
> 12 votes
# Answer
In this case I would say *Be Honest*: only cite the references that you have read. Even if you have read the "rev 1", you might be (wrongly) citing as "rev 2" a sentence from "rev 1" that was removed in "rev 2"...
It might be obvious, but sloppy mistakes like that happen
> 16 votes
# Answer
It is always best and safest to cite the sources you've *actually* used.
If there are two (or more editions) of a book, you generally don't have a complete list of changes from one version to the next. The relevant information might not be in the first edition, or might be outdated from the one you've used. So: use the edition you've actually read.
This is also true if you've *used* an eprint on the arXiv, but you later find out that it is published (or will be published) in a journal: still use the arXiv reference.
This is subtle: the eprint wasn't ever peer reviewed, and thus is a less authoritative source. Your wording should *always* reflect that. If then the e-print is published in a journal, and you *only* change the reference it's like saying **you don't care about peer review**. It occurs all too often, but it's simply bad science, even if the contents of the two is word-for-word the same. If you change the reference, re-write the relevant sections as well.
> 7 votes
# Answer
I believe that the best option is citing the edition you actually used for two reasons: 1- It's more honest (since you're not citing something that maybe you didn't really read); and 2- In some cases the original text may have been revised in a way that may contradict your text.
> 2 votes
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Tags: citations, writing
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thread-3029 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3029 | What skills are needed to sustain a research group? | 2012-08-28T15:40:09.047 | # Question
Title: What skills are needed to sustain a research group?
As a young academic, I am struggling to set up a research group that produces papers or proposals on a regular and sustainable basis. I had my share of PhD students, but nothing structured in a proper group or centre. I am also aware that when an academic starts collaborating with others, s/he sooner or later realises that several skills are needed to achieve a quality submission, and that not everyone can excel in all the needed skills.
What type of skills are needed in a cohesive academic group or research centre?
# Answer
Some team-related skills:
* **Interviewing**. You have to build your own team, and that team has to fit together very well. Given that your research group will likely be small and that your work can be measured in years, a few mistakes here can be very costly to your ability to produce. Be sure you know who you're bringing in, whether you can work with them, and whether when they can work with the rest of your group.
* **Delegation**. There's an art to knowing what to delegate and what to do yourself. This will vary from researcher to researcher, and from one graduate student/postdoc/lab technician to the next. Make sure you don't give someone more than they can handle, and make sure that each person has enough to keep them busy.
> 8 votes
# Answer
I try to only work with people who are capable of excelling in all the skills needed to perform and write up high-quality research.
That's not to say that some of them (particularly students) won't need training in those skills in order to excel, of course. But I definitely don't believe in having 1 guy who only collects data, 1 who only analyzes data, and 1 who only writes (or some such scheme). If you pursue such a scheme, you may be crippling people. They'll likely have a hard time in their next job, when nobody holds their hand through the other parts.
> 12 votes
# Answer
**Setting goals**: As a PI, you need some skills on top of the obvious (like writing grants). One important skill involves setting goals. You need to be able to set reasonable and attainable (but not necessarily easy) short-term goals for your group. At the same time, you need to be able to clearly articulate the overarching long-term, big-picture goals of your research. Good goal setting will help you attract capable researchers to your group.
> 8 votes
# Answer
**Coherent research focus**: Try to make sure that the members of your group work on topics that are close together, to create synergy between topics and allow experienced members to work closely with less experienced ones to allow their skills to pass on and build an environment where internal collaboration is the norm.
> 7 votes
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Tags: publications, collaboration, soft-skills
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thread-3044 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3044 | Is it ok to have paragraphs that have only one sentence in a formal paper? | 2012-08-30T12:23:41.857 | # Question
Title: Is it ok to have paragraphs that have only one sentence in a formal paper?
Or, is it a good practice?
I found most papers that I read are "block by block": they have paragraphs that are not so long, and not so short. Is it a convention? Should I mimic that?
# Answer
> 10 votes
If the result reads like a newspaper, I would say, no, it's not alright.
If it reads like Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, then you are probably doing something right.
Unless you are an exceptional writer, my advice is to follow the accepted conventions of your field, which probably includes block paragraphs.
A longer paragraph allows one to build up an idea and explore it more thoroughly. The first sentence introduces the idea. Subsequent sentences explore it in more detail. There should be a logical connection between sentences, and sentences should ideally vary in length. Developing good style is matter of practice and reflection. And there is more to good style than the length of a paragraph.
# Answer
> 14 votes
The Wikipedia article on paragraph says a para could contain one or more sentences. The very purpose of grouping content into paragraphs is to organise similar thoughts into one unit. Too many small or one-sentence paragraphs will affect the cohesiveness of your content.
But a one-sentence para may be fine at the end of a section in a paper if it adequately summarises the content within. (Like this, perhaps!)
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Tags: publications, writing, writing-style
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thread-3050 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3050 | Why are some sources cited twice in a bibliography, once with DOI and once with arXiv? | 2012-08-30T16:51:03.313 | # Question
Title: Why are some sources cited twice in a bibliography, once with DOI and once with arXiv?
Just to clarify what I mean, I have seen some review articles that have bibliography items like this:
> Bloggs, J., "The Paper that has Been Written", *The Journal Title*, **Series Number**, page number(s), (year). \[DOI\] \[arXiv link\]
where both \[DOI\] *and* \[arXiv link\] are hyperlinks to the paper, the former to its webpage on the journal website (with which it was published), the latter to its arXiv webpage.
Does the author cite twice just in case someone is reading it who might not have access to journals? Or is there another reason?
# Answer
> 30 votes
I agree with Dave Clarke. I think the **primary purpose of a bibliography should be to offer the reader a way to read the cited material**. A version of the paper on the arXiv achieves this goal better than any other means I know. However, it's **also important that the cited material has been verified**. By citing the journal version of the paper, the author communicates that it has been.
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Tags: citations, arxiv, doi
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thread-3052 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3052 | Can I use my blog posts for an academic publication? | 2012-08-31T11:38:18.690 | # Question
Title: Can I use my blog posts for an academic publication?
It is not very clear in the publication guidelines of journals or conferences whether one can post some preliminary data or results online (blog, twitter, facebook, *etc.*), gather feedback, and then edit and publish such results in a journal or conference publication (but in other fields it has happened with some embarassement).
Can a researcher post a blog-entry, or use twitter, sharing data and results with a journal or conference paper? Would it be considered self-plagiarism?
# Answer
You'd need to ask the specific journal if they're okay with it. I suspect many would be, since many other forms of quasi-publication prior to a paper are acceptable.
> 15 votes
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Tags: publications, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, online-resource, social-media
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thread-2567 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2567 | API, EULA, and scraping for Google Scholar | 2012-07-23T13:58:42.290 | # Question
Title: API, EULA, and scraping for Google Scholar
I love Google Scholar as my go-to place to search for papers. Some features like "forward-citations" and their nice-ish autogenerated bibtex are life savers. However, sometimes I (and others) wish we could write scripts to help us:
However, Google Scholar does not provide an API, their robots.txt disallows scrapers on most pages of interest (for instance the cited-by results are not suppose to be accessed by bots), and if you try to make many requests (as a bot would) you will get an CAPTCHA.
Last year they used to have a EULA that said:
> You shall not, and shall not allow any third party to: ...
>
> (i) directly or indirectly generate queries, or impressions of or clicks on Results, through any automated, deceptive, fraudulent or other invalid means (including, but not limited to, click spam, robots, macro programs, and Internet agents);
>
> ...
>
> (l) "crawl", "spider", index or in any non-transitory manner store or cache information obtained from the Service (including, but not limited to, Results, or any part, copy or derivative thereof);
Some Google services like custom search (for which I could find a EULA) still state this in section 1.4, but the link in the SO answer is now dead and I have not been able to find a new EULA for Scholar. From anecdotal evidence, I know that you can get in a decent amount of trouble of you try to circumvent Google's efforts to prevent scraping of Scholar.
**Is there an official source where I could look up Scholar's terms of service? Or does the new unified ToS Google unveiled mean that I should be looking for the terms elsewhere? Is scraping still disallowed?**
# Answer
> 11 votes
Not too sure if you are looking for this.
See One policy, one Google experience released by Google
> On March 1, 2012, we changed our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. We got rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replaced them with one that’s a lot shorter and easier to read. The new policy and terms cover multiple products and features, reflecting our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google.
That means **all of the Google services have the same ToS**, which is available here : Google Terms of Service
Here's a quote from that page
> Don’t misuse our Services. For example, don’t interfere with our Services or try to access them using a method other than the interface and the instructions that we provide.
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Tags: research-process, tools, google-scholar
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thread-3065 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3065 | Should one update a manuscript to current state-of-art when re-submitting? | 2012-09-01T02:36:06.870 | # Question
Title: Should one update a manuscript to current state-of-art when re-submitting?
Publishing in a journal is a long process that might take a lot of time (\> 1 year), and is possibly involved of several phases (submit, re-submit, re-re-submit...)
As the time passes, things change. Specifically, new results appear.
What should one do with the new stuff that happens between resubmissions?
* Do one needs to cite / refer to papers that first appeared after the original date submission?
* Do one needs to update citations to papers that on the date of the original submission appeared only on arXiv, but now appear in a journal (those possibly slightly different than the original work cited in the original submission)?
**EDIT:** maybe one should wait for acceptance, and only then do the updates?
# Answer
> 13 votes
**Yes, you should update your references at *every* possible opportunity.** Whenever the manuscript is in your hands, if it is possible for you to update the references, you should do so. Paper rejected? Update the references before resubmission. Paper accepted? Update the references before sending back the revision. Multiple rounds of reviewing? Update the references after each round. Submitting a journal version of a conference paper? Update the references before submission. Reviewing galley proofs? Okay, then you probably *can't* update the references.
Your paper serves as not only a description of *your* new result but also as a guide to the surrounding literature. Your readers (including referees and editors) are best served by the most up-to-date snapshot possible.
Of course, if one of the papers you cite has undergone a revision (for example, and ArXiv preprint has appeared in a journal), *you must read the new revision yourself* to make sure that the cited information is still there, so that you know *how* to appropriately cite it.
I typically tag completely new references (for example, a relevant ArXiv preprint appears while my paper is under review) with phrases like "Since this paper was submitted..." or (since I'm in computer science) "Since the preliminary version of this paper appeared...."
# Answer
> 8 votes
Would like to add a partial answer. Don't know the answer to the first one.
But about the second:
> Do one needs to update citations to papers .....?
Yes, they need to be updated. Most publishers ask to update bibliography with latest information.
But if the original content that appeared in arXiv is changed in the final publication, it is better to keep the original citation in your paper, specifying the exact version that you cited.
# Answer
> 6 votes
The answer to both of these questions is **it's your choice**. However, I definitely **recommend that you update the citation information**, because (a) it probably won't take long and (b) it will possibly be quite helpful to your readers.
I work in a field where it's uncommon for much to change between the time that I first submit and that I resubmit. Perhaps I might find out that someone proved a result in our paper about the same time that we did. In that case, I would add a line in the acknowledgments section stating so, and add a citation to the relevant paper or preprint.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Might some of the reviewers have published the relevant paper(s) that have come out and which you are not citing? Yes? Might they appreciate it if you cite rather than ignore their work? Yes? Better update your citations, then.
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Tags: publications, journals, citations
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thread-2802 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2802 | Is there any disadvantage to having PhD skipping M.Sc.? | 2012-08-09T17:05:40.947 | # Question
Title: Is there any disadvantage to having PhD skipping M.Sc.?
In some countries like Australia, Singapore etc, A candidate may be enrolled into Masters leading to PhD program on condition that he/she will pass the candidature test after the 1st year and are subsequently given PhD in the final/fourth year (subject to successful completion), which results in no M.Sc. degree in between.
Is there any discrepancy towards these PhD holder in academic or professional life?
# Answer
> 21 votes
**No.** Once you have a PhD, nobody cares about your previous degrees, or if you even graduated from high school.
(I know at least one tenured professor who did not graduate from high school.)
# Answer
> 10 votes
This answers the title question.
It is not a bad idea to take a break between a BSc and a PhD, just to see what else is out there in the world. Maybe do a bit of travel or work for six months or year. The disadvantage thus of doing a PhD right after a BSc is that you spend too much time in school, getting deeper and deeper into one topic, without taking an opportunity to broaden your perspective.
# Answer
> 4 votes
To amplify JeffE's answer, there are some instances where it will be inconvenient, in the sense that you will have to explain your situation.
Personally, I hold no master's degree. When I started my present job in Germany, this was looked upon as very unusual, and I had to explain that I attended a degree-granting university that did not require a master's for admission to PhD candidacy. (In Europe, the norm is that you essentially *have* to have a master's before beginning your PhD candidacy.)
Beyond that, however, there is generally no concerns beyond things that can be relatively easily explained. (The only thing I can think of is that if qualifications for a position are based on "years of experience," the truncated education may mean more post-educational work is required to satisfy the requirement.)
# Answer
> 4 votes
Mainly, the answer is **no**, if you have a PhD no one will care whether you have a master's degree in the same area or not.
However, I *disagree with JeffE* that no one will ever care about your previous degrees. This **statement is nearly true with regard to research**, but I think it **may be false for some other areas**. For example, if you want to teach at a liberal arts school (undergraduate-only, focused more on breadth than many schools), then you'll have a better chance to land such a job if you got your bachelor's degree at a school like that. At times I find it helpful to mention that I got a master's degree in *optimization and algorithms*, rather than just saying that I have a master's in math. I think this can more readily convey the particular skill set I acquired. If the people evaluating you always did so rationally and with due diligence, yours master's degree (or lack thereof) probably wouldn't matter. However, **humans are often lazy and/or emotional, so your mileage may vary**.
# Answer
> 0 votes
I don't have an MS, but I do have a BS and a PhD in the same field. I have had no professional problems as a result.
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Tags: phd, research-process, job, etiquette
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thread-3080 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3080 | How to demonstrate mastery of courses not taken during undergraduation | 2012-09-03T05:21:40.980 | # Question
Title: How to demonstrate mastery of courses not taken during undergraduation
In this answer, Anonymous Mathematician says, "You need to demonstrate that you have mastered the undergraduate material that is less relevant for computer science. For example, mathematical analysis along the lines of Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis"
How can I demonstrate I have mastered materials from Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis or Artin's Algebra for admission in grad school?
# Answer
I find this a hard question because I regularly have to deal with applicants claiming they have certain skills and because these cases are difficult to deal with. For example, recently an applicant got a bad grade for one module and wrote they really were much better. I decided the applicant's examiners are in a much better position than I to judge the applicant's capabilities.
In your case you want to prove you have knowledge you didn't formally study in your undergraduate school. If so it's impossible to prove your skills unless (1) somebody from your undergraduate school is willing to write a letter of recommendation, or (2) the grad school are willing to \`\`examine'' you.
In the case of (1) this may work. Unfortunately, (2) means the graduate school have to do more work and I think this is unlikely.
Finally, if the graduate school require the skills, it seems to me they think it is reasonable. In that case, applicants should have taken modules that demonstrate these skills. If they haven't, it seems to me they're not the ideal candidates in the opinion of the graduate school.
> 10 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, undergraduate
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thread-3089 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3089 | How does the ranking of a university relate to a future career in mathematics? | 2012-09-04T03:01:37.723 | # Question
Title: How does the ranking of a university relate to a future career in mathematics?
Although I am an active user of SE, I have chosen to remain anonymous because of the nature of this question. I am currently a graduate student at a university that lands in the mid 70s among U.S. News' top graduate schools in mathematics, which by my understanding is very poor. My grades were quite good and although I didn't do terrifically on the subject GRE, I had a few offers from schools in the mid 40 range which I turned down. This was partially because I think I undervalued the importance of choosing a better school, and for a variety of personal reasons. My university has some unique opportunities in applied math, but is otherwise unremarkable.
As I enter my second year, I am increasingly convinced that a career as an active research mathematician is what I want for myself. However, I've heard so much contradictory information that I'm unsure if this is a realistic goal given the status of my university. While a variety of people have told me that there are plenty of desirable jobs available in "industry," the general consensus is that graduate students from low-ranking schools tend to end up as community college professors. The fact that most universities (including my own) are full of doctors from strictly high ranking schools seems to support this.
I have the chance to receive a terminal masters at the end of this year, rather than continue on for another four and complete my PhD, so I'm considering trying to retake the GRE and reapplying (I am unclear whether this is frowned upon in the math community in general, although at my school I have been reassured it is not). On the other hand, my university has a few professors who seem to be well known within their niche, mainly because their particular specialties are very unique.
My general questions are these: How important is the quality of the university when it comes to having a full career in pure mathematics research? Is a well known adviser a factor, possibly outweighing the school? Is this significantly different among applied mathematicians?
# Answer
First, let me answer an easy question. It is **not frowned on to get a masters at one school, then transfer elsewhere for a Phd**. In fact, this is **often encouraged**. Next, let me confirm that **yes, the ranking of your PhD institution really does matter** for a future career as a research mathematician.
In some sense, Gerry is right when he says that the ranking of importance is (1) quality of dissertation, (2) reputation of adviser, and (3) ranking of department. One big problem though, is that **many of the people evaluating you won't know how to evaluate criteria (1) and (2).** Hiring committees often include many (all?) people who are not familiar with your research area. So they will often rely on what they (at least think that they) know, which is *quality of department*.
I have written elsewhere about why you should go to the strongest program that you can get into, particularly if you want a career as a research mathematician. I don't know all the details of your personal situation, but I strongly encourage you to at least take the GRE again and reapply. It may be possible for you to wait to see whether you get accepted to a school that you prefer before you decide whether you'll leave with a terminal masters or not.
> 22 votes
# Answer
My opinion, which is worth what you are paying for it:
The most important thing is the quality of your dissertation.
The second most important thing is the reputation of your thesis advisor.
The ranking of the department only comes in third.
Of course, these things are not independent of each other. It may be that at a higher-ranked department you'll get a better education and write a better thesis.
Probably best to speak to someone at your current institution (or your undergrad institution) who knows you well and can give you better advice.
> 15 votes
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Tags: phd, career-path, university
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thread-3092 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3092 | Guidlines for keeping adminstrative paperwork | 2012-09-04T09:24:05.687 | # Question
Title: Guidlines for keeping adminstrative paperwork
I am not sure if this question is best here, workplace.sx, or someplace else ...
I would like to clean off my desk before the semester starts (I am lucky and still have a couple of weeks). My department is far from paperless and many things only get distributed in paper form. While I would love to be organized enough to file away the paperwork from each meeting as it happens, I don't. Instead I have a large pile of all of last years meetings on my desk. I feel like most of these meetings do not directly affect me. I have piles from previous years stuck in my file cabinet. Is it worth saving unorganized papers from meetings or should I just dump them. Is there a better strategy going forward (preferably one that only requires intervention twice a year.)?
# Answer
> 1 votes
Personally, I would recommend that you start taking notes at these meetings and toss all the handouts. Include the name & contact info of the person doing most of the talking in your notes so that you can contact them in the future if necessary. I use an electronic note-taking tool with user-defined tags to keep track of everything, as I've found it easier to search later on; experiment with different approaches to see what works best with you.
This approach works with most types of handouts, but for things like calendars and class rosters you'll still want to work with paper. Personally, I use something like this; I have two on my desk and I haven't needed more in a while, as I throw out folders when done with them. Even if you just stick them in a huge pile, though, it'll still be less huge than your previous pile, so at least you're better off.
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thread-3087 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3087 | Should my references be famous if I want to get into top schools for PhD? | 2012-09-04T01:24:50.783 | # Question
Title: Should my references be famous if I want to get into top schools for PhD?
So I've been researching my field of interest and I'm increasingly getting drawn to apply to a few "top" departments (in pure math) -- it seems like such a strong fit at the moment given that I've done relatively serious undergraduate research, though it was more of a "directed" study kind of thing, and my approaches to some of the problems have been fruitless, but have gotten me exposed to so much mathematics that got me excited to learn and think more about the topics I was looking at initially. I have the grades and the GRE scores (past the 80th percentile on the subject test in math, which seems like the unadvertised minimum). However, my reference letter writers don't appear to have any connections to some of these top places. From some research online, it appears that admission committees want to hear from *known* mathematicians -- but what if my reference letter writers aren't known in said department? Is such an application doomed from the start?
For people who have served on admission committees, what is your take on this and how would you advise an applicant like me? Unfortunately there's no time to rectify this by going to an REU or the like.
# Answer
It's not necessary for your recommenders to be famous. It certainly helps a little, since it's only natural for the admissions committee to be influenced by fame, but it's not really relevant to the quality of the recommendation so most people try not to be too influenced by it. Instead, these criteria are more important:
1. Do your recommenders know you? I.e., can they make detailed, substantive comments, beyond just listing grades?
2. Do they know what's required for success at the schools you are applying to, and what the competition is like? Do they have a good basis for comparison in your case? The best case scenario is if their students regularly apply and are at least sometimes accepted; then a comparison with past students is very informative.
3. Does the committee understand their personalities and writing styles? Some recommenders are very optimistic and say everyone's great, while others lean towards understatement. If members of the committee have read previous letters by your recommenders, or know them personally, then it's much easier to make a reliable judgment. Otherwise, everyone will be at least a little more skeptical of the letters.
There are plenty of people who satisfy these criteria but wouldn't register as "famous" in the community at large. On the other hand, if your recommenders don't satisfy them, then it will be harder to be admitted to a top department. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's impossible, but this is worth keeping in mind when selecting letter writers.
> 13 votes
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thread-3063 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3063 | How to interview a candidate for a university teaching position? | 2012-08-31T21:10:34.743 | # Question
Title: How to interview a candidate for a university teaching position?
We are interviewing some candidates for a part-time teaching faculty position to teach 2 upper level undergraduate courses in mathematics.
Since it is my first time to be in such committee and since this is a teaching job on the university level, I wanted to know what are the criteria/questions that are teaching-related and that should be asked to the candidate in the interview?
# Answer
You'll want to ask some standard questions that any experienced educator would ask a potential teacher:
* Request to see a model lesson. It doesn't have to be a full lecture, just something to see their style. Ideally the entire committee should be there for this part.
* Ask to see a university-level lesson plan of their creation.
* Ask how they would approach creating a semester-long curriculum for an advanced "special topics" course. I suggest the "special topics" idea because this lets you see whether they can do it for themselves or whether they are only able to follow pre-set curricula.
* Ask how they'll ensure that the top students are being adequately challenged while the weaker students aren't being left behind.
* Ask how they handle unruly students. Even though this is fairly rare at the university level, they should have a ready answer.
* Have them explain some concepts to you and make sure for yourself that you are comfortable with how they explain them. (Similar to model lesson, but for specific topics.)
You may also want to mention things like office hours requirements, whether they'll get a TA, and related administrative stuff.
> 11 votes
# Answer
My university requires a teaching portfolio to be attached to the job application. This will typically include:
* Teaching practice (your education, courses)
* History of teaching (activities, awards)
* Student feedback (with comments on how did your teaching chanre as a response to these comments)
* Materials you prepared for students (with comments on how and why they evolved)
> 2 votes
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Tags: professorship, job, teaching, university, interview
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thread-1124 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1124 | Good ways to multitask | 2012-04-15T03:29:29.033 | # Question
Title: Good ways to multitask
While multitasking is not a desired trait unique to academia, it's something that seems particularly important for graduate students and new faculty. I've had many students ask me how to multitask effectively, and I'm curious to know what the collective wisdom of this forum would be.
> what are good practices to manage multiple distinct academic activities effectively ?
To make this more focused and relevant, I'll limit academic activities to
* Taking (or teaching) classes
* Working on multiple research projects
* Writing grant proposals (or applying for fellowships)
* service responsibilities
* a healthy lifestyle with outside hobbies
# Answer
I have three answers to this question; I'll put them all here for you.
1. # Don't.
Multi-tasking is a necessity when there are many tasks that demand your attention all at once. The people who most need these skills are either managers, whose work demands that they divide their attention among their subordinates as necessary, and those working in a highly collaborative environment, where interaction with colleagues happens regularly.
As a graduate student, this will almost never happen. Your responsibilities will typically include coursework, teaching assistantships, and research duties, and writing. Even your collaborations will happen at a slow pace. You'll rarely be in a situation where you *need* to get in touch with someone within the hour; almost all your issues will be able to wait a day. Considering that almost all research shows that multitasking decreases productivity, consider yourself lucky.
To that end, if you can train yourself to focus on a single task at a time, your work will benefit from it.
2. # Pomodoro technique
I recently (~6 mos) read about this technique online, and I've found it very useful for certain tasks. The concept is ridiculously simple. Before you start working, write down the task you're about to start on a piece of paper. Start a 25 minute timer and work until it runs out. Take a 5 min stretch, put a tic next to the task on the piece of paper, and then repeat until you're done. If you need to switch to something else, write it down on the paper as well, and switch every 25 minutes. This way, you always have at least 25 minutes to do each task, and you can set up your multitasking in 25 minute chunks. (As an added benefit, you're taking stretch breaks every 5 minutes, which is good for your health.)
3. # Getting Things Done
There's an answer below that mentions this, but doesn't do it justice. I've been using this for years and it's a wonderful way of keeping track of what you need to do. At it's simplest, the technique just advocates that you make a to-do list of everything you need to do. The useful part of this technique is how he separates tasks; he puts them into "contexts", which you can think of as "environments". Some tasks will be done at home, some at work, some wherever you have email access, etc. By breaking up tasks like this, you can easily see what you need to do at any given time by simply consulting the correct list.
This technique has gained immense popularity, and because of that many to-do lists online feature "GTD compatibility". This basically means that they let you make lists of your to-dos.
This method comes with a catch; if you don't do it rigorously, you may as well not do it at all. As soon as some tasks *aren't* on your lists, then you'll stop checking the lists, and then the whole thing goes to pot. However, if you keep the lists current, then it's an immensely helpful technique. For forgetful people like me, the to-do concept is a veritable necessity, and the context idea is a good way of segmenting what you need to do.
> 10 votes
# Answer
Different people would have different techniques. What I found very useful for me is to have a list of the 5-8 most important things I need to do.
I don't use any specific tool, just a simple text file to write my tasks down (always adding tasks so I will not forget anything), but keep the most urgent 5-8 tasks at the top.
I found out that the sole existence of this list is what helps me to focus. I don't follow the list item by item; I do jump between tasks; I start one task before I complete the the other. The important thing is that I keep looking at that list several times a day, recalling what else I still need to do, and trying to see the 'big picture'. Each time I look at the list I allow myself to re-prioritize tasks. Sometimes just to see the tasks written down is enough for one's mind to be able to arrange the day in the most effective way.
> 9 votes
# Answer
In writing papers about finished projects, it is important to take breaks - write something, and then get back to it next day (re-read what you wrote). So multitasking could be beneficial.
> 0 votes
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Tags: productivity, workflow
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thread-3121 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3121 | Is copying an image from a previous paper of mine and citing its source considered self-plagiarism or unprofessional? | 2012-09-06T23:46:37.997 | # Question
Title: Is copying an image from a previous paper of mine and citing its source considered self-plagiarism or unprofessional?
Last year, I wrote a paper and it got accepted and was presented at a conference.
This year, I am writing a more in-depth paper about a similar subject; but since one of the figures in my first paper is adequate for my purpose, I want to reuse that one (of course citing it adequately).
Am I OK in doing that, or is that seen as self-plagiarism or unprofessional?
# Answer
There *is* such a thing as self-plagiarism, but I would say that your case (reusing a figure that you created and providing a citation to it) is not an instance of it. I also don't think it is unethical or unprofessional. As Ran G. says in his answer, just make sure you ask permission from the copyright holder (if it isn't you).
> 26 votes
# Answer
(**EDT**: "in this case.." ) There's no such thing as self-plagiarism. It's your figure. you drew it, you have the right to use it anywhere you want any time you wish and as much as possible. I don't even see a need to cite previous appearances of the same figure (unless this figure is the main theorem/claim/result rather than an explanatory tool.)
The only thing to check is that the conf that published your paper doesn't hold some rights on it, due to editing it, improving it or that you gave up your rights when you signed a copyright-transfer form (as the Anonymous Mathematician mentioned in his comment)
> 8 votes
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thread-3131 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3131 | Which is the most accepted measure for an individual's academic productivity? | 2012-09-07T16:57:14.343 | # Question
Title: Which is the most accepted measure for an individual's academic productivity?
Among the various indices for academic productivity/impact in the respective field, which is most accepted one?
You can see some productivity measures, used in academia, here and here
This question is inspired by the comment here and should not be confused with this
Clarification: The word `accepted` meant to be taken as accepted in the respective field of activity, for various requirements, say appointments, career advancements, selection for awards, invitation as an examiner, editor, reviewer etc. These measures might not have much impact on the general public, and that is not being asked.
# Answer
> 13 votes
There is no accepted numerical measure for an individual's academic productivity. The available measures can sometimes be useful, but they all have serious weaknesses and many detractors. In particular, there is no widely accepted or safe choice: if you make any public use of a productivity measure, many people will react angrily, no matter which measure you choose (and their anger may well be justified).
Added in edit: In my experience, citation and publication counts are sometimes mentioned in letters of recommendation, but just as a crude numerical measure, rather than with any serious importance attached to them; most letters do not mention them. (I've never seen an h-index mentioned in a letter or job application, but perhaps it is more common in physics.) Hiring committee members occasionally impose minimal numerical standards, but just to rule out inappropriate cases ("we won't consider anyone for a tenure-track job unless they have at least two publications", say). In the departments I'm familiar with, nobody uses them to choose between serious candidates. Like Dan C says, they just aren't that useful: they add a small amount of information, with a lot of noise and even systematic bias.
# Answer
> 12 votes
I agree with Anonymous Mathematician that likely any numerical measure will be insufficient. The best measure is that of **esteem by your community**. This will often be reflected in:
* invitations to speak
* inclusion in special issues of journals
* election to society offices and/or
* professional awards.
As much as administrations would find it convenient, **scientific impact cannot be distilled to a few numbers**.
Edit:
I think part of the issue is that Noble is asking for some metric that can be **used by non-experts** to judge a researcher in a field other than theirs. And essentially, what we (Suresh, AnonMath, JeffE, myself, etc.) are saying is: "No. **You can't really get a good answer, without asking experts within the field** of the person you want to evaluate." In some sense, this is a predictable power struggle. **Outsiders want a way to do it on their own, and the insiders are saying "No, you can't do it right without us."**
# Answer
> 6 votes
It is pretty clear to me that in fundamental mathematics, such a measure exists and is widely used: existence (and number) of papers in the five or ten most prestigious journals.
In France, publishing in one of this paper is very important for getting a professor position. We tend to pretend we judge people on the content of the papers, but the first thing we look at is for *Annals of math*, *Inventiones* and the like in publication lists.
The US system is less known to me, but it seems very important to publish in one of these journals to get tenure too, at least for some people: I have heard a well-established colleague saying that when he was refereeing for, e.g., Annals of Math (arguably the most prestigious of all), he asked himself whether the paper was worth giving the author a career for the rest of his or her life.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I feel like pointing out that the very use of the word 'productivity' reflects a certain kind of bias towards "quantity". Ultimately, there are many different ways in which a researcher can make useful contributions to their field, and society at large. Maybe a key insight, a new way of thinking, a set of tools, or even a large group of students. Any particular measure of impact captures some subset of these, but there's typically no way to capture the entirety of a profile, and if you resort to numbers, the problem gets even worse.
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thread-3144 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3144 | Which is more beneficial prior to PhD: research experience or a second Masters degree? | 2012-09-08T20:33:29.520 | # Question
Title: Which is more beneficial prior to PhD: research experience or a second Masters degree?
I will be applying to do a PhD in Applied Mathematics, and have been advised by some professors to consider doing a second masters degree if I do not get in. I have also approached researchers about collaborating on projects with them to improve my profile, and is currently working on one.
I was wondering: if I fail to get into a PhD program, would it be more beneficial for my next application if I enroll in a second masters degree, or would it be better to continue doing research projects?
**Edit:** Both Suresh and JeffE gave good advice, but I have some points to add.
1. I am already actively doing research with the possibility of publication (will submit but peer review process is iffy).
2. Of course, if I am already doing research with well-known faculty collaborators who will write strong letters of recommendation, there is no need to go for a second masters. But would it be realistic to count on a second masters for the opportunity to work with well-known faculty? (IMHO finding supervisors is quite a crapshoot)
I suppose there are quite a few PhD applicants like me: did a masters, but did not excel. Should they try to get research experience with academic collaborators or go for second masters? (there might not be a right or clear cut answer)
# Answer
> 7 votes
The question is framed oddly. A master's degree *without* research experience will probably kill your chances for PhD admission, at least into the top programs.
Here's a better framing: **Is a second master's degree the best way to get more research experience?** Unfortunately, the answer depends on your personal situation. If you're already doing active research with a strong possibility of formal publication, with well-known faculty collaborators who will write you strong letters of recommendation, then a second MS is probably not necessary. If that doesn't describe your current research environment, a second MS might be the best way to find such an environment.
# Answer
> 6 votes
I don't know anything about applied math Ph.D programs. But extrapolating from TCS programs, getting more research experience (and some concrete results) would definitely help. While a second MS doesn't help directly, it helps indirectly because
* you don't have a gap in your resume
* you automatically are placed in an environment where you can approach researchers to work on projects with them.
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thread-3133 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3133 | Is use of multiple bibliographies, especially with annotations, in a thesis, accepted? | 2012-09-07T18:47:45.750 | # Question
Title: Is use of multiple bibliographies, especially with annotations, in a thesis, accepted?
As I am reviewing sources for my thesis, I am citing my sources in an (APA style) annotated bibliography (as required). However, I am also finding some excellent points from other sources that are either not entirely on-topic or less-empirical (read: poorly referenced). I have (of course) kept track of them.
What is the accepted practice for listing cited works in a thesis? Is it acceptable to have an annotated bibliography, as well as a list of "additonal works cited?" Or should they all be listed (with annotations) consistently in one section?
I have posed this question to my adviser, but I would also like to hear from others as well.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I agree that reference formatting for a thesis tends to follow university and discipline specific guidelines. In my experience, theses also tend to have a little more flexibility than other documents, because the university often has to provide guidelines that are relevant to research students from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds.
That said, if you are using APA style referencing, then you may wish to follow APA style guidelines more generally. I have not seen annotated bibliographies in APA style. Rather, if you cite a work, then it is added to the reference list. You can cite a wide range of works including popular-science and other works of less rigour. You generally don't cite works that you simply used as background reading, unless you can weave the reference into a specific citation.
In APA style, all references are typically combined into a single section at the end of the work. An exception can occur in the case of book chapters, particularly where each chapter has been written by different authors, where separate reference lists often occur at the end of each chapter.
# Answer
> 8 votes
I think the answer to your question is **very dependent on your subject and the culture of that research area**. In my area, math, I've never seen an annotated bibliography as part of the thesis. I've probably only looked at 15 or 20 theses, but I've never seen one. In other areas (humanities and social sciences?), I suspect such a bibliography is more par for the course.
# Answer
> 4 votes
Generally thesis formatting questions are answered by someone at the the institutional level. At my institution, deviations from the proscribed format were not permitted. You should verify with your institution what the guidelines are. The academic merit of this approach may be a secondary concern. Usually the person who is in charge of this can be found working for your institution's library.
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Tags: thesis, citations
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thread-3166 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3166 | Does working for a prestigious company help in a PhD application? | 2012-09-11T14:54:25.237 | # Question
Title: Does working for a prestigious company help in a PhD application?
Does working for a prestigious company help in a PhD application? For example, suppose one does interesting work while at a prestigious company. Would this help an application?
# Answer
> 4 votes
The short answer is "probably." The long answer is "it depends."
Admission to a graduate program is almost solely dependent on how well you impress that department's graduate admissions committee (assuming you meet any minimum admissions standards: grades, GRE, etc). If they attach value to your work in industry, it'll help you out immensely. If they don't, it probably won't hurt you.
This Kaplan page outlines the general process.
# Answer
> 3 votes
If your work at the prestigious company involved a demonstration of your intellectual and/or research prowess, then yes, it'll probably help. If your work was mostly grunt work, then it's unlikely to make a large impact.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Except if you are in a recognized inner lab of a big company, it will probably not help, and not hurt. Working may help if you do something that proves that you have skills useful to research work, that's all.
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Tags: phd, application
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thread-3171 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3171 | How do I go about publishing a paper without a university affiliation? | 2012-09-11T17:50:51.567 | # Question
Title: How do I go about publishing a paper without a university affiliation?
I graduated with a B.S. degree and I have been working in industry for a few years as a software engineer. I am very interested in reinforcement learning, a sub-field of machine learning, and I am interested in performing research and publishing a paper on that topic.
The problem is, in my city there are no professors working in this field (or related fields) who could help me. I contacted other professors in different cities and they rejected my help request for a variety of reasons (such as I am not their student, they don't know me, they are busy, etc.).
Still, I want to perform research and publish a paper. I can't attend school as a full time student and my collaboration requests were not successful. Given all that, how can I publish by myself?
1. How to choose a research topic?
2. Should I read all the papers on this field?
3. How to decide which problem to work on or which is not obsolete? I don't want to work on something which no one is interested in.
4. Should I read and study all the prerequisite material, or fill in the gaps during research efforts?
# Answer
> 23 votes
> Is it possible to publish a paper without a Professor?
Sure. Nobody gives a rat's patootie about the academic ranks of paper authors (at least in my field). I published sole-author papers as a graduate student. I have colleagues who published as undergraduates, and others who published with no university (or research lab, or corporate) affiliation at all.
> How to choose a research topic?
Choose something you're good at, that you're passionate about, and that other people will care about. If you're not good at it, you'll never get anywhere. If you're not passionate about it, you won't put in enough effort to succeed. If nobody cares, then, well, nobody cares.
> Should I read all the papers on this field?
No. Reading *all* the papers in any field is simply not possible. But you should read a *lot*. A few hundred papers should get you started (ha ha only serious).
> How to decide which problem to work on or which is not obsolete? I don't want to work on something which no one is interested in.
Read lots of papers; talk to lots of people; go to seminars/conferences and listen to talks. Or decide that the topics that you care about are so fascinating and your results are so compelling that you'll *make* other people interested (but be prepared for disappointment). Or—my personal favorite—just make up something cool out of thin air.
> Should I read and study all the prerequisite material, or fill in the gaps during research efforts?
Yes. Both. (Except not *all* the prerequisite material; that's impossible.)
# Answer
> 10 votes
I can't comment on the later issues—they are too general for the scope of a single question.
To address the first issue, yes, it is possible to publish without a professor. People at corporations and small companies publish all the time without academic collaborators (and without PhD level staffers). The challenge is having a topic that is worth publishing, and finding an appropriate venue to publish it in.
# Answer
> 8 votes
> Is it possible to publish a paper without a Professor?
Yes, sure, why not? The point is whether the paper (your work) is worthy enough to be published or not. It's not the point if the paper has a professor or not; it's about being professional and not about a professor.
> How to choose a research topic?
First, it depends on your interest. Then it depends on if it's useful, uses new method, new knowledge, etc.
> Should I read all the papers on this field?
Not all but only related to your topics. Because you have to "re-search" if others have done it already. You need their results and methods to compare with your work for reference.
> How to decide which problem to work on or which is not obsolete? I don't want to work on something which no one is interested in.
I give up for this Q. Actually,it's not hard to answer but not easy too. Because there's no right or wrong answer, only depends on your like. People select scientific papers by their own standard and so do I. No one knows exactly which standard criteria should be decided, but at least you may know the trend of interests, so please "re-search"!
> Should I read and study all the prerequisite material, or fill in the gaps during research efforts?
Oops! I have to do it a lot.
PS: This may not the most correct answer because I'm not a professor but at least I hope it helps.
# Answer
> 3 votes
Based on your comment above, that you "want to work on a problem and solve it", I strongly recommend that you change your goal from "publishing in a journal" to simply "solving a problem". By limiting yourself to research that would be publishable in a journal, you place yourself under the following very harsh constraints:
1. You must become familiar with the existing academic literature such that you can properly cite other academic sources when discussing prior findings.
If you don't take the journal route, you can become familiar with existing techniques through books, tutorials, wikipedia, and blog posts, and work from there.
2. When publishing to a journal, your work will have a higher likelihood of being published if it relates to the topic du jour. Certain concepts go in and out of style, and researching a less popular topic can have an impact on when you can publish. On a related note, there's a lot of time between submission and actual publication; a number of months to almost a year is common.
Alternatlive, if you go your own route, then you won't have that delay.
3. You must be willing to work in areas which are of interest to whatever journal in which you wish to publish. This requires knowledge of the different journals and what they typically publish, which may be difficult for you to find without academic contacts.
If you don't take the journal route, you can simply publish your findings in a blog post or other open setting (there may be places specifically intended for this sort of thing, I'm not sure).
4. You will have to pay non-trivial fees for publication.
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thread-3182 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3182 | Is it a faux pas to ask for a colleague's figure in a separate but related publication? | 2012-09-11T16:59:50.007 | # Question
Title: Is it a faux pas to ask for a colleague's figure in a separate but related publication?
I'm an undergraduate with virtually no experience with the expectations of academia (so I apologize in advance for the silly question). I'm finishing up a paper describing my research and would like to include a figure to describe something in my "Background" section.
There is a graduate student in my lab who has a paper dealing with the background topic and has a perfect image that I'd like to use as said figure. The paper has been accepted but not yet published. Would I be violating some protocol if I asked to use the identical figure? If not, what is the proper way to attribute the figure to the original source? In the caption?
# Answer
> 10 votes
You can always ask, then it is the choice of the author to accept or not. As for the citation, if the paper is accepted but not published, you can have a note in the citation "to appear". For instance, your text could like:
> Following \[Alice12\], we describe ... as illustrated in Fig.1.
>
> \[Alice12\] Alice, paper, journal, accepted, to appear.
# Answer
> 7 votes
Assuming that an identical image, either modified from the original or made based on the original, is being used, here is a better way of citing the source.
This is from APA,
> **Material adapted from a journal article. Note format is different from References.**
>
> Figure #. Description/Note. Adapted from “Title of Article,” by F. M. Author and C. D. Author, year, Title of Journal, volume, p. xx. Copyright year by the Name of Copyright Holder. Adapted \[or Reprinted\] with permission.
See this from Wiley
> If you wish to republish an already modified figure or table, permission should be obtained from the source of the modified item, but the credit line should include reference to the original source(s) of the material as well as to the source of the modification. If you wish to republish a previously published figure or table originally compiled from data from other sources, permission for its re-use must be obtained from whoever owns the copyright in the compilation. The credit line should include reference to the source of the compilation, and to the sources of the original data by using the words ‘Based on’, ‘Compiled from’, or similar, or by using the credit line appearing on the original compilation.
>
> If you wish to make changes or further changes to content which is already in the process of being cleared, you may need to reapply for permission as it is possible that the copyright owner will not like the new proposed alterations and they are entitled to refuse permission.
See also MTU
> **I modified a figure from a journal article. Do I need to ask for permission?**
>
> It depends. Significant modifications result in a figure that is uniquely yours. The source of the inspiration or base of the figure must be acknowledged in your caption. To clarify the source and figure creator, we recommend a credit line in your caption similar to, "Figure adapted by author from SOURCE." where SOURCE would be replaced with an appropriate citation. If the figure is just a tracing of the original figure, or does not contain a significant amount of creativity, you have not created it, and must ask for permission.
# Answer
> 1 votes
It is perfectly okay to ask for the figure knowing well that the other person may not give. I assume you would get the permission to use the figure. As @eykanal, pointed out we need to put the phrase "used with permission" or write "Source: Citation" in the figure caption.
Example below:
Figure 1: An example flow chart \[Source: http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-05-2003/images/jw-0502-java1013.gif\]
You may also write Figure 1: An example flow chart \[Source: Alice et al. to appear in Journal,Year\]
---
Tags: publications, citations, copyright
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thread-3163 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3163 | What are the various designations/stages in the academic career of the person | 2012-09-10T19:28:59.850 | # Question
Title: What are the various designations/stages in the academic career of the person
In context of a person's academic profile in a web application, I need to broadly classify the various degree/designations/stages in the academic career of the person.
For example I would like to clearly know what is the current stage the person , in his academic career path starting from a pre-university student & progressing ahead.
So I would like to classify something like (below) & ask user to select one of these designations:
## Edited:
```
Pre-university student
Undergraduate(Bachelors/diploma/associate degree) student
-doing
-earned
Masters student
-doing
-earned
PhD(Doctorate) studs
-doing
-earned
Postdoc
Faculty
Scientist
Independent researcher
```
Does this cover most of the stages/designations in the academic career or is anything missing ? Is there a better term to represent any one ?
## Update:
I don't really need a fine grained classification like assistant prof, associate prof, etc but I do want to include all the academic community & related people who have interests in academic topics(which includes scientists or self learners as well) & ranging from university student to faculty, independent researcher or whatever are the higher positions. May not be necessarily a hierarchical list but at least an exhaustive list is needed.
## Update 2:
Another idea was too use classification which includes people from academia & even outside that work on/ explore academic topics & removing ambiguity between faculty, scientist & research positions . Something like this:
```
-> A Learner/ enthusiast,
-> Pre-university student
University/Research Students:
================================
-> Undergraduate(Bachelors/diploma/associate degree) student
-doing
-earned
-> Masters student
-doing
-earned
-> Doctorate(PhD, DPhils, etc) student
-doing
-earned
University Faculty/Research Positions:
==================
-> Professor
-> Associate Professor
-> Assistant Professor
-> Lecturer
-> Emeritus
-> Other
-> PostDoc,
-> Scientist
-> IndependentResearcher
```
# Answer
Like EngergyNumbers said, you should tailor your classification to the culture of your targeted audience. This list of academic ranks for various countries might be helpful for that.
Also, "Scientist" and "Researcher" doesn't really mean anything. A postdoc, assistant professor, principal investigator, or someone doing research in the commercial sector can be a scientist or a researcher.
I think you know this but just in case: "postdoc" is an (often) temporary job that people take up after obtaining a PhD, and not a qualification. Some people do not do postdocs, and go directly into teaching, industry or become assistant professors after getting their PhD.
Finally, "Post Grad" can refer to both masters degree or PhD students. It is common to say "applying to graduate/grad school" to when referring to applying to a PhD course.
> 5 votes
# Answer
I see problems with your ranking.
Firstly, there is not much difference between `* (Completed)` and the subsequent `** (Ongoing)` level - somebody who completed a post-doc probably is currently either a professor or in the industry, where having a completed post-doc experience does not matter much in terms of being an academic rank. Besides that, there are countries where being a "post-doc" does not mean anything special, the official position would be either the same as being a PhD. student, or a staff researcher.
Secondly, if you want to be too fine grained, there are several levels of professor positions missing (assistant, associate, full plus all the combinations with tenure position, or being a teaching/research specific position, etc.)
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, as others here wrote, the ladder is culture specific so you need to think about your target audience. In the case the audience of your website is somewhat local, go with the local tradition.
If your audience is global, my advice would be to give up the particular fine classification. Rather, you could go with a combination of 3 axes of coarse-grained classification roughly corresponding to the track the person currently follows (industry/academia) plus the highest achieved academic degree plus indication of duration of the current status. You would end up with classes such as
* academic & BSc + 2 years - your ongoing undergrad student
* industry & MSc + 5 years - you are probably facing an experienced professional in an industry
* academic & PhD + 3 years - either a post-doc, or an assistant professor, or lecturer, well anyway an early career researcher
* academic & PhD + 20 years - somebody roughly equivalent to a more senior-level professor
Well, this way I guess you can capture more nuanced classification, than with a single ladder. You can of course add your own axes, e.g., tenure vs. pre-tenure, etc.
> 4 votes
# Answer
I take a somewhat skeptical view of the world. I see three stages:
1. Trainee: It doesn't matter if they are a student or a post doc or working in industry, if their goal is to acquire a set of skills and move up, then they are trainees. Generally, trainees think being an independent investigator is fun.
2. Research monkey: Someone who is neither attempting to acquire new skills nor is conducting independent research. Generally, research monkeys realize that independent investigator spend all their time trying to get funding to allow research monkeys to do the fun stuff.
3. Independent investigator: Someone who conducts their own research. Generally, when not looking for funding they are trying to figure out how they could become a research monkey.
> 0 votes
---
Tags: research-process, career-path
--- |
thread-1744 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1744 | Citing sources of problems in assignments | 2012-05-27T15:43:09.607 | # Question
Title: Citing sources of problems in assignments
This question was raised by Dave Clarke here.
When a textbook author approaches a topic in a novel way or presents a particularly interesting example, I believe that a teacher who creates lecture notes using this novel approach or interesting example would be doing the right thing to cite the originator of the approach or the example. Similarly, whenever I copy a clever (and clearly unique) problem from a textbook and give it as a question in an exam or an assignment, I try my best to indicate (in the exam or assignment paper itself) the source of the original problem.
Does anyone know of any written document indicating whether or not it is considered unethical to copy a published problem and put it in an exam or an assignment without citing it?
# Answer
I'm a textbook author. I agree that it's hard to formulate a cut-and-dried answer to your question. One criterion to consider: If a colleague would compliment you on a copied problem or question because it was particularly clever or insightful, you should probably consider a citation. Stated differently, if you're getting academic credit (even if informal) for the contribution, cite the source.
> 25 votes
# Answer
I think it's considered more of a courtesy rather than a requirement to credit someone who has developed a problem, provided that there is no new technical content introduced in the problem. On the other hand, however, if one is to use a problem in a problem set or examination completely unchanged, then some citation of the original source is certainly recommendable, as otherwise one is guilty of a copyright violation.
> 16 votes
# Answer
> Does anyone know of any written document indicating whether or not it is considered unethical to copy a published problem and put it in an exam or an assignment without citing it?
I know of no document that addresses examinations and assignments directly but reusing someone else's words or ideas is plagiarism. It doesn't matter the source, purpose, or intent. For teaching materials I think there is a little leeway in that plagiarism may be unintentional. I am sure that some the examples I use in my teaching ,that I think are my ideas, are in fact someone else's.
> 9 votes
# Answer
I am trying to give a point of view different from what some of the answers.
**Citation** is generally associated with new, *clever* or original creations. But sometimes it is very hard to know the origin. What if the author him/herself does not cite some examples or questions taken from someone else. How do you know they had the original idea? Often questions are borrowed modified and then presented. Should we take the credit for them or not? We learn some techniques of setting good and relevant *problems* from someone else and then we create new ones. Should we cite them?
What I mean to say is that it may not be practical and possible and even clear if we need to cite and I agree this may not always be the case. I guess that is why none of us has come across any such documents and guidelines.
> 8 votes
# Answer
This is a thorny issue. It comes down to copyright and license, and, particularly, what is and isn't copyrightable. If the problem is not copyrightable, then you can do whatever you wish. If the problem is copyrightable, you should assume it is copyrighted, which means you can't use it unless you have a licence to do so. The only way you are guarantee that you have a licence is to use that book in your course. If you require your students to purchase the book, then they are purchasing the license to use all of that content. You can then use the same content with them. Even providing a reference is not good enough if the material is copyrighted, and you don't have the licence.
If the problem is fundamental or factual, then it's probably not copyrightable unless there is something peculiar about the wording. Thrse questions can be complex. For example, the following would not be copyrightable:
What is the derivative of x3 + 4x?
What is the major product of the reaction between calcium carbonate and sulfuric acid?
Write the time-independent wavefunction for the electron in a ground state hydrogen atom. Then, provide the eigenvalues for this wavefunction with the kinetic energy operator.
Draw a simple set of supply and demand curves for a generic free market for a manufactured product. Describe or draw the effects of each of the following changes on the market: 1) discovery of a cheaper method of production, 2) closing of a plant, 3) government enforcement of a maximum price.
I'm having trouble coming up with a question that is copyrightable. Feel free to add one to my answer.
> 7 votes
---
Tags: citations, copyright
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thread-3198 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3198 | Is seeking co-advising encouraged during Ph.D? | 2012-09-14T15:42:13.943 | # Question
Title: Is seeking co-advising encouraged during Ph.D?
I'm an undergraduate student about to apply for a Ph.D program this year. I am interested in knowing whether seeking co-advising from a related, but different department (in my case I'm applying for econometrics but thinking about looking for co-advising from the statistics department) is seen as a thing to be encouraged in graduate schools in the U.S., or is it considered a violation of the division of departments?
Also, would it make sense if I mention in my personal statement that one of the consideration of my applying for this school's economics department is that it also has a very good statistics department, from which I can potentially seek co-advising? Would the graduate admission committee be happy to see this kind of statements?
# Answer
It is perfectly okay to have a co-adviser from another department. *Econometrics* and *statistics* are very close areas and often students pursuing PhD in **Economics** and **Industrial Engineering** (such as Reliability Analysis) have co-advisers from **Statistics**.
Often acceptance of an applicant in the program differs from department to department. However, you may mention an intention for collaborating with **statistics** department in the research statement. Also, if you do things appropriately you may have scope to get into the statistics department as a PhD student and pursue your research in light of economics. In other words, you may have greater chance of getting into the university as a PhD student. You may have to inquire about the possibility with the **Statistics** department. I guess you have good background in both **statistics** and **economics** so this seems to work out for you.
> 11 votes
# Answer
Cooperation is normally considered a desirable trait in academia these days, and collaborations between colleagues is generally a good thing. So, there is some advantage to working with multiple people.
The challenge, however, in such situations, as in many others in academia, comes down to the problem of *funding.* Unless you're able to provide your own, in the form of an external fellowship, it may be difficult to convince an advisor in your "home" department to "share" you with an advisor in another department, **unless** the other advisor is willing to pick up part of the funding. Normally, this requires that the two advisors have already thought about and worked toward a collaborative effort.
On the other hand, it may be substantially easier (and in some departments, required) to obtain someone from outside the department to sit on your thesis committee. While these people are not formally your advisors, they are resources to draw on, and may satisfy your concerns about level of involvement, depending on how active you want the co-advisor to be.
> 8 votes
---
Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, advisor
--- |
thread-3205 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3205 | What are the pros and cons in sending a research paper to well-known author, before publishing? | 2012-09-15T04:12:12.623 | # Question
Title: What are the pros and cons in sending a research paper to well-known author, before publishing?
Currently I am reading a research paper of a well-known author published in 2011. I did a slight modification in his method and the new method is very efficient.
Is it reasonable to send that paper first to the author before sending it to any journal?
# Answer
I've worked on a few method development projects and I'm of the opinion that it is a good idea particularly if the author is well-known and well-liked (if they are a dick or you don't like them, that's a different story).
The obvious reason why is because when they happened to see your paper going out for review which claims a "massive improvement" over previous methods, they aren't going to get upset at you and pull strings to make your life miserable. Furthermore, they might have insight whether or not the new method is useful or merely enhancing a particular error which makes it look good.
The only instance where sharing the paper might be a bad idea is if they happened to be working on a similar improvement. Receiving the paper may motivate them to scoop you.
> 11 votes
---
Tags: publications, research-process
--- |
thread-3036 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3036 | What factors affect how long it would take to get a phd, either going via, or without, a masters? | 2012-08-29T22:33:30.973 | # Question
Title: What factors affect how long it would take to get a phd, either going via, or without, a masters?
My speciality is statistics. I'm contemplating a PhD.
If I do a Masters first, that might take a different amount of time to reach the completion of my PhD from now, than if I just got a bachelors and then progress to the doctorate.
What factors would affect that?
# Answer
The answer, as oft seems true on this site, is that it depends. I'll lay out a couple things that might change how long a PhD might take, and where coming in with a Masters or Bachelors might change that.
* **Is there a large course sequence?** And will your department accept previous coursework? If there's many classes to take at the graduate level *and* your PhD university accepts the classes from your Masters, having obtained an MS would likely trim the time from enrollment to PhD compared to a student with a bachelors degree starting at the same time. However, if the department *doesn't* accept those courses (and many good programs might not) then you're not necessarily all that far ahread.
* **Is it easier to get funding?** If your department treats students who have not yet gotten their MS (in a sequence where the path from bachelors to PhD also involves getting an MS midstream) as transient and less likely to be funded, you might find yourself distracted and pulled in the direction of "rent needs to get paid" more than a better funded student.
* **Your Dissertation**. Want to know what makes a PhD take X amount of time? By and large, its how fast your dissertation gets done. How quickly that happens has, in my experience, far more to do with how long a program takes then what letters you have after your name coming in.
> 4 votes
# Answer
It depends on whether you are in the UK or the USA (or another country). The system is different in the UK in several ways.
**1) You might get a "discount" on your PhD length if you have a masters in the same department.**
I am not sure about other universities but for Oxford and Cambridge, many of their masters (or "MPhil"s) are meant to be the first year (or first two years) of the PhD program. A PhD usually takes 3-4 years in the UK, but if you continued directly from such a masters, it can be reduced to two years.
**2) Your masters dissertation might count as your PhD project.**
It depends on the department but at least for mathematics, there are people who use their master's dissertation in place of the first year of the PhD. Once again, I am unfamiliar with universities outside of Oxbridge. But at Oxbridge, the first year is usually spent putting together an in-depth research proposal outlining research goals, literature, and methodology. Then, students go through a "transfer of status" where their proposal is evaluated and green lighted as PhD dissertation. I suppose this is similar to qualifying exams in the USA, minus the coursework.
But if you have done all these during your master's, and the department thinks your master's dissertation is of sufficient quality, then it can count as your transfer and save you a year.
**3) The research experience saves you time.**
This applies to both the US and UK. It can take some time to pick up various research skills. Master's programs with a significant research component that allows you to pick up these skills can help save time. Sometimes, A LOT of time.
**For the USA:**
In the USA, based on what I have read (so far) on the websites of various mathematics departments, all PhD students have to go through coursework and obtain an M.S., regardless of whether they have a masters degree. This policy need not be universal. I suppose the best thing to do is to email the departments that you are interested in and ask about their policy.
**P.S.** I recently completed a master's degree in the UK and am applying to USA departments for PhD.
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd
--- |
thread-3195 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3195 | How do I find similar research problems in other fields? | 2012-09-14T14:14:37.637 | # Question
Title: How do I find similar research problems in other fields?
I have published a paper about the combinatorics of adding a mixture of chemicals to a compound and observing a number of spectral peaks for this, which allows the user to gain information about the compound involved, while keeping cross-chemical effects low.
I am pretty sure the same approach not only occurs in my field of expertise, but also elsewhere in science, as this is a pretty abstract concept. Where can i find other problems like this, so that my algorithm can be solved by simply modifying the input/output of my software? A specific journal would of course only hold articles concerning my own field/their own field.
# Answer
(I answer it in a general way. If you want to ask it for your specific problem, try MathOverflow or Chemistry.SE.)
You may try searching for relevant papers, but then it is easy to miss even obvious references, e.g. due to different terminology, notation, approach or motivation. (So even if you have a paper in your hand, it can take a lot of time to check if it is relevant at all; searching in all papers may be like searching for a needle in a haystack.)
On the contrary, the best idea is to ask people who are working on similar problems. They may know the direct references, or people who know them, or at least give some insight into research lines in their fields (or provide some general references which may be a good source for your own search).
Source: it happened to me quite a few times that even a long searching for papers gave me little information, but asking people doing research in related fields (and perhaps looking up references in papers they provided) has proved to be successful.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Here are some pointers that one can start with; on the multidisciplinary aspects of Combinatorics.
See Annals of Combinatorics
> Annals of Combinatorics will publish outstanding contributions to combinatorial mathematics in all its aspects. Special regard will be given to new developments which have yet to be given proper recognition, but which in the opinion of the editors show promise of eventual mathematical breakthroughs.
>
> Papers published in Annals of Combinatorics will not be limited to the field of combinatorics in the strict sense. **They will range over problems and theories that have arisen, or will arise, in applications to computer science, biology, statistics, probability, physics and chemistry**, as well as over work of a combinatorial nature in representation theory, number theory, topology, algebraic geometry and the theory of special functions.
See also Journals in Combinatorics and Related Fields and Preprint Links in Combinatorics. The site also has a list of Open Problems in Combinatorics.
From the list of journals, find those are closely related to your requirements and subscribe to their email alerts or RSS feeds using Google Reader or the likes; for latest articles.
Hope these wiki articles (and the external links there) are already looked into; Combinatorics, Combinatorial chemistry, Outline of combinatorics, Combinatorics and physics
> 2 votes
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Tags: publications, chemistry, multidisciplinary
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thread-3211 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3211 | What are some ways to increase grading speed? | 2012-09-16T02:35:20.937 | # Question
Title: What are some ways to increase grading speed?
I sometimes spend too much time on grading students' homework in the class I am a TA for. I am asking if there are some ways to improve grading speed? I hope that I can learn some useful tips from experienced people here.
For example, which one do you think will be faster, grading student by student, or problem by problem?
# Answer
I find it very helpful to write a **grading rubric**. It includes how many points I give for each part of each problem. I also include **how many points of partial credit I give for various common errors**. Typically, my key consists of a worked copy of the exam, and I make notes about each question on the actual exam. Generally, my **rubric gets more detailed as I grade**, since it's only then that I learn what are the common mistakes.
**If I feel that I'm taking too long** grading, I'll often **start timing myself**. Maybe I get at most 30 second per question (often less). This isn't a hard rule, but it helps me know what to aim for. (Recently I just graded a calculus exam, so most of the problems were pretty quick to grade.) Your mileage will vary from one subject to another.
> 38 votes
# Answer
I have experience in grading math Olympiad papers; one principle we adopted there is to **always grade in pairs**, with **one pair grading a single problem**, or more pairs sharing a long or tricky exercise. I recommend this strategy especially for grading more important papers such as final exams, where good accuracy is important.
It may seem that this is a waste of resources; however there are several benefits:
1. Accuracy increases much. A subtle error has to slip through two people instead of one.
2. You do not waste so much time as it seems at first sight. **Grading often follows an 80-20 law**: 80% of the papers takes you 20% of the time, while grading the remaining 20% consumes the remaining 80% of it. This may be due to particularly non-standard solutions, bad handwriting, or edge cases that evade your marking scheme (as suggested by Dan C, **always have a marking scheme**, especially if there are multiple pairs on the same problem, and discuss together the more complicated cases). So, while you waste some time by having two sets of eyeballs looking at the easier papers, it is often invaluable to have a ready help in the more complicated cases. Your colleague may be faster than you in spotting a definition that you missed, a hidden line of reasoning, or deciphering a strangely-looking hieroglyph. This saves a lot of time on the more complicated cases.
3. You will feel a lot less tired and find that you can go on with a steady rhythm for hours. You can chat together every now and then, share comments on good solutions, or make fun of particularly bad ones; this helps relieving tiredness.
Often we see one person trying to explain the solution to the other, or the pair spontaneously evolving a **good cop-bad cop behaviour** (one looks for weak points in the solution, the other defends the student). This method also doubles as **training for beginner graders**, that can learn from working with a more experienced partner.
> 21 votes
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Tags: teaching-assistant, grading, time-management
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thread-3266 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3266 | Consequences of quiting a masters program (because of a job) and later applying for PhD program | 2012-09-18T15:04:03.010 | # Question
Title: Consequences of quiting a masters program (because of a job) and later applying for PhD program
Suppose a student complete 1 year of a masters degree (2 year program). She then decides to accept a job. Later on, she wants to apply to a PhD program. Would it look bad if she didn't finish the masters program?
# Answer
> 4 votes
No, I do not think it would be a problem provided you work in a field close to your PhD area. If you get relevant experience, it helps to get into PhD.
Many university (at least in US) allow direct PhD admission for qualified BS students. So, if you are able to do some good work in your job, it can help you in applying for a PhD.
The reason I am emphasizing "relevant experience" since otherwise you **may** have to justify quitting the Masters program. The admission managers/professors may tend to suspect your staying for PhD.
# Answer
> 0 votes
I think doing a directly a PhD after a Bc is a very smart move.
Changing course depending on the current need is a valid decision and people should understand it. So I would not worry about how it will look.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, career-path, masters
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thread-3261 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3261 | Is it a bad idea to take a leave of absence to finish a degree? | 2012-09-18T14:42:29.777 | # Question
Title: Is it a bad idea to take a leave of absence to finish a degree?
In general, is it better to complete a graduate degree first before deciding to work? Or is it also advisable to take a leave of absence and work while finish your graduate degree later?
# Answer
> 13 votes
It is difficult to finish a degree and work at the same time. This is especially the case if you have to write a (PhD) thesis. There are a number of obstacles. Firstly, you will have to work on the thesis during the evenings and weekends, which is both tiring and can induce RSI. Secondly, you will have no life and this is depressing. Thirdly, both your work and your PhD thesis will suffer. Fourthly, the time taken to complete the thesis could drag out 6 months or even 1 year, before you get close to finishing it. Under these circumstances, many people simply do not finish their thesis.
It's not impossible, though. I know of a few people who have completed their theses after taking on another job. It requires a lot of discipline.
If you have the luxury of taking a leave of absence from work to study, then I'd advise taking it. Get the degree out of the way in as short a time as possible.
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Tags: phd, graduate-school, career-path
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thread-3286 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3286 | How appropriate is to make multiple submissions of research findings to same venue/conference? | 2012-09-19T14:48:57.037 | # Question
Title: How appropriate is to make multiple submissions of research findings to same venue/conference?
Assuming the following scenario:
Person A is a recognized senior researcher, and Person B is an enthusiastic junior researcher. Both of them have been working more or less equally on a research project and are interested in submit the results of the project to a particular venue. Based on the report written by Person B, Person A has written a paper (PA) to be submitted to the venue. Person B doesn’t like the style and some contents of PA, so he makes comments to Person A, who them modifies PA. Person B still doesn’t like PA, so writes a separate paper PB. Since PA and PB haven’t been published, there are citations between them.
At this point, Person A submits PA, which list authors as "Person A & Person B", and Person B submits PB, which list authors as "Person B & Person A."
1. Is it appropriate to submit PA and PB?
2. What would be your impression if you were part of the venue’s committee?
3. As reviewer, what would be your impression about reviewing two different papers about the same work for the same venue?
4. Any additional consideration?
# Answer
Most venues forbid simultaneous submissions, or overlapping submissions. For instance, in the call for papers of ACM CCS 2012:
> Submitted papers must not substantially overlap papers that have been published or that are simultaneously submitted to a journal, conference or workshop. Simultaneous submission of the same work is not allowed. Note that submitted papers cannot be withdrawn from the process after the first phase reviews are received by authors.
So, in order to answer your question, the main problem is determining the overlap between PA and PB. If it's substantial (only some elements of style change, minor comments), then it should be forbidden.
On the other hand, if the papers are different enough (for instance, PA presents a more theoretical approach and PB a more practical description, with a case study), then there is no problem. That being said, both papers must be self-contained, and cannot rely on the acceptance of the other, unless they are both also published as technical reports (or equivalent).
To make things explicit, if I were a reviewer of a member of the PC, and if I were to think that the overlap between the two papers is substantial, I would recommend rejecting both.
> 5 votes
# Answer
You cannot submit both papers. As others have pointed out, most venues explicitly forbid simultaneous submission of substantially overlapping papers. The answer to your first three questions is the same: **Immediate rejection**.
In fact, I would go further: **Neither PA nor PB can be submitted alone.** It is unethical to submit a paper without the explicit consent of all authors, because authorship implies endorsement of and responsibility for the content of the paper. On the other hand, it is unethical to revoke authorship from someone who has made a substantial intellectual contribution to the work. The two authors must work out their editorial differences, like grown-up professional adults, before they can submit anything.
If they can't agree on what to submit, then tough noogies — no paper.
> 17 votes
# Answer
You cannot submit to papers on the same data and that is what this sounds like. It doesn't sound like paper A is the data and paper B is a model.
I would suggest Person B concede to the wishes of Person A and then never collaborate with Person A again.
> 7 votes
# Answer
By venue, do you mean a conference? Depending on the conference, you could certainly focus on different aspects of the same study, or different (but not contradictory) conclusions from the same data (some datasets generate dozens of papers!). There could be a bit of overlap, i.e. in the introduction, but not too much. I'd say the most important thing is to be clear and honest about what you want to present. But if you have together done a large project and are going to write a peer-reviewed paper about it, I don't see any problem in presenting different aspects of the study at the same conference.
Of course, they should not be exactly the same.
> 0 votes
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Tags: publications, conference, authorship
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thread-3323 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3323 | How to get the most out of a period in another university during PhD? | 2012-09-20T09:32:08.030 | # Question
Title: How to get the most out of a period in another university during PhD?
Many PhD programs envisage for every candidate **a period** (3, 6 months or more) **in another university**, in order to carry on research in another institution, acquire new skills and (maybe) lay the foundations for a postdoctoral fellowship.
The task could be useful, but involves some problems, too. Often the PhD student is **not able to familiarize** with the new scientific environment and start working efficiently with the new group. Also, it is often **difficult** to find a research group that suites one's **scientific fields and projects**.
More over, sometimes the supervisor from the hosting institution agrees in welcoming a PhD student from outside (also to get his/her lab more *international*), but he/she has **no time** to dedicate to him/her...
For all these reasons, and more, sometimes a period abroad for a PhD **could be very useless and ineffectual**.
What do you think makes a **period abroad successful**?
Do you have any **advice** for PhD students going to face this career phase?
# Answer
> 8 votes
I would like to answer this question by asking one myself: would you go to a three-star Michelin restaurant, with a respectable but established clientele, with posh and smart diners, who do not need to meet their cooks or maitre's but just enjoy the glamour of the settings? Or would you prefer to visit a 1-star, striving to get a second star, where you have the occasional tourist and the owner is more keen on explaining to you the philosophy of their recipes?
I have been visiting both types (restaurants and universities!) and I prefer the second one, but it's probably due to age. In the latter you have more flexibility and contact with the main person you're interested in. Also, the first period acts as a "showcase", and it's very likely that more will be possible in the future.
My main advice would be to be a good networker. That implies "work hard" but also being prepared to "party hard", if you see what I mean. You should not be afraid to "ask people out" as much as in asking to share some research: you're likely to be in touch more often with the "second tier" (the first being the professor and her peers), and they will be the next generation of professors, so it's good to have a number of relationships with the post-docs and researchers of any institutions, at your stage of career. So don't close yourself in a shell of hard work for six months: I have seen that happening, and it does not make a good impression (to me)
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Tags: phd, postdocs, abroad, visiting
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thread-3190 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3190 | What are some implications of taking a break before a PhD in the US or Europe? | 2012-09-12T17:32:02.200 | # Question
Title: What are some implications of taking a break before a PhD in the US or Europe?
I am a final year physics Master's student. I want to do a PhD after completing my masters. But instead of applying directly after completing masters, I wish to take a break from academics for a year and do a good research project with some professor unofficially, since doing good research is a big factor for PhD applications.
I have also got some comments that a PhD applicant with a break is given less importance, unless he has a high impact research done in the break.
Now I can't take a risk regarding high impact research. Hence I am confused regarding my future plans. What are the suggestions. How should I carry forward?
# Answer
> 7 votes
This is, of course, ultimately up to you, people can only advise you; I will provide a list of some things to think about; hopefully this will help :)
* You say that you want to "do a good research project". Isn't that what the master's project is for? I don't know anything about unofficial projects but it could work.
* Yes, taking a break *from academia* would be a slight disadvantage, but if you're doing an unofficial project, then this won't be a problem at all, will it?
* "High impact research", in my opinion, is a very ambitious/risky thing to set your mind on, in terms of a master's-level project. Don't forget that as a master's *student*, you are still expected to be learning; a PhD supervisor is unlikely to *expect* something like this, although they would like it!
* Can you do a project over summer? In the UK at least, there are loads of paid internships and summer projects available, both with universities and industry.
# Answer
> 10 votes
My perspective is primarily European, since I did my Master's in Sweden and my PhD in Germany. That said, I *did* take a break before starting on my PhD. It wasn't entirely voluntarily -- I did not get any PhD studentships when I wanted them, and had to wait for the next round of applications.
During my break, I moved from Sweden to Germany, and took a job doing industrial software design for a consultancy firm. It gave me good experiences, the knowledge that I could make a career in industry, and also a very strong drive to make it in academia. Furthermore, the PhD position I eventually was admitted to, I got in part because I had, at that point, both Open Source and industry experience with packaging, shipping and distributing software -- something my advisor wanted to learn more about.
For me, this all worked out well. I left my industry job after 10 months to start a PhD, I graduated with a decent enough thesis, and now -- several years later -- I am about to start the first research project with my name on the grant application.
One fundamentally important thing to note with my anecdote is that there is a huge difference in how PhDs are admitted in large parts of Europe vs. in the US. For my PhD, I applied for a job with a particular professor, which happened to include “*opportunity to study for a PhD*” as part of the job description. This is how it mostly is done in Germany, and also in Sweden. In this setting, it is important that you come to the PhD with a set of credentials that will be valuable to your advisor, specifically. I managed to do just this with my break -- but that was luck as much as anything else.
In the US, there seems to be a LOT more politics involved in the process, and the applying to a school aspect of the US process biases the experience more towards grooming your CV for academia in general.
Your mileage will vary.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, career-path, time-off
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thread-3326 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3326 | How to revise/resubmit a rejected article taking an unorthodox view | 2012-09-20T13:33:46.493 | # Question
Title: How to revise/resubmit a rejected article taking an unorthodox view
This question is similar to Overcoming Fear of Rejection, but not the same.
My experience in academia was teaching Computer Science for four years at a mostly liberal arts college, and that was 30 years ago. I frankly found the world of work to provide more challenging intellectual stimulation, at least in the sort of practical issues I cared most about.
There are highly technical issues in software development that I and other practitioners have discovered that are quite orthogonal (to say the least) to the trend of publishing in those areas. So when I try to publish it is hard to build much of a bibliography. When I submit (through an online submittal process) I tend to get responses that vary in quality, but are generally negative.
I am tempted to revise, in such a way as to address the concerns raised by the better quality reviews. I could buttress the claims with stronger mathematical arguments, but it's hard to tell if this would make the paper more or less approachable.
Then there's the question whether I should resubmit to the same journal. There don't really seem to be any others at the same level of relevance to practitioners.
Sorry if this is a noobie question.
# Answer
> 7 votes
I certainly can't speak for all reviewers, and what I'm saying might be true only for me, but when I review a paper, I try to ask myself three questions: is it interesting for the venue? is it correct? is it improving the state-of-the-art? I need to be convinced that all answers are "yes", and the burden of convincing me is on the authors.
A problem I've seen with some papers is that they focus mostly on showing the correctness of their approach, and at first glance, it seems to be the case with the paper you're describing. Showing the interest of the approach is tricky, because often the authors are convinced it's interesting (otherwise, they probably wouldn't work on it), and they to think that everybody else understand why it's interesting. Similarly, explaining why it's improving the state-of-the-art might be tricky, especially for novel approaches, but it's necessary to explain why other approaches won't work. You have the right to write: "To the best of our knowledge, this approach has never been used to tackle this particular issue", but then, as a reviewer, I need to be convinced that your knowledge is good enough to make this kind of claim.
Basically, in your situation, what you need is a compelling example (e.g., a situation/use-case where your approach is either the only viable one, or where you can show with experiments or formal proofs that yours is better than others). If you can focus on that point, then you can probably resubmit it to the same journal, but it's possible that you will get some of the same reviewers you had the first time.
Another solution could be to publish the paper first as a technical report (e.g., on arXiv), try to submit it a short version without the proofs and technical details to a specialised workshop, where maybe you can get interesting feedback from the community (for instance, some recent related work), and then use that feedback to improve the paper.
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Tags: publications, peer-review, writing
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thread-3327 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3327 | What is expected of a postdoc? | 2012-09-20T14:40:40.313 | # Question
Title: What is expected of a postdoc?
What do different people in the department expect from a postdoc? By different people I mean the advisor, graduate students and PhD students.
I know it mainly depends on the job description but there are few basic things that a postdoc must be expected to do. How aggressive (proactive) must one be? This question is important since a postdoc cannot just wait for the adviser to give him/her inputs. Rather the postdoc must take the project(s) as another PhD research of his own but be completely accountable to the adviser in terms of what he/she is doing and how is he/she doing that.
The above are my thoughts. My question is divided into the following sub-parts:
* What would you as a professor expect from your postdoc?
* What preparation one must do to rise to the expected level?
* Is the preparation merely restricted to having sound academic record and experience?
# Answer
You'll very quickly learn that being an academic involves more than just writing research papers. Your time as a postdoc is when you can start learning about these other aspects, while building your own profile.
A postdoc needs to do the following:
* **Build a publication record**. This will involve both what you are paid to do and your own line of research.
* **Get involved with supervising students**. Help with the PhDs in the lab, and get involved in supervising masters students.
* **Get involved with obtaining funding**. This can either be by helping your employer or (ideally) obtaining your own funding.
* **Build an international reputation**.
* **Start collaborating with external parties**.
* **Gain some teaching experience**. *This is absolutely crucial if you want a faculty position.*
* **Learn how to manage projects and a lab**. This includes overseeing the progress of projects, allocating your time (and others), presenting results at meetings and writing deliverables. If you are in a lab setting, you will need to learn how to fix/calibrate/maintain critical equipment and software so that you can start your own lab some day, and you will need to become proficient in teaching more junior members on how to use that equipment.
* **Start to devise a strategic research plan**. While it is fun to do opportunistic research, solving a problem that comes along or investigating any idea that pops into your head, a better long term strategy is to formulate an interesting long term research plan and follow it, building result upon result.
Be as proactive as humanly possible, without being annoying. Talk to everyone in the department, especially people whose research interests are close to your. Go to conferences and sit down and work with interesting people (not necessarily the superstars).
> 75 votes
# Answer
Let me add one item that Dave Clarke omitted, which I think is actually the most important:
* **Separate your research reputation from your advisor's.** Congratulations! You have enough of an independent research record to land a postdoctoral position. Unfortunately, that reputation is almost certainly deeply entangled with your PhD advisor's; deep down, many people in your research community still wonder if (or simply assume that) you've just been riding your advisor's coattails. Your primary job is to convince them otherwise. Do not work with your advisor, and do not work in the same subsubsubfield as your PhD thesis. Make a name for yourself as a truly independent researcher and scholar.
And a secondary corollary:
* **Do not just ride your supervisor's coattails.**
> 51 votes
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Tags: postdocs, responsibilities
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thread-3285 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3285 | What are some reasons to get (or not get) a PhD? | 2012-09-19T14:41:07.593 | # Question
Title: What are some reasons to get (or not get) a PhD?
Lots of people start PhD programs, but far fewer finish (in some programs the drop-out rate is 50% or higher). Some people are motivated to get a PhD by: wanting a **job in academia**, wanting a **job in industry**, **personal pride**, or simply a **lack of direction** and an aptitude for the field of their PhD program.
Have you noticed that people with certain motivations are more likely to finish their PhD than others? If so, which reasons correlate positively with success? Conversely, do you have warnings for someone considering starting a PhD?
# Answer
> 15 votes
I won't tell you what are and aren't good reasons for getting a PhD. However, to get a PhD, **you must stay remarkably determined for a minimum of 5 to 6 years**. If you cannot, you will quit. Earning a PhD is hard. When I earned mine, it was **easily the hardest thing I had ever done**.
During your PhD, you work *long hours*, for a *low salary*, with *little respect*, and *bleak job prospects*. Most PhD students are at least fairly smart and/or moderately hard workers. Nearly all of them could make more money with less effort elsewhere.
**So, why get a PhD?** You need to find *your own* compelling reason. I **couldn't imagine *not* studying math**. Undoubtedly, I would be studying it now, even if no one would pay me. I'd never cared too much about money (easier to say when you're in your 20s and single). I was far from balanced, so long hours didn't bother me. I really loved teaching (and still do), and after working with high school kids, I decided I'd much prefer college. So I decided I'd be a math professor. That was my vision, **what I clung to in the midst of the storm**. And it worked, *eventually*. Your story will be different. But it must be just as compelling *to you*, or you likely won't make it.
# Answer
> 7 votes
By far the most successful students will be those who are genuinely interested in the research they are performing. They will be the ones who will put in the effort to think of new research avenues, create and follow-through with collaborations, put in extra thought do their analysis techniques, and *do it all with good spirits*. Other students can (or more often, won't) do all this work, but they will definitely not do it with the same level of enthusiasm, which will over time make the work less and less enjoyable, and thus more likely to be abandoned.
So, to answer the question, the motivation most conducive to finishing is the motivation to perform the research you are working on. If the student is motivated by anything other than the research itself, there will be a definite waning of enthusiasm—with all the collateral damage that entails—as the student comes to realize that doing PhD research involves a whole lot of *research*.
Regarding warnings, I offer the following: If you're starting a PhD for any reason other than "whoa boy I LOVE doing this stuff", the next few years will involve a lot of work that you will probably not enjoy at the outset, and progressively dislike more and more as the years tick on.
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Tags: phd, career-path
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thread-3357 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3357 | How many referees are required on a resume/CV? | 2012-09-21T20:15:25.903 | # Question
Title: How many referees are required on a resume/CV?
I have looked at a number of academic resumes to get a feeling for what people expect. I see that the number of referees that people give at the bottom of their resume varies quite a bit.
My question is whether it is essentially always better to provide more referees or whether one should rather stick to a maximum of say 4 ?
# Answer
I assume you are creating your `CV` for some `application` (job or graduate studies). I understand that having three to four good referees is good enough. You need not provide more than that. I am particularly speaking about the academia in US and I believe it would be different elsewhere (e.g. UK).
Of course you may put different referees according to the requirement. I mean you may need to create different `CVs` for different occasions. Some referees would be better able to acknowledge your work for a given situation. For example you may need to take a `recommendation letter` from a (for example) Mathematics teacher when applying for `graduate studies` in Math.
In fact I have also seen that many people do not put the references. In an application process, they are required to separately provide the names and contacts of the referees.
> 7 votes
# Answer
For entry level professorships I have had requests for between 2 (second tier school with no established research groups) and 5 (first class research group at a R1 in a desirable climate), with 3 being by far the most common. Adds requesting high numbers are often seeking stars and will often state that they will consider tenured placement for qualified applicants.
> 0 votes
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Tags: application, citations, cv
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thread-3431 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3431 | Should honorifics be included in acknowledgments? | 2012-09-26T09:08:14.477 | # Question
Title: Should honorifics be included in acknowledgments?
In the “acknowledgments” section at the end of a paper, I currently have a sentence saying:
> The authors thank Bob Johnson for discussions and insightful comments
However, I wonder: Bob’s full name is Robert Z. Johnson, he is a professor and a fellow of the Royal Society. Should his title be used? What about post-nominal letters? And middle initial? Finally, is it “Bob” or “Robert”?
I initially went with “Bob Johnson”, because that’s how everyone calls him (heck, his academic webpage is title “Bob Johnson”!). But is that appropriate?
# Answer
> 20 votes
In general, when in doubt, you should use the name of the author as it appears professionally. If the person in question publishes under a particular name, you should use that. The only exception is if you and the author have an existing relationship outside of this, in which case it is appropriate to use a less formal name.
You do not normally need to include honorifics ("Prof.", "Dr.", etc.) unless specifically asked to do so.
This leads to the final point: if you have any questions about how someone should be credited in an acknowledgment, *ask*. They'll generally be more than cooperative.
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Tags: publications, etiquette, acknowledgement
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thread-3194 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3194 | Can grant money be spent on travel to program committee meetings? | 2012-09-14T01:19:28.603 | # Question
Title: Can grant money be spent on travel to program committee meetings?
Many research conferences hold an in-person program committee meeting for all of the members of the program committee, where the PC members make the final decisions about which papers to accept or reject. (At least, that's how it tends to work in computer science; I don't know about other fields.)
Can program committee members use federal grants to pay for their travel costs to attend a program committee meeting, for conferences where they are on the program committee? Generally speaking, what funding sources do professors tend to use, to pay for travel to these meetings?
# Answer
> 3 votes
For each grant, or type of grant, there are rules specifying what it can be used for. You should follow these rules and, unless you ask us about a specific funding program or agency, it's impossible to give more specific advice.
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Tags: peer-review, conference, funding, travel, program-committee
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