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thread-11310 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11310 | What are the signs that it is time to switch from thesis to capstone track? | 2013-07-22T18:47:22.257 | # Question
Title: What are the signs that it is time to switch from thesis to capstone track?
The Master's program (Software Engineering) I'm enrolled in offers both a thesis track and capstone track. Currently I'm enrolled in the thesis track and I've completed all of the required coursework for the thesis track, but I've been stuck in the thesis proposal process for over a year now<sup>1</sup> and I'd like to just graduate and be done. I suspect that I'm being "encouraged" to switch over to the capstone track without the Research Advisor outright saying it. What should I take as the signs that it's time to make the switch?
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1. By stuck I don't mean that I don't have a proposal, I mean that I've been submitting revisions about once a month for the past year with conflicting feedback being received and no real progress towards having a Thesis Director.
# Answer
This answer might not be applicable to everyone; however, today I met with the Associate Director of Professional Programs at \[tier-one university\]. I was informed that barring extenuating circumstances, if a student doesn't have an accepted proposal and a Thesis Director assigned after a year then they should switch over to the capstone track to ensure they are able to successfully finish their degree.
> 3 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, thesis
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thread-11320 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11320 | What is the perception of students who take a gap year between their graduation and starting graduate school? | 2013-07-22T23:59:12.917 | # Question
Title: What is the perception of students who take a gap year between their graduation and starting graduate school?
I am an undergraduate mathematics major, entering my fourth year. I plan on applying to graduate school, but I have not yet taken the GRE exams, and there a few key courses (Topology and Algebra in particular) that I have not taken yet, so I am hesitant to take the Advanced Math GRE too soon. (If you're wondering why I haven't taken Topology and Algebra yet, it's because I was trying to secure a CS degree, which sidetracked my mathematical studies last year. It was a healthy branching out experience, and one that helped me realize my true academic passion.)
My main question: *what is the perception of students who take a gap year between their graduation and starting graduate school?*
I think I will take the GRE tests this fall, a) for practice and b) if I score high, then I might as well apply sooner rather than later. However, I ask this question to gauge how much energy I should put into preparing for the tests this fall. If I hear, "You should really do your best to avoid any gap in your education," then I will work my butt off in preparation for the tests. But if I hear, "It's totally okay take a gap year before going into graduate school," then I would give myself more freedom in terms of my non-standardized-exam studies, extracurriculars, and in general social activities. I figure the answer to this question won't be as cut-and-dry as I hope, but any advice would be appreciated!
Just to clarify, my gap year would not consist of me sitting at my desk taking practice GRE exams all day... That would be a pitiful use of my time. I definitely plan working either as an intern or a research assistant at a successful organization. It seems like the general consensus is that taking time off is okay, and potentially beneficial, assuming you actually do something in that gap.
# Answer
When I was looking into this for a former student of mine I spoke with the head of the graduate program at the US Top 20 program I was working in at the time. He actually viewed a gap year as a good thing. His rationale was that students who had held jobs and managed to live for the gap year were more likely to have the work habits useful in graduate school.
When it comes time to write your applications you just have to remember to explain how that year has made you a better candidate for their program. It might not be more math that you've learned by it may be maturity and a renewed sense of purpose. If you chose to take a year off do something worthwhile and don't just study for exams.
> 21 votes
# Answer
It is entirely fine to take a year off before starting grad school. Many graduate students do this (I include myself among those who did it and were accepted in top university in the UK (no arrogance intended)).
Professors or Admission committees do not focus too much on the gap between the time when you finished your undergraduate studies and when you applied to a graduate program. However, some care must be taken as I explain in the following list:
* It also depends on the combination of gap-years and what-you-did on those years. For example, it is fine if you take a year off to explore the Amazon rainforest and learn T'ai chi ch'uan. However, if you rest for many years and you did nothing to improve your CV during this time, that may look suspicious to an Admission committee. This is because many people apply to a graduate program in order to get funding while they find "something else".
* If you take more than 2 "sabbatical" years but you did something to improve your CV, that may even be appealing. For example: working for the private sector, teaching, attending some special courses, doing (provable) research on the area of interest ... I have come across 60+ y.o. graduate students.
* TOEFL and GRE tests are typically valid for 2--3 years, then you can take them as soon as you feel capable of getting the required score. This would also put some pressure on you in order to avoid the common procrastination.
In conclusion, it is fine if you take a year in order to clarify your ideas, gather all the requirements, and improve your CV. An advice from my personal experience: be careful with these "gap-years", they are a double-edged sword. They could either increase or decrease your chances of getting accepted in a graduate program, depending on what you do during these years.
> 9 votes
# Answer
I had a gap of 1.5 years between finishing my (second) Master's and applying for a Ph.D. in statistics... a total gap of two years between my latest graduation and starting the Ph.D. In these two years I was working as an economist (my second degree) in a government think-tank, so it wasn't a totally irrelevant experience. If you sustain an income through say tutoring math (which appears to have an infinite demand, although may be poorly paid), and take advanced classes in the mean time, this only showcases you as a person dedicated to the selected field who wants to do it despite the real life challenges. +1 brownie point!
I did not have a chance to evaluate an application with such gaps when I was a prof, but I can tell from my teaching experience that the older the student is, the more responsible they are. So if anything, I would view "out of the box" students jumping straight from BSc to PhD as less qualified than somebody who's been out there for a little longer, and knows what they want from their lives. But that's just my personal take.
When I was applying around (1999-2000), there was no point in pushing it at all unless you'd get the perfect GRE math score, which was not that difficult to get (probably 50% or so of applicants did). I heard though that the test was made more demanding and better discriminating.
> 4 votes
# Answer
On the one hand it might be beneficial for your application if you take your time to study for a this test in terms of a better score.
On the other hand, if I would be the person reviewing the application, I would rank your score subjectively lower if you have this gap, since I would assume that you stayed at home and studied for the test. And Grad School applications are not that much high-throughput like undergrad application, so there might be a chance that the person, who will end up reviewing your appl., will think so too.
I find these GRE tests stupid anyway. They really depend on how much time you spend on preparation. In my opinion, the tests are easy enough to just pass them if you passed your undergrad, but on the other hand you are competing against other applicants for the higher score.
For me, but I am not the person who decides, a good internship or other other topic-related projects (e.g., founding a website like reddit if you are a computer science applicant) would count 1000x more than this stupid test score.
> 2 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, time-off
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thread-11336 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11336 | How much vacation time is typical during a PhD in the United States? | 2013-07-23T17:41:39.847 | # Question
Title: How much vacation time is typical during a PhD in the United States?
What is the typical amount of vacation time, per year, during a PhD program in the United States. I am particularly interested in 1. PhD programs in the physical sciences, and 2. PhD programs at competitive, research-focused universities.
# Answer
> 20 votes
I'm not aware of explicit policies regarding vacation time during a Ph.D in the US. This is likely because in the US, the Ph.D is viewed as educational, and not as a job.
As a student, and now as a professor, vacation time was always an informal discussion between advisor and student. This is of course ripe for abuse. A job in the US usually grants 15 days of vacation (not counting weekends) per year, but in my experience that's MUCH less than what you might effectively get as a Ph.D student (in computer science) but might be comparable to what you get as a Ph.D student in the physical sciences.
Unfortunately, I don't have personal experience with physical science programs, but via my wife and other friends I've seen that physical science programs are fairly rough on vacation. This is partly because you need to be around to tend to long-running experiments ("the flies died!") and partly because of the nature of lab work and the much more intense style of lab-based science.
My recommendation would be, once you have some options, to ask students in the programs you're applying to, working with advisors you're interested in targeting.
# Answer
> 20 votes
Well, this is dependent on a lot of factors:
1. Your advisor. He/she controls a good part of your life (and probably pays you out of a grant), so vacation time goes through him/her. I've seen advisors who begrudgingly let students take a couple of weeks off in the summer, to those who don't keep track and their students seem to be on vacation all the time. I've also seen advisors who mandate some vacation time to avoid burnout. (and all of the rest of the answers should be caveated with "and if your advisor allows")
2. Your workload and motivation. Get your work done (e.g., paper submitted, TA duties done, dissertation chapter written), and you can safely take a week or two off.
3. School schedule. While graduate students don't really stick by a strict semester/trimester/quarter/summer/etc. schedule, it more or less dictates when you can take vacation. I never took more than a day or two off during Spring Break, and my summers were strictly time to get more work done (or to teach a summer class).
4. School / department policy. Departments sometimes regulate time off, but I'd say that is rare, as vacation is, again, left up to the advisor.
Despite the low pay, you are an employee, and you need to abide by the rules set by your employer (either the school, your advisor, or, possibly, your fellowship rules). Sometimes students don't get paid during the summer, and it is easier to take vacation.
The bottom line is that if you are taking too much vacation, you are delaying getting your research done, and that can have ramifications on when you graduate, how your research progresses (and if you get scooped!), and what your advisor thinks of your work ethic. Should you take time off? Yes. Should you be greedy and think it will be like undergraduate school where you get three or four months off a year? **No.**
# Answer
> 12 votes
**Short answer: around 4 weeks (20 days)**.
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Okay, given the number of anecdotal answers given, let's try to do something different and find some hard data… It is rather easy, because most institutions have explicit vacation policies posted online.
* Princeton graduate school (which I think fits your stated criteria) has Guidelines on Student Vacation Time, which say:
> graduate student degree candidates may take up to (but no more than) **four weeks of vacation**, including any days taken during regular University holidays and scheduled recesses
* Caltech Graduate Studies Office states:
> The Institute policy is that graduate students are "entitled to two weeks' annual vacation (in addition to Institute holidays)." \[…\] There are 11 Institute holidays this calendar year \[…\] In total, graduate students are entitled to **21 vacation days per calendar year**. These days do not accrue from year to year.
* MIT's policy for Graduate Students is the following:
> \[…\] observe normal Institute holidays and are entitled to **two weeks of vacation with pay** if their appointments are for the full calendar year. Their vacation schedule must be approved by their supervisors
* GeorgiaTech's policy:
> **Two weeks vacation** and all official Georgia Tech holidays are allowed during each calendar year. Advisors must be notified of all vacation time and absences. Mid-term and intermission breaks are not vacation days unless scheduled as such.
In summary, vacation/holiday time ranges from 4 to 5 weeks at the institutions listed. It should be noted that the above are the actual vacation policies, so real-life situation might be different: less strict, if your advisor is understanding and it doesn't impede your work; more strict, if there is a negative culture in your workplace.
# Answer
> 11 votes
Having done a PhD in the United States and then come to Denmark to do a post-doc, I can say that this is going to depend on a huge number of factors. In the US, during my PhD, many of my colleagues seemed to be on vacation all of the time (many of them did not finish). But, my advisor never took vacation and I, accordingly, worked on his schedule. I never took vacation and was always "on email," etc. when I was away for whatever reason. We had no guarantee of vacation other, I guess, than national and university holidays, but most people work from home (or in the lab) during those times any way.
In Denmark, however, this is completely different. Everyone in Denmark is guaranteed five weeks of paid vacation every year and even in academia, people use it seriously. Because it is July, all faculty and graduate students in my department are gone. Literally all of them and they are not on email and claim to not work, most for a three week holiday abroad.
So, in short, this is going to depend on a lot on country, department norms, and your advisor's style/expectations.
# Answer
> 8 votes
To add some personal experience from two different systems to the other answers (Chris Gregg and Suresh; which I fully agree with).
The way this is handled clearly depends on where you are (I realize you are asking about US). In Sweden PhD students have a certain number of days (weeks). This is regulated by laws. However, a problem with trying to regulate vacation is that not all students or projects are alike and in the end you, as a PhD student, is responsible to complete your work in time (advisors obviously also have a role to facilitatet this). So in "my" system the stipulated vacation may be a blessing in disguise if taken very literally. The important point is that one must plan ones own time and that includes taking time off to reload batteries and rest. A difficulty is to balance these issues.
My own experience when I was a forreign graduate student in the US was that I really got a lot of work done during holidays and spring breaks when most people were away. I do not remember having any major vacation time but I always had days off for doing anything that could take my mind off graduate school (not that I was bored, I just felt rejuvenated by it). So managing time is more imprtant than having a long vacation. As I saw it grad school was my chance to get somewhere so it was worth working for.
# Answer
> 7 votes
They are two ways to answer/interpret the question.
**The first is: how much time are you "legally" entitled/required to take**
The answer to this question will vary across country, university, and even how you are "employed" within a university. Even if this could be answered in general or for you specific situation, I am not sure it is helpful given the second interpretation.
**The second is: how much time do PhD students actually take**
This seems to me a more relevant question and is similar, if not identical, to: How hard do early-career academics in the United States work, really?. I believe that N-of-1 type answers are meaningless since I know people who takes zero vacation days and I know people who take in excess of 60 vacation days. The Sigma Xi society surveyed post docs and found that they take 12 vacation days a year on average. I provided details about this study in this answer of mine. I am not sure to the extent to which the vacation habits of post docs and PhD students are similar, but this is the only population study I am aware of.
# Answer
> 7 votes
**Disclaimer:** **n=1** at a research university
I can give you a reasonable estimate of the vacation hours as I am a current PhD student in the US, not in the physical sciences but in the computing sciences. At my institution (*Cornell University*), I can **officially** take **14** days off in the year when I am fully funded. This is what is **typed** on my funding letter which I receive at the beginning of every semester.
In practice, this depends upon your adviser. I have been fortunate enough to work with wonderful people who do not care how many days I take off as long as the work has been done according to their expectations. For instance, I took 2 months off in Dec-Jan last year but then I had finished my personal involvement in all the current projects and had submitted relevant papers for publication.
# Answer
> 3 votes
As a Ph.D. you really have to rely on the 'mood' of your PI, or other circumstances: For example, I know a person who had to go back to China for a month to get his visa renewal.
But I think at least 1 week off for traveling during the summer is something that you could expect if you don't have an extremely strict PI.
Besides that, there is the Xmas week where the university is officially closed and you don't have to show up.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I'm working at a very competitive research university in physical sciences this summer as an undergraduate research intern. I asked a few of the PhD students i'm working with, and they told me that they get a maximum of two weeks off per year, not including one week that everyone gets off for Christmas. Thus a lot of them take their two weeks in addition to Christmas (a lot of internationals here don't care about Christmas much) to get an effective 3 week vacation.
Like others have said, it will depend entirely on your advisor. The PhD students I've talked to have told horror stories about one advisor in particular who wouldn't grant a PhD student an extra two days off to get married, because it would have put him over two weeks for the year. Others generally don't care as much as long as you get your work done.
# Answer
> 2 votes
In addition to the other informative answers, I can't help but comment that (truly) one might ask oneself how/why this becomes a question at all. Of course it is a reasonable question, but it potentially hints at some aversion to one's "work".
I know others might disagree strenuously, but my own quite sincere and considered opinion is that academe is not a good career choice if the "job" is substantially oppressive or in any way "something to get away from". The reason is that quite a few people, your competitors, really love spending time at "the thing", and although of course "more hours" does not mean "more production", that kind of sustained engagement... and *affection*... does seem to enhance productivity and efficiency hugely.
That is, an academic job should be the kind of thing that one \_does\_not\_need\_ a vacation from, any more than one needs a vacation from eating or sleeping. Of course this is just one "ideal", but it is certainly the ground for my own life as a mathematician. That is (at the other end of one's career) when people ask me when I'll retire, regardless of exactly what I say, my thoughts are that it would be silly to stop accepting good pay for what I'd be doing anyway. :) :) (And, I add, for probably 12+ hours a day 6/7 days a week, and at least several hours every day of the year. I feel ill if I can't find a way to think about mathematics at least a few hours every day. If necessary, it seems that insomnia provides an opportunity...)
One may view this as a silly ideal, and my own experience as a bit of a caricature, but I think it is worthwhile for a potential academic to juxtapose such ranting with their own inclinations. E.g., if one can't feel an irrational affection for one's projects... it's time to consider other options.
So: vacation? I don't *like* the conventional notion of "vacation" (where you stop doing what you do ordinarily), any more than I'd like a vacation from eating or sleeping. Seriously. Yes, this creates some degree of conflict with family.
The worse conflict would be if one really does want to get away from one's (academic?) work. If so, then all the people who aren't necessarily as able as you, but who love it, will be zooming past you while you are on vacation. This is probably not just a "scare story", considering my personal observations over 40+ years.
Thus, conceivably, if you really think in terms of "vacation" from tasks that are not ... enchanting... then the real conclusion is that you should think about other possibilities.
(I thought that this ... arguably idealistic/extreme... viewpoint needed some representation.)
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Tags: graduate-school, working-time
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thread-10870 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10870 | Regarding "discussion sections" for undergraduate science courses | 2013-07-01T03:43:45.527 | # Question
Title: Regarding "discussion sections" for undergraduate science courses
I will be undertaking my first teaching position as a graduate student in the fall - I will be leading two of the discussion sections for an undergraduate biology course.
What sorts of things should I expect to teach in a discussion section for a science course and how should I teach them?
When I was an undergraduate and took the same course (same material, different university), the graduate students had to re-teach the lectures in our equivalent of discussion sections, as if it was brand new material because the professor was not a very good lecturer. I know the professors for whom I will be teaching these sections are rather good lecturers, so I do not expect to have to re-teach everything to the same extent. I have several concerns, though:
* These sections are about twice the size of those at my undergraduate university, and I would like to encourage regular class participation of some sort, to make sure students stay engaged.
* The material is undoubtedly challenging so I am wary of bringing in too much new material, such as discussion of scientific papers, which is the first kind of discussion that springs to mind. (Also, someone will inevitably ask "is that going to be on the exam?")
Because the material is challenging, I could probably do with some review. But how to I keep a large number of students engaged (and participating) through repetition of lecture material? Ostensibly, the reason for having discussion sections is so that there is actual discussion.
# Answer
> 3 votes
I can say with 100% confidence that it will depend on the professor(s). That being said, you should expect to:
* Reteach all content. You won't actually have to, but you should of course be able to. Students often use discussion sections to ask questions they don't want to ask the prof for fear of "looking dumb."
* Give meaningful practice problems and explanations the students should familiarize themselves with for an exam.
* For some classes, actually lead a discussion of topics.
* Just use it for office hours.
# Answer
> 1 votes
When I taught discussion sections (for calculus, at a large U.S. state university), the students always appreciated it when I worked homework problems at the board for them. (The homework sets were large enough so that we didn't get through nearly all the homework.)
My experience is that with discussion sections there is a little bit of a good-cop/bad-cop game going on; the professor is the bad cop and you are the good cop -- embrace and enjoy the role. Help them with their homework. If appropriate, look up the professor's old exams, find out what they are like, and work out similar problems in discussion.
In short, help your students get through the course.
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Tags: teaching, teaching-assistant
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thread-11388 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11388 | What does a plus sign mean in journal abbreviations? | 2013-07-25T13:43:42.530 | # Question
Title: What does a plus sign mean in journal abbreviations?
On this journal title abbreviation list, some abbreviations are followed by a plus sign (+). For example, "Thermophysics and Aeromechanics" is abbreviated "THERMOPHYS AEROMECH+".
What is the significance of the plus sign, and is it to be included when creating a reference list?
# Answer
Web of science doesn't explain it on the page you quote, but you can find it in another page with detailed explanation: **"The plus sign on this last abbreviation indicates that cites to the original language journal are unified with cites to the translation title"**
From here: http://wokinfo.com/essays/cited-title-unification/
> 7 votes
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Tags: journals, citations
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thread-11387 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11387 | Taking a pseudonym for publication | 2013-07-25T13:34:52.260 | # Question
Title: Taking a pseudonym for publication
I will soon get my first paper submitted. Because my name is very common I think it will be hard to look for my papers in databases in the long term. If I want to decide on a pseudonym (author name different than my real name) it must be now before my first paper. I wonder about choosing a pseudonym that is a small variation from my own name so that it is unique in databases. Like changing my first name spelling (John -\> Jon) or adding middle name or changing my last name (Smith -\> Smyth). Is it a good idea or am I overthinking it? Will it be a problem later?
# Answer
It can be a very real problem later on, when you will be looking for a job and potential academic employer, or just colleagues, will want to check on your academic record. Changing your name to make it unique might also bring you a lot of trouble later, as your employing institution will not easily access your publications (knowing you by a different name than the one appearing on you publications).
However, it could very well be that, given the practice of your field of research, you could avoid changing the spelling your name. Usually, journals will take your second (and possibly third) name into consideration, and use it for all indexing purpose. At that point, your abbreviated name could simply be unique, no matter how common your first and last names!
For instance, John Andrew James Smith would be abbreviated and indexed as JAJ Smith, for which even PubMed does not even returns a hit! (PubMed covers most of life and material sciences)
> 2 votes
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Tags: publications
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thread-11377 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11377 | How to fend off someone putting their Name on my work? | 2013-07-24T22:40:42.547 | # Question
Title: How to fend off someone putting their Name on my work?
I'm a postdoc and a guy who used to be a part of our group dropped by today and said repeatedly that he wanted to collaborate with me and that he's too busy with other commitments to do any work. I suggested a project where he could write up some of his recent experiences in the area (I know of a publication that did something similar to this that we could use as a framework and am working with another man in our group on this), and he had no interest in that saying instead he was more interested in the data analysis I'm doing.
The message I got was "I don't have time to do anything, but I want to be a co-author". He was "generous" enough to say he "doesn't need to be the first or second author".
How would you handle that?
During my PhD I had one of my supervisor's former students do this to me. He got 3 publications out of me, which he didn't understand well enough to present at a conference (he insisted that I create slides for him and write a word-for-word script for him to deliver - the conference was in his area of the world). I eventually put my foot down and refused to have him as a co-author again (my supervisor was pushing to put his name on a 4th publication, I think she wanted to help him get tenure and / or was repaying some debt to him with my work).
I don't want to spend time trying to defend my work from people who didn't contribute putting their names on it, but I'm not sure the best way to get rid of him. My PI thinks quite highly of him.
I'm going out with my PI casually for dinner tomorrow and am planning to bring this up and ask him to be explicit about his authorship policy (my PI reserves the right to determine authorship of work from our lab). I don't want to seem whiny, but also don't want to spend time / energy worrying about this.
Am I overly anxious about this? Maybe it doesn't really matter as long as I'm the first author? If that's the case, I'm tempted to just put everyone I know on it (I don't want to reward this guy for being obnoxious).
# Answer
Your situation sounds messy. I think most will agree that the basic prerequisite for co-authorship is intellectual contribution to the manuscript . To add authors for thanks is common but really not a practice to endorse. If someone comes to me and asks to be a co-author, the obvious response would be: "What will be your contribution?" If there is no clear contribution other than, say, "Read the manuscript and provide input" then the answer should be "No, thanks". In your case, it sounds as if there is no major point in even having a discussion.
In fact, your case reminds me of a colleague of mine who ends up in all sorts of strange situations. His problem is that he is too nice and does not know the word "no". I realize it may be hard to set up strict rules for these things if your immediate surroundings do not subscribe to them, but I think you should know that you have solid grounds for being more strict about adding unnecessary co-authors or letting people into a project without a clear picture of why.
If you are first author on a paper, it seems to me you will also be the person deciding how the work should materialize. I think you need to make your own mind up where you want to draw the line. you will benefit of making a decision on how you want things run. If you want to deviate from this later on, then it is still your decision and no-one else's. I think this is what you (and most of us) really want - to be in the driver's seat. So follow your instincts, they seem sound to me.
> 33 votes
# Answer
I am not a postdoc but a current PhD student. Strangely, I have had a couple of similar instances in the recent past.
Just say a firm **NO !**
If he is a former member of your group and has nothing to intellectually contribute to the current project, then he does not deserve authorship.
I would definitely bring it up casually with your PI and make it clear to him that you do not support a person being a co-author if he does not or has not contributed to the project significantly over its life cycle.
Saying a clear "**No!**" usually works. :)
> 26 votes
# Answer
As others, I would say that you should say "no". However, I have something to add: this is not merely about the request of being freely a co-author being annoying. It is about ethics. Not letting someone that contributed significantly to a paper be an author is universally seen as unethical; it might be less clear that letting someone not having contributed significantly to a paper be an author is equally unethical, but it is. Notably, it gives her or him an advantage in evaluation, promotion, tenure and more importantly recruitment that his or her competitors will not have.
In conclusion; not saying "no" is unethical... to many people you probably do not even know, but unethical nonetheless.
I have to add another point there : this is a delicate situation as you are not completely in charge, and as a postdoc you have to handle things gently to have good recommendation from your PI. Being to rigorous about something that people may think costs you nothing can lead you to an impossible situation, so be careful, think ahead the point up to which you are ready to be flexible, do not act offensively, do not corner your PI but let her ways out. For example, you should definitely explain how wrong this would seem to you, but you should not blame her right from the start for asking you this.
> 9 votes
# Answer
In addition to the excellent answers that you already got, I'd like to point out two things.
* There are criteria lists for authorship, see e.g. http://www.icmje.org/ethical\_1author.html.
You may want to look up a specific guideline for your field.
* While I agree with the "say a firm no" side, this may not be possible in - due to the local "power structure", or also because real life things are usually not as clear as one sentence in a stackexchange question suggests (in that case even possibly not advisable).
I've found a "Contributions" section in the text where for each author is listed what exactly they contributed very helpful in situations where people were unclear about coauthorship and position in the author list.
If there's really just "A. Uthor did not contribute anything" that should a) be embarrassing enough for A. Uthor, or b) the supervisor or, as a last resort c) reviewers/editors to insist on having neither the name in the author list nor the sentence in the contributions. For the less clear cases it allows readers will to judge for themselves, and in any case I found that explicitly writing down the contributions can do much for the clarification and thus also make decisions about authorship much easier.
* Last but not least, what about approaching the problem from the opposide side at the dinner: telling your PI that you're afraid the guy's not going to do his share in the work. That you had similar experiences previously, so your alarm at that is quite shrill. What your PI recommends what should be that coauthor's exact part of the work and what the PI recommends to ensure that the guy is actually doing his share?
> 6 votes
# Answer
Sometimes, a firm "NO" is not the best option.
I believe it would work to say NO but your PI wants to "drive the car" and you don't want this to generate a conflict.
If her wanting to "drive the car" was not legitimate, I think a firm NO would be the best solution.
Otherwise, I think the best choice is to bend. BUT, there is a big BUT: THEY are in demand and you should turn this into your own advantage:
Think of a compensation, a leverage that could be useful to you... And try yourself at a polite negociation exercice...
Or maybe... Mention something like "expedient co-author" in your publication...
> 1 votes
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Tags: etiquette, ethics, authorship
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thread-11267 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11267 | What is an empirical study? | 2013-07-20T16:51:59.200 | # Question
Title: What is an empirical study?
I always read phrases such as "empirical data" and "empirical study." What does it mean when a study is empirical?
# Answer
A good definition from Wikipedia is
> Empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or experience. Empirical evidence (the record of one's direct observations or experiences) can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively.
Another good resource is EricDigests.com is a further resource that goes through in detail the steps to empirical research, the 7 that are defined from that link are:
1. Randomisation
2. Control
3. Reliability
4. Validity
5. Implementation of Treatment Variable
6. Analysis Issues
7. Implementation issues
(The full details are on the 2nd link - too much to fit here)
Hope this helps answer your question.
> 2 votes
# Answer
In computer science, this terminology is often used to indicate that an algorithm has been run on real (or simulated) data sets, and observations are made as to how it behaves (how fast does it run, does it solve the problem correctly, and so forth). The experimental procedures are usually not so much of an issue here, because the testing environment can be so well-controlled (i.e. you can generate infinite amounts of random test data).
This is to be contrasted with analyses which are based on mathematical proof, i.e. proving that your algorithm has certain behaviors (e.g. proving it is always correct).
Some times you will see papers in between these two poles.
> 1 votes
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Tags: research-process
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thread-11398 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11398 | How does one go about starting a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)? | 2013-07-25T20:51:49.513 | # Question
Title: How does one go about starting a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)?
Currently my university does not offer any MOOCs. I am interested in creating one. How should I go about it? Does my university need to sign an agreement with one of the providers such as Coursera or can I approach them independently?
# Answer
> 4 votes
As far as I know, you don't need to have a signed deal with e.g, Coursera. You can do it independently. For example, the University of Helsinki has started offering some MOOCs, but they are not listed in the aforementioned provider.
One good approach would be to follow the line of Khan Academy, maybe it seems rather simplistic, but it can bring good results. One piece of general advice that I can give is to focus on quality instead of quantity. Just a couple of well-made online courses, with lecturers that have experience in the topics, is enough. Also pay attention to the evaluation tools that your site will have, that is crucial for its success and interaction with the prospective students.
Good luck in your idea!
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Tags: teaching, online-learning, mooc
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thread-11402 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11402 | Impact on transferring and graduating early for graduate school admissions | 2013-07-26T01:01:58.137 | # Question
Title: Impact on transferring and graduating early for graduate school admissions
I'm an uprising sophomore, majoring in science. I just transferred out of a public university, to another public university. I'm just wondering, what's the impact of transferring between schools to graduate school admissions? Taking into account that I don't have a great GPA from the previous school (like a low 3), even though I get a 4.0 GPA from my current school, how hard would the low GPA from my previous school affect my graduate school admissions? Do graduate schools look into freshman year GPA that heavily?
Since I have an amount of AP credits, I can graduate in 3 years. Is it really a good idea to do so, if I wanted to go to graduate school? Since I don't have a really high GPA from my previous school, should I just do 4 years instead?
Also, as a **add-on question**: *I'm not sure what field or career I should go into, how do you know that you want to go into academia? Or is it a little too early for me to decide?*
Thanks for the advices and opinions in advanced!
# Answer
> 1 votes
**Disclaimer:** I am a PhD student with some outside knowledge (as an applicant) and some inside knowledge (admissions committee student member) on an average doctoral admissions process.
There are a number of factors which affect a candidates acceptance (or conversely, rejection) into a PhD program. They are standardized test scores, GPA, research experience, publications, letters of recommendation and the personal statement.
In my opinion, from what I have seen your numbers (GRE and GPA) don't do a good job of getting you in but can keep you out. What this means is that you have to clear whatever internal cut-offs there are. This can be subjective or objective depending upon the department, the field and the university. For instance, this could be 3.5 in one department in one field or could be 3.8 in another department in another field in another university. Standards can also be relaxed for candidates with exceptional research records and letters of recommendation written by trusted researchers.
The most important factors which matter are previous, relevant research experience, letters of recommendation, personal statement and publications. Some optimum combination of this must convince the admissions committee that you are worth admitting.
In fact, I would venture to say that there *isn't much* of an impact in graduating early or transferring to and from different programs. Focus on selecting whether a research career is right for you and what field you actually want to get into for graduate school.
The second part of your question is a little broad as I have noted in a comment. If you search this platform, you will find numerous relevant advice from folks much more knowledgeable than me. There are different approaches here. Some people just *know* what field they want to get into from the very outset. Others (like me) bounce around in different fields until one *feels* very right to them. Yet others get into a masters degree program to *try out* a discipline in terms of exploring research before committing to a full time PhD program.
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Tags: graduate-admissions
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thread-11397 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11397 | What strategy to follow for getting a funded PhD position? | 2013-07-25T20:28:35.843 | # Question
Title: What strategy to follow for getting a funded PhD position?
I am having problems after ending my master´s in Computer Science. The main problem is that I had to return to my country because I had to take care of my parents. In any case, I managed to get a number of publications in the field, only 4.
I have been trying to get a funded PhD position in some European and United States universities, but with no luck at all. By the way, my master´s degree was completed in Europe (in Sweden to be specific).
I have the feeling that I will not get any paid position, and I cannot afford to pay the whole 4 years of career by myself; also I think that because I am not near any of those research groups from those universities my situation gets further complicated.
What should I do? Should I sent my CV to the persons in charge of some more research groups, even though they do not have open positions? should I ask that they give me a task so I can prove that I am worthy for their research?
# Answer
Here are some general guidelines when applying for U.S. positions:
1. The key thing that PhD programs look for is *evidence of research potential.* In your particular case, if you have four peer-reviewed papers, this is a very good start. The benefits due to the publications decreases (a) if the papers are not peer-reviewed, (b) if they are in conferences or journals no one has ever heard of, (c) if they are not in English \[if only because it is harder to read them and see what they are about\], (d) if they are not particularly well-written in general (e.g., grammatical mistakes, poor structure, weak results).
2. Your recommendation letters are extremely important, and should speak directly to your research potential and experience. If possible, these should be from tenured professors at your university, and even better if they are known in their field. Plan on giving your letter-writers "talking points" that they might want to include in their letters. Don't write the letters for them, but provide them with enough information so they can write specifically about what you want to study, and why.
3. If your letter-writers know someone at the schools where you are applying, consider asking them to reach out to say directly that you are great and that they should keep you in mind. Even if the contacts aren't on the admissions committee, they will certainly know someone on the committee and can pass along your name.
4. Your grades matter, but less than you might think, especially if you're applying after you already have your Master's degree (again, research potential is the key item).
5. Do not apply strictly to "Top-X" schools (5, 10, 20, etc.). Competition is extremely stiff at the top schools, and *no one* can expect to be let into a particular program. Find other schools that have decent programs but don't limit yourself too much.
6. Write an amazing personal statement, and *have multiple people proof-read it and give you suggestions*. Strive to make it clear what you want to research, why it is an important topic, and why you'll be good at solving the outstanding problems in that topic.
7. Obviously, make sure you submit all the correct forms. You don't want a rejection simply because of an administrative issue.
If you believe that your personal situation (going back to take care of your parents) has bearing on why your record looks poor, say so in a cover letter, or *briefly* mention it in your personal statement. Don't linger on it, but comment on the pertinent points and move on.
As to the funding part -- if you get accepted into a C.S. position, you will most likely be offered funding, either through a teaching assistant position, and/or through a research associate position. This should be included in the letter of acceptance.
Good luck!
> 4 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions
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thread-11408 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11408 | Planning for PhD, How much Master's thesis topic and coursework matter for PhD? | 2013-07-26T09:53:21.807 | # Question
Title: Planning for PhD, How much Master's thesis topic and coursework matter for PhD?
I am a master's student in computer science. I have almost completed my coursework and they are to different fields. I am planning to do a PhD in the future: is a master's thesis an important prerequisite for a PhD?
I exactly don't know which field to select for the thesis, I like databases, but my previous job experience was in quality assurance. I really don't want to go for hardcore programming kind of field of research.
Kindly help me with selection of my field.
# Answer
> 3 votes
In regards to your first query, any and all **relevant** prior research and work experience will strengthen any PhD application. It is often expected that you can show that you have some proven knowledge (and skills) in the field that you are intending to research.
I would advise you to research PhD topics, finding an academic that specialising in that field and ask them about your prior study, also ask the admissions people.
No one can really answer the final part of your query, as this will be up to your interests and experience. But, one thing to consider for this - perhaps try and find a field that is a mixture of your interests and experience.
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Tags: phd
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thread-11407 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11407 | What is my degree if I am still a bachelor student? | 2013-07-26T09:16:37.220 | # Question
Title: What is my degree if I am still a bachelor student?
I am registering to submit an article and I am asked to give my current degree, the problem is that I don't have a bachelor degree yet. So, what is the usual term and acronym to use for the current degree if you are still a degree student?
# Answer
> 5 votes
In the US system, I would advise to leave it blank. But in some European education systems (and in particular with the impetus of the Bologna process), the high-school diploma is considered a formal degree. In France, it is called *baccalauréat*, in the UK it's the A levels, in Spain (you seem to be Spanish) it's the *bachillerato*.
So, if you are in a European system, I would advise you to write *bachillerato*/\*baccalauréat\*/A-levels, otherwise leave blank.
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Tags: degree, terminology
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thread-11411 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11411 | Is Scientometrics a scientific discipline? | 2013-07-26T08:52:24.017 | # Question
Title: Is Scientometrics a scientific discipline?
*This question is **not** about the politics of scientometrics, nor is it on the role of scientometrics in governmental research programs, nor is it about the use of scientometric indices: these questions have been already addressed and debated somewhere else on academia.SE., for instance*
*The following question is about scientific method(s).*
After these few words to avoid any debate, I would like to naively ask about the scientific rigor of scientometrics. **Is there any kind of rigor/general method/scientific concept behind this field of research?** Or maybe a more aggressive question: is scientometry a science?
# Answer
*Scientometrics* is a science to the extent that it applies the **scientific method** to a field of inquiry. Researchers in this area formulate questions and conceptualize existing problems (e.g., *“in these times of scarcity, the public wants research to be* efficient: *how can we measure this?*”), they make hypotheses, make predictions, gather data to test them, analyze the data and prove or disprove their hypotheses.
Regarding *“what do we scientifically learn from scientometrics?”*, well, there are plenty of established results (you can find some on wikipedia), but I'll use one recent paper from *Scientometrics* which highlights what this field can bring us:
> Negative results are disappearing from most disciplines and countries
> D. Fanelli, *Scientometrics* **2012**, *90*, 891–904
This one was really an eye-opener for me, on a phenomenon which I always supposed existed, but it was nice to see it backed by hard data. Other examples include:
> Physical and economic bias in climate change research: a scientometric study of IPCC Third Assessment Report
> A. Bjurström and M. Polk, *Climatic Change* **2011**, *108*, 1–22
> Language biases in the coverage of the Science Citation Index and its consequences for international comparisons of national research performance
> T. N. van Leeuwen, H. F. Moed, R. J. W. Tijssen, M. S. Visser, A. F. J. van Raan, *Scientometrics* **2001**, *51*, 335–346
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I'll finish with a personal opinion: while I am annoyed, as most people, with the emphasis currently given on *bibliometrics* in the evaluation of research and research projects, I think scientometrics in general has an important role to play, just like related fields such as studies on ethics of research: better understanding the positive and negative implications of the way we currently do science is healthy (the meta-level of research).
> 14 votes
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Tags: bibliometrics, methodology, statistics
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thread-11415 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11415 | How much more work should I put to my master's thesis? | 2013-07-26T16:45:18.790 | # Question
Title: How much more work should I put to my master's thesis?
I have been doing my master's thesis for a year now. I was quite productive during the past months, so I already managed to publish one paper on the topic. Now, the productivity seems to have drawbacks too - I have already fulfilled every requirement there is for a thesis, and even more, but I haven't described even half of the work I did during the past year.
So, I am now left wondering should I return the thesis tomorrow for evaluation, or use two or three more months writing (I'm a terribly slow writer). I would probably like to apply for a PhD position, so I guess I should make the decision from that point of view. If I have a *very* comprehensive master's thesis, does it add any value for application? Having the one paper would already opens all doors in my home country, but I don't know about the others.
# Answer
Having a paper published on your own work, while doing a Master's degree (i.e. in a relatively short time) sure is a good point of your application to any graduate program. Having a paper submitted for publication is always a plus, but having one already published is a strong plus for you.
Regarding your thesis: the quality of the thesis itself will probably not matter much in admission to a PhD program, unless it is *visibly* bad, in which case it will sure hurt. Otherwise, chances are noöne will read it through when you apply. Thus, **if you are strongly confident that your thesis can be accepted/graded/defended** (I don't know what the detailed requirements are for your program) **in its current state, don't overdo it**.
Don't get me wrong: you don't want to be seen as the guy who did the absolute bare minimum to get away with it. That looks bad, and may leave a stain when people ask for references. Otherwise, if you think your thesis is of good quality, just submit it. The extra work it requires to get it to “perfect” or “awesome” is probably not worth it. The only exceptions I can see are:
1. if your Master's program has a ranking system, and getting a good rank (or even 1st) can boost your future applications
2. if the writing will also be useful for new papers, in which case you might as well include it in the thesis
> 3 votes
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Tags: thesis
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thread-11416 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11416 | Creative Ways of Getting Teaching Experience | 2013-07-26T17:04:18.377 | # Question
Title: Creative Ways of Getting Teaching Experience
Here is my situation, I'm about to graduate with a Ph.D. within the next few months. My dissertation is done, so I can dedicate quite a bit of time to the issue I'm describing.
At the moment, I have never taught a college level course. For the entire length of my program I've been on the research side. I'm very frustrated by this, as "teaching" was always my personal number 2 choice after graduation (number 1 is not in academia, a long shot and not relevant to this conversation). (And just to remove those suggesting that I should have asked to teach, I have -- for years -- but that's water under the bridge as they say)
Due to this lack of teaching, I've done everything I could think of: I've taught mini classes to staff and my cohort on specific topics (e.g. LaTeX), and when available, I've taught at university programs for high schoolers. And, I've recently, applied to every community college in a two hour radius (our university is in the sticks, so that isn't actually very many), to try to get an adjunct job.
But my fear is that the community colleges won't care about my research or other experience -- they will just note that I don't have teaching experience, so I won't get those positions either -- which means I'll graduate without ever *really* teaching.
So, here is my question: Is there something I *should* be doing that I'm not already? What have others done in similar situations? I'm starting to get very concerned about the long term implications of this hole in my CV -- especially given I could really see myself at a lib arts university.
# Answer
First of all, put down all of that experience on your CV, and when you apply for jobs, make sure you write a great teaching statement on some of these experiences. Make sure to talk about any courses you designed (the LaTeX one, perhaps?), and don't disregard the high school teaching at all. I was a high school teacher for seven years before I went to get my PhD, and when applying for college teaching positions, I played up the fact that teaching high school is (in some ways) more challenging and that it made me a better teacher.
I believe that with your current experience, you have a good chance at one of those community college adjunct positions (depending on your field), so don't sell yourself short yet.
One other option that might not sound so great but could at least get you into the classroom is to apply to adjunct positions with for-profit colleges (U. of Phoenix, etc.). If you can disregard any problems you might have with that "type" of education and dedicate yourself to doing the best you can for the students, it would give you experience. The problem may be that you're in the sticks.
Speaking of living in the sticks, are you able to move for a semester? If you're flexible enough, you will be able to find that adjunct position (Alaska? Kansas? Puerto Rico?).
Let's say you can't find a teaching position. What's stopping you from developing a full-up course, even if you won't teach it now (or ever)? Be creative, and design the course you've always wanted to teach! You can then put down, "designed xx undergraduate course, which included a unique assessment plan and a flipped classroom approach, blah, blah, blah." A bit hokey, maybe, but it's something.
Depending on your field, you could branch out and apply for positions or volunteer to teach classes that aren't directly in your field.
The bottom line is (and you seem to already know this): you have to be as flexible as you can if your goal is simply to get college teaching experience. But try to think if there are other ways you can be even more flexible, and something is likely to come your way.
> 6 votes
# Answer
Chris Gregg's answer is truly excellent. I would just add one more thought.
You might consider teaching for free. There are countless opportunities to educate if you do not require compensation. At my university, they are always eager to help the students...especially if they can do so without spending any money. I am sure they would offer me the facilities (room, etc.) if I were willing to 'donate' my time to teach an extra course.
Of course, this requires you to design a course which is desired by students as well as acceptable by the school which is not already offered.
There are plenty of other opportunities - if you have facilities or can afford to rent them. Put an ad in the paper and start teaching. Disadvantaged youths, high school, university students hoping to understand how to get better grades...there should be lots of choices.
> 2 votes
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Tags: teaching, cv
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thread-11421 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11421 | Advice for having children during graduate school | 2013-07-26T20:53:37.293 | # Question
Title: Advice for having children during graduate school
My wife and I just found out that we're having our first child. While this is a wonderful thing, it also concerns us a bit. Particularly because we're on limited funds (TA & RA combined salary) and we're still 1.5-2 years away from graduating together. Also, since our academic careers are so demanding, we're also concerned about balancing time taking care of our newborn.
I read the responses in this post, but I'd like to ask for more specific advice for new parents in graduate school. What strategies have you used to enable you to handle having a newborn while both parents are finishing their PhD? Both in terms of time management and making ends meet, financially.
Any personal anecdotes, experience, advice, and tips are welcome! :)
# Answer
Congratulations! First of all, you are in for a wonderful and life-changing experience.
However, your life is going to change quite drastically - so try to be prepared.
Some things that come to mind in no specific order (some of these are not specific to academia):
1. On the personal side, you must first realize that you will have much less time to work. Get used to the idea. The way to deal with this is to organize your time and stick to your schedules. No more random web browsing during work hours - use your time with your child as time for brain rest. As a scientist you may know that it is not always easy to be creative/focused on cue, but you will learn to get used to it with practice.
2. As JeffE commented, if your advisors don't know yet, notify them. A supportive advisor can make a huge difference in terms of flexible-work time, working from home, and even moral support. I would also try to gently ask if they increase your salary or offer some other kind of financial benefits. Also, your graduation will most likely get delayed, hopefully not too much - try to see that your supervisors are ok with that.
3. If possible, have your family help as much as possible.
4. The first year with a child is a huge change and can be quite difficult, especially in your situation. Help each other and be understanding towards each other.
5. Your school's HR can give you information about benefits you could get for children (healthcare, day care).
6. You can find tons of used baby/child stuff (toys, clothes) for free or very cheap, because they are often useful only for a short time.
> 14 votes
# Answer
The first 3 (or even 6) months, it's your fun time. There is not much to worry about.
If there is something I want to recommend is to find a spot for your infant at your university day care ASAP. Most of them give students/faculty members priority. Unfortunately they are always full and have +years of waiting list (specially for infants \<2 years old). Register your infant ASAP. Of course, after making sure its a good place to put your child in. Then, you will enjoy visiting the baby during the day hours (12-1pm is a nice time to get your lunch nearby your kid). I went through a nightmare when my kid was at day care far away from my university. This becomes worse in Winter because of the weather conditions.
> 2 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, work-life-balance
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thread-11426 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11426 | How to find h-index in microsoft academic? | 2013-07-27T04:30:45.197 | # Question
Title: How to find h-index in microsoft academic?
I am wondering how do we find h-index here: http://academic.research.microsoft.com/
# Answer
> 3 votes
The h-index was removed from Microsoft Academic Search in January 2013, according to the features update list (which, not surprisingly, is the first Google result for “h-index Microsoft Academic Search”).
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Tags: bibliometrics
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thread-726 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/726 | How to become well-known in the research community while being a PhD student | 2012-03-14T16:02:08.657 | # Question
Title: How to become well-known in the research community while being a PhD student
This question is mainly about building useful contacts during the course of the doctorate. How does one keep the relevant community in other universities informed about his/her research work? One way is obviously to publish the work in reputable journals, but the volume of work that people do these days means there is every chance that others miss out on your work.
So consider giving talks in other university departments about your work. What is the best way to approach this task? Who will take care of the travel and other expenses? This especially applies to departments which focus mainly on journal publications and do not spend time on conferences.
What are the other ways to popularise or create recognition for oneself in the relevant academic community (read prospective employers)?
# Answer
The best way is to be highly active in your field. (Note: this will take work.) Here are my suggestions for accomplishing this, and I hope others will post more in the comments or other answers:
1. **Do awesome work.** It all starts here. As a PhD student, this typically requires being in an awesome lab under an awesome professor, but it is possible to achieve awesome work without that.
2. **Publish in respected journals *in your field*.**
3. **Network within your field.** This includes attending field-specific conferences, talking to other PhD students and professors in other labs, and forming collaborations.
> 69 votes
# Answer
One minor point to add to eykanal's awesome answer: **One of your advisor's jobs is to help you publicize your work.** Take every possible advantage of their existing research network. Ask them to introduce you to people at conferences, workshops, and other meetings; ask them for help arranging invitations at other departments/labs. (Ideally, you shouldn't have to ask, but ask anyway.) Until you're comfortable walking up to or emailing random people and introducing yourself, name-drop your advisor liberally; their names will (or should) open doors that yours won't.
> 49 votes
# Answer
The PhD students I remember the most are the ones who came up to me and made meaningful comments or suggestions regarding my work. They get extra bonus points if in the middle of the night the next week they offer more meaningful comments or suggestions. This can happen in the context of a faculty visit, a conference, or even online. The most powerful setting is at a **poster session**.
The habit is to camp near your own poster until important people come and ask you questions. Much more effective for becoming a ***"well-known"*** scholar is when you find someone else, have a good conversation, and then follow up on the conversation.
There are also effective and meaningful ways to make a name online. As @Artem suggested, an online presence does a lot. Being an constant contributor to scientific wikis, a curator of archives, and a resource on places like Academia SE builds your profile. (It also helps if you don't have a psuedoname like bobthejoe.)
> 36 votes
# Answer
In addition to ekaynal's answer, you can also **run a conference or workshop**. But be careful that this doesn't detract from the quality of your research! **Running department seminars** can help too because you will get to invite & host speakers who will therefore learn your name.
> 22 votes
# Answer
The single most useful reference I've read on networking in academia is "Networking on the Network" (by Phil Agre):
http://vlsicad.ucsd.edu/Research/Advice/network.html
Let me mention a few examples of advice that Phil gives.
* First, the Internet does not *fundamentally* change the way that networking works. You basically walk through the same five or six stages of networking whether you use email and the web or not (and he outlines how each stage works). The exact *form* may differ, but the *substance* is more or less the same.
* Second, networking takes *time*. Phil recommends budgeting *one day per week* for maintaining your network.
* Third, work to ensure that each person in your network *benefits from knowing you*, not just you from knowing them. If you see an article or opportunity that you think may interest them, pass it along.
This essay is long (about 100 pages), but it has much valuable information. I suggest that you return to it every year or two as you progress in your career. Phil is a great writer, and you may find some of this other thoughts helpful as well. You can read lots of them here:
http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/
> 18 votes
# Answer
Short answers: Get cited. Present. Show yourself to be a peer.
Long answer: I have the opposite view about networking: you should not waste any day on it unless it directly helps your research (e.g., potential collaborations, working on grants). While admittedly you need to network and get yourself known, that won't help at all unless you're known for great work. You're not going to be known for great work without having great publications. They don't need to be in the best journals (though it helps), but you need to be pushing out work that answers questions that other scholars have. In my opinion, there is no better way to get your name out there than to be cited.
The single most important thing that I learned from transitioning out of my PhD program is this: Publishing is networking. Publishing is talking with your peers. (Particularly if you publish in conferences, you are literally talking to your peers.) No level of pavement-beating will get you more attention than to win a best paper award or to present on a topic that big people have been looking for a good citation on for years. I know a few relatively young scholars in my field who have just about universal name recognition. Their MO? 1. They answered questions that researchers were interested in knowing the answers to. or 2. They answered questions that people didn't even realize needed asking, but were so important everyone needs to talk about them now.
In the long run, being known doesn't help you much if you're known as "another one of those people who works on topic X." You want to be known as "An expert in topic Y" or "The first person I would go to with a question about Y." If you don't have this, any major researcher will say: "Why would I bother collaborating or recommending this guy?" Obviously, this takes years, but so does a doctorate. Nothing is more important to being well-known than asking the right question at the right time (and then answering it).
Additionally, one secondary route of networking not noted by others from what I have seen: acting as a point of contact who interacts with sponsoring organizations. You know what another great way to get face-time with experts is? Being one member of a small workshop or meeting for people all sponsored by the same funding agency. Usually this responsibility would be taken by your lab head or similar PI. To get this responsibility, you need to basically be the best grad student working with the PI and the PI needs to be unavailable or need a second pair of hands. However, by being there, it says two things: 1. You are the best student in the PI's lab/project and 2. Your PI trusts you enough to act as their proxy. I think this only works with an established (full prof) PI, as non-tenured PI's may need the networking as much or more than you. Networking with program officers is also a good habit to be in. Ultimately, these are the people who control what kinds of work can get funded. This is one of the ways a good advisor can plug you into their network (along with making sure to introduce you to their big-shot friends/rivals).
> 17 votes
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Tags: phd, research-process, presentation
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thread-3142 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3142 | Are relationships allowed between students and faculty? | 2012-09-08T14:39:46.777 | # Question
Title: Are relationships allowed between students and faculty?
What sorts of restrictions do universities place on romantic or sexual relationships between faculty and graduate students, and what are the underlying issues that motivate these restrictions?
For example, suppose the student has previously taken a class from the professor but has no plans for further academic contact. What other factors could help determine whether a relationship would be allowed or considered appropriate?
# Answer
To give one data point on how this issue is actually framed and enforced by universities (or at least public universities in the US), let me quote from my university's Campus Administrative Manual:
> **An individual may not initiate or participate in institutional decisions involving a direct benefit or penalty to someone with whom that individual has had a sexual relationship.**
>
> Relationships such as those between supervisors and their subordinate employees are inherently asymmetric. Current or past sexual relationships can adversely affect decisions, distort judgments, and undermine morale. Any university employee who participates in academic supervisory or administrative decisions concerning another employee with whom he or she has or has had a sexual relationship has a conflict of interest in these situations.
>
> Accordingly, no individual shall initiate or participate in institutional decisions involving a direct benefit or penalty (employment, retention, promotion, tenure, salary, leave of absence, etc.) to a person with whom that individual has or has had a sexual relationship. He or she must take specific actions to remove himself or herself from all decisions and actions that may influence the career or status of the other employee.
\[...\]
> In cases where a conflict \[of interest\] is identified, the UEO \[Unit Executive Officer\] must develop a Supervisory Relationship Management Plan that redirects decision-making and bypasses involved parties. Such procedures must be agreed to in writing and approved through all administrative levels. For changes in existing positions that might create a supervisory relationship in the same unit, review and approval is also required.
\[...\]
> The appropriate human resources office will conduct periodic compliance reviews. Failure to abide by this policy constitutes misconduct, subject to discipline under applicable University procedures.
**tl;dr:** Sexual relationships between students and faculty are not per se forbidden, but the conflicts of interest they create — either real or perceived — must be carefully *and explicitly* managed by multiple layers of campus administration.
It is worth emphasizing that these policies are invoked not only for sexual relationships that are generally considered inappropriate, such as undergraduates and their instructors, or graduate students and their advisors, but also with married (and formerly married) couples.
> 34 votes
# Answer
> Is it allowed to have a sexual relationship between a Professor and a graduate student?
This depends on the university's rules. Pretty much every plausible set of rules you can think of is used somewhere: everything is allowed (well, generally not explicitly, but by not having rules for this at all), nothing is allowed, it's allowed only if they are in different departments, it's allowed only if the professor is not teaching or supervising the student, etc. If this issue is relevant to your life, then you need to figure out which rules apply.
On the other hand, I'd say it's always a bad idea if the student and professor are in the same department or even related fields, regardless of whether the university's rules allow it. You could have a secret relationship, but it's wise to avoid awkward or troublesome secrets in your professional life (and all the problems of a known relationship will be magnified if you are discovered in a secret relationship). On the other hand, if other people in your department are aware of your romantic involvement, then it is almost certain to lead to complications. For example, the student will eventually need letters of recommendation, some of which will be written by colleagues of the professor. If they write honest letters, can they feel confident that what they wrote won't make it back to the professor? Probably not, so they will feel constrained in what they write. People reading the letters will realize this, so nothing positive will be taken quite as seriously. And letters of recommendation are just one issue - the relationship will keep coming up in different areas.
When you take into account all the important points made in other answers (power differentials, what happens if the relationship ends, improper appearances and effects on reputation, etc.), it's not hard to see why there are often rules against this.
> 25 votes
# Answer
The key issue of whether it is ethical or not reduces the question: Is there a potential for a perceived imbalance of power that can be abused?
If the professor and graduate student are in separate departments, I think it is not an issue because a professor of one department has no power to influence any matters pertaining to the graduate student's academic life.
If they two are of the same field, things can get a bit delicate. Speculation of an improper relationship alone can be devastating to one's reputation even if unfounded. We all know that politics play a role in one's success in a department.
If one is maintaining a mentor-apprentice relationship (teacher-student, or advisor-mentee) and romantic relationship with the same person, it is difficult to determine whether certain actions (benefiting or detrimental to the apprentice or mentor) are biased due to emotion. Furthermore, if the romantic relationship terminates, it is difficult to continue the mentor-apprenticeship relation.
While technically not "illegal", you have to ask yourself the question "is there a potential for a perceived imbalance in power in the relationship?". If so, I strongly advise against it.
> 15 votes
# Answer
It depends on what *allowed* means. Many things are **legal but not advisable**.
Traditionally the teacher-student relationship is Platonic. It also often continues beyond the class that brings the two together. If that relationship morphs into something else, it can appear improper even if nothing is *technically* awry. We all know how important appearance is in university relations.
There is a further wrinkle. Do you mean an exclusively sexual relationship? That can create the *appearance* of a quid pro quo.
To second @Charles, this is an interesting question precisely because it is a delicate topic. For example, it appears that the OP is male and discussing a female professor. How would our reactions change if the genders were reversed? Or, if both were the same gender?
> 6 votes
# Answer
Official Answer: It depends on the tenets of your institution.
Real Answer: No. Never with an active student at your institution.
Relationships may sometimes be allowed between former students and faculty by the letter, but I cannot think of when it would be advisable for a faculty member to have a relationship with a student. Why not?
1. If there is ever a chance of you having power over their academic progress, it is at best a conflict of interest and at worst a setup for sexual harassment case. If you're looking for a great reason to have your tenure file silently quashed by a dean, this is a great way to do it.
2. Even if you have no direct power over a student, there is the possibility that other students could complain if there is indirect influence (e.g., if you have connections to other faculty who do have power over that student or over rival students). Even an indirect connection to the student has the potential for allegations of bias or preference.
3. You do not know the future and may run into a conflict later (e.g., student takes a course in your department, invited to work on a funded grant with member of their department). At that point, you're hosed. Even if ended the relationship as soon as the conflict became evident, the prior history of the relationship still exists. Alternatively, you could hurt your own (or the student's) academic trajectory by declining these opportunities. At the point where you are hurting a students' academic trajectory, it's unethical.
4. It looks bad on the institution. How many administrators would want it known that any of their professors are dating any of their students? If you were a parent looking at a school for your kid, all else being equal, would you want the one where faculty are dating students? Imagine if the relationship goes sour and you end up in shouting matches with a student in your office/lab (or theirs!). In that light, dating a student is an anti-service to the institution.
If the student is really going to be the love of your life, you can wait until they're graduated to start a relationship. If not, then it's certainly not worth the risk (even if your name is Professor Carlos Danger).
This sort of thing used to be allowed decades ago, where it wasn't uncommon for the (almost entirely male) faculty to end up marrying female grad students. As we've become more aware of the power structures and negative externalities involved, it's become much less permissible. Rightly so, in my opinion. No school is bigger than 100,000 students and most students you meet will be done in 3-4 years maximum. Given the risks (bias, bad press, potential lawsuits by the student or their peers), I don't think it's an undue restriction to not date a few thousand people rotating over a few years.
> 6 votes
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Tags: ethics, professorship, interpersonal-issues, policy, conflict-of-interest
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thread-9661 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9661 | Strategy for submission of articles to highly ranked journals | 2013-04-26T02:55:55.407 | # Question
Title: Strategy for submission of articles to highly ranked journals
I am working on a research project that all total will probably end up lasting about two years. As the research progresses, I am writing articles about each new discovery/study, with each article becoming more relevant to current interesting trends (for lack of a better description).
What I mean by this is that in the plan for publications my group has, the first article discusses just the structure, dynamics, etc. of some new interesting carbon/silicon/etc. system. The second article will elaborate on this for an even more novel, more developed structure than the first. Then the last article will (hopefully) provide a deep new insight into how this structure can be used for energy storage/transport/etc.
As I'm sure you can tell, each article gets more interesting, and thus I think each article has a better chance than the previous one of making it into a more highly ranked journal. Our current strategy is to submit the article to a succession of less prestigious journals (each getting rejected) until it eventually gets into one. This way, it ends up getting into the journal it probably deserves to be in, and not something lower, and there's always the chance it is accepted into a highly ranked journal as well.
However, I am curious if this is a bad idea in the long run. Will editors remember "Oh, they already submitted articles to us twice and got rejected; what are they doing it for again?" Will they be quicker to dismiss the next article they receive even though it is higher-quality/deeper research than the previous one?
Or do the editors give each new submission a fair chance for acceptance, with no memory of previous submissions?
I know some of you all are journal editors, so any insight you can reveal to me about your thought process would be quite appreciated.
# Answer
I am not an editor so I don't think I can definitely say how editors treat this, but I suspect that if you keep sending manuscripts that are not appropriate to the journal, it won't be helpful in promoting your next submission and won't gain you respect. Consider the fact that you have to convince the editor why your manuscript is important in the cover letter - you don't want to keep sending a paper every week saying it is the most important paper of the decade. Even as a reviewer I can tell you it is annoying to review a paper that is clearly not suited for the journal (although maybe it is the editor's fault that it passed to review in the first place).
If you think your manuscript fits a high-impact journal, it is fine to try a few journals to increase your chances. But try to be sincere with yourself - many papers belong to specialized journals, and that is fine.
Another fact you might want to consider is that high-impact journals tend to get recognized experts in the field as reviewers. You probably don't want to gain a bad reputation in those circles. Second, the pool of experts can be pretty small which could mean that when you resubmit to a different high-impact journal, you will get the same reviewer or someone who already heard about the paper and is biased (yes, sometimes reviewers mention papers they review to colleagues).
So the bottom line is: **it is ok to resubmit a few times, but be careful not to overdo it**.
> 16 votes
# Answer
My general answer is to try to go for a higher ranked journal first and then successively go to less prestigeous journals IF you get rejected. I think such a strategy is sound. The problem lies in identifying what would be your highest ranked journal where the specific manuscript (MS) would be appropriate.
Then, as an editor; I do not think editors remember if you get several MS rejected unless they somehow are sub-par. Remember that rejections come in different flavours ranging from MS being unsuitable for the journal (non-critical) to the science (or description thereof) being really poor (critical). In the latter case, the editor will certany remember.
So (and I just state this to make the answer more complete) make sure your paper is in really good shape, follow instructions for authors (IFA) to the point and has a clear conclusion that fits the journal scope. This relatively sinple step is missed by many! In your case, you need to try to assess why your MS get rejected and try to improve whtaever aspect might be at fault. A well written paper with a well-conceived idea and properly defined conclusion, should be publishable in my opinion. If you get a rejction on av unclear basis where the reason is not clear, ask the editor for clarifications so that you can improve the paper.
Also, (and this is more difficult) assess what journals may be appropriate and if you have the time, send it to a higher ranked journal, understanding the risk of getting a rejection might be higher. Do not forget to check out journals that is farther from you home base (Europeans look at US-based journals and *vice versa*); there is a tendency to stick to "home"-journals in some fields. In th eend the journal should be indexed to give you the official credit you may want/need.
> 11 votes
# Answer
I personally think it's a bad idea to just keep throwing papers at the door of a good journal just because it is a good journal. You seem to have a publication plan:
> What I mean by this is that in the plan for publications my group has, the first article discusses just the structure, dynamics, etc. of some new interesting carbon/silicon/etc. system. The second article will elaborate on this for an even more novel, more developed structure than the first. Then the last article will (hopefully) provide a deep new insight into how this structure can be used for energy storage/transport/etc.
If your new work is too similar to your earlier work previously rejected, many venues (especially top journals) may ding you because it is not different enough for them to consider it a completely different paper. No journal wants to re-review one they've outright rejected (even if half of it is new).
So then, look at the journals that you are targeting and check out the last 2 years or articles they have published. Be honest with yourself in thinking: "Which of my articles would look entirely in-place among these other examples?" This is not just about the importance or quality of your research, but also the scope. If they want certain data or tests, make sure you have that data. If they want formulas, better include them. If everyone cites Dr. X, better make sure he's in your lit review. Etc. Ignore the junk the journal says about its' "official" scope. Look at what they actually accept as a regular (not special issue) paper. Find the one of yours that is the best match for a particular good journal. Submit that one.
> 8 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, paper-submission, impact-factor
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thread-11448 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11448 | Why do some journals want figures at the end? | 2013-07-27T19:29:01.187 | # Question
Title: Why do some journals want figures at the end?
This is one question that probably has an archaic answer. I recently reviewed a paper for a journal that stuck all the figures at the end (with placeholders in-text). Where I publish, we typically provide camera-ready manuscripts or at least give reviewers a version with the figures embedded so that they can see what the heck is going on. Occasionally, you embed the figures plus they are attached separately at the end (due to how the system generates the PDF). However, I recognize that dumping the figures at the end of a journal submission for review is quite common in some fields.
My simple question: Why?
I assume that at some point, there was a purpose to putting figures at the end rather than where they belong. I am also aware that it is quite common for journals to shuffle around your figure positions. But why would journals possibly want their copy to have all the figures dumped at the end? Obviously it is not for the reviewers' benefit, as it makes certain papers nigh-unreadable ("As you can see in Figure 1" - *opens up second copy of the PDF so I can see Fig 1 at the same time as the text*). Anyone know the reasoning behind this?
# Answer
There is a long tradition of submitting text and figures separated. this stems back to when manuscripts were typewritten and figures were drawn by ink. Many journals have kept this format and now the reason to keep figures separate is to facilitate the typesetting/layout. In addition, many electronic submission systems assemble manuscripts by merging text files with graphics files. The reason for having separate graphics files is that the typesetting processing inserts figures during the process. Not all journals take camera-ready manuscripts (in fact none in my field).
As a reviewer, and if you review from a printout, it may also be advantageous to have figures separately since it is easier to look at them in parallel with reading the text. If you review on screen, it will of course not be an advantage.
There is actually no need to format a manuscript this way as long as figures and text are delivered separately in the end if that is what the journal requires for their typesetting. Always follow any instructions provided by the journal!
> 12 votes
# Answer
You are correct that this has to do with pre-online publishing practices. In "the old days," most images had to be made "camera-ready," and were to be shrunk down to the required size. Consequently, the figures should be on a separate page at the end of the paper, so that different images didn't "stray" into the area that was to be photographed for another figure.
In spite of this, there has been no real need for the journals to change this practice, and thus it persists to the present day in a number of journals.
> 6 votes
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Tags: journals, peer-review, paper-submission, graphics
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thread-11456 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11456 | What do you think about a part time PhD vs full time PhD, when the part time PhD involves working on my master's thesis research full time? | 2013-07-27T23:11:28.427 | # Question
Title: What do you think about a part time PhD vs full time PhD, when the part time PhD involves working on my master's thesis research full time?
I am working on my masters thesis. If my full time job involves working on the same research project, will it be worthwhile to do a part time PhD?
Are there any things I am going to lose on? Is there any way i can make up for that? If I want to have a career in academia 3-4 years down the line, will it hurt me?
# Answer
I can relate to your situation somewhat. I have been full time while studying my Masters and now my PhD, but in my case, there were no direct links (the job pays the bills). The final academic transcript says the degree, not whether you did it part or full time.
While working full time, I finished my part time Masters (physics) in 3 years and are on track to do the same with my PhD.
It really depends on how much time you can realistically spend on your research so that it does not impact on your paid job, your lifestyle, family and friends and such. Whether it is worthwhile really depends on you and what you are aiming for - it sounds like it may well be worthwhile for you, given your job is in the same field and that you are aspiring to have a career in Academia.
Hope this helps.
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, journals, advisor, thesis
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thread-11460 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11460 | Advisor publishing students' work as sole author - ethics and motivation | 2013-07-28T02:33:50.910 | # Question
Title: Advisor publishing students' work as sole author - ethics and motivation
This is a question about my advisor (supervisor, professor) in a lab, where I am a graduate research assistant, and had done research together with a PhD student, as a part of his dissertation. The student happened to be one of my close friends. The professor wanted to write a journal paper based on the results of his dissertation with that candidate. This was kind of near the end of his PhD program (three weeks before final defense). At that time he said that he was already stressed out about defense and will write the paper after the event as it won't take him more than a week.
After he graduated, he had asked the professor about the journal paper but the professor kind of brushed it under the carpet saying he is looking for CFPs (call for papers) where they can write and never got back to him, despite his constant inquiries.
For his research on human-computer interaction, I had developed applications which formed the core of his project. So my advisor asked me if I was interested in writing the paper and she convinced me that since I developed the applications (that formed basis of the research) it was fair enough that I write it. But after a week, she ignored me and wrote the paper herself and submitted it to the journal.
I came to know last week that my advisor wrote the paper herself and got it published. This professor is an assistant professor trying to get tenure. I am trying to understand the motivation behind this behavior.
My questions:
1. The journal paper was published by my professor as sole author. Won't the paper count towards her tenure if she wrote it with a graduate student or will it count towards higher credit if she is the sole author?
2. Is it ethical to publish the paper based on my friend's dissertation? (I mean it is legal, because she will be referencing his PhD dissertation, but is it ethical or common in academia to sidestep the original author?)
3. Should I be listed as co-author for all papers coming out of this research because I developed the applications that formed basis for this research? I mean the concept for them was not mine, but I did program them.
# Answer
> 69 votes
Before anything else: **Don't walk. Run.**
There are almost certainly details of this story that you have omitted, or that you have unintentionally embellished, or that you are unaware of, and **clarifying those details here would be inappropriate**. What is clear is that your relationship with your advisor is completely broken. Get help, and get out.
> Q1) Wont the paper count towards her tenure if she wrote it with a graduated student or will it count towards higher credit if she is the sole author?
All publications count toward tenure, whether solo, with colleagues, with current students, with former students, or with strangers from Zanzibar.
> Q2) Is it ethical to publish the paper based on my friend's dissertation? (i mean it is legal, because she will be referencing his phd dissertation but is it ethical to sideshaft the original author)
There are a few different possibilities here:
1. Your advisor's submission does not report your friend's thesis work as her own, but rather builds on your friend's work in a novel direction. In this case, your advisor's submission is *ethical*, but perhaps a bit unfriendly. After all, the success of her students is a significant component of her upcoming tenure case.
2. The results in your friend's dissertation are the main topic of your advisor's submission, but your friend did not make a significant and novel contribution, and therefore does not deserve coauthorship. But in this case, your friend **also** does not deserve a PhD, and your advisor's signing his thesis was unethical. This possibility seems highly unlikely; passing a thesis defense generally requires the unanimous approval of the entire thesis committee.
3. Your friend made a significant and novel contribution, which is the main topic of your advisor's paper. **In this case, your advisor is being grossly unethical.** Fortunately, since your friend's dissertation is easily accessible online (**Isn't it?**), any competent referee or editor should quickly spot the intellectual theft. That would just be *stupid*.
> I came to know last week that my advisor wrote the paper herself and got it published.
If you believe that your advisor has stolen credit for another person's work—your friend, her former student, or a stranger from Zanzibar—it would be appropriate for you (or better yet, your friend) to speak *discreetly* to your department head or another trusted senior faculty member, with both the original dissertation and your advisor's publication in hand, asking them to clarify the ethical boundaries. Do not *accuse*; such accusations are *very* serious, and your advisor's colleagues may react defensively on her behalf. Instead, explain the delicacy of the situation and ask for guidance. And then listen.
They may react badly anyway, but then you have your answer.
If they agree that your advisor has acted unethically, **get out of the way**. This is not your fight.
> Is it common in academia to do this?
**No.** I won't claim they *never* happen, obviously, but serious breaches of ethical behavior, at the level you are accusing, are extremely rare.
> Q3 One more question i have is should i be listed as co-author for all papers coming out of this research because i developed the apps that formed basis for this research. I mean the concept for them was not mine but i did program them.
That is a more subtle question. As a general rule, I would say **no**. Of course you deserve credit for your contributions, but only once for each contribution. If your contribution is a key piece of software, then the **first** paper that uses that software should describe that software in detail and include you as a coauthor. If you walk away after that first paper, later work that relies on your software—by your advisor or anyone else—need not list you as a coauthor; you already got credit. With good reason, Stephen Wolfram is not a coauthor on every paper that uses Mathematica. You should of course be *cited* in any paper that uses, builds on, or improves your work, but that's a separate issue from coauthorship.
But reality is rarely so cut and dried. Is moving the software to a new platform a sufficient contribution? Optimizing the underlying algorithms? Adding a new, easy-to-implement feature suggested by your advisor? Adding a new, **hard**-to-implement feature suggested by your advisor? Adding support for a new input device? I have no idea. **You and your advisor should have agreed *in advance* on the contribution required for you to be a coauthor.**
Normally, if you had not had this conversation already, I would recommend having it **now**, but it sounds like it may be too late for that. You may be better off simply walking away and finding a new advisor that you can trust.
# Answer
> 17 votes
I'm not really qualified to assess how other departments would treat single- versus co-authored papers. As for the other points:
\[2\] It is *completely unethical* for the advisor to submit a journal article based on work done by a student as solely her own, even if she were entirely responsible for writing the paper. Being a single author implies that the author is responsible for the entire content of the work described, referring to both research and preparation of the manuscript.
\[3\] Your rights to being credited for this work depend on the nature and scope of the work that you individually did. If you simply built the apps once, and then did no subsequent work on the project, then you are entitled to a paper credit for a work describing the tools and how they were used (in part or in whole). However, unless you have been doing *ongoing* development on these tools, you would not be entitled to receive authorship credit whenever the work is used. (You would, however, be entitled to a citation on the use of your work in future publications!)
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Tags: publications, research-process, ethics, advisor, tenure-track
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thread-11473 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11473 | Who gets accepted to top universities to do a PhD (STEM fields)? | 2013-07-28T16:05:45.277 | # Question
Title: Who gets accepted to top universities to do a PhD (STEM fields)?
I would like to ask what are some general requirements, level of know-how, etc. that students must fulfil/have to get accepted in the top universities? I'm particularly interested in the STEM fields.
While I understand this varies per position, I would assume that this can be answered with either statistical information or experience.
For example, assume that a student has good grades, a publication or two, 1-2 letters of recommendation. Any chances?
# Answer
This probably varies by field. I went into an Engr/CS department. I will say that grad school apps are a bit of a crap-shoot at top schools. There are certainly "talent picks" (e.g., people so amazing many schools would grab them without knowing where they'd fit), but in my experience top programs often have labs that have particular needs and "draft" PhD candidates who might fill them. If you expect to be funded with a stipend through grad school (and in my opinion, in STEM, you should be), somebody in the faculty needs to step up and allocate their limited grant funding on a candidate within the first year.
Since your tuition is going to be paid by one of the profs on the faculty, there's obviously going to be some level of preference toward students whose interests and skills match their needs. Hence, part of your likelihood of being accepted (and most of your probability of being funded) depends on who will have slots for PhD students and how those slots match up with your interests/skills. Or, in other words, you need to convince somebody that you are worth at least $70k over 4-6 years (in reality, more than that, as professors invest their time in training you to be useful).
In that light, you're really not applying for a "top grad school." You are *actually* applying to one or two labs in a grad school... with no idea if they can even take you on board. In my opinion, your statement in your application should directly reflect a lab (or two) that you would want to do work with. The whole remainder of your materials help support the claim that you would be an asset to those labs. This also means that you generally need to apply to quite a few grad schools if you want to get into a top one. Unless you know a program closely already, there is no way to know who has funding coming in, who is on sabbatical, or a hundred other things that could sink an otherwise solid application.
Obviously, good grades, good GRE scores in relevant areas, and prior research experience are all your first foot in the door. But none of them are enough, on their own. You need to write well (e.g., have a good statement), have great independent work ethic (e.g., leading teams, not just working on them), and your letters of reference need to be excellent. You'll also need three letters of reference at almost any top school. I don't think I applied to a single place that took less than that (though that was some years ago, so it could even be up to 4 in some programs!). If you can't find three profs who will speak highly of you, you're in trouble. If having a personal reference vouch for you even crosses your mind, don't even bother applying to a top program.
Finally, if you're applying to MIT or a few other places, you had better keep track of all the texts that you have ever used. They ask you to list them. Which is a huge pain to try to rustle up 3 years later, for the record.
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, application
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thread-11471 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11471 | When to start seeking PhD positions? | 2013-07-28T11:26:34.760 | # Question
Title: When to start seeking PhD positions?
I'm about one year from receiving my master's degree. I have published a few papers, so I'm confident that I want to do research. I have been offered two different PhD positions at my current university, but I might not want to stay here. The reason for not taking the first position is that I don't like the advisor too much, and for the second position that they lack funding/other resources.
I recognize the early(?) offers are due to my hard work. If I would like to apply to somewhere else, when should I start contacting potential supervisors?
Also I need some strategy to get out nicely... it will be difficult to stay under the radar
# Answer
> 5 votes
It is never too early to look around for PhD positions. Start out by looking at what is advertised to see what is available and where. If you already know of places to go then get in touch with the department/research group to present yourself. Having a few papers under your belt will be a plus so provide a CV and the papers in your first contact and add a statement of what you want to do and why you are interested in that place.
Being focussed and showing you have a strong urge to continue is likely to impress.
I can understand it is difficult to say no to two offers and move away but remember that you are free to move. Saying no to a position without funding should not weigh you down. The other position is a little more sensitive of course. But, people move for many reasons, personal and professional. I do not think you need to explain your motives. A change in location is enough. Moving is a positive so there is nothing remarkable about doing so. There is, furthermore, no reason to bring up any negatives about your present location. If your move stirs bad feelings then it is a sign things are not right anyway.
# Answer
> 4 votes
There are two factors:
* looking for a university and a research group,
* having time for the formal admission process.
I will start for the later, as it is simpler. It depends on place, but some typical estimates of effective time you need are (at least, for applicants from aboard):
* in US ~1.5 year,
+ applications for Oct in Dec-Jan plus SATs that need to be taken before,
* in UK ~1 year,
+ applications for Oct in Dec-Jan,
* in continental Europe ~3 months,
+ some applications May-Jun, some - on rolling basis.
However, it depends to some degree on particular university or institute (so always check that; and also check prerequisites, e.g. language tests, documents to be collected - some of them need time). Moreover, it depends also or your national/visa status.
When it comes to searching for a group, it varies. You may find an advisor of your dreams on the first conference you attend (or via a talk at your university, or recommendation of a local professor), or you may spend a year and be far from that. (See also: Methods for finding graduate programs for specific areas of research.) The time you need depends on:
* popularity of your target field,
* how well are you networked in the target field,
* how popular is your current universities for that field (are professors well networked? are there many talks of invited guests?),
* how many conferences/schools/workshops you attend and how good are you at networking.
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Tags: phd, graduate-school, advisor
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thread-3202 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3202 | Creating a book based on an article (copyright issues) | 2012-09-14T18:12:52.270 | # Question
Title: Creating a book based on an article (copyright issues)
I've asked this question at math.stackexchange.com, but a comment proposed me to ask this question at academia.stackexchange.com instead.
Here is my question:
Elsevier explicitly permits me to make a book based on my article published with Elsevier.
What's about other publishers? May these forbid me to make a book based on my earlier article?
# Answer
The answer is stated in each copyright transfer agreement (CTA) signed for publishing each paper. If the form says it is okay, then it is. Usually you can get your hand on the typical CTA used by a publisher on its website.
I would advise never to sign a CTA that does not allow reuse of the article content for a book, a dissertation and collected works.
> 2 votes
# Answer
If you need to publish the book and you have found one publisher that allows it.
Why do you seek more?
Elaborate what is wrong about Elsevier that makes you not to pursue it with them?
> 1 votes
# Answer
You'll need to check the particular policies of each publisher to see what is allowed and what is not allowed. However, it is important to remember that the journal's copyright protections are limited to how the material is *expressed* in the paper, and not the underlying ideas themselves.
Typically, that means that you won't be able to "recycle" text and figures from the article into a book. However, an expansion and reworking of the ideas normally is *not* subject to copyright violation claims, particularly if you're the author of the paper which was expanded in the first place. (This normally gives you additional privileges, depending on the publishers in question.)
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, books, publishers
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thread-6154 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/6154 | Academic pipeline: How many papers should you have under review? | 2013-01-11T14:51:03.950 | # Question
Title: Academic pipeline: How many papers should you have under review?
Often I've come across rules of thumb about maintaining active publication record. The advice I've most often been given is that one should have at least two papers under review at all times? What's your strategy? I am in the social sciences.
# Answer
> 51 votes
**You're simply asking the wrong question.** Your goal should be to do the **best** work you can, not the **most** — quality, not quantity. One revolutionary paper is worth far more than dozens of incremental papers that nobody reads.
To put it another way, if you find yourself submitting so many papers that you're worried about being overwhelmed, you're doing something wrong. Aim higher. Publish fewer, bigger chunks of work. Spend less time writing and more time thinking and digging. Stop just writing papers and develop a research program. The CV bullets will take care of themselves.
# Answer
> 21 votes
Saying you should always have *N* papers under review is foolish. Say *N* = 2. You've just submitted a paper, and then a few days later, the other paper comes back from review with an acceptance notice well ahead of schedule (in two months instead of four). Does that mean you have to submit another one immediately, in order to have two in the pipeline? That doesn't make sense to me, as it makes your work subject to arbitrary deadlines that are orthogonal to producing high-quality publications.
You should keep a general track of how the work in your group (or your own work, if you report to someone else). You should also keep track of the general expectations of someone *at your current career stage*, and make sure that your publication output is consistent with your peers. (Don't worry about exact agreement: producing 80 or 90% of the total output is not really a big deal; producing 25 to 50% is likely to be an issue.)
Beyond that, however, you should focus on making sure your publications have quality, with a much lesser emphasis on quantity. One *Nature* or *Physical Review Letters* (or equivalent journal in your chosen field) article is probably worth a lot more than two or three publications in other journals.
# Answer
> 19 votes
JeffE's answer is excellent, and probably the most "correct". Nevertheless, as food for thought I offer the following anecdote from Bayles and Orland's *Art and Fear*:
> The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the "quantity" group: fifty pound of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B", and so on. Those being graded on "quality", however, needed to produce only one pot - albeit a perfect one - to get an "A".
>
> Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busily churning out piles of work - and learning from their mistakes - the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.
# Answer
> 15 votes
I somewhat agrees with JeffE, but on the other hand it's not like one can just decide to write a ground breaking paper.
Having a steady stream of visible work is something positive to get a job, and one should neither publish dozen of small papers nor stall on a very important problem he cannot solve.
One way to get a good balance is to aim for a given stream of papers : if you get them easily, then try harder problem, if you don't, then maybe you should try something more manageable. Of course, what you aim at is very dependent of your field (and even sub-field).
I am in fundamental mathematics and personally like to have, at any given time, at least one paper under review, one paper that mostly needs writing, one idea to develop that could make a paper. In that way, I can focus each (non-absorbed-by-other-task-than-research-)day on what I feel like: writing, reading to back up the idea, do the needed computations, etc. Moreover, having a submitted paper makes me feel more comfortable trying things that take time but have a good chance to fail.
# Answer
> 7 votes
The advice I've been given for cognitive neuroscience is to (1) make sure I have at least one publication every year, (2) invest the rest of my time in high quality work.
The reasoning is that a full year's publication gap in your CV looks bad, but on the other hand, what people mostly look at when you apply for jobs is where you published the handful of your best papers. One or two high-impact publications are more likely to impress people than ten low-impact ones, but a publication gap looks bad regardless of where your best work got published. How many papers you should have under review at any given moment to fulfill this goal will depend you your research area and the duration of the review process.
# Answer
> 4 votes
As many as you possibly can (as long as they are quality submissions).
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Tags: publications, research-process, writing
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thread-11475 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11475 | How to fund a 2nd master's degree (UK), or should I directly go for a PhD? | 2013-07-28T18:38:49.210 | # Question
Title: How to fund a 2nd master's degree (UK), or should I directly go for a PhD?
I will receive my master's degree soon. Even though it was a nice program, I found out I'm more interested in something else. Now, I'm thinking should I do another MSc (one-year) in the other field before starting a PhD? The MSc program I'm interested in is given in the UK. I think (hope) I'm so good a student, that they would happily take me in.
Well, then there comes the question how to fund the 2nd master's degree.. In general, are master's degrees (fully) funded in the UK? I'm european if that matters. I would also appreciate if you can point me to grant-providing institutions.
# Answer
> 1 votes
In general there is no funding available for MSc courses in the UK. In some cases there are 1+3 courses (i.e., a 1 year MSc and a 3 year PhD) where the MSc course is funded, but in general this is not the case.
One benefit of this is that the admissions criteria for MSc courses are pretty low. Essentially anyone with a 2i or higher degree classification can find a program willing to accept them.
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Tags: phd, masters, funding, united-kingdom
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thread-11488 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11488 | What can I do after giving GRE and TOEFL exams? | 2013-07-29T08:14:30.770 | # Question
Title: What can I do after giving GRE and TOEFL exams?
I just gave my GRE and TOEFL examination this month. I am willing to apply for MS in Computer Science in the USA for the fall of 2014 course. The problem is that I don't seem to understand how to go about it?
How should I know which universities should I apply for? There are so many good universities in US that it confuses me. What are the parameters that I should be considering while deciding where to apply? I don't want to just randomly apply and get rejected. Is there a way to know it before hand - what things a particular university would be looking for in an applicant?
Most of the people have suggested me to select 2 ambitious, 3 moderate and 2 safe universities. I am referring to this list for all my analysis. But its difficult to know the standards that I should use to decide what an ambitiuos university is. I mean should I consider the top 10 or the top 30 universities as ambitious.
# Answer
> How should I know which universities should I apply for?
As JeffE mentioned in his comment, you should start by asking your professors, and others at your school what they suggest. It sounds like you've already been given good guidance to shoot for a range of schools, but you should avoid simply picking from a list and do some serious research into the type of place where you believe you will want to study.
> There are so many good universities in US that it confuses me. What are the parameters that I should be considering while deciding where to apply?
I would start by looking at the web pages of schools you are considering, and seeing what kinds of research the professors are working on. You may find that this is overwhelming, but I think you'll start to find some places that interest you. I actually began my search by explicitly thinking about where in the country I *didn't* want to live for five years, and then went from there (not necessarily the best method, but it gave me some limits to the search).
> I don't want to just randomly apply and get rejected. Is there a way to know it before hand - what things a particular university would be looking for in an applicant?
This is dependent on the departments you apply to, but in general (and this has been answered many times on this site): schools are looking for an indication that you have the potential to do quality research. The best way to demonstrate this is by having research experience and by having one or more publications under your belt. Letters of recommendation are extremely important, and grades are important, but I would say grades serve as more of a barrier rather than an indicator (i.e., lots of people have the grades, but not all have the other factors that make good candidates).
> Most of the people have suggested me to select 2 ambitious, 3 moderate and 2 safe universities.
This is a good start. Some might suggest adding more schools (you never know), but this does get expensive and if you are relatively confident you will get into the "safe" schools and believe you will be happy working there, then you're probably on the right track. Bear in mind that all PhD programs worth the degree do turn away qualified candidates.
> I am referring to this list for all my analysis. But its difficult to know the standards that I should use to decide what an ambitiuos university is. I mean should I consider the top 10 or the top 30 universities as ambitious.
This does depend on your situation, and it's almost impossible to give an answer strictly for your situation. If you have peer reviewed publications and get outstanding letters of recommendation, you have a good shot at some top universities. But no one is guaranteed to get into any top-10 program, so don't be surprised if you don't get accepted even as an outstanding candidate. Again, it comes down to doing some research and talking to people about individual programs.
> 4 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, computer-science, gre, language-exams, toefl
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thread-11497 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11497 | Is starting with the abstract and conclusion an efficient reading approach for writing a literature review? | 2013-07-29T16:53:43.870 | # Question
Title: Is starting with the abstract and conclusion an efficient reading approach for writing a literature review?
I'm writing a literature review at the moment. I have many many papers to read and I don't have that much time (just one month).
What I do is reading the abstract and then the conclusion and from the conclusion I see what were the key findings and then look them up in the paper and see some details.
Is that good way or should I read them cover to cover?
# Answer
Your strategy sounds sound to me. You cannot read the papers from end to end. You need to weed out they papers you will possibly need in your review with as little effort as possible. Title and abstract should be enough. Once you have done this you should be left with a bunch of papers that are likely to be of use to you. While you have looked through them you must also consider how the material can be organized. There are many ways of doing this, chronological order (boring), thematic order (are there subfields?), contradictions (are there compeeting ideas) etc. The point is to try to get the information organized. You need some form of organization fo the papers so that you know how you will treat them in your review.
Once you have found all papers you think you need you can start assembling the information into your text. It is at this point you can start reading them in more detail. It is still not necessary to read every detail. you need to focus on the background to the different conclusions drawn.
The goal of the review should be to provide a new perspective on the field you have chosen so your own familiarity with the field (papers) is key. Try to collect as many as you can; not all will be used.
> 1 votes
# Answer
I fill the following template for each article I read. Some of them I fill only partially at first, to potentially come back later if I interested in spending more time. I found that noting the plan was taking little time and helping enough to be worth doing during the first read.
```
**** Reference for Humans
**** Abstract
**** Bibtex
#+BEGIN_SRC bibtex
#+END_SRC
**** Index Terms
**** Plan
**** Definitions
**** Results
**** Algorithms
**** Questions
**** Summaries
***** By Authors
***** By me
**** My Notes
```
Hope it helps!
> 0 votes
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Tags: research-process, writing, reading, literature
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thread-53 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/53 | Should I take courses that are not directly part of my research topic? | 2012-02-15T00:22:52.677 | # Question
Title: Should I take courses that are not directly part of my research topic?
I've received conflicting advice as to whether I should choose my coursework based on my research topic or not. The main pro usually is that I'll quickly be able to get up to speed on my research. The con is usually that there are so many other courses that I could take, in which I could learn topics I may not ever have a chance to formally learn, and given the constant need to hunt for funding, I may never have a chance to put aside and study in-depth again. Any definitive answers to this topic?
# Answer
> 23 votes
I don't think a "definitive" answer is possible, but the following is based on personal experience and observation of many other students.
If your advisor is okay with it, take as many courses as you can in things that interest you and are in the realm of your discipline. As an applied math grad student, one of the best things I did was to take a graduate course in optimization from the CS department, even though I thought it had nothing to do with my thesis (in numerical discretization of PDEs). It ended up being crucial and allowing me to publish at least one paper that I never would have written if I hadn't taken that course. I also took courses in things like astrophysics, quantum mechanics, and turbulence; I don't use those things much but I can converse with scientists in those fields, which is often useful.
Of course, I didn't take, say, philosophy or Italian or business management courses -- stick to courses related to your field. And make sure that whoever is paying you is okay with it.
# Answer
> 10 votes
As with David Ketcheson, I don't think a definitive answer is possible, but here are my thoughts:
* It depends on the attitude of your program. Are they trying to ramrod you through your coursework as swiftly as possible? Do they support "dabbling" in other aspects of your graduate career - side projects, practicums, etc.? The answer will likely change wildly depending on those answers.
* How set is your "research topic"? I've bounced around several in my time - I think picking up skills that might be useful trumps "Is it directly relevant to Thesis Aim #1". After all, the moment you get out of your PhD program, your research agenda changes again. If all you have is a hammer, and what you'd really like to do is research screws, you're in trouble. If on the other hand, you took 'Seminar in Advanced Screwdriver Theory'...
* When it comes down to it, do you need to "take" the course, or do you just want to learn the material? I've sat in on several classes (my university doesn't have a formal auditing system) because I wanted to hear what they had to say. That's a nice, low risk way of expanding one's horizons.
I've found if nothing else it widens your contacts in the university, gives you a better feel for "Surely someone in Department X knows how to deal with that...", etc.
# Answer
> 7 votes
If you are interested in a teaching job, my answer is yes, definitely. You may be asked to teach some courses that are not in your field, or even before it happens, the search committee may want someone who can teach a wide range of courses.
# Answer
> 7 votes
Yes!
How do you know in advance what's going to be useful later? The wider a net you cast, the more tools you have at your disposal.
# Answer
> 6 votes
I think this does depend a lot on the kind of person you are/ the way of job you like to have.
I studied IT, but I visited a broad variety of courses. Even history, chinese for beginners, and some other stuff which you might think is not related to my field of work. I don't regret it!
But as a Software Engineer it's actually **important to understand a lot of different fields**. As you can be on projects that differ a lof from each other.
Also you propably can **widen your personal network of contacts**, if you go to class with students that you didn't know before!
**I would stick to the topics you are interrested in**, instead of ending up as an unhappy person after your studies.
# Answer
> 4 votes
In graduate school, you have to maintain a higher GPA than an undergrad. In some schools I've been to, a `C` lands you on probation, and a second `C` gets you dismissed. In my view, this means that courses too far away from your core research will be excessively risky. I dislike this, as it means that I can't afford to learn things that stretch my boundaries.
# Answer
> 1 votes
As @EpiGrad, @JeffE, and @Swiss Coder said, you should learn about subjects that are outside the direct focus of your research. This provides you with knowledge and tools you might otherwise never obtain. I would add though, that it is rarely wise to take a course in something you have no interest in simply for the sake of "knowledge". However, if you are truly interested in something, don't scrap the possibility of taking the course just because it is not directly part of your research topic. Higher education is intended to help us become well-rounded humans,not force us into the narrow trench of knowing only about a specific field.
Also consider, of course, whether you really need to take a course on this, or if there are other ways to learn what you want to know. Auditing a course is a good option, especially if you don't need to receive credit for it. There are also numerous online options for learning,on your own time and without tuition costs. For myself, though, online learning without the support of a professor and peers rarely works well. I need the motivation of knowing that someone is tracking my progress.
So definitely explore subjects outside "your" area of expertise, and keep in mind that a formal course may not be the only or best option.
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Tags: graduate-school, coursework
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thread-11505 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11505 | Is it worth it for me to try at this point? | 2013-07-29T23:24:28.727 | # Question
Title: Is it worth it for me to try at this point?
Basically, I came into this university on a scholarship, doing their most prestigious undergraduate degree. For a variety of reasons including but not limited to depression and anxiety, I basically failed half my courses in my first year. Last semester, I took a 6 month break.
Right now, I have been kicked from that degree and have lost my scholarship, but I am really enjoying my schoolwork again. A lot of the problems that were plaguing me the past 1.5 years have been largely resolved. I have missed struggling with a difficult problem and/or the feeling I get when I finally understand something. Originally my passion was space and wanted to do something in that area (such as astrophysics). It was (maybe still is) a dream of mine to go into this field at a higher level after undergrad. When I came to university, I was ambitious and wanted to get into some Ivy League school for graduate school, or some top school for whichever field I chose.
I had lost that dream, but now I have found it again. I was wondering if it was worth pursuing and putting all my effort into it, or is it too late for me already with my terrible background?
# Answer
> 11 votes
I think this is a simple answer.
**Stop thinking and start doing.**
If you want a graduate degree at an Ivy League school and a successful academic career (perhaps even in the field of astrophysics), then pull your socks up, set definite, measurable and realistic goals and start achieving them. The path will not be easy but always remember that you are not the first and neither will you be the last.
**Note** that a graduate degree at an Ivy League school and a successful academic career are not necessarily mutually inclusive. To do one does not mean that you will do the other and neither does it mean that there is a causal relationship between the two.
**Personal anecdote:**
I **had** a rather forgettable start to my academic career as well. I recovered enough to get myself admitted to an "Ivy League" graduate program. I am still on my journey and I dare say the destination is years away. Not everyone is a rising star. Some folks are late bloomers.
I reiterate again. To achieve your dreams, just keep trying sincerely and honestly. It will happen in due time.
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Tags: undergraduate
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thread-11514 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11514 | What should I do now when this conference first sends me an "accept", then a "reject"? | 2013-07-30T10:12:35.117 | # Question
Title: What should I do now when this conference first sends me an "accept", then a "reject"?
A little while back I had sent one of my works to an ACM conference -just a National level conference. I knew my work was not one of the best they were going to receive, but given the quality of the papers published in the conference in the previous years, I was almost sure of an "Accept", and sure enough, an "Accept" did arrive around a week ago. But reviewer practically tore my work to pieces, saying that the claim is not novel, the data sets are biased, etc. And I do agree with him on most of the points.
Since the reviewer had given a detailed review, I had been working all week long to improve the quality of the paper and address all the points mentioned by him.
But to my great surprise, today I receive a mail from the PC chairs stating -
> we had inadvertently sent an ACCEPT for your paper. After discussion with reviewers we have decided to not accept this paper.
This is, to say the least, unethical unprofessional. And my entire week of hard work in improving the paper just went down the drain I guess.
My questions here-
1. Should I put any endeavor in contacting the PC Chairs and ask them to explain this strange stand? Should I explain my stand that the work has been drastically changed and improved from what it was when submitted?
2. Does such a behavior make them accountable for any legal action from my side? And, is it worth for me to take such an action?
**UPDATE:**
Thank you all for your comments and answers. Posting this here just to make the story complete. My guide insisted that we should write to the PC chair, requesting an opportunity to resubmit since some of the previous review comments were not really justified and too harsh on us, and anyways our paper stands improved from what it was before.
So we did re-submit. And our improved paper was accepted as well! Rather having an unsatisfactory publication, I have a better paper at hand now!
So happy ending after all :)
# Answer
> Should I put any endeavor in contacting the PC Chairs and ask them to explain this strange stand? Should I explain my stand that the work has been drastically changed and improved from what it was when submitted?
I think an email to the PC would be appropriate. Don't expect the answer to change, however, and it may very well have been an administrative oversight. Even as a mistake, it is a relatively minor one that you don't have much control over.
> Does such a behavior make them accountable for any legal action from my side? And, is it worth for me to take such an action?
No. Their decisions aren't bound by any laws (that I know of) that could force them to honor their original email. If you make a big deal of it, you're likely to make a bad name for yourself, regardless of the mistake being on their end.
In the end, you've now got a better paper that probably shouldn't have been published anyway. Your changes are now in place, and you admit to having improved it. Submit it to another conference, and move on.
> 42 votes
# Answer
You can always try to send an email to the PC explaining that you used the comment of the reviewer to greatly improve the paper, and that you hope that the paper could be reconsidered in this improved form. I don't think your chances of acceptance are big, but you can always try.
In regard to the legal action, I doubt that you have anything based on which you can sue them. In addition, what do you hope to gain.
> 15 votes
# Answer
Without knowing what happened at the other end it is early to place judgement such as "unethical" on this circumstance. It is of course very unfortunate and also clearly something that all editors do not want should happen. Clearly the accept was prematurely sent away; that was the mistake. I would interpret the "discussion with reviewers" as the editor(s) trying to see if the paper could pass despite the reviews but such an action could seemingly not be supported.
Now the course of events have happened. You can certainly contact the editors to get more feedback, I am sure they would help you with more (scientific) information if they can. Under most circumstances (do not know how this applies to your manuscript), I would recommend you to take the comments you were given and work up your manuscript (which you have also done). The manuscript should now be better than before and it might be suitable to publish somewhere else. This is also something you can ask in your letter to the editors unless you and your immediate surroundings do not already have a clear picture of where it might fit for possible publication.
Regarding the legal bits, journals have no obligation to publish anything and can even reject a paper without telling why. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to do this since it would reflect very badly on the journal and the publisher but the decision lies with the editor(s) and it is final. As an editor, one must think of the reputation of ones journal (because a well run journal attracts good papers) which usually means trying to be as fair and open as possible.
> 5 votes
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Tags: publications, conference, paper-submission, rejection
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thread-10297 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10297 | Journals selection - alternative criteria to impact factor | 2013-05-29T07:59:57.360 | # Question
Title: Journals selection - alternative criteria to impact factor
While trying to select the journals I can submit my present work and future work, I realize the time between the date the authors send the article to the journal and when the revised article is submitted. Usually this is something between 6 months and more than 12 months.
Althought I am focusing on the Impact Factor (IF) to select journals, I think that 12 months to have a feedback that might include "add more variables analysis","this article will be more valuable if you test also model x,y and z", can have a huge impact on you work. It will make you stop what you are currently doing and possible spend up to 2 months making the changes. This might make a big mess on your work if you have deadlines to respect, however this happens to everyone in academia.
My question is, besides the IF journal based selection, how can we select a journal with enought quality with lower IF? What alternative criteria should one use to select the journal? Should we choose newly created Journals?
# Answer
> 12 votes
I largely prefer to talk with people about what they think of the various journals, see who is in the editorial board, and look at what they publish to determine which journals I consider as good. IF can be very biased even at the scale of a journal (Chaos, Soliton and Fractals had a pretty decent IF...)
Other criteria include price and politics of the publisher (e.g. see the cost of knowledge pledge and the blog posts around it), quality of the publishers work (do you have to check proofs in three days with no indication of what has been changed in your paper?), dissemination (is the journal subscribed by a lot of libraries? is it open access? Is it read by many people?), editorial standards (ranges from "any editor do what she wants and takes decisions alone" to "all the editorial board must approve a paper for it to be published, and the name of the handling editor appears on the paper"). All of them may be difficult to determine, that is why talking with other people in your field about journals is important.
# Answer
> 8 votes
Sadly, the published times between when a paper is submitted, revised and published should be taken with a pinch of salt. Some journals these days have changed the review process so that there is no longer a "revise and resubmit" option, and instead the paper is rejected but with an encouragement to resubmit a revised manuscript as a new paper. This means the "submitted" date on the published paper is the date of the submission of the *accepted* version, not the initial submission of the paper. I personally think this is unethical and no longer review for journals that have this policy as I think it is unfair on the authors, firstly because it deceives them into thinking the journal has a more rapid review process than it actually does, but more importantly because it deprives the authors on priority on their discovery.
So as well as IF, I would say that the review process is a factor to consider.
A good way to choose a journal is to see where the leading figures in your field publish their papers.
# Answer
> 7 votes
Many good suggestions have been given in the answers by Benoît Kloeckner and Dikran Marsupial. I would like to add to these answers by including the following.
Most journals are fairly specialized. The impact factor (IF) tells us how much a given paper published in a specific is referenced on average. So although it may be important to publish in high IF journals it is also (I would say more) important to make sure the paper is seen and read. A high IF journal ensures that this happens to some extent. But, sometimes ones subdiscipline is poorly represented in such a journal and it may turn out that a lower ranked journal may be the major outlet for papers in the discipline. Knowing where people publish their papers is therefore a good guide to the palette or possiblities.
Therefore, take a careful look at where papers you refer to are published and try to assess where your "audience" is likely to look. Such journals are also likely to provide very good insightful reviews. So when you look at journals try to look at your possibilities from all directions and assess the best journal based on all of the suggestions made in the answers here.
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Tags: journals, time-management, impact-factor
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thread-11486 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11486 | Authorship determination for a paper in IEEE journal | 2013-07-29T03:33:57.267 | # Question
Title: Authorship determination for a paper in IEEE journal
I finished my bachelor project and my supervisor suggested to work with me on publishing a paper about my work which is an encryption algorithm, Now my supervisor helped me with some remarks along my bachelor project and helped me with the paper (like grammar mistakes and such) but I am the one who made encryption algorithm and I am the one who wrote the paper:
Now should I include my supervisor as a 2nd author **as he wants**? (I can refuse, and then publish the paper on my own) He is a senior IEEE member and has published papers (where he was also 2nd author taking credit for others' work). Should I mention him just for the sake to get my paper accepted or protect it from getting stolen?
From my point of view, what he deserves is to be mentioned in acknowledgments but not as a second author.
And will the ownership of the paper will be 50% to me, while 50% to him ?
# Answer
> 6 votes
As I read through your question and some of your comments, I get the impression that this faculty member has already done some work on your paper, presumably believing that he would be a co-author.
If so, I think it would be wrong to submit a solo paper with his improvements incorporated into the work. If you want to be sole author, then you should do ALL the work, including the proofreading, etc. – or at least have let the professor know up front that he would only be listed under the acknowledgements, so he could make an informed decision about whether or not it would be worth his time and effort to make those improvements. Proofreading and correcting is not a trivial feat.
More importantly, though, your question reminds me of a similar situation I experienced during graduate school. During a computer graphics course, my lab partner and I did a lot of work on an algorithm, and we ended up getting a paper published. Our instructor was also listed as a third author.
My partner and I developed and tested the algorithm, and our instructor did little but give us the problem. Did I feel slighted? No, and in hindsight, I now better understand his vital role in our work. These problems don't just pop up like dandelions, or infiltrate our email like spam – they are usually the result of extensive study, along with collaborative research with industry. In other words, without us students, he wouldn't have had an answer, but, without our instructor, we would not have had a problem of any meaningful significance.
If I see an IEEE paper with two authors, instead of presuming that the work was split evenly between those two, I'd probably assume that one author's principle role was to *identify the problem*, while the other *worked the solution*. That's so common that it's almost a given – such symbiotic relationships are ubiquitous in academia.
In other words, I think you misunderstand the nature of coauthorship in research. Your instructor thought the work you did was good enough for the two of you to get something published together. You ought to be appreciative of his guidance, happily put his name alongside yours, and get off to a good start in the realm of academic research.
# Answer
> 19 votes
You have many questions as about authorship, and I am afraid some of your questions/comments indicate a certain level of confusion about authorship. You could browse the questions on this site, and it may Enlighten you to some extent.
Regarding your specific questions:
* **Should I include my supervisor as a 2nd author as he wants?**
First, you should check the policy on authorship directly from the publisher. IEEE Publication Policies states that:
> Authorship and co-authorship should be based on a substantial intellectual contribution. It is assumed that all authors have had a significant role in the creation of a manuscript that bears their names.
>
> Therefore, the list of authors on an article serves multiple purposes; it indicates who is responsible for the work and to whom questions regarding the work should be addressed. Moreover, the credit implied by authorship is often used as a measure of the contributors’ productivity when they are evaluated for employment, promotions, grants, and prizes.
>
> 1. The IEEE affirms that authorship credit must be reserved for individuals who have met each of the following conditions:
> a. Made a significant intellectual contribution to the theoretical development, system or experimental design, prototype development, and/or the analysis and interpretation of data associated with the work contained in the article;
> b. Contributed to drafting the article or reviewing and/or revising it for intellectual content; and
> c. Approved the final version of the article as accepted for publication, including references.
Unless you performed research entirely without any input from your advisor, it seems unlikely that he did not make a “significant intellectual contribution”. Possible types of contribution include proposal of research subject/project, any guidance in the choice of method to pursue the project or on intermediate results, guidance on how best to interpret results and present them, etc.
* **Will the ownership of the paper will be 50% to me, while 50% to him?**
No, co-authorship does not necessarily mean equal contribution (and is not understood as such by the readers). To go even further, some journals offer the option of writing an explicit statement quantifying (to some extent) the respective contributions of the coauthors.
* **Won't people think he contributed in making the cipher?**
Not necessarily, as above. They will think he contributed *to some extent* to the research project, but will understand that he may not have been the one who came up with the idea.
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I'll end by adding that you should be really wary not to dismiss your advisor's role too much. Even if you had the breakthrough idea and implemented it yourself, surely the guidance offered by your teachers and supervisors are to be credited, maybe more than you realize right now. Also, that he gave you the opportunity to pursue a worthwhile research project, and then helped you transform that into a publishable (quality) paper, are important contributions.
# Answer
> 7 votes
Since he's your advisor and you consulted him through out the project, then you definitely need to put his name as a co-author (unless he refused to be a co-author).
Taking into account that this is your first paper and he's a senior IEEE member (I don't know what this really mean but IEEE love its members), I believe it is a plus for your paper to be co-authored by him.
# Answer
> 5 votes
The rules for what co-authorship mean vary by field: in math it would be unusual for an advisor to be listed as a co-author under the circumstances, while in engineering, as others have notes, an advisor is normally included.
One of the reasons is that fields like engineering list authors in an order conveying information about the contributions: you'd be listed as first author, and your advisor as last author. Readers understand that this means you had the main intellectual contribution and your advisor acted as a supervisor.
# Answer
> 5 votes
It appears to me that you are looking for validation for not including your supervisor. A supervisor is not supposed a person whose brain emanates marvelous and groundbreaking ideas which are later developed by a horde of pawns. Research does not work like that. It is about collaboration at different levels.
If you cannot admit he has contributed to some extent, that's fine. My point of view regarding this sort of ego-fights is: is it worth creating a whole circus and fighting for being first/solo author of a paper that is not going to change the world? Time will pass and you will understand ... Hopefully.
Good luck.
# Answer
> 4 votes
If he wants to be an author, add him, and use that as leverage to improve your paper.
Being first author is *plenty* of credit for you; in fact, in your situation being sole author could be an indication that you are unable to work with others, which is a *negative* in most cases. People are highly accustomed to crediting the student with all of the value of the work (because they did the work), and the professor with all of the value of the work (because they enabled the work in various ways), and the credit can count twice because the student and professor almost never are competing for the same things. I'm assuming that the professor actually *did* do something enabling.
In any case, before you publish the paper you should get someone to read it carefully, and if they say things like "this passage is unclear" or "this needs more background" then your professor ought to be able to give advice and/or help fix it. There's nothing like having a highly experienced co-author to make short work of a request to place this work in the context of the field! If your professor cannot help improve the paper in this kind of situation (and help write a good cover letter, etc.), *and* they didn't actually enable any of the work, then even if it would help you, it is probably not ethical to include him as an author. Otherwise, there are only positives for all involved.
# Answer
> 3 votes
In engineering, it is common (accepted) for students to put their advisor's names as authors. This does not detract from the student's efforts; in some respects it can enhance the reception of the paper because the wider community will probably know the supervisor more than the student.
Be aware that if you try to publish it without your advisor's name, then the reviewers or editors may contact them and ask what is wrong (and also decline to publish the paper).
My advisor told me that the work I was doing was worthless, and not worth publication. I moved universities (and advisors), completed the work and submitted it without my original advisor's name as author. The IEEE editor rejected the paper until my original advisor was added as author.
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Tags: career-path, authorship, ieee
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thread-11453 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11453 | How do I tactfully tell my advisor (who's much busier than I am) that I'm too busy to do such-and-such? | 2013-07-27T21:36:30.373 | # Question
Title: How do I tactfully tell my advisor (who's much busier than I am) that I'm too busy to do such-and-such?
I recognize my advisor is busier than I am. But, nonetheless, I feel the need to tell her sometimes that I am overloaded with too many tasks and I need to push a deadline back or pass on some request.
How do other people handle this tactfully?
# Answer
> 18 votes
I have had this discussion with my supervisors/advisors many times, all with positive outcomes. This is what I do:
* Be direct and to the point, it sounds like neither of you have time to dance around the issue.
* Offer alternative ideas/timelines/strategies, I found that coming up with a solution is appreciated as in the long term, it is going to save time.
* Be honest and truthful, state that you are overloaded - show how this is so, and either defer or decline the request.
Remember, your time and well being is just as valuable, and any good advisor already recognises that fact.
# Answer
> 12 votes
"I'm not sure I have time to do X in addition to Y and Z. If I take X on, it might push me back three or four weeks in finishing Y. Is it that important?"
There is, of course, the off-chance that X is more important than you realize and your advisor might say yes.
# Answer
> 3 votes
I don't look up my advisor or other faculty members. I always behave like they were my peers. This way, there's never any kind of social problems, since the relationships are completely professional right from the start (and, if someone is not okay with this, one gets to know who to avoid). Usually, about after a month, people in higher positions than me stop introducing me as a student for other people, and start talking about their new collaborator/workmate instead.
Really, I just don't get this kind of questions, most people doing their PhDs are 20-30 years old, and find it difficult to say what they think, want to do, not want to do, or tell if they are angry, happy, sad, etc.
You are in no need to explain yourself. Just be professional. Either it works out, or doesn't. Get rid of unhealthy social relationships.
# Answer
> 3 votes
Improve your work efficiency first.
For example, prioritize your assignments. What should be done first? what next? What can wait? If you're not sure about the priorities, ask your advisor. She is the one who advises you. Use her.
Then, work hard. Do your best. Manage your time wisely.
If you still cannot handle them, then tell her that you need to push a deadline back or pass on some request, etc.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I think that the first thing to do is to organize ourselves and to see what we can do on our own. Then, the next thing is to inform our supervisors of any “deadline issues” or “work overload issues” and to fix them. Our work is important. Our health is even more important.
Yes, it is really important to keep our supervisors informed of our obstacles; especially the research (and deadlines) related ones. He/she can help us to anticipate research pitfalls such as hard problems (to avoid or to dig in by priority), or exception cases (to exploit as shortcuts). It’s also better to inform our supervisor that there is an obstacle on the way than to miss a deadline. Still, we need to be prepared to work harder and to propose solutions of our own.
In the end, there is no single best answer to “how to tell our supervisor that we’re overloaded tactfully”: It depends upon our relationship with our supervisor.
I would prepare myself from the start. This may mean to refuse some tasks or to propose alternative deadlines instead of simply “missing the boat”, but it also means to know my priorities. Regarding work overload, I usually prioritize things by deadlines. When I’m overwhelmed, I do a list to see if something can be postponed, then I focus on my academic or research-related work. Strong deadlines, like call for papers, are sometimes hard to meet, but they’re worth the time! As soon as I see a problem coming I identify it. I try to find a solution. Before it overwhelms me I inform my supervisor. The answer is often as simple as “Have you tried this instead of that?”, or simply “Leave it for later.”
Once, I attended a talk titled “how to manage your supervisor” (with humor) \[1\]. I think that these slides are valuable material. They may provide some answers to the question of “how to tell our supervisor that we’re overloaded tactfully”.
\[1\] http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~tw/manage.pdf
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Tags: phd, advisor, email, time-management
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thread-11532 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11532 | How to cite in an appendix (and where to put the Citation list) of a PhD thesis? | 2013-07-30T16:48:22.483 | # Question
Title: How to cite in an appendix (and where to put the Citation list) of a PhD thesis?
I have a table of studies and formula per study in the appendix, so sth like
```
study A E = mc²
study B v = ma
```
etc. For each study I need to cite a source. Now normally the citation list for the main part of document appears before the appendix. How do I handle this? Do I create a new citation list after the table?
# Answer
> 5 votes
For a PhD thesis (as indicated in the tags of your question), check your university's reference style guide. I suspect, however, that it doesn't go into that much detail. So: **do what you like best**, as long as it's **clear** and **coherent**.
If you have many citations in the appendix, and you suspect that people will want to read the appendix and main document separately, just maintain two separate lists of citations. It makes each of them shorter, and thus easier to read.
If you have very few citations in the appendix, you can also consider citing them in a different style, such as footnotes. It keeps them separated from the main references, for clarity, but doesn't necessitate to have a full “appendix list of references” if it's very short.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Depends on where your appendix falls in your document (or whether it will appear in the document at all). If appendix precedes references, just include citations in the regular reference list. If it follows, have a separate set of appendix-specific references. If it is separate, do the same as the latter case (a separate reference list).
This will depend on your style manual and publication outlet.
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Tags: phd, citations, writing, thesis
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thread-11493 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11493 | How is the salary of professors and researchers in medicine? | 2013-07-29T12:35:13.810 | # Question
Title: How is the salary of professors and researchers in medicine?
For university-level researchers and professors, is the salary higher in the medical fields than in other fields? I suppose attracting physicians to teach may be harder, because they can usually get high payments working as physicians. Where can I find data about this in Europe, Australia, Canada and US?
# Answer
> 1 votes
For the US, I would have thought the data would be in the AAUP report, but I cannot find any data that breaks salaries down by field.
There is also CUPA-HR. The free data set has a break down by field with "HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS" as a field. I would assume that this includes medical doctors, but also nurses. There is also some free data about non-tenure track salaries including "Medicine, Medical Clinical Sciences, Graduate Medical Studies".
In summary, I think defining the "medicine area" and equating job duties and responsibilities is tough. There appears to be a large variation in salaries.
# Answer
> 1 votes
So the problem with this question is going to be one of comparing like with like. I have seen some grants that implicitly assume an MDs salary is higher than a PhD's salary when in the same R01-type grant application, but this usually also involves a comparison of senior vs. junior faculty, which is always tricky. Even comparing "tenured faculty" is hard, because tenure at many medical schools is a much, much more rare thing to have.
I'd say the following generalizations are probably defensible, assuming we are talking about academic medicine vs. "nearby" fields, or PhDs in academic medicine.
* Hard money positions in research hospitals for *doing research* are vanishingly rare.
* MDs do have the option of making up for some "gaps" in funding with taking on more clinical duties whereas a PhD might have to take a salary hit, or cut back in other areas.
* Opportunities for clinical consulting, to pharma, device manufacturers, etc. are probably more available to clinicians.
# Answer
> 0 votes
You could mine some of the Collegiate Times public university salaries data, e.g.,
UVA Medicine salaries
vs.
UVA English salaries
vs.
UVA Chemistry salaries
Obviously, you have to make apples-to-apples comparisons (full professor -vs- full professor, asst. professor -vs- assistant professor, etc.), and also realize that the State provides as little information as they have to by law, and there may be other hidden data that sway the results one way or another (for instance, you'll see full professors making $45000, but these might be half-year appointments, sabbatical years, etc.).
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Tags: research-process, professorship, salary, statistics, medicine
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thread-11551 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11551 | How to politely say in a paper that most of the published research on a topic is by the same person? | 2013-07-31T13:53:41.890 | # Question
Title: How to politely say in a paper that most of the published research on a topic is by the same person?
My field is cardiovascular epidemiology, and my current research question relates to some risk factor which is supposed to strongly elevate cardiovascular risk in a defined subgroup. However, my data do not indicate any such association, and power analysis shows that I have about 0.85 power to detect an effect of the size previously published. I see my findings as evidence for the null hypothesis.
Most of the available work on this risk factor in this subgroup comes from papers that all share one author. He is the leader regarding this question. He also holds a patent for assessment of this risk factor and possesses shares of a company that develops and plans to sell diagnostic tests to assess this risk factor.
I would like to make a statement in my paper that politely mentions these facts. This other author has published virtually everything there is that reports this positive association, and would profit enormously if it were true. However, I'm only a PhD student and they are top tier.
So how would I best go about this in my paper?
# Answer
> 13 votes
First off the fact that one group is dominating will be implicitly understood if you provide a paragraph or two summarizing their work and cite their publications. In such a paragraph you could add words like "ground-breaking" or phrases that describe the dominance of the group on the field.
You could for example start the paragraph by saying:
> "The work concerning risk assessment of \[...\] has largely been carried out by \[the research group\] (example citations)."
(I hope you see the main idea of my attempt) Then you follow up on what they have done and cite their work.
It is just important to keep the tone as neutral as possible and let the citeable work speak for itself. Spending one or more paragraphs describing the work should be enough to make everyone understand the message.
# Answer
> 8 votes
1. > *Most of the available work on this risk factor in this subgroup comes from papers that all share one author. He is the leader regarding this question*
This you can freely express in your paper: it is a statement of fact, and if you provide evidence to back it up (papers, reviews, book chapters, etc.), there is no reason for it to be interpreted as a hostile statement. It is actually quite interesting.
2. > *He also holds a patent for assessment of this risk factor. \[…\] This guy has published virtually everything there is that reports this positive association*
Again, it's a statement of fact, not a problem. You can cite a patent if you want, and stating that in a neutral light is easy.
3. > *and possesses shares of a company that develops and plans to sell diagnostic tests to assess this risk factor. \[…\] and he would profit enormously if it were true.*
This, on the other hand, I would be **very wary** of writing that in a review. First, because it is not a scientific statement, so its place in a scientific paper is not clearly defined. Secondly, because it could (and probably will) be interpreted as having a strongly negative implication, possibly to the extent of suggesting very serious ethical issues.
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Tags: publications, citations, writing
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thread-11555 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11555 | Affiliation in the transition period between studies at different universities | 2013-07-31T16:05:59.310 | # Question
Title: Affiliation in the transition period between studies at different universities
I am in a "transition period" shortly after having finished my MSc, and shortly before beginning my PhD. In the summer period the academic life doesn't cease, though, and sometimes an affiliation is asked for at scientific events. I am going to a conference soon, and indeed the organisers need an affiliation.
Is there some rule saying what affiliation I should mention in a situation like that: the past one, the future one, both, or neither?
# Answer
> 6 votes
Be pragmatic. If you need to provide affiliation for, for example, presenting work you have already done, then use the old affiliation. It would be odd to provide your coming affiliation in such cases. Even later when you are at your new place you may want to use the older affiliation along with your new one to show where you did the work and where you are now. If you need to provide contact information not related to work you have done then the new affiliation migt be good. That said, however, it would be wrong to use the new affiliation until you become officially affiliated by a contract (equivalent). From this perspective your old affiliation can be used until the new one is official (find out by asking your new location when can be applied). There is of course not wrong to clearly state that you *will be* at your new affiliation starting such-and-such time.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Maybe I'm a little too practical, but I would go with whichever email address will you be using most consistently in the future. Presumably that's the PhD one, assuming you have access to that email address. If anyone wants to contact you in six months that will be the more correct affiliation.
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Tags: affiliation
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thread-11549 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11549 | Can I ask professor to send me a copy of papers? | 2013-07-31T13:37:46.807 | # Question
Title: Can I ask professor to send me a copy of papers?
I'm a senior in college and working for my final year project. I am required to read more than 8 papers. However, 2 of them cannot be found online or in the library (Summon system). The library delivery service is inaccessible now, and I believe my advisor have that papers.
Can I ask professor to send me a copy of the papers? Is it impolite to ask such favor or illegal?
# Answer
Yes, you can, and you should. It is not impolite (unless you actually have access), and it is not unethical. I don't think it is illegal, if you do not distribute it further, and it is certainly not uncommon.
First, make sure you really don't have access (otherwise, you risk looking a bit like a fool), then ask him. Don't make a big deal of it, just explain that you lack access and you believe he may have them, if so could he please send them.
> 12 votes
# Answer
One trick is to google the complete name of the paper in quotes. This will very often pull up a pdf copy stashed somewhere; perhaps on the profs own web page. Sometimes you can get essentially the same paper from arxiv. But I totally agree with the previous answer that you should make sure you don't otherwise have access to the paper before emailing. If you can't get an email response, your library can almost certainly get you a free electronic copy by inter-library loan.
> 6 votes
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Tags: research-process, research-undergraduate
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thread-11559 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11559 | How to grab the attention of a new area's big names to read my work? | 2013-07-31T22:36:09.163 | # Question
Title: How to grab the attention of a new area's big names to read my work?
I am a beginner researcher in a relatively new area. I published two papers in a conference directly related to the general field of my research (the general field is Artificial Intelligence or AI). Still there is no major conference for the new area; only one workshop and several special editions in top journals. As I am progressing in my PhD thesis, I see I am becoming a self-citation researcher.
Although the new area is attracting more people within AI and other disciplines, I am worried about my research. My advisor is happy and enthusiastic about my work. The big names in my research are well recognized in the AI field in general. My question is how to get their attention to read and therefore cite my work?
# Answer
It's generally acceptable to e-mail senior scientists a copy of your paper. Say who you are and who your advisor is, describe your paper very briefly, and tell them that if they have any comments you'd be grateful to hear them.
Most will ignore you, don't take it personally -- it's not something that will "count against you", unless you do it too often, or to people who's research has nothing to do with your paper. Usually this just means they're too busy or have nothing in particular to say. But you might get a couple of interesting and/or supportive replies. I did, when I was a grad student.
> 14 votes
# Answer
**Get face-to-face time with them.** Email is a “least effort” solution if you have no other possible way, but the way to sell your research is by informal discussions. There are many ways to get one-on-one time with big names, some of which you can pursue alone, some of which your advisor can help with:
* Introduce yourself during a conference, preferably in a rather informal setting. If the conference has a poster session, engage the discussion if they pass in front of your poster. Otherwise, it is perfectly acceptable to spot them in the crowd, introduce yourself, and say *“I have a poster over there and I would like to discuss one of my conclusions with you”*. Just be polite, and courteous if you see they want to opt out.
* In a smaller conference or workshop, just ask the guy a question after his talk, in a way that relates their work to yours. Possibly follow up with some discussion during a coffee break.
* Get your advisor to invite Prof. Big Name to give a talk in your department, and among the activities scheduled during their visit, arrange for a discussion with him.
* Invite (or get your advisor to invite) Prof. Big Name to be on your thesis committee!
> 8 votes
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Tags: phd, publications, research-process
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thread-3643 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3643 | Will self-citation be viewed as self-promotion in academia? | 2012-10-07T17:04:04.587 | # Question
Title: Will self-citation be viewed as self-promotion in academia?
As we know, citation counts are important to judge one's research activity. Is it good to cite one's previous works? Will it be viewed as an act of advertisement or self-promotion?
# Answer
> 34 votes
Although it's true that citations are always helpful, there are obviously limits. If the *majority* of your citations are self-citations, that's usually considered a "red flag." If your paper that came out two years ago has 10 citations, and two or three are from within your group, nobody's really going to have a problem with that. But if your paper gets cited 45 times, and 40 of them are you citing yourself, that's not so good.
Citation counts not being "in sync" with the journals they're published in are also problematic. Publishing in no-name, third-tier journal X, your paper is probably unlikely to generate many citations. It looks suspicious when such papers get many citations.
But again, much of this can be sorted out by a judicious use of search tools like Web of Science or Scopus.
# Answer
> 39 votes
The ethical rule has to be: cite your work if it's relevant, and don't give it preferential treatment over the work of others. In short: **use the same criteria for previous references to your work as you would use for citing others**. No excessive citation, no self-censorship.
# Answer
> 13 votes
I think self-citation is not a bad practice in general, specially if you consider how most scientific branches work ("standing on the shoulders of giants", although you can also stand on the shoulders of normal-sized people, including yourself). However, there are two scenarios where self-citation or the lack of it can be seen as a bad practice:
1. **Superfluous self-citation**. (already discussed in previous answers). It refers to citing minutiae contained in your previous papers. For instance: "we consider the change of variable $y=x^2$ as in myself (1974,1975,1977,...,2012)"
2. **Not using self-citation in order to inflate your results**. Sometimes not citing your previous papers can produce a beneficial result. I have seen some researchers publishing a good/decent result, followed by a sequence of clones and mutant papers that do not cite the big one. This, of course, has a good effect on the child papers since it makes them look more original.
# Answer
> 10 votes
As with all referencing, the referenced works must be pertinent to what is being described in the paper referencing them. If one writes about a specific topic where much of the work has been done by the same researcher or research group then self-citing will be quite common. There is of course a fine line between that and "self-promoting" self-citing. It is impossible to try to draw the line based on number or references or percentages of the total number of references. However, it is not common that most science in a field has been made by the same person so referencing own publications where they are only vaguely related is obviously not a good way.
Having many self-citations is clearly not a sign of widely spread science, either because it is not that interesting or because the field is very isolated (or very new). Citing ones own work will definitely become obvious when looking at the citations as you have done. The normal citation index or h-index obviously does not capture this although it is possible to calculate such indecees without self-citations. But as stated above a certain quantity of self-citation is inevitable since it is likely that one publication follows on many others from the same person or group. So self-citation is acceptable to a point. It becomes less and less acceptable when the reason for the citation is pogressievly less obvious and where other papers would be equally good (or better).
# Answer
> 7 votes
Citing your previous work can be both good and bad. The biggest benefit is it might make people more aware of your work and how it fits in with a bigger topic. The risk is that people do not understand the relevance and think you are self-promoting and therefore take a negative view of you.
The worst case of this is when a reviewer tells you to cite some piece of work. If it is a big laundry list of articles all by the same author, you tend to get a little angry and think the reviewer is trying to promote that author. If it is a single article that is obviously related and the reviewer clearly states that he/she is an author, I tend to be happy to cite it.
The question you need to ask is: are you citing the previous work to promote it or to help the reader.
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Tags: publications, citations, ethics, bibliometrics
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thread-11570 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11570 | Formatting of grants | 2013-08-01T09:53:24.480 | # Question
Title: Formatting of grants
I am lucky (or potentially unlucky) enough that a grant applications that I am working on does not have any formatting specifications and instead just has a limit of 5000 words. There are some suggested sections, that will be be variable in terms of length (some will have 200 words and others over 1000), and it is likely that everyone will need to add additional sections. I am used to grant applications using poorly created MS Word forms with predefined sections that allow no formatting and are a single column with narrow margins/long line widths and single spacing.
I am looking for a style guide (or recommendations) about how to format the grant and the pros/cons of different formatting styles. I am both interested in the physical layout on the page, use of figures and tables, as well as advice on sectioning and the order of sections. I use LaTeX if that matters, but am happy for MS word advice also.
For example, do I go single column or double column and wide or narrow margins? The suggested sections do not include an obvious place for aim. Is it worth starting with an an overview that defines the problem and the outlines the proposed research or is 5000 words short enough that you do not need it?
# Answer
I envy you the fact that it is only a word count that counts. I am in a system where everything has to fit a certain number of pages with 12pt Times-Roman and 2.5 cm margins.
With the word limit as your main limitation you have the possibility to illustrate your application more freely. If suitable, I strongly suggest you try to come up with conceptual graphics to strengthen the text and make difficult concepts easier to grasp. This can be a huge advantage. Since your are not limited to pages you can afford complex and larger illustrations than otherwise possible.
As for typesetting, you use LaTeX (as do I) which produces excellent text. Trust the LaTeX settings for text width, line-spacing etc. to get a readable text. Too long or too short lines makes the text difficult to read. See the geometry package for details if you are not already using it. EDIT: I do not think two-column format is good for proposals. It is a way to put as much text into a small area and also involves using smalller type sizes, typically around 9 in order to get enough characters into a line to make it readable. Since the number of pages is not a limit, I would aim for something which is as easily read as possible, typically 11-12 pt single columns. the margin widths can be determined so as to get reasonable line lengths. I do not think wide or narrow margins make a difference but wider margins make the page more attractive than narrow (basically a typographical design issue).
EDIT: With one-column format you can add figures at full width and with the no-page-limit do not have to worry about the size of the graphics (in the sense of having to make it as small as possible so to not use up space. I think a straight-forward simple formatting is best. There is no need to be overly creative. What conveys the message without resistance is the best.
One of the more useful concepts in grant writing I have come across is given in the book Writing Successful Science Proposals by Andrew J. Friedland and Carol L. Folt which outlines a two-paragraph summary, akin to an abstract whith which you introduce your proposal. The point of this is to quickly and concisely convey the key points of the proposal to the reader. This involves starting from the big picture metion key gaps in knowledge, how to tackle them (methods), preliminary results (if existent) and expected results. I obviously cannot copy the book content here but the point is to make the reader of the proposal completely clear over what to expect in the proposal and so all details given is just putting substance to the known structure. I believe this is what you aim for in what you call an overview section.
EDIT: After having started your text with a brief introduction, you simply follow up by the usual type of structure:
* *background* (to focus on the gap of knowledge to be targeted)
* *objectives*
* *project outline*
* *time table (milestones; can be a gantt plot)*
* if applicable: *research group/resources*
* *references* For references I would go for footnote type references since the harvard-style citations uses up many characters. It is also possible to abbreviate the reference list by omitting the paper title, similar to what is done in *Nature* and *Science*.
> 4 votes
# Answer
By submitting a grant proposal you're asking the funding agency to give you some resources (funding) to investigate some problem. Very early in the proposal you should make the case, clearly and succinctly, why you --- and not someone else --- should be given those resources:
* *The problem*:
+ what is the issue you propose to investigate?
+ why is it worth investigating?
* *The current state of knowledge*:
+ what are the shortcomings or gaps in the current state of the art?
+ why are those gaps or shortcomings important and worth addressing?
* *The proposed research*:
+ how do you propose to approach these gaps or shortcomings?
+ what specific research questions will you address in the course of your investigations?
+ what will be the impact if your investigation is successful?
* *Likelihood of success*:
+ what makes you qualified to do this research?
+ what preliminary evidence do you have that suggests that your proposed approach is likely to succeed?
I would suggest addressing these points in an "Executive Summary" or "Background" section, of at most one or 1 1/2 pages, at the very beginning of the proposal. This will give the reviewer a high-level view of what you're planning to do and help set the context for the more detailed discussion in the rest of the proposal.
> 3 votes
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Tags: writing, funding, writing-style
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thread-11579 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11579 | Should one keep record of papers one reviews? (and of the reviews themselves) | 2013-08-01T17:29:44.633 | # Question
Title: Should one keep record of papers one reviews? (and of the reviews themselves)
Just like my other research-related activities, I keep a complete record of the reviews I perform: both the original papers and the reviews I have written, as well as the revised manuscript I receive one, and the final published manuscript if it is published (but sometimes in a different journal!)
I don't think I ever read anything in reviewer guidelines that forbid this, but I recently met someöne who argued that confidential material should be deleted after review. It's true that keeping it on my hard drive exposes it slightly to a risk of breach of confidentiality, but no more than the rest of confidential material that I handle every day…
So, what are policies on this matter and what are the existing practices?
# Answer
> 13 votes
I do the same (i.e., save all versions of a manuscript I receive and all of my and the other reviewers' comments that I receive through the review process). I save them in a single directory according to their manuscript number, which tends to keep things fairly organized and easy to find later.
Why might I want to find them later? First, when I receive a revision, I find it is a lot easier to go back and look at the files I have stored locally to see what I recommended change (in case it has been months since I first saw the manuscript), whether the author(s) did, in fact, change anything, and whether the changes were actually in-line with my and the other reviewers' suggestions. This came up recently when I received a revision that claimed to make changes but I found they had actually not made changes in the manuscript (the original and revision were strikingly similar) and I suggested a rejection.
The second instance where this can come up is receiving the same manuscript from a different journal (e.g., because it was rejected by the journal you reviewed for first). Having your previous comments and the previous version allows you to see how the manuscript has developed and either provide original feedback or reiterate points that still need improvement that you highlighted in your previous review. Or, decline to review because youf ind it difficult to present an unbiased opinion.
A third, and final, reason that I find it useful to save these things is pedagogical. In graduate school, several professors sent us versions of their reviews for manuscripts so that we could see how to write a peer review. Having manuscripts and your reviews available makes passing down that future pedagogical activity much easier. (Note that sharing manuscripts may be more controversial than sharing one's review, but if the paper was previously available as a working paper or conference paper and was subsequently published, I see little ethical concern with sharing the manuscript with future students.)
# Answer
> 8 votes
There is no legal reason to hold on to old reviews, it would be the responsibility of the journal in that case. I have kept a record of my reviews just as you describe you have done, mostly because I like to save my work. I sometimes curse this because I can see reviews I would like to share with students but cannot since I perceive them as confidential unless agreed otherwise with the author(s), and the reasons I would like to share them usually does not reflect well on the paper.
Unless the reviews are made under a contract of some sort, I would argue that they fall under immaterial rights; it is your intellectual work which is provided to (1) the author and (2) the journal. I do not think anyone else can claim rights to a review.
The review work is generally made under the assumption that it is a communication between reviewer and author, albeit filtered through an editor. I have not seen any instance where someone has argued ownership of a review in my field, either in general or in the case of the journal where I am an editor. As a reviewer one must always consider the fact that all help that is provided is practically given away and should of course be seen in the greater perspecite of both giving and receiving in some form of balance.
Instances where reviews may be contracted are common when reviewing reports for government agencies or commercial enterprises. I have not seen, but cannot discount the possibility, that a journal or publisher could have such agreements. But I cannot imagine such an agreement would be hidden, it would be communicated very clearly.
As for keeping your reviews safe from being spread, I would say that the journals electronic manuscript systems are far more likely to be hacked into than that of an individual researcher. To some extent I would compare having a review on a hard drive to having it in a ring-binder. It IS possible to get hold of it but I doubt more security than that is required (i.e. ordinary computer "security" measures, e.g. provided by a university).
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Tags: peer-review
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thread-545 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/545 | What happens to the reviews that people write for journal articles after they're sent back to the author? | 2012-03-04T00:56:55.650 | # Question
Title: What happens to the reviews that people write for journal articles after they're sent back to the author?
Are they almost always kept confidential? Or is there protocol for sharing them?
# Answer
In my experience, the contents of the comments of other referee reports are only made *indirectly* available. Since the authors are normally expected to provide a response to the reviews, the relevant criticisms and comments of the other referees are typically mentioned or discussed in that document. Outside of that, however, there's often little *direct* sharing of referee reports. None of the eight or nine journals for which I've reviewed (physics, chemistry, chemical engineering) have allowed me to see directly the reviews submitted by the other referees.
At any rate, the results are almost always kept confidential, *unless* it is an "open" referee process by design. (There are a few journals now that make the refereeing process a part of the publication record for a given paper; an example is *The Cryosphere*.)
> 9 votes
# Answer
Some journals/conferences have explicit guidelines that tell you to treat the reviews confidential. I'm not aware of any journal that makes the reviews and authors' response publically available when a paper is published.
I think publishing reviews for your papers would in general be frowned upon, even if there's no explicit rule saying that you can't. That said, I've been wondering about that myself and we had discussions about it at our school because the quality of some reviews is very bad and making them public might help improve the quality of peer reviewing in the long term.
I personally try to write reviews in a way that I wouldn't object to them being published with my name on it (although all the reviews I've done so far have been anonymous).
> 5 votes
# Answer
It varies substantially by field and journal. (As I keep saying, this is true of pretty much every question on this board.) Often they are shared not just with the author but the other reviewers, too. The author can show them to whomever they like. Beyond that, there's no formal sharing mechanism, and no real demand for one.
> 1 votes
# Answer
There are a few journals I've encountered where the written reviews are published alongside the paper itself (the BMJ's new open access journal comes to mind). Other than that, generally I've only seen them sent to the other reviewers (usually because they're BCC'd on the decision/review email sent from the journal editor) or kept entirely confidential.
Probably the most common thing that happens? The authors complaining about idiot reviewers to their colleagues.
> 1 votes
# Answer
In some subset of journals they are openly available. Who was the reviewer and what he/she wrote
BioMedCentral medical journals are often like that. See example here
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/12/147/prepub
you click on each article's publication history
> 1 votes
# Answer
In all journals I have encountered the reviews are kept by the journal through either an electronic submission/review system (digitally) or in paper copy (if they do not have such a system). In the electronic systems it is usually possible to view ones older reviews but not view other's.
The question whether these are confidential or not is far from clear in general. I would, however, venture to state that a review is treated as confidential unless explicitly stated otherwise, i.e. clearly stated to authors, editors and reviewers (remember that the review comments received may include overruling comments by the editor). Such is obviosuly the case with some journals with open discussion formats.
To some extent the confidentiality issue is new to me because in my field everyone pretty much assume reviews are. I have not heard of anyone trying to push for publicising a review (again, in my field). It would probably not go down well if it happened without consent from the parties concerned. It seems this is a sector that is largely unregulated other than in general terms and understanding.
> 1 votes
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Tags: journals, peer-review
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thread-3407 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3407 | How do professors change research interests? | 2012-09-24T23:53:52.760 | # Question
Title: How do professors change research interests?
My question is along the lines of How do professors usually discover "new" research interests? but more to do with "HOW"? The above question deals with how professors discover new areas, my question is once a professor or a grad student has found an interesting lead, how do they pursue it?
Consider Prof. X who is a mathematician and just talked to his old MS student who is now working on Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence. He speaks to the student for 20 minutes about how is applying math to AI. **Where does he go from here?**
Does he:
1. Go to Wikipedia/Encyclopaedia to get a rough overview of the subject.
2. Search for papers.
3. Search for a good book to read.
4. Speak to someone in his institution who works on AI and ask them for reading references.
5. Something else?
**How does a professor make sure he gets the right resource considering his expertise in some subject? For instance, the professor would definitely want a book which starts from a primer on Linear Algebra**
# Answer
> 12 votes
"All of the above"... but maybe not wanting a book that started from a primer on Linear Algebra. (Probably the latter remark in the question is a result of a misunderstanding of some sort.) In short, all possible sources are used. I have little interest in connections to textbooks (which typically feel an obligation to include busywork exercises, etc. and express reverence to the founders of the subject by recapitulating "troubles of the old times" (which have been solved, often).)
The operational point is that one *skims* all these resources, looking for key points, rather than reading ploddingly, slavishly. I look to be *persuaded*... or, equally interestingly, to be persuaded that the people doing the thing don't adequately understand it so as to be able to explain it simply. Quasi-ironically, the latter affords more possibilities for making genuine progress. :)
# Answer
> 6 votes
I've actually done this 2 times. First going from pure theory to 50/50 theory/experiment, and then switching departments. I'm a physicist but I think the following observations may hold generally:
1) don't quit your "day job". I.e., work gradually into the new field. I wouldn't take on any grad students in the new field until you were really sure.
2) start going to meetings in the new field. talk to the experts, get to know them.
3) if you have a sabbatical coming up, try to do it at a place that is a real focus of your new field. In my case I did a sabbatical at a place that allowed me to do theory and experiment.
4) some people switch fields to go after funding. I don't recommend this. If you have a real passion for something, find some way to fund it. who knows what the fashion will be in 10 years.
Finally, an observation. I found that colleagues tend to put you in a box and 20 years from now they'll think your doing the same old thing. I know very few academics who have worked in the same area their whole careers. No one expects this and it would be pretty boring if you ask me. Switching departments is harder, but switching fields I think is pretty easy if you're motivated.
# Answer
> 3 votes
The answer can best be understood in terms of the intended goal of the researcher making the switch. When moving to a new field, one is typically doing so because something they had heard/read/seen about that field was professionally interesting to them—i.e., they heard of an interesting research field or specific research problem—and they are considering trying to work on that problem themselves.
Given that framework, our researcher will learn everything they can about the research question that they can, using whatever tools make the most sense in a given field of research. In neuroscience, I'd start with recent review articles and gradually move towards more and more specific journal papers. If the field is entirely new to me, I'd probably try to find a good overview online somewhere before reading the review papers. I might try books, but they take too long to read, and will likely contain far too much information that I *don't* care about and too little that I *do*. If I had a colleague in the field I might ask them to point me to some good resources, and maybe discuss the field with me over coffee.
In the end, you want to be versed in the field enough to (1) understand the problem that interested you and (2) be able to formulate your own related problem for you to work on. Any resources that can help you achieve that goal can and should be consulted.
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Tags: research-process, professorship
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thread-11577 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11577 | Up until which application level should one keep supplying a bachelors transcript of records together with the actual certificate? | 2013-08-01T17:07:54.243 | # Question
Title: Up until which application level should one keep supplying a bachelors transcript of records together with the actual certificate?
I just found out that my undergraduate institution made a tiny error on my transcript of records. I moved to another country and am currently in my masters and I'm wondering if I should make the effort to get that little mistake corrected.
So how often will I need that transcript of records from my bachelors in the future?
I assume that after I have the masters degree I am probably expected to just send in the bachelors and masters certificate (+letters of recommendation etc.) for applications in academia or industry, because adding both transcripts of record would bloat my application significantly.
# Answer
In addition to field making a difference, there are strong differences between countries. For instance, for my jobs in the US, I never needed to show any of my diplomas; however, I had to supply my transcripts for undergraduate and graduate programs. By contrast, in Germany, job applicants are normally expected to show their *entire* pedigrees—which means at a minimum the diploma certificates at both the university **and** high school levels! (I was also expected to produce the transcripts, of course.)
So, the best advice I can give is to follow the expectations of the industry in the region where you are applying. If you have any doubts about what is required, ask the contacts for the position or program.
> 8 votes
# Answer
Yes, you should get the error corrected. Do it now, before you need it. Although not all employers will want to see it, there's a chance that some may, and if they do, they will probably need it quickly.
Generally you should not include a transcript or other official documents with your application unless they are specifically requested. Your resume or CV will have the basic information about your degree. As you say, it adds several pages; if an employer wants it (and some will!) they should say so.
This may vary by country, but when applying to faculty jobs in the US, perhaps 10% of employers required a copy of my undergraduate transcript; enough that I couldn't afford to ignore it.
I'm not sure what you mean by a "certificate"; the US may not have a direct equivalent. Here you do get a diploma, but this is just a fancy piece of paper that you frame and hang on your wall; it lists only the degree and the date, with no further details. Nobody has ever asked to see my diploma. For us, the transcript is the only real official document; it is sent directly from the institution so that it can't be tampered with. (However, many employers will be satisfied with a simple photocopy for a preliminary application, and only request an official copy in the final stages.)
As there have been some high-profile cases lately of people claiming degrees that they didn't have, I'd expect that in the future, more employers will want to see transcripts.
> 6 votes
# Answer
I guess this largely depends on *where* you apply. Industry usually interested in what recent projects/ education you have. However, academia usually want to see the complete history of the candidate. Regardless where you apply, doing good on the most recent degree is a good sign of productivity.
> 0 votes
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Tags: application, transcript-of-records
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thread-11590 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11590 | Should bad prior work be ignored, or cited and criticised? | 2013-08-01T20:56:02.927 | # Question
Title: Should bad prior work be ignored, or cited and criticised?
A high citation rate is desirable in academia. Citing other work doesn't cost much, so citations are cheap to give but desirable to get. That brings me to the question:
If a previous article addresses a topic similar to the one I'm writing, is that a sufficient reason to cite it? Or should the prior article meet a minimum quality to "deserve" a citation? To put it bluntly: if I'm aware of a prior crappy article, should I ignore it, or cite it and write why it's crap (of course in a more diplomatic way)?
In my field, some articles questioning anthropogenic climate change get quite a lot of citations from colleagues pointing out flaws in their reasoning or statistics...
Note that I'm exclusively talking about peer-reviewed publications.
# Answer
> 13 votes
There's a certain amount of judgment that needs to be exercised here. One of my more frequently cited publications is an attempt to correct methodological errors in a previous work (which was also highly cited). While it got the point across, it has also led to my work *not* being cited by the other authors, even though they've adopted the methodological points laid out in my paper.
Now, part of the reason why we discussed the work in detail was because there were major problems that led us to being unable to reproduce their results when we used their techniques with the "advantages" of modern technology. Since it in fact "inspired" our work, we felt the extended discussion was appropriate. However, if the same paper were to present results that were simply wrong, and didn't have the same "primacy" within the research literature, we would have probably ignored it.
Literature citations in standard journal papers (as opposed to review articles) are not meant to be ecumenical or exhaustive. Your job, as an author, is to exercise judgment as to which articles provide an accurate overview of the state of work in the field, and provide the best support for the arguments you wish to make.
# Answer
> 14 votes
**Negative citations** is what you describe. It is something of a fallacy of the system that a paper may get many citations and therefore seems important when it is clearly sub-par and is referenced in a negative connotation.
Seen objectively, one should give credit where it is due. If someone was first to realize something then that is the origin of the idea (in official terms), how good or bad the paper is, is irrelevant. In some cases first discoveries may just be gut feelings and not well-founded.
I sometimes have to bite my lip when I reference some papers because I really do not think they deserve it (because I know the background) but realize there are no two ways about it. You can of course chose not to reference it, as you have the freedom to chose what we cite, but you may end up getting reviews asking you to add it (if it is something key).
In some cases it is possible to provide objective criticism of a paper. The problem is that the shortcomings will have to be clear.
# Answer
> 10 votes
It depends what is your goal. If you are doing a thorough review of literature, you *will* have to cite prior work, even if your opinion of it is low (and you can briefly state why). If you are doing a comment, follow-up or other work where criticism of the prior work is key to your argumentation, then of course you have to cite it. But, if the field is otherwise plentiful and there are other more successful prior works which you can cite, you don't need to be exhaustive, and you can thus omit those works which you consider subpar (or of low originality, or derivate works).
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Tags: citations, ethics
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thread-11602 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11602 | How to put multiple affiliations on a paper as the author? | 2013-08-02T09:39:05.583 | # Question
Title: How to put multiple affiliations on a paper as the author?
I work for a large company, I am also a student at a big school. My employer is supportive in terms of funding required for my studies. Although the research paper has more to do with my academic studies. What is a reasonable way to put both affiliations in the research paper? My primary affiliation is my employer and second affiliation is my school. Is it ok to put in the Author section both affiliations? And give a footnote with the details?
# Answer
> 11 votes
You should be able to put both affiliations on. I assume you are permanently employed, in which case that is more permanent than the academic address. However, if your published work is done as part of your schooling you should put that affiliation first, perhaps listing your job affiliation/address as "permanent" or something describing your employment.
The reason for putting your academic affiliation first is that it is within that you have done the work and probably received intellectual coaching and support (if you receive similar input also from work then that affiliation might be equally valid as first). Listing two affiliations is common and the reason is typically when people move between institutes and it is important to keep readers aware of one whereabouts in such circumstances. In your case you will likely be found at your company in the future (my assumption) and it therefore makes sense to list also that.
# Answer
> 12 votes
If both institutions contributed to the work you are reporting in your article, you should **list them both as affiliations**. It is not unusual at all, and in most (all?) journals there is no concept of “primary” or “secondary” affiliation: **whichever order you list them in is fine**.
For example, see the penultimate author in the list below:
or this other example (which I consider over-the-top):
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Tags: publications, affiliation
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thread-11607 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11607 | Advisor dies suddenly, advice needed for research students | 2013-08-02T22:03:41.250 | # Question
Title: Advisor dies suddenly, advice needed for research students
This has not happened to me, but to a friend in the final stages of her PhD, she and the rest of the research group are understandably devastated, as the advisor was not only (in my friend's words), brilliant, but very kind and approachable.
My friend and all the research students are also worried about their research projects, as the advisor was one of the top researchers in that field and apparently, the only researcher in that university. The associate advisors have indeed stepped up, but as good as they are, they do not have the insight that the late advisor had.
What is a bit of advice that people may have for this situation?
One suggestion is that the research group (students, co-authors etc) band together to help each other out, with the guidance of the associate advisors.
I have looked over this question and the posted answers, but I feel that this situation is considerably different as there is the ever-present aspect of the feelings of loss, that are present and should not be ignored.
# Answer
We had a similar situation at my university when a professor running a large group with millions of research dollars passed away. There are a few issues that have to be dealt with, and usually the department chair and/or the dean play a major role in this
* research funding: often this can be transferred (in consultation with program managers) to faculty in related areas who (depending on the degree of involvement in the research) either merely manage the money for the students involved, or might play a more active role in spending it.
* students: students need committees and replacement advisors. Again, the department chair, in consultation with the students and related faculty, might be able to assign faculty as caretakers for the students.
* teaching/committees: while there are likely significant teaching/committee disruptions, these don't affect the former students of the researcher, so I'll ignore this component.
My view is that students that are close to graduating need someone who can sign off on their thesis work (hopefully without too much modification). They hopefully already have a few other people who can write letters for them for jobs, and can mention the advisor's demise in their letters to explain the absence.
Students earlier in the Ph.D program (say just post-qualifying) are in the biggest bind: they've spent enough time in their research area to have committed to a topic, but now they have no one to guide them. They are the ones who probably need the most help from senior students, other faculty and the department.
Students early in the program have the option of switching advisors, or even schools if there's no one else in the department who can advise them/fund them/works in their areas of interest. Again, the department is usually sympathetic and might be able to provide such students with short term funding via TAships if that's an issue.
None of this of course addresses the feelings of grief and loss
> 16 votes
# Answer
This is without doubt a tragic situation. However, it is not an insurmountable problem.
As you suggested, the important thing is to allow both the grieving process and the research to continue at their appropriate paces. Without the room to understand and deal with what's happened, the research can't really go as it's supposed to, and the work is needed to provide a focus so that grief doesn't completely bring the group to a standstill.
From an emotional perspective, I'd certainly recommend that the department make a counselor available to the group members, and to encourage them to talk about things, rather than to shove them aside.
With respect to the research, there really isn't a completely satisfactory solution. It really does need to be a group-wide effort, as you've suggested, with collaborators and co-advisors stepping up to take a senior role. Another idea might be to reach out to former group members who are still active in academia to help with mentoring the group members. Note that this is not the same thing as being a full-fledged advisor; this is more of having an extra person to talk to when needed.
(This is also why good short-, mid- and long-range planning is essential for everybody, and why thesis committees and planning meetings with the advisor are so important for graduate students. If appropriate plans-to-finish and related strategies are in place, then it should be largely a matter of executing those plans, rather than trying to devise something new without the advisor's help.)
> 12 votes
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Tags: phd, advisor, death
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thread-11615 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11615 | Writing to a reviewer to inform that one is not journal shopping? | 2013-08-03T07:08:34.820 | # Question
Title: Writing to a reviewer to inform that one is not journal shopping?
I submitted a paper to a reputed journal on behalf of my organization (research publications are not very common here). The double blind reviews were received 8 months later when I had moved on to an entirely different project. Both the reviewers indicated accepting the paper but required huge modifications along with generation of more results. The re-submission date was 10 days after I received the reviews, though the modifications would have easily taken at least two months.
Since, I didn't have access to the resources (server, bandwidth etc.) and none of my co-authors were interested in reworking along with a dismal response from the management for request to reallocate the resources, I tried to do it in my spare time but the paper was automatically withdrawn since 10 days had passed. After a few days, the senior management suddenly enquired the status of the paper and forced me to resubmit to the same journal as is. Obviously, the paper got rejected within 2 months. Editor didn't gave any comments except that the **reviewers are suggesting to reject the paper.**
I have the following confusions: (Didn't think they make separate questions)
1. Should I ask the reviewer what were the reasons for rejection (which I doubt is re-submission without modification if it went to the same reviewer)
2. Should I explain him that I was not journal shopping and the situation was such that I had to resubmit the paper? (Since I am pretty young and do not want the future papers to be rejected in conferences where same editor comes up).
3. I have now incorporated the suggested changes and wish to resubmit. Should I now resubmit it to the same journal or to a different journal?
# Answer
I'll start with some remarks on the past events:
1. *“the re-submission date was 10 days after I received the reviews”* — If the reviewers had asked for large modifications, I am convinced you could have asked the editor to allow you more time to resubmit the manuscript (unless it was for a special issue).
2. *“senior management \[…\] forced me to resubmit to the same journal as is”* — This is **very wrong**, and you should have said **no** (backed up with strong arguments, of course). Resubmitting the same manuscript, unmodified, to the same journal, is ethically borderline. Depending on the exact requirements for submission of the journal, and the information you gave to the editor, it may even be unethical (many journals ask “has this manuscript previously been submitted to this journal?” — if you say yes, the unmodified paper will be flat out rejected, if you say no, you are lying).
Now, regarding your questions:
1. *“Should I ask \[…\] the reasons for rejection?”* — You can. I am guessing that the editor somehow didn't realize that it was a resubmission, if it took 2 months for it to get rejected. Thus, you probably got some new referee comments. However, if the editor didn't tell you… maybe the reviewers just flat out recommended rejection, with no comments.
2. *“Should I explain him that I was not journal shopping and the situation was such that I had to resubmit the paper?”* — I don't think so, and certainly not in these terms. There is not “situation such that I had to resubmit”: you resubmitted, and the blame of that bad decision lies with you. Pressure explains it, but it doesn't justify it.
If you want to contact the editor, I would do it very differently. Simply **apologize to him for the bad decision**, explain that it was done under pressure from your organization and you realized only afterwards that it was wrong. Say that you hope it won't be held against you in the future.
3. *“I have now incorporated the suggested changes \[…\] Should I now resubmit it to the same journal?”* — I don't see why not… just make sure you carefully explain all the changes made in response to the reviewers, as a regular resubmission, and explain your earlier resubmission (apologize!).
To be honest, I don't think it will leave a bad stain to your name in the future: everybody makes mistakes, especially young researchers who don't yet understand fully the rules. Being honest and upfront in your future interactions with the editor should lead him to form a good opinion of you.
> 18 votes
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Tags: publications, research-process
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thread-11626 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11626 | Responsing to "How do you intend to fund your studies for the entire duration of your stay in ...?" | 2013-08-03T19:13:59.443 | # Question
Title: Responsing to "How do you intend to fund your studies for the entire duration of your stay in ...?"
I am filling in an application form for a PhD program and I am supposed to answer the following question:
**"How do you intend to fund your studies for the entire duration of your stay in ...?"**
Actually, I cannot afford any part of the living costs and university fees but I don't know how to mention it in a academic, polite and well-structured fashion.
# Answer
Maybe I'm missing something. But if this is a US Ph.D program, this question is really "Do you want us to fund you" and the answer is always yes. As JeffE says, you should not consider entering a Ph.D program unless you're being funded. Apart from the financial constraints this puts on you, the funding creates a commitment (by the department or advisor) to look after you. If the funding is from a research project, then you're even more sure that your work will be linked to something fruitful.
While there are many caveats to what I just said (and they're ringing in my head right now), they're not relevant at the time of applying to grad school.
So please always answer "I expect you to fund me".
> 13 votes
# Answer
I see two possible ways to interpret your question, so I'll give two answers:
1. If you currently don't know how you will fund your studies, but you honestly think you will figure it out: just write down your best educated guess (“I will sell shoes by night”)
2. If you think the cost of life is too high and you probably will not manage it: please reconsider your arrangements. The happiness in life that might results from a successful PhD experience requires to have the mind free enough for science, which cannot be achieved if you worry day after day about how to eat. It is a very bad idea to make that gamble.
> 5 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, application
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thread-11637 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11637 | Scholarship Information | 2013-08-04T04:10:12.470 | # Question
Title: Scholarship Information
I have a question regarding how schools decide on who to give scholarship to.
Is it appropriate for me to ask my graduate school department on their guidelines in giving out scholarships?
I feel like I have been cheated from scholarship because I have found out people who have worse undergrad GPA/GRE got scholarship and I didn't. I am an architecture major and will study in USC this coming Fall. I submitted my application 2 weeks before the deadline, but they emailed me that I was missing my community college transcript so they couldn't forward to the architecture department they finally forwarded my application early March. I responded to their email the next day with the transcript, but they just took their time to file it. Could that be a factor? If scholarships are given out based on performance then I really think I deserve it after, again, knowing that people who performed worse than me in undergrad received it.
# Answer
> 3 votes
Your best bet would be to make contact with the scholarship people and ask (nicely) for feedback as to why you did not get a scholarship. This way, you'll know for certain as to why they did not award you a scholarship.
Often, scholarships are not just based on GPA/GRE scores or any other academic performance, there are often a myriad of other criteria they use to assess an applicant's scholarship suitability. Did you have to fill out a form with some details or supply a personal statement?
How do you know that they
> just took their time to file it.
If they did (which I doubt), then yes, it could be a factor, but I doubt a malicious one considering the amount of information that they would have to file, collate from the many applicants. More likely, they filed your additional transcripts as soon as they received it (or very soon after).
# Answer
> 2 votes
It sounds like you don't really understand how grad school funding works.
Generally, GPA and GRE are not even close to the only things that are considered for scholarships. A lot of people can explain away reasons for bad grades, perhaps there was some reason they had lower grades like illness. They might have amazing letters of recommendation. They may have done research, which in my opinion comes way above GRE/GPA in the grad schools eyes. They may have some kind of interesting background, minority or first generation student or something. They may come from a much better school than you, which means the GPA holds a lot more meaning than yours. Their statement of purpose may have been right on target with what the school was looking for.
Additionally, seeing as your application was not complete at the time, probably did not hurt you that much, but it definitely did not help.
If you are going to contact them, do it in a really professional way. DON'T mention that someone with a lower GRE/GPA got a scholarship when you didn't. They'll just tell you they factor a lot of things into it.
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Tags: graduate-admissions
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thread-11635 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11635 | Publish an article in the journal in which one is an associate editor | 2013-08-04T00:27:50.477 | # Question
Title: Publish an article in the journal in which one is an associate editor
I want to know whether is it normal to publish an article in the journal in which one is associate editor. For example, one of the co-author article in this article in this journal.
# Answer
> 9 votes
It is not normal, but it *can* happen. Usually under such circumstances the article is handled by a different editor, and the submitting editor is treated as would any other person submitting to the journal.
Also note that a paper can be submitted to a journal like *Physical Review Letters,* and them get transferred to another journal where the conflict could be created. (This happened to a colleague.)
# Answer
> 6 votes
In my field (Epidemiology) it is *quite* common to publish in a journal where you are an associate editor. It's a fairly regular thing to see articles with authors who are also on the editorial board appear in an issue of the journal, and no particular fuss is made about it.
If nothing else, the Associate Editors for the *American Journal of Epidemiology* is both quite large (well over 70 people), and in some cases make up a large chunk of the senior faculty of a given department. With how prevalent collaboration and large co-authorship papers are in the field, not submitting would lock huge swaths of the field out of a particular journal.
AJE also has one of the most robust paper anonymization systems I've encountered for review, which I think makes the threat of any particular conflict of interest fairly small.
# Answer
> 5 votes
It is entirely normal, with some uncommon exceptions. For instance, check out how many publications Prof. Tony Cai (former Editor in Chief) has in The Annals of Statistics.
In this case, the papers have to go through the usual peer review process, handled by another editor/AE.
# Answer
> 4 votes
I do not think the situation you describe necessarily creates a conflict of interest, and thus I believe there is nothing inherently unethical about publishing from time to time in a journal where you are an associate editor.
The question, as Anonymous Mathematician nicely phrased it, is more "what measures does the journal take in this case?" At a minimum, it must be a different editor who handles the paper, maybe the editor in chief. And the system must be designed so that the anonymity of the reviews cannot be breached by the author/editor.
If this is enforced, then I don't see any major ethical issue. The one risk I see is that the author/editor might get a slightly more "deferential" treatment, but this is also a risk for some other authors, e.g. big names in the field. One case which might become worrying is if an editor were to submit the large majority of his papers to the journal he works for... Even if everything is ethically above board, it may look like collusion, and should probably be avoided.
Now, I want to highlight some reasons why it is desirable that editors are allowed to publish in the journal they work for.
1. If they are editor for a major flagship journal in their field, it is not fair to ask them, their students and coworkers to avoid it entirely. It could make a large negative impact on, e.g., graduate students' careers. (Imagine a chemist who could not publish their major work to JACS, or a physicist to PRL.)
2. If they want their journal to succeed, they want to attract the best papers. If they rightfully believe that their own work is good, publishing it in the journal will sustain its quality. I am not an editor, but I do that myself sometimes: publishing in a journal because you think it's a nice venue for the community, and you want to help it grow. I imagine an editor, who wants the journal to succeed, might feel the same.
# Answer
> 3 votes
There is nothing wrong with an editor publishing in the journal with which they are asociated. Put it differently, why should ones right to try to publish somewhere be limited?
All editors, at least should, be aware that publishing this way has some possible repercussuins. If an editor starts pouring out works in "their" journal, it will soon reflect negatively on both the editor and the editor. Hence, such behaviour is "self-regulating" in the longer term.
It is of course possible that a research field is very narrow and so the journal may be the only major outlet for papers in the field. In such a case there may be no escape but I would then also argue that the science community concerned may know each other quite well, peer presure should then be a major factor keeping things on course.
I am personally Editor-in-Chief (EiC; one of two, with 12 associate editors) for a journal. My fellow EiC has published one paper, I have not (there are enough journalsin my field so that it does not affect me too much). We make sure, in fact our electronic submission system ensures, any editor submitting a paper cannot see or affect it in the system. We also take care of papers from each others departments to avoid any suspicion.
So, the "problem" is quite common and unavoidable to some extent. It is only a problem if it is abused but that will likely soon back-fire on both the journal and the editor.
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Tags: publications, peer-review, ethics, editors
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thread-9104 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9104 | Is it more difficult for teetotalers to develop academic contacts? | 2013-04-03T19:21:53.640 | # Question
Title: Is it more difficult for teetotalers to develop academic contacts?
I see a number of answers in this site where building contacts over a glass of beer is encouraged. Moreover the cream of academia belongs to the Western world, where beer culture is common. Unfortunately though, I am a rigid teetotaler and I do not know about the ins-and-outs of the preferences of drinking friends of mine. I confess I'd make a terrible company at a public house. But I hasten to add that in general, I am amiable and move around quite well with people within my limitations.
Does my being a teetotaler put me at a grave disadvantage when it comes to establishing intelligent academic contacts?
# Answer
No. What really helps in building academic contacts is not beer, wine or any other alcohol, but the ability to generate informal discussions in relaxed settings. Fortunately, there are many ways to achieve that goal that do not require the intake of alcohol!
Even without going very far from drinking, sharing a nice lunch or dinner in an appropriate setting is one good way to establish contacts.
> 38 votes
# Answer
Based on my experience, I will say that unfortunately the answer is yes. i.e. it puts you at a subtle disadvantage because you are different from the rest. Note I am saying 'subtle' because no one will readily admit treating you differently.
Alcohol serves a social purpose and is often used to create instant connection between two people. Its part of the cultural landscape. It is easy and acceptable.
Just let your ideas speak for themselves and then it will not matter if you drink or not drink alcohol for those who are serious about working with you.
In my case, I try to socialise in the morning because coffee is the only option then!
> 17 votes
# Answer
I had suggested the beer night idea, and you're right that this would be uncomfortable for teetotallers. As it turns out, we do have people in our group who don't drink: they usually order juice or something else, and no one really notices.
I have heard of gatherings (typically in more business settings) where there's some posturing about the kinds of whisky/beer/wine one drinks: that's not at all what I had in mind.
> 13 votes
# Answer
I am not drinking alcohol and it does *not* prohibit social interactions in academia: just order an orange juice and nobody will think bad of you.
That said, socializing requires to find a common base for discussion. Being different in common aspects (e.g. drinking alcohol and commenting on how good or bad the beer is, speaking English with a strong accent, etc...) generally does not matter if you are prolific in other aspects shared with others (e.g. international politics, latest results in your field, latest gossip in the field, etc...). Once established a base of common interest, differences even make a good discussion topic, as researchers are generally open minded people interested in learning new topics.
At the last conference I attended, the social event was at a pub and the conference dinner at a restaurant with an open bar. I had orange juice and self-assigned the mission to take pictures of the event, which in itself helped to start various discussions.
> 7 votes
# Answer
The only academic teetotaller that I know of is Raj Koothrappali (which probably tells something about my circles). Have you ever tried non-alcoholic beer? You can find quite good, actually (my wife is pregnant now, so we have the fridge stuffed with it), although an average bar may not carry it.
Generally, I believe you are way overthinking the drinking culture. Do your socialization in the morning over coffee, or around the lunch time; excuse yourself at night by saying that you are a strictly morning person.
Also, by being/converting to a morning person, you can hit a very good stratum of physically active academicians who jog in the morning. I generally hate running, but whenever I go to conferences, I know that I will generally be overeating throughout the day, oversitting the calories at the talks, so I just have to run. Find other people who do run, too, and socialize with them.
> 4 votes
# Answer
Perhaps. But only if you are uncomfortable about meeting in a bar/pub and ordering juice while others are ordering alcoholic drinks. Few people will notice (or care enough to ask why) you aren't drinking alcohol. A simple "No thanks, I prefer juice", or something similar, is usually well accepted.
Of course, if you were also uncomfortable with being in a bar, that might limit your net-working with academic contacts, if only slightly. It depends on the individuals and the culture in your situation.
> 4 votes
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Tags: etiquette, networking, work-life-balance
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thread-3256 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3256 | Is it hard to start a PhD programme after leaving to work in industry? | 2012-09-18T03:33:12.880 | # Question
Title: Is it hard to start a PhD programme after leaving to work in industry?
Currently I'm finishing my master program in computing. I need to decide between going to industry and starting a PhD programme. Having worked a bit with research and industry I prefer the former so far, however I wouldn't like to close my career paths.
Is it hard to resume education after working in industry (assuming 'ideal' conditions such as work related to chosen field, good master project from good university etc.)?
# Answer
> 25 votes
> Is it hard to resume education after working in industry (assuming 'ideal' conditions such as work related to chosen field, good master project from good university etc.)?
In short: **NO**.
I did exactly that and I think that was a great thing. Being in computer science, this gave me solid experience in software engineering and pragmatics of "real-world" solutions. The benefits I feel till now (after completing my doctoral studies and working as a relatively senior post-doc (3+ years after thesis defence) are these: 1) good feeling for what "societal" problems are and how does my research translate to practice (at least hypothetically, but in a plausible way) and 2) allows me to be involved in applied projects in any role from low-level programmer, through technical lead to project manager. All this is vital in writing project proposals and project execution. In a nutshell: experience in industry, when used wisely, can give you an "entrepreneurial" attitude, which definitely is an advantage over students who plunge to doctoral studies right after completing their master's degree. The only slight downside is that you might end up as one of the oldest PhD students in the group. But I never perceived it as a problem.
Finally, all the above applies to experience in European context (in particular: DE, NL, BE). I have no clue about the cultural issues regarding your question in other parts of the world.
*Later edit:* When it comes to the emotional and lifestyle part of the decision, of course there are issues to consider. Going from an industrial position to doctoral studies is almost always a financial downgrade. Perhaps more in countries where a PhD student has a *student* status (US, UK), than in places which treat PhD students as university (public) employees (DE, NL), salaries tend to be higher in the latter. My own attitude, however, was this: since at that point I did not have kids yet, I always thought that should the life demand more money, or when I won't like the academic life, with the sound experience from industry I shouldn't have a problem going back any time. This definitely took a huge amount of pressure from my shoulders while pursuing my PhD, since I did not worry about my future (in career, or financial terms) - unlike my "purely academic" peers. Even till now, I feel confident (perhaps I fool myself) that should the academic path not work out in the next few years, it's not going to be the end of the world for me (again unlike for some of my peers). To sum up: *with the confidence that I am fit for industrial career, I can pursue my passion in academia, rather being under pressure to* **produce**. So I would add this as yet another benefit.
P.S. To a more extreme note: I can point fingers to at least two people who after a long career in industry embarked on doctoral studies in their 50s and became successful researchers in their fields afterwards. Similarly, there are many people who after completing their PhD went to industry for awhile (5-10 years) and later came back to academia - though that feat seems to be harder to manage than the previous one. So everything is possible...
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*Even later edit (8 years later):* I do no longer work in academia, at certain point 1) my family had enough of moving, 2) I ended up in a region with very competitive universities, 3) since I probably did not belong to the top notch, but let's say just slightly below, at certain point my funding dried out and I did not get a suitable professorship in that region. This led me to first seek job in industry again and later to start my own company/start-up trying to capitalize on all the scientific knowledge I collected. Retrospectively, my career as an engineer before joining academia turned out to be a great asset once again. I could claim very solid history in my CV and I was immediately hired to senior positions. Also, the academic training in research creativity turned out to be a very useful asset when I started my own company later on. All in all, I am happy about this career path. Maybe this later edit will inspire others too... Good luck!
# Answer
> 10 votes
From an admissions standpoint getting into graduate school after a few years in industry is not much harder than going straight from undergraduate. Some undergraduate programs in the US offer 4+1 programs which make getting into a Masters program much easier, which in turn makes getting into a PhD program easier.
Becoming a student again after working in industry can be a hard emotional and psychological shift. Your pay will be cut in around half (maybe even more). In the US you will likely be expected to complete some more coursework. For some it is hard to get back into the coursework mindset after a few years absence: Assuming a linear scale, it is the difficulties you face every fall as a returning student multiplied by 10 (or so). It might even be an exponential scale. It can be hard. Being a grad student is nothing like being an undergraduate student nor is it like working in industry. The job of a grad student definitely doesn't end at 5 pm and tends not to have 2+ weeks of vacation. There is also considerable uncertainty associated with long term job prospects that are absent in industry work.
That said, those who love academics often find them selves out of sorts when working outside of academia and relish returning "home".
# Answer
> 6 votes
One thing that hasn't been mentioned in the answers to this question pertain to **recommendation letters,** which are a key and important part of the application process. If you decide to leave academia for an extended period (more than a year or two), it would be wise to keep in touch with your advisor and some other professors so you don't surprise them with a "could write me a letter of recommendation for a PhD program" many years down the road. They need to be able to comment explicitly on your potential to do research, and (for U.S. universities) you'll need three solid letters to be competitive.
I might suggest asking for letters of recommendation now, and plan on contacting your letter-writers later to ask them to look back over the letters, and update if necessary. This way they aren't scratching their heads trying to (1) remember you, and (2) write a quality letter a few years after they knew you and your research.
By the way, I started a Master's/PhD program about 15 years after I got my Bachelor's (and another Master's in a different field), and finding appropriate and relevant letter-writers did prove a bit challenging. I ended up getting a letter from my then-boss (science department chair at the high school where I taught physics), a professor of education from my previous Master's degree, and a physics professor with whom I had been taking some "physics pedagogy" classes (and all for degree programs in computer engineering!). In the end, I successfully got accepted into many of the schools I applied to, but I'm sure my case would have been helped if I had letters that commented more specifically on my ability to research.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, career-path, industry, time-off
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thread-11654 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11654 | As a PhD-Advisor: How do I discourage a student from continuing? | 2013-08-05T08:12:45.090 | # Question
Title: As a PhD-Advisor: How do I discourage a student from continuing?
I know it is slightly controversial, but I am supervising a student who started with the right attitude, but is now less and less engaged with the research. We are at a point where there's no end in sight, and the student still wants to finish within unmanageable time limits.
The *context* is peculiar (but I would like to keep it detached from the generality of the question): he's a part-time student, he's paying his own fees (as opposed to a PhD funded by a project), and he's after the PhD "title" more than the research that he has to put in for the title itself.
All these factors make it more difficult to dissuade him from his PhD choice: the endless excuses of putting more work when there will be time (he's a part time student); and the fact that I am proactively chasing him to arrange meetings are all things that are taking their toll.
My (general) question is therefore: how do I dissuade a PhD student from wasting his time and money, when it's clear that she is not PhD-material?
# Answer
> 19 votes
Do you want to dissuade the student from continuing because
1. You think the student is not capable because of a lack of ability,
2. You think the student might be capable, but just isn't engaging in the work,
3. You don't see the student is worth investing your time in,
4. You think the student is wasting his/her money?
If (1), then a frank discussion might be the best way. I have seen other PhD supervisors directly let their PhD students know that they think a research career is not for them.
If (2), you ought to move from dissuasion to a frank discussion in which you try and figure out the reason for the downturn in engagement. Is all well at home? Is it just the usual mid (?) thesis malaise? Has the student lost the big picture and therefore the drive to do the research? Why did the student start the research in the first place? Has the situation changed - e.g. has the life goals been redefined/changed?
If (3) and/or (4), if the student is paying for themselves, then it's their money they are potentially wasting so I wouldn't concern yourself on how other people spend their money. However, the money is presumably paying your salary in part so your obligations to the student remain in that regard. In return however, you can set reasonable expectations on your student. If you make it clear that you expect your student to achieve reasonable goal A by reasonable deadline Z, and the student doesn't, then that opens up another opportunity for a frank discussion along the lines of the need for effective prioritisation of research work and for-money work.
EDIT: To bring this answer into line with the edited question, I would set out an agreed plan of work - and behaviour (esp. showing up to meetings) - with deadlines for the next 2/6/12 months. **You might want to work with your Head of Department/School on this to ensure that your requirements are reasonable.** It appears that you have already said to the student that in your opinion the student isn't PhD material. In setting out your agreed workplan, you are giving - formally - the opportunity for the student to show that he or she is capable of working to an agreed standard. If, as you say, the student isn't capable, then the student will fail and you can reasonably excuse yourself as his PhD supervisor.
I am suggesting this cautious approach, as I am sure your Faculty will want to know why things went this way, and that you offered the best opportunity for your student (or fee-paying client) to succeed, before you ceased to be his supervisor.
# Answer
> 3 votes
There is a lot of context missing from this question, so I'll provide some leading questions.
First, is the student working independently, or are you/ your group counting on their results for some other project? If it's the latter, then you should have a conversation setting out clear and realistic time frames for the work that needs to be done.
If the student is basically operating independently, then how you respond depends on what their goals are. Maybe the student just wants a Ph. D for their own personal satisfaction, and isn't worried about how long it takes. Maybe they want an academic job afterwards, in which case your concerns are valid. You should first aim to understand the student's goals, and then you can suggest whether the way things are going are reasonable to achieve those goals.
If the student didn't have their own funding, there is the additional question of whether it is worth spending *your* resources to support them, but this doesn't apply here - your student is an adult and can decide if the costs in time and money are worth it for themselves.
Summary: ask your student what *they* want, and then advise accordingly.
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Tags: phd, motivation
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thread-11671 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11671 | Policy regarding grouping of papers in Google Scholar | 2013-08-05T14:03:47.720 | # Question
Title: Policy regarding grouping of papers in Google Scholar
Using Google scholar, a researcher can generate a public webpage where all his papers and citations are presented. Because Google is far from perfect, it is possible to group some papers. For instance if the same paper is (wrongly) seen as two papers by Google scholar, it is possible to make a fusion : the two papers are now a unique one, and the citation are recomputed accordingly.
My question : when there is a conference version, an extended journal version and possibly a invited conference version of the same work, is it best to merge all the versions or all the papers are to be considered different ?
# Answer
> 6 votes
One rule of thumb would be that any set of related papers that would be considered separate for a paper CV should be considered separate in what amounts to an electronic CV. Especially if one version clearly contains more material/data/argument than another one.
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Tags: bibliometrics, google-scholar
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thread-1190 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/1190 | What are some good project-management tools for academics? | 2012-04-19T02:58:43.980 | # Question
Title: What are some good project-management tools for academics?
My advisers are starting to use Basecamp for my project, and I like most of it so far. I am wondering, though, about the arguments for and against Basecamp.
# Answer
> 20 votes
I have been using a mode for Emacs called Org-mode to track my research and do project planning. See my answer to this question for some of the other capabilities of Org-mode for research.
Org-mode has a number of features that are useful for project planning. You can set headings as multi-state TODO lists and set scheduled start times or deadlines. You can also set effort estimates for tasks and generate text based reports via tables or the agenda view, all while inside Org-mode. The Org-mode manual covers the customizations to these areas and there are a number of tutorials discussing the customization of Org-mode for a variety of tasks.
To generate graphical reports, Org-mode has an export feature for TaskJuggler. TaskJuggler takes text-based inputs and generates a number of different reports including Gantt charts and resource allocations. If you do not wish to use Org-mode as the source of your planning, TaskJuggler has its own native format for the text files, highlighted in the manual.
All the tools listed are open source and are actively being developed/maintained.
A potential downside to these tools is that they are primarily text-based. If you are a visual person who wants a GUI approach to planning/reporting, these tools are probably not suited for you. Additionally, Emacs has a fairly steep learning curve, so if you are not already using it and do not have the time to become familiar with it, other tools will probably be better suited for you.
# Answer
> 16 votes
I'm finding it a little difficult to write my thesis while simultaneously working at an internet company, so I started using the Kanban technique. Lean/Kanban is a technique from industrial production management that was adapted and is becoming quite popular in the software development world. I use the Trello website to track kanban.
Kanban is very intuitive - it's just a board with many columns (for example: (work to do) - (work in progress) - (work complete), you can increase the granularity as much as you want). Each task is a card that moves around on the columns.
The purpose of the board is giving you visualization on how much work you have to do. If you worked in a car factory and you realized that cars where stacking on a queue because one of the welding machine is broken, you would notice the problem right away. But it's quite difficult to realize that there's a pile of abstract work to be done because your workflow is somehow defective. If you have a visual representation of your workflow, it's easier to detect bottlenecks and solve them.
There are a few management rules like:
* limit the number of tasks in progress and never pull new tasks until there's space available in the "in progress" column (I usually like to create very fine-grained tasks and limit it to only one in progress at a time),
* kanban is a "pulled system" instead of a "push system". You'll pull work to your desk when you finish what you're doing now (instead of waiting until someone push work onto your desk when they need you to do it). This prevents both being overwhelmed by work to do and having free time because no one give you work to do.
* organize tasks in order of priority,
* reduce waste: if you do something and abandon when it's almost done, you've wasted that time. It would be better to spend this time working on something that you would work on until completion. Or maybe you just need to push a little bit harder and bring this to completion.
* stablish "acceptance criteria". What are the criteria this piece of work must satisfy to be accepted as finished?
* stablish and measure what is "value" to you. If value is the quality of a text, then stablish levels of quality and measure the quality of your text. If value is getting things done quickly, than measure the time you take to do things.
* Stablish priority: what brings you the most value should be done first. Or rather: what have greater cost-of-delay should be done first.
Lean/Kanban works very well for software development and I needed something to organized the writing of my thesis. So I divided the thesis in chapters.sections.subsections (in the typical latex fashion) not longer than 3 paragraphs. Then I defined levels of quality (level A, the text is ok to be delivered, level B, it must undergo some review, level C, references must be checked, etc..., until level F when there's no text at all). So my tasks are: "bring subsection 2.1.3 to quality D". Now it's very easy to assign priority and measure the amount of work done / to do. There are even some scripts to graph your progress and extract some metrics.
But what is really important is that it allowed me to focus on the small scale work to do and have clear short term landmarks, and also think on the large scale structure of the thesis and have large scale landmarks.
Some reading on Kanban and Lean for software development (I believe most of it can be seamlessly applied to academic work - most of the problems are the same):
http://www.slideshare.net/kanbantool/kanban-in-4-easy-steps
http://www.kanbanway.com/lean-software-development-using-kanban
http://www.slideshare.net/davidpeterjoyce/pulling-value-lean-and-kanban
# Answer
> 4 votes
Nice question. Curiously, I've been used the dotproject, it's a FLOSS (i.e, an open-source software) alternative to msproject. It may sound weird for somebody, for a couple of reasons (isn't it a tool for huge projects? yep, and I can ask someone: isn't my thesis a huuuuge project? lol)... but, believe or not, it's been good to keep my tasks on track. Besides, as it is web-based, I've provided my advisor with access to such a tool, so that he may monitor my tasks, especially because I've been out of my country, for a while (due to an internship).
I've really thought about implementing some features to extend this tool so as to include things that are interesting, and unfortunately dotproject doesnt include.
btw, if anyone either know any tool (as a good answer for the main question) or is interested in extend the dotproject in order to come up with a tool for helping researchers to keep their tasks on trach, please tell me!
# Answer
> 4 votes
Redmine is a popular open-source project management tool. It has lots of capabilities (issue tracking, time management, gantt charts, wikis, etc); see the overview on the linked page. You download and run it on your own server.
# Answer
> 4 votes
It really depends on what you are looking for in a project management tool. In my opinion, Basecamp is good in term of basic task management. And I really liked its Calendar feature. It was easy to set a milestone and adjust schedules in a click. But in the new version of BC it’s no longer an option, as calendars are now events, so I need to edit each part of the schedule manually. I personally preferred the good old version of BC, it was simple and clear. My team agreed with me and, we decided to switch to another tool.
We’ve evaluated Trello, but it had no calendar feature at all. Asana didn’t quite fit our scheduling needs either. We realized that we lacked the ability to view all the projects on a monthly progress chart. Whether it’s per project or per team member, Asana couldn’t give that to us. In the end, we settled for Wrike. I like its Gantt chart even better than the Calendar we used. Thanks to it I can visualize my whole project, set dependencies between tasks, and adjust them with just drag-and-drop. And the Dashboard view is all clean and uncluttered, just like BC’s used to be. So, we are sticking with it for now.
# Answer
> 1 votes
I highly recommend Wunderkit (recently released) and Wunderlist for organizing to-do list, and taking notes. I think the people at 6wunderkinder have been doing great job.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Eclipse PPM is a good tool - it's project/project portfolio management software. Quite a few universities and colleges use it.
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Tags: productivity
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thread-11666 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11666 | A systematic review already exists in the literature. When is a newer one required? | 2013-08-05T11:47:48.133 | # Question
Title: A systematic review already exists in the literature. When is a newer one required?
Suppose that a systematic review on a topic X was published some (3-8) years ago by someone else, and it is currently still a useful source for what has been made before it was published. However, more recent works were also published later.
Generally, how can I decide whether it is a good idea to work on a newer systematic review for publication, taking into account that the newer review could be (somewhat) similar in methodology and would be based on extended and more recent literature (including that already reviewed in the published one)?
# Answer
> 10 votes
**When?**
1. Whenever there is a set of papers that has significantly extended or changed the topic of interest.
2. If you have to do it as part of your thesis.
3. If you are contributing with a new approach/method in a publication (the literature review would typically be part of the Introduction).
My advice: do not spend too much time on writing and trying to publish a literature review if the problem has not evolved significantly during this time. Most of this kind of works get lost in an ocean of surveys.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I would include only the work done after the other publication, with the occasional exception of including papers which would be too important to leave out. Of course, if you think the previous review was not a good one, you can do it all over again. Before starting, check what are the main implications of the other review: were there some open important question, which have now been solved; bad practises in the reviewed field, which have been corrected; etc.
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Tags: literature-review
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thread-11698 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11698 | Showing research experience in graduate applications | 2013-08-06T07:35:44.647 | # Question
Title: Showing research experience in graduate applications
As an undergraduate, I have heard this term a lot. I have not graduated but will graduate soon.
When applying to graduate programs, research experience is what everyone tells.
Research Experience is used rather recklessly. Many students, even if they had to just type in data for professors/researchers, check some test tubes in laboratory or whatever depending on discipline mention they had research experience.
Last year, I had an internship at a renowned research organisation. The only thing they do is research and development. As an intern, I did not specifically join saying, I wanted a "Research Experience". I were involved in their project which was a research project. My task consisted of API development, working with Matlab and various stuff important for the project.
Yet, I did not come up with something new. Well, they did.
So, this is far better than what many students mention as research experience. But, is it worth calling this a research experience in my CV or applications? Shall I call this reaserch?
Making the question specific, what does a "Standard Research Experience" consist of? When graduate schools say undergraduate research experience, what kind of activities are they expected to have been involved in?
# Answer
> 2 votes
You're expected to describe research experience. It sounds like you've had some. You should describe it in your application. Talk about what role you had, what sort of things you actually did ("various stuff important for the project" and "working with Matlab" aren't very good descriptions). What was your role? Did you make decisions or did you just assist? What sort of products did you produce and what skills did those products require? How did you solve problems you encountered?
The idea behind these application questions is to try to differentiate people with no experience from some minimal experience (cleaning instruments in a lab and feeding rats) to moderate experience (sounds like what you have) and people who engaged in truly independent research (which is pretty rare, depending on where you did your bachelor degree and in what field). Be honest and detailed, that's all that's expected. Of course people will play up what they did, but if you made substantive contributions that demonstrate your abilities and experience, that will show through in your write-up.
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Tags: research-process, graduate-admissions, university, research-undergraduate
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thread-11663 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11663 | How to motivate an undergrad class to do research when its not a course requirement? | 2013-08-05T10:39:49.793 | # Question
Title: How to motivate an undergrad class to do research when its not a course requirement?
How can I motivate my undergrad students to do research?
Since these students are at an undergrad level, I don't expect any extraordinary results. However, I would like if they get something published (even in low impact publications).
Undergrads almost never do research in our country. It's not even a requirement of the course. But, I want to motivate them for research. If they get something published, it would encourage them in the future.
In our country, research at the undergraduate level is almost non-existent. I want to introduce this concept at the undergrad level, but I don't want to force anything upon them. I just want to show them the benefits of research.
# Answer
> 7 votes
I would say, as a teacher, you can allot a project as a mandatory part of course. This project should count towards the final evaluation of the course. You need to do a bit of design and planning about the project and research idea that you want to implement. Then you may divide the work among students based on their strengths and weaknesses. You may assign one group to the whole project and assign individual modules to the students or you may create many groups and each group an individual module. Once this phase of project is over, you will be able to assess the students by their research caliber and motivate the good students for further work, which may be another project with more intensity. In addition to this, you can motivate them to go to better universities and industries for project work. This will really broaden their outlook. They will start looking beyond getting some CGPA and grabbing a job. I hope I could give you some idea :P
# Answer
> 4 votes
Have you considered making it some sort of contest? Students will go to astonishing lengths to win a competition. :-)
I'll give you an example. One of the undergraduate classes I teach is a C programming class, and towards the end of the term we spend a couple of weeks on performance optimization. For the corresponding assignments the students are asked to speed up a slow program given to them. Their score on those assignments depends on the speedup they are able to get, and -- here's the kicker -- if they can beat the performance of my solution they get a 20% bonus. I've seen students explore exotic data structures and algorithms, figure out how to embed hand-tuned assembly code, and teach themselves how to write multi-threaded code, just so they can say they beat the instructor. It's really terrific watching them push themselves to excel.
Your situation is almost certainly different from mine, but I think it's still fair to say that students will self-engage, and push themselves to think creatively and explore different solutions, if the motivation to excel is coming from the inside -- which is really what research is all about.
# Answer
> 4 votes
I've discovered that an effective way to engage undergrads is to give them a tour of your lab and let them shadow a grad student or other undergrads for a few days. Speak with them as often as you can to gauge what they are interested in and let them get a feel for your research group. Handing students off to a grad student or a postdoc and not speaking to them for a month is not going to work. It would be nice if you can give them a short term goal, say a poster presentation.
# Answer
> 3 votes
One of my favorite undergraduate classes had a original research requirement, as well as a publishing requirement. Neither was very stringent; the original research requirement was that we collect some data on our own, while the publishing requirement was to provide proof of submission of a manuscript. It gave us a taste of research and publishing, which in some caes led to in-depth, sophisticate research while the students were still undergrads. Don't be afraid to make some research a requirement for your students. They will learn that they are capable of more than they thought, and it is likely that a few students will run with the opportunity and produce results that may surprise even you.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Perhaps teach it to them as doing research leads to potential publications, which in turn leads to them increasing their 'research profiles' - which will provide a great advantage for if they wish to pursue postgraduate studies, as there is often a lot of research necessary in Masters and PhD programs.
This won't necessarily get all of the students motivated (as some may not be interested in further study), but may be a stepping stone in making this a normal practice in the undergraduate course.
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Tags: research-process, research-undergraduate, motivation
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thread-11687 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11687 | Trying to collect information on grad schools | 2013-08-05T21:23:05.843 | # Question
Title: Trying to collect information on grad schools
I'm in the process of listing and comparing all the graduate schools I am interested in. What should I be comparing, gathering, etc. And what is the best way to keep all the information together?
# Answer
> 6 votes
Here are some ways in which different schools differ from each other:
* Size. Both small schools (personal attention) and big schools (lots of seminars, people to talk to) have their advantages. Which is more important to you?
* Research focuses. Even large schools will be dominated by a couple of research groups. Do you find their work interesting?
* Program structure. Some programs are very structured, with lots of requirements; some are more free-form. Which is best is a matter of individual preference.
* Competitiveness. Some departments are friendly and competitive, some departments are friendly and less competitive. (And a couple of departments are unfriendly and you should avoid them.) Do you thrive under pressure? If so, choose a competitive place.
* Quality. (This one is obvious.)
* Geography. Some places (Harvard, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, among many others) are located in towns where it's a lot of fun to be a grad student. Some are not.
* Support. Some places offer more money, and/or less teaching requirements in exchange for funding. (Typically private schools fare better than public in this regard, but not necessarily.)
All things to keep in mind when you compare schools.
# Answer
> 1 votes
> What is the best way to keep all the information together?
You've got a number of options here, but I would suggest two:
1. A spreadsheet (as Thomas mentions in his comment) for the logistical issues. I had a spreadsheet with the following columns:
Name | Website | Location | Due date for application | App. complete? (Y/N) | Letters sent? (Y/N) | Accepted? (Y/N/Waitlist) | Visit date | Primary contact name | Primary contact email | Thoughts (this was a one-liner column where I would put "great location!", "no funding...", or "perfect research fit", etc.
2. A folder on your computer for each school, underneath an overarching "Grad School Applications" folder. This is where you can drop all information pertaining to the school, including: a document with jotted down thoughts, your personal statement personalized for the school, a cover letter, the application form (if offline), correspondence you've received from the school (printed emails work pretty well), etc.
I would put everything in a Dropbox so you can access it on the road (and for backup).
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Tags: graduate-school
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thread-11692 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11692 | Theoretical CS research having a math undergrad | 2013-08-06T00:55:05.877 | # Question
Title: Theoretical CS research having a math undergrad
I am currently finishing my undergraduate math studies, and I am really interested in computer science (especially theoretical). However, I realize that most CS departments expect their applicants to have a CS major or at least a significant amount of coursework in CS. I have taken a couple of programming courses and a course in data structures, languages and machines, and design of algorithms, but all very basic (so I would probably be rejected because of insufficient background). Therefore, I have been looking for math departments that do theoretical CS research, but I have found very few.
Is is possible for a mathematician to successfully enter a program of theoretical computer science with few previous experience in CS?
# Answer
> 17 votes
I thought this question was asked and answered before, but I couldn't find it. In any case, people with a strong math background can do very well in TCS. The only stumbling block might be the breadth of CS material (including things like architecture, compilers and operating systems) that might be required of a CS grad student.
However there are certain programs (CMU/Georgia Tech/Waterloo) in which TCS is a separate discipline: if you applied to one of these programs, you might be able to to circumvent core CS requirements that you don't have.
# Answer
> 14 votes
Many people in Theoretical Computer Science have undergraduate (and sometimes graduate) degrees in Mathematics, and some do not know how to program at all: do not be afraid and go on. Having a solid background of both mathematics and computers is an asset.
The only warning: be ready to learn by yourself, especially as you might be asked to TA or teach courses you never took (e.g. I had to learn a lot for teaching Operating Systems, or Networking, as this was never taught in my undergraduate degree in Mathematics). But if you go to Academia, you should be ready to learn by yourself anyway...
# Answer
> 5 votes
Just to add to Suresh's excellent answer, a couple of practical steps you could consider doing:
* Contact the admissions people at your favoured universities; at the same time, caontact potential supervisors and ask about your concerns.
* Read more about the topics related to the research interests of potential advisors, this is to gauge your level of knowledge and confidence in the topics (this is what I did before my MSc, now I have followed through into my PhD).
I hope this helps.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, mathematics, computer-science
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thread-11709 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11709 | Acceptance in a conference | 2013-08-06T18:08:37.127 | # Question
Title: Acceptance in a conference
If a paper has 3 weak accepts (in all evaluations, a weak accept in each evaluation), will it be published in the conference? If this is the case, what is the difference if it has 2 weak accepts and a strong accept or 3 strong accepts?
# Answer
> 3 votes
This largely depends on the conference. The way that conferences usually work (at least in my field for computer science - subdiscipline software engineering or human-computer interaction) is that once the reviews come in, the program committee meets and then discusses which papers will be accepted and which ones are rejected. This often comes down to how many papers there are, how many they can accept (subject to things including a mandatory acceptance rate, how big the conference can be, etc) and what other papers are like (if your conference has very few "strong accepts" that year then weak accept is pretty good).
Usually, a paper with few "strong accepts" could end up around the "middle" of the pack are more likely to be held up for discussion where they have a chance for rejection. Most PCs won't extensively discuss a paper where all of the reviewers say "strong accept".
So, we don't know if it'll be published in the conference. However, in general, the more strong accepts a paper gets, the more likely the paper will be accepted.
# Answer
> 1 votes
**Note:** My answer is computer science and specifically HCI relevant.
This depends on the conference, the discipline and the conference committee. There are variables which determine the acceptance of a paper in a conference.
A paper with three weak accepts may be rejected if there are stronger papers out there or if the committee feels that another paper which describes something really new must be given an opportunity to be presented.
A paper with three strong accepts is most likely to be accepted because this means that there is an almost unanimous consent among the reviewers and the paper is most likely very strong and very relevant to the subject matter.
A paper with any such combinations in between the previously described examples may or may not be accepted depending on various factors. Ultimately, the decision is upto the organizing committee. For instance, I have seen papers in CHI be rejected finally with three 3.0 scores (borderline accepts) but seen papers with one 4.0, one 3.0 and one 2.0 get accepted finally after the revisions were made.
Therefore, ultimately, my first sentence remains valid. It depends on a bunch of factors most of which are out of your direct control. The only thing which you can control is the revision of the paper.
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Tags: conference, computer-science
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thread-11710 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11710 | List Unrelated Degree on Application | 2013-08-06T18:32:57.693 | # Question
Title: List Unrelated Degree on Application
I am currently in the process of applying for PhDs. My question is whether it is frowned upon to have done a degree in a subject completely unrelated to my main studies. I just completed two masters at top universities concurrently, one in biology and the other in English literature. I did the literature degree to please my parents, my real passion is in biology. I steered my English degree somewhat towards the biology by writing my dissertation on the representation of tropical diseases in literature. I am wondering whether I should list this degree on my CV or just leave it off? I thought that it might prove how hard-working I am to do two masters concurrently. I also scored the highest mark out of my class in my biology master, so the other master did not affect my primary master.
Any advice would be appreciated.
# Answer
> 11 votes
I would say to list it, for a couple of reasons:
* It does show that you are hardworking, 2 concurrent Masters degrees completed and completed to a great standard.
* Practically, it further demonstrates the abilities necessary to research, synthesise information, draw valid conclusions from a wide range of sources.
Also, you put in the effort, why not 'show off' your good work. By steering your Literature Masters in a biological direction with your topic of tropical diseases, you have also shown how this long-standing and serious issue (tropical diseases) have been portrayed to the non-scientific community.
# Answer
> 5 votes
As Damien have stated you should list both and for the reasons provided in that answer. In addition, I think it is worth thinking about how well you can second guess how anyone on the receiving end will percieve your CV. Basically, you cannot know. It is therefore important to list everything and in cases such as that about which you ask, provide a brief account to honestly describe why you did it. If you managed to do a masters with flying colours ina topic you do not like, that is a very strong show. I am impressed and so will others. So look through your CV, list everything that indicates stamina, effort, ambition, perseverance etc. and where you think things can be misinterpreted, add some sentence explaining why you claim it is a plus. You can easily do this in a short narrative that summarizes your CV and strong points. You can then put everything in the light in which you want them to be seen.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, application, cv
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thread-11721 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11721 | Finding a professor beforehand | 2013-08-07T12:48:13.283 | # Question
Title: Finding a professor beforehand
I want to know your opinion about the following situation.
Having read all recommendations on how to apply to graduate school abroad, how to choose the professor to work with, I found a really interesting suggestion of someone. The person was describing the similar process applying to graduate school and in parallel he was looking for someone to work with in the same university, a bit early but if know what do you want to do, why not to do it. Having found a good candidate to work with, the person offered to work together for from few weeks to few months.
This person was lucky, he made a really good choice, they decided to proceed working together towards a masters degree and application to the university was a useless formality.
One minor point though, it was a quite expensive, to buy a fly ticket, rent a room etc.
What is your opinion about this form of finding a professor, do you have more examples like this?
# Answer
> 2 votes
Well, if you want to find a good professor to work with, you could search for the available professors in a certain university (online, in their website).
After having all the names, you could "stalk" them online, find some of their papers, etc. Most of them (if not all) will have a webpage in which they post lots of information about themselves, such as, their papers, students they worked with, even their hobbies. You'll probably delete quite a few names that way.
You'll still have some professors names not crossed out. You can then try to e-mail the students they worked with and ask them what's their evaluation of said professor.
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, sorry if it's not.
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Tags: professorship, advisor
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thread-11724 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11724 | Citing a paper for which a corrected version exists online | 2013-08-07T16:16:51.543 | # Question
Title: Citing a paper for which a corrected version exists online
I need to cite a paper in an upcoming paper and conference talk. The paper appeared in a journal several years ago, and normally I would just cite the version that appeared in the journal. However, several important calculations in the section which is relevant to my work were incorrect, and a corrected version has since been posted to the arXiv. How should I cite it?
One approach would be to just cite the arXiv version, but I feel like this gives the impression that the article has not appeared in a peer-reviewed journal, while it in fact appeared in a top field journal. On the other hand I certainly don't want to cite the version with the incorrect calculations, as they make closely following the relevant section impossible. Is there a standard protocol for this?
# Answer
> 12 votes
I would list the published version in the bibliography, with something like "corrected version available as \[insert its article ID\] from http://www.arXiv.org" appended to the end of its entry in the bibliography. When you discuss the article in the text of your paper, you should mention the corrections there too.
You should certainly not cite the arXiv version without explaining that the published version contains a mistake (readers may assume the published version is a cleaned up copy of the arXiv version, rather than vice versa), and it seems weird to say this without actually explaining where the article was published.
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Tags: journals, citations
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thread-11726 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11726 | Authorship with Past and Nearly Absent Supervisor | 2013-08-07T17:30:55.763 | # Question
Title: Authorship with Past and Nearly Absent Supervisor
Inspired by the following question: Co-authorship for not very involved supervisor
I have got to ask a slightly different question: I have a past supervisor while I did my masters and she wasn't really involved or as active as I would have liked. Also, I received no funding from this professor. I did however receive a scholarship from the university to fund my masters; not sure if these facts change anything. Naturally, this person would also like to believe she was involved, so had I finished the research while I did my masters there I would have listed this individual as a second author and even the author of correspondence. But now I am pursuing a PhD and in fact in a slightly different field at a different university.
While preparing for my qualifiers I came across some fresh new ideas and had a light bulb moment. Consequently, I have made significant progress in my old project as of late. I believe by the end of the summer I will have results ready for publication. On the one hand, I feel I should notify my old professor of these results once they come in... I think it would be wrong or even unethical to let them find out through the grape-vine or just through reading to keep up with the field. On the other hand, I fear this person will want authorship or even write the editor and demand it; this person is a Reader at a prestigious university while I'm just a little PhD student. I feel it will be a case of he-said she-said with the Editor which will ultimately result in me losing (even though I completely believe I'm justified and the recent progress was 100% mine).
Maybe I'm over-reacting but I'm not sure what to do. And I certainly don't want this person to "read over" my paper or attempt to "edit" it, because I think then they would have more grounds to put their name on the paper. Any ideas?
# Answer
> 10 votes
First, *should* you include her as a co-author? **Customs in this are journal- and field-dependent**, so you should check with others in your field (you didn't tell us what it was) and also with the **authorship policy of the journal** you intend to submit. You may also want to check with the **department where you did your Masters** what their policy is on authorship and affiliation for students' papers. At the very least, if you're going to have someone be cross at you, know in advance where you stand!
I'll sum up my answer to another question on the site by stating that **graduate students oftentimes dismiss too easily an advisor's role** in the research. Selecting a problem/project for you to work on, even guiding you in the selection of a problem can be considered a big intellectual contribution to your research. **Conception/design of research is an integral part of the research**, and usually explicitly calls for authorship in resulting papers.
It's okay to be proud of your work, and to think your contribution in it was crucial, but be sure not to be biased against your supervisor when evaluating her contribution. One person who may help you do that is your current advisor!
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Now, that being said, let's suppose you have made the decision not to have her as coauthor. How do you manage that? The guiding principle should be: be upfront and clearly state where you stand.
1. Including her name in the acknowledgements of the paper, specifically stating her contribution. (*“SG thanks Dr. Jane Doe for initially pointing him to this challenging problem.”*)
2. When the paper is published, be sure to send her a preprint, along with a nice email.
3. If you are worried about her reviewing the paper, list her in the list of potential reviewers to exclude (if the journal submission has space for that). But… having her in the acknowledgments may already be enough for the editor not to pick her.
# Answer
> 1 votes
This is a somewhat difficult situation, but I believe the most salient issue is the one that you originally mentioned in your comment: the master's advisor did not fund your research in any way. As a result of this, the demands placed on the advisor for authorship become even more stringent.
The criteria that becomes significant here is whether or not the advisor contributed materially to the development of the ideas you've carried out. If you decided upon the topic yourself, without assistance from your advisor, then it's appropriate not to give co-authorship.
However, there is also the issue of politics to consider. If, as you suggested, you are worried about the influence of your former advisor on spiking the paper, it may be worthwhile to consider the possibility of adding your advisor on at least the first paper; any future papers could be done without citing your advisor on the future papers (except as an acknowledgment, as F'x suggests).
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Tags: publications, authorship, advisor
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thread-11679 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11679 | As a recent PhD entering jobhunt, should I agree to host a weekly seminar? | 2013-08-05T17:26:48.607 | # Question
Title: As a recent PhD entering jobhunt, should I agree to host a weekly seminar?
I recently graduated and am temporarily employed as a lecturer at the school I graduated from (9 hours a week of teaching, not counting prep time). There's a weekly seminar on my field of interest, and I've been asked to take over hosting it. This would involve handling various logistics like planning the meetings, planning lunches, booking the room, etc. etc. It would be a lot of work... On the other hand it might be a neat opportunity to network/make connections/etc., but not that much better than the opportunity one would get just by attending the seminar.
Should I do it or should I save that time for working on my own research/jobhunting?
# Answer
> 4 votes
It's in your interest to focus on research, then job search, then teaching, then service. This is service, so lowest priority. See if you can get a student assistant (grad or undergrad) to do a lot of the grunt work, while you handle the higher level logistical stuff. If you can't get some help, doesn't sound like it's worth your time.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I would suggest that you decline. If there are enough researchers in your group to host a decent seminar, then there are enough people with job security to handle the grunt work.
Offer to help out, say, by seeking out and inviting people, chatting them up, and going to dinner with them, but I would avoid any and all grunt work. You have a good excuse.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Think carefully. If you are not successful with your job search (and that has already happened to you once, apparently, as you did not find the job around the time you defended), and you decline to run the seminar, you will spoil your relations with the department chair/head.
To other previous responders: come on, guys, don't you know who's who in the academic food chain positions? The leader of the group considers him/herself busier than other members of the group. Other professors are busy with the research, their own grad students, and other committee assignments, and don't like to be bothered by additional service (which they also view as the lowest priority job, as clearly, and to the point, communicated by Thomas. So the group leader went to the person with the least negotiating power and the greatest amount of time, at least as perceived by other professors -- the new Ph.D., arguably with no other service assignments, no students to teach, etc.
So the overall advice is to weigh your options. If you are certain that you'll find a job elsewhere, feel free to decline. Keep in mind that this is an intertwined issue in that your group leader is to write your recommendation letters, and if you are perceived as non-cooperative colleague, that will make a way to the letters and (fewer) interview invitations. I was given the department seminar series to run in my first year out of Ph.D. tenure track job, considered it fun, but got kicked out of my tenure-track job two years later as I was perceived as doing too much service, and too little research. If you will have the opportunity for a greater deal of interaction with the invited speakers than just sending email on your leader's behalf, this could be valuable. If all you will find yourself doing is reservations and such, then this may not be as good. However, if you have a regular date and time for your meetings, you should be able to reserve the room once for the whole semester.
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Tags: time-management, networking, working-time
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thread-11731 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11731 | Can students apply for Research Grants (US)? | 2013-08-07T21:43:39.660 | # Question
Title: Can students apply for Research Grants (US)?
I know you can apply for fellowships for individual students, but I'm not talking about funding only for one's self. Let's say I noticed a grant that was solicited on grants.gov and I wanted to apply for it. Can I do that? The nature of these grants is to supply the awardee with funding for experimental set-ups, student funding (undergrad/grad), and other various research supplies.
& As a follow up question, is it possible to apply, if your PI is applying for this funding as well. Basically, could I send in a proposal and my PI could as well? Are there some restrictions here? I've read through the solicitation's eligibility and couldn't find anything about multiple names being on different proposals, or if we were to apply separately, then having the funding go to the same group under different names. Just curious if anyone knew. I'll write back, if I find more info.
# Answer
Technically, in the US, most grants are not normally submitted directly by the principal investigator, but are instead sent in via a "grants office" that acts as the interface between the principal investigator and the funding agency.
Consequently, in addition to the grant-specific funding rules you have from a specific funding agency, you also have to deal with whatever restrictions your university grant-office has. For instance, it's not likely that your grants office will accept a proposal submitted by a graduate student instead of by a faculty member or similar personnel (lecturer, research professor, etc.).
In general, though, you need to read the requirements of the individual granting agency, as well as ask your local grants office.
> 7 votes
# Answer
For your first question: you'd have to read the funding agency's rules for an authoritative answer. I think the most likely case is that there are no restrictions on who may apply for the grant, and proposals from students would be considered, at least in principle.
However, your chances of getting such a proposal *accepted* would be somewhere between extremely slim and none. The review panel is going to have serious doubts that a student will have the necessary experience and expertise to successfully manage and carry out the project. Your proposal would have to convince them that you do, and unless your circumstances are *very* unusual, this will probably be impossible. Given the substantial time and effort needed to prepare a grant proposal, it's almost certainly not worth it.
For your second question: the PI normally lists on the grant application all everyone participating in the project who will be supported by the grant, including students. Those people are normally not eligible to apply for their own funding. And if you are not on the grant, then you're nominally working independently of the PI, and why would an agency want to award grants to two different people to do the same thing?
> 7 votes
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Tags: research-process, funding
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thread-11741 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11741 | How to become a reviewer for an engineering journal? | 2013-08-08T04:43:57.737 | # Question
Title: How to become a reviewer for an engineering journal?
I am a PG graduate working in an engineering college as an assistant professor. Currently I have got one and half year of experience in teaching.
How to become a reviewer for an engineering journal? Do I need to pay money for that? Or by publishing paper in that journal can I become a reviewer?
# Answer
The short answer for formatting a cv is that you should do it **like others applying for similar jobs** (or already in those jobs), but make it easier to scan if possible. So find home pages of people who have jobs like the one you want, and read their cv's to see how they format them.
Now for your second question: Most editors are often (constantly?) looking for new reviewers. To get a chance to review a paper, you should
1. let the editor know you'd like to review and
2. give him or her some reason to trust that you'll do a good job.
Accomplishing (1) is easy: simply **send an email or tell the editor in person** (for example if you meet him at a conference or visit his university). Now (2) takes a little more work, but isn't hard. Trusting you to review a paper is typically a low-risk gamble for an editor. If you don't violate confidentiality (talk about the paper with others in more detail than you should), then about the worst outcome for the editor is that you fail to write a report, or write a lousy report. That's less than ideal, but if it happens, they'll just ask someone else to review the paper. All that is to say, you don't have to work too hard to convince an editor to let you review a paper. So how do you do it?
As you suggested, one good way is to **publish in that journal**. Others are **publish in another related journal**; **give clear intelligent talks** on research in an area related to the journal; get a **recommendation to the editor to use you to review, from a friend** of yours who is more established in your field.
Once you do get an opportunity to review a paper, make sure you do a good job. Mainly this involves: submitting your report **on time**, making a **clear recommendation** to accept or reject, and **supporting your assessment** with the strengths and weaknesses of the paper. If you'd like more detail, that's another question by itself.
> 4 votes
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Tags: journals, peer-review, engineering
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thread-11738 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11738 | Pursuing a Masters, trying to figure out the potential effects of my undergraduate transcript on PhD admissions | 2013-08-08T01:54:36.560 | # Question
Title: Pursuing a Masters, trying to figure out the potential effects of my undergraduate transcript on PhD admissions
Long story short, my transcript is quite the spectacle: I started off getting really good grades, but due to a lot of personal issues ended up graduating with a respectable, but lackluster GPA. Unfortunately, I have a downward trend. While my final GPA is slightly below 3.5, I have failed quite a few courses. I'm getting a MSE in computer science, coming from an applied math background. My undergraduate computer science GPA is really high, but my GPA in everything else is pretty low. I'm confident that I will do exceptionally well in the CS MSE, but I have a few questions:
* Are undergraduate courses unrelated to one's discipline factored into the PhD admissions decision making process?
* Despite doing poorly in some math classes in my undergrad, will taking graduate level math courses and doing well in them essentially negate the fact that I did poorly in some classes as an undergraduate (did well in most of them)?
For reference:
I'm currently conducting research and should have good to outstanding recommendations.
I understand that for PhD programs, a common order of applicant evaluation is:
1. Recommendations
2. Research
3. Transcript
and that I have valid reasons for my poor performance, nonetheless, I'm scared that they're going to look at my undergraduate transcript and just get scared off. Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.
# Answer
You're right to be concerned. Some places *will* be scared off—or more accurately, won't even see your application—because of your undergraduate record. **But some won't.** Some will see your strong record in computer science, in graduate classes, and in research, at the expense of other classes as a sign of passion/focus/geekery (which is a strong advantage in research) combined with immaturity (which most people grow out of).
PhD admission is a random process, a numbers game. You have a high-variance record, so to be reasonably confident of admission, you should apply to a wider spectrum of places than someone with a more consistent record with the same average.
I **strongly** recommend discussing your concerns directly with your letter writers. They have to make the case that the admissions committee should ignore the black marks in your record and focus on your considerable strengths—good performance in graduate classes, excellence in your chosen field, strong research ability, and so on. (You can't really make that case yourself.) Your references may also be willing to contact colleagues directly, to convince them to pull strings on your behalf.
Also: **PUBLISH!**
Best of luck!
> 7 votes
# Answer
I have had an almost identical situation:
* not spectacular overall score in undergraduate (nor in my Honours for that matter)
* Did well in my MSc (in a different field). Got great references and did very well.
* Now are about to complete my PhD, with several publications under my belt.
The advice I can offer is:
* Be honest, if they ask for the transcripts, show them what they need - the improvement in your grades would be evident. More than likely they'll probably be more interested in your highest level of attainment (Masters).
* If unsure, ask the admissions people and even approach professors that have the same field as what you are interested in pursuing.
I wish you the best of luck!
> 4 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions
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thread-11715 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11715 | Hiring a faculty consultant | 2013-08-07T04:19:01.290 | # Question
Title: Hiring a faculty consultant
We need to hire a computer scientist with a very particular specialty as a consultant for a long term industrial research project. We've read the relevant papers and so know who does good work in it. But we don't know the first thing about hiring a professor as a consultant.
* Do I just email them and say "Hi, Dr. So and so, I've read your paper about X and want to discuss hiring you as a consultant"? Or do I need some type of introduction? Specifically, if I'm coming from a small business (with the funds to hire them, mind you, but a small business nonetheless), will they take it seriously?
* How can I evaluate their abilities to be a good *consultant*? I know they have the brains and the know-how, but I need more than that: I need someone who will work on the problems we have, giving us a reasonable assessment of their likelihood to solve them, keeping us up to date, and clearing communicating their results.
* Once hired, how do we effectively manage them towards our goals?
* Currently, we have funding to hire them only for the initial stages. With good results, we have investors to approach, and we'd like to say "We're working on this problem; we have Prof. X on it, who's done this so far; with another $1M, we could get here." Will academics be supportive of such an arrangement?
* How do we protect our intellectual property? Our plan is to leverage existing research towards new technological applications. What's to stop our consultants from taking our ideas on their own? This is especially a concern in the initial evaluation stages, where we don't have a business relationship, but need to discuss our applications in some detail nonetheless.
Finally: Are there any resources on how to do this? Books, articles, services? We'd really like to benefit from someone's experience on this.
# Answer
> 16 votes
As an academic with a history of consulting, the proper way to approach the person in question is to contact him directly. Email might work but for initial contacts phone might be better. If he/she is geographically close, a face-to-face would be even better. The initial conversation is really about whether he/she is interested in consulting in his/her area of expertise. If yes, then you can start to dig a little deeper into the project.
Be clear and up front with what you have and what you hope to achieve. Make it clear what the limitations of the project are and that the project might or might not move past the initial phase.
It is unlikely that the size of your business would be an issue but that really depends on his/her personality. You'll know when you ask.
About evaluating if he/she can be a good consultant, explain very clearly what your concerns are. There is no reason for the Prof to be concerned since you do not know each other there is not an issue of personalities and you are not doubting him/her, you are simply saying what you are concerned about. If you have read this person's work you should have an idea of his/her ability to communicate clearly.
As far as managing this person toward the goal, handle him/her as you would any other employee. Normally consultants expect a little bit more freedom but, to repeat myself, be clear with what you want and that might include an update every 2-3 days (more or less depending on the nature of the project - you might want daily updates).
As for protecting your intellectual property, have the Prof sign an NDA/non-compete. This *might* be an issue if it will in any way limit the Prof from exploring his/her own work. For this, you will need to negotiate what kind of legal protections you feel you need. If you write the non-compete in a narrow enough way, the Prof might feel comfortable enough (he/she is getting something out of the deal).
# Answer
> 6 votes
One key question to keep in mind is why someone would want to work as a consultant, since that determines how you interact with them. You're hiring someone who already has a full-time job, and who has chosen to work in academia despite having skills that are valued by industry, so you need to convince them that this is worth their time. It's possible you can find someone short of money who is specifically looking for a part-time job on the side, but that will greatly limit your choices. (The best consultants are often already the best paid faculty to start with, and they generally have many consulting opportunities to choose from.)
In practice, I see three main reasons why someone might value a consulting job, in roughly decreasing order:
1. You offer something they just can't get in academia. For example, unique data or experiences, extensive resources, dramatic real-world impact, etc. A computer scientist might work with Facebook to get access to their social network data, or Google to be able to study search and indexing on a vast scale. This lets them advance their understanding of the field in ways they could not have done otherwise (and hopefully they can publish the results).
2. Even if you can't offer anything unique or unavailable in academia, you may still be working on cutting-edge problems that help inspire and shape their academic research program. The difficulty here is that the world is full of cutting-edge research problems waiting to be solved. To convince someone to work on your problems rather than their own ideas, you need some argument. Maybe your problems are especially exciting or important, maybe they are a perfect match for this researcher's background and interests, or maybe you are offering enough money to outweigh other considerations.
3. If what you want is really routine (with little or no academic research significance), then you may need to offer a lot of money.
This only deals with the first part of your question, on approaching faculty, but I see that as critical: once you establish mutual interest, you can work out the other details. Getting to that point is the hard part, and how you frame things can make a real difference. When you first approach someone, it's much better to say "Here's an opportunity in which we'll pay you to do exciting things that will advance the field and your own research" than "Here's what we need and how much we would like to pay. Would you be willing to do it for us?"
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Tags: professorship, computer-science, industry, intellectual-property, consulting
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thread-10569 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10569 | Finishing a PhD or quitting and taking a job in industry | 2013-06-12T10:30:46.250 | # Question
Title: Finishing a PhD or quitting and taking a job in industry
I am in the second year of a research degree, and with one more year I could finish my PhD. However, I got a very good job offer at a leading company in the field, which would mean I'd have to finish my degree now (which would then be an MPhil) and start working.
I am hard pressed to make a decision, but I find it very hard to judge: what are the benefits of finishing a PhD over taking a job at a good company? Often people do a PhD to get into such a company, but what if that is not the case? Also, I feel that at this point, a job would be more challenging than a third year of a PhD, which would just be a continuation of the same thing I've been doing for two years now.
On the other hand, people tell me it would be silly to quit now that I am so close, because "a PhD is worth so much more." I would very much like some extra input on this: is a PhD 'worth more' in the end? And what are other things that I'd have to take into account to make an informed decision?
I'm only 23 years old, so I could even do a PhD later, but I'd have to start from the beginning again. Would it be an advantage or a disadvantage to have worked for a couple of years, when applying for a PhD again later?
# Answer
I would say that it depends a LOT on the field you work in.
I can tell you my personal experience in my field: programming (although it was with the Masters degree, not with a PhD).
I started working during college, and by the time I finished it, I already had a bit of experience, and was able to get good jobs, although this kept me from finishing the Masters. So far, I had no issues at any interviews with this, I got some certifications and made some specialization courses in my free time, I learned what I wanted, and this helped me a lot.
I also have a few years of experience ahead of my former colleagues that didn't do what I did and finished their studies, but I don't regret my decision.
On the other hand, some of my colleagues managed to get great internships after finishing their studies at very big, picky companies, where I could potentially go in a year or so, but not as an intern (and a good job).
There are a few things you need to ask yourself:
* **Are you doing the PhD to get a job similar to what you have been offered, or to get a much better job in a few more years, and how big is that difference between what you have been offered now, and what you can find after the PhD ?**
* How important is the experience in your field of work ? In more theoretical fields, your PhD can greatly outweigh the experience you can get.
* Do you think that money will ever be an issue (since doing the PhD probably doesn't pay), and unfortunately you have to think of this as well.
* If you don't do the PhD now - how likely are you to resume it in let's say 5 years.
* How well is the university rated in your country ? (check http://www.arwu.org/ )
Also, you can go ask your professor at the university and see what he has to say, he probably saw both scenarios (people who quit to get jobs, and people who didn't) - and he/she will probably have some advice for you.
This is as much as anyone can say, after all, it's your life, and your decisions.
PS: I'm 25, so not much older than you :)
> 9 votes
# Answer
Well, firstly, congratulations on the job offer - you must have seriously impressed them to be offered a position before the completion of the PhD.
So, we come to the crux of the issue, the main thing is (and you have no doubt heard this before), but the decision is up to you, and by that, I mean totally up to you. But, to be a bit more helpful let's look at the information you provided.
You are young and in later years, should you choose to pursue the PhD, it *could* be likely that you will be able to have some credits towards a future PhD (this would depend on the college). If I understand you correctly, you'll be able to get a MPhil? that will help with the first point (credits towards a PhD) and certainly is recognition of the study you have done so far.
So a couple of key questions you have to ask yourself are:
* Which of the job or the PhD will lead you to your goals quicker and in a more enriching way?
* How much would working at this company mean to you?
* and related to the question above, will that opportunity resurface upon completion of your PhD?
Another option, once again depending on the policies of your university is to defer the final year of your PhD or complete it part time, while you work (which is what I am doing).
\-
> 12 votes
# Answer
Is your goal to go into industry after finishing your PhD? If the answer is "yes" and the current job is perfect, my advice will usually be to go. If you goal is to go into academia and to become a professor, the job is a distraction and you should pass on it and finish the PhD.
Of course, things vary by field but my general advice, which I believe is true in most (but not all) fields, is that you need a PhD if you want to be a professor but that it is not critical for doing most other jobs. And because PhDs take up time that you could be sending getting work experience and promotions, it may even be harmful for these other pursuits.
Potential students make the wrong comparison when they judge whether or not a PhD is helpful to their career goals. It is common for people to compare themselves without a PhD *now* to themselves with a PhD *now*. Obviously, the PhD will provide a leg up.
But that's not the accurate comparison because there are opportunity costs to doing a doctorate. The true comparison is between (a) yourself with 4-6 years of experience in industry and no PhD and (b) you with 4-6 years work in a PhD program, no industry experience, and a PhD. In *most* fields, (a) is better, or at least not usually worse, than (b).
Doing a PhD includes a lot of effort that goes into navigating and succeeding in an academic environment. If you are going to be a professor, this is important training. If you are not, you are likely better off doing the things you want to end up doing somewhere more appropriate.
> 8 votes
# Answer
The question is basically, Academia or industry?
I don't think doing both is a good idea at this moment.
Given that you are 23 years old, you probably never have a real industry job before. You will have to devote yourself to the new job if you accept the offer. You probably have to work 50+ hours a week in the first year. It's very hard to do both at the same time if not impossible.
You need to ask yourself a question. What was your reason to study for PhD in the first place? Were you interested in research? Or you wanted to have a PhD in order to have a better industry job?
If your ultimate goal was to have a good industry job, then you just got one. Grab it.
If you wanted to do research, being a retiree from industry, I can tell you that you are not going to have much freedom to do the research you want to do. You'll have to do whatever your employer wants you to do. You'll become a money maker.
So, we are back to the basic question. What was your career plan? If you did not know the answer when you started the PhD program, now is the time to make that decision. If you still don't know the answer after pondering over for a while, then you need to think about Lev Reyzin's suggestion, that is, take leave of absence from Academia. This is not a true good idea, just a temporary solution. It delays your decision. Your attitude will be like going there to test water. Chances are, you'll not devote yourself to your new job. I am not too sure you'll succeed the industry job that way.
My suggestion for you, figure out where you want to be 10 years from now. If the answer is Academia, continue your PhD. If it's industry, take the offer. You don’t need to have PhD to be a successful business person after all.
> 4 votes
# Answer
I am in my last year of a PhD program but decided to take up job now. To be clear and frank about my view towards a doctoral degree, I never enrolled in the PhD program to have Dr. in front of my name. I enrolled as I liked the project would I will be working on and the skills I would be learning from it. Also this would be my main opportunity gain new skills and test my research interest and skills.
I always wanted to work in industry, I worked before my MSc one year in industry. Now I got the opportunity to start working with the current market rate pay with my current work experience. I don't have any regrets if I can't complete my PhD while working at the new job. I can say as most of PhD students in this situation are thinking what others going to say, guilt of living in middle. But I can say that something new to start, something should end. If you think the opportunity is great then go for it. You're the one who will live with your decision, don't worry what others are going to say. If you become successfully in future with your current decision then same people who ridiculed you, will come to you and will ask your help.
I am lucky as my supervisor is realistic and his opinion is that it will be up to me whether I get PhD or not, as working your normal job and completing remaining PhD stuff is tough task to do. So he gave me full freedom to choose as its my life and my career and I will decide which direction it will go.
I am considering taking up job before finishing PhD not just because of job offer. I have a family situation where I need to have job soon and I think this is right choice for me and my family. At the end of journey if I get PhD its all well and good but only if the knowledge skill learned will stay with me always.
Regarding PhD will help you in industry to get job, its too tricky. It depends upon your PhD research area. as not all industry want to have PhD students. and with my interview experiences I realized very few companies prefer PhD students more then someone with a BSc or MSc. Companies are worried about PhD students as how the student after 3 years of research work will fit in industrial world? If not, then company will loose all investment on PhD students when he resigns job as he unable to adjust to the industrial world.
My opinion is Focus on what your rational brain decides and also listen to what your heart wants. When both are same, then go for it.
> 3 votes
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Tags: phd, job, career-path, industry
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thread-47 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/47 | What are alternatives to Journal of Theoretical Biology? | 2012-02-14T22:56:13.430 | # Question
Title: What are alternatives to Journal of Theoretical Biology?
I am considering joining the recent boycott of Elsevier, however I work with biologists on theoretical/mathematical biology (in particular, evolutionary game theory and population biology). However, It seems like Journal of Theoretical Biology is the premier journal for technical work in this field, and my co-authors often suggest it.
What are some (preferably, open-access) alternatives to JTB?
# Answer
Since your work is in game theory and population biology, do not forget Springer's
*Journal of Theoretical Ecology*. It's a newer journal (started in 2008) but already has an impact factor close to JTB, and has an open access option. Alan Hastings is the Editor in Chief of this journal (you'd have a hard time finding a more prominent figure in Theoretical Biology than him).
Unfortunately most journals in the subject don't have open access options (e.g. Mathematical Biosciences, Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, Ecological Modeling, Journal of Theoretical Population Biology, Journal of Theoretical Biology)
Also don't forget Bio Journals, you can stick the more advanced math and proofs in an appendix, and often your work will get more exposure in these journals. I know *Proceedings of the Royal Society Part B*, *the American Naturalist*, *Journal of Applied Ecology* and *PLoS BIO* all have open access options and take modeling papers as long as the results are interesting from a biological perspective and aren't just a cool model that was fun to explore (a good intro and discussion is key for these journals as they all have very high impact factors).
If you prove things in your work also consider applied math journals like *Nonlinear Dynamics* (Springer) which has an open access option.
> 6 votes
# Answer
There are quite a few journals where you can publish theoretical work in this area. Here are a few suggestions (the distinction is based on my perception and knowledge of what they've published, I'll let others chip in if they disagree):
For more theoretical work:
For more applied work:
This is not exhaustive of course, and I suggest you discuss these "candidates" with your collaborators.
EDIT: I marked some of them "open access" because they advertise(d) so. This does not mean that the others do not offer that option, you'll have to check.
> 17 votes
# Answer
You can consider BMC Evolutionary Biology and PLoS ONE for game theoretical studies. Unfortunately both are open access, which means there is a hefty fee involved.
> 3 votes
# Answer
Another good option is "Theoretical Biology and Medical Modeling", here.
> 1 votes
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Tags: journals, open-access, biology
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thread-11767 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11767 | Does a PhD give you global mobility in the job market? | 2013-08-09T05:25:48.827 | # Question
Title: Does a PhD give you global mobility in the job market?
I am thinking of doing a PhD in Condensed Matter Physics at the Indian Institute of Science, which is not a bad place to graduate from as far as I've heard.
The downside is I'll be a little on the older side by the time I graduate, and in India, there seems to be a starting faculty preference of 35 years. I would like to know if I'd be able to practice physics somewhere else in the world after getting a PhD in the area.
I've heard the US is pretty open in terms of hiring foreign candidates, but Europe is not. What about other English speaking countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc? Does a Phd open up career opportunities world-wide?
# Answer
> 3 votes
There are two aspects to this question: the hiring process within an employer's institution, and the immigration policies which allow a foreign worker to move to another country and begin employment.
I think with respect to the first question—the hiring process and preferences of an individual employer—I think that in general, employers are looking for the best-qualified candidates, regardless of their origin. There are certain obvious exceptions to this (for instance, a foreign national will have a hard time getting a position at a National Nuclear Security Administration facility in the US), but otherwise, people will want the person best-suited for the job. I think this is true both in the US and Europe.
The other step is the national immigration policies. This is where things become more complex. For instance, if you are a non-European Union citizen, then your employer will need to certify that your experiences uniquely qualify you for this position, which can delay the hiring process somewhat. Similarly, employers in the US have to wait for you to obtain an appropriate visa, which can delay your start date significantly. This makes it sometimes less advantageous to hire foreign employees. (But this is a "speed bump," rather than an insurmountable obstacle.)
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Tags: career-path
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thread-11661 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11661 | Whom to ask to write a reference? | 2013-08-05T10:08:28.227 | # Question
Title: Whom to ask to write a reference?
I earned my Bs.C. in Computer Science five years ago. Two years ago I started taking courses of advanced level from Computer Science department. Now I am thinking about applying to M.Sc. studies abroad.
The usual requirement is to submit three references. The problem is I don't have someone to write a reference. I wasn't very successful in these advanced courses, therefore I don't think I could ask a lecturer to write a reference, nor his assistant who was checking homework assignments. As option, I could find a professor and start working with him for a while; I am not sure that the result of this work will be a paper, but at least he will be able to somehow evaluate my ability to do a research, the problem is I need three of them.
In addition, I am not sure I could ask someone from my B.Sc. studies to write a reference, just because I lost touch with them.
In your opinion, what is the best way to get three references?
# Answer
> 2 votes
I would reach out to the instructors of the classes you enjoyed the most and put a good effort into, regardless of grade.
As an instructor myself, I have written recommendations for students who have and who haven't received straight A's - my main requirement for writing a recommendation is can I see this person succeeding in the position I am recommending them for? If not, I let the student know that I am not the right person to write the recommendation for them.
I say reach out to your instructors - the worst they are going to tell you is no.
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Tags: recommendation-letter, citations
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thread-11686 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11686 | What should I focus on when asking for conference travel support? | 2013-08-05T21:15:19.083 | # Question
Title: What should I focus on when asking for conference travel support?
A conference I'm submitting to *will be able to offer limited financial support to a small number of participants needing assistance to attend the conference.*. The date of the conference is several months after my PhD finishes and I don't know where I will be at that time, if anywhere, so I am asking for financial support. What should I focus on to maximise my chances?
So far I am mentioning:
* The previous edition of the conference (for which I had other funding) was very useful for me. I presented paper A there (title, reference, I'm 1st author), and got major input that significantly improved paper B (title, reference, highle reuptable journal, I'm second author). Without my participation in the previous conference, paper B would not have been as good as it became.
* The work I want to present now, which is paper C (almost ready for submission; probably published by the time of the conference; title, abstract; I'm 1st author) should be very relevant for the conference (*should I send a copy of the full submitted manuscript?*)
* After the previous conference, I talked to a co-chair (name) and he encouraged me to ask for financial support should I be "between jobs" during the next edition (*NB: he also encouraged me to explicitly mention his name, and I will*)
* My PhD is planned at \<date\>, and I currently don't know where I will be by then.
Does this roughly correspond to what they likely want to hear/know? Am I missing something? Am I saying too much? Should I focus on one aspect more than another?
(*NB: the conference is held every 2 years and is in the field of remote sensing, and it is customary, but not mandatory, to write a non-peer reviewed paper for the conference proceedings*)
# Answer
> 3 votes
Its better to be honest and upfront. If not for ethical reasons, then for logical reasons that networks collide and you don't want to be found guilty of a few hundreds/thousands of dollars - which in the long run would be not much.
I was in a similar situation. I sent something similar to what you wrote and the folks replied back and gave me the funding from my new location. The other way to do this would be showing your affiliation as that of the "/". This is a technical fix - since that should get you the benefits of both locations. I prefer this because I am honest about where the work was done, and where I am today.
Hope this helps!
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Tags: conference, funding
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thread-11789 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11789 | talk with professors about prospective graduate study | 2013-08-10T14:22:07.347 | # Question
Title: talk with professors about prospective graduate study
Following some tips about graduate study, I have contacted the professors before the admission cycle, and managed to secure some appointments with them. I have read through their publications that match my research interests, and prepared some brief write up about my research experiences (though I had sent them my CV beforehand).
I am just confused about what I should expect from such meetings. To be frank, do you think to impress them to the point that they agree to accept me is a feasible thing? Or I should aim for something simpler, like maintaining relationships with them through this semester?
# Answer
> 7 votes
I endorse such meetings, but keep them brief. Prepare a couple of questions, not too many, listen to them talk about their research (and maybe their graduate program), *thank them*, and get out of their hair.
I don't know what "maintaining relationships with them through this semester" means, but unless it involves *you* having something to offer *them*, or having particular questions which are uniquely important to your case, and whose answers can't be determined by looking at the department's website, then I recommend against it.
Good luck to you.
# Answer
> 7 votes
As a rule, I think such meetings are a bad idea. At a minimum you should go in with no admissions agenda. If you are interested in research and only research I think the meeting will go well. But if your real agenda is to help the admissions process, they will read through the facade and probably be annoyed.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions
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thread-11788 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11788 | Thoughts on Business Ownership Experience in the Academic CV | 2013-08-10T14:07:57.673 | # Question
Title: Thoughts on Business Ownership Experience in the Academic CV
So, I'm on the job market, preferably a liberal arts university (I'm an economist). As part of that, I had three discussions with members of my committee about my job market packet. There is quite a bit of disagreement of the importance of one item of my CV, my business.
I started a software company where I developed an SaaS CRM and project management tool (not to mention all of the marketing, documentation, videos, etc.). This company has existed for over 10 years, it put me through my undergraduate degree, and meant that I wasn't living on "my stipend" during my PhD. And probably more to the point, I consider my own identity intimately tied to the company: after all *I decided* everything it did and did all of the work and I'm passionate about the products I made and how they are different than the competition (why they "deserve to exist").
When it came time to put my CV together, I said to myself, screw the normal order. Everyone has a PhD applying for a given job, why should that be first? So my order was:
* Business
* Research
* Teaching
* Presentations
* Education
* Everything Else
I went and talked to a committee member who is more of a friend than anything else, he thought it was strange, but probably good. My chair thought it was fantastic idea. Then I spoke to another committee member, she thought it was just wrong -- and she has been on many search committees.
Not only just wrong, but deserving of no more than a bullet point under "industry experience", she compared it to working for a company (like working for a company and *running a company* are the same thing).
Now, I have a huge amount of respect for all three of these people (I'm unusual in that I actually like my committee). However, what I think happened is that the first two people understand what my company does. They get that product development is really hard and is very similar to research (and in fact harder than research in some cases). And a huge reason that I've been a productive researcher is because of the skills that I gained from the business (not to mention the "real world" perspective). However, when I explained that to the third person, she didn't buy any of that. And I think it is quite possible her reaction is more representative of someone who doesn't know me.
I get that the most important thing is research (and I have more research than most of my cohort, so I'm not suggesting this is a substitute). But people list absurd things on their CV. They list their community service (which I have as well, I just don't list it). Or not real awards (like travel grants). In fact, in this same conversation she suggested I list some extremely minor volunteer work for a grant she applied for. Certainly, the thousands of hours of work involved in my business has to be worth a lot more than that!
So this is my current thoughts. I list the "standard" order, but I still have a good half page on my business, albeit on page 5 of the CV. Thoughts? Does this really not matter at all?
# Answer
> 7 votes
I like your compromise proposal.
It is important, when writing a CV, to demonstrate knowledge and respect for the process by which you're evaluated. In my mind, that strongly suggest putting the "standard" stuff first.
But I also heartily endorse your decision to highlight your work experience. It sounds quite impressive, actually. Just do it after you have assured your prospective employers that you have the credentials and skills they're looking for.
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Tags: job-search, cv
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thread-11795 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11795 | How good are journal papers which ask you to pay x00$ to get published | 2013-08-10T18:49:25.123 | # Question
Title: How good are journal papers which ask you to pay x00$ to get published
I am looking to this journal -International Journal of Information and Education Technology and it seems they need 700$ to get my work included ,once it is approved.But is it a scammy journal .Has anybody heard of this practice before FYI ,here is the link http://www.ijiet.org/
# Answer
> 4 votes
Asking for publishing charges *per se* is not necessarily a bad sign. It is almost unheard of in some fields, but perfectly normal in others.
A good indicator of bad quality and scammy journals is being on Beall's list of predatory journals. I'd suggest you to try and stay away from any publisher on that list, on general principle.
Apart from that, the usual criteria for judging a journal apply: do the other people in your field publish there, or cite their articles? Do you find good papers or reputable authors in the previous issues? Is anyone in the editorial board known to you? Is it indexed in databases and/or has a decent impact factor (with the possible caveat that databases and impact factor can be gamed, and have been in the past).
This question has been marked a duplicate of this one, so I suggest you check out the criteria there as well.
EDIT: fixed the part in which I thought this was on Beall's list, and turned this into a "general advice" answer.
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Tags: phd, research-process, masters, ethics
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thread-11794 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11794 | How to support a student whose aspirations I don't support? | 2013-08-10T17:38:29.903 | # Question
Title: How to support a student whose aspirations I don't support?
I am advising an outstanding graduate student who is currently doing a summer internship with a government agency. He is also applying for a permanent job with the same agency, for which I was quite proud to recommend him strongly. That said, his prospective employer has been the subject of recent news reports which have led me to oppose its work.
I will certainly not renege on my duties as an advisor. But I don't have a good poker face, and I'm afraid that my changed attitude will be all too clear. What would be the kindest course of action? To share my thoughts once and once only, or to keep my mouth shut?
# Answer
> 19 votes
I don’t really understand what part of your “support” your question is about. In short: is the problem how to support him personally (in your discussions with him, in your work relations in general), or how to support his PhD work, or how to support his job application?
For his PhD work, I hope you are able to prevent outside circumstances from impacting negatively your work. As an advisor, this probably happens at some point with any student… and any coworker, really.
For his job application, you don't need to state to support his future job, just to say he would be excellent at it. Just to give an example, stating that “Dr. Martin has all the skills necessary to excel in numerical simulations of deep offshore oil drilling” doesn't require you have to state “I strongly support offshore drilling”, nor does it imply it. Moreover, most recommendations are done in written.
Finally, regarding overall personal support throughout his graduate studies: that's a bit harder, but you truly have to put it past you, and it may not be easy. The best approach is clearly to be upfront with him: discuss it, preferably in an informal manner (i.e. don't make it a big deal). Points that seem important to mention:
1. I have strong feelings about your future employer, and I think it is best that I am frank with you about it.
2. It shouldn't change our work relationship, and I don't expect it to. I continue to support you wholeheartedly.
3. If you think you notice a negative impact in the future, please come and discuss it with me, we'll work it out.
But honestly, it's not a nice situation to be in. I'm a bit surprised as to how what could gather so much distrust from you that you cannot simply separate it from your work.
# Answer
> 6 votes
If your student is very talented perhaps you could help him to find a better position than the one with the government. If you know what your student cares about then find a better use for his skills and propose it to him.
If that doesn't work you could always have a heart-to-heart talk with him to help him to see your concerns.
I believe it is our job to educate our students on more than simply module content (should teach critical thinking, proper citation formats, etc.). I would not recommend cramming your value structure down his throat but I think giving him your ethical perspective to think about is quite reasonable.
# Answer
> 3 votes
In my opinion it is a tough situation, and no answer cannot be complete without knowing more details about the situation.
Before deciding there are few things for you to consider. As earthling said, we should typically educate our students on more than just academical things, but you should also keep in mind that when it comes to many government agencies, opinions vary a lot. Is not necessarily that our opinion about one agency is the right one.
What matters most is your student's goals. If he really likes the position, and it fits his goals for the future, that should matter more than your personal views \[there are few exceptions to this rule, if the agency contradicts the basic morale codes of everyone and everything, again it really depends on particulars of the situation\].
Last but not least, I should point to you that your student worked there for few months, his inside knowledge about the agency is most probably much more accurate than what you found out in the news. Since he applies for a permanent job there, I would guess that he enjoyed the experience, and he didn't find anything wrong with its work.
As you are the only one to know the specific details of the situation, you should try to find the answers alone, we can try to guide you towards it but don't value too much the very general answers we can give, they might not apply to this situation.
In my opinion there are few things you should ask yourself, answering those will tell you what to do:
* What does the student really wants?
* Is this a good opportunity for the student or not?
* Do you think the student can get a better position? Note that better should be "better" in his opinion, not yours?
* Is this agency really bad, or just your opinion? How much can you trust the news you heard about this agency?
* What does your student thinks about these news?
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Tags: advisor
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thread-11809 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11809 | How much does TA experience impact acceptance into PhD programs? | 2013-08-11T21:13:35.297 | # Question
Title: How much does TA experience impact acceptance into PhD programs?
Obviously being a teaching assistant as an undergrad or a masters student looks good, but *how good does it look*? Is it merely a nice little bonus, or does extensive TA experience have a large impact on one's acceptance?
# Answer
From my perspective admitting students to CS PhD programs:
TAing for CS classes will be a small positive signal that you did well in those classes and were well thought of by the instructor (who presumably asked you to be his TA, or at least accepted your application). It might also let you get to know the professor teaching the class better, which will be helpful for your application if he/she can write you a letter of recommendation. But beyond that, it won't be a huge bonus in and of itself -- its mostly a signal correlated with other good things.
> 4 votes
# Answer
It may depend on:
**Where?**
* For instance, teaching is compulsory in most American universities while in the UK you are only "encouraged" to teach, with some exceptions.
**PhD on what?**
* It may not be that important if you are going to do a PhD in theoretical mathematics or a more "industrial topic", while the opposite may happen if the PhD is in Education.
*how good does it look?* It looks good, but it doesn't represent a huge advantage. In my opinion, as long as you get all the requirements, the most important part of the application are the reference/recommendation letters.
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, computer-science, united-states
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thread-11808 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11808 | Does the 'Internet of Things' fall under Computer Networking? | 2013-08-11T20:26:03.350 | # Question
Title: Does the 'Internet of Things' fall under Computer Networking?
I'm currently a MSc Computer Networking student and I recently became acquainted with the internet of things. I've fallen completely in love with this new area and I would love to base my dissertation on this area.
The problem is, I'm unsure if "The internet of things" falls academically within the scope of computer networking at the MSc level. My school is currently "closed" for the summer break, so getting to a lecturer before September is rather difficult. I'll like to know if this is an "okay" topic for me to base my dissertation on for my course, so as to use my summer to do some deeper reading on the subject.
# Answer
I expect you'd have to argue that (some aspect of) current approaches to networking either won't scale to an Internet of Things (IoT), or else will need to be done differently because of device characteristics -- in other words, the networking aspects of IoT will have to be done differently somehow. If you can do that, that could form the basis for a thesis.
> 4 votes
# Answer
This question can be better answered in cs.stackexchange.com. I suggest that the moderators move it there if they dont find it suitable.
The Internet of Things is very huge for a Master or PhD thesis. It's like saying I want to solve the problem of the *Internet*. You should be more specific about what you want to solve. The problems of IoT are separated into *layers*. What will interest you the most is the *networking layer*. This layer is very similar to the OSI model of the Internet. There are tons of unsolved problems in this layer, and tons of others already solved (because they are old problems already found in the Internet).
Suggested problem domains: the services in the Internet of Things, naming resolution in IoT, objects integration in the IoT, objects networks in IoT, security and privacy in IoT, ...
or simply look for conferences about IoT, collect a set of similar papers, read them carefully and find an idea of a good thesis.
> 3 votes
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Tags: masters, computer-science, thesis
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thread-11787 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11787 | How to cite indirect sources in CSE/CBE (name–year) system? | 2013-08-10T13:42:31.583 | # Question
Title: How to cite indirect sources in CSE/CBE (name–year) system?
I’m writing my first review paper and I don’t know much about the CSE system. I couldn’t find the indirect citation rule for CSE (but for others). So how do I cite indirectly in this style?
# Answer
> 1 votes
If you mean by "indirect citation" citing a source cited in another document (which you, most likely, cannot access for some reason) then your citation would be for example:
> (Rawls 1971, cited in Brown 2008)
See the CSE style guide for more information.
Anyway, I would strongly encourage you to find the original source and to avoid indirect, secondary citations as you do not know whether the citation is correct.
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Tags: citation-style
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thread-11621 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11621 | Repositories of funded research projects in different countries? | 2013-08-03T14:21:52.580 | # Question
Title: Repositories of funded research projects in different countries?
I am looking for different national repositories (US, Canada, Australia, UK, etc.) of funded research projects, similar to what **Cordis** does in EU. Any suggestions?
I am after any repository that list funded research and some of the projects details, whether it is public, private or partnership...
# Answer
> 9 votes
**In the US,** the government funded agencies usually publish lists of funded projects. For example, you can search the National Science Foundation database for all of the funded projects relating to "beer". Each of these entries lists the name of the project, the NSF program that funded it, the PI's names and contact information, the amount awarded, the date awarded, and an abstract, among other information.
Here are the databases from other US government funding agencies:
There are other agencies probably, but all you need to do is go to their main site and search for "funded projects" or "Search awards" or "recent awards" or something like that.
One agency that may be hard to search would be DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), which is the scientific research arm of US military.
# Answer
> 7 votes
There are a couple of databases about funded research projects in the **Benelux** countries:
In the **German speaking countries**, there are informative databases about funded reseach projects as well:
# Answer
> 5 votes
In Australia, one of the main funding sources is Discovery Projects from the Australian Research Council. Another are Cooperative Research Centres \- the website has several links attached to it.
Also, 'block grants' are allocated by the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (yes, that is the department's real name).
# Answer
> 5 votes
In France we have the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR, National Agency for Research). The "régions", local administrative divisions, have also a capacity to finance research.
# Answer
> 4 votes
In India it is Shodh Gangotri.
From the website...
> The word “Shodh” originates from Sanskrit and stands for “research and discovery”. “Gangotri” is one of the largest glacier in the Himalayas and source of origination of Ganges, the holiest, longest and largest of rivers in India. The Ganges is the symbol of age-long culture, civilization, ever-aging, ever-flowing, ever-loving and loved by its people.
>
> ... research scholars / research supervisors in universities are requested to deposit electronic version of approved synopsis... The repository... would reveal the trends and directions of research being conducted in Indian universities \[and\] would avoid duplication of research. ...once the full-text thesis is submitted for a synopsis, a link to the full-text theses would be provided from ShodhGangotri to "ShodhGanga".
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Tags: research-process, funding, repository
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thread-11831 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11831 | Should a CV for a fellowship application ever include test scores even if these scores are not requested? | 2013-08-12T12:54:39.103 | # Question
Title: Should a CV for a fellowship application ever include test scores even if these scores are not requested?
I did quite well on my GREs -- perfect scores on all three sections of the general test, and a result in the 98th percentile on the relevant subject GRE test. I'm applying for Ph.D. programs in a STEM field and will naturally submit these scores as part of my application.
However, I'll also be applying for fellowships like the NSF graduate fellowship and the Hertz. It's my understanding that these fellowships do not require the GRE, but I would assume these strong scores might work in my favor if the relevant committees were to know about them. Can/should I include these scores on the CV I submit with my application, or is doing so always considered gauche?
# Answer
> 5 votes
If you are going to cite your scores, then you should check to see if there is a reporting mechanism from ETS that will allow you to send official copies of the scores to the recipients. For instance, NSF had a "college code" so that you could send a report directly to them. Other fellowships may be similar.
One caveat that should be mentioned: if a university or fellowship *specifically* instructs you *not* to send something, **don't send it.** I know that some schools do not want and will not accept additional letters of reference, award citations, publications, and so on. If this is the case for the specific application you're completing, then you'll want to find some other way to provide the information. This might be in the form of a mention in one of your essays (if appropriate!), or in a "supporting information" box in the application.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, application, cv, funding
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thread-11821 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11821 | How much does "having publications" mean to a undergraduate direct-PhD applicant? | 2013-08-12T05:19:41.537 | # Question
Title: How much does "having publications" mean to a undergraduate direct-PhD applicant?
I am an EE student specializing in **Communications and Networks** (actually a bit more on sensor networks/signal processing) who plans to apply for a direct PhD program in the top US universities.
I have seen some undergraduates who have been directly offered PhD programs by the top electrical engineering (EE) US universities, e.g. MIT, Stanford, and UCB.
Needless to say, they all have a super high GPA and some have very good GRE scores. (I say `some` instead of `all` here, because MIT does not require GRE at all!)
Besides these two characteristics, they have also published several papers whilst undergraduates. Maybe just by coincidence, they are all from **Microelectronics**. As a layman in Microelectronics, I heard that it would be relatively easy for an undergraduate to publish a paper in this field, because a lot of publications are experiment-based.
But it seems quite difficult for me and other peers who also specialize in Communications and Networks to publish some work during as undergraduates. It seems that publishing something in this field requires more knowledge that is out of the scope of a undergraduate.
1. Do most of the EE undergraduate successful applicants have publications? What about in the **Communications and Networks** field?
2. If an applicant has no final results (papers), but a 9-month research experience, will the experience help? By how much?
3. How can a undergraduate applicant outperform a master applicant who holds some publications during his/her master study?
**Remarks: Any generic answers are warmly welcome!**
# Answer
While I can't comment about microelectronics or EE specifically, I should point out that many US graduate schools admit external candidates *only* to a Ph.D. program; there is no option available for admission to a master's program *en route* to a doctoral program. Consequently, the students met the requirements for admission to the school, period.
Research experience is always helpful, particularly because it gives you a potential letter of reference from someone who can directly comment on your skills *as a researcher*, which is the biggest thing that graduate departments are looking for. They want candidates who are capable of doing high-quality research, and having confirmation of that—whether or not there are papers already written—is a vital component of that process.
I would also suggest it's probably not worth it to try to compete with faceless peers whose credentials you can't guess. That's a hopeless endeavor that will just make you frustrated and dispirited. Just do the best job that you can with the resources available to you, rather than worrying about "keeping up with the Joneses."
> 10 votes
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Tags: phd, publications, undergraduate, research-undergraduate, engineering
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thread-11832 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11832 | How to effectively use blogging as a tool to gain visibility in academia | 2013-08-12T12:59:24.993 | # Question
Title: How to effectively use blogging as a tool to gain visibility in academia
While a lot has been said in this site about the importance of visibility in academia, I specifically want to know about the effectiveness of blogs: are blogs an effective means to communicate your presence in the field? I envisage the blog to contain posts which informally talk about selective publications.
What points should one consider when writing blogs about published papers? It is a significant challenge not to exceed the usual blog lengths when writing on a technical paper. Are there effective tips an academic blogger should keep in mind?
# Answer
I think it is well accepted that an online presence for early career researchers is a good thing, even though a minority actually have one. As an example, blogs on my website have been reposted a few times on various news sites, and they also appear high up the search engine list for keywords relating to my field of research. I also managed to get invited to speak on the back of my website, so in my experience a website really does improve your visibility.
The first challenge with blogs is deciding who they are aimed at. Remembering back to my early PhD, understanding papers was hard, and so I decided that I would focus on researchers in my field (magnetism) but try and avoid all unnecessary jargon, which should also make it accessible to undergraduates in the discipline. If you are blogging about your publications, then it means you can simplify the result for a broader audience, without compromising on the detail (those who are interested can look up the paper on your site - don't make them hunt for it or have it stuck behind a pay wall).
My main tips for an academic blog are:
1. Talk about all your publications - what is the main result in laymans terms and specify why it is important.
2. Don't worry too much about length limits. Academics are used to reading long documents and a blog a couple of pages long doesn't take long to skim. However, research is generally technical and so it is difficult to write a superficial post such as 'I had omelette for tea' or some such.
3. A blog is as much about you as the subject, so write in the first person and include your wider activities. For example, I always write up conference visits and talks I have attended/done.
4. Pictures and figures are a lot more effective than words, so use these extensively if you can.
> 8 votes
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Tags: publications, blog
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thread-11843 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11843 | Should I not apply to a PhD program when a Potential Advisor gives me a generic response? | 2013-08-12T21:12:49.370 | # Question
Title: Should I not apply to a PhD program when a Potential Advisor gives me a generic response?
I have been sending emails to potential advisors for PhD programs, and the responses have varied from, You have an impressive CV, and I strongly encourage you to apply, to lets discuss future projects over skype.
The "lets discuss projects over skype" is a no brainer. But the "impressive CV" response seems a bit generic, and am wondering if he wants me to apply just to have more applications? So finally, I have these questions:
If you are a potential PhD advisor, what kind of responses do you give students that you MOST want to apply to the program? Do you ever say, please don't apply here? Does this vary depending on the ranking of the institution? I tend to get the generic ones from higher ranked programs and the more personal ones from lower ranked programs.
Also, For people who have applied to Phd programs, What kinds of responses did you get and what was the outcome of your application there?
The primary motivation for this question is because there are many departments I wish to apply to, but realize applying to 20 programs would take up too much time.
Anyway, thanks for taking a look at my questions.
# Answer
> 11 votes
In managing responses, you should keep in mind the policies and procedures of respective departments. For instance, in my field, projects aren't discussed until after a student's been admitted, and the decision regarding advisors isn't made until after students enroll. So there's little productive reason for an advisor to discuss projects with prospective students, given the enormous time between the conversation, and when the student would start working.
In addition, keep in mind that professors are busy professionals, and have lots of demands on their time. For instance, the professor you've written to might be on travel, or have some ongoing commitments that preclude a longer answer.
Now, on the other hand, if you're submitting to an individual PhD position, and the professor will hire you "directly," then a generic response isn't so good, unless there's an indication that the professor would like to discuss things further.
Finally, how generic a person's response will be will also depend on how generic or specific your initial inquiry is. If someone "cold calls" me, and "greets" me with "Dear Sir" or "Hello," and doesn't show any signs of explaining why I should consider hiring that individual, I am unlikely to respond at all, because why should I write a personal response to a form letter?
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Tags: graduate-school, graduate-admissions
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thread-11441 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11441 | How should I respond to a terrible copyediting job? | 2013-07-27T16:27:18.587 | # Question
Title: How should I respond to a terrible copyediting job?
I just received the galley proofs for an article which has been accepted to a well-regarded math journal.
The copyediting is, quite frankly, terrible. The copyeditor has introduced dozens of mathematical, typographical, and bibliographic mistakes. The proofs were accompanied by a list of changes and questions, and some of the newly introduced mistakes were described in this list, but not all.
A few representative examples:
* The editor has, in many places, replaced the mathematical notation \<\< with "is much less than". It is universal within my subfield of mathematics that \<\< means something very different from "is much less than".
* The editor has typeset fractions in different ways, so that what was formerly in the denominator is now in the numerator.
* The editor has monkeyed unacceptably with the bibliography. I used a software package, for which I looked up on their FAQ how to cite it. The editor replaced my correct bibliography entry with something different.
* The tables now appear in wrong places. A cursory reading of the edited text reveals that it now makes no sense, and this would be obvious even to someone without specialized knowledge of my field.
I could go on and on, but I don't want to just rant. Instead I have two closely related questions:
* First of all, is this typical? I find it difficult to imagine that a publisher who did this kind of shoddy work on a regular basis could stay in business. I wonder if I just had the bad luck to get the new employee this time around.
* More importantly, is a strong response warranted? I am inclined to write to the journal staff, tell them that their work is unacceptably sloppy, explain in detail why, and ask them to start over from scratch, and to furnish a list of all changes made, no matter how minor.
This is not just because I want to pick an argument. I have gone through my paper line-by-line several times in the past, making very sure that everything I said was correct. With this level of copyediting work, I am back to square one and I suspect I might accidentally miss several errors introduced by the copyeditors.
Would such an e-mail be likely to produce the kind of results I'm looking for?
Thank you very much.
**Update:** Thanks to everyone who replied. I wrote a strong, but I hope polite, e-mail to my contact at the journal, listing several of the mistakes, and asking them to start over and to send me a complete list of changes. His first reply was a little bit ambiguous, appearing to perhaps misunderstand what I was asking for -- but he has since apologized and agreed to my requests.
One point of departure from Anonymous Mathematician's advice: I haven't said anything to the editorial board and the publisher, or discussed this issue (other than here, anonymously) with anyone but my coauthor and my contact at the journal -- happily, it looks like there won't be any reason to.
**Update 2:** As I requested, my contact at the journal started again from scratch, did a much more conservative job of copyediting, and provided me a copy of my file which was marked up in red and blue with every change they made. Needless to say this made my job quite easy and I thanked them for their good work.
# Answer
That does sound terrible. I haven't run into anything so bad myself, but I know people who have. It seems to vary a lot by publisher. My impression is that it happens occasionally when they try to save money on copyediting by outsourcing to a new, cheap copyediting company. If the results are terrible, then the publisher will switch to the next-cheapest company, and this will continue until the publisher finds an acceptable level of quality. Unfortunately, it leads to bad results for authors who get caught in the middle of this process. Hopefully the publisher will learn from this incident and the problem won't continue.
> More importantly, is a strong response warranted?
Yes, certainly.
> ask them to start over from scratch, and to furnish a list of all changes made, no matter how minor
I'd guess that getting them to start over from scratch will be difficult, but you should certainly insist on seeing a second set of proofs.
Asking for a list of all changes made could be useful, but it's not clear whether you can trust that they will compile a complete list (they may be sloppy about that too). Many copyeditors mark up a paper copy before changing the file, so you may have some luck in getting a photocopy/scan of the marked up copy.
I'd also recommend letting the editorial board know, and perhaps the publisher too. If you just resolve the issue directly with the copyeditors, it's possible that nobody else will find out what happened.
> 24 votes
# Answer
This is perfectly normal. Copyediting is often of poor quality, even with reputable publishers.
In my experience, the following approach seems to work fairly well:
* Be polite. Thank for the proofs. Do not accuse anyone, do not vent. Imagine how you would respond if you had found just one tiny typo, and follow the same pattern even if there are dozens of mistakes.
* List every copyediting error, and explain carefully what is wrong in each instance. Try to be as thorough as possible. Most likely this is your last chance; do not assume that you will get another opportunity to review the proofs before the paper is printed.
* Email your response ASAP, preferably before the deadline. Remember that copyeditors have their own deadlines to meet.
This way you can maximise the chances that the copyeditors will do their best to fix all mistakes in your paper — they will know what to fix and how, and they will also have time and motivation to do it.
**Summary:** Do not try to fix the whole world, just try to *cooperate* with the copyeditors to fix *your paper*.
> 6 votes
# Answer
Tell them to revert everything to the original version, period. If they introduced 100 mistakes, it is not your job to find them all (besides, I doubt you'll find more than 70 anyway). Be polite but firm. Don't accuse anybody of anything but stand the ground even if you'll have to withdraw the paper. Your primary duty, as a writer, is to readers, not to publishers. Good luck!
> 3 votes
# Answer
If a copy-editor (CE) changes the meaning of your manuscript you obviously need to recorrect it. The CE should have received a set of "house rules" for how thing should be formatted but it is not likely the CE is an expert in evey field. In your case it sounds as if the CE has been "trigger happy". In any case, you should makethe necessary corrections and return the proof to the editor detailing what you find wrong with the CE edits. You should clearly state why the edits are unacceptable.
Concerning your point about location of tables, I am not sure what exactly you mean by "wrong place" but the journal will obviosuly place tables and figures where they make type-setting sense but should of course be located after where they are first referenced in the text.
So in some cases journals (CE) may change things to adhere to "house rules". These changes must be accepted but of course not when they change the meaning of the paper or introduce errors. I have experienced similar (but not as severe) edits to my own papers, I have also been in the position to enforce house rules in the journal I edit, but never to the point of changing the meaning. If in doubt I would have contacted the author or passed along a query about the particular issue.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, copy-editing
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thread-11848 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11848 | Importance of degree and publication vs. degree alone | 2013-08-13T03:33:15.007 | # Question
Title: Importance of degree and publication vs. degree alone
I'm going to be starting graduate school next week with a major in Mathematics. I've started working on some research in mathematical biology this summer. It's applied mathematics linked with computational biology.
What is the tangible advantage of getting a research publication along with my masters degree vs. just getting a masters degree?
What are the benefits for a math major, for future job prospects?
Also, if I want to apply for another masters degree later, how much will getting a publication help me?
# Answer
> 5 votes
A **tangible advantage** can only be measured for an agreed upon measure (or "utility function" if you prefer). This is a classic misstep in attempts at persuasion. I can't convince you to do *anything* (or appreciate anything) if I don't know your core values and phrase my arguments in terms of those values. Unfortunately, the phrase "future job prospects" is rather vague, so I will guess a bit at what you're hoping to pursue and accomplish.
First suppose that you're **considering getting a PhD** in the future. This one is easy. If you do go for a PhD, a large chunk of your time will be spent on *research* and *publishing*. What exactly this looks like varies significantly even within math, depending on how applied your subfield is. However, if you stick with the same subfield (or even one nearby), then publishing a paper during your masters will often give you a reasonable sense of what you'll be doing during your PhD. This will **help you to know whether you want to get a PhD or not**. Having published a paper during your masters will also help convince the admissions committee that you are likely to succeed in a PhD program, and **improve your chance of being admitted to a PhD program**.
Suppose instead that you plan to **pursue a job that requires technical writing skills**. This one is pretty obvious too. Writing (as with most things) is a skill that you acquire only by doing. Many (most?) journals require a higher quality of writing than is typically needed in your masters thesis. They also require you to **write in a certain style, to a certain audience, etc**. Being forced to do **this will make your writing better**.
Finally, suppose that you want to **convince someone that you take initiative** or that you **conceive a project and see it through**. In either case, having published a paper can serve as good evidence. Like most things, after you've published multiple papers, the process will get faster (though not likely *fast*). But the first time you do it, you'll invest a lot of time, and often not know quite what is needed. This can be frustrating, but also rewarding when you succeed. The **ability to teach yourself new skills is far more marketable than anything you will learn in grad school**.
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Tags: research-process, graduate-school, publications
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thread-11825 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11825 | Is it mandatory to have published papers while applying for PhD? | 2013-08-12T06:49:59.730 | # Question
Title: Is it mandatory to have published papers while applying for PhD?
I've heard from people saying that while applying for PhD, you need to have past experience in researching something and should have international publications. I was like more concentrated towards practical experience and have't had any publications. If I am aspiring to do PhD and want to apply, it would be impossible if such a criteria exists!
# Answer
> 15 votes
> Is it mandatory to have published papers while applying for PhD?
No.
However, if you have any research experience (working in a lab, research you've done for classes, undergraduate thesis, capstone project, etc.), you should highlight that on your application, both in your personal statement and on your resume / CV. More importantly, your letters of recommendation should discuss your **potential** for research. Your recommendation writers should know this, but it would be worthwhile to highlight this in any material you provide to them when you ask them for recommendations, and when you discuss it with them. Trust me, the more information you can give your letter writers, the better their letters will be. I explicitly ask students what their goals are when I'm writing letters of recommendation so I can tailor them appropriately, and you should make sure your letter writers understand that you're applying for a PhD and what your research goals are.
> I was like more concentrated towards practical experience and have't had any publications.
If by "practical experience" you mean that you worked on an unsolved problem, then that counts as research. If you simply re-applied knowledge in order to learn how to become proficient in that field (e.g., you programmed a microcontroller to turn lights on and off via voice commands), then the research angle is harder to spin. But, do the best you can to highlight on your applications why you believe you have the preparation to do quality research.
# Answer
> 8 votes
I agree with Chris Gregg here, and I would like to detail my personal situation, as it might be relevant here.
I am about to get my Master's degree in CS and will start my first year of PhD in October with only a four-month experience in R&D (and not really research *per se*) during an exchange program and with no publication. In my opinion, there are three points that played in my favour while applying :
1. Four-month experience is still experience, and you should highlight it in your resume and cover letters. In my case, this experience was at the roots of my choice to get a PhD; reading articles, getting to learn of tons of great ideas on a single subject, then trying to develop your own idea and finally publishing it are the reasons why I have decided to get a PhD. But more importantly, thanks to this experience, I got to know what it was like to work in the industry (through internships) and to work in research, and it allowed me to justify my choice more easily.
2. You have to narrow down the subjects that interest you, as a PhD is a long-term engagement. During my applications, I have specifically targeted the Human-Computer Interactions domain (HCI) and have been lucky enough to find a subject on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) that is related to HCI and to learning sciences (which is great because I want to be a teacher, eventually).
3. Choose wisely your recommendation writers. They have to testify your ability to work in research and academia. I have been accepted for a subject only because the contact knew a PI who wrote a letter.
So the answer to your question is no, but prior experience in research and clear future career goals have to be emphasized in your applications in order to get not only what you want, but also what suits you.
# Answer
> 1 votes
I think a general answer to your question is "no, it's not essential (but it won't hurt!)".
It's important to bear in mind that this will be more true for some disciplines than others. In a lab science, for instance, it is fairly common for undergraduates to show up on the publications of group leaders on whose projects they have worked during some kind of internship. This is in stark contrast to a discipline such as economics, in which most students do not have any publications even at the time of completion of their PhD! Try to find out what the norms are in your discipline of choice.
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Tags: phd, publications
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thread-11865 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11865 | Worth attending discipline's national conference as early grad student if not presenting? | 2013-08-13T19:40:57.243 | # Question
Title: Worth attending discipline's national conference as early grad student if not presenting?
I just finished the 2nd year of a PhD program. I was planning to present a poster at the national conference but (probably) need to cancel. Now I'm deciding whether to attend the conference anyway. On the one hand: I'll meet people and probably enjoy myself. On the other hand: I could use the time for other work, would prefer not to spend $$ on the hotel, and I'm years away from being on the job market.
$$$. My plane ticket is non-refundable. My hotel is refundable. So I could save some money by skipping the conference.
# Answer
> 19 votes
Attending conferences is very useful for several reasons. Usually, the work presented at conferences involve the latest developments in the field. This may provide you with new ideas or tools for your own research. It will give you a good overview of what is happening. You will also become familiar with who is doing what. In addition to this you also have the possibility to get in touch with colleagues and strike up new contacts with persons working on questions for interest to you. This can become useful in the sense that you can possibly start up collaborations or simply become known to others in the field. The latter can be important, for example, when you publish since reviewers might easily be someone you meet during the conference. Obviously, presenting something makes this even easier but being there is far better than not.
The reason I can see from not going is if you do not think the conference is of major interest or if you do not think you will meet people interested in similar questions to yours, in other words if you cannot see any academic benefits from going. Saving money is of course also a valid question if you think you can use that money more wisely on, for example, another conference.
But, in general, go to good conferences regardless of whether you have something to present or not.
# Answer
> 7 votes
It also depends a lot on your field.
In my field (mathematics), I largely agree with everything fedja had said. Having been to (and organized a special session for) a big national conference, I found that the best part about it is the social aspect, and some of the cool stuff you get to see at the vendors. In terms of talks I listened to they generally fall in one of two categories:
1. Someone I know (or know of) speaking on a subject I am (quasi-)familiar with at a level that is slightly lower (more general) than what they would say in a seminar or smaller, more specialist oriented conferences and workshops. Which is rather comforting to hear but often I don't learn much (though there are a few wonderful exceptions) more than what I already know.
2. Someone whom I don't know speaking on a subject I am unfamiliar with at a level that is slightly lower (more general) than what they would say in a seminar or smaller, more specialist oriented conferences and workshops, yet still flies *entirely over my head*.
In some fields conferences are a lot more plentiful, and missing one conference, even a "national" one, will not be that big a deal. And if you are short on money, you may well want to be picky about how and where you travel.
But in some other fields (take Geology for example), *the* National Conference (fully deserving of the capital letters) is the place to be and everyone in the field, from graduate students to emeritus faculty, who doesn't have a very good reason *not* to be there tends to be there. (The AGU fall meeting attracts more than 3 times the participants than the largest mathematics meeting in the world.) If your field is anything like that, I'd say you probably should make an effort to participate.
Lastly, when it comes to money (though this may be a bit late), many of the national conferences have special funding set aside for graduate students, and in addition many graduate programs have some limited travel funding provided. You may also want to talk to your advisor about travel funding. Both my wife and I are in academia, and neither of us have ever paid out of pocket for conference attendance as graduate students. (Of course, in your field the situation may yet be different.)
# Answer
> 5 votes
I prefer to rely upon the grapevine, the internet, and the personal communication more than on formal meetings but if you like socializing, by all means go. Just make sure that
1) You know which talks you want to attend and to which people you'd like to talk and are prepared to both sitting through the talks and the conversations. Nothing is as meaningless and time-wasting as sitting through a talk in which you understand only the speaker's name and affiliation, and nothing is as pathetic as a graduate student who tries to communicate with some expert and either has no idea of what he (student) is talking about or has nothing more interesting to say than "My name is ..., my adviser is ... , it was nice to meet you".
2) If you've made a poster already, take it with you anyway. Even if it is not displayed in the main hall, you may still have an opportunity to show it to some people (of course, it shouldn't be 8 by 10 feet in this case, so you may want to downsize it a bit).
3) In spite of what I said in 1) and 2), do not take the whole affair with beastly seriousness and have some ideas about what to do in the town or nearby for fun.
As to work, in most conference places you may find a quiet room or two (in the worst case scenario, just return to your hotel) where to spend some time alone between the events that really interest you. Unless you fly trans{atlantic/pacific}, you can reduce the wasted time to just a few hours, not days. As to the job market, if you are any good, the earlier you appear on the radar screens, the better. As to dollars, it should be your own decision: I suspect you'll not end up in the bankruptcy court or become a millionaire either way :).
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Tags: graduate-school, conference, networking
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thread-11847 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11847 | When should I write a thank you letter to the author of a scholarly paper? | 2013-08-13T03:21:55.817 | # Question
Title: When should I write a thank you letter to the author of a scholarly paper?
If I read a scholarly paper and find it interesting and beneficial, should I write a short thank you letter to the author? Should I send the thank you letter from a `.edu` email address?
# Answer
> 28 votes
It certainly wouldn't hurt, and as a published author myself, I would say it would be very nice feedback, particularly if you include details about:
* specifically any particular points/methods you found useful.
* A brief outline of how you are extending the work.
* Perhaps any question you have about the article.
This could be a good way to make yourself known in Academia, especially if the author is an influential scholar in your field. However, a caveat, don't overdo it - in terms of being 'over the top' complementary or too many 'rapid fire' letters/emails.
But, it would more than likely be appreciated as it would be a validation of the author's work.
# Answer
> 19 votes
I want to try to give some background to convey the perspective of the researcher on this matter.
For a scientist, the publishing of a paper is usually the culmination of **a lot** of hard work. The scientist has gone through coming up with the project, implementing it, solving all the problems, summarizing it all into a paper, and then through a long process of peer review. Each of these steps involves major effort.
Then the paper gets published. I personally found this to be very anti-climatic. The paper summarizes so much effort, but you rarely get any personal feedback about the paper, except maybe at meetings and conferences. Since we are all publishing our work openly for the benefit of mankind, I think every scientist would be happy to get feedback from people on his/her paper and hear that it was helpful in some way.
# Answer
> 17 votes
Given that most of the correspondence I get when putting out a new paper goes something like "I have just read your very interesting new paper. I want to inform you of my related works \[....\]," and thus is very transparently a request to be cited, the rare message that just says something like "I liked your new paper!" is always a welcome change of pace.
# Answer
> 7 votes
Please do. The author will likely be pleased to hear about any specifics you found particularly interesting or helpful.
As a scientist one of the main goals is to disseminate your findings and spur interest in your work.
It is especially good to send a letter if the paper becomes a significant inspiration for your own research. But, in this case you will also complement the authors by citing their work in your papers.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I would certainly be very pleased to receive 1 or 2 of such letters but I would hate to make it a standard academic practice (The image of Jean Bourgain reading "fan mail" sends shivers down my spine. Brrrrrr....).
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Tags: publications, etiquette, email
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thread-11836 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11836 | reliable english editor online? | 2013-08-12T15:02:07.567 | # Question
Title: reliable english editor online?
I am encountering some problems for making my research in English, due that this is not my native language. Even though my ideas are crystal clear in my language I find it extremely hard to express them in English.
For checking issues related to grammar and syntax I have been using Proofread Bot, it is an online grammar and syntax reviewer, but their results are not so accurate. I have been checking some persons that make this task, but their fees are pretty high (almost 200 USD for a 3 pages articles); and I would not like to be paying this amount every time that I want to submit something.
Does anybody knows another software reliable english editor tools online?
# Answer
Whatever spelling or grammar checkers you use, you may rely only on their ability to detect a problem, not on their suggested solutions. Alas, if your paper is not completely trivial, this applies to most human professional editors as well no matter how much they charge or how many years of experience they claim. So, in the end, it'll all come back to you no matter what. I have been writing and speaking in broken English for 20 years and the only people who complained were the undergraduate students who, as far as I can judge, would hate me even if I had spoken with perfect Cambridge pronunciation and Oxford grammar. Just write in short simple sentences and you'll be fine. It will not be an exaggeration to say that, no matter what field you are in and what subject you are writing upon, the probability that an attempt of expressing your thought in an overly flamboyant manner, including all nuances and sideline remarks into a single sentence, and alluding to the arguments described in several previous passages at once (especially when the the latter are structured similarly to the phrase under consideration and the references to them can hardly be called unambiguous), will not throw the reader off for good somewhere in the middle of an elaborate construction you have built with utmost patience and verified against all spelling and grammar tools at your disposal is nearing that of the event that a layman be able to recite a sophisticated ten page legal contract with all details including each and every involved party and covenant therein in a single outpour flowing as effortlessly and graciously as a wide river in a deep valley after a quick look at it, i.e., zero. Just make sure that your thought is clear. Then yor massage wll cam thru evn if wrds r misspld and wrng grmmar.
> 7 votes
# Answer
I am sympathetic to your problem since I had (and have) it, too, as a non-native English speaker.
Spellcheckers are easy to use and reliable, so use them everywhere you can. Even as I am typing this answer I get a squiggly line below every incorrect word.
Grammar is completely different though. As far as I know there is no easy way to check it in an automated way. Some software tools are listed in this thread on tex.se, but even an intermediate English speaker would find most of them disappointing; they do catch some missing 's', but with so many false positives and negatives that it's hardly worth the effort to go through the results.
My suggestions would be: either (1) find some English exchange student willing to proofread at much cheaper rates, or (2) ignore the issue; it's not so important. I am not a native speaker myself, so I am not in the best position to judge, but your English looks clear enough to me. As long as the paper is understandable to the referees, it shouldn't be a problem if there are occasional grammar errors. After acceptance, the journal's copy editors should make a full grammar check and proofread for you for free as part of the publication process. By going through their correction you can identify the typical mistakes in your English prose and try to improve when writing the next paper.
I work in mathematics; if you are in the liberal arts the situation could be very different though.
> 4 votes
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Tags: writing, language
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thread-11885 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11885 | In a submitted manuscript, how (un)usual is a note "will be inserted in the final manuscript", or other meta-information to editor&reviewers? | 2013-08-14T19:59:38.100 | # Question
Title: In a submitted manuscript, how (un)usual is a note "will be inserted in the final manuscript", or other meta-information to editor&reviewers?
I'm about to submit a manuscript describing a data product. In the manuscript, I will advertise that the data are available for public use under the ODC Attribution license. *After* submission, I will start the process to transfer the data to the World Data Center for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, who would like to see a manuscript *before* I can transfer my data. But in the manuscript, I hope to have a persistent link, citing the actual data. So, I have a chicken-and-egg problem.
I could solve this by writing in the submitted manuscript a note *This will be adapted in the final version*. How usual or unusual is it to write such meta-information in a manuscript? Or should I rather not make mention of it in the initial submission, and rather communicate this meta-information to the reviewers via the editor?
# Answer
I recently had a similar problem and submitted a paper including the sentence:
> Data for the analysis has been submitted to Dryad (http://datadryad.org) with DOI: xxxxxxxx (Note: data will be uploaded at publication, during the review found in Appendix A).
The journal did not have any problem with this, and I have now recieved the reviews. However, I contacted the journal beforehand and asked about this, since Dryad only accepts data from papers that are published or in press. In this case I included the data as an extra, review-only, appendix, and the need for this will naturally depend on specific journal policies.
Only communicating this information to the editor (your last option) should also be fine. However, for the reviewers it can be useful to have the information in the actual manuscript when they are reading, instead of buried in an email from the editor.
> 14 votes
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Tags: peer-review, paper-submission
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