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thread-15301 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15301 | Prerequisities to become an MD-PhD? | 2014-01-02T17:41:10.490 | # Question
Title: Prerequisities to become an MD-PhD?
Officially, I am studying computer science. However, what I am actually doing is computational neuroscience. More over, the research I do is mostly *medical research*.
I have noticed that there are programs for MD-PhDs. However, in most countries, there seems to be always some legal requirements one has to fulfill to enter such programs. These requirements are not given very clearly out in most cases.
With an M.Sc in computer science, can I apply to such programs? More trickier question is would it be wise..? I mean, I could just go to a neuroscience program. However, I would be also really interested to help people with psychological, neurological, etc. issues (work in hospital), when having the MD title is a must?
# Answer
Most of the "legal requirements" associated with MD-PhD programs are financing related. In general, such programs are usually sponsored and funded by national health ministries (or their equivalents). Therefore, it is preferred (or required) only to have legally qualified citizens participate in such programs.
As for the choice of major, in general, computer science is not one of the usual entry points for MD-PhD programs, which tend to be more closely related to experimental programs and majors (e.g., chemistry, biochemistry, biology, bioengineering). That said, there is more of an emphasis nowadays on computational science in medicine, and more and more MD-PhD programs are expanding their scope to include bioinformatics and computational biology. But it is still definitely not a universal, and CS majors will be at something of a disadvantage.
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, career-path, medicine
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thread-15193 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15193 | Had the idea vs. did the work: Who should be the lead author? | 2013-12-29T23:38:18.283 | # Question
Title: Had the idea vs. did the work: Who should be the lead author?
Dr. A came to Dr. B asking for research ideas. Dr. B gave him a thesis, explained its value, why it's plausible, and how to test it. Dr. A liked this, got Student C to do the work, and managed the work.
Now, it's time to publish their results. How should they determine the lead authorship?
# Answer
> 9 votes
The lead author should be the person who carries out the bulk of the research work—including the planning, execution, and writing.
If the student C is the one responsible for carrying out the experiments *and* writing the paper, then C should be considered the primary agent of the paper.
Who should be the "final" author is a different matter. I would suspect that this really should be professor B, who had the original idea. The role of doctor A is only as research manager, so his role is nominally weaker than that of either B or C in this process. So, ultimately, barring other negotiations and arrangements to the contrary, it should be:
> Student C, Doctor A, Professor B.
If there is some other distribution of roles beyond what is laid out above, it would need to be negotiated between everybody involved.
*Note*: In fields where lexicographic order is not used, the final author position also carries weight. It usually is the head of the research group or team that originated the project.
# Answer
> 7 votes
There is no easy answer. Providing an idea is certainly a good part of research but performing experiments, interpreting results and writing up the paper (discussion) are equally important (by equal I do not mean they are worth exactly the same, just important). There are several ways in which one can discuss the order based on evaluating the value of each component of the research process and then evaluate each persons contribution on each of these components. There have been a few posts (not necessarily in their entirety relevant to your question) here that discusses *contributorship* which I will not reiterate here. Please check the following (particularly links in the answers):
Paper contributions and first authorship
How should a student defend his 1st authorship in front of his advisor politely and effectively?
Authorship for paper based on my thesis
The point here is that none of the different aspects are alone enough for first authorship so one must weigh all components involved in the research process. It is of course harder to accomplish this "after the fact" but if all involved agree to try I am sure you can come up with a good author order.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Dr. A was a wise man, a negotiated such things when asking for the research ideas? :-)
Well, if B is more senior than A, then in most fields the order would be C, A, B. First authorship goes to the student, who did the most work. Last authorship goes to the most senior researcher. Then, the only position left for A is the second authorship. (Assuming for example that C is a grad student, A is a post-doc or something, and B is a professor).
# Answer
> 1 votes
In addition, there is the possibility of having a paragraph "Contributions". Some journals actually ask for such a statement.
If the discussion about the order of authors becomes difficult, this can calm down the discussion, also because writing down who did what often points out the order the authors should have.
# Answer
> 0 votes
The description is quite vague.
If I read the paper and I have questions about it, who should I ask?
That should be the first author and in most cases this will fit with the description of C.
The ideas of B are indeed important, but in most cases this is overlooked and underestimated. If B didn't publish his ideas or did anything about them, then A could claim he had the same ideas, and B only stated the evident (I have seen this many times). More often than not, the role of B is to appear in the acknowledgements of the paper, or not to appear at all, because the conversation between A and B may be considered either:
* as a personal favor
* an informal or non-profesional conversation
* some mentoring or help that is to be thanked but not part of the paper
* a combination of several of the above or other gray areas of not-real involvement in the paper and the "real work".
Basically B gave his advice as a gift to A, and now A has to decide whether this gift is to be returned or not. If it is returned then probably B will be the second author, if it is not returned, then B will not be an author. This basically depends on how A sees B, he may be an ally, an asset, a friend, a superior, a rival, an enemy, an annoyance...
I have discarded the option of B being the third author because I'm assuming A is more senior than B, if B is more senior than A then B should be the third and not the second author, this would also mean that B has more chances to appear as a coauthor. The reason is that the order from first to last author means the involvement in the work and the paper, but also on low-level work, while the last author is in the highest-level work, most abstract, theoretical, general, long-term-visioned, etc. Therefore the most senior is set to the last (even if someone else was less involved but involved enough to appear) to avoid suspicion on a less senior researcher (aka lesser being) giving high-level advice to a more senior researcher.
Most of the time the focus, the stress and the effort is not on how things are, but how do they look like. At least this is what I have seen up until now.
BTW: When I put examples I like to speak about Alex, Bernie, Cory, etc. I think this is easier to follow and I do also think that @order made a mistake between A and B. By your description, A seems to be more senior than B, the kind of senior researcher that manages human resources, that can pay C and that can tell C what to do. If that is the case, I doubt as well about the involvement of A in the paper and the work, while B and A can
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Tags: research-process, publications, authorship
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thread-15239 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15239 | Outsider Contributions: Are They Possible, and How? | 2013-12-31T03:57:38.583 | # Question
Title: Outsider Contributions: Are They Possible, and How?
The current system of producing knowledge in academia, think-tanks, research laboratories funded by large organizations, and similar has the benefits that there is usually some oversight, the people involved have been trained on how to conduct and contribute to research, and how to communicate their results to the literate portion of the society they are supposed to aid. (The above is subject to debate, but I prefer to assume it for the purpose of the question below.)
How can a person with no contacts to any of these contribute, or learn how to contribute, to the production of research, in spite of lack of oversight, funding, and training? As examples, a person who finds an alternate and faster method of DNA replication, or finds influences of Jane Austen among current bloggers that suggest a certain societal trend, or has a new way of analyzing large portions of astronomical data, or finds a way of speeding up numerical simulations of models of biological systems involving capillary blood flow. How does such a person present such an idea or method?
One can write to authors on the appropriate area; how likely is this to succeed? One could look at an appropriate journal, attempt to copy the style, formatting, and phraseology of the articles and then submit their write-up to that journal, but without affiliation; with what result? One might attempt to use the Internet to strike up conversations with like-minded individuals and find a willing ear and eye; are there enough willing ears and eyes? One could start a blog or just put up a web page announcing the work; I have done that, but I have too many connections to be considered a complete outsider to academia, and I want to pose the question for those who are so outside. Further, how could someone searching an index find that page among many that are computer generated using similar phrases?
There are several spins one can put on this. Let us further assume that the primary goal is to present the idea/form of knowledge, and receive little or no more than the recognition of making the contribution and the satisfaction of seeing it used. In particular, potential degrees, awards, or jobs are not part of the scenario or motivation. In this day and age, would blogging be enough? Also, for fun and to make answers less trivial, assume the outsider is not and is not likely to enroll in a university.
Added: To address a comment, enrolling in a university would likely provide many of the desired contacts, but with some cost. The outsider may have had a university education, but this question makes the assumption that contacts there are stale or otherwise not accessible or appropriate, making this person more of an outsider.
# Answer
Most of our audience here are academics and the OP is *Not Quite An Outsider*, I think I don't need to explain how important **peer review** is to research results. If the outsider needs the explanation, please use the to read related Q&A.
Obviously, the outsider has at least two options: submit the manuscript to journals and/or having blog posts of his own.
One of the effective ways to get your paper to be peer reviewed is to send the paper to journals. It is true that some journals tend to ignore papers written by authors without affiliation. I personally have this experience. I am retired and am not associated with any institute. I do have experience that my manuscript was rejected without any explanation. However, the quality of the paper makes the difference. If it is indeed a very good paper, some journals would take it and send to referees. I personally have that experience, too.
The second option for an outsider is to have blog posts. I occasionally come cross blog posts when I search on the Internet (I am a retiree, I have plenty of time). My personal experience is that more than often good blogs are written by good scholars who are insiders. I bumped into many poor quality stuff written by outsiders quite often. They just don't make sense to me at all. I usually read the first couple of paragraphs to determine if I want to continue to read them. Unfortunately, most of them written by outsiders are of extremely poor quality.
Of course, the outsider has another option - arXiv. I think it does not make too much difference with regard to your question.
To me, the key issue is the contents. If you do have something very good, publish it. Somehow, somewhere, your article will be read by others. However, if you never receive college education, I seriously doubt your stuff is good. **You do need at least basic level knowledge to do research.**
> 6 votes
# Answer
I want to add to Scaahu's answer, with which I of course agree. Basically anyone could in theory contribute to academic knowledge (I read that as research). But, it is easy to underestimate the amount of knowledge and experience that goes into successful research and publication thereof. The less you know about these required skills the more yo are likely to underestimate what is needed. Key is definitely to have a sound and up-tot-date view of research in the field or sub-field where the own interests lie. Add to that the skill to write up the science well, which includes not just writing well but understanding the format for writing well and knowing what is required and where to publish such work. i am not convinced blogs would work in all fields, I do not know of any such forums of any weight in my own field.
Since research educations are there to allow you to pick up the necessary skills for research, it should be clear that you need to have gained similar insights to be able to manage the entire research process well. I would guess that you may lack some of these skills; which, is of course unclear. Much can be learned by studying other's studies and at he same time pick up a god reference on the research process from idea to publication (write-up). Establishing a contact with a researcher in the field may provide additional help. We had such a person affiliated with our general research group while I was a graduate student and that person produced good contributions but probably would not have been able to without the support from the group.
> 2 votes
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Tags: research-process, publications, etiquette, networking
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thread-15326 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15326 | How to deal with particles in a last name in a reference list | 2014-01-03T18:19:12.777 | # Question
Title: How to deal with particles in a last name in a reference list
Let's say I am citing a person called Emilia Di Martino. How would she go in my MLA reference list?
Possibilities I can think of:
```
Martino, Emilia di.
Martino, Emilia Di.
Di Martino, Emilia.
```
And how would I refer to her work inline?
# Answer
> 20 votes
One thing to keep in mind is that there is a substantial difference in several continental languages between uppercase and lowercase versions of a last name: it is wrong to write "de Martino" if the person's last name is normally written "De Martino." This is a historical artifact, where the use of the capital letter indicates nobility, while the lowercase letter denotes a more traditional relationship. Similar rules apply to "von" in German and "van" in Dutch, but not to "de" in French or Spanish.
Therefore, when capitalized, the particle should always be treated as part of the last name. If lowercase, you can treat it as a suffix that goes after the first name. The exception are names like "de Gaulle" where "de" is followed by a one-syllable name.
So, it's:
> Beethoven, Ludwig van
>
> Clausewitz, Carl von
>
> de Gaulle, Charles
>
> Di Martino, Emilia
>
> Martino, Emilia di
>
> Maupassant, Guy de
>
> Van Allen, James
My source is the MLA Handbook.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I searched her name in Google Scholar and the first paper "CLIL implementation in Italian schools..." includes a footnote on how to cite it:
> Di Martino, E. & Di Sabato, B. ...
So, in short "Di Martino" is the surname and cite/use it as such.
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Tags: citations
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thread-15236 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15236 | Which major for applied math PhD? | 2013-12-31T01:16:56.163 | # Question
Title: Which major for applied math PhD?
I am still in the process of choosing which major in the SEAS of my school I should pursue.
I want to go into an applied math PhD program after undegrad, so must I choose applied mathematics as my major? Or can I pursue electrical engineering or mechanical engineering? A double major isn't an option.
Any thoughts?
# Answer
I don't mean to be rude but JeffE's answer (which I cannot comment on-site as I don't have the necessary reputation)
> Whatever. Your major won't matter as much as your demonstrated potential for research in applied mathematics, which you can develop in almost(?) any engineering discipline.
is so off-base, it's like saying that majoring in English gives you license to do a PhD in any field that involves writing in the English language.
Engineering is certainly not a substitute for applied mathematics, and the transition can be very harsh.
1. First of all, you need to localize yourself. Applied mathematics in the US is different from applied mathematics in the UK, which is different from applied mathematics in France. Similarly, applied mathematics at Harvard (which would *not* be with mathematics, but SEAS) would be different from applied mathematics at Courant at NYU or in the Mathematics department at Princeton (who don't have an applied mathematics department, but rather a *Program*)
2. In any case, you will be expected to know all the core mathematics curriculum that pure mathematicians take in their first two years. From here, it will depend on what subfield of applied mathematics you're interested in. For example, if you are applying to a subfield that involves the classical mathematical physics (like solid or fluid mechanics), then you would need classes on those.
3. Engineering classes are vastly different from mathematics classes in almost all the mathematical topics. There might be some overlap in terms of, for example, fluid mechanics, but even then there is a big distinction between engineering fluid mechanics and mathematical fluid mechanics. For instance, mathematical fluid mechanics would involve more rigorous reductions and derivations of the Navier-Stokes equations (exploring techniques in asymptotic analysis, for instance).
4. There is *some* possibility of jumping from an engineering degree to an applied mathematics PhD, but again, this would depend on the country and the university and the department. If you want to examine the difference, look at the applied mathematics department at Cambridge University and compare to the applied mathematics group at the Courant Institute in NYU. Also, examine the PhDs of current faculty.
> 8 votes
# Answer
Whatever.
Your major won't matter as much as your demonstrated potential for research in applied mathematics, which you can develop in almost(?) any engineering discipline.
---
Note that I did not say that you *will automatically* develop that potential in any engineering major; I said you *can*. **Research potential is only incidentally related to your required classes.** But it's considerably easier in engineering than in, say, English literature.
(Off the top of my head, I can think of applied mathematicians with degrees in computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, pure mathematics, statistics, ....)
> 5 votes
# Answer
Almost none of the applied math PhDs in the USA have BS degrees in applied math, because undergraduate degree programs in applied math are very rare (more commonly, one may have a "mathematics" degree but with an emphasis on applied math courses). A large proportion of applied math professors in the USA do not have a Ph.D. in applied math, because most of the applied math doctoral programs only came into existence in the last generation. For instance, my advisor's doctorate is in computer science, but his thesis was in numerical analysis. So **the name of the degree program is not key**.
I know people who have earned an applied math Ph.D. in the USA with undergraduate majors in **engineering, physics, chemistry, computer science, and pure math**. The non-math majors were from programs at very good schools with a heavy mathematical emphasis. As a professor at a university that is modelled after US universities, I have supervised successful students and postdocs whose backgrounds are in all those areas, as well as others in mechatronics and operations research. The transition for some was "quite harsh", but they persevered.
I think **the quality and rigor of the program is an essential factor**. A physics BS from a top school usually knows more mathematics (and can reason better in mathematical terms) than a math BS from a lower-tier school. Some computer science programs are, in fact, applied math programs; others involve very little math. And some engineering programs at lesser schools are virtually devoid of mathematics.
So **the bottom line is that you need to know much more about a program than its name in order to determine if it will prepare you well**.
I should add that I myself double majored in Physics/Astronomy and Math as an undergrad, then got Applied Math MS and PhD degrees.
> 3 votes
# Answer
Difficult question, as so much depends on the individual. However, here are 2 questions you might want to ask yourself.
Q1: Are you exceptionally good at math?
If yes, you could *consider* doing a Master's in an engineering discipline. But if you are not first rate at math, I would suggest doing the Master's in math. Prelims are no joke, and if I knew I wanted to specialize in applied math, then I would take care to learn the basics of real analysis, topology, abstract algebra, and numerical analysis *very* well. You can always pick up the applications later (or as my advisor who was a mathematician working in biology told me, "It's easier to go down") I worked as a mathematician for EEs for many years and by far, the rate limiting step is always math.
Q2: Do you want to work in industry or academics?
If the latter, then you definitely don't want to do your MS in engineering. If the former, it could be a plus. One the of the biggest obstacles math PhDs face is that they find they often need a secondary field or skill.
The safe bet (for many may reasons) would be to do your Master's in math.
> 2 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions
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thread-5511 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5511 | How to contact a potential PostDoc advisor? | 2012-11-28T15:38:41.797 | # Question
Title: How to contact a potential PostDoc advisor?
Reading this very interesting question (*"How long before PhD graduation should I start applying for post-doc positions?"*) about "**when**", suddenly I started to reason on the "**how**" issue.
Imagine you were going to finish your PhD program and wanted to **contact a professor** to express interest for a possible PostDoctoral contract within his group, and wanted to know more information about it.
How approach him/her in the **best way**?
What to write in the email to send him/her?
# Answer
> 33 votes
Depends on whether you know the person, or not. If you know him/her well, you might go for an informal inquiry. In the case the person is not your acquaintance, you better formulate it as any other job seeking inquiry.
To the style, this template always worked for me well (as advised in some job-seeking training course I took):
> Salutation,
>
> ```
> 1.- me
> 2.- you
> 3.- us together
> 4.- conclusion and a kind request for a reply.
>
> ```
>
> salutation.
Each of the points above should be a single paragraph.
Firstly, you introduce yourself, possibly mentioning how you know each other if that is the case and most importantly articulating the purpose of the e-mail/letter, that is that you are seeking a job. In passing you should mention what you are doing now, position, affiliation, expected date of graduation, etc. Basically you want to motivate the other party to read further.
Second paragraph should be about the other party. What you know they do, or did in the past and highlighting whatever other positive aspects of their work, which are a relevant reason for your application. Possibly, you can mention that you learn from somebody else/opening, etc. that there is a possibility of an open position in the group, etc. The purpose here is to prepare the ground for articulating why you fit for them in the subsequent paragraph, as well as to show that you mean it and you made your homework well (e.g., read their papers).
The third, most important paragraph, should be about you as a fit for the position, or the group. It all revolves about how you can contribute to their work and why it should be their interest in hiring you. Here you expand on the relevant experience/projects you did, about your abilities to publish papers in top journals/conferences in the field, your abilities to solicit external funding, teaching, whatever. Still you should consider how much bragging is appropriate. The message should be clear and concise: "there is a potential fit between the two of us".
Finally, I would close the letter by explaining what can be found in the attached documents and possibly what other constraints you might have. When appropriate, I also make it clear that this is of course an unsolicited application, but still I would be glad if the person would find time to review my background and reply.
Attach your CV and the statement of your research interests.
Worked for me. Also you should be as concise as possible. The length of this reply is probably already at the edge of acceptable length.
# Answer
> 12 votes
If I reply to some open position that was announced, I usually keep the email quite short, as I consider it more like a statement of interest, rather than as informal application. I usually assume that the person in charge is busy, and I'm always afraid that a long email might be classified in the folder "to be read later".
My email would look like this:
> Subject: Informal query about the position XXX
>
> Dear XXX, I'm writing to you about the position XXX that was posted on the mailing-list/website/forum XXX. I believe I could be interested in applying to this position, because it seems to fit within my research interests. Indeed, I'm currently working at XXX on the topic of XXX, and the topic \[of the position\] is something I would like to work on in the next years.
Then, it depends on how precise the announcement was written, but I usually ask all questions I have about the application process itself. Would there be further material to read? If a research statement is asked, what is expected it to contain? If the dates are not given, when would it start? (in particular if you have commitments on your side).
Many open positions have a formal application process, established by the university/research-centre, so it's also important to keep such an email to an informal level. You can of course finish your email by saying that you are available for any further information.
In the past, such emails have been useful for me for two reasons: it made me realize that some positions were actually not really within my research interests, and it allowed me to establish a first contact with the recruiter, and understand better what was expected of me in the application.
# Answer
> 9 votes
I came a cross a short but interesting editorial note from American Chemical Society written by a potential postdoc supervisor. She raises lots of advises like send few thoughtful emails rather than tones of thoughtless copies and pasted emails. I think it is quiet useful for every postdoc applicant regardless of his major.
Couple of interesting quotes from the author is of value
> Funding issues aside, the majority of the postdoctoral applications I receive do not capture my interest, and I am sure this is true for most faculty.
>
> Many email requests that I receive appear to be sent by someone who has taken a long list of faculty names/ emails and sent off their application with little thought. I usually do not even read such requests after the first few sentences
>
> My advice to potential applicants: send far fewer but personalized emails. Read about a faculty member’s research and tailor your letter to the group. Obviously, include your CV, prior research accomplishments, your career plans, and how a position in the group would help move you toward your goals. Provide details that help sell you, including important interactions with colleagues, the skills that you bring to the position, and other key points that may set you apart. When writing an email to me, for example, I like to know why you selected my group: was it on the advice of a mentor, because you like a particular aspect of my research, or hope to gain a specific skillset? Next, explain what you can do for me. Most applicants list a myriad of reasons why getting hired is good for them. Perhaps not surprisingly, I hire people because it helps my research program. I want an outstanding researcher and also someone who has good communication skills. Reading your email is my first opportunity to judge your ability
You may find the whole text of less than a page here
# Answer
> 8 votes
I would treat it like a networking exercise.
1. Do you know each other -- Contact them directly
2. Does your advisor know him/her -- Talk to your advisor and get the scoop on the potential advisor. Talk you your advisor and devise a contact plan. Maybe your advisor can provide an introduction at the next conference or a suggestion for a lab visit for you.
3. Do you know someone in common -- Talk to that person. Get the scoop on the potential advisor. Then contact the potential advisor dropping the common person's name and saying how he/she thought the potential advisor would be a great fit for you.
4. You know no one in common -- Networking fail. Go meet more people.
a. Have you cited the potential advisor in a paper -- Send them a reprint as an introduction
b. You don't know the potential advisor (or anyone who knows him) and have never cited him -- Before contacting the person, you need to know why you want to work with him/her. If you are confident, send an email introducing yourself. If you are hesitant, ask your advisor for an email introduction.
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Tags: phd, postdocs, career-path
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thread-2435 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2435 | GRE Math Subject test for admission to statistics grad programs? | 2012-07-13T22:13:11.147 | # Question
Title: GRE Math Subject test for admission to statistics grad programs?
I am an international student from an unknown school with a sub 3.0 gpa. I am a CS major but I certainly have a deep interest for statistics grad programs. In the future I want to work on algoritmic trading and want to involve with topics such as time series, machine learning and other statistical techniques used in finance.
Some people I have talked with about this issue recommended me to get a PhD from a top 20 statistics program. But I don't have much math classes on my transcript, actually numerical analysis and ODE's are the most advanced math classes which I had. Also I had a traditional probability and statistics for engineers class.
Currently I am self studying through Walters Rudin's principles of mathematical analysis book and plan to involve further with math. I plan to self study undergrad level topology from munkres, abstract algebra from artin, and some advanced linear algebra and functional analysis may be some measure theory based probability etc. I can attend a university for these classes but it would be extremely difficult for me to manage it just because money constraints which I have. I have to admit that I learn better when I self study and I usually try to attempt most of the exercises in the books.
The problem is that I can't prove that I studied these topics except a good score in math subject gre test. But this test is not a good indicator of abstract math knowledge and most of the test is about calculus.
Does a good score from Math GRE carry a value in MS level admissions to a decent thesis based statistics program with some funding which will help me to get a PhD from a top 20 school later. I don't have any intention of applying to CS grad school because I do not want to get any systems related course as a requirement and majority of the classes I am interested in are mostly offered by math or statistics departments except some machine learning classes offered by CS departments.
So what is your point of view for GRE Math subject test results ? What score you love ? May be I can pay to a college some money for attending to one or two advanced courses such as differential geometry and a grad level real analysis course. If I do well on these courses in what level will they help for admission with some aid ?
# Answer
> 2 votes
I would say that a good score on the Math GRE subject test is always a good signal. That being said, test scores in general have relatively little importance in PhD admissions -- they can disqualify you, but barring that, won't do much to get you in the door. Its something to optimize only after you have optimized the other, more important parts of your application. In your case, it might be helpful to alleviate any concerns someone might have about your math background.
By the way, you might want to check out CMU's PhD program in Machine Learning: http://www.ml.cmu.edu/ -- none of those pesky systems course requirements!
# Answer
> 1 votes
You should check with the statistics departments in question about their admission requirements. In some cases, it may be required; in others, it may not be.
As for recommended scores, that's even harder to say. Different schools will expect different results, depending on the caliber of students they attract. In any case, though, you should aim to get the highest score you can, rather than aiming for a particular target. But at a minimum, you won't want to show a score that results in a below-average score; that probably won't help you at any competitive program.
# Answer
> 0 votes
1) Most stats programs do not require math GREs.
2) The majority of math GRE is not from advanced mathematics. I strongly suggest you read up on it.
3) Stats programs generally do not require a lot of math background. A solid background in linear algebra, calculus, and multivariate analysis, along an upper level stats sequence is more than sufficient.
4) Your references and any research you've done are going to be the important factors. Did you distinguish yourself in your math classes? Were you the top student? If not, applying to a top 20 school may be an unrealistic goal for you.
# Answer
> 0 votes
A GPA of less than 3.0/4.0 will make you ineligible for any top 20 grad school in the US (and Canada), no matter if you apply for a Master's program or a PhD. The lack of math is not as big of a problem as your GPA. If a school accepts you but doesn't think you have enough math in your background, they will put you in a qualifying year instead of the grad program directly.
A good GRE score is good to have, however the cut-off for considering your application is 3.0. If you don't have a minimum 3.0, chances are your application will be disqualified no matter what your GRE score is. These cutoffs are stated clearly at each school's admission requirements page.
For admission consideration, your only option is to talk to the supervisor at your current school and ask if he/she knows anybody at a US school and could put in a good word for you. Otherwise, I am afraid that you are wasting your time.
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Tags: graduate-admissions
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thread-15347 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15347 | Is it worth doing a poster presentation? | 2014-01-04T18:12:02.390 | # Question
Title: Is it worth doing a poster presentation?
I submitted a paper to an IEEE conference (Computer Science). My paper was not accepted for publication but it has been accepted for poster presentation there.
The conference requires the authors to pay full delegate registration fees as is required for authors of published works. Is it a common practice ?
I was a novice student in the field when I submitted the paper, but have worked a lot in past few months in the area. And I am not looking for any specific inputs into that work anymore.
Is it worth doing a poster presentation in such case ?
**EDIT:** (some additional information)
* It is not a top tier conference
* I am self funded
# Answer
> 11 votes
I have some experience publishing in CS, so I'll give you my point of view.
> The conference requires the authors to pay full delegate registration fees as is required for authors of published works. Is it a common practice ?
Yes. In general, every participant is expected to pay in full, no matter what kind of contribution he/she has submitted. You are paying the conference, not your publication. One could argue that this is the main point why many (weaker) conferences even have poster and short paper tracks - to get more people to pay full registrations and attend the conference without having to accept too many papers.
> I was a novice student in the field when I submitted the paper, but have worked a lot in past few months in the area. And I am not looking for any specific inputs into that work anymore.
I should comment that this is a somewhat questionable attitude. Even if you are not planning to continue a certain line of research, hearing what others think about your work will help you a lot in future research projects and papers. Also, I don't think that you can go from *novice* to *can't learn anything in the field anymore* in the timeframe of a conference paper review process, so I'll wager that some in the audience will still have reasonable input on your work.
> Is it worth doing a poster presentation in such case ?
I would say this depends on practicalities. Is your advisor OK with paying your conference trip without a full paper to show? Is it far, will the travel be expensive? Is it a top conference that you want to attend for the conference's (and associated networking's) sake? Have you done many presentations, or will it at least be good training?
That being said, from a scientific point of view, most poster presentations are not very valuable. They don't *count* a lot on your CV (except, maybe, if it really is an absolute top conference), and you will not get that much feedback, realistically.
# Answer
> 7 votes
I have very mixed feelings about poster presentations. Here is my take on this.
Pros of poster presentations:
* You get to meet people. Sometimes (very rarely, IMO), the people that you meet through your poster session help you quite a bit through your career; invitations to seminars, eventually hiring you as their postdocs, etc.
* It's one more line on your CV. Always helpful.
* If you were going to go to that conference anyway, it's something productive.
Cons:
* In all honesty, what will happen most of the time is that you will be standing in front of your poster (quite awkward experience, I might add), and no one will be *really* interested; they might ask you a question or two, but then they will want to move on to the next poster.
* It's a lot of time and effort spent on making that poster. Also, poster printing is expensive.
* In many fields, poster presentations on CVs are not taken super seriously.
As far as I am concerned, poster presentations are *something to do* while you are away at a conference. I personally usually opt not to present poster, because the outcome to effort ratio is quite low. As a rule of thumb, I would recommend that you present the poster if you are a graduate student of early years (if you have spoken in very few conferences), and be more selective if you are more senior in academia. For example, you might choose to present your poster if the conference is very prestigious, or if you know that someone that you would really like to know is coming to that conference. Otherwise, it doesn't make a huge difference in my opinion.
# Answer
> 5 votes
Have you done these kinds of presentations before? If not, it may be good practice if you are a shy public speaker and could use the practice. Also, if you are interested in meeting the other people at the conference, it would be useful to go.
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Tags: research-process, publications
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thread-15371 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15371 | GNU Free Documentation License | 2014-01-05T12:32:41.740 | # Question
Title: GNU Free Documentation License
I want to use this picture for one of my presentations. Do I have to mention the author there, and if yes, how do I mention him? It will be my first talk in English, so I don't really know how to correctly use/cite a picture from someone else.
# Answer
As it says on the page you linked it, attribution is required. So, all you need to do is add the author's name under the image in your presentation.
The important thing here is that if you do not include the author's name, you are implying that you create the graphic and if you did not, then you should attribute it to the true author.
> 6 votes
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Tags: citations, presentation
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thread-15387 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15387 | Can one be average in academics but great in research at same time in PhD | 2014-01-05T16:54:06.353 | # Question
Title: Can one be average in academics but great in research at same time in PhD
This has always kind of intrigued me. I have seen many students who are good in academics (the scale I am using for this is GPA, like around 3.8–4.0) and average in PhD research. I mean, they do research, but it's just the kind you would expect from an average PhD—publish dissertation, write to one or two top journals, and then graduate.
I have also seen a few students who barely maintain their GPAs (they usually hang around 3.3–3.5) but are so good and focused in research that they do groundbreaking stuff, and some even have filed and received patents on their dissertation.
My question is: how much of a PhD is about taking courses and excelling them, and how much of a PhD is about excelling in research, and how well are they interconnected? From what I have seen, there seems to be no precise correlation between GPA and quality of research. Is it because PhD research concentrates only on a precise problem? Or is it because of individual motivational factors?
# Answer
> 9 votes
> What i wanted to ask how much of PHD is about creativity and how much is about perserverance and how much is it about academics
The snarky answer is: **Yes**.
A slightly more unpacked version of this in no particular order would be:
**Academics** (aka things you learn in courses) is important because we don't create in a vacuum. We invent new things, but also combine old things in clever ways, or modify others' ideas creatively for new purposes. Think of it as one component of the fuel for your creativity: why ignore it ?
**Creativity** is of course the key to doing something new, which is the most basic requirement for completing a Ph.D.
**Perseverance** is incredibly important, because most ideas don't come into your head fully formed and perfect. It may be that your first 10, or 100, or 200 ideas aren't quite right, but by studying them closely, and seeing what works and what doesn't, you're able to produce a genuinely interesting new piece of work. Slogging through the bucket of non-working ideas takes perseverance, and can't be replaced by anything else.
# Answer
> 4 votes
A PhD typically consists of a smaller portion of courses (0-50%, probably averaging 24% of time) and the rest being research (including writing and publishing). In terms of excelling on courses, I would argue it has much less value than as an undergraduate. In my system, all PhD courses are pass/fail, the idea being you should learn only what you need so you can take part of a course if you need. In the end it will be the quality of your thesis and the particularly papers you publish that determines your degree of success, not the coursework. Doing well at courses involve being able to read up on material, organizing knowledge and remembering what you read. These are of course important skills to have. Research, however, includes many additional aspects that requires additional skills so whereas good grades, in terms of reflecting some of your skills, might help, it is not the full story of a PhD.
You mention motivation. Motivation is important. Another aspect is perseverance. Research can be tedious bordering of being dull in order to reach the goal. I have seen many who have had a rosy picture of research but who have not been able to cope with the work. Clearly motivation and fascination about your topic will help you endure the many hours you end up spending on the topic. I doubt many researchers do research without these aspects spurring them on.
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Tags: phd, research-process, productivity, gpa
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thread-15394 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15394 | Open Access Crowd Based Publications (StackExchange like) | 2014-01-05T19:16:34.400 | # Question
Title: Open Access Crowd Based Publications (StackExchange like)
I am a PhD student in computer science and sometime in the (more or less) near future I have to publish my results. Yet, I am rather sceptic about the current state of publishing, aka peer-reviewed journals, especially when they are not open access. I have published before on Elsevier and honestly I am not sure whether I should do this again. I have political concerns as well as concerns about the quality of the peer-review process.
I wonder what "new ways" are out there for publications? I am a big fan of StackExchange (especially StackOverflow :-) ), so I am asking if there exists a very similar forum for scientific publications?
Accordingly, a publication happens in form of forum post like this one. Instead of anonymous peer-review, every member of the forum can comment and rate the publication. Is there something like this out there? Thanks a lot!
Edit: Great that someone had the idea a year ago :-) (Towards a Stackexchange-like comment/reputation system for research papers)
Have been there any attempts to create such a system since then?
# Answer
> Instead of anonymous peer-review, every member of the forum can comment and rate the publication. Is there something like this out there?
**Yes.** The forum is called "the academic community," the comments are called "what they say about your paper in their paper," and the ratings are called "citations." They are not anonymous. Actually, citations alone are misleading, since they can be negative as well as positive. The real way to determine if your idea is good is to see if people use it to build new, interesting ideas / explanations / products / companies / whatever. (I think they call that "impact?")
In other words: publishing is the easy part (these days). Getting people to say good things about your research is the real challenge.
I do think you are wise to think about publishing in open-access journals—and not for some self-righteous political/philosophical reason. The real reason for making your paper freely available is: *more people will read it!* Plenty of interesting people in the world live behind the Great Paywall of Academia.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, open-access
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thread-14691 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14691 | Meaning of "delocalized campus" | 2013-12-11T11:13:59.147 | # Question
Title: Meaning of "delocalized campus"
While filling a PhD application for a European university, I came across a field that needed to be filled. The field - to be filled by 'Yes or No' - asked if my master's or bachelor's universities are 'delocalized campuses'. This is the first time I have come across this term. I am not a native English speaker.
What does 'delocalized campus' mean?
# Answer
> 3 votes
look at the link below. http://www.business-school-pgsm.com/delocalized-programs.html
for delocalized institutions….understand them as partner institutions.
Oxford Dictionary:delocalize verb \[with object\] detach or remove (something) from a particular place or location, or from local limitations: (as adjective delocalized)
Merriam-Webster: Delocalize: to free from the limitations of locality; specifically : to remove (a charge or charge carrier) from a particular position
Definitions aside:
Some smaller institutions/colleges have partnerships with big colleges/universities to confer degrees. For instance if you attended an institute that offers degrees with a bigger universities' name, then Yes your diplomas were obtained from a delocalized campus.
I attended a university with more than 7 campuses. So if you attended any of the six campuses apart from the main campus or if you took your studies online; then Yes, your bachelors/masters degrees were obtained from a delocalized campus.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, application
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thread-15315 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15315 | How to get a PhD (doctorat) in France? | 2014-01-03T12:00:43.027 | # Question
Title: How to get a PhD (doctorat) in France?
I previously asked this question in Mathematics.SE (which is now removed from that site):
> How to be a professor and a researcher in academia if I only have a baccalauréat in maths and don't have much money?
And one kind user from France said that I can't unless I have a PhD. (French baccalauréat is only graduation from high-school.)
But how to get a Doctorat in France? I search for informations about a PhD in general: like how much would it cost me?...etc
Also I heard of 'classe prépa', should I take them first?
# Answer
> 12 votes
As somebody who's actually doing a PhD in France, maybe I can provide some more information.
Firstly, as everybody says, you have to get an equivalent of a Bachelor degree (I think that's "licence" in France), and the a Master degree as well. I didn't do this part of my studies in France, but, some things that I overheard:
* of course, nobody is paying while you are doing that, and you most probably have to pay a yearly tuition (probably around 400eur)
* I think that there is some programs to get some scholarships that could help you, and you'll probably be eligible to help from CAF for a while
* to supplement your income, I'm sure you can teach already in the last year of Master, and possibly (but I'm not sure), even as soon as you finish you Bachelors (aka "licence")
* other major expenses are living costs and eating costs: you can usually get a student dormitory (200-300 eur/month is plausible, but it depends on a city) and as a student, you get cheap student lunches (3-4eur/meal)
As I said, I didn't do this Bachelor-Master part of my education in France. But, for the PhD I can offer more information:
* a PhD in France is basically a normal *work contract* lasting for (exactly) 3 years, with a usual possibility of extending it for 3-6 months
* to obtain a PhD, you have to obtain a grant. Sometimes, you apply to professors for a subject that is already funded, and sometimes you apply to the professors and then you submit your grant application together (like me)
* you still have to pay a yearly tuition (~400eur), but you will be receiving a monthly salary where the amount depends on your grant. It's usually between 1300 and 1600eur
* in your first year, you are still possibly eligible for CAF
* there's two type of PhD contracts: research, or teaching. The teaching contracts are harder to obtain, but it is usually easier in your second year than your first. If you need/want more income per month, a teaching contract gets you an additional 300eur/month on your salary
* other major expenses are again lodging and food: again, sometimes dormitory housing is available, but renting a flat can be acceptable as well (around 300eur/month if your flat-sharing up to 550-600 if you're renting alone). Usually, the lab/university provides some kind of lunch discount tickets as well.
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As for some additional information about *how to get* in to a PhD programme:
* in France, it is obligatory to do at least one internship in a research lab or a company during your Masters, but two are possible
* if you are planning to stay in France, it is very customary for people to do their PhDs in the same lab where they did their internships, and some even just extend on their internship topics
* your Master supervisor and all the contacts you made during your internships will probably be most helpful, as you can ask them for advice, or even if they know of a position / professor that would suit your plans
* additionally, if you want to do your PhD outside of France (it always needs a Master degree), it's probably a bit harder to obtain (although your Master contacts can help you). It's a *paying job* with *a salary* in a lot of European countries (some examples includ: Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland...)
# Answer
> 7 votes
Penelope's answer is already very good, I just want to give some additional details.
First, a Ph.D. is required to get a position in academia. To be even clearer, there are several positions and you can learn more about what is a *maître de conférence* or a *professeur des universités* here. In France, a Ph.D. is not the highest academic diploma that one can get as you can prepare yourself to get the *Habilitation à diriger des recherches* (HDR), which will allow you to supervise Ph.D. students.
To be eligible for a Ph.D. program in France (or *doctorat*), having a Master's degree (or an equivalent diploma) is necessary. Now the French educational system is quite confusing if you are not familiar with it. Basically, after a french *baccalauréat*, you can either choose to go to:
* *Université*: where you will need three years to complete your *Licence*, then an additional two years to complete your Master.
* *Classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles* (CPGE) and *Grandes écoles*: since you posted about mathematics, you will choose to go to a scientific CPGE, where you will attend a maths/physics intensive two-year curriculum that prepares you to take the *concours d'entrée aux grandes écoles*. These *grandes écoles* are given the right, by the government, to deliver a *Diplôme d'ingénieur* (or Engineering diploma), which is equivalent to a Master's degree.
While they both deliver Master's degrees (i.e., you can apply to a Ph.D. after them), the *universités* are more likely to prepare you for academic research whereas the *CPGE* and *Grandes écoles* are more suited for working in the industry. However, I highly suggest you to inform yourself about these two possibilities before choosing a path.
Finally, I want to emphasize on a point mentioned by Penelope: during your Ph.D., you remain a student, which means you can have access to all the privileges offered to students regarding everyday life (housing, public transports, social security, ...) while being pretty decently paid. Unless you have a family to support and if you don't have any accidents, there should be no reason to have financial difficulties.
# Answer
> 5 votes
If you want to get your Ph.d in france, you will first have to get a bachelor degree and a master degree. You need to get accepted for Ph.d though, though finishing your master degree in the high average of your class (honorary degrees) makes the acceptance more likely.
The acceptance of your Ph.d varies on other factors as well, if a lot of people are applying for a spot with a better background than you, they might get it.
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On the question
> How to be a professor and a researcher in academia if I only have a baccalauréat in maths and don't have much money?
You don't neccesarily need a Ph.D to be a professor, if the AND researcher is important, than you will need one. If you just aim to lecture, they accept people with a master degree to lecture in the (professional) bachelor degrees. (Ofcourse, with a Ph.D you have more chance of getting the position)
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Tags: phd, professorship, france
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thread-14444 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14444 | What do we know about working times of great living scientists? | 2013-11-28T22:31:21.917 | # Question
Title: What do we know about working times of great living scientists?
I am looking for two kinds of data about the great scientists of today,
* Their average daily routine of work. Like how many hours and when?
* Their average length of time of being able to think continuously.
I vaguely remember seeing a post by Terence Tao about this - like he mentioned that it takes him some x-minutes to focus on a question when he begins working. Though I don't remember if he mentioned any specific length of time for which he can concentrate at a stretch. \[..sadly I can't find that post...\]
I am more looking for examples among mathematicians and theoretical physicists though other theory fields might also look more or less the same.
# Answer
This popular book http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Rituals-How-Artists-Work/dp/0307273601 contains precisely descriptions of working routines of various creative people, including several scientists and mathematicians.
> 10 votes
# Answer
I don't have access to this article, but if you do, you might want to look into it:
Hargens, L. L. (1978). Relations between work habits, research technologies, and eminence in science. *Work and Occupations, 5*(1), 97-112. DOI: 10.1177/003803857800500106.
There is a fair amount of psychological research on eminence/genius/creativity out there, so work routine information might be available, but I'm a little more pessimistic about representative data on "average length of time of being able to think continuously" (partly because I'm unclear on what it would mean to think discontinuously). More general populations are more accessible, and some research may consider relationships between the factors you mentioned interested in and the factors that define your criterion group (e.g., intelligence, creativity, achievement, productivity). You might want to ask this again on the Cognitive Sciences site if you don't get the answer you're looking for here.
> 5 votes
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Tags: phd, mathematics, workflow, working-time
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thread-15105 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15105 | Explaining bad grades in application: SOP or separate letter | 2013-12-27T08:13:44.383 | # Question
Title: Explaining bad grades in application: SOP or separate letter
# Question
Should issues about past academic performance be addressed in the Statement of Purpose or a separate letter to the admissions committee.
# Background
I had originally posted about my situation here: Should a dismissal from PhD in graduate application be listed as academic misconduct?
One of the answers to that question suggested that instead of using my statement of purpose to address academic concerns, I write a separate letter addressing the issue. However, others have suggested that colleges are unlikely to read such materials with the application. I have written a short (500 word) explaining the circumstances under which I received my bad grades and what I have done so this doesn't happen in the future. I have also written a short (500 word) statement of purpose that does not address my academic performance at all. Should I rework my SOP to incorporate the academic issue, and skip the additional letter?
# Answer
> 7 votes
Some web-based application forms have dedicated fields for comments on grades or academic hardships. I would first of all take advantage of these if possible, and second, read the fine print if not: some application guidelines will forbid submission of additional materials. This doesn't have to stop you, but I would contact the admissions staff either way if there isn't a dedicated field. It should be as simple as asking, "May I enclose a brief additional letter explaining an issue in my academic history?"
In my opinion, that's what you should do however you can, unless admissions expressly forbids it, or if the issue at hand somehow affected your academic purpose. The statement of purpose is a fairly important and somewhat haphazardly scrutinized document, so anything tangential that interrupts your flow or the optimism and enthusiasm you express for your present and future work is likely to detract from the cohesiveness your message, the consistency and positivity of your tone, and the room you have to go into detail and cover other important information. You never really know what your readers are going to pay attention to in your writing, so it's best not to take any chances and leave it as flawless as can be, while conveying important but unexpected information through other channels if possible.
# Answer
> 4 votes
You should definitely explain it--it *is* going to catch some attention, after all. Admissions committees recognize that people grow, develop, and change over time; they just need to know that you have. It doesn't need to be much, but it definitely deserves a paragraph just to acknowledge the issue and briefly outline why it's not necessarily reflective of your current self.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, masters, statement-of-purpose, grades
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thread-15361 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15361 | Must meta-analyses or systematic reviews have more than one author? | 2014-01-05T00:41:00.847 | # Question
Title: Must meta-analyses or systematic reviews have more than one author?
My colleagues argue that a meta-analysis / systematic review needs at least two data collectors (or authors according to them) as a "must". I have not found any reference in the PRISMA (or any other sources about meta-analyses/systematic reviews) that confirms this claim.
Do you know any such protocol or consensus?
# Answer
> 1 votes
Answer: Although PRISMA does not require such a protocol, Cochrane Handbook does. However, it too does not "necessitate" it, but encourages it (at least to my understanding).
Check out the Chapter 7 of the Part 2 of this online Handbook: http://handbook.cochrane.org/
# Answer
> 5 votes
From the perspective of an Epidemiologist, with some published meta-analysis experience:
*Must* is a very strong word. Some people have pointed to where, for example, the Cochrane Collaboration requires it, and PRISMA might not, but generally speaking I've never really encountered a situation where having a single author on a meta-analysis was a substantial barrier to publishing a review.
On the other hand, I would say that a meta-analysis or systematic review *should* have a second person on the study team. Rarely is the literature being reviewed so clear, so well-laid out and so utterly free of ambiguity that a single person can read, digest and abstract the literature without making any judgement calls. Without having any papers where they search and simply cannot find what they're looking for. Without hitting that one paper they simply cannot make heads or tails of. There should be someone there to double-check your work, or a sample of it at least, to make sure what you described as the system in your paper and what you actually did match up. To look over those papers you've set aside in the "Problem" pile to see if they can see things you don't.
I leave whether or not that person should be an author as an exercise to the reader.
I know some colleagues who essentially begin all reviews with a parallel, blinded double-abstraction of the papers once they've been found - or even begin all the way at the search being carried out twice. I don't know that I'd go that far, but it is *extremely* helpful to have someone to double-check your decision making against. Despite being careful, reading closely and reviewing my own decisions, I have yet to work on a meta-analysis where I haven't been glad to have a second reviewer (or to be said reviewer).
# Answer
> 4 votes
There is no such requirement. It is frequently helpful to have multiple authors to help sort through the vast amounts of literature being covered, but is by no means a necessity. For instance, a colleague of mine recently published a fairly substantial review article on his own.
However, in medical research, a meta-review serves a rather different purpose than the usual review article in other fields: it is collecting the results of a bunch of different experimental studies, and trying to reach an overarching medical recommendation. That's a rather different research function than a review article in other fields. In medicine, you would want to have multiple people reviewing the data to make sure that it's not one person unilaterally deciding everything independently.
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Tags: authorship, review-articles, meta-analysis
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thread-15413 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15413 | Is it rude to request a book chapter from the academic who wrote it if you don't want to buy the entire textbook? | 2014-01-06T05:19:01.867 | # Question
Title: Is it rude to request a book chapter from the academic who wrote it if you don't want to buy the entire textbook?
The title says it all. I want to read a book chapter from a prominent Oxbridge researcher, but I don't want to shell out the cash for the entire textbook in which it's published. Is it rude to contact the professor who wrote the chapter and request an electronic version? It's for my own research purposes.
# Answer
> 29 votes
Before writing to the author, you should try to find the chapter in other ways:
1. Is it available online? You should make sure it's not in any obvious place (e.g., the author's home page or university web site) or findable by a web search.
2. Do you have library access? Even if the library doesn't have the book, they can very likely get it through interlibrary loan.
3. Do you have friends, colleagues, or teachers who might have the book?
It's a little rude to bother the author to ask for a copy if you could reasonably get one another way. However, if the book is unaffordable for you and you have no other options, then there's nothing wrong with asking the author. I'd phrase it as a question, to avoid sounding too demanding. The key thing to keep in mind is that you're asking for something unusual, just in case the author has an electronic copy they'd be willing to share (but haven't put on their web site). It's also worth including a sentence about things like your lack of library access. You may not get a copy, but it's worth a try.
# Answer
> 9 votes
Rudeness is largely a matter of tone, IMHO. If you express appreciation for the work in question, explain your situation, and ask if the researcher can help you, I think the researcher should appreciate your interest and want to help. Whether or not that's feasible is a separate (and often legal) question, but as for rudeness, there's no intrinsic reason your email has to be bothersome. Be nice, express enthusiasm, offer constructive comments if you have any, maybe try to phrase your problem impersonally so that it's not just about you and what you want (it's also about the author's impact, and how accessible the work is for the interested audience, which should matter), and avoid common faux pas like connotating entitlement, expectation, or violating cultural norms for emotional expression. Pretty much the same issues as you'd consider when asking for anything from a relative stranger. In summary, be polite!
To editorialize a bit, I'll add that textbook prices are sometimes ridiculous, especially given the economic realities of students, and there are far too many barriers to information access already, so on some level, a researcher who isn't especially beholden to the publisher should sympathize and want to support you!
As per @AnonymousMathematician's answer, you might also want to explain (briefly!) what normal alternatives (such as the answer's suggestions) you've tried and why they've failed you, if you decide to go the route of explaining a problem with access that may concern others. Another common faux pas is asking a question that seems to have an obvious solution; one should at least mention that these won't work, and make very sure that they don't before claiming that there's a problem!
# Answer
> 3 votes
Since one answer already mentioned the high price of textbooks, I'll add: I'm assuming you have already looked to obtain a used copy of the book, but without success. If not, though, I'd start there. I've obtained plenty of $100+ textbooks for less than 15 bucks by looking for used copies online.
If that doesn't work though, when you make your plea, there are a few things you could do that might bolster your chances:
1) Don't act as though you are trying to just scrounge a copy of the chapter; write the letter as though you are trying to start a research relationship. After you explain how the author's chapter will help you, offer to keep this person posted on how your research is going. Presumably there's some overlap of interests; otherwise, you wouldn't be after the material.
2) Let the author know that you're not necessarily opposed to the idea of buying the book outright, if you really like the one chapter. In other words, instead of saying something like this (not that you'd use these exact words, but perceptive recipients of solicitations can often read between the lines):
> I'm only interested in Chapter 6; the rest of your book doesn't really interest me.
Try:
> I'm primarily interested in Chapter 6, but, if that small samples proves to help me greatly, I'll be looking for a chance to obtain the entire book.
(That need not be a lie, either. Sooner or later, some more-wealthy relative is going to ask you what you want for your birthday. This experience might help you answer that question.)
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Tags: publications, etiquette, books, united-kingdom
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thread-15374 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15374 | Should I cite Papers to acknowledge usage of tools? | 2014-01-05T13:44:42.893 | # Question
Title: Should I cite Papers to acknowledge usage of tools?
I've found that a few tools uses in scientific research, request that if you use them, you add the paper they were discussed in to your bibliography.
For example:
* Theano requests you cite: "*“Theano: A CPU and GPU Math Expression Compiler”*
* Scipy requests that you cite it as a misc reference.
Is this common? Is it reasonable to cite a paper (in Theano's) case, that I have never read, because I have used the tool? Is it ethical?
# Answer
> 24 votes
I would be pragmatic here. Citations are a *currency* in science. If the authors of a tool help your research by providing the tool to the general public, it is only fair to reference their work in the way they requested it to happen - and, certainly, citing a given reference in a paper that uses their work is not an unreasonable request. I cannot image why it would be unethical to say something like
> We have used Theano \[1\] to evaluate XY (...)
in your paper, where
> \[1\] J. Bergstra, O. Breuleux, F. Bastien, P. Lamblin, R. Pascanu, G. Desjardins, J. Turian, D. Warde-Farley and Y. Bengio. “Theano: A CPU and GPU Math Expression Compiler”. Proceedings of the Python for Scientific Computing Conference (SciPy) 2010. June 30 - July 3, Austin, TX
As to whether this is common, I would say **yes**. Most authors of well-known tools in my area specify a preference for how their work should be acknowledged.
If you are bothered by not having read the paper you are citing, there is a simple fix for that - read the paper, and decide for yourself whether it is worth citing in that context (but, generally, the answer will be yes).
# Answer
> 2 votes
In addition to agreeing with the answer of `@xLeitix`, I would also add that in some fields and journals, it is a specific requirement that tools and software are cited appropriately.
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Tags: citations, software
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thread-9058 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9058 | How to convert from one grading scheme to another? | 2013-04-02T13:34:36.820 | # Question
Title: How to convert from one grading scheme to another?
I'm trying to figure out the equivalence between grade schemes in different countries.
According to some Google results:
1. If you are a U.S. citizen, you need a GPA of 3.2+ (it varies, some say 3.2 and some others say 3.6, etc) to apply for a position in the UK (job or university) where the prerequisite is to have a minimum grade of 2:1.
2. In UK 2:1 is earned if you have a 60-69% of the points. I've read that 2:1 is the same as 67%.
3. In Spain we use a grading scheme of 10 points. So according to (2), for have a UK 2:1 you need to have 6-6.9 points.
4. If you are Spanish and have 6.7, when converting it to GPA the result is 1.5.
However, if you take the above points and treat them as a math equation, the final result will be GPA 1.5 = GPA 3.2, which doesn't make any sense.
```
GPA 3.2 = UK 2:1
UK 2:1 = Spain 6.7
Spain 6.7 = GPA 1.5
```
Replacing now...
```
UK 2:1 = GPA 1.5
GPA 3.2 = GPA 1.5
```
My question is if someone has a better explanation on converting grades obtained in different countries.
# Answer
> 10 votes
I realize that you mainly mention translating grades between Spain-UK-USA but the final statement of your question is about converting grades in general, so that's what I will refer to.
Most countries have their own system which doesn't really make sense as you try to "translate" them to some other system.
For example in Sweden two grading systems exist at university level:
* U/G/VG which stands for fail/pass/pass with distinction
* U/3/4/5 which stands for fail/pass with grade 3/4/5 (5 being the best possible grade) used primarily in technical (such as engineering) universities/faculties
Our neighbouring Denmark however seems to have a 7-grade system with a scale from -3 to 12. In Germany, however, the best grade you can get is a 1, thus you would want a "GPA" as low as possible. So much so that if you apply to an institute with 4+ GPA from a Swedish engineering school, they don't even bother to reply (personal experience).
To add to this grading madness, consider the effect of the curve bell; in some countries university exams are graded based on a bell curve, so a certain percentage of students get the best grade no matter how many points they get. In other words if you are in a class of overambitious students, well, your 80% in the exam might be barely enough for a pass.
Note that a standardised grading system was attempted in the EU (with some extra countries) in connection with the Bologna Process, with the ultimate goal of facilitating internationalization amongst European countries. But it died out due to the resistance from many different institutes. When the standardised grading system introduced with the Bologna Process was trashed later on (at least in Sweden), the solution was to supply a diploma supplement, for instance upon enrolment in exchange program, where statistics (how many students were enrolled, how many passed with what grade etc) for each course the student has taken is denoted.
To sum it up, what the grades are supposed to reflect typically gets lost in translation. Trying to convert them back and forth does not make any sense, and even if it did, there is no guarantee that ***country A*** and ***country B*** will value a certain grade ***G*** from a ***country C*** the same way. In clearer terms your 6.7 Spanish GPA might not weigh equal when judged by the American and the British authorities/companies.
# Answer
> 12 votes
There is no clear answer for conversion between grading schemes in different countries. Sure, you could numerically try to convert using ratios and proportions as you are currently tying to do but they don't really mean anything because of the following two salient reasons:
1. **Grade Inflation and Deflation:** Grades mean differently in different institutions across different disciplines and in different courses. For instance, certain highly ranked universities in the USA are very well known for grade inflation. A 3.5 overall GPA is what almost everyone gets. On the other hand, certain other highly ranked universities suffer from grade inflation where getting a 3.0 GPA in certain courses and in certain majors is very different. Hence, merely using some base metric to convert between grading schemes of different countries is not a very good idea.
2. **Differential grading within the same country:** Not every country has a standardized grading system. For instance, India has at least 5 different grading schemes that I am aware of including but not limited to absolute CGPA's on a 4.0 scale, a percentage system on 100 and a relative CGPA system on a 10.0 scale.
**tl;dr**
Don't convert between different grading schemes unless it is explicitly mentioned what minimum grades you need for your own country. Just apply and hope for the best.
# Answer
> 1 votes
In Spain, examinations are graded in 0-10 (with 0 being failing everything, and 10 a perfect score), but then the actual marks for each subject *at universities* is in a 4 degrees scale: 0-fail, 1-pass, 2-remarkable, 3-outstanding, 4-outstanding with honors. Marks are weighted by the number of credits (equivalent 10-hour blocks of study, including class attendance, labs, and estimated self-study) of each subject.
People with non-Spanish degrees have to convert their marks to this 4 point system, with the help of the following algorithm (in pseudo-code; you can find how to use it, for instance, in this form from the Spanish Council of Scientific Research):
```
Ti = 0;
Mi = 50+50*(SMi-Nmin)/(Nmax-Nmin)
if Mi >= 50 and Mi < 69.9 then Ti = 1
else if Mi >= 70 and Mi < 89.9 then Ti = 2
else if Mi >= 80 and Mi < 99.9 then Ti = 3
else if Mi > 99.9 then Ti = 4
```
and the final average is the total sum of the weighted average (Ci times Ti) divided by the total sum of credits (ΣCi), where:
* Nmax = maximum note in the source system
* Mmin = minimum note that gives a pass in the source system
* Ci = number of of credits for subject *i*
* SMi = source mark for subject *i*
* Mi = intermediate 0-100 mark (with 50 being the first note that gives a pass)
* Ti = final mark in the Spanish system
You can use that kind of intermediate step to go from any mark system to any other. The only thing you have to change is:
* Nmin and Nmax; it even works for system such as the German, where Nmax = 1,0 and Nmin = 4,0
* the brackets and marks for converting from the 100-point system to the target system.
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Tags: grading, gpa
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thread-15437 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15437 | Can I publish an article or thesis about my research without supervisor? | 2014-01-06T16:38:59.647 | # Question
Title: Can I publish an article or thesis about my research without supervisor?
I am a bachelor student majoring on computer engineering and working on robotics. Last year as a part of my research, I worked together with a student and one teacher as a supervisor, so we published our article for conference together. But later we finished our research and all of us left the team. Now I am working on other research problem by myself and got some results and want to publish it. But this time I am alone, I have no supervisor on that research problem or any student partner. So I'd like to ask can I submit a paper for conference/journal by myself? P.S. My current research project has no relationship with old one.
# Answer
> 16 votes
You definitely submit a paper by yourself and if you write a high quality submission, it will be accepted.
When I was early in my research career I found it very helpful to have a collaborator such as a teacher/professor or a postdoc student with publishing experience to collaborate on papers. This often helps catching points or issues that you may overlook within your research as well as providing advice and guidance.
# Answer
> 4 votes
It is not uncommon for (PhD) students to publish independently of an advisor. So as eoinbrazil wrote already, if you have a submission of a high quality, you can give it a try. Many students do publish with their supervisors, however, for a couple of good reasons. Besides the obvious ones, here are some not-so-obvious ones:
1. Funding for conference travel: You mentioned conferences as publication venue yourself. Assuming that your paper gets accepted: do you have the funding to visit it?
2. The scopes of conferences/journals: there is often a disagreement between a call for papers and the types of papers that conferences or journals actually want. Having experience in this area helps a lot.
3. The community behind a conference/journal: different communities focus on different things: some want the sales pitch, some are find with just the results. Some care about experiments, for others, the theory is enough. Some have a set of standard benchmarks, some don't. These are just some examples. Again, having experience with a conference or journal helps a lot.
4. Selection of conferences/journals: Nowadays, with spamferences and spam-journals -- probably not a big deal for you, as your have published already and at the moment it is relatively easy to tell from a call for papers if a journal or conference is of reasonable quality. For the record, this may become harder, however.
5. Typically, you will be asked to state your institution at submission time. Does your university have rules about submissions? Some might have some reviewing process in place in order to avoid that papers are submitted that are so bad that even submitting them could harm the reputation of the university. If you publish with your advisor, she/he will make the "internal review".
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Tags: publications, paper-submission
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thread-15470 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15470 | Hourly rates for industry consulting? | 2014-01-07T17:48:29.477 | # Question
Title: Hourly rates for industry consulting?
I have a friend who is considering a part time (~10hr/week) consulting gig with a large, well-established software company, doing a mixture of research and coding. However, there appears to be little quantitative data on past consulting rates for **academics**, i.e., professors, postdocs, and PhD students whose primary career is not consulting.
**Q: How does an *academic* determine a fair rate for consulting?**
...Assuming that a consulting gig is *actually compatible with their academic contract!* I do of course realize that in many circumstances external employment is prohibited by a contract with the university. I also realize that consulting rates are largely a function of 1. perceived expertise and 2. negotiation skill. But a key component of successful negotiation is an objective view of the facts—in this case, some kind of upper and lower bound on reasonable wages.
# Answer
As Fomite correctly stated, it is going to vary a lot by field and also individual circumstances.
In my experience, if the consulting work is roughly equivalent to what a non-academic in industry might be able to perform, then the rates will roughly be equivalent, too. This happens a lot in the engineering disciplines, and especially often in computer science (*i.e.*, many computer science professors can moonlight as software engineers). In such disciplines, I have found that companies in industry often classify their engineers into five levels. These go by different names at different companies, but they usually are along the lines of: associate, full engineer, senior, lead, and principal. Associate is the level a freshly graduated undergrad would start at. Full engineer usually implies three to five years experience and/or a master's degree. That is likely the level equivalent to a Ph.D. student. A fresh Ph.D. just having defended would usually start at such a company at the senior level, so it is roughly equivalent to post-doc and junior faculty. The lead level is usually achieved 7+ years after that, so it is roughly equivalent to tenured faculty. Likewise, principal is equivalent to full professors.
Once you have an equivalent job title in mind, you can use websites like glassdoor to search for average salaries for that job title (*e.g.*, "Senior Software Engineer", "Principal Electrical Engineer", *etc.*). I find that typical hourly rates are in the range of 0.1% to 0.2% of the yearly salary of an equivalent professional, but once again this may vary by profession; my experience is in the world of software.
I have found that some companies will allow a slightly higher-end consulting rate if you can demonstrate that your abilities are above and beyond those of a non-academic alternative. This is especially true if the nature of the consulting work is research-oriented and/or directly related to your research, or if you can reasonably argue that you could complete the task faster than a non-Ph.D or a full-time employee.
You can usually charge a slightly higher rate for short-term work.
Many academics I know often do consulting in the form of acting as expert witnesses at trial. Rates for that type of work seem to be more standard across disciplines, and is more of a function of how unique and qualified you are for the job. Prep work for trial is usually charged at a standard consulting rate, but then days at trial can be charged as much as two to four times that rate.
> 12 votes
# Answer
Ask around.
This is going to vary wildly by field, by sub-field, by school, by academic rank, etc. The best way to find out is to ask colleagues what they make, more senior colleagues what they'd expect and if they think a particular rate is reasonable, etc.
While people are occasionally hesitant about asking salary questions, I've not run into anyone whose adverse to discussing the mechanics of consulting with a colleague getting started.
> 3 votes
# Answer
In the legal arena, private practice rates for pure research start at about $40 per hour while the rates for research and writing are about $60 per hour, on average. In academics, these rates are much lower such that you typically see only law students working hourly in an academic setting.
> 0 votes
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Tags: salary, consulting
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thread-14962 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14962 | Doing masters thesis in another institute | 2013-12-21T00:56:54.560 | # Question
Title: Doing masters thesis in another institute
Is it possible to do this? If I find a research group/researcher working on something I like and I just want to do my thesis there. Is it necessary that
1. I have to go there as an exchange student OR
2. I will have to enroll in their masters program?
I suppose the only way to do what I am asking about it via an exchange program,but is there any other way?
# Answer
This depends strongly upon what university you're attending now, and where you want to do your research. For instance, in Germany, students are allowed to do a master's thesis anywhere in the world, but they are responsible for organizing this themselves. Other schools and departments in other countries may have more restrictive policies.
An exchange program may or may not be necessary, but this is entirely dependent on the specific policies of both the school you're attending *and* the school or institute you'd like to do your thesis work at. The best guidance I can give you is to first ask the graduate students' office or "graduate officer" of your current department to ask what the relevant regulations are for your home institute. Then talk to the other institute. Of course, start such a process well in advance of when you want to do the thesis work; a semester at the minimum, a year is more strongly recommended, as it may take several months to organize the required paperwork and visas (if you're planning on traveling abroad to do the thesis).
> 7 votes
# Answer
## Exchange student
I am writing my masters thesis as an exchange student at another university but it is not necessary to enrol as a student at the other university (like aeismail mentioned). If you need a scholarship then you might want to look for a possibility as an exchange student but it has also additional advantages to go as an exchange student. You get informed by the student administration of the university about several topics.
## Compatibility
The most important thing is to ask first at your study administration/students office and afterward to find a supervisor for discussing with him the next steps. The thesis has to be compatible with your home universities restrictions.
## Where to search
You can then search for a compatible thesis and research topic. It depends on the university how they publish the open postions, research projects and theses topics. Most research groups have their own homepage where they publish open positions or topics for a research project/thesis. You can also write them a polite email to ask for an project you are interested in.
## Alternative places
There are also some independent institutes or even companies that provide writing a Masters or even PhD thesis (dependent on your field of research) on behalf of them.
> 4 votes
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Tags: masters, thesis, student-exchange
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thread-15481 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15481 | Difference between Poster Session and Oral Session | 2014-01-08T00:31:23.317 | # Question
Title: Difference between Poster Session and Oral Session
I'm a student with a question on conferences. What is the main difference between an oral session and a poster session? I want to know the difference in detail. I can understand the meaning a little bit, but what else can you tell me about the differences in the details?
# Answer
In an oral session, speakers present their work one-by-one in a series of short lectures (usually no more than 30 minutes, and potentially as little as 10 minutes). Each speaker presents, takes questions for a few minutes, and is followed by the next one. These presentations are usually in a room with a seated audience, in a lecture-style format.
In a poster session, a number of presenters each prepare a poster (in a standard size) and mount them on boards in a large room. For a fixed period of time during the conference, all participants are invited to wander round the posters, reading and asking questions as they deem fit. Poster presenters typically stand by the posters and answer questions as people come by.
For more information, see:
> 11 votes
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Tags: conference
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thread-15439 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15439 | When should you require to be addressed by your title? | 2014-01-06T17:19:41.210 | # Question
Title: When should you require to be addressed by your title?
I have been asked to sign a lengthly and detailed contract in order to teach a course as an adjunct at a local community college. The administrator requesting this information signed it with her title and her degree. The document was addressed to me as "Mr." ... I have both a Ph.D. and a thirty plus year career at a major university where I retired as a named research professor (facts clearly indicated on the vita in the administrator's possession!). Am I wrong to expect to be addressed as Dr. in such documents?
# Answer
A lot of admin documents are produced by machine these days, the ones that aren't are usually done by clueless people who aren't paid an awful lot. It would be ideal that they addressed you as 'Dr.', but unless they deal with a lot of doctors they probably just shoved your name into the standard mail merge template.
If you'd rather be addressed as 'Dr.' then raising the issue with them wouldn't be stepping out of line, after all you are the one providing them with a service.
> 2 votes
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Tags: etiquette
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thread-15501 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15501 | During your undergrad, how much time did you put into assigned journal readings? | 2014-01-08T09:32:12.170 | # Question
Title: During your undergrad, how much time did you put into assigned journal readings?
I feel like I can study one academic article for a very long time. Usually I end up spending many hours mulling over one specific article on the first pass. When you were going through your undergrad and reviewing the assigned readings, how much time and energy would you put into a single article on average? I know articles vary in length and density so this is hard to put a number to, but I'm looking to compare myself to a "normal" length of time.
How much time on average do you dedicate to *article* readings, per class, during your undergrad?
# Answer
I'll answer in such a way as to incorporate the difference between my undergrad and grad experiences; hopefully that will help justify keeping your question open and relevant. However, I'm trying to keep this relatively objective, because you don't want to get flagged for being too opinion-based.
I probably spent very little time reading as an undergrad, except of course when a test was around the corner (it's a fixed interval "reinforcement" schedule; this is to be expected). I could usually get away with just studying all night the day before a test (that might work out to about 10 hours/month/class), but as a psychologist, I've since learned that this is a pretty poor way to study (at least in terms of how effectively you'll learn), so I wouldn't recommend it, unless it's the only way for you to balance your need to learn with your need to do other things with your life. There's something to be said for finding your natural style early and not fighting it too much just because it's not the best by some specific criterion like information retention.
As a graduate student, my *very first class* seemed to make a point of swamping me with reading. It was ridiculous, and somewhat infuriating. Lest this seem like I'm diving further into personal anecdotes and opinion, note that I'm not the only one who felt this way, and I know my program wasn't the only one to adopt this sort of pseudo-hazing strategy, which I once heard referred to as the "Harvard Method." (Of weeding out the not-so-die-hard students I assume?) Can't find any internet info to corroborate this, but I'd love to hear if anyone who actually went to Harvard—like the professor of this class of mine did—noticed whether professors like to assign entire books to read on a weekly basis there.
My later classes weren't quite so bad, but I partly perceived them to be better because that first professor was *really* over-the-top with tremendously long reading assignments due every week, and I had to learn how to skim effectively just to "survive" it. In retrospect, that was a good lesson (albeit learned the hard way), because my graduate studies involved much more reading in general, and more in-depth, weekly accountability. I couldn't just cram from a textbook for a test every month or two; I had to read (skim) enough of multiple separate articles (often denser, with disparate writing styles, and not uncommonly longer than your average textbook chapter) to get a sense of what I could talk about in a seminar-style discussion with much fewer other students to hide behind, all of whom knew my name, as did the professor. I definitely did more reading as a grad student; anywhere from 3–15 hours/week/class when I had classes (not counting reading to prepare as a TA, or studying for my own research purposes). I suspect these experiences are fairly common, but I don't really know.
Other factors affecting my reading time included how interested I actually was in an article, and how messy my personal life was on any given week, of course. I should also add that I sometimes felt I needed to study less than the average student, yet I also felt that I read a given amount of text more slowly than the average student, so I may not be the best representative (probably a multivariate outlier in any case). Empirical summary statistics from educational psych literature might be of more use to you, though I don't have any sources on hand.
> 2 votes
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Tags: undergraduate, reading
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thread-15512 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15512 | Are prefaces common in academic papers? | 2014-01-08T13:42:49.813 | # Question
Title: Are prefaces common in academic papers?
I know that sometimes (in a thesis for instance) one can thank his supervisor, family or whoever and give a small reflection on the work. A good place would be a preface, I think, though I am not sure whether this is common in academic papers. If not, what is a good place to place reflections and - more informally - thank-you notes?
# Answer
It depends on the type of publication, I would say.
It would not be typical for journal or conference publications to have prefaces since dead trees are at a premium and long prefaces are not useful technical material.
It is common for journal and conference publications to have a short "Acknowledgements" note at the end of the paper (just before the bibliography), or linked as a footnote from the title. This note is typically for acknowledging funding sources of the authors, as well as people who contributed informally to the paper (but are not co-authors). Sometimes I like to thank (even anonymous) reviewers if their feedback was useful. However, these notes are concise: they are not prefaces where you would discuss, for example, the invaluable contribution of your cat or somesuch.
For books, monographs, etc., prefaces are fair game. But do consider what you put in there. It is often the first thing a reader will read.
> 6 votes
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Tags: writing, paper-submission
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thread-15513 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15513 | Is a research article the most comprehensive information available about a research project? | 2014-01-08T13:51:14.933 | # Question
Title: Is a research article the most comprehensive information available about a research project?
I sometimes stumble upon an article about an experiment, e.g a medical experiment done in some medical journal, or an article refering to a physics experiment done, and would like to know more exact details about the experiment and just in general as much information as possible about the subject.
I never wrote an article for a journal nor have I participated in the management of an experiment, but I understand documentation is done beyond what is written in the article, a journal article is a summary of the experiment and only elaborates on the important points.
For example a lab book AFAIK is often kept and used during the course of an experiment.
But this question pertains to theoretical research as well, e.g in mathematics; I may wish to find more information about the process by which the author came to his findings.
Is there usually a more complete documentation available which delineates the whole process of the experiment/research-project?
One thing I found is this Wikipedia article about "Open notebook science", but I understand this is not the norm. Still, I suspect I may be missing something (maybe a iece of documentation not as comprehensive as a lab notebook, but more so then a journal article.
Is there anything more for me to do if I wish to dig deeper and understand the subject more thoroughly?
# Answer
> Is there usually a more complete documentation available which delineates the whole process of the experiment/research-project?
Typically not all of the details of the research can feasibly be published. Different areas have different methods to cope with this. Some journals will allow supplementary material to be submitted that's made available online through the publisher's site. Some authors will add links to homepages for the project where more details are available. Sometimes authors will publish an extended "technical report" (e.g., with full proofs or full methodologies that would not be feasible under a page limit) and publish it on their institute homepage or a site like arXiv. I believe some biomedical journals allow for publishing databases containing micro-data on experiments ...
So it varies widely. The most generic answer, however, is simply to **get in contact with the authors** and ask them if more details are available! Their contact details should be provided in the paper.
> 4 votes
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Tags: research-process, literature, literature-search
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thread-15478 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15478 | What kind of content should one avoid when publishing (math) notes online? | 2014-01-07T20:51:54.477 | # Question
Title: What kind of content should one avoid when publishing (math) notes online?
I am a math undergrad doing an independent study course this semester, and I want to practice my math exposition skills by publishing some reading notes online.
I'm guessing I shouldn't publish my solutions to problems (or examples) from textbooks, and the notes I publish should be made from more than one text to avoid ethical and copyright concerns, respectively. I'm assuming coming up with similar but distinct problems and examples will at least address the first issue.
That is my situation, but to make this a broader question, what things in general should one avoid including when publishing notes online? By "notes", I'm also referring to lecture notes as well as other expository articles published for free access online.
# Answer
> 7 votes
Copyright protects *published texts and images*, not the underlying ideas. A concept such as a "Fourier transform" cannot be copyrighted, no matter how it's written or described. However, what you cannot do is republish the material that's been put under copyright without obtaining permission, or demonstrating a clear fair-use case. For instance, one or two short, relevant quotations that are properly cited in a 50-page manuscript will not get you into trouble. Reprinting larger amounts or more complicated material (tables, graphics, etc.), however, should be done via a copyright request to the publisher.
You cannot reprint the text of problems that have been published elsewhere (unless, of course, it's sufficiently generic that it could be found in multiple books. For instance, the following text would not likely be copyrightable:
> Prove that a connected open subset of *R^n* is pathwise connected.
for the reason that there is no "unique" or "original" content here; literally any book in the field could pose the same problem in exactly the same way. However, a longer, more detailed statement of the problem, guiding you through specific steps, would probably not be publishable.
On the other hand, the solution of such problems, so long as they represent independent scholarly work, need not be "suppressed." Again, copyright applies to the authors' wording of the solutions of the problems; the method for solving them cannot be copyrighted! If you solve them yourself, and publish your own solutions, that's not violating copyright. (There is the issue of making the lives of future students easier, because you're publishing solutions online that *they* could plagiarize from, but that's a separate issue from if you're *allowed* to publish such material.)
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Tags: mathematics, copyright, note-taking
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thread-15492 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15492 | Copyright and ownership for rejected papers that are edited based on peer review | 2014-01-08T04:21:25.357 | # Question
Title: Copyright and ownership for rejected papers that are edited based on peer review
I submitted a paper to a journal and I got extensive reviews, and the paper was rejected, but they encouraged resubmission if I successfully did a bit more science and made other drastic revisions. Note this is not the same as being conditionally accepted; I had to resubmit the paper. Well I did this and the paper was accepted the second go around with minor revisions.
The Journal has the policy that you may post a copy of the preprint, the draft prior to review, on your personal website with a link to the final article which is behind a paywall.
My question is, since they rejected the first draft of the paper, can I ethically call the second draft, the one with major revisions and extra science, the pre-peer review paper. It was the raw draft submitted prior to the second set of reviews after which they accepted the paper. Or because that paper did benefit from the first set of peer reviews, I should post the original first draft? My guess is that I am allowed to post the second draft; what do you think?
# Answer
It seems clear to me that the answer is post what you call your second draft. The first "round" is a closed chapter because of the reject decision. You should consider your new round as the round of relevance for the final publication; it is a new paper, the old is "dead". The first round draft will be so different from the final that it cannot represent the final version. If you receive a major/minor revision, it means that the submission has intrinsic values that are clear to the reviewers and editor and in such cases the early drafts carry with them enough to mirror the final product. So from this perspective the reject decision is a clear line of separation.
> 14 votes
# Answer
Just to add to Peters excellent answer (+1), one of the purposes of publication is to establish priority on discoveries and inventions, and this is established by the "submitted" date that appears on the final published paper.
If the journal is suggesting that you could submit a revised version as a new paper, then the submission date will be the date of the revised version, so it is only fair to treat the second version of the manuscript as the first draft of that paper.
Some journals have decided to get rid of the "revise and resubmit" option following review so that papers are either accepted or rejected (with the possibility of resubmission). This is done so that the journal appears to have a rapid processing time from submission to final publication. I think this is deeply unfair to authors as it is misleading and also could prevent them from getting fair priority on their discoveries. Generally it is also not actually treated as a new paper as it is sent to the same set of reviewers. The journal shouldn't be allowed to have their cake and eat it as well, either it is a new paper, or it isn't - if they reject a paper, they should have no rights over it whatsoever.
> 3 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, peer-review, copyright
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thread-15520 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15520 | How does someone with C's and F's in graduate-level courses and A's and B's in undergraduate courses get admitted to a PhD program? | 2014-01-08T14:31:48.513 | # Question
Title: How does someone with C's and F's in graduate-level courses and A's and B's in undergraduate courses get admitted to a PhD program?
I am currently the BA undergraduate math major (4th year), and I got ~3.3 cumulative GPA. I'm the average student who likes math a lot, so I took more than 10 graduate courses and higher division undergraduate courses in mathematics. For two courses, I received two C grades in those graduate courses by the same professor (hard exams and finals). I attempted to get better grade in one of those courses, but received the F (because of super hard final and midterm, and because of the same professor). For the undergraduate courses, I got mostly A's and one B+.
Though I still have time to maximize my chance to get into math PhD program by (probably) research experience and great letters of recommendation, I believe that I am more likely not to get into the program (because low grades greatly affect my application). However, I have one question to ask: is it REALLY over for me to get into PhD math program if I receive *bad* grades in these courses or not? I don't have lots of time to retake such courses, and if I do I will have to waste all money and time on doing so.
I don't aim to get into top-notch universities with excellent PhD programs, like Harvard University. All I expect is a good PhD program for me.
# Answer
In the graduate level courses, was the grading scale the same for undergraduate and graduate students? This varies from school to school, department to department, even course to course. Were you taking these classes without all of the prerequisites? You should consider all extenuating circumstances and tell your letter writers so they can help better explain away your grades and focus on how amazing your research is. Give your letter writers bullet points (suggested for them to edit/ignore as they see fit) to include in their recommendation letters. Faculty don't enjoy nor want to spend that much time on letter writing so make it easy. In your email to a faculty member you might write something like this
Hi Professor X,
Here is a reminder of things you might want to address in my letter of recommendation for *_*_ (of course only if you agree with them)
Evidence of enthusiasm and ambition
-I took many graduate courses out of genuine interest for the subject despite not having taken many of the prerequisite courses. Even though I received the poor/mediocre grades in some of these courses, I was able to successfully translate some of the advanced knowledge and skills learned when I ... during my research project ...
-Some other way you can spin these poor grades into something positive
Thanks for agreeing to write this letter, I hope the above bullets make things easier for you; I know you are busy and have to write many of these letters.
Thanks again,
-Student
The point is you want your letter writers to spin the poor grades into something positive that fits with a cohesive story about you. You personally addressing the grades may sound a bit like excuses. A professor addressing the grades won't. It should be noted that some schools do have strict unspoken GPA cutoffs, but many really good schools do not.
> 6 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions
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thread-15505 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15505 | How to work efficiently under loose supervision during graduate studies? | 2014-01-08T10:26:45.820 | # Question
Title: How to work efficiently under loose supervision during graduate studies?
I work in a very cross-disciplinary field, which has caused me some headache<sup>*</sup> over the past couple of years, partly due to the fact that my supervisor isn't very knowledgeable regarding the day to day (technical) details of my projects. He typically leaves any mathematical, or CS, aspect of the projects to me to figure out, and provides guidance when I have questions regarding the biology or biochemistry, as those are his fields of expertise.
From what I hear, he's similarly loose in supervision even with the other grad students who are less cross-disciplinary and more aligned with his expertise. While I see the point in the supervisor providing the freedom to the grad student to develop as he/she likes, in my experience it can be troubling at times, allow me to explain:
I often have extensive periods where I don't have concrete goals to work with, but only vague ideas. Similarly, since I don't get a lot of technical guidance there are often weeks-long periods where I don't "produce" anything but instead trying to dig information out on publications, CS blogs or StackOverflow, in order to solve a problem I encounter.
It's at times like these my daily concerns (stuff usually unrelated to work) take precedence over what I am actually trying to figure out. I find myself browsing for gadgets, or looking over my savings or reading the news etc. I have no illusions that this amounts to procrastination no matter how you look at it. Since I don't really need to report anything to my supervisor on a regular basis, these periods can be extensive which often leads to frustration. And having realised this, I would like to be more productive even when I am stuck at my project, hopefully minimise the time it takes until I come up with a solution to whatever it is that's hindering progress.
So my question boils down to: how can I make sure I work efficiently, i.e. I don't get distracted or succumb to procrastination, when I am stuck and only get very loose supervision?
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<sup>*</sup> See relevant questions:
# Answer
> 35 votes
I think the more general form of the question is: (a) what do I need from my supervisor and (b) if my supervisor cannot/will not provide this, then what can I do?
Here's a few things I think supervisors are most important for early on in graduate studies:
# Discipline and Motivation
So you need to put in long hours to succeed in graduate studies and oftentimes you need to work "blind": you need to work on things you don't know will succeed or not, or where you have no fixed goal in mind. Discipline can thus be a major issue for any relatively normal human being. Supervisors are supposed to track your progress on a regular basis and ensure you are putting in the required levels of effort, to encourage with a carrot and to use the stick if necessary.
If your supervisor is not tracking your progress and setting goals for you, then you need to take your own discipline into your own hands. The simplest method is to set your own goals with deadlines, focusing on achieving one thing at a time. Make TODO lists that follow a rough plan you have in mind. If a task is too broad, it will never get done: each task should be small enough and phrased in such a way that you know how it can be achieved (even if the task is just "problem solve X for one hour").
Assign yourself regular hours to work. If procrastination is a problem, *just start*. Starting is the hardest part so unplug yourself from whatever you were doing, minimise the potential for distraction as much as possible, take a deep breath and start. It's that simple.
# Experience
It is not enough to work hard, but you need to work smart. Inexperienced students often tend to invest more effort into unimportant minor details that they feel they can control, rather than important details where the outcome or process is uncertain. The job of the supervisor should be to provide context on the relative importance of various tasks, to stop students from getting bogged down in minor details and to keep the bigger picture in mind.
Experience comes into play in other areas. For example, if you're starting out in publishing, or trying to publish to a venue you haven't before, experience is crucial so as to know what form the paper should take, what sort of narrative is accepted, what sort of "boxes" have to be ticked.
There is no replacement for experience. However, you can find experience elsewhere than your supervisor. Are there more senior students or PostDocs you can collaborate with? Maybe there's a group outside of your institute you can collaborate with remotely? Working with other people (i.e., not having a monogamous relationship with your supervisor) is an excellent way to quickly level up your own experience and gain new perspectives!
# Technical Expertise
Your supervisor is also supposed to apply his/her technical expertise to your supervision, particularly in the early days. But if they do not provide you sufficient time and effort in this regard, or if their own technical expertise does not cover your interests, or as you progress into more detail on your PhD, you will need to find sources of expertise elsewhere.
Again, talk with other people. Try to seek out people with the skills that you require and try to develop a *mutually beneficial* working relationship with them (i.e., don't expect them to help you out of the goodness of their hearts). Perhaps you could even find a co-supervisor or a "mentor" who can be credited on a thesis?
The Web is also your friend. When I was a graduate student, I learned far more from playing around and trying things and from reading (on the Web) than from anything my supervisors (or lecturers) taught me. One of the most important lessons from graduate studies is "independent study" ... learning how to learn. When you do a PhD you are supposed to be the world's leading expert on your chosen topic. The only way this can happen is if you develop your own technical expertise in your area beyond that of your supervisor and your other colleagues.
# Funding
Presumably if you already have a supervisor then you have a fixed source of funding. However, you may need additional funding if you go over length or funding for conference travel, etc. This can be very difficult for graduate students to get involved in.
However, there are often calls that are aimed at students and require minimal input from a supervisor. These include student travel grants for conferences, governmental scholarships, prizes for submitted work, etc. Furthermore, other senior researchers will often have funds they can provide for part-time contributions; talk to people if you are stuck.
# Summary
I think some of the most important lessons that have to be learned during graduate studies are:
* How to discipline and motivate yourself and organise your own work
* Understand the nature of research itself, the broader research community and how your work will be viewed by them
* How to find, initiate and follow through on fruitful collaborations with other researchers and research groups
* How to find your own sources of funding
The main goal of graduate studies is to gradually reduce your dependence on your supervisor until, by the end of your PhD, you don't need them any more. A good supervisor should understand and support you in this, particularly early on, but if this isn't working out, then you need to learn how to rely on yourself more (or find another (co-)supervisor).
# Answer
> 21 votes
I can't provide a definitive solution, but I can offer an example that works for me in periods when I'm feeling distracted but need to get things done. During such periods, I take advantage of what's known as the Pomodoro technique. The basic idea of this technique is that you should work in blocks of 20- to 25-minutes that are devoted to a single task: reading a paper, or writing a piece of code, or whatever else the task is to be. At the end of one such block (called a "Pomodoro"), you take a short 5-minute break, then begin a new unit. After four units, you take a longer break.
Other ways to help do this are to "block out" other distractions: use full-screen modes that avoid distractions, warning messages, and so on. Turn off the beeps and signals on your mobile phone (except for appointment alerts!). Suppress the "new mail" sounds and other warnings on your computer.
The other challenge is of course figuring out what to do in the blocks. That of course is a little trickier, but requires planning on your part. You should be thinking about this on a fairly regular basis (the frequency can vary, but at least every few weeks). Figure out what you've done recently, and what you need to work on next. Then, get it done!
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For the specific case of being stuck on a particular bit, it depends a lot on the nature of the problem. If the block is a structural problem (equipment not working, etc.), then you have to wait for it to be resolved and work on other parts of your project in the meanwhile. However, if the issue is that you need to figure something out, then that really depends on how you solve problems best. Some people do so by working on completely different topics for a while, letting the problem "work itself out" in the subconscious. Other people attack it head on. Sometimes it's helpful to think about the problem in a different way: what happens if you start at the "solution" you want to reach, and work your way backwards? What are the consequences of continuing your current method of solution? Does it get you somewhere you can work from? Are there related problems in other parts of your discipline, or in other disciplines? How did other people try to resolve them? Will that work in your circumstances?
# Answer
> 14 votes
I signed up just so I could answer this question ;-)
I recently found myself in a similar position at a new job. Not research, but still goal oriented with lots of investigation needing to be done.
It sounds like you're running into a problem that I still have to deal with: mistaking goals for "that other thing I need to do." For me, it was easy to forget that investigating how a particular thing worked, including research on StackExchange etc. WAS progress. That WAS a thing that needed to be done, and as such **it should be on your to-do list**. It's easy to (as an over simplification) have a to-do list that reads "finish research project." And then be overwhelmed by all the "other" things that have to be done in order to accomplish that goal. For me, my to-do list at one point consisted of "automate all 37 regression tests," and then I got frustrated with how much time I was wasting just figuring out how the automation process worked.
The reality was, I needed a line item for "figure out how to RUN automatic regression tests," followed by a line item for "figure out what components are needed to fully define a regression test," etc. Each of those things ended up needing to be broken down further, as well.
It's easy to think that you're not making progress, but that's probably just because it's not on your to-do list, when it should be.
EDIT: Then, if your to-do list is sufficiently granular, it will tell you "you're goofing off, not getting stuff done" ...and then you have to listen to it ;-)
# Answer
> 12 votes
Congratulations, you have just been promoted to supervisor, you have to supervise a PhD student, set him some goals, check he doesn't procrastinate, push him to do his best, find venues to publish, topics to research, write papers to publish, etc.
This PhD student is *you*, and since you are not very experienced on research I can guess you both will have a somewhat hard time and probably the results will not be very astounding (having a good background helps to choose topics better). But if you both work hard I'm sure you both will learn a lot, and that's what students are for, aren't they?
On the good side of things, your new supervisor is 100% devoted to you, he watches you procrastinate, eat, sleep (kind of) and in every situation, even while in the shower. Very few people get that kind of attention.
Good luck.
# Answer
> 8 votes
Here is what I did to get through my research.
1. First you need to set a complete project time line, even if you feel it is not accurate, from the first day you start to the last day you finish. You list all the major parts of your research, when you plan to begin working on each section, and when you plan to complete them.
2. Find people (other faculty) that can help you on the predominant topics of your research. Seems like you may have two: Tech, and Biology. I had three on my research: Math, Distributed Computing, and Literature/General CS. I told each professor what area of my research I wanted focus from them on. They did not touch any parts of my research I did not ask them to focus on... it worked out rather well I am happy to say.
3. Meet with each of them. When you meet with them to discuss your research, ask them either (1) what needs improvement, or (2) how to solve your current issue.
4. Don't leave their office until you set a time up to meet with them again about what you just discussed, to present your results or status. No more than two weeks ahead! And follow up with them in one week via e-mail to tell them your status... this also keeps them on the ball in helping you if they have some things to look at (like reading your research).
5. Put the data from #3 and #4 into a diary, and include how it meets your time line from #1. Modify your time line as necessary. Send out a regular update report to your committee and other contributing professors with all this information, plus a copy of your current research as Draft (version your drafts). Meet with your committee 2 to 3 times per semester (Beginning, middle, ending).
6. Meet with your Supervisor after every report you send out and ask him how you are doing. May only take 10-15 minutes during his office hours. Schedule follow-ups if your supervisor finds red flags. He has all the data now to make a determination on how you are doing.
Doing this kept me on the ball every day. I kept setting obligations with professors, and met them. I sent out reports regularly for their review to keep me accountable.
# Answer
> 5 votes
This began as a comment, switched to an answer, and just kept getting longer, so I'm gonna have to split it into sections...
## Reframing the problem
I disagree that it's "procrastination no matter how you look at it," and I wonder how many ways you've actually tried looking at it. I say this somewhat confrontationally, but very sympathetically, as I've struggled with the sense that I'm just procrastinating throughout my free time in higher education, and ultimately rejected it. There's a lot more to life than work; this is easy to forget in grad school, and there's a lot of pressure to do so. Ask yourself whether you care about the things you spend your time on for other reasons you haven't fully acknowledged, or whether you're judging those pursuits as wasteful by someone else's value system, not your own. I see from your other questions that you have struggled (as I have) with the sense that other people judge success by the wrong criteria, and ignore opportunities for lateral growth if it doesn't follow their narrowly defined path to \[\_insert\_short-term\_work\_goal\_here\_\].
If you sincerely think those other concerns of yours aren't valuable, ask yourself if you could stand to work instead every time you notice yourself switching your focus over to one of those concerns. If you can't, you may find that there is some necessity to the (non-work) concern at hand, and may want to reevaluate it again at that point while you're in the moment. If you still feel there's no value to it, ask yourself whether you are just looking for something else (anything, really) to do instead of working. Ask yourself if you don't want to work on some level, and if so, why that might be so.
Given your situation (which was also my situation at times, in ways), you may be finding yourself more free from *extrinsic motivation* (pressure, expectations, "or-else" negative consequences, and so on) than you have been for much of your academic career. The transition from inflexible, specific, structured deadlines (which probably begin in middle school and carry all the way through the first year or two of a Master's program) to a more diffuse sense of partly internalized pressure and guilt for not being a more diligent workaholic is a subtle transition that occurs most dramatically in grad school (or so I'd say, based on our shared experience with hands-off supervisors). As you slowly realize you're falling behind in some sense because you're taking time off from work to handle your own life, you realize you can't count on those old, structured sources of extrinsic motivation that almost feels like a fight-or-flight response to an encroaching predator (e.g., the "cram-or-fail" decision on the night before a final exam). Those of us who make it this far have probably mostly chosen to run into the jaws of the beast and do battle with it in our flight from abject failure, but some of us have only done this when we feel ourselves running out of time to make a choice of which it's going to be.
*Avoidance-avoidance conflicts* like those resolve themselves (or force you to resolve them) because when the deadline comes, you **have to** choose. Without the climactic anxiety of the confrontation that motivates a resolution (however hard-won it may be even in these cases), conflicts can linger much longer in the post-deadlines careerscape. The emotional experience is different: the anxiety is more insidious than in-your-face, and can be tolerated much longer. You can start to feel the internalized sources of anxiety more as you worry less about others' judgment; you can become your own worst critic, and feel more guilty, depressed, or apathetic than truly anxious in the old familiar sense. This is still extrinsic motivation, but it's *introjected* in that it's *internalized*: **you** are now the source of your own negative self-evaluations. (This need not be exclusively true to apply.)
## Reframing the solution
This kind of problem takes a different approach to resolve. You can probably find a million self-help blogs about how to be your own supervisor and boss yourself around so you can go back to the old model of operating under artificial, externalized pressure. E.g., "I **must** spend one hour working everyday before breakfast," or, "Whenever I read the newspaper, I **must** count the time I spend and put the same amount of time into \[staring blankly at\] my project." You can find a lot of similar answers to "How to avoid procrastination during the research phase of my PhD?" the second most popular question here at the moment. One of the problems with approaches like (some of) these is that they'll give you a whole new way to go to war against yourself; you'll have to take your infractions very seriously if you're going to take the system seriously at all, and you're probably not going to want to. You'll have to tell/force yourself not to do what you want to do, even when you have good reasons or special opportunities (unless you complicate your system and give yourself vacation time, indulgences, or mulligans, which might not be a bad idea). Another problem is that when you've put in your time or satisfied whatever other requirement you've assigned yourself, you'll feel just like you always did (if you were like me in this regard too) after finishing your self-assigned "homework": ready to go blow off the steam however you can, which probably leads you back to those "procrastinatory" habits you're fighting. If it does, that's a sign that those habits might be the ones that replenish your energy, fulfill you emotionally, and help you feel more like a whole person, more like yourself, and less like a dusty, malfunctioning computer that's been cooped up in a cramped cubicle for too long.
I think the better approach than stealing happy hours while you're off-the-clock (or stealing them from yourself while you're on) is to work more introspectively on your motives and values. I would think this—I'm a personality psychologist—but it's done me a lot of good. I still don't necessarily focus when I should (I'd probably have more publications by now if I did), but I don't feel like I'm wasting my time when I'm not focusing on work. I focus on what I'm doing instead, I enjoy and value it (or through patient introspection and experience, I gradually come to the conclusion that I don't, and I quit), and I don't beat myself up for it during or afterward. I trust that when I want to do something, there's probably a good reason, and I strive to understand it. If I can't find a good reason, I often find that I don't want to do it anymore; problem solved (usually). This has led to some extended "vacations" from work, during which I focus on other things I care about (e.g., a video game, or Stack Exchange!), but when I get to the bottom of what I'm after in these pursuits, and I get it, I'm enthusiastic to return to my work, and I bring new ideas to it. I integrate these diverse experiences, and I enrich my work in the process.
What I'm describing is a shift away from judgmental devaluation of extracurricular "distractions" to a recognition of and reconciliation with my broader set of values, which include my career, achievement, and financial success, but don't end there. I'm my own boss now (read: unemployed :P maybe you shouldn't listen to me!), so I get to enjoy that freedom (and pay the price for it)...and I do enjoy it. I enjoy my work too! Not feeling constantly indebted to it is very important for that feeling, that *autonomous*, *intrinsic motivation* (see the same links as before) to arise. Finding joy, fascination, excitement, and the energizing yet relaxing release-through-work of *the flow state* is all about letting yourself love what you do when the time is right, and knowing it's right because you've defined what you need to do on your own terms: terms of what you want to do (intrinsically), or at least what you really care about (*identified motivation*, which is often good enough; same links as before). Once you really understand what you're after, your *sense of purpose*, you can start organizing your projects around it and deriving natural, enduring motivation for your work. You won't want to quit and do something else so often, you'll start waking up eager to work, and if anything, you'll suffer for finding it harder to pull yourself away from your work to eat, sleep, make sweet love down by the fiyah, or whatever else there is to do with life that starts to seem strangely less important.
## Acknowledgements, credentials, disclaimers...
I know this sounds like a new-age meditation mantra or performance-enhancing nutritional supplement commercial, but I assure you, these are at least the implications of honest-to-goodness psychological theories of motivation (which are my area of expertise), passed a few times through a thick filter of personal experience. I'm not a typical success story myself (if a success story at all so far), but I have succeeded in rediscovering my love for my work and motivation for focusing on it in a big way by introspecting on these matters of my motivation and values, and indulging my urges to do other things than work at certain points throughout my graduate career. I think I'm a much better psychologist for having "walked the walk," even if I haven't talked enough talk yet to convince others with my publication record, and I know that when I publish the manuscript version of that dissertation I linked above, it's going to be a hell of a lot better for all the time I've spent delving into statistics (and Cross Validated!) over the past few months when I "should've been" writing instead for fear of not publishing rapidly enough. Because I allowed myself to redefine my work in terms of what I value rather than in terms of what was going to get me the most immediate recognition and paycheck (again, extrinsic motives), and because I'm lucky enough to afford the opportunity costs, I put in two months of probably the hardest and most consistent work I've ever put into refining my research, put to rest all my old insecurities about my rate of progress, and apparently can't stop raving about everything I'm learning and how much better I feel about it all now. I don't yet know how long I'm going to be able to keep this up before I start "procrastinating" again (one might argue I'm doing that now), but the plan is to stay this way as long as I can: self-directed, secure, deeply enthusiastic, and well-aligned with my values and overall sense of purpose. The productivity has already started flowing out of this life transition, but it would take a lot more talking to prove it, so I'll leave it at that for now.
I should also note that there's some risk in this approach. It's a long road, you may not have the time and freedom to follow it as far as you need to for the results you might want, and it may not ultimately lead where you think you want it to right now. This is the stuff career transitions and midlife crises (not that I would really know about those first-hand just yet) are made of: confrontation with what you **really** want and care about, and its juxtaposition with what you're actually doing. Better to get it out of the way while you're young, I say, but maybe not when you're less than a year away from finishing your PhD, if there's some risk you won't as a result. If you can't afford to take your time, this isn't for you. It's a long-term approach that ought to pay off in the end, but there are certainly no guarantees, and it might take a very long time indeed. If you've had the patience to read this far, you just might be ready for it.
I mainly offer this because you remind me of myself, and both of us remind me of what I study, and I'm currently my own guinea pig undergoing very informal road-testing of these theories, for which I could provide plenty more references, but which take some contextualized interpretation to apply here. It's definitely too soon to claim conclusive support for the theory from my own life, but I feel like I'm closing in on that result very rapidly now. In whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best results, and hope you'll come back to tell us what you choose and how it goes. If this self-indulgent autobiography of mine doesn't get downvoted through the pavement, I'll consider doing the same. Cheers!
**P.S.** In response to your comment on @aeismail's answer, I want to emphasize that part of the benefit of my approach for me has been taking my former advisor's voice out of my brain and rediscovering my own voice. Those two months of hard work (seriously almost all-day everyday studying!) were in pursuit of my own solutions to my own research problems. Because I started listening to myself better and allowing myself to direct my own research according to my priorities, I've learned probably a year's worth of statistics that helps me handle the conceptual bits of my own project in ways my graduate advisor was never going to even while I was still there. If you can give it the time, and accept that you're your own best supervisor, and avoid being or becoming your own worst critic, you can solve those problems as well as anyone can. Ask your supervisor and everyone else you can for input and guidance, but know that you're ultimately the one who has to steer the ship, and don't take your hands off the wheel for a second! But do pull over once in a while to stretch your legs and smell the roses; it's just another way of putting gas in your tank.
# Answer
> 4 votes
The Pomodoro Technique is great for when you find yourself in a cycle of procrastination. Combine with self binding. I've also had a lot of luck with creating minimum output requirements and tracking; Beeminder might help, at least until you've internalized the habits you want to build.
The important thing is to set yourself up for success.
I would suggest trying to attack the problem from many directions:
* Spend some time each week renewing your coverage of the literature. As you get further along a project, you'll find you have a better grasp of where to look, and what it is you want. You may find incredibly important work for you after months of search, just because it took that long to find the right words.
* Simultaneously, spend some time each week *collating* the information you have; create a wiki on your topic, and keep it up to date. Build a mind-map. These exercises will help you identify links and gaps in your conception of the problem.
* Narrate your work: Keep a blog, a journal, that you dump every wisp of thought or spark of information into. Doing this will help you avoid loosing a spark of inspiration, while also freeing your mind to work on whatever task is actually at hand.
# Answer
> 4 votes
You've touched on a number of related problems, some of which are common to all grad students (anyone can procrastinate, even if they have a supervisor that requires more regular feedback), and some problems that are specific to your situation (a supervisor that is not very knowledgeable about your project).
There's no reason that your supervisor has to be the only person who helps you with your project. There are many other professors and academics around who might be more familiar with your specific goals, so make use of them. This can include professors who you've taken courses with (choosing course projects that relate to your research is a great way to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak). But there's no reason you can't just approach a professor out of the blue, and ask them if they could meet with you for an hour to help you with a specific problem. Most professors would be very glad, and the worst that can happen is they say "no" and you're back to where you started. You can also contact academics around the world, for example if you've read a paper by her or him and need help figuring out the details. Most academics love to talk about their research and get their ideas out there, so they'll probably be happy to help.
In regards to your more general problem of procrastination, that's something that I'm still struggling with. One tip that I have is to treat it like a job: Put in a solid 8 hours every day, from 9 to 5 ish, just like you would have to at a job. Then go home and relax in the evenings. When I started grad school, I was wasting a lot of time during the day, and then I'd get home and feel like I should do some work because I did nothing all day, so I'd work in the evening. That meant I didn't relax in the evening, and so I'd procrastinate more the next day. Procrastination is not really relaxing, because you always feel like you should be doing something else, so you can't switch off. If you can separate your work and the rest of your life into nice blocks, and make sure you do some really relaxing leisure activities in your off time (reading, sports, music, etc.), you'll feel a lot better (at least I did).
# Answer
> 2 votes
The word you are searching for is *self-discipline!*
When I get distracted it is mostly because I lose the motivation for some topic. The next time when you get distracted from your work, take a break and/or try to work on another part of it.
Because your supervisor doesn't set goals for you means not that you can't set them for yourself. Important is, that you don't exaggerate it and thereby set yourself too much under pressure. Always setup goals that you can achieve in the given time!
In short:
* Take regular breaks to get your head free. This is often underestimated!
* If you get distracted, work on another part of your topic
* Set goals for yourself that you can achieve in the given timespan
+ Daily goal: write at least x page(s)
+ Weekly goal: finish section y
+ Monthly goal: finish chapter z
* If you made progress or finished an important part reward yourself to keep up your motivation
*PS:*
* Don't spend too much time on stackexchange
* If you are on facebook, limit yourself to one visit per day!
# Answer
> 1 votes
you need feedback or you will die, you are perfectly entitled to request to meet with your supervisor for an hour a week. If they are unwilling to give even that then there is usually a clause in most grad studies contracts that will allow you to nominate a "second supervisor" (replacement) if you are unhappy. Chemistry (of the personal type) plays a large role in the success of teams so it is important to work with someone you like.
Following on .. if you have spare cycles and are happy with your progress see if there are others in the dept you can collaborate with - perhaps you will be credited on their publications too.
Publications are the currency of academia, like it or not, and time needs to be spent specifically targeting publishable work. So try and figure out how what you are doing today will lead to publications. Your supervisor didn't get there by accident they know very well how to play the game by now.
Which brings me to my final point, it sounds like perhaps there is a communication gap twixt you and your supervisor, ask yourself if you have been prickly or defensive with them at any point - if you have then throw your ego out the window, listen carefully to their suggestions and get it done. You will need their good word above all else in order to succeed.
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Tags: research-process, advisor, productivity, workplace, procrastination
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thread-15541 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15541 | Any way to get credit for publications that I drafted as a fellow for a law professor? | 2014-01-08T18:49:31.547 | # Question
Title: Any way to get credit for publications that I drafted as a fellow for a law professor?
Since I graduated from law school almost ten years ago, I have been working as a fellow for a law professor at a US law school. In that time, I have drafted over 25 articles and book chapters, but only been listed as a co-author on 8. I don't begrudge this split: The Prof has the established name and, in every instance, she has sat me down, outlined what she wants to cover, and then made comments and requested revisions on every draft I produce, but I have always done 90% or more of the actual writing. I greatly appreciate the confidence she has shown in my writing abilities and am just not sure how to convey this on my CV/job applications. My position is ending and I'm applying for new jobs that, in many cases, are looking for expertise in areas on which I've researched and written extensively, just not under my name. Is there any accepted way/format to mention publications one has drafted/contributed to without receiving formal authorship credit?
# Answer
> 1 votes
What you are describing is actually **ethical misconduct**. If you were the primary drafter of an article, then you should have been listed as an author on those papers; the fact that you have not is inexcusable on the part of the professor. In the scientific world, such a revelation coming to light would be sufficient grounds for retraction of the articles in question.
So right now, the problem is that if you try to claim ownership, you may be creating a lot of problems. I don't know what the right solution is, but you should definitely talk with someone at your law school such as an ombudsperson *before* talking to your advisor. The last thing you need right now is having a former advisor who can "spike" letters of recommendation.
# Answer
> 1 votes
TED, I agree with aeismail is an **ethical misconduct**, but it is difficult to judge your professor: even you wrote the paper, it depends from your contract; eg if you were payed as "ghost writer" or "technical professionist" or "translator" and you didn't partecipate to research or discussion, you can not expect too much. I do not think it's your case ....
Anyway: yes I have seen in some cv a sentence like
> "I participated in the works and project a, b, c as a technician expert and/or reviewer "
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Tags: publications
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thread-15453 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15453 | Is it better to start the paper title with a verb? | 2014-01-07T09:26:04.363 | # Question
Title: Is it better to start the paper title with a verb?
I heard one of my lecturers says that it is always better to start the paper title with a verb. According to the lecturer, the verb leave that impression about something has been accomplished. For example, use `Design`, `develop` etc. I tried to find any supportive resources about that but I could not. The other question, is it better to use `verb-ing` or not (e.g. Developing vs. Develop)? Most of references that speak about choosing title do not pay much attention to the syntax.
# Answer
I see two issues here. The one is the stylistic sense that some people have developed over their life and that is not necessarily always to be generalized. The other is the strictness of such "style advice".
For the first issue: Everybody develops some kind of preferences about stylistic things they like or dislike and things they believe to be (or have worked) better than others. This personal preference does not necessarily coincide with what is generally considered to be good style, which means it could be true in the special environment of this person but it could also be some anecdotal experience that has no broader foundation. Therefore I would be somewhat cautious to take such advice too strict when it comes from a single person and you cannot find it anywhere else.
For the second: Let's consider this rule exists (which I don't know and didn't check), you shouldn't take it as a strict "law". If you have a title that fulfils the rule and you feel good with it, then go for it. But don't try to twist your formulation just to meet this single criterion as the confusion that you create with it might outweigh the "beauty" that you win by starting the title with a verb.
**TL;DR**: Be careful with possibly subjective "style advice" and don't take style guides as strict "laws".
> 10 votes
# Answer
I am neither a native English speaker nor a language expert but here are my two cents. I recall hearing (more than once) that it's best to start strong. In other words, what you feel your paper is really about should be the first thing you express; if it is *doing* something that wasn't possible to do previously then a word expressing an action is a good call. Ex: *"Refinement of XYZ process using awesome method A"*.
Otherwise if you are doing something in a different way then it might be good to point out what's new with your way of doing that particular thing; *"Multispectral analysis of bioluminesce in deep ocean habitats"* (random made-up example).
In the first example you are "advertising" that you are refining XYZ process and that's the cool thing with your paper, whereas in the second example you are pointing out that you are analysing things in multiple light spectra.
In either way the first word isn't a verb, but could be a noun form of a verb; i.e. `to refine` -\> `refinement`. The problem with using the "-ing" form is that it might give the idea of continuousness, which is out of place as the work is already done in most cases.
Hope that makes some sense :)
> 4 votes
# Answer
Writing a good title is perhaps the hardest part of authoring. Writing a good title is not so much a matter of style as a matter of good communication. Some key points I therefore try to follow for a title can be summarized as follows
* predict and describe the content; recapitulate the conclusion
* be succinct and comprise one or possibly two facts
* include one active verb in present tense to form subject-active verb-objective
* Avoid complicated wording and use no more than three modifiers for any noun
A pair of good sources on general science writing which includes formulation of titles:
> Glasman-Deal, H., 2012. Science research writing for non-native speakers of English. Imperial College Press, London
and
> Day, R.A. & Sakaduski, N., 2011. Scientific English. A guide for scientists and other professionals. Greenwood, Santa Barbara CA
> 2 votes
# Answer
Select your target journal.
Analyse the most recent 100 paper's titles in that journal. How many start with a verb? How many have colons? What are the median and mode number of words in a title?
Make your title follow the most common format.
That's the first-order effect: maximising the chance of getting published.
The second-order effect is maximising the chance of getting cited. So repeat the above analysis, for the 100 most cited papers from the last ten years, in your target journal. Adjust citations for length of time lapsed since they were published.
Now try to combine these findings into a happy blend that maximises both your chance of getting published, and of being cited.
> 2 votes
# Answer
What has not been mentioned in the above answers is that the nature of a title tends also to vary significantly **between disciplines.**
For instance, in the biological and medical sciences, the titles of journal articles tend to be summaries of the key findings of the paper:
> Overexpression of Gene A Leads to Suppression of the X-Y Pathway in Organism Z under Type A Conditions
In effect, the title serves as a minimalist abstract of the paper.
In contrast to this, papers in the physical and mathematical sciences tend to have shorter titles that don't necessarily say much about the content of the article:
> Technique X for Studying Y in Material Z
or
> A Proof of Theorem X for Conditions Y
Titles in the humanities can be much more creative, and use wordplay, literary quotes, and allusions:
> "Touches of Sweet Harmony": A Study of Organ Construction in Shakespeare's England
Now, your title need not fit into the specific norms of your field, but in that case, you better have a solid reason for doing so.
> 1 votes
# Answer
A lot of people are giving the exact opposite advice I would give. Most papers go un-cited! You absolutely don't want to be too conventional. If you want to analyze titles experimentally do the following
1. Get together with a bunch of postdocs, grad students and professors in your field.
2. Pick a popular journal in your field to analyze and a date range, at least 5 years older than the current date but not too old to be ridiculously obsolete.
3. Everyone choose 5 papers they remember being really important that received a lot of citations, 5 really important papers that received few citations and 5 middle of the road papers
4. Look at the titles. Is there something different about the highly cited papers' titles?
5. If the answer is yes consider going with that, if the answer is no, use your own style and creativity, and ignore most things (although you should follow some common sense).
This actually sounds like a fun party idea. Note the methods are probably really flawed since I just thought about this. Feel free to comment below on an improved experimental design.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, research-process, journals, writing-style
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thread-14958 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14958 | Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization graduate programs | 2013-12-20T21:04:35.183 | # Question
Title: Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization graduate programs
Does anybody know of any other ACO (algorithms, combinatorics and optimization) graduate programs besides the ones at Carnegie Mellon and Georgia Tech?
From what I have searched, these two schools were the only ones that offered such a multi-disciplinary program. I like this intersection in CS/MATH. The only other multi-disciplinary programs are scientific computing ones where the focus is in numerical algorithms, differential equations, and parallel programming. Scientific computing would be my second choice type of program.
There are TONS of scientific computing programs, where aren't there more ACO programs? I think both topics are fascinating, but I just have more fun with ACO types of problems. Ideally, I would enjoy a 70:30 ratio of ACO and Scientific Computing.
I really want to do an inter-disciplinary program because, in a general computer science program I would most-likely have to do systems (ewwww!) and in a general math program I would have to study analysis and geometry (which is cool, but I would rather focus on ACO!)
1. Are there any other ACO programs besides the ones offered at CMU and GA-Tech?
2. Why are there so many scientific computing programs vs ACO programs?
Thanks for all the help
# Answer
> 2 votes
You should consider applying to "Operations Research", "Computer science", and "Applied Math" programs (note applied math and not math), all of which can potentially have concentrations in your desired field of study. Make sure the schools have professors publishing in the journals and conferences that interest you. Courses you tend to take in these programs include. Every course below can be used towards a degree in applied math at Cornell (not sure about other places).
Analysis of Algorithms - CS
Simulation - OR
Machine Learning - CS
Combinatorial Optimization - OR
Algorithmic Game Theory - CS
Optimal Learning - OR
Theory of Computing - CS (complexity theory)
Stochastic Dynamic Programming - OR
Networks - CS
Mathematical Programming - code word for analysis with an eye towards optimization and algorithms
Nonlinear Programming - OR
I know that Cornell has a very strong theory component to both their OR and CS programs and you should probably look into them. No matter which program you choose at Cornell, you can bet that you will be able to take a lot of OR,CS and math courses and count most of them towards your PhD requirements (this may not be true at all other universities, you'll have to check). The above list is just a sampling of some of the courses offered at Cornell in OR and CS. Combinatorics is offered in the math department. The difference between all these programs will be in the required courses you have to take, for example OR requires stats, CS requires the theory of programming languages etc., but no one likes every single course they take in their PhD.
Edit: Actually at Cornell, Applied Math has the most flexibility of any program. As long as you have some background in undergrad algebra and analysis (which you can make up during grad school) You can affectively create your own curriculum, with very few requirements. Its very easy to focus on ACO there. Note that many applied math programs are not so flexible, so you really have to look around.
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Tags: graduate-school, computer-science, mathematics
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thread-15547 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15547 | How do I complain to chair if my advisor regularly writes to scam journals to get tenure? | 2014-01-08T23:30:34.183 | # Question
Title: How do I complain to chair if my advisor regularly writes to scam journals to get tenure?
My advisor and his PHD Students are writing regularly to journals published by a publisher, which is on Beall’s list of Predatory Journals. I emailed Beall and he told me that the journals were advertising as non-profit but usually publish if you pay them.
I am in US. So recently the PHD Student and advisor published to this predatory journal’s conference taking place half way down the world and obviously it got accepted. So my advisor approved the student’s trip to that country (almost 1500 $, so it had to be approved by chair), but the chair rejected it saying it’s not worth the expense.
Now I want to directly email my chair and point out to him about my advisor’s publishing record. I am angry that instead of publishing to genuine journals, my advisor (who I believe is incompetent but has good political clout in the university) is publishing to these scam journals and wasting university money to achieve her tenure requirements.
Since I am still working in lab, I need advice on how to approach my chair so that I can keep myself safe from possible wrath of my advisor and at same time negate the contributions of these journals for his tenure.
Edit 1: The conference listed Google Scholar as one of its sponsors, so I emailed Google and they told me they never sponsored this journal and will order removal of their name from the sponsors list. So yeah, these are all first rate scam journals and I have all these emails, if I ever need to communicate with the chair. I have done my investigation; I just need to get my results across.
# Answer
> 16 votes
Your relationship with your advisor is extremely important for you getting a PhD. I would only contact the chair if you are absolutely certain that you would be able to find a new advisor if things went bad between you and your current advisor. When her tenure comes up for review, someone on the panel will know that these are scam journals. The fact that the chair has already denied one of her expenses means there is likely a red flag in her file (metaphorically). Now if she forces you to publish in one of these journals, you should absolutely complain, but don't complain about what she is doing with other students unless you think it is worth losing your advisor completely and creating enemies in the department. You can talk to the student who actually was going to go to the conference suggest he complains, but ultimately I think that is his responsibility. So again, refer to the first point; make sure you have an escape plan so to speak, and make sure that you are OK with potentially not earning your PhD because you stood up for yourself.
# Answer
> 14 votes
It sounds like the chair may already be aware of the situation, if they are not approving travel to said conference.
Typically those in the field, especially those who've been around a few years, and especially those in positions of authority in universities, will know which journals/conferences are high quality and which are not. These are generally backed up by various metrics (e.g. impact factor), which try to quantitatively assess the quality/impact/popularity/etc.
Academics are often measured on such metrics, rather than simply number of papers published. A single article in Nature, for example, would give significantly greater benefit to one's publication score than a dozen in the International Conference for Scamming and Profit. I would hope your university uses such metrics in some way or another, and from what I've seen, more and more universities are doing this, with a variety of standard/external and customised/internal performance metrics.
**If you really feel you must make a point of it, I'd suggest simply having a discussion about the List of Predatory Publishers, rather than a specific discussion about your advisor.**
You may find the chair is well aware of the list, but has their hands tied by university policy. Or they may be enlightened by the list and be able to have the tenure policy changed to exclude or reduce the benefits of such publications.
Just remember it's not your job (and *is someone else's job*) to assess the advisor's academic performance, and you want to be careful how you come across if you try (a) tell them how to do their job, (b) make academic assessments of tenured staff as a student, (c) heavily criticise your advisor, which will likely be ignored if there's any suggestion of an existing grievance between the two of you.
For all you know, your advisor and the chair may be close friends, or at least closer colleagues to each other than *"some unqualified upstart of a masters student!"* (hypothetically their words, not mine :P)
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Tags: publications, journals, ethics, advisor, disreputable-publishers
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thread-15555 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15555 | How to show interest to serve as a TPC or reviewer in top conferences? | 2014-01-09T08:10:21.323 | # Question
Title: How to show interest to serve as a TPC or reviewer in top conferences?
**My Questions:** How can I express interest to receive invitation to serve as a reviewer in a top ranked conference? Currently I am registered with the conference review system (i.e., EDAS) and I receive review invitations from ordinary conferences, but I consider review in high quality conferences. Is there any feasible way to express interest and show that I have technical expertise to judge papers in a particular area. I know that having certain academic qualification (like master and more commonly PhD) and research experience is must to become nominated in top conferences.
**Background:** Researchers more or less receive invitations to serve as reviewer of a journal or conference. I guess the process in journals to identify reviewers is one of three main channels
1. Author suggests potential reviewer
2. Reviewer's profile is in the review system from previous submission
3. Reviewers can express interest to become reviewer in journals (Some journals have link to register).
and there should be other ways to feed information into the journal review system (that I might have missed).
However, in conferences, it is slightly different because
1. normally there is no registration link to express interest (I have not seen),
2. usually there is no option that authors nominate reviewers while submitting a paper to conference (at least I have not experienced the same).
the only way left compared to journal is that reviewer registers with the conference review system for paper submission. So in future, when organizing committee is selecting TPCs and reviewers, they can invite already-registered members to play as reviewers.
# Answer
> 6 votes
I can only answer for computer science, but around here TPCs of conferences are generally by-invitation only. You cannot (officially) *apply* for it per se - typically, the organizers will form the TPC based mainly on previous members, filling any openings with outstanding members of the community not currently part of the TPC. Usually, these outstanding people are personally known to the organizing committee, so no formal search or something like that is conducted.
Of course, writing to the organizers expressing interest cannot hurt, but my impression is that if you do not already know them, your request is sadly likely to be ignored.
**Edit:**
I should add that I did not mean to imply that it is all just a matter of "knowing somebody". Seeing that you are still a PhD student, you will likely simply not be high-profile enough at this point to be considered for the TPC of a really good conference (these usually only consist of eminent faculty).
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Tags: peer-review, conference, program-committee
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thread-12978 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12978 | How does one with a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences become a software developer? | 2013-09-26T00:49:34.093 | # Question
Title: How does one with a B.S. in Mathematical Sciences become a software developer?
I will graduate in 1 semester and I have realized towards the end of my B.S. in mathematical sciences that I would like to develop software. I know there's no degree requirement to do this.
I have taken 20 math classes, bu have only taken 4 official computer science classes (2 in Java, 1 in C++, 1 in discrete math) and will have the opportunity to take up to 2 more before I graduate such as "data structures and algorithms" (a java class). I have also taken graph theory through the math department.
I have brainstormed. I could apply to masters degree programs in computer science (or PhD programs, then leave with a masters) or I could try to self teach myself the programming languages and gaps in my knowledge. Or I could take the additional couple of years to finish a double undergraduate major in computer science at my school. I could also try for an internship for Summer 2014, regardless.
So I could:
1. Self study and try for an entry level position. No explicit or implicit cost if I succeed. But if I fail to get a job, there's the time wasted that I could have been in school.
2. Finish a double major in CS (would take an additional 2 years). This would have an opportunity cost as well as an explicit cost.
3. Apply to graduate school in CS. This would have an opportunity cost and most likely an explicit cost.
# Answer
> 5 votes
My answer is coming from the experience of graduating with a B.S. in Mathematics (with a Physics minor) and then work as a programmer.
I had comparable programming experience before graduating and had actually planned on taking a second major in CS before dropping in in favor of Physics. I quickly realized that I would only find work in a programming position. It was quite a shock to work on a enterprise class application with hundreds of classes and a complicated architecture. I was incredibly lucky to find a position that was willing to train me up to speed.
I have found that sometimes I will use my math background to come up with an algorithm easily that other programmers will be stunned by. Other times I will feel critically behind the curve, especially when asked to design/architecture a new project.
I have filled in some of these gaps by supplementing my education through MOOCs, reading tons of books and forums (although I have only now started contributing), and picking my coworkers brains. I have had a goal of improving my skills with software patterns, and adding a new language/technology every year. However, keeping up with my mathematical skills (especially linear algebra and statistics) has opened many doors.
Also, improving "soft skills" like communication, networking, and organization is very important. In a lot of positions the goal in training is for you to generate business for the company.
Getting the lingo right away is critical. Once you know what **can** be done it is simply a matter of finding out how.
After three years as a junior programmer I am starting to look at Masters programs and I feel much more prepared and my job will be partially reimbursing me for classes. In addition I have a much better sense of what programs will benefit my career and how. For the type of work I am interested in I am looking into CS programs but also Systems Engineering, Computer Engineering, and Statistics.
That being said, I was incredibly fortunate to find a position that nurtured my abilities. To be clear, my supervisors were expecting a year before I contributed in a meaningful way, a lot of places will not take that bet on anyone. In order to get where I am I worked **hard**, usually 50 hrs at work and an additional 10 hrs of outside research.
# Answer
> 4 votes
What do understand by 'software developer'?
If you want to write the source code for casual games on smart phones, you don't need any knowledge from university at all. I am pretty sure that many software developers do not care at all about your university degree if you can provide practical prove of ability.
The more complex and "professional" the project gets, the more a university degree (in sciences or engineering) is expected or even required. But then your desired level operation is more "bird view" than anything you could learn in university classes. Whether you are an excellent computer scientist, mathematician or physicist does not matter, as long as you are excellent. In particular, mathematical skills are all but mandatory and essential for large-scale and high-performance computation.
*So, what kind of mathematician are you?* It makes a difference whether you are an algebraic topologist, or into combinatorial or numerical algorithms. Furthermore, there are universities where CS programs are extremely mathematical, or, conversely, math programs contain a lot of theoretical computer science.
At least if you are a computational mathematician, it does not matter at all whether your master is CS, math or physics. These theory stuff on software engineering (development models) is more humanities rather than science. Spend some bucks for SE books if you feel like missing these topics.
PS: "2 in Java, 1 in C++" - nobody gives a ... cares what languages you encountered in these classes. University won't help you to become a Java or C++ pro, you will have to do that by yourself, as will you have to do with a lot of other languages in professional software development. What have these classes really been about?
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Tags: career-path, computer-science, code
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thread-15571 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15571 | Sense of humor allowed in academic writing? | 2014-01-09T15:34:30.307 | # Question
Title: Sense of humor allowed in academic writing?
I'm reading a paper at the moment and very bored and then I thought if I write a paper, I would like the writing style to be not so boring or having some kind of humor. Is that allowed in academic writing?
"Why so serious?" - Joker.
# Answer
> 8 votes
There is nothing wrong with humour in scientific writing but it is still advised against. The reason for this is a question of communication.
Consider that the purpose is to convey an idea as succinctly and precisely as you can and you want the recipient to understand everything that you write (my experience says this will never happen, anyway). If you introduce jokes, you run several risks: (1) the reader does not understand the joke, (2) the reader misunderstands the joke and (3) the reader is offended by the joke. These are not outcomes you wish to see and realizing that not everyone's taste is like your own it is easy top realize that the outcome is sure to be one of the three above in some cases. Jokes are different in different cultures and countries so what works in one place may not work in another.
So, as I see it the choice is how much you are willing to gamble. Reviewers and editors may of course weed out things that go too far so what you write is not necessarily what comes into print in the end but it still is mostly up to you.
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Tags: publications, writing, etiquette
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thread-15378 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15378 | What are the goals and benefits of doing a PhD? | 2014-01-05T14:44:21.227 | # Question
Title: What are the goals and benefits of doing a PhD?
I'm a master computer science student in a German university and I will be graduating soon. I'm in a situation between accepting a PhD position or leaving academia to start looking for job. This is a *very* hard decision to make so I need some advice.
I see *most* of the people who do a PhD leave academia afterwards and start looking for jobs (is it also the same in the US?). Very few people continue with a postdoc and remain in academia after getting the PhD.
*My question is then, what is the point of doing a PhD (especially if one gets a job in industry afterwards)? **What are the benefits of spending 3-5 years obtaining a PhD?** What kind of goals should a person enrolling in a PhD program have?*
From the point of view of *industry*, I realize that after a PhD they might start with a high position in the company. But, on the other hand, in those 5 years they could have started a small tech company and make it somehow medium or even a bit successful. Instead of doing a PhD, after 5 years of investing in their own company, they could be paid for working for themselves and not for others, having their own companies.
From the point of view of *obtaining knowledge,* if someone is curious about *knowing*, they could learn new things by themselves. After graduation, finding a job or starting a company, knowledge could be obtained by buying books and reading during one's free time, or following extra courses. I don't think you don't need a university for this.
Am I right in my analysis? Is it true most people go to the industry after the PhD (I'm especially curious about people in the US from top universities)?
If my analysis is at least partially right, and since there is other viable ways to become successful in industry *and* to obtain knowledge, what are the benefits of doing a PhD? Is it only a good idea for people with strong plans to continue in academia, or are there other goals one can achieve (better) by obtaining a PhD? I am afraid that doing a PhD might be a waste of time if I plan to continue in industry.
# Answer
> most of the people who do a PhD leave the academia afterwards and start looking for jobs (is it also the same in the US?)
Depends on how you see "most". In my experience, about 50% of the students in top-tier graduate schools leave academia; most students in lower-tier graduate schools leave academia. In Europe, this percentage increases quite a bit, since the Europeans generally enter a PhD program to become a professor (In the US, some people enter the program with the intention of getting a PhD, and nothing more.) You can judge for yourself where you fit, since I don't know which school you are thinking of attending.
> in those 5 years they could have started a small tech company and make it somehow medium or even a bit successful.
Sure. But in those 5 years, your tech company could have gone out of business, too! Perhaps you will say that you learn from your mistakes, so that was a valuable period of time. But you learn from doing a PhD too. I'm not necessarily talking about technical things, but the fact that you are able to learn things faster than the non-PhDs (since that's one of the basic skills that research requires.) If you do a CS PhD, depending on how you choose your research topic, it could be useful in real life too.
> I mean you could definitely graduate, find a job or start a company and buy books and read all night or weekends! You don't need a university for this.
True. But grad students are reading all day, then all night or weekends (in theory; in reality they don't actually do this, but they still would have more time than you). You would learn slower. Not to mention that not having a mentor would make things much harder for you (you could tell your PhD supervisor about the courses that you liked, and particular ideas that you liked; from there, she could tell you about some papers that you might like. As an independent research, that's not an option).
Last bit of advice: my father, who is also an academic, always told me not to go into academia unless I loved research. He told me that there are easier ways to obtain everything else in life; money, fame, etc. can all be obtained without being an academic, and more easily at that. And what he said was true for me. Being in academia extremely strenuous -- you'll deal with competitive peers in graduate school, maybe you won't get along with your supervisor, jealous colleagues, people who try to steal your work, thesis gone wrong, error in your paper, etc. I have encountered some of these, and each of these is enough to make you want to quit. The only reason I was able to hold on was because I found that I genuinely loved research. I knew that I couldn't have a job like this elsewhere, so I had to hold on. Any other reason will eventually drive you out of academia, though.
FYI, I attended a top US institution.
> 27 votes
# Answer
You state that:
> Of course they might get a high position in the company, but in those 5 years they could have started a small tech company and make it somehow medium or even a bit successful. After 5 years with doing that, they are being paid by working for themselves not for others and having their own companies.
The big obstacle here is that people **need to have a strategy and an idea** in order to found a start-up. If you don't have the "next big idea," what are you going to do to convince outside investors and customers to do their business with you instead of someone else? The challenge is that many people finish their bachelor's or master's degrees and *still* don't really have a strong sense of what they want to do, in part because they don't know what their options are.
Moreover, in many fields, what kind of company can people found? What kind of company would a chemist or economist going to found after undergraduate training? In many fields, training at the PhD level is often needed in order to develop the ideas needed for bigger ideas to take root.
Now, this isn't universally true—perhaps you have found what your big idea will be through experiences at an internship or in a bachelor's or master's thesis. If that's what motivates you, great.
However, you also equate leaving academia as "failure." There are many people who do a PhD—including some of my own students—who **do not** want careers in academia; however, they want the extra training to broaden their horizons and prepare themselves for a career in research and development in industry. For them, it's not a failure if they don't choose academia as a career, it's them achieving their desired objective!
The only way the PhD is a waste of time is if recipients choose to pursue a career that does not take any advantage of what they did as a PhD student, and those are relatively few and far between (at least in fields that what we consider "professions" instead of "jobs"). The reason for this is that a PhD (at least in the sciences) recognizes the ability to learn how to solve problems in an original and independent manner. In the humanities, a PhD tends to represent the ability to synthesize and analyze information in a meaningful way. The specific thesis project is the vehicle for expressing this ability, rather than the exclusive "goal" of doing the PhD.
> 13 votes
# Answer
*standard disclaimer: my experience is with computer science, and in general I have familiarity with STEM, but I know almost nothing about Ph.D training and skills acquired in other areas*
There are a number of misconceptions implicit in your question that other answers have picked up on, but that I thought I'd distill out here:
> Very few people continue with a postdoc and remain in academia after getting the PhD. My argument is that wasn't the PhD just a waste of time for them? I mean they spent 5 years on it and then they left to look for a job in the industry.
The assumption here is that the topic you do research on is the main consequence of doing a Ph.D. In a literal sense that is true: your dissertation is on a particular topic. But as @aeismail points out, the dissertation (and a Ph.D) is a vehicle for training you in a certain way of thinking: analytical, critical, and inventive. These skills are what get you hired at jobs 'outside academia', and it's fair to say that without the training you get during a Ph.D, you will find these skills difficult to acquire (I'll never say it's impossible).
In that respect, it's not a waste at all. You spend some number years learning how to approach ill-structured, ill-defined problems, break them down, and figure out ways to solve them by yourself with no direction. This is a very valuable job skill that employers love to have.
> Of course they might get a high position in the company, but in those 5 years they could have started a small tech company and make it somehow medium or even a bit successful. After 5 years with doing that, they are being paid by working for themselves not for others and having their own companies
As others have pointed out, starting a company requires a different set of skills. In the tech world, having tech skills definitely helps to run a company, but there are thousands, if not millions, of people with the requisite tech skills, and very few of them become successful entrepreneurs. So it's not enough just to have some technical knowledge, and so it's not the case that you can swap out X years of a Ph.D with X years of working and expect to achieve some degree of success. Again, not impossible but certainly not guaranteed.
> My other idea is that if someone is curious about knowing and getting knowledge. I mean you could definitely graduate, find a job or start a company and buy books and read all night or weekends! You don't need a university for this.
You don't need a Ph.D for this either. If you think that a Ph.D involves learning and reading, you're very mistaken. A Ph.D involves **doing**. You learn to reach the cutting edge so that you can do something new and creative yourself. Reading and reading will not get you a Ph.D - it might not even get you a single creative work !
p.s I've worked both in industry and (now) academia after doing a Ph.D from the US.
> 11 votes
# Answer
I would say, for people who enter a PhD program with *defined and established goals*, and with at least some *understanding of what they are getting into*, obtaining a PhD is **almost never a waste of their time**. Some great advice on what is good to know before dabbling in research, take a look here.
The thing is, **a primary goal of a PhD** is not to *obtain knowledge*. I also know that from the industry point of view, it is sometimes viewed as equal to *X years of work experience*, but that's not completely correct either: a PhD is about **learning how to do research *independently***. While it is possible to get those skills alone, (usually by a lengthy trial-and-error process), the best way is under supervision and with advice of an experienced researcher: a thesis adviser/supervisor.
A PhD is kind of a stepping stone for academia: you don't have to continue if you don't want to. If you have an aptitude for research, it is an valid option to explore. Research, while closely related to academia, is not only performed in academia. **It is a time to taste research *and* academic life.** If it is something that you are interested in, even trying and deciding you don't really enjoy it is *not a waste*.
Finally, after obtaining a PhD, if you decide to leave academia, **you will be qualified for *different types of jobs in industry*** than somebody with just a Master degree. Somebody with a lot of *knowledge* might know which known approach to apply to solve a well defined problem. On the other hand, when developing a new application/product, it will be the job of an *researcher* to think of a best approach to a loosely defined goal.
Actually, as a personal side-note, when I just started my PhD my supervisors asked me if I wanted to continue in academia or go to industry afterwards. They said they could help me shape my CV and research activity so it's better suited for my choice: I told them I had no idea and had to see for myself for a while longer. A year after, I told them that unless something drastically changes, I want to stay in academia, but I'm sure they would equally accept me wanting to go to industry.
And lastly, to comment on your "starting a small company"... doing a PhD, investing in a career in a company, or trying to start your own company are, in my opinion, all "business ventures" of the same type, and equally valid or equally a waste: if you do something you don't have an aptitude for and what you don't have motivation for, it's a waste of time. **Doing a PhD is as valid for a career beginning as any other job. It's just that not everybody wants the same career.**
> 10 votes
# Answer
I believe the problem lies in that you view a job outside of academia as a failure, it is not. There are jobs that require a PhD in industry and elsewhere outside academia as well. What is a failure is foremost a question of the personal goals of the person in question. Industry and academia compete for the graduates to a large degree. It is obvious that how severe this competition is, depends on the subject but in technical areas it is definitely the case. In my own department it is very clear that people who finish a PhD end up in very good jobs. This, despite the fact that it is not a world were industry jobs are plenty, instead it is consulting businesses and government positions that are the norm.
There is not room for every PhD in academia. Not everyone is interested in an academic career nor suited. In general a person with a Phd has deep understanding and skills to solve problems, disseminate results and communicate these to others. There are thus many positions that require such insights to take on positions of responsibility in organizations, be it private or public.
> 8 votes
# Answer
When you start a PHD, you are not sure if actually doing the research required for getting that PHD, will be fun enough (you do not do it for the money anyway). After finishing it (for those who do) then you know if you really like to be in academia or not. Previous answers (mainly of user14449) already highlighted the problems associated with academia, which are only visible from INSIDE academia.
Also a PHD does not neccessarily has to be another step in your ladder of "success". There are many who are doing a PHD because a) they WANT to do it b) they know it in their hearts that they CAN do it. Even if they "waste" 5 years of their lives (as you put it) they want to do it, regardless if they get a job in academia, get a better job or become rich. It is like playing with a rock band. If you do it for becoming a rock star you will never become one. If you like music, you might actually have a chance.
On the other hand, only MSc students have the misconception that if they are going to create a new start-up company, they will become the new Steve Jobs and be rich beyond belief. The truth is that 99% of the start-ups actually fail (once external funding is spent) and only 1% survive. You say you are from Germany. How many CS start-ups are from Germany? Even there, most successful industries cooperate with reseach institutions like Fraunhofer or DLR which a) are connected to academia b) having a PHD certainly helps you to get a job there.
So the real question is: What do you really WANT to do? If you like to do research regardless of money, go for the PHD. If not, go to industry. If in doubt, stick with industry.
> 7 votes
# Answer
I'm not from the US, let alone from a US elite University. However, once I faced the same question. It's a decision you have to make yourself. Some notes:
* When choosing between an industry job or a PhD, there is no wrong decision.
* Other matters in life are way more important.
* I chose the industry and I'm happy with my life.
* I saw top-notch stock trading jobs passing by because I have no PhD. You just don't notice right now.
* I see peers failing their PhDs.
* It's about what you want to do the next years, not after that.
EDIT in response to your question:
From childhood on we've invested in our futures. By going for higher education, we thought in the long term. At some point we'll need to reap the rewards. Nobody ever wished he had worked more in his life when he was dying. Working should be a means (imho), not a goal. So to continue following a working strategy for life, you'll need to value the SHORT term more as you get older. Otherwise you risk never being happy with what you have and always working for something that will never come. Slowly switching from long term thinking to short term thinking may start by looking at a 5-year timespan. You don't want to be unhappy for the next 5 years in order to hopefully have a better life after that. If you can be happy with less money and more interesting work, THAT should be the reason to go for a PhD.
> 4 votes
# Answer
There are a number of subjective terms in your question so answering the overarching question if pursuing a Ph.d is a waste of time creates a few questions within itself, however, a few points:
*I'm in a situation between accepting a PhD position or leave the academia and start looking for job.*
If the position in question pays the bills and allows you to gain work experience (assuming that you do not have any), then accepting a position for a year or two and then going out into the corporate realm may make sense.
*I mean they spent 5 years on it and then they left to look for a job in the industry.*
In the US, university professors with tenure or on the tenure track tend to see the better rates of pay and benefits -of course there are a number of caveats since some schools can be considered more elite than others and location is a factor. There are companies such as Google and IBM that pay Ph.d graduates very well to solve real world problems and to further their business objectives.
*in those 5 years they could have started a small tech company and make it somehow medium or even a bit successful.*
Running your own business usually requires a lot of time and effort -if you wish to be successful anyway. So folks may not wish to put in that type of commitment especially after surviving 5 years of Ph.d work, a relaxing 30 - 40 hour work week with paid time off and benefits could look appealing especially if there is a family with children involved or caring for an aging parent.
*My other idea is that if someone is curious about knowing and getting knowledge.*
This depends on if there is a genuine interest in research. If one wishes to see the fruits of their labor see the light of day in a commercial sense,then going to the private sector may allows one to see their research come to life and touch the masses. Another commenter made mention of potential issues with jealous colleagues, people that try to steal your work, etc -these elements also apply in the corporate world especially if there is some sort of compensation at stake (it is not always financial by the way) so each avenue (academia vs. corporate) has its on rewards and pitfalls.
So, I suppose it comes down to your original motivation for school. Was the plan to work in academia, private industry or a combination of the two? Either way you go, you will gain a life experience that you did not possess before so, its comes down to how you wish to make it work for yourself.
> 3 votes
# Answer
Your question reminded me of the blog post linked below. See what you make of it! Generally speaking, existential decisions that are based on binary alternatives can easily be wrong, since there are usually many more alternative pathways in reality. Thinking in terms of binary options is just not the best way of coping with life, I think, if you excuse my binary assertion... ;-)
http://alexandreafonso.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/how-academia-resembles-a-drug-gang/
> 0 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-school, job, academic-life, work-life-balance
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thread-15528 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15528 | Having a lot of papers published in unimportant conferences VS very few in good ones? | 2014-01-08T17:03:38.737 | # Question
Title: Having a lot of papers published in unimportant conferences VS very few in good ones?
I'm always confused when I see a lot of PhD students looking to publish papers, even if the papers are not so good. They publish them in not so important conferences or workshops. Is that a good thing? Is it good to have a lot of papers published even in not so popular conferences? Like what is better: to have 10 papers in not so famous conferences or workshops or 1 or 2 in a very famous and good ones?
I have never published a paper before and new to this.
# Answer
People do things for a variety of reasons. Even writing a paper for smaller workshops has some benefits for everyone (from a PHD student to a professor)
* Good reason for the affiliation to cover expenses for the suggested trip. Usually CS workshops are co-located with important conferences and even a workshop paper may cover your expenses (not every time if you continuously abuse the system) to actually watch the entire conference.
* Workshops have limited attendance but may still be organized by reputable professors / scientists close to your area of interest. So, they are very good for networking. In a major conference, it is easier to get "lost" inside the many participants.
* Practise makes better. If you write 5 papers (even when some of them were for a workshop) writing your 6th paper is going to be easier, instead of trying to write your "seminal" paper.
* Reviewers have the "strange" habit of sometimes rejecting your paper. In this case, sending your paper to a smaller workshop (after rejection in 1-2 major conferences) where it gets accepted, lessens the sense of rejection and still "patents" your results on which you can expand later.
* Workshops sometimes have a "best paper award" which may even lead to journal publication, when the same paper might not had a chance in a bigger conference. In workshops the competition is smaller (usually 10-15 accepted papers), so you have something like 5-8% chance for something like that.
* Sometimes when you work on a specific project you might discover something that although is not good enough for a major conference or later expansion, is still a compact solid idea that may help others. So, a good workshop paper may disseminate this idea to a larger audience.
* Unfortunately, although quality should beat quantity, this is not the usual case. In some research projects, grants applications it is better to state that "A is the author of more than 50 scientific papers with an h-index of ... " than "B is the author of 2 papers". Same when you look at the Google Scholar / DBLP record of an author. It is better to see 50 papers (which among them are 10 really seminal papers) instead of just 10 perfect papers that usually leave a gap in the author's bibliography (blank years).
In this sense, even workshop papers serve their purpose if you treat them as professionally as the rest of your papers (they are well written and still scientifically solid and correct).
> 18 votes
# Answer
For the purposes of getting a PhD, the quality of the paper is more important than the venue. Quality is always better than quantity, as it will only be your best papers that end up being cited and having an influence on your field of research, so you are better off in the long run focussing on quality work and avoid wasting your time on work that will not give a true account of your ability and that will not be taken up by others in your field.
> 7 votes
# Answer
There are two objectives in participating for academic conference. First one would be networking. This is getting to know the other academic and industry personals that are working, studying and researching in similar field. This will open many opportunities for PhD students. Other advantage would be constructive criticisms. Experts who take part in such conference will give constructive comments for your presentation. The questions they raise may show you a new way of looking at your research question. Likewise there are many advantages a PhD student may get by taking part in conferences. A good conference is a one which is relevant to your research area, which is popular among the experts in the respective field and one which many expert and interested parties will take part. Thus in my opinion education institutes, supervisors and of course PhD student should prioritize the quality of conference before counting the number of conferences that you attend.
> 3 votes
# Answer
My guess is that this might vary a bit between different fields, so I'd say ask some professors in your own department for their take.
I'll just answer from the perspective of Philosophy. It looks a lot better (in terms of impressing academic hiring committees) to have papers accepted into big meetings of the national organization because everybody understands how hard it is to get one of those accepted. It isn't clear how competitive the northwest iowa caucus of young philosophers meeting was to get into, consequently the committee won't really know how important an achievement that was.
Also I'd say published papers \> conference presentations. It isn't an either/or. give the paper at a conference first, then send it off to a journal. But try to think strategically for the semester about what to send off where and when in order to make those deadlines.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Definitely, you want refereed papers in the top 5 conferences or journals in your field. That is, if you can. I mention conferences because in some fields conferences are refereed and are equally respected as top journals, but in most fields *you want top-quality papers in top-quality journals*. Period.
Academics (i.e. people who will look at you CV when you look for a job) know full well the huge gap between average papers and top-journal-quality (I would guess a subjective factor 2 to 5 at least). There are several reasons, besides the obvious ones, to aim high:
* Tell your advisor your are aiming very high. See how (s)he reacts. (S)He will treat you accordingly (including telling you right off that he thinks you do not have what it takes if such is the case).
* That will oblige you to chose interesting and relevant research questions. Papers about unimportant stuff never get published in top journals.
* That will oblige you to make sure you advisor can coach you (is that where (s)he publishes?). If needed, you will switch advisor (or department, university) before wasting too much time.
* On top of purely scientific results there are many things to learn from aiming high while you are still a student. That includes countless hours of rewriting, much better structure, language, dealing with referees who know their stuff, etc.
* It does not make sense to go to school in a very competitive field and not try to do your absolute best.
* Now is the time to learn from the best while you still call yourself a *student* and ask for help.
* Top papers live longer, they still help you CV 10 years down the line (and accumulate citations meanwhile).
* Average is boring, average is everywhere, average is... average.
* Academia is a *winner-takes-all* game. Job openings are highly competitive. Candidate #1 gets the job, candidate #2 gets nothing more than candidate #10...
Of course you can go to a few conferences. Write a damn-good paper first, then try to present it to the best conference you can.
Btw, I published 4 papers out my PhD work in top-5 journals. The other two in good journals. I got a job.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications
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thread-15457 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15457 | How should I deal with discouragement looking at others success? | 2014-01-07T10:16:37.947 | # Question
Title: How should I deal with discouragement looking at others success?
I'm a master CS student. I had so many troubles in my life. I didn't have proper schooling and were in difficult situations which led to me being not so good compared to my peers now at the graduate school. For example I had problems with math and so and when I got into my new graduate school everyone was almost far better than me. Then I started working day and nights to improve my skills and after a year of *really* hard work now I achieved almost their skills. However in that time my peers were also developing their skills and doing fancy projects and so on. Sometimes when I get to look at their success and projects I feel *stressed* and *discouraged* that I really still have way too long to achieve that. Or that I'm really putting *so much* work into myself because of the problems I went through but at the end I find myself still far. Whereas my peers are enjoying their lifes and at the same time achieving something. I know life is not fair nor I'm jealous, but sometimes I just feel sorry about myself that I work really hard but without much difference :(. This is also is leading so some self-confidence issue, that whenever I see one of my peers I get stressed and sometimes afraid to discuss a topic with them because I don't want to look bad not knowing that easy stuff for them.
This is always leads to a voice in my head saying: oh if only a professor in MIT or Stanford sees how hard working you are, you might be there now. But of course I won't because I will always be far from the students there because of what I went through.
What to do to overcome this?
# Answer
I will apologize in advance, because this answer won't give you what you are probably looking for; but it might give some perspective so I will reply anyways hoping that helps somewhat.
First off, know this: **you are not alone!** It's actually pretty common to look at your peers (at the office and elsewhere worldwide) and feel shitty about the "insignificance" of your accomplishments compared to those of others. To further strengthen the point, I can say that I am battling with this every single day for instance, despite what I hear from others about the quality or importance of my work when I look around and see what others achieve I feel depressed...
Secondly it's also good to try and remember that life isn't a competition. Well, some aspects of life are competitive, for sure, but you cannot go about living your day competing with others in every single aspect of your life. This is a *simple* but a **very** powerful insight, also very hard to digest it properly and take it to heart.
Think of all the aspects your life, from research to parking your car, from buying groceries to whatever sport you enjoy the most... I can guarantee you that there will be several (if not more) people within your immediate surrounding that will be "better" than you in each one and single aspect, if you isolate them one at a time. But I can also assure you that they won't be the same people if you consider different aspects. Overall, you are the person you are and constantly comparing yourself to others in single aspects (and focusing on your shortcomings) will only drive you towards unhappiness.
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So does that mean you should just relax and go with the flow? Absolutely not! You have to play catch up, if you can identify your shortcomings in particular fields (like maths, or programming experience). It'll be frustration, it'll be long hours, it'll be effort... Try to focus on setting goals for yourself when you are in catch-up phase.
I strongly recommend checking out S.M.A.R.T goals concept which helps in getting things done and bagging that sweet feeling of accomplishment, little by little.
Hope this answer helps to some extent and it all works out in the end!
> 39 votes
# Answer
Although, it is customary to give pep talk, the truth is that life is unfair. Your friends might get all the girls of your dreams without even trying (I assume you are a guy), your siblings might be more successful than what you will ever be and even your parents might be more educated than you. You can always blame this on your "hard" life and naively believe that if you actually put another 10% of effort you might minimize the gap between your achievements and theirs. The problem is, that sometimes people around you are more smart, more beautiful and even more hard working. You have to accept this as a fact of life. As Clint Eastwood said "A Man's Got to Know his Limitations". What you can do is work within those limitations and stretch them to your absolute best. But even then, success is not linear and sometimes extraordinary smart, hard working people fall flat on their faces.
So, although you should look to people around you for inspiration, trying to replicate their success is a dead-end. There will be always be someone more adequate, smarter, richer or luckier. So, instead focus on what you WANT TO DO instead on what you want to get. Do the best you can but mainly enjoy the process as well. Otherwise your dreams are toxic and lead you nowhere.
> 27 votes
# Answer
Sounds like you're engaged in a lot of upward social comparison, which is bound to make you feel somewhat inadequate if you're judging yourself by the different standards of achievement that may apply to them for all the reasons you mention. Upward social comparison might be a good way to form goals, but it's not a good way to judge your progress so far. Even if you'd had the same environmental advantages as some of the people you seem to be focusing on, you'd still both be working with different personalities and aptitudes, and probably different tasks too. Too many factors differentiate individuals' performance to take observations of your peers quite so seriously as reflections on yourself.
The ideal approach would be to judge your progress by *your* standards. You've known yourself long enough to have some sense of whether you're growing and performing at your usual rate. If you're improving steadily in these regards, I'd say that's plenty of cause for a decent amount of self-esteem. If you find yourself doing worse than usual, consider what's holding you back, and consider whether you've defined your goals realistically. I'm not saying you can't be responsible for underperforming—you should be able and willing to see fault in yourself—but you shouldn't blame yourself immediately without considering other factors that might be affecting you. This is all part of the broader matter of managing your expectations, and separating them from your hopes and aspirations.
I probably wouldn't recommend relying too heavily on downward social comparison, but it is also an option if you need to calibrate your frame of reference with others in general, and it sounds like you might. You sound very focused on what you have had to overcome, not the fact that you've overcome it, and focused on what others have done with advantages you didn't have, rather than what others have done with the same disadvantages you had. How many of your peers had problems like yours in the past? How many people do you know with similar backgrounds who haven't made it to grad school?
Be careful not to get caught up in depressive cycles of ruminative thought as well. You sound stressed for at least two reasons that should "cancel each other out" in some sense:
1. You had a hard life...
* But you still made it to grad school!
2. You have trouble keeping up with people who haven't suffered the same disadvantages...
* But you know you've had to deal with a lot of unusual problems outside of school!
That you are still in the same program as those people who had it easier should help you feel better about your life, because it's only held you back somewhat. That you have been held back by your life's circumstances somewhat should help you feel better about being behind somewhat. Nonetheless, if you focus on each source of stress separately instead of focusing on these connections, each will make you feel bad independently, and each will remind you of the other reason to feel bad. Focus on the reasons you are where you are, not just where you are, and focus on what you can do about it, not just how you feel about it (see also problem-focused and emotion-focused coping)...and never forget how far you've come already.
> 18 votes
# Answer
I think you shouldn´t compare yourself with others all the time. We need to be better than we were yesterday... If you are doing your part, don´t worry. There will be always people you consider better than you as always there will be people considering you better than them. CS is very vast... Don´t try to be the best in every field, it´s insane... Focus in something you like.. Good luck... And sometimes we need a break, relax, have fun to study better later... The important is the path, not the final line... Life is it, we are always trying to get in a new point.. And when we get there it takes only seconds and we start another run for the next. So we need to try to be happy during the path!
> 12 votes
# Answer
If you're looking at a lot of profiles (this is common when you're doing academic job searches or literature reviews) you might have a tendency to focus on the accomplishments that other professors have, and then lump them all together into some kind of imaginary "summation superhuman".
One institution hired that guy because he invented XYZ. The next hired the other because he has N papers in Science and Nature. The other one hired ABC because he got K dollars of funding. Suddenly, they're all molding together in your head and you feel like you have to invent something, get N papers in Science and Nature, and get K dollars of funding before you can even have a hope of succeeding.
When you look at a lot of CVs and profiles they highlight all of the good things. Don't "sum" them up into some kind of super researcher.
> 8 votes
# Answer
I totally disagree with "Accept it" part of answers. Well, accept it. BUT.
The people who are getting their success easy will eventually get bored and stop. Your habit to working hard WILL get you ahead of them sooner than you might expect *(at least, after graduating high school. Life is not like high school, it has no target to be teaching you while you're having fun in a campus)*. It's like having higher speed and acceleration while starting behind: EVENTUALLY you'll get ahead.
Persistence beats it all. It beats being smart, rich or naturally strong.
Go strive for those fancy projects too. In the beginning, you will be doing worse, that's normal. And then...
Second thing: trying to catch up with a someone's success is one of the best motivations I had in my life.
Go on.
> 7 votes
# Answer
Hopefully I can give you a different answer, from my perspective.
First of all, everyone's achievements are different. If they are not, they are in direct competition in their careers - so don't try to achieve what they do. You have unique stuff to offer. I have hired a lot of academically smart people, but they have no people skills or street smarts - at all. The CIO I work for said what makes a good CIO is one who naturally has great people skills and social smarts, everything else can be learned.
Be the turtle, not the rabbit, in the race. I suggest you try to make small achievements, and document them in a vita you should keep. Try to write an article on what you do.. perhaps applying people smarts, not tech smarts. Look for a perspective you have no one else around you has, and focus on applying CS to non-CS interests you have. For example, if you like music, do a CS project with music as the subject. Then put that in your Vita.
Volunteering is always good experience the academically smart people may not be doing. Interact with people, socialize, and help others. A good tech leader will have team building skills, personal management skills, task/project management. So perhaps you have a knack for these.. you should look into them. Being a volunteer leader and an average programmer may speak more than only being an expert programmer with no leadership experience.
Don't worry about the tech skills as much as the know-how skills. Every job you go to you will have to learn new skills. The question the employer will have is how can you make my company better if I hire you. They want someone who has enough technical skills to do the job, and then they look for non-tech skills that fit the company's mission and ideals.
> 4 votes
# Answer
So, the question is how do I deal with the discouragement and overcome this.
1. Like another person said, you are NOT the only one. Actually, you'd be surprised to hear that some of the people you envy feel the same way. Even when by all measures, they seem to be so great and successful. Example: Scott Hanselman is a Senior Engineer (not sure of his title) at Microsoft and published the great posts *The Myth of the Rockstar Programmer* and *I'm a phony. Are you?*.
2. It's all in your mindset. I will never be the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, but I can always be better than I am today.
3. Work on some side projects to help you learn more and improve every day. Yes, everyone is busy and this takes time. But, no one said becoming a great developer is easy.
4. You are a Master's student. You really haven't even started your career. My advice??? Be persistent and outwork your peers. I'll take an energetic, motivated person any day over someone with a little talent that is lazy.
Most people deal with the feelings of ineptness. Just realize it's just a feeling and not based on much reality. You see the success of others, but you have no idea how many failures they have had or how hard they worked to get there. You look at their successes, but you have no way of looking at their failures.
> 3 votes
# Answer
Many answers here are very helpful for me, as for a long time I've had the same feelings as you do now, and still do, to a lesser extent. I also agree with millmoose's comment in that, while it's understandable that you are seeking for help with your situation, it'd be better if you ask people close to you, or a therapist, for aid.
However, because your position is very familiar to me, I'd like to give you my own answer as well, if only to deal with my own situation.
My problems manifested themselves around the time I enrolled as a student. Whilst I love computer science, and especially it's theoretical implications, I felt insecure because I was weak at math and no programming background.
So, I started and for a long time I too compared my achievements with others'. Without taking my own personal difficulties into account, I set high standards for myself, in order to prove to myself that I was better than they were.
I then failed my own high expectations, and that resulted into me thinking less of myself and more of the others.
This impacted my studies as well: I couldn't read at home, and at class I would not ask my teachers any questions (who actually expected my questions and were paid to answer them) or discuss the topic with my classmates, out of fear of how I'd come out.
To "amend" the situation, I set even higher standards the next time, and so a vicious circle of expectation/disappointment ensued.
This had a great psychological and professional impact for me, but also very valuable lessons to be learned; I hope my lessons will help you as well.
The greatest lesson I've learned is that your mistakes are your best friends, and your best tutors. All of us started knowing nothing at all, and we all learn and get better by making mistakes. Don't be afraid to ask questions; to show that you don't know.The answers, as well as the questions themselves, will help you grow.
But, no matter how much we learn none of us will ever get to know it all, or be perfect at anything. All the people that seem so perfect, they all have their flaws.Beneath the lines of accomplishments by great scientists lie dozens of failures (according to Wikipedia, "Einstein was passed over for promotion \[at the Swiss Patent Office\] until he 'fully mastered machine technology'".Go figure).
Me and you have flaws too. It's very natural, and it's very OK! :)
It's also hard to get used to this, and not be afraid of mistakes. I'm still trying myself. What helps me is that there is actually no comparison to be made. We are not better or worse to each other; we are all equal, but different. And everyone of us is special in their own way.
I for instance, learned about myself that I may not be great at math, or any other field for that matter, but I'm good at discovering relations between stuff, and that matters too!
What posdef also said helps even more: life is not all about competing, comparing and achieving stuff.Life is about the journey-the goal is just the pretext to get the journey going (see also Ithaca).
It is about enjoying what you do, and enjoying yourself, along with others just as non-perfect as me and you are.
To conclude: just go for it, no matter how it turns out. Get in touch with others and their work and don't be afraid of it; you will learn from their rights and wrongs, and they will certainly learn something special from you too ;)
P.S. This fall I tried to get to *graduate school for a master at CS*, but didn't get admitted; I wasn't even called for the interview ;)
> 2 votes
# Answer
Almost everyone feels this way to some extent. Most people have developed this issue over many years. I ran into the issue head-on in the jump from middle to high school. In primary and middle school, I was *literally* first in my class. Then I went to a better district with more rigorous studies, and I started almost failing my classes while my peers received the equivalent of a 5.0. So I had to consciously figure out how to deal with the feeling of inferiority.
The best way to handle this issue is to keep a few things in mind:
1 – Everyone has a different skill set. Unfortunately, society trains us to focus on our failings. Everyone has standard levels they must reach, but we're not so encouraged to advanced quickly in what we *are* good at. It's a major flaw of society to force everyone to an inflated level in things they aren't good at.
2 – Instead, you should focus on becoming excellent in what you are good at. Then, whenever you feel inadequate in one field, just remember how good you are in another. If you focus both on improving your strengths and flaunting them, it makes you a productive and satisfied member of society, not to mention very appealing to recruiters and those in charge of promotion.
3 – Some people say life isn't a competition. Others say you need to work hard and play catch up. You have to find your own balance between the two. If you're too far on the competitive end, people think you're a jerk when you're above them in a subject or you feel depressed when you're below others. If you're too far on the peaceful end, you lose the desire to work hard and learn more, regardless of whether or not you need it.
4 – Find out what you like to do, find out what you're good at, and find out where the two cross.
EXAMPLES:
Focus on fixing the bad – The underdog movies "Turbo" and "Rudy" come to mind. Rudy, the shrimp of a kid who can't run fast, wants to play college football. He spends all his time training, and gets one play in the season. He feels like a hero until the movie ends and he realizes that play doesn't get him off the bench for next season. Turbo the snail wants to win the Indy500. It takes a freak chemical spill to turn him into a snail version of a superhero. These are some of the people we look at for inspiration.
Focus on your strengths – "Monsters Inc." and "Monsters University." When Mike tries to scare kids, he fails. He's simply not scary. But he knows everything about being a scarer. Sully's scary, but is horrible at memorization and logic. In the end, Mike doesn't become a scarer; he coaches Sully and plans everything. Mike does what he's good at and gets to be in the same environment he would be in if he were good at scaring. Mike and Sully each use their unique, innate skills to their advantage and come out on top.
Let's say you're good at composition, history, and time management, but you dislike history and time management. Become excellent at composition, keep history relatively neutral, and accept the fact that time management is a requirement for everyone.
By the way, how many people in your field are good at math? Probably a lot. How many are good at what you specialize in? If you do it right, not very many. You can't speak Mandarin, even though it's the most popular language on the planet. What do you do? Forget about it, unless you're planning on traveling to China. Why do you need it? Instead, learn a language that impresses people and is often used in your chosen field. For example, France has a lot of customers for robotic tech companies.
Here's a huge misnomer. "Hard Work" is not actually what people want. Employers don't want employees to stay two hours late every day just to get their tasks done, then come to work tired because of another three hours of unpaid labor at home. Teachers don't want students to be stressed out and think of the school experience as a bunch of bad memories. "Don't work hard; work smart." Use what you have at your disposal. They use the term "Hard Work" to indicate that you can't slack off and not do what's expected of you.
Also, if students come from higher-class high schools, it's basically like they went to college early on financial aid. They've already gone through all these classes. Yes, you're going to have to go through the classes they've already been through.
By the way, I'm in my first year of community college now. There were high school Juniors in my Calc II class with better grades than mine. There are also people into their third year of college failing their third bout of intermediate algebra. We have peers who can barely speak English, and we have foreigners who speak my language better than I do.
In the end, everything is subjective and relative. Don't beat yourself up. Try to focus on your strengths. It's not a necklace, and you are much stronger than your weakest link. If you're not good at a subject, figure out what's the highest level you need to have to be good at what you do.
> 2 votes
# Answer
While many will tell you to step up, or forget other people and focus on yourself I think it best to do something else entirely. I'm a non-traditional student. I too had fall-backs and work considerably harder to achieve my goals than some of my peers, but what has helped immensely wasn't hoping someone notices me, but making them notice me. So I say to you, find a mentor. Find someone in your field of whom you can confide and ask questions. When you start involving yourself deeply in your field both online AND in person with others who are equally interested in your work, and with those who are willing to listen and/or give advice when necessary you will realize just how good you have it.
We are always comparing ourselves to others, don't stop. It can drive you to be better, to be different. However, remember that you aren't the same as your peers. You don't want to have exactly the same jobs and lives as they do, so you can set your own goals. And in doing so, you will find that you can market yourself differently as well. Be different. Stand out.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Well, sometimes we are just not that "smart".
I had a class in image processing (graduate level) taught by Dr K. R. Rao (invented JPEG), and I barely hung on by my fingernails and was behind all the other students. The other class members were all international students who didn't party but studied in their off time.
They knew the subject better than me, but I got an A. It was an excellent class, I was persistent, very persistent. The point is get over the feelings and work as hard as you can, all your spare time on it (24/7 like) and see how you do.
But "Smart" is only 1/2 the game. Look at the people in Mensa; 1/2 are nuts, and look at PhDs in Physics; 1/2 are nuts and really out to lunch long time.
I take a hard working normal guy over a super smart wandering type anytime. On the job, I had, as a system engineer, to coordinate and get the primadona engineers all moving in one direction and work together, about 5 guys in 3 locations and they had more than 10 patents each, one had over 50, and they were all older than me. They knew their fields far better than I. We came out with Wi-Fi. Learn to take downs with the ups, gather experience, lots of arrows in the butt, etc. There is high demand for people that can stand the pressure and survive.
There was one guy in grad microwave class that made all 100s, the rest of us were in the Bs, and he busted the curve for us.
> 1 votes
# Answer
WOW, There are many good responses and some good and some not so good advice. I am a 49 y/o System admin/Engineer with no formal IT Training and "Some College". As far as feeling outclassed by your peers, I certainly can identify with that. I am assuming that you are in your 30's. I have been working in IT for 20 years and have seen some very unhappy and miserable people. Constantly clawing and trying to "One Up" their peers. I understand that this is a very competitive field, however understand that your job is not your life. You are an amazing individual, because you are not arrogant and do see your own flaws. Please stay humble. Do not see yourself as lessor than your peers, you are much greater.You have come a long way. So if you ever find some difficulty just remember one of the difficult times in your past and appreciate your present. Often time some say "It is rough but at least I am doing better than ... (Fill the blank). Well, your difficult times are in that blank. Lastly, Put you peers in your shoes and I am sure NONE of them can stand. Love your life, stop and and reflect, pray, meditate and most of all SMILE, laugh, and enjoy. Life really blurs by. Remember your past as a point of reference. Your peers cannot relate. ANY Employer would love to have someone with your experience, because you are an OVERCOMER, and handle difficulty under pressure, that make some of the best problem solvers Experience is more than academics. Good luck, and take life by the horns.
> 1 votes
# Answer
New Ideas, you need new ideas, new ways of doing things to achieve what you're looking for, and if it's being better than them, I think that's not a bad thing, I mean how many are they 10, 20 people. obviously that challenged you and without this you wouldn't have thought of changing your status Quo. and even better how about something you're interested in that they don't know anything about (it doesn't have to be sports) it could be in the field of CS too, but was left out for some reason, they're a limited no. of people and even if they are 100, they're not the rest of the world, so probably they are not good at something in CS, if you're interested in that thing (only if you're interested in it, passionate about and want to learn) this can be a great advantage of yours. go for it, be good at every other subject in your masters but be excellent at your newly found interest, a hint: it might be something related to business (think gates and jobs left school for a reason), this could be a killer. in my opinion frustration is the fuel for extraordinary success only if you keep at it.
> -3 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, academic-life, emotional-responses
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thread-15553 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15553 | Should I work an the advisor I "click with" or an advisor at a higher-ranked institution? | 2014-01-09T04:11:51.693 | # Question
Title: Should I work an the advisor I "click with" or an advisor at a higher-ranked institution?
I am currently deciding where to do my next Postdoc. I have had many Interviews, and have two solid offers on the table.
The first offer is in a highly ranked private University (not Ivy League nor MIT), with a professor who seems real nice.
The second offer is from a somewhat lower ranked institution (State University) but I clicked way better with the professor.
Both opportunities seem really appealing for me but I'm wondering whether later hiring committees will look at which institution I worked rather to with whom I worked, both professors are rather young and are just starting shop, so is not a matter of a renowned professor either.
I'm probably just looking to see what you would do if this were your situation.
# Answer
> 2 votes
There is no definitive answer.
> I'm probably just looking to see what would you do if this were your situation.
My own personal experience (coming from the other side of the question): I recently accepted a tenure track position at a university. I'm very happy with the position.
During my visa application process for the new position, the consulate gave me a letter that the university had sent them as proof of employment. The letter contained details of the hiring process. There I learned that they had offered the position to someone from Oxford before me; someone older with half the publications and one-sixth the citations I had. The letter stated that he was first choice because he had a strong research profile and he was coming from a reputable university. I was coming from a strong department in a "provincial university" in a small country. The other person turned down the position. I accepted.
I was a bit stung by the letter because I read it as an implicit rejection of my background (over which I had little control).
Someone also told me later that in the board meetings, during the hiring process, there was a professor who raised concerns about where I was coming from ... a "provincial university". Apparently the more bureaucratic members of the board were my most fervent supporters: I had a lot of highly-cited publications, I was sure to bring a lot more, who cares where I came from? I wasn't told the full details, but I inferred that some of the more senior professors seemed to be more attracted to the Oxford thing than raw research metrics.
(Of course the hiring process was much more complicated than that; but this was the gist of the letter and the bits and pieces I heard afterwards.)
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I'm not sure if that anecdote is useful to you but again there is no universal answer. It depends entirely on your situation.
I would say that yes, in many situations, the university you do your PostDoc in makes a difference for your future career. I don't know the US system well, but I guess it would be even stronger the case there.
**But you and your personal publication record are far more important**.
My general advise would simply be to pick the university where you feel you would be most productive (in a "healthy" way).
# Answer
> 2 votes
Overall, you should go where you will be happiest. Don't be afraid to go to a school with a lower reputation if you think it is better for you.
That said, there is more to being happy than "clicking" with the professor. I would just say that you should be cautious about overvaluing "clicking" relative to other things. There are a couple details I would consider.
Does (or will, if he's new) the professor have a notable research profile? If he is new as you say, do you think he will build a sizable research profile quickly? When you apply for later jobs, you'll need letters of recommendation. A strong letter of rec from a prof whose research everyone knows, even if he is at a low-profile school, will serve you better than a rec from a prof whose research is not read or valued, even if that prof is at a prestigious school.
What is the department as a whole like? And, if it's a postdoc where you'll be working on a particular project, what is that project like? Are the other people working on it good people in both a personal and professional sense? Where did they come from? If you see that the project/department attracts high-caliber people, it is a good sign. Also there is always the small chance that the professor is nice and clickable-with but has problems with practical/logistical matters that make working with him difficult.
Of course there are many other factors, but these are ones related to the professor-vs-school issue that I think are particularly relevant. No one is going to hire you because you clicked with a professor; the reasing clicking with a professor is important that it suggests you will be productive in that environment. So, I'd say you should scope out other info that may give you an idea of how productive you would be in that environment.
Also, my impression is that hiring committees are likely to give more weight to the *person* you worked with, and gradually less to the project, department, and school. This is especially true because of letters of rec.
# Answer
> 1 votes
I'd say it really depends on the person you want to work with and also the difference between the reputation of both universities.
However, I personally think that going to a person who you "click" with and perhaps can establish a deeper academic relationship with would be more important than just a name of a university or the risk of being in a non-productive environment.
Don't forget that you are building your future collaborators and that can help you alot when you are applying for tenure, etc.
I know of a couple of people who recently did a post doc in highly reputable universities in North america and Europe but are extremely unhappy with their progresses and publication records.
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Tags: job-search, postdocs
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thread-9396 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9396 | Should academic papers necessarily carry a sober tone? | 2013-04-16T13:28:33.803 | # Question
Title: Should academic papers necessarily carry a sober tone?
I was reading this paper titled "Optimal Symmetric Rendezvous Search on Three Locations." While talking about the history of search problems, the author mentions the following anecdote in passing.
> In 2007 a letter writer to the Guardian newspaper queried, “I lost my wife in the crowd at Glastonbury (a music festival). What is the best strategy for finding her?” A reader replied, “Start talking to an attractive woman. Your wife will reappear almost immediately.”
While I found it quite amusing to read this, I do not often come across papers with such witticisms. Is there an unwritten rule about the tone of sobriety that is considered appropriate in academic papers? Are jokes or anecdotes fine as long as they do not appear forced?
# Answer
> 67 votes
> Are jokes or anecdotes fine as long as they do not appear forced?
To me, there is a single measure for this: *does a sentence X contribute to the paper, or not.* If the answer is `no`, it shouldn't be there at all.
To apply the principle to the joke: *if the joke illustrates a common problem which needs a solution, or illustrates a common (perhaps insufficient) solution to a well stated problem, then it certainly has a place in a research paper.*
I understand scientific writing as a form of literature. I do not see any reason for literature (including scientific discourse) not to be entertaining as well, when appropriate. But everything has its time and place. However, it shouldn't be forced and has to fit the main contribution of the paper, hence the filter rule above.
# Answer
> 57 votes
Quoting Terry Tao:
> Overly philosophical, witty, obscure or otherwise “clever” comments should generally be avoided; they may not seem so clever to you ten years from now, and can sometimes irritate the very readers you want to communicate your result to.
However, you'll always be a little embarrassed looking back at yourself, so this is a pretty mild warning. I think there's nothing wrong with a little humor in papers.
That said, your example joke is definitely inappropriate to put in a formal paper because it's a joke that assumes the audience is all straight men. There may be a place for mildly sexist humor, but that place is not the workplace.
# Answer
> 13 votes
To add to walkmanyi's good answer: To make jokes in a scientific article is "dangerous". It is similarly a bad idea to use "quotes"! In both cases the reader may interpret the written text in many different and unforeseen ways. It is particularly problematic since readers come from many different cultures and different ways of expressing themselves, for example, figuratively. Since clarity should be a key aspect of an article, it is best to stay clear of jokes and such, keeping the somber tone you refer to.
# Answer
> 13 votes
Answering from a Humanities, Arts and Social Science (HASS) focus, to contrast the STEM focus of previous responses:
Humour may play a vital role in both the dissemination of, and methodology of HASS discoveries. HASS fields tend to deal with multiple overlaid meanings, whether they reference social meanings or cultural meanings or pure ideas. Things that simultaneously mean many things tend to be funny.
Umberto Eco's sly fable, *In the Name of the Rose* is a useful case here. Eco is otherwise a scholar in a field where multiple meanings are vitally important. His novel is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, a piece of pulp fiction, while also being a sly attack on Stalinism and Academic life. Perhaps most importantly for this question, the issue of whether the innermost nature of reality (God, art / the least worst empirically tested description of external reality) can only be approached in a reverent and serious fashion, or whether the seriously funny kind of levity also gives us access to reality? Now *In the Name of the Rose* may not have been the best way to communicate new linguistics findings; but, a serious exegesis of *In the Name of the Rose* as a post-modern novel might reasonably try to recreate some of the levity of its evidentiary text.
I wouldn't suggest writing a paper full of the Big Bumper Book of Jokes, but if your evidence is naturally funny (anti-government jokes as representative of public sentiment); or, if there's an obvious irony in the case study that you can state clearly for the reader; or, if the proper presentation of your findings calls for wit; then, use it within the broader genre conventions of your discipline's writing.
# Answer
> 10 votes
Humor should be used sparingly, and when used, should not be obviously offensive. If you can imagine that someone could *reasonably* take offense to something, then it shouldn't be included in a formal research article. I would even avoid such a joke in a formal talk.
That said, humor *does* have its place in a scientific delivery. I often include a few wry remarks in my classroom lectures, but they are used sparingly, and only to lighten the mood. (I might make reference, for example, that you could do something, but only if you want your work to end up in the *Journal of Irreproducible Results*.)
But tasteless and overly lewd jokes should be saved for a stand-up comedy routine.
# Answer
> 8 votes
There was a physicist(?) in the Soviet Union who always cited a non-existent paper by Cheyne and Stokes ("irregular respiration brings relief"?) in *all* his publications (and also thanked them in acknowledgements). He had been imprisoned in the GULAG for several years when, on 1953-03-05, it was announced that Stalin had Cheyne–Stokes respiration. Another inmate, a physician, explained to him that this meant an inevitable death, and, thus, a hope for a change in their fortunes.
I am not sure if this qualifies as "humor", but I see no problem with it.
More to the point, you want your paper to be read to the end, and you want the readers to understand and appreciate the results. If a joke would illuminate your point, making it clear and unforgettable, go for it!
# Answer
> 7 votes
The truth is that it depends on your institution. My college required us to keep a somber tone, avoid dressing up how we presented things, etc. In other words, it had to sound incredibly boring. We were taught that academic papers were meant to deliver factual information. These other things didn't contribute to the facts or analysis, so they were unnecessary. I'm sure many other institutions might have variations of these rules. Break the rules, your paper doesn't make it. :(
Here's why I think that's ludicrous. ;) The purpose of any written work (excluding entertainment) is to convey a message. The writer must get the reader's attention, adequately get the message across, HOLD reader's attention while doing so, and (optionally) leave a lasting impression. Requirements 1, 3, and 4 are all in the presentation. So, it stands to reason that a witty, funny, or just somewhat unique presentation of content is entirely justified.
The irony of it is that many other classes taught us these principles of effective writing and captivating penmanship, then the academic papers we wrote were to avoid these things to be more successful. Makes a lot of sense, yeah?
Bonus thought. Academic papers also don't usually happen in a vacuum: many papers published in journals are competing with others. Different institutions want to make the best papers, find greatest discoveries, have highest acclaim, etc. It's not all that different from people publishing books. In light of this, I think academics have even more justification for going the extra mile to make their work stand out. Just a thought.
# Answer
> 6 votes
The driest book I ever read was the revised report on Algol 68. It was liberally salted with quotes. The best one was the "Merely corroborative detail" line from the Mikado, used to introduce pragmas (a kind of semantically meaningful comment). Quotes like this stopped one wanting to slit ones' wrist while reading the meat of the document.
# Answer
> 3 votes
Sometimes humor can help readers to remember the essence of an approach. The best example I can give in this regard is from Leo Breiman's original paper about bagging predictors<sup>*</sup> (paper available here). In the conclusion he summarizes the paper like this:
> Bagging goes a ways toward making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, especially if the sow's ear is twitchy.
<sub>* Used to make a stronger model by combining a set of weak ones, which is particularly effective when there is high variability between the weak models.</sub>
On very rare occasions, authors go even further and write a paper about a humorous topic, such as WHEN ZOMBIES ATTACK!: MATHEMATICAL MODELLING OF AN OUTBREAK OF ZOMBIE INFECTION. Humor can be a good way of bringing abstract matter under the spotlight for laymen to appreciate.
# Answer
> 0 votes
If it makes your point well, then a comment that is humorous can add to the paper. The cutoff for this is rather more permissive in a conference presentation, though sprinkling a few semi-relevant jokes into a presentation is best left to the keynotes.
The more eminent the author, the more they can get away with in terms of grabbing the reader's attention: How about the abstract to Can apparent superluminal neutrino speeds be explained as a quantum weak measurement?
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Tags: publications, etiquette
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thread-2645 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2645 | Towards a Stackexchange-like comment/reputation system for research papers | 2012-07-27T04:03:06.827 | # Question
Title: Towards a Stackexchange-like comment/reputation system for research papers
We have had quite a few discussions on how to gauge the quality of research papers and academic journals. The consensus is that it is tough to identify a single metric which could reveal this quality factor.
I had an idea in this context. In the past newspapers used to have a single "Letters to Editor" section to which comments on all articles were sent. With the advent of the Net, we have a comments section under every article.
* Similarly, why don't reputable journals introduce a comment space for their published papers, where fellow researchers could appreciate/criticise/query the works?
* What hinders us from having a reputation system for published papers - something where registered users could vote based on their perceived utility?
# Answer
> Similarly, why don't reputable journals introduce a comment space for their published papers, where fellow researchers could appreciate/criticise/query the works?
They don't need to create such a space, since these comments can already appear elsewhere on the internet. Nevertheless, some journals have tried, but they typically attract very few comments, and nobody knows how to create a viable community this way. See that link (and the blog posts it links to) for further discussion.
> What hinders us from having a reputation system for published papers - something where registered users could vote based on their perceived utility?
One major obstacle is that not enough people seem to want to use such a system. There have been many attempts to set one up, but none have caught on.
However, there's a deeper obstacle. In order to get any meaningful results at all, you need to solve at least three problems: ensuring that votes come only from competent researchers, ensuring that nobody can deliberately manipulate the system or cheat, and ensuring that voters have the right incentives even if they are not trying to be dishonest. In principle, it might be possible to solve these problems, but it would take a nontrivial infrastructure. However, the more elaborate the system becomes, the harder it will be to get lots of users. A large majority of researchers won't pay any attention to a system like this, and some of the ones who do care will be strongly opposed, so getting widespread adoption will be an uphill battle.
> 40 votes
# Answer
As a follow up to Anonymous Mathematician's answer, I think the answer lies in Arxiv: a lot of people already use it, there is no profiting involved and even if a paper is moved to a given journal, the paper's page main remain online with all discussions In it (except that the PDF is replaced with a link). So it can create a solid up/down voting system.
As for reputation, everyone may start equally but a Web of Science citation analysis,for example, may be used to yield a larger starting reputation to get things going.
Going further, this may also replace the reviewing process: the paper is uploaded, everyone may read it and someone who thinks it is interesting may then apply as a candidate reviewer. This would avoid reviewers who don't really understand about your work (as is certainly not uncommon to happen).
It is a leap of faith to trust a reputation system rather than a faculty hierarchy. Notwithstanding, note that the current review system is already embalmed in such trust: even a high school student can publish a paper if it is reviewed to be interesting; conversely, if you publish nice papers you are invited to review nice papers.
In a sense, this shifts the focus away from the periodicals themselves.
> 9 votes
# Answer
For an update, you might want to have a look at probably the largest organized group discussing this and similar issues - FORCE http://www.force11.org/ \- stands for "The future of research communication and e-scholarship"
In Manifesto they say that new models of reputation are required, etc. However, a ready to use system is not yet developed
> 5 votes
# Answer
When I submit a manuscript, I value the work of the reviewers a lot. Revision work is, most of the time, an excellent exercise that allows you to question your own work, and improve it. In a way, getting my article accepted in a reputable journal is one of the few signs that what I do is of some quality (or not, if it is rejected). So, peer review *is* a system in which people 'vote' for your work, and suggest edits, similarly to SO Q&As. When people cite my work, it is the equivalent of the upvotes on SO. Of course, exactly like on SO, the more popular your domain is (your academic 'tag'), the easier it is to get upvotes. But people you care about are usually clever enough to figure that out.
Now, is peer-review a perfect system? No. But neither is SO's voting system. At the end, what one needs to do is use one's brain when reading something: *you* are probably not too bad at judging quality of the work published in your field.
This being said, I think that it is a good idea to have an alternative system of evaluating research. I find that the discussion of articles on pubpeer.com to be a good way to anonymously criticize published literature.
I should add that I have the chance (or was it a choice..?) to work in a field where there is little political involvement. So I could imagine that comments of readers would be for the most part constructive and in the worst case, irrelevant. But that is not the case for everyone...
> 2 votes
# Answer
Also complementing Anonymous Mathematician's answer: one of the main uses of the "peer-review system" is "allocation of a scarce resource", namely, academic positions and grants. For that matter, it is not really accurate to talk about "peer review" in that regard, because typically it is not one's peers but one's "seniors" or "competitors" that reject one's paper, whether or not with good reason. But it is pleasanter to talk about "peer review" than "gatekeeping".
Another corruptive influence is that journals themselves vie for "reputation", which drives an odd jousting-for-position between authors and editors, wherein each tries to acquire as much status as possible, by connecting to higher-status "others"... Let's ask ourselves whether the same impulse wouldn't corrupt nearly any publication-for-status structure. I have no idea how to design-against, or design-around this.
If the status rewards are reduced beyond a certain point, we might indeed find ourselves with the "hermit gatekeepers" who simply have nothing better to do... as mentioned in the comment by John Moellner. Given human nature, it seems that the broad pattern demands incentives that are not entirely idealistic.
As it is, we can easily see that on Math Overflow, MathStackExchange, and many such vehicles, the most-popular questions are approximate repeats of questions that have been asked many times before. For a year or so, such a site will have a feel of freshness and novelty, but it is not clear to me what happens after some years when the limited repertoire of basic questions (motivated by undergrad or grad courses and such) is fairly completely documented, so that one no longer *asks* a question, but first carefully does the archival search.
I *would* advocate that academics who are already established, tenured, etc., think more in terms of the subject matter itself and putting helpful things on-line, rather than continuing to take up quite so much space in the game that beginners must play to *get* a position, *get* tenure, etc. True, one won't maximize one's pay raise each year without continuing to play the same game forever, but academic departments could really work harder to figure out how to appraise post-tenure people, which wouldn't upset the tenure criteria per-se at all. "Get out of the young peoples' way."
Edit: In response to "comment": I think the sense in which these points address the original question is that, if there were *no* presumption that the present "peer review" system should be supplanted, then why ask the question at all? Just use the "stack exchange" or similar software and everyone who wants to put papers or reviews of papers on it, and vote, or down-vote, can do so. There is no obstacle to this, so why ask the question... *except* to propose also that there be a transition. My remarks above, and some of the other comments, indicate why I think there would be problems. E.g., many of the people one would want to participate would not, for a variety of reasons, which would certainly have the effect of failing to confer one sort of status of a sort currently essential to professional survival at a junior level.
That is, putting the question in a context in which it makes sense to ask it (rather than a more formal sense somewhat disjoint from that context), the other parts of the context prove to be significant in answering the original. If one speculates that the issue is about *replacing* "peer reviewed traditional journal publication" (paper or electronic) with a different structure, then it is reasonable to see why there would be trouble.
> 1 votes
# Answer
First, I rely on the response of others here regarding nuanced comments. I take it they're saying that if we do facilitate appreciation, critique, and query within a journal, and even if we don't, those kinds of responses will flourish primarily outside the journal.
Second, here is a notable hindrance to a reputation score system for published papers. How you respond to this hindrance constrains how you design, or refuse to design, such a system.
A voting system is a systematic decision about ranking multiple options that is based on multiple individuals' recommendations for ranking those options.
Trick question: Do we accept that definition? Because, if so, the problem is that no satisfactory voting system can exist.
Arrow's impossibility theorem states that every systematic ranking based on the rankings from each of a group of recommenders is unsatisfactory in at least one of these ways:
* The group's ranking is completely controlled by one single recommender. Comment: we could call this person the "dictator", the "editor-in-chief", or as @JohnMoeller said above the "hermit gatekeeper".
* The group's ranking sometimes orders two options differently from the ordering that was chosen by *every single one* of the recommenders.
* The group's ranking sometimes orders two options differently, say, A and B, because recommenders changed their recommended rankings overall, even though *every single one* of the recommenders kept unchanged their own ordering of A and B.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, bibliometrics, impact-factor, reputation
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thread-14961 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14961 | What should I read or know before I prepare my bachelor's thesis? | 2013-12-21T00:22:54.507 | # Question
Title: What should I read or know before I prepare my bachelor's thesis?
I am about to start planning my bachelor's thesis in computational linguistics, and I'm looking into how I can make the process as smooth as possible. So far, I've found that using some sort of version control system for keeping track of one's changes seems like a good idea. I've also started collecting papers using Zotero for easily exporting to BibLaTeX and keeping notes.
But those are only tools. What I'm most uncertain about is the actual writing process, especially since my native language isn't English. Is there a collection of common mistakes I could benefit from reading, or other every day tips and tricks? Anything, really!
# Answer
This is a pretty broad question, but if you are looking for a general guide on how to write there have been a number of books suggested to me.
Writing for Computer Science (Zobel) This is a decent book on explaining the principles on why and how you should write computer science articles. It's very computer science specific, with a bit more emphasis toward databases and operating systems, but I think it's applicable to most technical fields (of which computational linguistics should fall into).
I like this one because it's a general guide to writing that outlines the process and the structure.
Elements of Style (Strunk and White) A commonly-recommended book that a lot of people swear by but I found it a bit too low-level for my liking and actually had a hard time finishing it. A professor described it as "too prescriptive".
Bugs in Writing (Dupre) This is an okay book as a reference manual for improving your prose, but isn't a good guide for figuring out the writing process. There's good advice in this book (and it's actually rather fun to flip through just to learn about various style points) but can be difficult to use as an actual guide.
Style: Toward Clarity and Grace (Williams) I've gotten through a few parts of this book and it gives very specific advice on how to proceed on improving your writing, especially explaining specifically how to introduce ideas in paragraphs, how to flow them together to create longer manuscripts, and how to restructure and correct text so the main ideas come through. As I surmised, it is in fact very analytical and detailed and does describe the rationales behind its recommendations. I think this book is a great resource for those who have some words written, who know they have to make their writing "flow better" or "more clear" but aren't really sure how to do it. It appears to be an especially valuable book for the "second pass" through anything, where you have written down your initial ideas in part-writing, part bullets, and are trying to convert it into a real readable piece of work. (Previously, I wrote: This book was JUST recommended to me and I haven't read it, but it is apparently very analytical and detailed, and outlines the rationales behind why one should write in the way it discusses. In fact, I think there a jab at the Elements of Style in this book where the author laments that "Be clear" is GREAT advice. We all KNOW that. The real problem is, "How is it that I can actually implement 'be clear' in my writing?" However, I haven't gotten far enough to comment on it yet.)
So there's a little about what to read. As for what you should know? Well, that's a more difficult question :)
> 3 votes
# Answer
Best thing you can do is have a well defined topic. Since you don't mention that in your question, I don't know if you have a research topic/question yet. In my experience, that's by far the most crucial thing in having a thesis go smoothly. The student who know what they want to work on usually have everything fall into place.
> 0 votes
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Tags: writing, thesis, research-undergraduate
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thread-15615 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15615 | Recommender choice for admission to a MSc program | 2014-01-10T20:17:29.230 | # Question
Title: Recommender choice for admission to a MSc program
I am planning to apply for an MSc program in Northern Europe or the UK, starting September 2014, which typically requires two recommendation letters from my former university professors. I have the following dilemma:
I have a personal relationship with two professors from my faculty, whom i know are going to give excellent recommendations for me. However, I chose neither of them as my supervisor for my Bachelor thesis, and I prefered to work on it under the supervision of a third professor, whom i have a slightly less personal relationship and spent limited time with during my undergraduate years (reason for that being my subject of choice overlapping with his/his groups research). In fact I only had extensive direct contact with one of his PhDs, under the guidance of whom i conducted my project.
So what I really want to ask is: Is it considered necessary for one of my LOR to be given from my thesis advisor? Is it going to look bad or somewhat odd to the eyes of the admissions committee if not?
# Answer
If possible, it is always better if you can get a *good* letter of recommendation from someone who has actually supervised your research, because they can directly comment on your promise *as a researcher*. At the master's level, however, I don't know if it's quite so important as at the doctoral level, particularly because some fields may not require a bachelor's thesis (they may have a senior project, laboratory, or design course instead).
In the present circumstances, this would be one of those times where you should check with the places you're applying and ask if you can submit a third letter of recommendation. Then you get the advantage of having two people who know you well personally, plus someone who can comment on your research.
> 1 votes
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Tags: masters, recommendation-letter, citations
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thread-12580 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12580 | How do I get into a Computer Science Masters without an undergrad in CS? | 2013-09-10T20:11:47.993 | # Question
Title: How do I get into a Computer Science Masters without an undergrad in CS?
I have discovered that I enjoy computer science immensely and I would like to pursue a masters degree in computer Science.
My undergrad was Neuroscience (biology) with a minor in Bioinformatics. I have a 3.2 gpa, and an 77 percentile GRE, which I understand is not amazing but ok. But, I've gotten all A's in any computer science class I have taken, (data structures, algorithms etc.)
I would like to get into the best possible program, for example MIT, I understand this may be unrealistic with my grades and would like to ask what are my options and what should I do to get ready?
Ideas:
* Retake the GRE get better score
* Take a Comp Science GRE subject test
* get real life experience
* put code online, open source
* Get work experience
* Screw the masters get a job
I'd love to hear what you think is the best choice for setting up a successful career in computer science. Thanks!
# Answer
> 4 votes
Many schools will require you to take remediation courses if they do not feel you meet the course requirements for the graduate program. They will be fairly upfront about what they think you would need, but it will mean taking more Bachelors level classes at cost before being accepted to the program.
In general I would show any additional work you have done to improve your programming skills, including code you have written.
A lot of qualified people do not apply to top schools (I.E. MIT) because they do not believe they would get in. But I would not recommend focusing on any one school and instead find a few programs you like and apply to all of them.
Some schools will allow you to take classes as a non-degree seeking student, which would provide both a way to prove yourself and also gauge the program and its suitability to you. I would check with the program to see how many credits they accept through this method though.
As an aside, I am in the same boat. I majored in Mathematics with a minor in Physics but have been working as a programmer for the last three years. I am now looking into online masters programs in Computer Engineering or Computer Science.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Many departments do not require you have a Bachelor's in CS to pursue graduate studies. They might have a stipulation of a minor in CS, though. You'd have to check with the individual departments. Bioinformatics is similar to CS in some schools, so they may waive that minimum requirement. The main reason for their requiring a minor is to ensure you've had a sufficient foundation to build upon. Taking more courses in a local school first would fill any gaps you have.
In the end, it comes down to what the department says. Contact some of the ones you like and see what they say. They may want you to take more math, for instance, over anything else.
**Edit:** Removed statement about GRE subject test in CS.
# Answer
> 1 votes
*"Many schools will require you to take remediation courses if they do not feel you meet the course requirements for the graduate program. Some schools will allow you to take classes as a non-degree seeking student, which would provide both a way to prove yourself and also gauge the program and its suitability to you. I would check with the program to see how many credits they accept through this method though."*
Correct. Also, many programs would let an individual in as a provisional student. You would take undergraduate courses in areas of perceived deficiency, however, they would not count towards your degree program of course so your degree would cost a little more than folks that took the necessary classes as part of an undergraduate CS program. Typically its no more than 3 to 5 classes from what I have seen on average. If you are good enough, you can also test out of prerequisites which is another way to demonstrate mastery.
Admissions tend to focus on both math (most will not let you in without at least 3 undergraduate credits of Calculus and 3 credits of Statistics) and computer science classes -due to the fact that many programs are aligned/attached with their respective engineering programs. Each school is a little different. A few that I found worthy of perusing: Arizona State University, University of Chicago -Urbana/Champaign, DePaul University.
Also since you mentioned MIT here is a snippet of their offerings and policies: http://tppserver.mit.edu/53/54.htm
Current programs include:
Biomedical Engineering Computation for Design and Optimization (CDO) Computational and Systems Biology (CSB) Medical Engineering and Medical Physics Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Program in Polymer Science and Technology
The following interdepartmental programs are affiliated with the Engineering Systems Division (ESD):
eaders for Global Operations Supply Chain Management (Center for Transportation and Logistics) System Design and Management Technology and Policy Program Technology, Management, and Policy
Academic excellence is demonstrated by university grades, as calibrated by the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) that establish a rough comparison between schools. The grades are examined in detail, giving preference to recent performance and subjects relevant to Technology and Policy.
For North American candidates, a minimum average of B plus is expected. This threshold may be different for other countries where the grading system is harder. For example, a B minus or C plus level from the major French Grandes Ecoles appears comparable. The faculty evaluates the record subjectively, recognizing the diversity of grading practices and personal experience.
Strong candidates for the program typically score in the top 10 percent of all three GRE areas (verbal, quantitative, and analytic writing).
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Tags: masters, application, career-path, computer-science
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thread-15632 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15632 | Need suggestions on quitting a computer science PhD | 2014-01-11T02:43:19.677 | # Question
Title: Need suggestions on quitting a computer science PhD
Seems it's the second time that I came to ask a question here. But this time the situation is quite different for me.
I've completed my B.S. 2.5 years ago, and entered a PhD program in a top notch school. My advisor is a domain expect in my field and he treats all of us very nicely and friendly, and he does know a hell lot of both academia and industry. I just received my master degree and interned at a uprising company in Silicon Vally.
However for academic work, I'm not doing that well. The past 2.5 years I only published in a workshop. In the meanwhile many of my friends have published top conference papers. I feel really stupid that I can't do so. Since my mathematic background is not well to understand some papers, I tried to digest the math while I'm on free time. And now I could understand most of the papers that I read.
The problem is that, I can't think of new ideas. Every ideas I try fails, constantly. I'm don't know why my mates could do so well in publishing. Because of this, I seriously feel a lot of pressure. Everyday when I wake up, I can feel the heart beats like dumb. However during the internship in the previous summer, everything is so smooth and I enjoyed the life there.
In theory, my advisor could let me graduate even if I don't publish. But I really do not want to let him down and waste his funding. The question is, shall I quit my PhD now and receive the offer if the pressure continues? Any suggestions?
# Answer
Well i have been in similar situation like yours. I chose not to give up and that is why i was able to defend my PhD last month.
It was very frustrating.I switched advisers 4 times. Would you believe that? I was recommended to be expelled from the PhD program. My situation was much worse than yours. I was almost thrown out of the PhD program in 2010. How i was able to change this? Just like you, i interned in Silicon Valley in 2009 and 2010 where my manager sort of liked me and he stood for me. He and even his manager wrote two letters in my favor supporting that i should not be expelled from the PhD program. They argued that i should switch topic and adviser and continue PhD program. All i was looking for was a good adviser who could trust my skills and luckily i got it.
After that, it was fine. The moral of the story is " i did not give up in circumstances much worse than yours." Does your current adviser like you, have trust in you, have confidence in you? If so, don't worry. Regarding publications, choose mid-tier conferences first to raise your confidence and then go for top-tier conferences.
And now on communities like stackoverflow and various forums for hardware and software, discuss your ideas with experts, shape your ideas here. Talk to your contacts in the industry as to what do they think of your problem or in their opinion what are the hot problems to solve.
Another lesson is be pro-active. Don't procrastinate or live in your own world. Get up
> 11 votes
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Tags: phd, job
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thread-15636 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15636 | Getting a 2nd bachelors or go for a masters? | 2014-01-11T06:22:32.297 | # Question
Title: Getting a 2nd bachelors or go for a masters?
I majored in information systems and I deeply regret it.. I had an internship where I ended up doing some programming assignments, and I really enjoyed them. But it was also my senior year so I didn't want to switch to CS and spend another 2-3 years..
So I have been trying to take the gre to get into a software engineering program (UC Irvine and San Jose State University). But it's hard studying for it now that I'm out of school. I'm constantly trying to apply for jobs and trying to study for it. I did pretty bad the first time (148 on both quant and verbal and a 4 on the writing).
I've always been bad at these standardized tests. So not sure if I can get better scores the next time (still in the same process of trying to apply for jobs and study).
I've gotten A's in the programming classes that I've taken. It's just hard to get a junior level software engineering job because companies favor CS majors. As for internships, companies only want currently enrolled students.
Any advice? Also consider financial situations etc when giving your input.
I've done a bit of googling and found that UC Irvine offers 2nd bachelors degree in CS or CSE. Anyone know of other schools?
As for masters programs that don't require the gre, I've only found National University here in San Diego. Not sure what those type of schools are like and if they're worth it..
Sorry for writing so much, just having a hard time deciding right now.
# Answer
> 3 votes
I'd go for the masters degree. I went from a bachelors in music, to a masters in CS. The rewards of having a masters degree I feel is greater than a bachelors. And you have the ability to do that with the bachelors completed, so take advantage of it. You may have to take a few core CS courses which will extend your schooling a semester. Check the program you are interested in for deficiencies you will need to make up.
One suggestion. If it is possible for you to get a job at a university with a program you like, they may pay for your classwork to obtain a masters degree. Then you can take your time to complete the degree while working full time. It will take you longer to complete the degree, maybe 4 years. But you'll be working, gain experience, maybe get your tuition covered, classes could potentially be in a nearby building, and have flexibilty to take a semester off if needed as a result.
# Answer
> 1 votes
As a non-CS major (engineer, not electric or mechanical) it doesn't seem so impossible to get into the CS job market, but that is only given that you pursue your own personal/extracurricular coding projects and demonstrate your experience; after all, they carry out technical interviews anyways.
I also agree with a Masters degree (with or without work support) over spending so much time on just a bachelors. Furthermore, I don't know any details, but if you have a good GPA or have other raising factors, it could make up for a subpar GRE, but you should really have a good quant score considering its level.
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Tags: graduate-school, masters, undergraduate
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thread-15637 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15637 | How do I best present my skills when switching fields from electrical engineering to earth sciences? | 2014-01-11T06:49:16.240 | # Question
Title: How do I best present my skills when switching fields from electrical engineering to earth sciences?
I am currently doing my PhD in the US. I am studying electrical engineering with a focus on magnetic sensors and signal processing. I am doing theoretical work (developing a model) and also developing software (mostly MATLAB and LABVIEW) and building hardware for my measurement system. I am also conducting measurements to validate my model. I find the research to be relatively interdisciplinary. I have a few papers (5) in applied physics and engineering journals. I should be graduating soon, within a year hopefully.
I have lately been looking for postdoctoral positions, and I find myself getting more and more interested in earth/atmospheric sciences, particularly analysis of remote sensing data, and also building sensors for remote sensing.
I feel like I need a change of field, as I like to broaden my horizons. I need a fresh perspective.
My question is: how do I present my skills in a way that increases my chances of getting a postdoc in that field? Wouldn't a candidate with a PhD in earth sciences be preferred over me?
# Answer
> 2 votes
One problem you will need to think about is if you aim for a research job within earth Sciences of a more technical job. The latter may be easier because your knowledge is certainly in demand. The former will be more difficult since you lack an Earth Science background. Note that I do not say impossible.
*Will you compete*. The answer is definitely not an easy no. But, the position you will be looking for will need to be heavy on, for example, signal processing to make you of interest. Usually working on data is followed by interpretations of the data in terms of Earth Science applications. You will of course have a definite disadvantage there. Having some documented understanding of Earth Sciences will be beneficial.
I would encourage you to find a meeting where you could meet specialists and discuss opportunities and also just see what is done out there. If you are in the US then attending the AGU (American Geophysical Union) Fall Meeting in San Francisco (December) would be a good option. In Europe the EGU (European Geophysical Union) meeting in Vienna (April) will be good. There are also more specialized meeting on Remote Sensing. A good way in could be to strike up collaborations where your expertise adds to the mix.
*Building sensors*. The remote sensing sensors are built by electronics experts such as yourself and not by earth Scientists within the earth Science community (departments). Earth Scientists will provide input to what specs a sensor would need but that is usually the dividing line. So the answer to the possibilities lies outside Earth Science, you most likely would be looking at space agencies or physics departments.
On the whole, I would say that your expertise is valued in Earth Science but the total lack of documented knowledge in the subject(s) will make the opportunities smaller. I need to add that Earth Science, in its widest sense is a very broad and covers many different departments/subjects which is why trying to find some persons with research profiles that attract you a good venture.
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Tags: phd, career-path, application, job-search, changing-fields
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thread-15482 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15482 | Does anyone fund research in mathematical finance? | 2014-01-08T00:40:43.673 | # Question
Title: Does anyone fund research in mathematical finance?
The question is pretty much the title. If you are an academic, is it possible to get anyone to pay you to do research in mathematical finance?
You can interpret the question broadly, to include mathematics or computational science that is used in finance, as long as this research has some real connection to finance as practiced today.
# Answer
Ignoring the somewhat tendentious statements about mathematicians and funding mathematics, the National Science Foundation in the US is one example of an agency funding research in mathematical finance. In fact, all I did was type "nsf mathematical finance" into google and I got three awards listed in the top 10. I'm sure there are many more.
> 5 votes
# Answer
Man Group plc does just that, particularly through the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance. Further information can be accessed through the Institute's website, which also provides contact details.
> 2 votes
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Tags: mathematics, funding, finance
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thread-15654 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15654 | How to acknowledge funding after the acceptance of the manuscript | 2014-01-11T17:52:47.693 | # Question
Title: How to acknowledge funding after the acceptance of the manuscript
We got this accepted article. A preliminary PDF version of the article is available online. The final look shape of the article is still under processing by journal publisher. However, I forgot to mention my acknowledgement while others did acknowledge their respective funding.
I am wondering what should I do now to acknowledge my funding institute? Does it make any difference that I am not the corresponding author of the manuscript?
# Answer
> 3 votes
The first thing you can do is to ask the publisher/journal editor(s) (wherever the paper processing is with the journal in question) to make the addition. Since you are not the first author (assuming first = corresponding) you should probably go through that person. The likelihood of getting such changes done if the paper is published online is uncertain but worth asking about anyway.
Having your funding not acknowledged in the paper is not the end of the world so if changes cannot be made, well there are probably more papers coming later. It is of course always a god way to show the funding source where their money ended up. There might be funding sources that request such acknowledgements but there is no law. some authors never acknowledge anything. The fact that you are not first author is not terribly relevant. Any funding source adding to the total funding of the study is of importance to the results; the paper.
So in the end, I would not worry too much about it. It was an omission, a mistake; it happened, you make an effort to rectify and you will likely remember it in the future.
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Tags: publications, journals, acknowledgement
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thread-15600 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15600 | How to quote a draft in my thesis? | 2014-01-10T13:54:16.280 | # Question
Title: How to quote a draft in my thesis?
For my bachelor thesis I needed a certain source. As it wasn't accessible neither on the net, nor in my library, I decided to ask the author directly. She was kind enough to send me a draft of the text in question, explicitly allowing me to use it for private academic purpose.
Now I'm in the middle of my thesis. How do I cite a draft that doesn't even have a date? If I had the published version, I'd simply cross-reference, but I don't, and adding the page number of a word document that my supervisor doesn't have seems utterly useless. Do I simply leave out the page number (it's a very short paper), or do I add the paper as an attachment?
I know this is something I'd normally ask my supervisor. Unfortunately, communication with her is not something I'm interested in, for personal reasons. I'm therefore looking for a reasonable advice that has nothing to do with her preferences.
# Answer
> 4 votes
If it has been published, ask the author for a pdf of the published version (from your question I got the feeling that the paper has been published). This would also be easier to share with your supervisor later on. It makes no sense to cite or quote a draft version if the paper has been published. At least ask if the draft has identical content as the published version. If so, you could maybe get away with using the draft but citing the published version in your reference list (not ideal though).
Otherwise, cite it as a working paper/draft, by including author, title, and the date when you recieved the paper, see e.g. Chicago manual of style online or MLA style guide.
# Answer
> 2 votes
It's not clear from your question what the status of this "source" is --- i.e., whether it has been published, will be published, or may never be published.
If it has been published, but you just didn't have access to the published version, I would cite the published version. If you have a quote where you need to cite the page number, I would go ahead and cite the page number from the draft. Although others might disagree with this practice, I've found it's not uncommon to find page-number citations that are off by a page or two due to citing different versions of a paper, different editions of a book, etc.
If it has not been published but is "in the pipeline" (i.e., has been submitted to a journal), you can cite it as "forthcoming", or as "to appear" if it has been accepted.
If it is unknown whether it will ever be published (i.e., it is just a work in progress that may or may not be submitted for publication at some later date), you can cite it as "in prep", "unpublished ms.", or "personal communication". Personally I tend to view "in prep" as meaning "the author intends to publish this at some point but it's far enough in the future that we don't know where or when", "unpublished ms." as meaning "there is little chance this will ever be published", and "personal communication" as "this was not even written as an article-type document but just information conveyed to me via email, conversation, etc.".
# Answer
> 0 votes
I know only two ways:
1. you write "*Author*, private communication" in your references;
2. you publish the unpublished material and add its author as an author of your paper.
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thread-15666 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15666 | How necessary is research for a collegiate teaching job? | 2014-01-12T05:07:13.820 | # Question
Title: How necessary is research for a collegiate teaching job?
I am finishing up a PhD and looking toward teaching. I have a Masters in Math, Masters in Computer Science and am finishing up a PhD in Computational Science. I am wondering how important research is to academia jobs.
I love to teach and am very good at it and I could honestly see myself teaching for the rest of my life and not doing research (writing paper, presenting at conferences, etc is very stressful for me). My question is how important is research to getting a job in academia. For example, I see one person at my university is an associate professor and does no have a PhD. Is this person publishing?
Are full-time professors at community colleges publishing and active in on-going research?
Are there ways to become a full-time, tenured professor without a great track record for research?
# Answer
Yes, it is possible. Of course, you will probably teach more than you would if you were in a "traditional" professhorship (with teaching and research), but if you love teaching, maybe that is great.
This article from the Chronicle of Higher Education has some useful statements, to wit:
> research and writing are not part of a faculty member's typical workday at a two-year college.
Also:
> The good news is that the vast majority of two-year colleges do not require faculty members to publish a single word in order to earn tenure. \[...\] most community colleges do still offer tenure. In many state systems, earning tenure is simply a matter of doing your job in a satisfactory manner for a set period of time—generally, three to five years.
There are also positions at four-year liberal-arts colleges that are primarily teaching-oriented.
> 6 votes
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Tags: phd, teaching, job-search, tenure-track
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thread-15597 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15597 | Outsourcing a mathematical research problem | 2014-01-10T13:12:01.203 | # Question
Title: Outsourcing a mathematical research problem
During my Ph.D. research I encountered a mathematical problem. I found solutions in some cases, but in other cases I couldn't find a solution. My advisors also could not help with this. I asked at Math.SE and MathOverflow, even offered a boundy, but got no hint.
Although I can proceed in my research without a solution to these cases (there are many other problems to solve anyway), they are very interesting and can contribute a lot to understanding the general problem.
The problem itself is very simple, such that even high-school children can understand it. So, I thought of the following idea: give the problem to talented high-school or under-graduate students that go to math olympiads, and offer a monetary bounty (in addition to co-authorship) to the first solver. Hopefully a fresh young mind can succeed where older minds have failed.
What do you think about this idea? Is this ethical? Useful? Done in the past?
# Answer
> 11 votes
It sounds like a great idea to publicize the problem among young people who may have a lot of time on their hands, not a lot of other research ideas, and a desire to demonstrate their abilities through something other than timed contests.
One awkward possibility would be getting stuck in a situation in which someone can't convince you that their solution is correct, but you can't convince them it is incomplete or wrong. Of course this could happen with anyone, but it's particularly likely to occur with someone who is not an experienced researcher. If you offer a bounty, you should be clear about the conditions. (For example, that it all comes down to your judgment, and that you don't commit to spend unlimited amounts of time trying to understand a proposed solution.)
Coauthorship is certainly mandatory if you publish a paper that depends on this solution (unless of course the students publish their solution separately and you cite it). However, you may run into tricky situations in which it's not enough just to offer coauthorship for the first solution. For example, if several people solve the problem independently and around the same time, then they should all be treated evenhandedly. Or what if someone proposes a solution you don't believe, someone else proposes a clearer solution and you offer the second person coauthorship, and then the first person convinces you their solution was correct after all? Of course these problems are not hard to solve (in the last case, you can't retract the authorship of the second person, but you should make the first an author too if you still can). But the important thing to keep in mind is that you may need to make sensible decisions that go a little beyond the "first solver is a coauthor" rule.
A final observation is that if you succeed in attracting students to this problem, you will likely get lots of questions and comments from them along the way. If that appeals to you, then it's an advantage of this approach. On the other hand, if your goal is to get a solution with a minimum amount of time and attention on your part, then asking beginners might not be fruitful.
# Answer
> 4 votes
For problem easy to formulate as this one, this may be a motivating problem for students who want to tackle with "real research", quite rewarding also for those who find a solution.
I don't know if this has been done in the past, but why not, as long as you give full credit of the proof to the students who find it and in case this is published, give them authorship. I would suggest, in case you have a winner, to endorse him or her on the arXiv, so the credit will be fully his or hers.
# Answer
> 3 votes
You may want to explain on MathOverflow how you ran into the problem. If solving this is key in solving an important problem in some area you may get more attention and someone whose research interests are a good fit may want to put in some time and effort.
As for co-authorship my feeling is that the person who solves that particular problem should be the sole author (although you could be acknowledged for suggesting the problem). Then you can cite him/her in your work (as a paper of private communication).
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Tags: research-process, ethics
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thread-15610 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15610 | Is it ethical to seek a PhD program if you suspect you may want only a Masters? | 2014-01-10T17:49:10.357 | # Question
Title: Is it ethical to seek a PhD program if you suspect you may want only a Masters?
I'm considering a PhD or Master's in engineering in the US, and I haven't really decided which makes the most sense for me. There are many questions and answers here that mention leaving a PhD program with a Master's and how it's not a "failure" or "dropping out", but it occurs to me: what effect does this have on a person's adviser/professors?
What about references, future relationships, etc? Is it taken negatively or as an insult, or cutting ties, to bow out with the lower degree?
What prompted this question is that a few programs that most interest me state explicitly that there is very little funding available for Masters students (so you are mostly expected to pay your own way), but full funding and additional opportunities are available for those admitted to a PhD program. The way they are worded, they seem extremely interested in good PhD candidates, and not at all interested in Masters students.
I'm not considering seeking a PhD solely to get a Masters/funding, because that's just outright dishonest and I wouldn't stomach such deceit. But, what might the ethics be of not being certain whether you want a PhD or a Masters, but applying for a PhD program?
If one's adviser and/or program and/or professors are explicitly harmed by having someone complete their Masters requirements, then I'd be much more hesitant to even consider a PhD application unless I was certain that's what I wanted. If being unsure is considered normal and the "harm" caused by bowing out of the program with a Masters not so great, then that would certainly ease things the other direction.
To be clear, these departments also specifically suggest you pick Masters OR PhD, and generally discourage you from applying to both. Thus my quandary!
# Answer
My background comes from Biology so I don't know the details of engineering graduate programs. However, a graduate student is a significant financial investment for the graduate program and advisor. For the student it is the time and emotional investment. Graduate programs that offer funding i.e. stipend and tuition waivers to PhD students do so because it will take the student 4-7 years of full-time+ work to complete their courses and dissertation work. They are typically expected to devote all of their time towards their degree and are discouraged from outside employment. Thus the stipend to cover living expenses.
A MS program is typically 2-3 years and varies in requirements from program to program, ranging from just coursework to coursework plus thesis.
The learning curve is steep for someone who has no previous research experience and the time and money that is spent getting the student up to a productive level is significant. In our program, PhD students typically advance to candidacy around the time that a MS student would be finishing the program. Before this time the PhD student and the MS student are working under comparable conditions. This is also the time that if a PhD student were to not be meeting minimum expectations then they would be denied candidacy and exit with a MS degree.
There is less pressure for a PhD student to begin a project that will result in their dissertation early on because they have more time. MS students must find an advisor immediately upon entering the program and thus begin generating something meaningful if they are to complete and defend a thesis. The body of work is much smaller than a PhD student and is typically just a demonstration of their advanced breadth of knowledge in the field.
Many advisors in my program view MS students as an extra pair of hands and receive less attention when it comes to mentoring. Their projects will often be small offshoots of a bigger project that a PhD student or post-doc is working on. You must understand that they are treated differently from the beginning not because of discrimination but because research projects take a long time to develop and often meaningful results do not come until a few years of work, which is too long for a MS student.
For you particular situation, I would say if you are unsure about which program is right for you I would say take some extra time to figure that out. Whether that means get a job in the area you are interested or something else. Just be sure if you sign up for a PhD that you really want to do it. It is a difficult and really trying path, not for the half-hearted. Even for those who are extremely passionate about their work will question their place there and consider quitting during the bad times. Going into a graduate program with a clear focus and interest (PhD or MS) will make things go much smoother. Do not expect to show up and someone tell you what to do, or you may spend 6 months to a year just floating along trying to find your way.
Now selfishly speaking you are right, you could enter the program as a PhD student and feel it out, but in my opinion I would discourage you from doing that. You will likely waste your time and take longer to get your MS than you would if you went in from the beginning knowing you wanted an MS. You also risk soiling relationships that you could otherwise depend on to help you later in your career. Who knows if the advisor you picked will be angry that you left the lab with a MS when they were expecting a full 5-7 years of work out of you. The people I know who quit their PhD program often quit because the tough times made them realize they liked the idea of having a PhD but didn't really understand what it was going to take to get one. Make sure you know exactly what to expect.
Lastly, whatever you decide, pick an advisor very carefully. Advisors like bosses all have a range a personalities. Some are jerks that will call you during dinner time or saturday afternoon asking to meet with you. Some you will consider filing a missing persons report because you haven't been able to get ahold of them in 2 months. Make sure whoever you end up working with goes well with you.
> 6 votes
# Answer
I think it's ethical to apply to a PhD program if you have a good-faith belief that you want to get a PhD. You don't have to be 100% sure, so it's okay to have some lingering doubt, but I wouldn't apply to a PhD if you're just 50/50 on the fence between MA and PhD.
You should also research the precise nature of the programs you're applying to. I don't know how it works for engineering, but for MA/PhD in general, some programs have the MA as a clear "milestone" on the way to the PhD: you do coursework and write an MA thesis, and after you finish you move on to do the PhD. In this kind of program, the PhD is basically the MA plus more, so it can be easier to transition from MA-only to PhD if you later want to (since you won't have "missed anything" by doing the MA), and also easier to gracefully exit with an MA even if you begin by aiming for a PhD (because you won't have wasted any time on "PhD only" activities). In other programs, MA and PhD programs are different from the start, which makes the up-front decision more important.
In the same vein, learning more about the specific programs may give you more information about what the differences between MA and PhD options are within each program, which may help you make your decision.
I would ask faculty and/or students in these programs about these issues. In particular you might want to get a sense of the "culture" around switching between MA and PhD, which is likely to be specific to each department.
> 2 votes
# Answer
I have been in a situation similar to the one you are in now and am currently seeking a phd in engineering, so I hope I can provide some insight.
To answer your question "what effect does this have on a person's adviser/professors?", my answer is, of course, **the greatness of the effect varies by situation, but in general is significant**. Different programs are different: in some programs you find an advisor immediately, in others you rotate labs for a period, and in others you do not select an advisor until sometime after your first semester. If you immediately have an advisor and begin working on research the first semester, as opposed to selecting an advisor/lab and beginning contributing to the research effort in the second year, then the effect on the advisor is greater. Depending on the project, it make take a lot of time for you to actually become useful in a lab, and this time relies **heavily on resources** (**money spent paying you and training you on equipment, and the time of your advisor and of senior lab members getting you acquainted with the lab and the research**).
I don't think you should expect positive references from your advisor if you leave the program immediately after having earning your master's degree. However, you and your advisor may be exceptional. It is just like an other personal relationship. The relationships you have with others in your field and program may not suffer; usually, that is because they have invested less time, money, and effort into you.
In engineering and most of the hard sciences (in the US), masters students have a stipend that at least covers the cost of tuition and phd students usually have the cost of tuition covered and additional stipend money. A program that doesn't at least cover the cost of tuition for masters students is highly suspicious to me, and in my opinion, not a place that has enough resources to best educate you. I'm now curious of what programs you're looking at... in the US?
The work involved in gaining a phd and a masters degree may be different. Some masters students are graduated after they pass a comprehensive test based on their coursework and are not required to write a thesis and work in research, therefore they do not publish, or help any faculty obtain grants. I can see this as a reason why masters students are offered less money.
Scholarships are available. Depending on your field of engineering: what is the value of obtaining a doctorate?
I agree with you: seeking a PhD solely to get a Masters/funding is dishonest. It's only January, **simply applying for a phd is always okay** if you're not sure which degree you want. You have months to learn more about the program and its expectations, and your own goals. When it comes time to decide whether to accept a position in a phd program, you should know that, from my point of view, not being 100% sure you'll finish the phd is normal for people, even people that accept. If you are a traditional phd candidate, coming immediately from four or five years in undergrad, you may be in your early 20's. It may be difficult to make decisions and to be certain of the next 5-7 years of your life.
With that said, working on a **phd program without being nearly 100% committed may be very difficult for you**. Your lack of commitment may be obvious to others that you work with. In the sciences, publishing and keeping a finger on the pulse of your field, is a time commitment many people do not expect or comprehend.
> 1 votes
# Answer
> What effect does this have on a person's adviser/professors?
This really depends on where the funding is coming from. For example in the UK you might get a 3 year grant for a PhD student since PhD programs are fixed at 3 years. If the student switches to a Masters the I cannot appoint another student, the grant "fails" and the PI (and possibly the department) may be unable to apply to that funding agency again. This can also happen in the US, but student fellowships and student duration is a little more flexible. Externally funded PhD students who do not finish are a real problem for PIs. For students who are internally funded the impact is generally less, but departments can still hold it against the PI since the money was "wasted".
Apart from funding, there is also the issue of the research. Some projects have a big ramp up times/difficult data collection. For some projects the work you do during the first year might make it impossible for another student to continue on the project.
> What about references, future relationships, etc? Is it taken negatively or as an insult, or cutting ties, to bow out with the lower degree?
Yes and no. I wouldn't say it is an insult (although it matters where you go at the end), but leaving on good terms and getting a good reference can be hard since you didn't complete what you set out to do.
> The way they are worded, they seem extremely interested in good PhD candidates, and not at all interested in Masters students.
Yes, many departments only want to fund PhD students. Of course it becomes difficult to convince applicants who want a Masters to not apply to the PhD program and get funding. Some departments offer different degrees for their Masters students (e.g., an MSc) and their PhD students who "drop out" (e.g., MPhil). The idea being this will dissuade students from applying for a funded PhD when all they want is a Masters.
> I'm not considering seeking a PhD solely to get a Masters/funding, because that's just outright dishonest and I wouldn't stomach such deceit. But, what might the ethics be of not being certain whether you want a PhD or a Masters, but applying for a PhD program?
It is highly unethical to lie/mislead people during the admissions process. One of your goals during the admissions process is to convince the department that you really want to do a PhD. While some students are unethical and lie, many students really believe they "need" to get a PhD and still drop out.
> 1 votes
# Answer
I think the idea of waiting and getting a job is problematic for many fields, especially "hard" ones like math or physics. I just wouldn't want my mind to be all fuzzy and have forgotten what I learned throughout college. This is certainly done successfully quite often, but if you plan on at least getting a Master's, I don't see the use in waiting and atrophying/backtracking. On the ethical question, I think you have to ask that to yourself and find what your moral code is (I am a nihilist). Maybe philosophy.stackexchange could help you with this! What is unclear to me is whether someone like you who feels somewhat unsure is even less likely at all to graduate with a PhD than someone who goes in thinking R1 Tenure or death. Your waffling MIGHT even be a sign of mental health (a GOOD thing) is what I'm getting at. I'd say screw it and act rationally, take what I could.
> -3 votes
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Tags: phd, ethics, masters
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thread-15679 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15679 | Trouble picking a major | 2014-01-12T09:12:39.623 | # Question
Title: Trouble picking a major
I am an incoming freshman and I am in a tight spot in terms of picking my major. I personally want to work with companies like Tesla and SpaceX who use code as a basis of physical things.
I want to double major in Physics and CS, but is that a good idea, or should I minor in one?
I do not just want to be a programmer sitting in an office coding all day, I want to build software that creates actual physical things like Tesla cars (fully electric car, everything from suspension to performance is powered by code). When I get a Masters, what would be most appropriate? A degree in Applied Physics or Computational Physics?
# Answer
I believe that double majors are for the most part a waste of your valuable time. This is coming from someone who did a double major. Man do I wish I could go back in time and take out some of the boring classes I took just to satisfy the beuracratic requirements of my second major for more interesting graduate and upper level classes of my choosing (some of which actually being in that major's field) and more time spent on extracurricular research/internship projects.
My advice. Outside of the first major, take the classes that interest you. If that allows you to get a second major or minor, great! If you have to take a bunch of basic classes that don't interest you just to satisfy the requirements of the second major, don't do it!
Usually you can use a personal statement or CV to show people that you are the right one for the job or graduate program you want. Degrees in Applied Physics and Computational Physics are close enough that it shouldn't matter if you do go the double major route (I'd lean towards applied Physics given your interests though, comp physics doesn't say much more than your CS degree already does). However, in my opinion if you are set on C.S. and are just looking to do something related to the physical sciences/engineering, I would get a C.S. degree and then take a bunch of physics classes that interest you and build a portfolio of physics related projects you have worked on. Maybe apply to physics REUs that sound exciting. Many schools have undergrad research projects on electric, hydrogen and solar vehicles, so look for those if thats what excites you, and if your university doesn't have them look for summer opportunities that do.
I'd say for at least 90% of students, a double major is a bad idea. I'd discourage it!
Note there are some cases where a double major may be a good idea. Say your first major is History and its your love and passion, but midway through school you realize that you likely won't get a good job with that major. Getting a second major may be important in this situation because the fields are almost complete opposites, but if the majors are somewhat related I still hold on to my general opinion.
> 6 votes
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thread-15675 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15675 | Graduate program focusing on DevOps | 2014-01-12T08:03:47.480 | # Question
Title: Graduate program focusing on DevOps
I was asked the following question by someone who was interested in pursuing a career in devops, but wanted to learn things in a more formal environment such as a masters degree. Is there / Can anyone recommend any graduate program in the US that would help prepare said person for a career in DevOps? He already has a Bachelor in Computer Science in India.
# Answer
Schools in the US operate on a department basis. Almost all big research institutions will offer research work in the subject field. If your friend doesn't know anything about where the subject he is trying to study is thought, I think he is wasting his time on a graduate degree. Graduate study is research intensive work that requires more commitment on the student's side then it does on the professor's or school's side.
> 1 votes
# Answer
hmmm like you stated DevOps is relatively new. I have not seen DevOps being taught as a specific discipline; usually the DevOp skill set comes from the software engineering side of the fence in the US. Is he in the US or in India? See if any of these tickle his fancy:
http://unomaha.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2013-2014/Graduate-Catalog/Graduate-Degree-Programs-Certificates-Minors/Management-Information-Systems/Management-Information-Systems-MS
http://unomaha.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2013-2014/Graduate-Catalog/Graduate-Degree-Programs-Certificates-Minors/Computer-Science/Computer-Science-Concentrations
There's two versions of this degree, a professional one and a research one; the link below is of the research variety. This institution also has campuses in London, Brussels, Dubai, Paris and Sydney along with a few other locations:
http://www.bu.edu/eng/admissions/grad/
The University of Illinois has a partnership with State Farm Insurance http://www.ece.illinois.edu/students/grad/overview/ms.html
http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/academics/Pages/MastersDegrees.aspx
The University of Wisconsin has a partnership with Microsoft:
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/academic-programs/graduate-program
> 0 votes
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Tags: masters, computer-science
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thread-15398 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15398 | Assume an undergrad has something worth publishing: how might (s)he get it published? | 2014-01-05T20:52:55.877 | # Question
Title: Assume an undergrad has something worth publishing: how might (s)he get it published?
I study undergraduate philosophy.
I wrote a paper (beyond the coursework) that presents a solution to one of the unsolved problems facing our conceptions of personal identity. I regard it as worth publishing, but I get that, as an undergrad, I may not have much of a sense of what qualifies a paper as "worth publishing." So I took a few precautions:
1. I read the recently published arguments, and the arguments that preceded them.
2. I critically thought about whether the argument could contribute to the field
3. I presented the argument to some people accomplished in fields that depend on logical thinking {a physicist, a lawyer,a mathematician}. The mathematician told me of a few useful concepts in math that I should incorporate into the argument, I studied them, incorporated them, and re-presented the paper to him, and he felt it was clear and logically sound.
4. I asked some academically successful people {two medical doctors and a Harvard mathematics graduate} for their opinion on it. They agreed with me; however, none of them had much experience publishing research.
5. I presented it to the prof.
The prof's responses seemed defensive. However, I get that I may have had a defensive bent that disposed me to regarding her criticism as her 'just responding defensively'. So I recalled the conversation to people who I believed would tell me that I had mischaracterized her responses, if they suspected that I had done so - and none of them did.
I also get that,
1. most professors -like anyone- want to make the most of their time, and that
2. most people usually see what they expect to see, and that
3. most professors probably would not expect an undergraduate paper to contain much worthwhile.
So, I suspect that most wouldn't want to read it, and that if a prof agreed to read it, an extra measure of prejudice would affect her assessment of it.
I say all of that to say that I have reason to believe I should try and publish the paper, but I didn't succeed when I tried the most obvious path to doing so (presenting it to the prof), and I don't suspect that I'd have much success asking other profs to read it.
So, how might I get a journal or a professor to give the paper a fair shake?
# Answer
> 32 votes
Here's what you should do:
1. Find an appropriate journal with a ***double blind*** review process.
2. Submit your paper.
3. See what happens.
Double blind means that you do not know the identity of the reviewers, and they do not know your identity. The ostensible purpose of this setup is to encourage reviewers to evaluate the paper based on its academic merit, rather than the pedigree of the author(s).
In reality, of course, there will *always* be politics in reviews, and many reviewers will nonetheless formulate theories about who you are and where you're from. Moreover, things like hot trends in the field can influence judgement—which is why it's important to identify a journal compatible in spirit with your chosen topic.
You will also be judged on the **style** of your writing, and the visual style of your submission. Reviewers will be much more comfortable accepting a submission that looks like a published article than one with strange typography, layout, etc. E.g., don't submit a paper written in MS Word when everybody else in your field uses LaTeX. Strange as it may seem, you will look like a *nut job!* Even different linguistic tone and structure can make your reviewers think you are a quack, even if your idea is legitimately awesome. In short: be a conformist when it comes to your first few submissions. Once you understand how the game is played, you can start to break the mold (hopefully for the better!).
Even accounting for everything above, there is an extremely good chance your submission will get rejected. Coming up with genuinely good ideas is hard; developing political/cultural/intellectual savvy in academia takes time and experience—especially as a lone undergrad. And rejection will *sting!* But the submission process will be a valuable experience nonetheless. After a few days, go back and read your reviews calmly, and think carefully about why the reviewers wrote what they did. Was the typography too bizarre? Are they protecting their political interests? Or is your idea simply not as good as you thought it was? The more papers you submit, the better you will get at answering these questions objectively and honestly. Eventually, you will master the game and can just focus on the work. I hope.
Good luck!
# Answer
> 11 votes
One additional comment to bolster Druorg's answer: you should also take a look at *undergraduate journals*. The bar to publishing is substantially lower in such journals, and you won't have to worry about finding a faculty member to "sponsor" your work.
Another avenue would be to talk to the academic advisor for undergraduates in your department. They may have some suggestions for alternative means of getting your work published, and would at least have some ideas about who else you could talk to!
# Answer
> 3 votes
It's wonderful to see undergraduates with a desire to publish! I want to encourage you and also give a few tips that I learned when I first began publishing.
Finding the right journal is crucial.
First, see what journals in your field publish articles similar to yours, in terms of:
* topic area
* type and format of article
* tone and voice
* authors (any non-PhD authored articles?)
* degree of originality (some leading journals often focus on major ground-breaking articles)
In other words, can you see your article fitting into the journal? Look at 4-6 issues.
You can also take the reverse approach -- find a few articles similar to yours and see where they published.
Second, look at the journal's home page. Do they have an annual student issue? (Some do, especially those published by associations.) A few journals reach out more to new authors and indicate this on their web sites. These would be good candidates.
Third, look closely at the author guidelines and make sure your article fits in terms of length, format, etc. You will also see guidelines on how to submit a manuscript.
I also have some more general advice. There is a considerable process of socialization and mentorship involved. The way to get this mentorship is to build relationships with some of your professors. Talk to them after class or during office hours. Get to know who is really interested in developing students in their scholarship. Ask them for advice. I know you already tried to do this, but it sounds like a lot of the people you asked were not in your field. It's very important to get this advice from your field.
There are also ways to approach professors that tend to more successful outcomes. Humility is important as is the ability to take constructive criticism. You clearly have put a lot of energy into this paper and it is an excellent first step on your pathway to being published. But it may be that you are not yet quite ready to contribute to the field. If not, you want to know where you need to grow and develop. This is really difficult to hear and we have all had to accept rejection in our journey with publication. Don't let rejection stop you, if that happens. Make sure you pick someone supportive and be open to the outcome, as long as the person can give you something constructive to work on. If the feedback sounds reasonable to you, go away and work on the issue identified. Keep learning.
And good luck!
# Answer
> 1 votes
I, for one, have a paper published in a reaonsable quality journal (not impact factor, still well indexed and well recognized by the community), I'm the only author and I was in 4th year of my university, at the beginning of my masters, when I submitted it.
Don't worry too much about the fact people don't know your name. Papers get reviewed by their text, not by their authors (well, some reviewers don't follow this rule, but from my experience, these are exceptions).
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Tags: publications, journals, peer-review, paper-submission
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thread-15589 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15589 | Do authors always have final approval over what gets published? | 2014-01-10T06:15:45.817 | # Question
Title: Do authors always have final approval over what gets published?
After reading this answer, and the subsequent comments, I found myself wondering if it is a rule for publishers to get author approval after edits before publishing a paper? I would assume so because of copyright issues but I would like to know if there are legal or ethical guidelines in the publishing industry about this.
In my experience, editors will make edits but they have always asked me for my approval before actually publishing the edited piece.
# Answer
> 10 votes
In the answer you are referring to there is nothing to say that approval is not required. The issue is rather that an editor can request certain things can be removed from the paper so the author cannot demand everything written is finally printed. Editors have the right and obligation to weed out materials that are, for example, offensive just as we can flag posts that contain such phrasings on Stackexchange. Jokes, which was the point of the post you referred to, are not edited out by any means as a rule but can be misunderstood or considered offensive and might be more likely to be edited out than other material during the review and editorial process. In such a case, the author will certainly be part of the process and asked to revise or accept changes. the point here is that the editor has the final say through approval of the paper as well as a responsibility to make sure the publication is free from material that violates, for example, ethical of the publisher. As an example, in Sweden, where I reside, I as an editor am responsible by law for what is printed in "my" journal. This responsibility may lie with the publisher in other countries.
So, authors will definitely be part of the revision process and sign off on final proofs, it is just that some changes may not be subject to additional discussion and will have to be accepted. Does this happen often? Not at all. In my case, I have had to deal with this in heated "Letters to the Editor" where authors have been in a written, published, exchange over issues in a published paper.
Edit (to expand based on earthling's comment): Basically all changes except typos and changes to adhere to journal or publisher style are subject to an "OK" from the author (although it would not hurt to also get an OK on these). The publishing of a paper is a joint venture between an author and the journal, so with a functioning working relationship both parties should agree on changes. But, again, some changes are non-negotiable, which does not mean they can be imposed without the knowledge of the author who always has the option to go elsewhere to publish.
So changes can come in three forms, (1) those that can be changed without consent (e.g. typos), (2) those that must be made without discussion (subject to ethical considerations) and (3) those that can go either way after, say, clarification (most of the normal changes). In cases 2 and 3 the author need to approve the changes it is just that for case 2 the option might be accept or withdraw the paper.
# Answer
> 3 votes
When I took over being the Graphics Editor / Typesetter of one journal, I realized that there used to be no proofreading stage for the articles! I of course insisted that the articels are proofread.
*However, we give the authors only a limited amount of time to claim any corrections, but not less than 2 weeks.* This is because the journal is quite small and we need to "schedule" the articles into the issues to make the issues reasonably equal in size.
Even after the approval, small changes appear; the Chief Editor goes quickly through the text just before publishing to catch last small typos and mistakes: missing full stops after figures' captions, corrupted text-flow on the page (widows/orphans standing out badly etc.), wrong capilatization, and stuff like this. However, we never modify the text itself in this phase, not even by adding or removing an article (since this can change the meaning of the text).
In general, by law, nobody is allowed to publish anything signed by your name without your approval. The reality is that this rule is violated quite often and it's difficult to do something about it. As well, remember that by submitting an article, you agree with the policy of the journal that can state for instance: *"By submitting an article, you give your permission for it to be published, and you confirm that all authors have agreed to this. The Editor's Office is allowed to make modification to the text without the authors' agreement."*
# Answer
> 2 votes
In my experience, even corrected typos, grammar mistakes and changes necessary for correct typesetting are usually approved (or rejected) by the authors. Thats what the print proof is for. In my opinion that is absolutely necessary, because even changing a few letters could change the meaning of a sentence, and as an author I have the full responsibility for the whole paper.
I've once made the weird experience that I found a paper listed in pubmed before we had received acceptance notification or print proofs. While nothing bad had happened to the paper's text, we decided never to go with that publisher again.
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Tags: publications, ethics, publishers
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thread-15559 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15559 | Referencing Non-Equations ("See Eq. (15)/See Ineq. (15)") | 2014-01-09T11:10:31.207 | # Question
Title: Referencing Non-Equations ("See Eq. (15)/See Ineq. (15)")
When I write something like
```
x is a stochastic function of y:
x ~ N(2y, 3) (1),
```
how do I refer back to that... non-equation? Do I still put "see Eq. (1)" although (1) is not an equation?
# Answer
Mathematically you are true... it's not an equation. Technically I would say, that everything, that is display-style math and has a number attached for identification is called an equation in such contexts.
> 4 votes
# Answer
It seems that the right thing to do will depend on what's conventional in your field. In pure mathematics, it's standard to refer to all displayed equations, inequalities, etc. using just numbers in parentheses (for example, "using (2.1)", without specifying there whether (2.1) is an equation). You could add a descriptive noun if you'd like to emphasize it (e.g., "using equation (2.1)"), but you don't need to. If you do add a noun, it could be considered strange to refer to anything but an actual equation as an equation. This style of referencing displays creates no ambiguity, since citations use square brackets and all other numerical references have an attached noun or symbol to indicate whether they refer to a theorem, section, etc.: \[1\] is a citation, (1) is an equation or other display, Lemma 1 is a lemma, Section 1 is a section, etc.
The system described in the previous paragraph presumably doesn't apply to the author of the question, since abbreviations like "Eq. (1)" or "Ineq. (1)" are not standard in pure mathematics, which suggests he is in another field. However, it's worth keeping in mind that conventions vary between fields, so there won't be an absolute answer to this question. To know for sure what would look reasonable, it's important to know the context (i.e., the audience for the paper and where it might be published).
> 8 votes
# Answer
If you absolutely don't want to use Eq. (1) for mathematical reasons (~ is not equal), I would suggest
> See Formula (1)
although this is not conventional.
Someone suggested "See (1)". I personally would not use it because it has some ambiguity to me. Does it mean "See Sec. (1)" or something else?
> 3 votes
# Answer
As mentioned in some other answers, and with some addendum. Five examples of the same text in different styles (please, excuse my English):
1. We may now apply (15) to (13). From (12) we then see that (14) is satisfied.
2. We may now apply Eq. (15) to Eq. (13). From Eq. (12) we then see that Eq. (14) is satisfied.
3. We may now apply Eq. 15 to Eq. 13. From Eq. 12 we then see that Eq. 14 is satisfied.
4. We may now apply Equation (15) to Equation (13). From Equation (12) we then see that Equation (14) is satisfied.
5. We may now apply Equation 15 to Equation 13. From Equation 12 we then see that Equation 14 is satisfied.
(You can substitute "Eq." by "Ineq." etc., whatever you want.)
Such chains of links to equations are much common than for figures or tables. Now tell me in Examples 2 and 3 where the sentences stard and end. Yes, after a while, one sees that the sentence ends after "(13)", but it takes a lot of time to realize that. In Examples 4 and 5, the text gets unnecessarily long.
In my opinion, **equations should be refered solely by their number in parentheses**, references of course solely in brackets. For figures, enumerated lists, examples, sections, theorems etc., one should spell out the name (abbreviated or not, that's a personal taste) and add the number without any parentheses, even if it originally had some.
So a numbered list: *"(1) apple; (2) banana"* is still refered as: *"In Item 2 we see that banana is a banana."* If you refer items a lot, it's worth giving them a style that doesn't clash with the one for equations, like (a), (b), (c), ... or (i), (ii), (iii); then you can refer the items without the word "Item".
Final example:
> Some solutions of (3) were obtained by Doe in \[11\]; we list them in Table 5 and they are plotted in Figure 1.
> 2 votes
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Tags: writing, citations
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thread-15698 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15698 | Getting letters of recommendation for a master's degree if I don't get along with my current advisor | 2014-01-12T18:58:24.387 | # Question
Title: Getting letters of recommendation for a master's degree if I don't get along with my current advisor
I'm currently in my final undergraduate year and I really want to go to graduate school, but there are some problems: I'm not sure if I can get recommendation letters.
**\< rant\>** My current advisor is insane and unfair. She didn't let me take part in a conference paper that she and another student worked on. That was a very good chance for me to improve my chances of getting to graduate school, but now it's lost. She slightly modified the Caesar cipher and the other student just wrote a program that demonstrates her "algorithm", and it took him several days, while I could've done that in 4-8 hours.
Second time around, I decided(took her advice) to take the research category in a course where we have to make a project my the end of the semester. She didn't guide me or provide me with any references or resources that could help me. She just tells me "write it and I'll read it" or "look it up and understand it". I spent most the semester trying to get my head around the research topic and implement the algorithms, until I finally had to change to the development category because I was going to fail the course otherwise. Now she tells me that "she lost trust in me" and that she won't waste her time with me again. **\< /rant\>**
So obviously my relationship with her is not very good, but what can I do now? Is doing research(or "research" in this case) at the undergraduate level mandatory for applying to graduate programs? My previous advisor liked me and my relationship with him was very good, but he left. If I could find him, can I get a recommendation letter from him? There is also another professor that is no longer at my school, can I get a recommendation letter from him as well? I've never worked on something with them or been their assistant, though.
# Answer
> 6 votes
A few points regarding your questions:
* Presenting a weak conference paper is only very slightly better than presenting no paper at all. It may even be worse, if someone evaluating your application saw the presentation and came away unimpressed.
* There is no requirement that you get a letter from someone like your present advisor. Such a relationship is clearly not productive for either of you, and including a letter would definitely not help.
* You *do* need to get letters from people who can comment on your work skills, so your old advisor *would* be acceptable. Other people with whom you have worked—so long as it's technical in origin, even if it's not explicitly research—could also write letters for you. If you can't get three such letters, then you should get them from people who know you beyond taking classes with them. Only if you exhaust all other possibilities should you rely on people who know you only from classwork.
* Finally, **find yourself a new advisor**, if at all possible.
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Tags: graduate-school, masters, advisor, recommendation-letter
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thread-15710 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15710 | Welfare academics | 2014-01-12T22:54:36.677 | # Question
Title: Welfare academics
Does anyone know if there are academics (such as mathematicians) who use welfare checks to free themselves up to just do research? That is, as an alternative to the ivory tower, either due to preference or failure to meet selection criteria. How successful have they been without an official post? I feel like this would be an ideal life.
# Answer
I am not sure what at all is "ideal" about this plan, to be frank. Social welfare recipients usually receive only enough money to ensure subsistence, if even that much. Moreover, in places like the US, there are major time limits placed on the amount of time someone can be on unemployment "insurance" and receive such funds.
So, even if you do get such money, it would almost certainly not be on an ongoing basis, nor would it be a particularly comfortable life, unless you have sufficient additional resources (other working family members) to supplement welfare payments.
Moreover, being unaffiliated with any institution means that you don't have access to the resources of such institutions (journal access, computer and laboratory access, and so on). Obtaining these resources without institutional affiliations can be very expensive, and could completely negate the benefits of being "free of the ivory tower."
> 12 votes
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Tags: phd
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thread-15700 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15700 | Should each chapter in an extensive paper start with an overview of the chapter's contents? | 2014-01-12T19:32:16.427 | # Question
Title: Should each chapter in an extensive paper start with an overview of the chapter's contents?
I'm working on a extensive paper for my study. It's about some computational stuff, has 5 chapters and will be - all in all - roughly 60 pages long. Reading some papers and theses I noticed, that often people start each chapter with some kind of an overview, describing what's going to happen next. Though on the one hand, I find this helpful sometimes, on the other hand it pulls me out off the flow of the actual work. In some papers, it seems even that certain things, which are going to come up are announced repeatedly and I feel a bit over-informed of the papers structure.
Therefore I'd like to know:
**Should each chapter start with such an overview and - if yes -, when and to what extent?**
# Answer
> 7 votes
The last time I wrote a long paper with a multistep argument, I endowed each ***section*** (there were 15 or 16 of those and the total article length was 87 pages in the 12pt font) with the "objective statement" (*In this section we show that there exists a partition of the set $E$ into "cells" with the following properties ...*, etc.). Moreover, I italicized these objectives. The reasons I did it were
a) some of the sections were devoted to things that are known to experts but hardly to the "general audience", so which sections to read and which to skip would heavily depend on the reader's general background
b) If you read the italic font alone, you can see the general flow of the proof without computations or technical details. You may then concentrate on "most suspicious" or "least known" places first.
I had mixed feelings about doing so too, but it looks like the readers have liked it so far. In general, the main question you should ask yourself is whether what you do will facilitate the reading. Everything else (paper economy, stylistic beauty, etc.) is secondary. If you expect 20-50 people to read what you wrote and if you can spare each of them mere 20 minutes (the minimal time needed to verify the ubiquitous phrase "direct computations yield"), you advance the general human progress by 7-14 hours already.
Note that what I did was different from the "Chapter" approach because I put only one complete logical step into each section. Also it was not about the Lemma/Sublemma/... division, which more often than not reflects the technical convenience rather than the logical structure. Some sections contained several lemmata needed to carry out the corresponding logical step and some lemmas were done in two steps.
The last thing I want to say is that, when reading, most people, including myself, prefer a repetition to an omission, and being over-informed to being under-informed, so few people, if any, will criticize you for being too clear or too slow.
# Answer
> 3 votes
There is no single right answer for this. A short chapter may not need a paragraph outlining the structure and content, while some chapters may have a quite complicated structure. Use the structure of the chapter to help you decide. The more sections and subsections, and the more you try to do in a chapter, the more useful an introduction should be.
If you include such a description, it should provide the user with the key information they should be looking for as they read. What level of description that should be is up to you to decide; there is no universal standard.
# Answer
> 3 votes
My approach is that it is almost always useful to have some form of overview, even for extremely short papers. However, this overview can range from one or more paragraphs to a single sentence.
For example, in a short paper each paragraph usually presents one or more results. I would try then to start each paragraph with a short overview sentence regarding what the sub-question is, then present the results, and sometimes conclude with a summary sentence.
Also, note that an overview does not necessarily have to interrupt the flow of a paper. In many cases, if the paper is constructed such that it follows a single narrative, it is possible for the overview to establish a conceptual connection between sections. In its simplest form this would be "Given that we found X and Y, we now asked whether Z".
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Tags: writing, computer-science, thesis, research-undergraduate
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thread-15727 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15727 | Can I submit application on the deadline? | 2014-01-13T08:35:03.483 | # Question
Title: Can I submit application on the deadline?
If grad schools says the deadline is Jan. 15th, do I have to submit application before Jan. 15th? Or I can still submit on Jan. 15th?
# Answer
Most commonly the deadline is inclusive, i.e., "January 15" means that the deadline is "at some moment during January 15". What does this mean can vary:
* For **online** applications, it's usually 23:59:59.
* For **mailed** applications, there are two options and exactly one of them is true:
+ either the *poststamp* has to be January 15;
+ or it has to *arrive to the institution* by January 15.
* For applications you **deliver in person**, usually the *opening hours* of the office where you have to bring it apply.
In either case, it should be specified in the conditions.
And please remember that **timezones** can play a role here, and everything is *in the timezone of the institution where you apply* unless stated otherwise.
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/From comments/
**If you doubt the precise conditions, just call them or e-mail them and ask for clarification.**
It will cost you less than solving any troubles afterwards.
> 14 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, application, deadlines
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thread-15683 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15683 | Should I inform the graduate admissions committees (of all the Universities I have applied to) of the acceptance of one of my papers? | 2014-01-12T12:04:50.713 | # Question
Title: Should I inform the graduate admissions committees (of all the Universities I have applied to) of the acceptance of one of my papers?
I think if it was a standalone question then the answer would be an unequivocal "Yes". So I will present you my situation: while applying to graduate school I had mentioned that two of my papers are under submission at 2 different conferences (I had given the names of the conferences as well). One of them got accepted today and the other one was rejected a few days back.
Now the thing is, I feel that informing them about the acceptance might increase my chances considering this is my first paper and I'm an undergrad currently (is this a myth?). But the issue is, if I inform the committees about the accepted paper alone then I feel guilty about the fact that I'm deliberately concealing information about the rejected paper. And if I don't, I feel I might not be making any use of the fact that the paper got accepted somewhere.
Can someone tell me what could be done?
# Answer
Ben Norris' comment is right. I will elaborate a bit.
As an undergrad, having an accepted paper is much more significant than having a rejected paper (i.e., the net perception is very positive even if they learn about both). Furthermore, rejection is probably temporary (you'll probably resubmit after improving it and it may get accepted) whereas acceptance is permanent.
Tell them about the acceptance. If they ask directly, tell them about the rejection. But there is no reason to feel obligated to broadcast a paper's rejection. The people reviewing your application certainly don't list their paper rejections when they apply for a job or a grant!
> 5 votes
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Tags: publications, graduate-admissions, research-undergraduate
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thread-15712 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15712 | How to balance academic reputation of PhD supervisor and teaching experience | 2014-01-13T00:34:35.163 | # Question
Title: How to balance academic reputation of PhD supervisor and teaching experience
When I read general recommendations on how to choose a PhD programme/advisor, it seems that many academics agree that one of the most important factors is the reputation of the advisor.
Next year, I may have the opportunity to undertake a PhD under the supervision of a "superstar" faculty who is considered an authority in his field. However, the professor in question recently moved to a university where the official language of instruction is one that I don't speak (though I would be allowed to write my thesis in english), and thus I would most likely not be able to gain teaching experience during this time.
Now, most job offers for postdoctoral or tenure-track professor positions that I see advertised online require a teaching statement and that one of the letters of recommendation address the teaching ability of the candidate.
In light of this, my question is the following: Is teaching experience for entry level academic jobs so important that it is always better to have a fair amount of it while completing a PhD no matter how well-reputed your potential supervisor could be?
# Answer
> 8 votes
I'd advise caution: completing a PhD with no teaching experience is risky, as you're putting all your eggs in the "research" basket.
As other answers mentioned, there certainly are jobs that don't necessarily require teaching experience. These are likely to be jobs in places where research is paramount; probably the top-tier research universities. There is massive competition for these jobs; the number of such jobs in such a year is at best a few percent of the number of new PhDs. Only the most successful researchers will have a chance at getting them, and if you don't turn out to be one of them (or discover you just don't enjoy research that much), you'll be out of luck in this arena.
At most of the remaining institutions, teaching is more important and experience will be valued, and you'll be in competition with candidates who have substantial experience. So if you don't have any, you may be out of luck here too.
(I don't share MHH's confidence that alternative teaching activities such as high school outreach will be viewed as similarly valuable by a search committee. Community college teaching might, but it also involves a higher level of responsibility and time commitment.)
That would leave only the bottom of the barrel of academic jobs: those who don't care too much about research accomplishments *or* teaching experience, and just need a warm body with a PhD. These won't be nice jobs: they'll have high teaching loads, low pay, and limited instructional support; and even so there's intense competition for them.
The remaining option would be to leave academia for industry.
So in summary, if you aren't able to gain meaningful teaching experience, you'll be committing yourself to aiming for the most difficult jobs to get, without much of a fallback plan (within academia) if that doesn't work out.
(Disclaimer: My experience is limited to the US, and mostly in mathematics. Things may be different elsewhere.)
# Answer
> 5 votes
Go where you can do the best research, and don't worry about teaching experience. I had no teaching experience whatsoever when I was hired as an assistant professor.
This could depend on your field: in my field (theoretical high-energy physics), postdoc applications almost never ask for a teaching statement, and postdocs don't teach. Junior faculty jobs do require a teaching statement, but my impression is that it's one of the less important elements of the application.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Do it! If you are worrying about the teaching experience you can always spend a summer at at an outreach program teaching motivated high school students, underserved community members, ect. That kind of teaching experience can lead to a very strong teaching statement even with no college teaching experience. But anyways, you should focus on your research, while faculty positions generally do require some proof that you aren't an awful teacher, postdocs for the most part do not. Often a postdoc is a person's first time teaching.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Mathematics in many language is the same, it's not that hard to learn if the language is reasonably close to what you know (French, Italian, Spanish, German are close to English). In any case, learning how to speak Foreigner is always a good thing.
So applies for research universities applications. If you are interested in teaching for liberal arts colleges, they really want a US teaching experience. Other countries typically have much better prepared students entering university, so your experience would be less interesting for them, because you would know how to teach more advanced students than the ones they have.
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Tags: phd, job-search
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thread-15697 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15697 | Is there such a thing as too much work for a Master's Thesis? | 2014-01-12T18:49:24.937 | # Question
Title: Is there such a thing as too much work for a Master's Thesis?
My thesis (Canadian Research Based, Computer Science), collects three separate research projects (with a tenuous connecting thread).
While collating these projects into a single document, I have looked into other theses coming out of my university and others in my field, and have realized that it's looking like my thesis is going to be very large. Probably twice the average length of others in my field.
Which makes me wonder: Did I do **too much** work for a thesis? Should I have pushed my supervisor, cancelled the final proposed project (#3) and graduated on the strength of the first two?
I'll be graduating 6 months after my target deadline, with multiple publications, and so burnt out that my initial plan to pursue a PhD has collapsed. Can't change the past, so I'm asking here mostly out of curiosity, and for other future students.
# Answer
It is not clear how to judge the "size" of a thesis (page length or word count is probably not very good), but one can clearly do too much research for a Masters or Doctorate. That said a factor of two difference is not really that big since there is always going to be a healthy overlap between the "largest" Master thesis and the "smallest" PhD thesis. If your Masters thesis is larger than the average PhD thesis and larger than the vast majority of Masters theses, then it is possibly too large.
As a student you need to be asking yourself why you are getting the qualification. Most students put in much more work than that which is required to simply graduate. You should make sure you push your supervisor to help you achieve your goals.
> 12 votes
# Answer
It is hard for me to understand some of your thinking. If your MSc thesis has already resulted in "multiple" publications, that means that you are actually closer to getting a PHD than most of your co-students, who have to start from scratch. A few weeks of rest, should be sufficient for you to actually recover from your "burnout", although it is quite unusual for students to actually refer to burnout from a MSC thesis. As multiple others (before me) have stated, the stress in a REAL job could be several orders of magnitude larger than the stress related with a bachelor or MSc degree (PHD is another case altogether). Also, the fact that a MSc thesis has provided multiple publications is also a good indicator that a) your supervisor knows what he is doing (which is a huge PLUS) b) you probably have what it takes to actually be successful in a future PHD.
Still, if you found the work for your thesis boring, stressful or simply too much for you, perhaps a PHD is not for you (and vice-versa). So, think it over (after some weeks of rest) on what you actually want. I am sure you will make the right choice (whatever that is) for you.
> 7 votes
# Answer
**As with many questions in academia, the answer is "It depends."**
*Too much* is a subjective term, but I think it probable that you did not put *too much* work into your thesis, in that the extra work should not cause the work to be of lesser quality, nor should you be judged negatively on the basis of having a larger than average thesis. Although there are limits as to how much extra work is beneficial and how much may be perceived as an attempt at padding; in general, having done more research will be a plus no matter what your plans for the future.
**However**--and this is the 'it depends' part--you have probably put too much work into the thesis if the following apply to you.
* You have lost the continuity and focus of your work. (How tenuous is the connection between your several projects? Is it a long stretch to connect them in the same work, or are they just different views/portions of the same problem?)
* You had to neglect other important aspects of your life to complete the third project.
* You have done research that would better have waited for the PhD program. (This point is debatable; the amount of work that is needed for a successful PhD thesis is a hotly debated topic, and it is not clear whether it is generally an advantage to have done doctoral level research now.)
* You are facing a long-term burnout as a result of over-work during your Master thesis. Don't jump to this conclusion too quickly--take some time off, and give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing except be lazy and have fun. Even a week of this total vacation can do wonders to relieve the stress that we over-achievers put on ourselves!
Ultimately only you can decide whether or not you have put in *too much* work on your Master's thesis. But before you decide that this is the case (and also before you give up on attaining a PhD), take a break, recuperate, and give yourself a chance to see the world through less-stressed eyes!
> 5 votes
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Tags: publications, graduate-school, thesis
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thread-5109 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5109 | Is it accepted to cite an entire issue of a journal? | 2012-11-02T10:22:19.190 | # Question
Title: Is it accepted to cite an entire issue of a journal?
There exist review journals that every now and then publish a thematic issue on a given topic. For example, *Chemical Reviews* does so: one thematic issue (see e.g. this one) includes an editorial and a number of invited review on the main topic.
When writing the introduction of a research paper, one can start by summing up the recent developments in the field, and then explain the reasoning behind the paper being written (*“People have looked at application of molecules X and Y to reactions A, B and C, but so far noöne has evidenced any benefit of using them for reaction D. We here show that they lead to a spectacular 270% improvement over current yields”*). When writing the broader part of the introduction, one might be tempted to include many references to recent reviews on the topic. However, when many reviews come from the same thematic issue of a journal, it becomes a bit ridiculous. So…
Is it an accepted practice to include a reference to an entire issue of a journal?
> Special issue of *Chem. Rev.* on “Giant molecules for catalysis”, **2010**, issue 8.
Alternatively, is it adequate to cite the editorial of the thematic issue? Or do individual papers need to be cited, at the risk of making a long string of citations? Like so:
> Lots of research has focused on applications of these molecules to A\[1\], B\[2\], C\[3\], D\[4\], E\[5\] and F\[6\]
where refs. 1-6 are all to sequential papers in the same issue of the same journal.
# Answer
> 21 votes
It seems tempting to cite only the issue of a journal when it contains several articles that you want to refer to from your introduction. Especially so if it is a special issue directly related to your paper. As to your question whether it is an accepted practice, I haven't seen so, but it could depend on the field of research of course.
Personally, I would advise against using such citations for two main reasons:
* You should always try to cite as specific as possible. If you support a stated fact with a citation, the reader should be directed to this fact as directly as possible. In your example of the giant molecules, a reader may be more interested in application A than in giant molecules in general, so it will be helpful if you cite more specifically.
* Citations are the basis for many measures of academic impact, and I doubt that citations to journal issues are counted in these measures. The authors of the articles that you intend to cite with a reference to a whole journal issue will certainly not be pleased with this, because you restrain a source of academic reputation for them.
# Answer
> 3 votes
As has been indicated from other answers, it is generally not acceptable, or a good idea. When you reference materials you need to specific so that the reader cane trace your sources. There is, however, one exception that I can think of and it concerns thematic or special issues.
As you say, some journals issue issues devoted to papers adhering to specific topic or theme. This can be a set of invited papers around a specific question, or a selection of papers coming out from a workshop or symposia session. Often such issues are tied together by an editorial explaining the theme and the contributions of the individual papers to that theme.
It is possible to reference such issues rather than the individual papers if the issue can be seen as contributing a collective view. This can, for example, be a state of the art view of the topic. The point is that the issue becomes similar to, for example, an edited book rather than individual papers and the referencing concerns the collective contribution of papers, not the individual. As soon as something needs to be sourced from a paper within the issue the paper needs to be referenced, the issue reference is then not sufficient.
So it is possible to reference entire journal issues but only for very specific (or actually general) purposes, not to replace referencing a bunch of individual paper from which ideas have been gained. This makes the use quite limited and pointing at a source for information rather than the information itself.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Citations along the lines of see X for a review are meaningless in my opinion and should be avoided. I believe, you should only be citing novel and specific findings. I would even steer away from citing the individual articles in a special issue because they tend to rehash old material and you are better off citing the original source.
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Tags: publications, citations, review-articles
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thread-15682 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15682 | Frustration in getting admission into PhD Computer Science, with background MSc Geospatial Science & BTech Computer Science | 2014-01-12T11:18:19.367 | # Question
Title: Frustration in getting admission into PhD Computer Science, with background MSc Geospatial Science & BTech Computer Science
Am presently really frustrated in getting a supervisor and admission into PhD Computer Science in any University in Europe or US. I recently graduated with MSc Geospatial Science with distinction (cgpa 4.8/5) and I have Bachelors in Computer Science. Ever since I finished my masters have been seeking a PhD admission in computer science in any average schools in europe or US, but all to no avail. I have 3 research papers in top international journal, I even had a research proposal of likely topic relating to Mobile Computing & Mobile GIS, and i seriously think the frustration is weighing me down, please is there something am not doing right or there is any other method of getting a supervisor apart from contacting them through email.
# Answer
At all decent universities. Ph.D. admission is competitive. Apply following the official procedures to a dozen universities. Make sure your application file really is complete and on time at each. You will not be admitted based on contacting faculty informally.
> -2 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-school, graduate-admissions, computer-science
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thread-15739 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15739 | Is it appropriate as a referee to contact an author after the editor rejected the manuscript? | 2014-01-13T15:59:22.850 | # Question
Title: Is it appropriate as a referee to contact an author after the editor rejected the manuscript?
This is related to this question, but it is more a special case of it.
I reviewed a manuscript, which was submitted to a reputable traditional journal. The journal has a single-blind review system. I liked the manuscript a lot, as it was closely related to my research interests. However, the authors did not do a great job in reporting the manuscript, and I provided a long review with several suggestions for improving the report.
I suggested major revisions, but the editor rejected the paper. That is ok for me; it is the editor's responsibility to take such decisions. What is important is that the process is now closed.
By re-reading my review together with the other two referee's reviews, I came up with a couple other suggestions that I truly believe would benefit to the manuscript. **Would it be a bad practice to contact the authors now that the paper is no longer under review?** I do not mind unveiling my identity, and I would do that only because I want to advance the research in the paper. That is, I just want to help them.
# Answer
> 10 votes
It sounds like a good thing to do, **since the reviewing process for this journal is over**. I would certainly appreciate it if I where the author of that article (passed the frustration that generally follows article rejection).
It's almost certain that it will be submitted somewhere else, so your (free) inputs will benefit the authors and the community.
This is valid, of course, only if you are **not reviewer again** in the next submission, you should definitely decline if it happens.
# Answer
> 15 votes
One important consideration is whether the paper is publicly available (for example, being circulated on the web as a preprint). If it is, then it's perfectly reasonable to get in touch with the authors and offer suggestions. You don't need to address the question of how you heard about the paper if you don't want to. If you do want to reveal yourself as a reviewer, I think it's fine, but I've run across people who disagree about this.
It's much trickier if the existence of the paper is itself confidential. If for some reason I submitted a paper without circulating it publicly, and then after rejection a referee contacted me privately with detailed suggestions for improvement, I would feel uncomfortable. It would look a little too much like an attempt to become involved in the research or writing, and I would wonder whether the referee might take offense if I just said "thanks for the suggestions" and didn't engage in further discussion or collaboration.
If you have confidential knowledge about a paper, then you must not even appear to be using it for your own benefit. For example, you can't ask to start a collaboration or try to find out more about this research.
If there's no public preprint, then it's safest to make contact through the editor, and at the very least you should ask the editor about what you intend to do (the editor may well object, and in any case you need to avoid seeming secretive about it). Even if the editor approves, you should be careful, since innocent actions may be misinterpreted.
# Answer
> 10 votes
Once a paper has been either accepted or rejected and is, so to speak, through the system, there is nothing that should prevent contact between author and reviewer. One problem is that it is sometimes difficult as a reviewer to know if a paper has been rejected since such decisions are not declared openly and are known only to the journal and the author(s). It is the non-appearance of the finished product that signals rejection. This is true even if you provided a suggestion for rejection since you do not know what the second (or more) reviewer suggested and how the editors decided.
This means you should probably go through the editor therefore you contact the author to make sure you do not complicate the processing of a paper that might still be under consideration within the journal. Contacting the editor and explaining your intent will clear all such potential "hazards".
# Answer
> 0 votes
Maybe you should ask yourself the question: "do I want to exchange or collaborate with these guys ?" When I read things such as (I'm quoting you)
> * it was closely related to my research interests
> * I came out with a couple other suggestions
> * I care for the research in the topic to advance
> * I would like to let the authors contact me back
I get the feeling that you might well answer "yes", it really sounds like a good prospect for them and for you. In that case, you really should create a contact.
Revealing yourself as the referee X of their freshly rejected paper is however a bit hazardous, because you don't know how they have felt the reviewing process. They might believe that you, referee X, also sent privately words to the editor suggesting rejection. You won't be able to know that until the authors know you and trust you, this is why it seems more reasonable to remain, at least for a while, under cover. If after some time exchanging with them you feel confident enough that there is no resentment, you *may* reveal yourself, but I would suggest not to do it.
The question is therefore not solved at all: how to contact them? An idea: Read through their website, homepages, previous publications and look for keywords that you would use for a google search. Enter them in google and try to obtain some of these web pages or articles among the first google results. Then write an email starting by a short introduction of yourself and explaining (very) briefly how you found their names and stating that you are interesting in exchanging with them. Use some keywords as hooks, show enthusiasm and suggest some ideas, but do it in such a way, they don't figure out that you very much more about them. That will be an acrobatic e-mail!
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Tags: peer-review, etiquette, anonymity
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thread-9318 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/9318 | How often do you email a supervisor? | 2013-04-12T14:00:52.110 | # Question
Title: How often do you email a supervisor?
I'm doing a PhD related to my supervisor's research area. Sometimes, I think about problems that I do not immediately know the answer to. Naturally, I come to Stack Exchange and other forums and ask :) But on some occasions, the question is rather specific so I email my supervisor instead.
How often do you generally email a supervisor about research questions? I know he has other PhD students plus his own research to do. I have a weekly 45 min meeting with him, so I try to save questions for that and give a report to him about what I did in the previous week. On very rare occasions, he comes down to the lab and we talk in person. I usually email him when there is some administrative stuff we need to talk about, but I'm asking about research questions here or about giving updates about the progress of my research.
# Answer
> 34 votes
When you email him, at your current rate, how often do you get responses? Has he indicated that it bothers him? (either directly or by showing signs that it annoys him) If not, why are you worried about it?
I'll add that the right question to ask is probably not ***how often** can I email him?”*, but rather *“am I emailing him with the **right questions**?”*. What will definitely annoy your advisor, and pretty much any other person, is if you ask them series of questions to which you could have found the answer yourself, or questions whom they are not the right person to ask.
# Answer
> 8 votes
You mention a weekly meeting with him. At the very least this means that when you have a research question you will have to wait 6 days before having an answer. My 2 cents is that you can wait, you cannot ask for help with only a few days of work on a research question.
If what you call a research question is not really a research question (for instance how to make a specific experiment), you may consider asking to other students and postdocs.
edit : and as for the updates, if your supervisor decided on a weekly meeting, don't send him email about updates, except if you have a revolutionary breakthrough.
# Answer
> 4 votes
The simple answer is:
## Not more than he wants.
You must be very sensitive to when you annoy him, and **don't annoy him**.
Even if he wants his interactions with and about you not to be flavored by his (occasional) annoyance, which is rare, he's still human, and they will be.
Any other answer will be defective, not knowing how much will annoy him. Many don't mind, or even enjoy, responding to one email per day, and some will find that obnoxious. You might even try asking him something like "if I have questions between our meetings, and want to email you, is that OK?" You can probably judge from his response a good starting point.
Also, realize that **NOT ALL EMAILS ARE THE SAME**.
A 2-sentence email that is clear, concise, to the point, and asks a single question with a definite answer that he already knows and can give you a 2-word answer "counts" much less than a long, rambling mini-essay that asks him to analyze, or worse, research something and give a multi-part reply.
Personally, I try to make sure each email asks a single question, and can be read and answered in 2 minutes or less (preferably 30 seconds). I also find I get a lot more (and more useful) answers to such emails than when I let them get longer. Also, I find that as long as I keep to that format, even 2 or 3 emails in a day is not too many for most people. OTOH, even one rambling email per week is too many for most.
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Tags: phd, advisor
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thread-15693 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15693 | Hard new ideas VS Hard technical ideas? | 2014-01-12T16:48:00.187 | # Question
Title: Hard new ideas VS Hard technical ideas?
I'm a CS master student. During my early days looking for a thesis I noticed two categories of projects:
1. Projects a about completely new idea.
2. Projects about improving an existing technical concept.
By the first one I mean completely new stuff (something I'm doing now as my thesis). Such projects require intensive thinking to formulate them and put them into academic contexts and logics. While a lot of the time will be used to try and test new things as well as justyfing and putting the results into proper academic context and logic, very few time could be spent learning *advanced stuff* regarding your field.
In the other kinds of projects one would need to improve the running time of an algorithm or its performance. Such projects would require the student to go into very deep stuff regarding his field and become really advanced.
Now that I'm doing the first kinds of projects, I started to feel unconfident about myself and my skills when I see how the skills of other students who worked on the second type became. The reason behind that is I feel that my effort doesn't show up to people when they will probably read my thesis. Because they won't see advanced mathematics and algorithms as in the second type. How should I deal with this personal problem?
# Answer
> 1 votes
In general, the answer is: Provide the landscape of your field, and show how the new-ground you are covering is missed by other people who passed the question by.
If your thesis is a branch of of another topic, then show where the branching occurs, and how people on the dominant branch missed it; If your topic is truly novel, then show the problem its solving and why you found it interesting enough to spend a year or more of your life on it.
I have a feeling that intuitively you know the answers to these questions; get them out and people will understand why your thesis has worth.
90% of the advice from your last question still applies; It's incredibly difficult to do an apples to apples comparison between degrees, even under the same supervisor.
The crux of this question in my mind, which prevents it from being a duplicate, is how to present new-ground while avoiding comparisons to other work which has a stronger theoretical background.
A important part of the answer is almost certainly going to be 'Sit down and **talk** with your supervisor about this concern'. That's what they are there for. They will have a clear view of how this will fit into the landscape of the field, and will be able to help you avoid the feelings of theoretical inadequacy.
# Answer
> 0 votes
The best idea (personally) is to focus on what you feel the most confident with. If you are not 100% passionate about the new idea (point #1) then you'll be much better off working on improvement of an existing idea (point #2).
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Tags: masters, academic-life
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thread-15796 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15796 | Shortened version of a math book (without proofs) | 2014-01-15T04:48:42.483 | # Question
Title: Shortened version of a math book (without proofs)
I've authored a math research monograph (which can be however used as a textbook, as it is structured like a textbook).
Is it worth to make short version of it containing only definitions and theorems (no proofs) in the natural pedagogical order (not the order of proofs, as in the actual book)?
Will it be legal after copyright transfer?
# Answer
You'll have to talk with your publisher (and lawyer) about what rights you retain after transfer.
> 3 votes
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Tags: mathematics, writing, copyright, books, monograph
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thread-15782 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15782 | Master's Thesis unexpectedly going south but admitted into PhD program next fall | 2014-01-15T01:04:26.707 | # Question
Title: Master's Thesis unexpectedly going south but admitted into PhD program next fall
I was recently admitted into a PhD program, and am currently a MSc Student. Both me and my advisor expected me to graduate this spring, which would mark the 4th semester. Because of that, I applied to PhD programs, and got into a good one. But now I think I might need a bit longer to complete the Thesis portion of it; I could switch to MA which is course based and head on to PhD 1) I am not sure if they will still accept me if I do not have an MSc (the strength of my application was the skills I learned during my thesis) and 2) I want to finish my thesis, because well, I want to publish the results and am interested in it.
What are my options? Many programs do not allow deference, and getting into a PhD program is so hard to begin with.
Thank you for your time.
# Answer
> 6 votes
I don't know the details of your situation, but the conventional advice would probably be:
1. Pound out a thesis that's good enough for your advisor to let you graduate. It doesn't need to be outstanding or publishable, or include every idea you've considered. It just has to get you the masters.
2. Start your PhD program on time.
3. If the project still interests you, continue working on it in your spare time. Stay in contact with your masters advisor. When it's far enough along to publish, do so (perhaps with your masters advisor as a co-author).
# Answer
> 1 votes
To add to what Nate said, explain your entire situation to your thesis advisor. You might be surprised how sympathetic they are and willing to give advice on how to get through the minimum. Unfortunately, a lot of PhD studies is about getting through the minimum.
I have just myself reached the point where I can stop taking classes and focus on my research, but that took almost two years beyond my masters... so basically 4 years of graduate 400/500 level coursework.
First and second years went like this: get excited about classes starting, first week introductions and orientation, gradually become consumed by all the coursework, become a zombie from lack of sleep, taper off and start to question my sanity, then blitz to the end to finish final projects. In my 3rd and 4th years, I was on my iPad halfway listening to the lecture because the coursework was like a programming language: same principals with a different syntax.
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Tags: graduate-school, graduate-admissions
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thread-15640 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15640 | Reasons to do MS before applying for US PhD? | 2014-01-11T08:36:21.673 | # Question
Title: Reasons to do MS before applying for US PhD?
I'm a Software Engineering (BS) graduate with first class honors, and I want to attend a US PhD program on artificial intelligence (international applicant). I know MS is not a prerequisite for a PhD in the U.S.
However, I'm considering doing MS at a local university (not in US) for the following reasons:
1. Publish some papers under my name during that time
2. Get recommendations from good professors (Currently I don't have anyone who is aware of my work)
3. Obtain good mathematical background
4. As sneak peek on doing "independent research"
Do you think the above given reasons are good reasons for me to follow MS or do you think that is a waste of time?
Appreciate your opinion as I'm confused on making a decision.
# Answer
> 1 votes
I think you have already listed many good reasons for completing an MS before a PhD.
For one, it can give you an introduction to a field of study on a graduate level. That allows you to be introduced to many of the more prominent people in the field, some of which you might find out are worth studying under. In that case, it would only help you when it comes time to apply.
If you publish and then subsequently present at a conference, then you can meet with a lot of other faculty from schools you're interested in, and you can strike up a conversation. In turn, you can stay in touch with that person and visit them later when it comes time to apply for the program. They may in turn vouch for you during the admissions review.
It is common for PhD students to have already completed an MS, even if its at another school. And, virtually all programs will take that into consideration and credit you 30 hours of coursework towards a PhD completion, so long as the courses are directly relevant to the PhD program.
I learned halfway through my first year of PhD studies that as far as my university is considered, there is no differentiation between a MS and a PhD student, we are all part of the Graduate College. So all of the MS hours are in effect graduate hours, and thusly they are also PhD hours.
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Tags: phd, graduate-school, masters, united-states
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thread-14584 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14584 | DBA vs. PhD Perception within Academia | 2013-12-07T01:40:27.210 | # Question
Title: DBA vs. PhD Perception within Academia
In my field (business administration) there are two main terminal degrees. One is a DBA (doctorate of business administration) and one is a PhD (business admin, economics, etc.). A DBA is focused on the application of theories (within a business) as opposed to the generation of new theories.
Is there any published research on the perception between these two terminal degrees? I'm concerned that a DBA is viewed as a "poor-man's PhD." While I am interested in what hiring committees think I am also concerned about the perceptions across academia.
# Answer
While the experience that individual has gained throughout the course of their career is the best indicator of whether an individual has earned the respect of their peers, my impression is that the PhD title is generally more recognized with the public at large (basically those unfamiliar with how advanced degrees are awarded within academic institutions). This is purely a social construct that isn't germane to the field of advanced study.
I see the issue as someone calling a chiropractor a "Doctor" even though there is no award of an MD, or not understanding that a D.O. and an M.D. are basically the same thing.
Now, some universities in Europe do not traditionally award a "PhD" because they have a different three letter acronym for their doctorates. That does not mean that the individual is any less accomplished, its just a different system than the one in the US.
Perhaps one way to explain it to your students is to note what other fields have a similar award. In law, there are Juris Doctorates and PhDs; and in art there are MFAs and PhDs. The primary distinction appears to be what you have already recognized, that one is more about application than research.
To be a bit snarky, there are some fields of study altogether that do not get much appreciation, education being the main one with the award of the D.Ed. I do see some eye rolling when that one comes up, but I've also seen eye rolling from guys in the so called "pure" or "hard" sciences and their opinions of anyone in the humanities or "soft" sciences.
**As to directly answer your question**, Yes, there are published articles discussing the "perception" of one degree over another. I took a quick stroll on Google Scholar and found a number of published, peer-reviewed articles discussing this very question.
Here is one titled, "Doctoral Differences: Professional doctorates and PhDs compared".
> 3 votes
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Tags: phd
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thread-15722 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15722 | conflicted whether to transfer or not | 2014-01-13T04:56:41.397 | # Question
Title: conflicted whether to transfer or not
I am a college sophomore and I am debating transferring out of my current school, Hunter college. My GPA is 3.56 and I am a CS and psychology major, concentration of behavioral neuroscience.
Now, I have always been interested in research but the resources in my school seems very tight and my overall experience has been very unsatisfying. My ultimate goal is to try out for MD/PhD program with a background in BCI (Brain computer interface) but my school offers no program in any close proximation.
So, should I transfer out or hold on until the end of my 4 years? And also is my GPA reasonable to transfer into better schools like NYU or WakeForest University?
*Should I focus on graduating from my current school or plan to transfer to a more prestigious school?*
# Answer
> 2 votes
I am not an expert in neuroscience or BCI. However, I found BP-Endure program where your current school Hunter College is a major partner.
On their web page,
> During the academic year students will work with a research mentor at Hunter or NYU and during the summer in one of the partnering institutions. The BP-ENDURE program selects students from both Hunter College and NYU to participate. **Hunter** students will receive funding in the form of tuition remission and a stipend during the academic year and will also receive summer funding.
I am not sure why you said *the resources in my school seems very tight* and *my school offers no program in any close proximation*. Are you having difficulty getting into that program?
Transferring to another school may cost you a lot than what you'll gain. You may lose the credits you already have and retake courses you have taken plus your financial loss. However, if you have other difficulties with your current school(which you have not mentioned), then transferring may be an option for you.
My advice for **you** specifically, stay there and study hard, grab any opportunity to enter into the BP-Endure program.
**In general**, however, if your research area requires resources you don't have in your current school, it's worth considering transferring. You need to weigh on the cost vs. gain. You can either stay in the current school acquiring fundamental knowledge and apply to a graduate school where you would have better resources after you graduate, or transfer to another undergraduate school with **much better** resources.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I transferred schools during undergraduate under a similar situation, but with a different academic focus. The school I ended up transferring into was far more competitive, so I got what I wanted.
Unfortunately, I also ended up staying in the program for an additional year because the school I transferred into required that I take *their* version of the same courses.
When I finally graduated, I was proud that I was pushed harder and learned more, but found that many of the same opportunities existed despite having gone to a better university.
I have since completed a masters without any intentions of continuing towards a PhD, but I found that I do enjoy research, so now I am in the second year of my PhD studies. Actually, I regret having entered into the PhD program but that is beside the point.
The lessons that I've learned from about 8 years of college at this point are that undergraduate research appointments are... well... not all they're cracked up to be.
The better research opportunities are available for masters students, and the best for PhD students, and even that is a completely relative situation depending on a huge number of factors. I've seen two of my fellow PhD students transfer universities after their professor took a job elsewhere. I've seen PhD students in very competitive departments get stuck with a lame professor; and I've likewise seen PhD students in lame departments find an awesome professor.
And, to make research opportunities more difficult to gauge: its commonly known amongst graduate students that the pecking order for research appointments benefits the PhDs the most, and the undergraduates the least. Often the undergraduates are used for all the crap nobody else wants to do, and while learning the basics might be good for an undergraduate, the work is usually tedious, boring and repetitive.
Masters students are usually given more application based work, which is really good for honing skills, and the PhDs are given the more theoretical work, which even then can be a professors sloppy seconds.
The best advice I can give you is to stay exactly where you and look for research opportunities with a professor that you really enjoy and want for mentorship. If you have a particular project in mind, then do an independent study with them. Having a solid GPA and having demonstrated an individual drive *can* speak volumes more than attaching yourself to a bunch of names (though I don't underestimate the name attachment in academia).
EDIT: As a second thought, I can't tell you how much it sucked switching universities and becoming distant with those friendships I made. Yeah, I made new friends that were also really awesome, but starting over can be lonely.
# Answer
> 0 votes
It's all about what you accomplish - whether you stay where you are or transfer. Yes, if you can transfer to a school with a stronger reputation and hit the ground running, that *may* put you in a better position. That said, it's not going to be easy to transfer in with only a fairly high GPA at a less-rigorous school, and you'll lose some time in making the transition/adjusting.
A transfer can be a warning sign - is this someone with a pattern of not finishing what they start, or was this an isolated, carefully-considered, strategic choice? If the latter, no problem.
When I consider applicants, what they do (e.g. specific field) is far less important than how they advance and accomplish, what aptitude they have demonstrated for gaining new skills and working with a team. I'm sure there are things that could be accomplished at your current school, even if the topic is not your first choice. The letters from mentors carry a lot of weight. It takes time to establish strong relationships after a transfer - keep that in mind if you already have an advocate on the faculty at your current school (and consider getting their advice on this).
There is no *right* or *wrong* decision; regardless of whether you stay or go, the real challenge is making the most of the available resources and developing strong mentors among the faculty.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Well your GPA seems very good and i feel you can get admission in any other college. If you think you are not satisfied with the performance of your institute then there is no point of staying there because at the back of your mind you will always be thinking that you could have been to some better place. I believe that you should have been more cautious before choosing your institute because switching it is a bit difficult task. If you would have assured before admission that an institute is accredited as per standards, http://www.iao.org/iao/institutional-accreditation/, then you would have an enhanced sense of credibility. My advice is to look for another institute which you feel is as per global standards.
# Answer
> -4 votes
Don't transfer. Try to learn to make use of the available resources. Focus on **hard work** and **your own research**. Sometimes studying a difficult book is more rewarding than having access to high-tech instruments and possibly not really understanding how they work.
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Tags: research-process, university, undergraduate
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thread-15486 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15486 | Difference between grants and awards | 2014-01-08T01:54:35.763 | # Question
Title: Difference between grants and awards
The tag currently has the description "Academic grants are non-repayable funds disbursed by government, trust, foundation or a society." The tag currently has no description.
I am currently in the process of formally naming the forms of monetary support that my university's research council is providing to its employees. My question is:
> Is there any formal document that describes the difference between a grant and an award?
I'm also interested in how the terms *grant* and *award* differ from other terms such as *incentive*, *fellowship*, *scholarship*, *professorial chair*, and so on.
For example, I know that one who is applying for a grant submits a proposal to be able to get funding for an activity that has not yet been done. I also know that some awards require nominations (and some disallow self-nomination) and are given for work that has already been done. I know that grants usually require liquidation of the monetary support given; I am not sure if the same is true for awards. Grants sometimes have clauses where the recipient is to return the monetary support if he or she fails to submit the expected outputs; I am not sure if the same is true for awards.
# Answer
> 12 votes
I think you basically answered your own question: grants are something where you apply and get money based on what you say you will do. Awards are something you get for work you already did. Some awards do not include any money. I doubt you'll find an authoritative document, because there's no organization that sets rules for the entire academic community. I could image a certain amount of overlap/fuzz, so there could be things that one school/organization calls a grant that somewhere else might call an award.
A confusing additional fact is that the term "award" is also often used as a verb applied to the noun "grant", as in "Professor X was awarded a grant for . . .". I would not call this "an award" in the noun sense; it is a grant, and "awarding a grant" means "giving a grant" or "deciding who gets a grant". To me "an award" is the sort of thing described with "Professor X won the ABC Award for . . ."
Here is a page talking about grants vs. "gifts" that restates some of the distinctions you already mentioned, but this is just one accounting context at one university.
# Answer
> 9 votes
For the United States of America's NIH and NSF, a grant is a contractual agreement for work that will be done, with payments in anticipation of the work. An award is the actual funds. This description of the NIH Notice of Award and this one from NSF may illustrate the distinction.
Update: Here is an additional document from NIH entitled, "Awards Conditions and Information for NIH Grants" that underscores the distinction I've already made.
# Answer
> 4 votes
I don't think there is a distinction, and if there is, it is very subtle. Looking at the US NIH list of Types of Grant Programs a subset of the activity codes considered "research grants" include
> R01 NIH Research Project Grant Program (R01)
>
> R15 NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)
>
> R21 NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21)
So some grants are grants and some are awards and some are both.
In addition to "grants" the NIH has a line of K-Awards. The names of these do not ever use the term "grant, but the FOA generally says that the funding type is "Grant". For example for the K01
> Funding Instrument - Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.
Once you bring Fellowships into the game, things get even crazier. The NIH has the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA). The F32 is an award, fellowship, and grant while the T32 is an award and a grant, but not a fellowship.
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Tags: funding, awards
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thread-15828 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15828 | When should you stop "doubling down"? | 2014-01-15T15:51:55.910 | # Question
Title: When should you stop "doubling down"?
At what point should a student decide they shouldn't try to be a researcher anymore, assuming they still have the desire? My personal situation is that I have ample cognitive ability (in the opinion of my professors and me), but the "mental" side just doesn't seem up to the challenge and my grades are sporatic, even as an undergraduate. I would have to drop a lot of money on a Master's program to get into a PhD program highly ranked enough to possibly make it research-wise, but that would only (possibly!) work if I succeed. Part of me feels like indulging my dream further would just build up to a worse let-down, even though I have no competing priorities such as creating a family, becoming rich, etc.
# Answer
No one can answer this question but you.
Having said that, some points to ponder:
* There exist funded research based masters programs. Depending on the field and geography they will vary substantially in quality, but *conceivably* you could delay answering that question by going somewhere for a Masters and seeing how well that goes.
* Grades are going to have an effect on you getting in. In terms of success, what really matters is grit. Smarts get you somewhere, but you need to learn to tolerate challenge and failure to succeed in research.
* If you have nothing else on your plate, in terms of family or ambitions, then now is the time to experiment with possible paths. So long as you don't define your self-worth based on success in a PhD, the worst that could happen is you decide research isn't for you.
* Is it research you want to do, or is research just the only entrance into a field you can see. Sometimes people think they want to do research, but it's because that is the only job they know in that field. Maybe spend some time thinking about alternative entrances into the field you're interested in!
> 10 votes
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Tags: phd
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thread-15820 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15820 | What do I do if I feel there are many things which need to be learnt to do my research? | 2014-01-15T12:26:59.387 | # Question
Title: What do I do if I feel there are many things which need to be learnt to do my research?
I am a second year PhD student in probability from the UK. I enjoy what I do, but here is a problem:
as I dig deep into my study, I realize I have to read a lot of stuff I do not fully understand and they often arise in fields of study which are not probability, but related areas: e.g. PDE theory, functional analysis.
I have a basic understandings about some of these things, sometimes I might even feel I have enough to get by, but I am unsatisfied. This is perhaps due to the fact I never studied some of these topics as an undergraduate, but to be fair, no one told me an understanding of PDE theory is very useful to probability (I even think this only depends on what you do)
I do want to know more and previously I tried to attend multiple courses in a term to make up for some of this - this was not effective. Going to 1 or 2 courses a term is fine, but doing any more is a big drain of time if I want to fully understand the material lecture.
So have others experienced this? What is the best way of getting around this?
# Answer
> so have others experienced this?
Basically **every** smart person feels like that when starting their studies. The majority of the people for which this is not true are usually not the second coming of Terence Tao or Dr. Sheldon Cooper, but simply affected by the Dunning-Kruger Effect. You are not supposed to know everything, and in fact you never will. You already have a head start on your colleagues, who have simply not yet discovered (or wilfully ignore) that they do not fully comprehend many of the seminal papers in your or related fields. You, at least, can work on this in order to produce better research.
> what is the best way of getting around this?
There is no *getting around* this. To paraphrase the title of your question, many things **are** to be learned. That's part of doing a PhD. The trick is to **learn what you will really need for your research**, and to not get lost in the things that are interesting but ultimately not relevant to you. This requires some experience. Hopefully, your advisor or a postdoc will put you on track of what to focus on for now.
As funny as the advice mentioned by @dgraziotin above sounds - in practice, what you really need to develop is a good mental filter to select the 15 or so papers from a 30k papers field that are really relevant to to you.
> 16 votes
# Answer
Man... I have this problem on an hourly base. Here I will throw a bunch of "strategies" I have been accumulating for you to consider.
**Sleep on it**
Seriously. If I have to actually learn everything I think I should learn, I'd need to be live beyond 480 years old. And since the more you learn, the more you don't know... this route is not viable.
A lot of the times, I suppressed the impulse and slept on it. In the process I usually think about this questions:
1. Do I need to learn this or do I want to learn this? Would the new knowledge make my work complete or make it better?
2. Can the piece stand alone fine without it? Can it still contribute to the research questions I need to answer?
3. Can I explain what I wouldn't learn as a potential extension/development in the Discussion section? Perhaps other people can work on it?
Usually after a couple rounds of iteration, I could ditch most of what I wanted to learn, and focus on learning the skills that would make my projects a complete project.
**Keep a wish list**
Be it a go or not, I always write that down whenever I thought I need to know something. I use EverNote to document all these strayed thoughts. And if I come across any relevant materials (review articles, short courses, software, etc,) I'll document them with the same tags.
**Draw a skill tree**
It also pays off to sit down and analysis what are your knowledge and skill sets. A skill tree is simply just a conceptual framework or mind map that links up your skills and domain knowledge. Some people may grow a big deep-rooted tree while some may favor a garden of little bit of everything. We need both types of people but generally I would consider in academia it is better to have a good big tree with some side bushes.
Now, you can focus on a few major branches, what are the domain knowledge? What are the skills associated with them? And what are the applications that are associated with each skill? I found it easier to start with my courses I have taken and the syllabi of those courses. You can also consider using some competencies published by professional organization as a blueprint.
For myself, my big tree is statistical analysis applied in biomedical studies. If someone asks me to work on a project about, say, psychometrics, which is part statistics part psychology... I may return to look at my trees and think if this new skill will make a logical branch, or it's too far off. And if it's too far off, is it worth to plant a new one for this? And what kind of root (aka basic courses or books) do I need to plant? Then decide if it's a go or not.
I found this exercise pretty useful because i) it's therapeutic, you may be amazed by your domain knowledge. And you're likely going to feel better about yourself. And ii) having a bird view network helps a lot on deciding the relevance of the desired skills.
**Think return of investment**
Before diving into the skill, think how much the skill can help you back. There are many sides to consider:
1. Will it lead to higher competitiveness or salary?
2. Will it complement/strengthen your skill tree? Would there be any synergy?
3. Can you re-purpose or re-use this skill? How versatile it is?
4. Will I be using this skill enough to rip the benefit of the time and resource I spent in the learn process? etc.
Return of investment exercise is best done when you have competing desired skills to learn. Put them side by side, design a rubric if you must, and evaluate which one is better to go for.
**Gathering good resources is 80% of the game**
Okay... after much thought, we decided to learn a skill. When learning a new skill the major problem is not knowing where to start. I usually perform this beginning rituals:
1. Read up on Wikipedia or other encyclopedia to acquire general lingo.
2. Read a couple relevant review articles.
3. Schedule a meeting with a someones proficient in that skill/knowledge and ask for a few recommendations on i) text book, ii) journals, iii) controversies, and iv) prominent schools of thought and researchers in the field.
4. Search for some syllabi that teach these knowledge and document their text books, software, course structure, etc. Those usually give you a good sense on what to cover.
5. Gather all materials, and start working on it.
**Immerse at least 20 hours into it with undivided attention**
This is a slight modification of Kaufman's The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything... Fast!. The book itself is not super groundbreaking but Kaufman also pulled a stunt journalism and explained how he learned some new skills and brought them up to functional level in 20 hours. It's an entertaining read, but what I got away from it is the importance of preparation and immersion.
I usually spread my learning into many 90-minute chunk, and then make sure to enter these blocks first at the start of every week. I laid out what I need to learn, read, do exercises, watch videos, perform self-evaluation, talk to others (e.g. your committee members or other scholars)... It's actually pretty amazing looking at how I become a half-baked specialist in a matter of week.
In the learning process, I focus on learning the basics really well, and I write down a lot of questions (for me or my specialist friends to answer later.) I also try to figure out the flow the ideas and their connections. When working on a problem I don't insist of getting it right, but I do insist on getting why it's wrong.
**Compose a self-learning syllabus every 6 months**
Every semester I also compose a self-learning syllabus. Basically I design courses for myself. I started doing this last year because I was getting tired always having to catch up with tasks that require me to learn new skills. I wanted to turn the table: I am going to learn some skills that I chose, and I'll look for opportunities in the tasks that I can apply what I learn and enrich the contents. I feel that being even just very so slightly more proactive has injected a good sense of control into my life.
**Closing remarks**
I can't say I am a successful learner, but I am moving along bit by bit. Action, even just very little each time, is the most important ingredient. Hikers may know this feeling... all the hills look so darn tall, but once you stepped onto the trail, the scenery was great, the air was fresh, and suddenly you forgot to wonder how tall the hill was.
> 16 votes
# Answer
If your question is:
> How do I learn (quickly) all the material that I need in order to be proficient in my area
then Penguin\_Knight's answer has some excellent suggestions.
If the question is also
> How do I avoid feelings of despair and hopelessness when I think of how much I have to learn
then the trick is to change the premise. You're not acquiring knowledge in a Ph.D as if you're drinking from a (very large) cup that needs to be finished before you can move on.
Rather, you've been plonked down without preparation in the middle of a raging river, when all you've ever dealt with before are little rivulets that drip into a cup.
Accordingly, the goal here is not to try and "drink the river", but merely to observe little eddies and streams in the torrent and learn something about them. As you become more and more proficient, you'll see more and more of the river and you'll be able to manipulate it better, but you are never "in control" of the entire torrent.
I might be stretching this analogy further than it can go, but hopefully my point is coming through: that you shouldn't fall into the fallacy of having to learn "everything" in order to be a competent researcher. Rather, as Penguin\_Knight says early on, you should think strategically about what you really need to learn and how you can pick up relevant skills based on what you're working on.
> 12 votes
# Answer
One way to keep it in perspective is to realize that these feelings are only going to become more extreme as your career progresses, but they aren't actually a problem in themselves. Instead, once you get used to them, they can actually be a source of joy.
You're never going to catch up, because the amount you learn will grow at best linearly with time, while the amount of research you recognize to be relevant and important will grow rapidly (seemingly exponentially) as you learn more. You'll never be able to say "Well, now I've got a solid foundation in everything I need to know," because each topic you learn will naturally suggest two more. And the more you understand how deep and interconnected everything is, the more you will realize how limited your understanding actually is. Anyone who thinks they have the world all figured out is not a researcher.
As I see it, this is cause for celebration. The scope of your favorite subject is unbounded! In a few years, you will happily be using ideas you barely understand right now, or perhaps haven't even heard of yet. From a broad enough perspective, you have interests in common with researchers who superficially seem to be doing something utterly different. Why would you give up infinite possibilities in favor of a limited world?
I can sympathize with feeling overwhelmed. I remember sitting in a class thinking to myself "This is beautiful stuff, but I'm glad I won't need to use it myself, because that would be a lot to master in addition to my own research area," and then, a few years later, realizing to my horror that I did need to master it. It's not easy, but you shouldn't let that put you off. Research isn't easy for anyone. Famous mathematicians are also missing knowledge that would help them in their research, just like you are, so nobody can judge you or look down on you for your ignorance. Ultimately, we are all ignorant and struggling to become less so. Fortunately, what we learn is enough to justify the struggle.
As for concrete suggestions, the other answers have lots of useful information, especially the one by Penguin\_Knight. One thing I'd emphasize is the importance of keeping at it over time, even if progress seems slow. It's easy to get depressed if you work intensely on something and have to give up when you can't sustain the time commitment. By contrast, slow but continual progress will really accumulate over time.
> 9 votes
# Answer
You have 2 choices.
1) as a probability researcher, invent the infinite probabability drive and use this to increase the probability that you can instantly learn everything that will ever be known.
2) go back and read xLeitix's great answer.
http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Infinite\_Improbability\_Drive
> 1 votes
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Tags: research-process
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thread-15664 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15664 | Nightmares and frustrations with students' sloppy homework | 2014-01-12T02:38:59.607 | # Question
Title: Nightmares and frustrations with students' sloppy homework
I have a serious problem with HW usually submitted by students. A considerable fraction of the students are not neat with their HWs. By neat I mean respecting the guide lines I provided them to follow, such as:
* A4-size paper, do not use detached papers from a notebook
* Use only pencil, so you don't scratch
* Be organized, not sloppy
* Write clearly, so it is readable.
Things like that.
Unfortunately most of the students insist on not following these rules, or they will do it for some time, then they will start being sloppy again.
Am I the only one facing this issue? If not, how can one solve it?
# Answer
It could simply be students doing the minimum in order to get by. The solution is to raise the minimum. To do that, start denying points for non-compliance.
As Suresh wrote in his comment, electronic submission might be appropriate. In my classes I require that whatever students submit be word-processed written in a specific font. If the students do not follow the instructions then I treat them as if they never submitted at all. As you can imagine, seeing this one time in class gets everyone to pay attention.
Basically, eliminate hand-writing if you can. Some students simply have very poor penmanship so it's best to structure things so they can use a computer. Ideally, save the paper and submit electronically.
If you cannot eliminate hand writing them make it clear that if you cannot read (or understand) what they wrote then their score will reflect that. I have issues with some students writing in English (not their first language) and I make it very clear that I'm not here to judge their English but if I cannot understand their intention without guessing, I will simply mark it as gibberish.
> 10 votes
# Answer
In my opinion you should lower your standards a bit, but make harsh deductions if they are not followed
* No pen is a bit strict, you could exchange it for no scratch marks. If they do a rough draft and then write a final copy in pen, that should be fine. Most mathematicians do not write in pencil.
* A4 paper is a bit strict if you are teaching a class in the USA (since it isn't the standard size), in many countries it would be reasonable though.
* legible writing - all solutions that cannot be read will receive a zero, please type your solutions if you have poor penmanship
* I'd like to add removing points for a lack of staple. loose second pages get lost easily.
> 7 votes
# Answer
If you can use a system of assessment criteria/rubrics for setting the grade of your class, you can include neatness (with a description of what is entailed) in your criteria. In academia as well as workplace, being able to follow instructions is valued highly. you can therefore build in these aspects in the assessment by pointing at the fact that clarity and other aspects is t strive for. If students realize the sloppiness affects their grade, I am sure most will take more care.
I am currently working on revising the grading criteria for bachelor's theses in my department. I have created a "Instruction for authors" that details the form and format of the thesis and text. In my case, I am considering making following these "instructions" a prerequisite to get the thesis graded. Our system allows students to revise their work and resubmit so another aspect is to build in that failing to follow the instructions will also lower the grade by one step (on an A-F scale).
Since grading systems and ways to handle examination varies widely, you will need to see if any of these ideas can be transferred but the main point is to make sure students understand that breaking the neatness rules set up have negative effects. And, that there is a logical reason for why neatness is a valid grading criteria regardless of the topic of the course.
> 4 votes
# Answer
As others have said, reasonable deductions should solve your problem. Be aware though that being a big stickler will make people less likely to take your classes. I did not hear about A4 paper before this post. I understand the uniformity, but from the other side of the desk its just one more thing to worry about. I am not saying your policies are right or wrong (whatever that may mean), but that aggressive application will drive away students who are not trapped into taking your classes, by simple rational choice.
> 3 votes
# Answer
**Make their choices easy by giving details and examples**
For all the required materials, show the students where they can buy, what specification they should look for (2B pencil, 0.5mm mechanical pencil, etc.), and how much.
For organization and legible writing, provide a few examples on what you consider as organized and legible. Annotate with your comments if necessary. You can then attach a **learner's contract** at the end, let the students sign to attest that they can produce work with comparable legibility and clear assignment of section titles, etc. This should be done once, at the beginning of the course.
This contract and printed example are necessary. The examples allow the students to judge their work more objectively, the contract instills a sense of seriousness and responsibility.
**Distribute an assignment coversheet with checklist on it**
Now that the groundwork is laid, give each of them a homework cover page whenever you give an assignment. The page should at least list:
* A place for student to write down their name
* Course code/title
* Assignment title
* Due date/time
* A checklist of your requirements for student to check
The checklist can contain your **objective** or **measurable** criteria. After each criteria, attached a box that, if checked, would indicate the criterion is fulfilled.
The students will have to check all these by themselves, and then staple the front page to the assignment before handing it in. In terms of how to deal with unchecked items, it's all up to you, as long as the consequences are clearly printed on this cover sheet. It can range from "If any of these item is unchecked, your work will not be higher than a B-" to attaching corresponding points to be taken away for each violation, then you can let them pick which to forfeit.
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> Have you had someone checked the box without being organized?
Yes and no. I specify that all the assignments need to be typed so I never had the problem of self-claimed organization that actually looks messy. My checklist consists of mostly clearly yes-or-no's: "1-inch margin," "mentioned sample size in the Methods," "did not report p-value as zero," etc.
But your question did prompt me to think about a method we use when hiring interviewers. When we hire interviewers, we sometimes give them a sheet with numbers (0-9), some common phrases (such as "Not application," "N/A,") and words likely causing confusion (-y vs. -g, double t, etc.) printed on them. Then, we ask the candidate to copy the numbers and words by hand. Those forms are life savers whenever we're confused by their hand writing on the data collection sheet. We have used them in a pinch when entering data, and we have used them to advise data collectors who show deteriorating handwriting quality.
So, I guess you may modify your standard a bit. Instead of showing them some pre-existing copies of assignment, give them a couple pages of sentences and formulas and ask them to neatly copy them. Afterwards, if you're happy with the quality, they may proceed to sign the contract. Keep both writing sample and the signed contract together.
Would this prevent students from blindly checking the box? Not entirely. But at least now you have a good sample and a bad sample from the same student on the file, and it'd be easier to point out what went wrong.
> 3 votes
# Answer
I suggest you to write three-four examples yourself, scan and upload to your webpage, to show how is it supposed to be done.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Many answers suggest to lower grades for unneatness. I do not like this solution becaause at least once, you will still have to grade unneat homework. Another solution is to fix the deadline earlier than you really need, and simply refuse to take any homework that does not match your guide lines. This can only work for guidelines that can be judge in a glimpse. Also, as mentioned in other answers, such harsh behavior needs you to be crystal clear about what you want, and to explain why you want it that way.
This methods warrants you the students will care about your guidelines, and avoids you dealing with the kind of stuff you do not want to deal with.
> 2 votes
# Answer
As @earthling stated above, requiring word-processing (possibly also electronic submission) will eliminate the majority of the problems.This requirement gives you standard paper size, no scratches, and legible printing.
Enforcing this is relatively stright-forward, if a little harsh. Automatically deduct a set portion of the available credit for any assignment that is not typed. Make this very clear on the first day of class and *follow up with the promised consequences!*
Unfortunately, being required to type homework will not automatically improve students' ability to write in an organized manner, nor will it improve grammar and sentence structure. Strongly encourage students to utilize the writing lab/tutoring center for assistance with organization and clarity. This will probably work better when homework consists of several larger assignments rather than multiple smaller assignments. Knowing that a significant chunk of their score rests on a single assignment may motivate students to seek help. Also point out (assuming it is true at your univeristy!) that students who seek feedback on writing almost always score higher than those who do not.
> 1 votes
# Answer
In some countries, it is not acceptable to lower grades for things like neatness; however, you could go for a cause and effect scenario: "if you do not follow the guidelines, your paper will be returned to you to be resubmitted according to the guidelines." If this causes their paper to be late, assuming late submissions get a grade-deduction penalty, then hopefully the students will learn to follow the instructions to avoid having to redo their work and to avoid receiving a lateness penalty. Also, you won't have to mark the sloppy version!
> 1 votes
# Answer
There are many reasons for students not to follow guidelines. One of them is that often each professor has his own guidelines, and one HW perfect for one will be unacceptable for another (and vice-versa). Prof. X wants Times 11 on A4, Prof. Y will read nothing but Helvetica 12 on Legal, etc (increase the figures for older profs). Your guidelines should be sensible and minimal, otherwise they will just be an exercise in obedience (which students detects easily and despise).
Departmental or faculty guidelines may help here.
> 1 votes
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Tags: teaching, university, education, colleagues, homework
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thread-15824 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15824 | Is there such a thing called native speaker bias when publishing? | 2014-01-15T15:00:13.890 | # Question
Title: Is there such a thing called native speaker bias when publishing?
This has been a subject that has occupied my thoughts for the past years but haven't really managed to formulate it completely for myself. I have this feeling (and I can't say it's more than a feeling at this point) that native speakers of English have an easier time with getting their article published.
I should make it clear, right away, that I don't mean just because you are a native speaker you can get whatever published, but given a particular project, if the main author is a native speaker the article is more likely to get accepted, or at least draw more positive reviews. I motivate the potential existence of such a bias on the fact that it's likely that a native speaker does a better job in writing than someone who has English as a foreign language.
Since I do not have any data to back this theory up, I would like to ask if you have come across any numbers/facts regarding any such bias in the publication/acceptance rates in general, as well as high-IF journals specifically.
**EDIT:** I should perhaps rephrase and add a bit more details to the question here. I do not refer to small grammatical mistakes, misspellings or anything of that nature. What I am referring to here, is the wider vocabulary a native-speaker has in his/her disposal, the phrases and expressions that they use that might not be readily and easily available to non-native speaker. I could perhaps summarise it the differences as the metaphorical chocolate chips that a native speaker can and most likely will bake into the cookie that is the manuscript.
I am clear on the point that the clearness criteria is still the most important and that's why I did not talk about the rejections (it's natural that non-native speakers get their papers rejected based on language more often compared to native speakers). As a non-native speaker myself, it is beyond any doubt that I need to write my manuscripts with a clearly understandable language in order for them to get published, but again that's not really what I am asking here. I am more interested in whether or not articles written by native speakers come across as "better quality" based on the fact that they are more likely to utilise their edge with the language.
There are of course other factors at play, but it would be interesting to see if there are any stats involved.
# Answer
If the effect is due to native speakers writing better in that language --- whether that's due to fewer grammatical errors, larger vocabulary, it's not really a native-speaker bias as such. You could say that native speakers have an "unfair advantage" in the sense that they have a leg up in using the language, but I think it's incorrect to call that a bias. Tall players may have an advantage in basketball, but that on its own doesn't mean that there is a "tallness bias" in player selection.
In addition, it's not clear how reviewers (or anyone else who hadn't met the author personally) could know that the author was a native speaker, as opposed to just a good writer in the language. I'd say that to argue it was a native speaker bias specifically, you'd have to show that native speakers as a whole were given preferential treatment over non-native speakers, independent of their writing ability.
A different question, though, would be whether there's a *writing quality* bias. I think it's possible that articles with a "better" writing style (whatever that may mean) get an edge over articles that are competently but not so eloquently written. It could be argued that this is a bias, if it means that interesting and important results are less likely to be published due to writing-quality issues at the top end of the scale. Everyone agrees that some minimum level of writing quality is needed for the article to be readable and useful, but if excellent writing "above and beyond" that minimum gives an article an undue boost over others with equally important findings, that could be a bias. Again, though, it would be a bias in the relative evaluation of characteristics of the *articles* themselves, not a bias related to the *author*'s status as a native or non-native speaker. In particular, this would mean that native speakers who aren't very good writers would also be adversely affected by the bias.
I don't know of any data on this issue, but I'd be skeptical that there is a bias towards native speakers per se. I could believe there is a bias towards better writing (even when extra-good writing "doesn't matter" in terms of the scientific value of the article).
> 7 votes
# Answer
Let me share with you my personal experience and feeling about this issue. I am not a native English speaker and I am aware that my word choices and the patterns of my sentences makes it clear to my audiences and especially my readers. However, I have received several positive compliments in the referee reports of my papers about my writings. Therefore I strongly believe that people who are in charge of deciding about accepting a paper mostly consider the logical and grammatical correctness of the writing of the paper ( and of course its scientific value). So I would be very surprised if I see such a phenomenon as you described.
> 6 votes
# Answer
The answer is yes but the issue is not as clear as you state it. To publish a paper, it must meet certain criteria which include form, clarity and of course scientific contribution. If you are a native speaker it will be easier to meet these criteria and particularly those that deal with language issues. The disadvantage we, who are non-native speakers, meet is to be good enough with regards to these criteria. The point is not that grammatical errors as such may make acceptance less likely but if the language makes understanding the paper difficult or even make one misunderstand the paper, then it becomes a problem.
So the problem can be called bias but it can also be seen as not meeting the standards required. From the latter point it is not clearly a matter of native *vs.* non-native speakers but a matter of being able to express the science in an intelligible way. I am chief editor of an international journal, albeit not with the IF of Nature, and out of all papers we reject (50% of all submitted) a small part is based on the above problem. In most cases it is due to poor science and then with no particular emphasis on native or not speakers.
> 5 votes
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Tags: publications, peer-review, language
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thread-11193 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11193 | How tightly enforced are open-access embargoes? | 2013-07-17T16:13:09.643 | # Question
Title: How tightly enforced are open-access embargoes?
Many academic journals have copyright policies which forbid authors (possibly for a finite embargo time) to make their papers (either preprints, accepted manuscripts, or camera-ready versions) freely available (either on their personal websites or on repositories such as the arXiv). **How tightly enforced are these policies? Are there known cases of publishers pursuing legal action against an author for posting copyrighted academic papers?** Or would such cases normally be dealt with private requests to cease-and-desist?
This answer seems to indicate such cases are rare, but there could be privately-dealt with cases that are not visible. Or is there a large body of public-repository-published papers that possibly / probably / demonstrably have been publicly posted in breach of a copyright policy?
# Answer
> 11 votes
One data point:
I am a mathematician, and I have never heard of this happening to anyone.
Many mathematicians post preprints on their website and to the arXiv, and it is somewhat common for mathematicians to also post scanned copies of the published journal versions of their older papers.
Ethical judgements may vary, but I am unaware of any authors who have suffered negative practical consequences for this, or even who have been asked to remove their papers.
# Answer
> 10 votes
Update: Here's the new text of the German UrhG §38 Abs (4):
> Der Urheber eines wissenschaftlichen Beitrags, der im Rahmen einer mindestens zur Hälfte mit öffentlichen Mitteln geförderten Forschungstätigkeit entstanden und in einer periodisch mindestens zweimal jährlich erscheinenden Sammlung erschienen ist, hat auch dann, wenn er dem Verleger oder Herausgeber ein ausschließliches Nutzungsrecht eingeräumt hat, das Recht, den Beitrag nach Ablauf von zwölf Monaten seit der Erstveröffentlichung in der akzeptierten Manuskriptversion öffentlich zugänglich zu machen, soweit dies keinem gewerblichen Zweck dient. Die Quelle der Erstveröffentlichung ist anzugeben. Eine zum Nachteil des Urhebers abweichende Vereinbarung ist unwirksam.
rough translation:
The author of a scientific work
* which was produced during scientific reseach that funded at least half by public money and
* which was published in a periodical that is issued at least twice per year
retains the right to make the *accpted manuscript* publicly available
* after an embargo period of 12 months from the date of the first publication
* as long as this is not for commercial purposes.
The source of the first publication must be given.
This right is retained also in case of a complete copyright transfer to the publisher of editor.
Agreements on this topic to the disadvantage of the author are void.
I guess the non-commercial clause will raise some questions and difficulties.
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old answer:
Here in Germany, the parliament (Bundestag) actually voted to change §38 UrhG
to (among other changes):
> Einführung eines unabdingbaren Zweitverwertungsrechtes für Autoren von mit überwiegend aus öffentlichen Mitteln geförderten Beiträgen in Periodika 12 Monate nach Erstveröffentlichung;
rough translation: *introduction of an unalienable right of secondary use\* for authors of contributions to journals which are mainly supported mainly by public grants 12 months after the primary publication*.
* I'm not quite sure how to translate "Zweitverwertungsrecht" - it is the right for secondary use/exploitation(?) of a work. Meaning that agreements that the publisher get the exclusive rights to the work will be valid in Germany only for 12 months, thereafter the authors have the right to make these papers publicly available.
The new text does not yet show up (the voting took place only 2 weeks ago) in the law texts in internet, it will become §38 (4) UrhG.
While this still means that only papers with public funding are covered, and the embargo period may be annoying, I see this as an important step into the right direction. And it definitively means that there won't be any possibility for publishers to enforce anything after a year if a German author made the work publicly available.
In any case, our version of the "fair use" rights mean that I'm always allowed to send single copies of scientific papers which are needed for collaboration to my colleagues. So within the first year after publication, you'll still have to email me for the paper, but thereafter, you can blame me for not making the manuscript available e.g. via arXiv.
# Answer
> 6 votes
This seems to be changing. A recent article in the *Washington Post*, How one publisher is stopping academics from sharing their research (2013-12-19), describes a recent 'spree' of takedown notices sent by Elsevier to Academia.edu, the University of Calgary, the University of California-Irvine, and Harvard University. This seems to be a new development:
> The letter to Harvard identified 23 articles that it requested be taken down from University-hosted pages in mid November. "We had not received takedown notices for scholarly articles before this, as far as we know," says Peter Suber, the Director of the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication and the Harvard Open Access Project.
Academia.edu, which is a for-profit company, and also a competitor of Elsevier-owned Mendeley, got about 2,800 requests.
This story is also covered by Wired and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
# Answer
> 5 votes
Here is one event that can qualify as such. In 2011, Russell O'Connor submitted a paper to the ACM Workshop for Generic Programming 2011 after having submitted it to the arXiv under a Public Domain licence. At press time, the printer asked O'Connor for a letter of permission from the ACM *in lieu* of an exclusive copyright transfer which he could not grant. Although he had informed the conference chairs of the arXiv upload when he submitted, and they were OK with it, ACM legal refused to publish the paper as it was "already published." The paper is only mentioned briefly in the proceedings in a note:
> We note that one of the papers presented in the workshop is not included in the proceedings. This paper, ‘Functor is to Lens as Applicative is to Biplate: Introducing Multiplate’ by Russell O’Connor, is accessible as arXiv:1103.2841v2 \[cs.PL\].
This is explained in more detail in O'Connor's blog post The ACM and Me.
# Answer
> 4 votes
Fully agreeing with eykanal's comment, I can provide the following thought on reasons: as with all copyrighted materials originating from commercial sources, it becomes a business decision on when and how to hunt down those who break the rules. If some authors put their manuscripts out on their own web sites it is probably not worth the expenses to prevent it. If everyone did it systematically, I am sure things would look different. If publishers see a decline in subscription rates from libraries due to the fact that authors make stuff available, then I think we will see something akin to what happened with downloadable music. For a publisher, an author is also what makes the business go around, so hunting authors may not be a good business practice. But, with more and more published work being made available in formally illegal ways, I am sure it is only a matter of time before clamps are tightened. So it is a bit like teasing a sleeping bear, fine until it wakes up (and I do not mean "fine" as in agreeing with posting material illegally).
In addition to putting the published paper online, it might be worth noting that in many if not most cases, it is perfectly legal to post the original manuscript (before review and typesetting) on the web since this is not the copyrighted material that is in the publications. Unless you have signed off on immaterial rights you still have the rights to that original work.
The bottom line is it is illegal and many probably do not really understand what they have signed when they published their papers.
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Tags: ethics, copyright, open-access
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thread-15793 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15793 | Should I challenge my professor who thinks he's always right? | 2014-01-15T04:34:22.973 | # Question
Title: Should I challenge my professor who thinks he's always right?
One of my professors has been in the IT development fields for over 40 years. He thinks he is up-to-date with all the latest research and technology. But I believe he's not.
The problem is - he hates when a student (like me) dares to point out his mistakes or flaws in reasoning. Or when a student suggests a better (modern) solution to a problem.
How to deal with such a situation - should I keep challenging him or keep quiet until the end of semester? I don't want to lose grades (he's been known to give lower grades to students who asked him too many questions he wasn't able to properly answer).
# Answer
**Short answer:** Probably not.
As you pointed out, you may lose out on grades by challenging this professor. A larger problem, in my opinion, is when you (the student) approach the class with an attitude of discovering the professor's many mistakes. With this attitude, you also lose out on the opportunity to learn from his expertise. While this particular professor may not be as *modern* as you would like, it does not mean you cannot learn from him!
**Keep quiet** until the end of the semester, except when you have a valid question. And don't approach intending to prove him wrong; approach intending to find out how you can learn from what he knows. **Ask questions because you want to learn, not because you want to prove the professor wrong.** If you believe you know a better solution, it might be appropriate to ask "Would this solution also work? If not, why not?" **Ask, don't tell.** Your professor is human too, and most of us have a hard time always responding graciously to a smarty-pants student who thinks they know more than we do!
> 99 votes
# Answer
Have you ever seen a skit on The Chapelle Show called, "When keeping it real goes wrong"?
Trust me when I tell you that every class in every semester has a student that thinks he or she knows it all.
It can be hard to stand in front of a class and have all the answers. Sometimes when I've stood up there and say something, I've felt rushed to give an answer so I don't look stupid, and it just came out all wrong so I looked (or felt) even more stupid. Then I just walk around for two days realizing how stupid I am.
Even the best professors can be wrong, but the better ones will at least correct themselves in the next class or send out an email explaining something further.
The best way to handle the professor isn't necessarily to try and show them up in class, but to either go to office hours and ask for clarification. If you still think they are wrong, explain where you found the answer and show them.
If its worth the time to engage them at all, then that can be best way to do it. If they don't respond well in that situation, then its not worth your time and you should just keep quiet and focus on your grade.
Believe me, as an undergraduate I've battled many worthless TAs only to have the head of their department say that they have to back up the TA because that's just how its done.
When I got to graduate school, it was a different ballgame and I really put a professor through the ringer with the department when she tried to give me a bad grade because she was incompetent. But when I did that, I slowly went up the chain, documented every conversation and interaction, highlighted the syllabus, noted changes she made mid-semester to the syllabus, and then made a formal complaint. In turn, the professor was reprimanded by both the head of faculty and head of graduate studies, and my grade was fixed. But that was a serious slog to get through.
> 39 votes
# Answer
Here in the United States, critical thinking is one of the core values of our higher education system. This is a social and institutional value that is opposite to the values seen in many other cultures, where the professor is always right, even when s/he is wrong. A competent college professor in the US should always welcome skeptical comments from students. The word "skeptic" itself comes simply from the Greek verb "to think." If you're not being skeptical, you're not thinking.
Of course, these values are not universal. For example, the educational system in India is infamous for teaching by rote memorization and discouraging critical thinking.
As a professor, I've often made mistakes in class and been very grateful to students who corrected them. I often joke to my students that if I inadvertently wrote 2+2=5 on the board, I worry that they would come up to me after class and ask, "Professor, you wrote 2+2=5 on the board. I always thought it was 4, but is 5 the answer you want us to give on the test?"
You should not refrain from asking questions in class because of any fear that it will confuse other students or make the professor fall behind and not have time to finish the lecture. Mistakes are very confusing to other students until they're corrected, and the reason you have a textbook is so that you have a source of information for any topics that there wasn't enough time to cover in class.
Of course you should exercise normal tact, consideration, and humility. The goal is not to fight a battle with your teacher, it's to help yourself and everyone else in the class understand the subject correctly. There's the joke that at the age of 20, I knew everything, but now that I'm older I know a lot less. In computer science, there are basic principles that don't change much over time (a quick sort scales better than a bubble sort), but there's a lot of other random junk that amounts to styles and fads (choices of particular computer languages). Don't fall into the trap of thinking that there's something wrong with your professor just because he doesn't emphasize the flavor of the week.
> he's been known to give lower grades to students who asked him too many questions he wasn't able to properly answer
It's hard for me to imagine how you would know this. It's not as though you have access to records of what these other students' grades were on every assignment and a side-by-side comparison with what the grades would have been if they hadn't asked questions. It seems just as likely that these students had overblown opinions of their own abilities and therefore felt their grades were unfair.
> 17 votes
# Answer
Never *challenge* a lecturer. Ask. If it's something that isn't directly related to PRECISELY the point they're currently teaching, ask during office hours rather than in front of the whole class.
Praise in public, criticize in private -- and criticize by asking "would this have been another answer, and if so why is the one you showed us better", rather than by acccusing.
Quoting Dean Inge: "There are two kinds of fool. One says 'This is old, and therefore good.' The other says 'This is new, and therefore better.'" Before demonstrating yourself to be the latter type, ***politely*** make sure you understand what was actually being taught and why. You may have completely missed the point he was making.
(Note that this is just as true when working with a boss, or even when you're the boss. Start with a discussion rather than assuming one or the other side is inherently true and that there must be a winner or loser. In the end, the boss *does* have the final say, because they have to consider more than just the technical merits of that one point, but you're a lot more likely to have a pleasant and productive experience if you try to work with people rather than against them.)
One more thought: "who thinks he's always right" is more of a comment about your attitude than about that of the instructor. Of COURSE he thinks what he's teaching is correct, or he wouldn't be teaching it. That doesn't mean he can't be wrong, but it does mean you need to respectfully justify your objection if you want it (and yourself) to be taken seriously. And unless the error is a simple typo/"thinko", that's likely to take more time than should be sliced out of most lectures. Talk to him afterward. He can always announce a correction at the next lecture if you convince him that one is needed. And if you can't convince him, ask yourself why not rather than assuming he's just being an ass.
> 7 votes
# Answer
Let me put it like this, he is the teacher and you are the student. Ask yourself if the things he is wrong about, are really worth mentioning. If not, then it is probably best you keep quiet, and don't compromise your grades. There are always going to be people like him. If you keep trying to challenge him, you may very well become a 'right' fighter yourself, like him.
> 4 votes
# Answer
It depends on whether this teacher is dangerously wrong or not.
If his teaching the wrong things to everyone then he needs to be challenged. Challenging him in class won't help. Talk to him in his comfort zone and find out what you can. If he is genuinely a bad teacher, you need to find your campus support network and work out how to escalate the problem.
But in this case it sounds like he is a good teacher, trying to get through a lesson as others have said, but not necessarily completely up-to-date or good at putting down smart-arses.
In this case, learn what you can, he might have old ideas that are really great! When you can teach his class, critique it.
> 3 votes
# Answer
Consider the situation as something like you're going to paint an abstract image - you're free to sketch whatever you can imagine but there has to be a meaning or purpose for what you're doing. The point is this: your professor is probably unaware of what you consider as "flaw" in dealing with his students, as such, serving as his "shadow" could make him realize such thing. But if he is aware, then the problem is not to think about the ways to harmoniously deal with him; rather, you should adjust with the kind of classroom atmosphere that he wants.
It's indeed "abstract" because no one else really knows the best way to have the kind of learning environment or teacher that you want other than you...
> 2 votes
# Answer
This depends a lot on the country and university specifics. However during my studies once happened for me to observe students replacing professor they deemed it is not competent enough for the particular course.
The student group should apply to university management asking to replace the teacher as not good enough. Of course, such application must list multiple factual errors in presented material, uncovered topics that you consider important for the subject, examples of undelivered information that you think would be highly relevant to the given lecture and the like. Significant number of students should apply so it would be difficult just to represent this as a personal conflict.
If the teaching person is not a head of laboratory / department but instead is under supervision of another competent professor, you may also talk to his supervisor. Some universities concentrate on research so deeply that teaching may be delegated to somebody more junior and less experienced.
If you cannot find enough arguments or supporters for this procedure, the professor is actually competent ...
> 2 votes
# Answer
It's his job to instill to his students he knows everything so they will listen and follow him. All you would be doing is damaging what he is trying to build with his students.
It won't go well for you, nor offer you anything positive in the course and most likely harm your grades. If you know more then most, then instead of using it to attack your teacher, do something that will equally give you what I believe you do want from the teacher -- "His respect, & knowing you are very knowledgeable" -- by offering assistance to other students who do need help.
This way you get to show your intelligence in the field, your teacher will love the help in class with most teachers already being spread thin, and he will most likely shine on your grades better. Even if "YOU" do make a mistake, because of the effort at assisting others, he may overlook it when grading.
> 1 votes
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Tags: professorship, coursework, interpersonal-issues
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thread-15491 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15491 | Responsibility/ethics of startups during graduate studies | 2014-01-08T02:58:52.587 | # Question
Title: Responsibility/ethics of startups during graduate studies
It's a common meme that people often embark on and develop business projects while in graduate school. However, it's unclear how frequently this actually happens in "real life".
More importantly, how responsible/ethical a choice is it, in say, a funded PhD program? I know that typically there is a guideline for hours worked for such a position, but that's almost a joke in comparison to implicit requirements like standards of research quality and publication rate.
Assume that you are a student earnestly engaged in both the PhD topic and an unrelated side project, and you want both the PhD and the business to succeed (i.e., graduate, publish, launch side project as successful startup). To me it seems like the worst-case scenario in that situation would be running into a tough problem in research, while still putting in occasional hours on the side project, as that would look terrible.
I'd also like to hear about the details. How/when to disclose? How to maintain rapport with advisor? What are the ethical concerns? Is this feasible? How do these goofballs in the success stories get away with this? ;)
# Answer
> 1 votes
Well, I did something like that, and I must say it eats up all your time. As said in one of the comments, it is only likely to succeed, if there is a close relation between thesis and company, otherwise you won't find enough time for both of them and fail. If your thesis is closely related, you should inform your advisor very early in the process, because most advisors think all ideas emerging from their institution are their ideas or at least inspired by them. Despite of that, a good advisor could open some doors and be of help.
Legally, you might even be forced to do this (depending on the situationin your country), e.g. in Germany most contracts do not allow side business without anouncement to your employer. Of course, as long as it can be considered a hobby, noone can sue you for that.
You do a great job if the PhD-programm can sell it as a success story, because their funded project resulted in a new start-up.
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Tags: research-process, graduate-school, career-path
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thread-15852 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15852 | What percentage of PhD theses are rejected nowadays? | 2014-01-16T04:38:27.860 | # Question
Title: What percentage of PhD theses are rejected nowadays?
What percentage of PhD theses (e.g., physics ones) are rejected nowadays? And why?
# Answer
I'm only personally aware of one student who failed his PhD defense (this is at an R1 US university). After his advisor refused to approve his thesis, he went over his head and got the department chair to schedule the defense anyway. Results were predictable.
On the other hand, "major revisions" are very common, especially, I hear, in the humanities (in engineering, it's far more common to receive token feedback -- if the committee reads the thesis at all! -- than demands for substantial changes).
Outright failing a student during a defense is an extreme embarassment, for the department, for the PhD committee, for the advisor, and of course for the student, so there is every incentive to ensure that a thesis that goes to defense will pass. Moreover, since most theses these days are compilations of previously-published work, it is very easy to tell well in advance if the student is expected to pass.
So if an advisor has doubts about the quality of a student's thesis, he will either ask the student to spend more time improving it, or "suggest" the student start looking for jobs in industry.
> 37 votes
# Answer
Very small, as every failed PhD defence is also a shame for the professor. As a result, the professor will not allow to proceed with defence of the really weak work. And he will listen for other professors that would usually tell in advance they think to vote against.
Hence, most likely, the following will happen:
* If a PhD student just does not work enough, the professor will not allow to continue studies after some time.
* If a PhD student is mad with some own theory or topic that academic community unlikely to accept, the professor will not allow to defend such a work.
* If it is really a bad luck with your topic, the professor will change the topic.
* If the professor has made a strategic mistake and your diligent work does not give results that could be published in a good journal, the professor should normally try to publish anyway in less reputable sources, good enough for PhD defence.
The PhD supervisor is more interested in your success than a lecturer is interested in the progress of the student. Same professor that writes low grades with relatively little attention (as long as he is sure the student deserves) will spend more time when acting as a PhD supervisor, will try to help, will try to fix the topic. This is because PhD project is also *his* research project. And who would want ones research project to fail? Of course, the professor tries to find a good PhD student for his project, or, if this was not successful, at least to fire lazy or uncooperative student in the first year. But this is way before the actual PhD defence.
If to ask differently, how many PhD students do not get they degree at the end, this really depends a lot on the traditions inside the institution. However in all places I have seen this was below 20 % or about. The first post doctoral position is also seldom a problem.
The next serious threshold you will need to pass is the professor position or at least a permanent researcher position, if you want to stay in science.
> 20 votes
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Tags: phd, thesis, science
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thread-15857 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15857 | Why many research results are presented as paid articles? | 2014-01-16T11:12:50.743 | # Question
Title: Why many research results are presented as paid articles?
Many times I learn or look for some information, I find scientific article on ieeexplore.ieee.org or similar, where articles are paid. Most of the articles are written by some professors of universities or students about their work.
My question is, why do they sell their results?
If I was a professor and made some work, I would like to gain some acknowledgement for it and I think there is no better way then see others work based on mine. So why not to publicly share the article for free?
I understand that private companies sell their innovations because that's the main source of their income, but people at universities are usually paid and writing articles are part of their job.
**So what are the advantages of selling results instead of sharing for free (is there any other except money)?**
**Does selling your results have any negative influence?**
PS: I may not have enough backstage knowledge about how it works on universities and I don't want to offend anybody. I also don't mean work people do in their own free time, but work they do on behalf of universities. This just slows down the development and overall research in field in my eyes.
# Answer
Professors who publish their research results normally do not earn money from these paid articles. It is the publishing journal who earns. There are even journals who ask the author to pay for publishing the articles.
Contact the authors of the paid article directly and ask them for the copy of the article. Be polite, explain why do you need it for. In most cases, you will get that copy for free.
Also, try put the article name and authors into Google search. Another similar article by the same authors may exist and be free to download.
> 17 votes
# Answer
The publication business is largely just that, a business. Publishers make money from selling their product, they need money to keep staff to provide the services as well as make a profit among other things. No journals that I am aware of, or at least have been in contact with, salary authors for what they write. I am sure there may be the odd exception but in general, research articles render no income to the author. Books may be a different story of course.
In the last decades or so Open Access publishing has become more common and some research funding agencies demand results are published in such journals. Check, for example, the Open Access for an introduction to Open Access or the Open Access Net site for additional information. Open Access does not mean everything is free but it moves the charges from the reader to the author so that authors pay to have their papers published. There are free services for publishing. As with everything else, some less scrupulous business models have sprung out of the Open Access idea such as so-called predatory journalsUnfortunately. So awareness is necessary.
> 4 votes
# Answer
As others pointed out, publishing has its costs (editing, maintaining website, creating and distributing print versions etc.) and that has to be paid for. Either by the readers, or by the authors. Each has its pros and cons and it depends on many things, which of the approaches the author takes (funding agency might require the article to be made freely accessible, the author may not have the resources to pay the publishing fee himself, there can be some customs in their field that everyone follows or something else).
I would, anyway, like to point out a different issue here – the number of readers is not affected much by the article being behind a paywall or not. Scientific articles use very technical language and assume certain level of knowledge in their readers, making them less accessible (or even completely unaccessible) to general public. The only readers then come from academic environments, and universities usually pay for subscriptions to the most important journals in each field. Other researchers can thus read scientific papers without any (visible) costs on their side. As long as there are universities willing to pay subscription fees, there will be journals where readers have to pay for articles.
> 3 votes
# Answer
I have had two papers published with IEEE when I was an undergrad. There is no provision for me, or any of my co-authors, to be paid by IEEE. In fact, I was required to pay steep conference registration and publication fees, and also a fee for an extra page on one of the papers, to have the papers published by IEEE. I recall that some conferences also actually require you to attend the conference in order to have the paper published, so, add mandatory hotel accommodations and an airline ticket to that as well (although I'm not complaining, since I got plenty of support from my universities, and conference trips are always a lot of fun).
The way the paper publishing world works is, after and if your work is accepted by a conference, you pay various registration fees and publication fees, transfer your copyright to the publishing house like IEEE (there are some tricks around this, like giving up the copyright instead, by placing your paper into the public domain), or, as is the case with some other publishers, give them a non-exclusive irrevocable royalty-free licence, and then they publish your work on their web-site (with a right of collecting fees from web-site users, too), as well as possibly into a printed proceedings of the conference that's given to all attendees (sometimes for an extra fee, too).
Many universities in the US, Canada, England and other contries, pay IEEE some kind of subscription fees, so, anyone on the university network is automatically given unlimited free access to all such papers that are published by IEEE. Otherwise, if you're using a home connection, or your university lacks any such agreement with IEEE, then IEEE collects individual fees for every paper directly from end users (and gives none of it to the authors of said papers).
As mentioned by other answers, many authors also place a copy of their papers on their own web-site. This is often done illegally, since they often no longer own the copyright to such papers, so, depending on the circumstances, IEEE and such can potentially resort to legal methods to enforce its copyright against the illegal copies. For practical reasons and bad-publicity considerations, this is not actively done in reality. It is also the case that after having the copyright assigned to itself, IEEE and other publishers generally give some kind of non-exclusive licence back to the authors with some limited rights on what could be done with an exact copy of the paper. IANAL, but I think the language of such licence is generally restrictive enough that you're not actually supposed to provide the very same copy of the paper elsewhere to the general public in an unrestricted access.
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In contrast, these academic conferences are different to the technical conferences around open-source software. With technical conferences, there is a lot of members of the general public who want to see the presentation of the author, and such members of the public pay modest registration fees, which, when taken together, together with some contributions by big-name sponsors, are enough not only to support the web-site with free access to all the resources, and potentially a publication of the paper proceedings, but are also often sufficient enough to even cover the airfare and other travel expenses of the authors.
> 2 votes
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Tags: publications, university
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thread-15878 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15878 | Suggestions for writing short papers? | 2014-01-16T22:03:41.103 | # Question
Title: Suggestions for writing short papers?
I came out recently with a publishable idea. I analysed it theoretically, and now I need to simulate it - which will take huge amount of time apparently. I wanted to publish the idea, but I can't wait until the simulation is over. My professor suggested to go for a letter journal (each paper has a limit of 4 pages). This is the first time I write a letter paper, and it does not seem easy at all.
Any suggestions or advices to keep the content within the limit of 4 pages without overcomplicating the paper?
I wish this is not a vague question, or too specific.
EDIT: my field is computer science, but the journal is managed by electrical engineers (IEEE Communications Letters - if it is Ok to name it).
# Answer
First, follow Tara Bs advice of reading such journals (this will help in choosing the appropriate one as well). Second, try to describe your idea on a level of complexity, you would explain it to your grandparents in max 10 sentences (assuming they are no experts in your field). This gives you a nice outline of the most important concepts and context of the idea. Now dig into the topics which are really relevant, and explain them in more detail. Keep the state of the art as short as possible (but demonstrate that you know the relevant literature).
Since you have no simulation results yet, your simulation system is the result of your paper. Therefore "methods" are the way you built your system and design considerations. In the results, you can show some data from pre-tests if available.
You should keep your major paper in mind, especially make sure, the full paper will not be regarded as self-plagiarism of the short paper. But if everything goes well, you can cite your short paper in the methods section of the long one.
In my field (computer science / informatics), one would often choose a conference paper instead of a short paper, but this really depends on your scientific discipline and strategy of your institute.
> 3 votes
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Tags: writing
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thread-15833 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15833 | Recommendation letter from a research adviser who is expelled from the university | 2014-01-15T17:06:38.820 | # Question
Title: Recommendation letter from a research adviser who is expelled from the university
My undergraduate research adviser is expelled from the university for political reasons (in Middle East) after more than a decade of teaching and research. Now they have even forced the department to remove his name from the faculty list on the website of the department and they have taken away his academic email address.
I am applying to graduate schools in US and I want to include his recommendation letter in my application. What are the chances that the admission committee rejects my application due to
1. My adviser not being listed on the department webpage.
2. Not having an official email.
Some additional info: He has tens of publications which indicate his affiliation. He does have the letter head of the university, which can be used to print the letter on. The webpage of the department cannot be easily found by one search. One must find it through the university website which can take some effort.
# Answer
This is a tricky situation, but as long as everyone is careful and honest, you should be fine.
Here's what I would recommend. Yes, you should ask your former advisor to submit a reference letter on your behalf, from his non-academic email address. You should mention in your statement that he has left your university, but you should not say anything about **why** he left. Any further details are up to your former advisor to reveal, if he wishes to do so.
Your former advisor absolutely should **not** submit his letter on university letterhead, because he is not affiliated with the university. He should include a very brief bio describing his *former* affiliation and listing his departure date. If possible, he should include some external evidence of his scholarship, like a pointer to his Scopus or Google Scholar profile. If he wants to describe the circumstances of his departure, he should keep the story *very brief*; his letter should focus on **you**, not about him, his former employer, or their political conflicts.
> 38 votes
# Answer
An attempt to represent the former scientist as "not a scientist at all" in my opinion does not make any sense.
Normally, the university professor should have publications. These publications stay forever. Not only they confirm the competence, also the article headers always include information about the authors affiliation. If the journals have been at least moderately reputable, such publications can be easily found on the web.
Simply ask for a letter of recommendation. Of course, to make verification easier, he could also write a couple of sentences about himself, pointing to his most successful publications.
> 6 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, recommendation-letter
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thread-15779 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15779 | How often is a bad review from the reviewers due to the potential competition with your work? | 2014-01-14T23:58:07.123 | # Question
Title: How often is a bad review from the reviewers due to the potential competition with your work?
Reviewers are expert in their fields who can understand your work but are also potential competitors if they worked in the same field as you do. How frequent is a bad review from the reviewers due to the potential competition with your work so they can stall your publication?
For example, if you were a reviewer, would you be excited to learn that I have published research that are superior to yours or prove that your research direction was wrong? Another extreme example, if you were an HIV researcher/reviewer, how excited/horrible would you feel if I publish a cure for HIV and will be nominated for Nobel prize tomorrow and you will be sitting down there listening to my talk? What incentive do reviewers have to give out good/fair review?
# Answer
In my experience:
**If the editor is fair, it doesn't matter terribly much.**
The decision to reject a paper is not taken by the reviewers. **The decision is taken by the editor.** The role of the reviewers is to give a *recommendation*, upon which the editor takes a decision. If a reviewer recommends rejection (or acceptance, for that matter), the editor is free to ignore this recommendation (this has happened to yours truly). If the editor suspects that a reviewer recommends rejection because of potential competition, or for any other improper reason, then the editor should not weigh this recommendation heavily. This is one of the reasons why there should always several reviewers — at least in my field (atmospheric remote sensing), I've only come across cases with two or three reviewers.
Secondly: *The editor knows who the reviewer is*. If a scientist makes a habit of recommending rejections for improper reasons, he or she will get a reputation among editors. Editors are usually well-known colleagues in the field, so you really don't want to be known as the envious guy (or gal) who will reject major works of research because it was *not invented here*. In the best case, they won't be asked as reviewers any more. In the worst case, it may harm a scientific career.
Perhaps the scenario described above is somewhat naive, but in those cases where I've either been a reviewer, or been corresponding author, it would apply. The same for open review papers (such as the geophysical journal, published by EGU, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics). It might be different in other fields, this I don't know. I hope that even in other fields, the editor does more than copy-paste and blindly follow whatever reviewers recommend.
> 14 votes
# Answer
> How often is a bad review from the reviewers due to the potential competition with your work so they can stall your publication?
Clearly there is no hard data on that, but I would wager much less than people think that it happens. I can only echo Matthew G.s sentiment above - In my experience papers in my field (software engineering) are rejected because of (roughly in order):
1. Bad method
2. Bad writing
3. Bad reviewer
4. Bad idea
5. Actively malicious reviewer
Of course, when people get a reject, it is much easier to conclude that bullet 3 or 5 happened than 1, 2 or even 4. However, that does not necessarily make it so.
In my experience, the way to achieve modest success in science is to **do your best work**, and accept that occasionally bad things will happen to you. Achieving success in science is a bit like playing poker. There are hands that you play well but another player gets undeservedly lucky, but over the course of an evening (or career), the bad players usually lose and the good players usually win.
> 8 votes
# Answer
It happens. Meanwhile, of course, it is difficult to document or argue about it... which is not surprising given that the people perpetrating this are not stupid, so will not leave themselves open to the simplest trail-of-damning-evidence.
The question of "how often?" is essentially impossible to answer, exactly because no one wants to, or would wisely, document such things...
But, yes, there is such a possibility, for sure, and it can have an impact. But, apparently, we are all to pretend that it is not happening, and to rationalize that there are other good reasons, etc. In terms of behavior-of-humans, this is similar to our collective rationalization that the seeming-issues seemingly-debated in politics touch reality directly. That is, there's scant purpose in rebelling too strongly, because then one disconnects from the actual process of "politics". On the other hand, it would induce insanity to believe too much that those things reflect sense or reality.
> 7 votes
# Answer
To echo Paul's statement above, it happens. To what extent just depends on unknown and incalculable variables. Odds are, if you are in the game for long enough, you'll hear about it, see it happen, and experience it.
The problem is that the field of study becomes increasingly narrow, and so the pool of people that can provide peer reviews likewise become increasingly narrow.
At some point, you'll even start to recognize the style of writing from blind feedback and can identify the author.
And, what will really tick you off is coming up with an original idea, telling a colleague about it, and then 6 months later see that idea become the title of an article written by someone in your field at another university.
That actually happened to me, and the title was verbatim. I'm still peeved about it.
> 2 votes
# Answer
This question cannot be answered, nobody knows how often this happens. If someone knew the answer it wouldn't be relevant anyway, because it would be ephemeral.
What we are talking about here is a form of corruption or perversion and pretending it's not happening or pretending it's impossible is the worst thing that can be done because that will only make it worse. Those who are corrupts get an advantage from a system that is not well designed for the present times, their behaviour is rewarded and so the system converges to a corrupt state.
Therefore it's important to fight corruption (and changing the system, but I don't want to go too offtopic). So, how can we minimise the risk for this so that it happens less often?
* Preprints: arxiv.org (and similar services) can keep your preprints online, and they have become standard in some areas as physics (AFAIK). If reviewers try to publish papers that they have rejected the evidence is there, in the preprints server.
* Open reviews: some journals have open and public reviews. The reviewer may still give a bad review based on personal interests but in this way that would be more obvious. Transparency is not a solution to corruption, but it helps.
* Editors: if you have a problem with a reviewer you can raise your concerns to the editor. I have seen people doing this several times and they never had positive news on the result, but this is something that you can do in any case.
* Choose wisely your venues: if the editor is not trustworthy (and the reviewers are anonymous) you may prefer to choose a different venue. In a free market (of papers and venues) with perfect information these venues should theoretically disappear after some time, but practice and theory are not the same (in practice).
There are probably more things that you can do, I hope more people will suggest some in the comments (actually I'm making this post a community wiki post, so feel free to edit). But in short, doing nothing about it (as other answers and comments seem to suggest) would be a very bad idea.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
PD: The reasons why the system is not well designed are long to explain, it has grown larger (there has never been so many people in academia in history), the fields have grown more specific, the world is more globalized, there is a stronger competition, etc.
PD2: I also agree that probably bad reviews are so because of other reasons, but one of them may be a bad reviewer or a reviewer having a bad day (as people seem to suggest), and what I suggest minimises the impact of this as well (e.g. open reviews).
Additionally we should consider how often papers that are "not that good" get a positive review for other hidden interests (friendship, they are on the same project, they promote the same approach/idea, etc.) this causes an unfair advantage and other papers may get rejected more easily.
> 2 votes
# Answer
It is fully possible situation. The editor tries to pick the most relevant reviewers, but these are also the most probable competitors, as they work on the same topic. If two near parallel research projects are close to publishing they results (and who will be first), yes, this is a problem. However if the works are different enough not to invalidate significance of each other, most of the reviewers will not be biased.
It even happened for me to observe the competing laboratory simply delaying the review for a long time (as this also delays the publication) and ultimately refusing to provide it, openly stating that "we are competitors".
As a result, many journals allow authors to provide a list of competitors that may not be capable of unbiased reviewing for that article. If some other laboratory is very much a competitor, or if have already been problems with such a reviewer in the past, the author should ask the editor to pick somebody else.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Unfortunately, bad and/or fabricated reviews are common if you are in a competitive industry. It is harder and harder to find a **genuine** and **unbiased** reviewer who has no hidden interests or agendas. You can watch some industry forums, where writing service owners and freelance writers allegedly post misinformation or untrue statements about each other in order to discredit their competition.
Another thing, you need to be careful whom you entrust your research work. Even if they don't use it today, they may use it tomorrow (or they may change some details and claim authorship). Hopefully, I didn't scare you too much though ;).
> -2 votes
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Tags: publications, peer-review
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thread-15844 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15844 | Applying to a graduate program in molecular and cell biology | 2014-01-15T22:23:26.957 | # Question
Title: Applying to a graduate program in molecular and cell biology
I'm a medical school graduate student. However, I wish to apply for a PhD program in molecular and cell biology, I'm interested in understanding the interactions within and between cells at molecular level. However, it seems that at many programs, courses on physics and mathematics are required. I didn't take any mathematical or physical courses. Is it possible to take these courses without having to go through the whole bachelor's curriculum? If this is possible, how could I do this?
# Answer
> 1 votes
In the US it is not uncommon for universities to allow students to take individual courses without seeking a degree. This is especially true of some of the larger introductory type courses that are required for getting into grad school. It is probably worth contacting the schools you are interested in applying and telling them you have not taken all the prerequisite courses and if there is something that can be arranged.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Most of PhD projects in molecular and cell biology concentrate on experimental work and you will need to read a lot about other experimental works, results and conclusions, etc.
You may also need to read about structures and interactions but this will be similar to human anatomy and physiology you have already tried.
This is unlikely to be a problem for a medical graduate. I would say, go on.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, application, career-path, education
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thread-15888 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15888 | contacting advisor before admission can be helpful? | 2014-01-17T13:13:12.710 | # Question
Title: contacting advisor before admission can be helpful?
I am an Mphil student from India. My field of interest is complex analysis. I plan to go abroad for my PhD. I know the process of GRE exams and all. But I want to ask, is talking to any professor, with whom you wish to work for PhD, from your desired university, helpful in getting admission? Can it be helpful somehow?
# Answer
> 0 votes
You could certainly talk with them and discuss your ideas and options and if you find the connection is a good one you could ask for a letter of recommendation from them, but short of a letter I don't think a professor has a whole lot of flex/power when it comes to admissions.
Certainly if they vouch for you that is a positive thing, but unlike a "job" I feel the role at the University is based more on your academic experience and aptitude than who you know.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, united-states
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thread-14463 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14463 | Undergraduate prerequisites for a Ph.d. in combinatorics | 2013-11-30T18:35:18.463 | # Question
Title: Undergraduate prerequisites for a Ph.d. in combinatorics
I am a double major in mathematics and electrical engineering. Towards the end of my mathematics major, I began to develop an interest in combinatorics (specifically graph theory), and am seriously considering a Ph.D. in the subject.
Having developed the interest late, my senior thesis will be in a different topic (complex ODEs), but I would have completed one course in combinatorics/graph theory (an upper-level undergraduate course using a grad-level text - I expect a strong reference from the professor teaching this course).
The courses I have completed are basically both the undergraduate and graduate-level algebra sequence, analysis in R and R^n (without a formal introduction to Lebesgue measure), discrete math (for EECS), applied probability, one course in numerical methods, PDEs, applied complex variables, and a "mathematical methods for sciences" course (focusing on special functions, variational calculus, and integral transforms).
I won't have the standard math major courses(i.e, topology, measure theory, and number theory.) I plan to focus more on applications than theory in my combinatorics Ph.D.
Would additional coursework be necessary for a Ph.D. in combinatorics (specifically graph theory)? (I could potentially delay my degree by a year and spend time as a non-degree student at another university, or complete a non-thesis track master's degree before applying for a masters/Ph.d.). Any advice would be appreciated.
# Answer
> 7 votes
The prerequisites in combinatorics will not be significantly different from the overall prerequisites in the program to which you are applying. Having taken a combinatorics course would be beneficial, but there is no need to take many of them as an undergraduate. You mention Budapest Semesters in Mathematics in a comment. They offer a lot of combinatorics courses, more than some U.S. universities, and there is certainly no expectation that a typical applicant will have completed this many courses.
In your case, I expect the main issue will be whether you are applying to pure or applied math departments, since combinatorics could be located in either. For pure mathematics, the admissions committee will wonder how many of your courses were based on rigorous proofs (for example, applied complex variables and mathematical methods for sciences courses might not be), so it would be best to be clear about that.
I would recommend applying broadly and seeing what happens. Even if your coursework is not ideal, you may still be admitted, with the expectation of having to catch up in a few topics. Ultimately, it depends on how compelling your application is overall, and your transcript will be just one factor.
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Tags: graduate-school, graduate-admissions, mathematics
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thread-15893 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15893 | What is the work load of a journal reviewing editor? | 2014-01-17T14:52:51.283 | # Question
Title: What is the work load of a journal reviewing editor?
I was wandering what was the work load of a journal reviewing editor? More precisely, if someone would like to apply for such a position, how much time is required to do the job correctly?
I am of course aware that it might highly depend on the type of journal and/or field of research, but I would like to have some general feedback / experiences / advices.
Thanks to all!
# Answer
You are correct in that the total time will first of all vary between journals and fields but also slightly over time. I am chief editor of an international journal in the environmental sciences. The time each reviewing editor spends on a paper with our journal can be broken down as follows:
1. Must scan the paper upon receiving it for assigning reviewers (probably takes an hour, maybe less)
2. Assign reviewers (does not take much time but can be drawn out over time when reviewers decline to review)
3. Read reviews carefully and provide authors with guidelines on what to focus on (probably takes a few hours)
4. Carefully check the revisions and decide on the faith of the paper (takes a couple of hours at least depending on extent of revisions)
5. If the paper goes to major revisions you need to go through steps 2-4 again
6. If the paper is accepted then spend maybe 15 minutes to half an hour formulating a suggestion for final decision (depends on what might need to be written)
This can be summed up for one paper as probably more than half a day. Then the question is how many papers you are requested to handle per month/year etc. You can then easily multiply by the number of papers to get a reasonable idea of the total time you will need to spend.
To add to this, you will need to act whenever a paper arrives, so you are expected to be more or less on call all year. Most journals have systems for indicating when editors are away but that only works for assigning new papers; if you have started the process you will have to see it through ... and keep chasing late reviews and delayed revisions.
So although I cannot give you an idea of workload, you have some tools to figure out what will be involved. Knowing the number of papers you are expected to handle is the most important statistic to figure out. Then depending on your field, you may have a sense of whether my estimates for scanning and reading materials are reasonable. I am sure they will vary depending on discipline.
> 19 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, peer-review, editors
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thread-15890 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15890 | To cite an organisation correctly in IEEE style | 2014-01-17T13:36:37.477 | # Question
Title: To cite an organisation correctly in IEEE style
My tex based on Espanta's answer
```
@techreport{AAMI,
title = {Recommended Practice for Testing and Reporting Performance Results of Ventricular Arrhythmia Detection Algorithms},
institution = {{Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation}},
year = {1987},
address = {Arlington, VA, USA}
}
```
which is shown correctly now after Espanta's answer in Bibliography. However, the thing is shown in my text similarly as before :
where **AAM (1987)** is shown. I do not know what I should have in the text body for this citation, since the citation does not have author but institution. I think **AAMI (1987)** is good.
**What is the correct way of citing this organisation in IEEE style?**
# Answer
I think what you are referring to is a technical report or white paper from certain company. Then it should not be misc type. I think if you change your item from misc to technical report, the IEEE style in latex will handle it.
The correct field in citation style should be Authors(if any), title, publisher, address, year.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Referring to
> I do not know what I should have in the text body for this citation, since the citation does not have author but institution. I think AAMI (1987) is good.
and
> The other problem remains with having appropriate text when citing the document in the body.
(comment to @Espanta)
When using LaTeX / Bibtex, you are not supposed to control how the citation appears in your text. **This is the task of the style that you are using**. Unless you have clear evidence that this is not the case, I would assume if a given journal requires you to use a given style, then **whatever text the style generates should be ok**.
> 1 votes
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Tags: citations, bibtex
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thread-15898 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15898 | How to tell if a paper is behind a paywall? | 2014-01-17T16:21:18.933 | # Question
Title: How to tell if a paper is behind a paywall?
I am trying to figure out if a paper is open access or not. My university subscribes to many non-open access journals. Some journals offer mixed models where some papers are open access and others are not.
Some journal websites tell me I have accessed them through an institutional subscription, but if the journal uses a mixed model of open access, that does not mean all papers are behind a paywall. Is there a reliable way to tell if a paper is behind a paywall?
In particular I am interested in knowing if this Nature paper is behind a paywall.
# Answer
> 6 votes
To answer your particular question: When trying to read it from home, it tells me "To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right)." (costs: 30 $US).
You can easily check this by logging in from home, some public WiFi, or even with your mobile device (as long as it is not using WiFi in your university network to connect).
# Answer
> 2 votes
For a particular paper you can use the advice provided by OBu above, by trying to click the link over public wifi without logging into your universities library (or you can even use a public library computer or your smartphone)
However, if you want to discover if a particular journal (not article) is open access, mixed access or completely behind a paywall, you can't use this method. for mixed access journals/publishers, the easiest way to tell whether ALL of their articles are behind a paywall or only some is to read the section entitled something like "Instructions for authors". If open access is an option this will always be mentioned somewhere in the instructions for people submitting papers to the journal (because they can pay to make their article open access). The reason why you can't just look up a paper at home and look for "To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right)." is because this may only be the case for some of that journals articles.
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Tags: publications, open-access, paywall
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thread-15783 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15783 | Re-typesetting an old paper, what to do with the result? | 2014-01-15T01:18:56.913 | # Question
Title: Re-typesetting an old paper, what to do with the result?
I am using an old paper, published in 1986. It is in the form of a "Letter to Nature" (which is a scientific journal). It doesn't appear to be typeset in TeX, at least not TeX as we know it today. Furthermore, it is a scanned copy, so it is just a image, embedded as a PDF. The lack of multiline equations, and highlight-able text is getting to me.
I'm considering re-typesetting it myself by hand in LaTeX (it is quite short) for my own benefit and understanding.
The paper is still being cited today, and is used in university courses to teach the subject. It seems a waste to have gone to the effort to retype it neater, and then just leave it in my draws. If I re-typeset it, what can/should I do with the new version?
Can I host it online myself (giving full credit to the authors)? Should I send a copy to authors, for them to do with as they will? Are there issues with the fact that it has been published in Nature? Perhaps they have some copyright on it?
# Answer
> 13 votes
The copyright will be owned by Nature, so it would be illegitimate (and, as @AnonymousMathematician says, somewhat rude) for you to distribute it yourself.
However sending a re-typeset version to the original authors isn't *distribution*, but simply correspondence. If they want to re-distribute this, they're in a better place to do so than you are. This may not have occurred to them, and your action in suggesting they do so, will be at the very least encouragingly flattering!
I doubt Nature would be opposed in principle. Their author licence policy says that ‘\[Nature Publishing Group\] actively supports the self-archiving process, and continues to work with authors, readers, subscribers and site-license holders to develop its policy.’ That's a fairly vague remark, of course, but many universities and funders now *mandate* 'self-archiving' papers, and journals have no option but to go along with this; therefore the authors may have already have a way of distributing this in a way which is low-hassle to them, and unobjectionable to the journal(s).
Detail: Authors aren't, typically, allowed to distribute the publisher's PDF version of a paper, but *are* increasingly allowed to 'self-archive' and distribute the 'post-refereeing authors' version' (that is, the same text as in the published version, but typeset by the author).
So, get in touch with the authors. It sounds like you'll be doing the community a favour.
# Answer
> 10 votes
The copyright is almost certainly owned by Nature. I don't know what sort of rights the authors retained in Nature's copyright agreement from 1986, or how to find out other than by asking Nature or the authors. My guess is that Nature will not want you to distribute the paper, and the authors may not even have a copy of the agreement or remember what was in it, but who knows. Nowadays Nature allows authors to post their own version of the paper on their own web site or institutional repository six months after publication. This clause couldn't have been in the 1986 agreement (there was no web back then), but maybe Nature would agree to it retroactively. If so, then the authors could legally distribute your retyped version. It's hard to say whether Nature will agree or whether the authors will want to bother with this, but it could be worth asking.
Of course you could retype and distribute it without permission. Even aside from the illegality, it seems a little rude to distribute a retyped version without checking with the authors. For example, if you introduce typos, readers may not know who to blame, you or the authors. On the other hand, the authors probably can't legally authorize you to distribute it, so it's an awkward situation.
It's too bad our laws and customs make it difficult to arrange things like this. When someone does retype a famous paper (such as Shannon's 1948 paper introducing information theory), it can be a really useful service for the community. I hope you are able to find a way to do this with Nature and the authors' permission.
# Answer
> 4 votes
While both answers above are correct in that you'd be violating copyright by typesetting the paper and distributing it, it sounds like your intent here is to create a document for your understanding, and that duplicating the paper is the way you're proposing to do that.
Another way is to think of how you'd prepare lecture notes based on this paper. It's very common to see lecture notes that go into detail on a single paper. Now you can't reproduce figures/tables from the original work without permission, but you can definitely explain the paper using your own understanding it, and referring readers to the original source for any specific figures/tables/results. Since this particular paper is quite mathematical in nature, you should be able to explain it **in your own words** reasonably well without actually copying it.
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Tags: publications, copyright, latex
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thread-15903 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15903 | Is it acceptable for authors of papers in a special issue of a journal to review each others' papers? | 2014-01-17T18:47:16.647 | # Question
Title: Is it acceptable for authors of papers in a special issue of a journal to review each others' papers?
A journal publishes a special issue on a controversial area of research studied by a rather limited community of researchers. Would it be acceptable for the editor of the journal to use the authors of the papers comprising the special issue as the pool of reviewers, so that each paper is (anonymously) reviewed by two of the authors of the other papers ? Would this constitute a conflict of interest, given that all of the authors will be receptive to other papers supporting this line of research?
Edit: The editor also works on this topic, and it is an area with some controversy. Should the editor include scientists who have published papers critical of this topic in the pool of reviewers, even if he personally doesn't agree with the criticism?
# Answer
In general I would say it would be very poor judgement to use only authors from the special issue as reviewers. But, if the theme is such that they would constitute the best choice for reviewers it might be difficult to avoid. The best way, in my opinion, to try to circumvent the problem is to use one reviewer from the group and one external. this way it is possible for an editor to identify issues.
One problem with the scenario you paint is that it seems you suggest the editor is more trustworthy than the authors, or conversely that authors would be worse than the editor. Although I am sure some special issues may suffer from problems such as those you describe, most scientists, editors and journals want high quality work, not sloppy work and so the process is to some extent self-correcting.
In terms of publishing, the term conflict of interest is usually not considered other than in situations where, for example, an author has received help from a person who later is requested to be a reviewer or where the author feels that a certain person will not provide a fair assessment of the work. Usually such conflicts will be flagged by the people involved since the editor is in no way positioned to know about all such potential problems. It is thus not difficult to trick the system but uncritical reviews are usually quite easy to see through.
> 4 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, ethics, editors, special-issue
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thread-8574 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/8574 | How to negotiate with referees of your paper | 2013-03-13T14:31:06.263 | # Question
Title: How to negotiate with referees of your paper
I have submitted a paper several years ago and its referee process took about three years and I had to revise the paper six times to get the final approval. The paper had two helpful and knowledgable referees and I appreciate their comments and suggestions, but I have also had the following problems with their suggestions:
1. sometimes their comments contradicted each other. For example, one of them wanted me to add a discussion and when I added that part he wanted me to remove it in the next revision.
2. they often wanted to expand the scope of the paper, but due to some technicalities I had to consider some restrictions to get the expected result.
3. they gave me new comments and proposed new modifications after every single revision, while they could suggest all their comments in their first report and this made the referee process this long.
4. one of the referees wanted me to address some related works in other papers in my paper, which was actually unnecessary.
I pretty much obeyed all their suggestions and comments and finally the paper was accepted and now it has been published. Although I learned a lot during the referee process, I wished I could negotiate with referees and do not have to obey them in every little detail. Besides I had this feeling that I have somehow lost my freedom as the author of the paper during this process and I have no control on my paper any more. I had to do whatever they asked me even if I was not completely convinced it is a right thing to do. I have also had some of the abovementioned problems with the referees of my other papers. You perhaps know that journals often have this policy that you either should implement all the changes suggested by referees or withdraw the paper. This policy leaves little room for negotiation. So my questions are:
**An author, in order to discuss his/her points with referees and do not obey some of their suggestions and comments or ask them to not delay the referee process further, what is the best strategy to negotiate with referees? Is there any diplomatic way for this negotiation or we have to obey referees all the time? Have you ever had similar problems with referees of your papers? How did you overcome these problems?**
# Answer
> 25 votes
This is a response drawn from my combined editor/author/reviewer experience (for what it is worth). As has already been stated, you negotiate with editors not with referees. In most cases (there are likely always exceptions) the reviewers provides reports to the editor who makes decisions based on these and should, in my opinion, also evaluate the review reports and provide you with some direction for how to proceed. Reviewers will also provide the editor with comments that you will not see and which can influence the editors final remarks. I think some editors are not taking their responsibility seriously when they let the reviewers "dictate" changes. A review is an (educated) opinion (in the best case) and not a truth (we have to remember that as reviewers). The editor is not a god (or a semi-god) either and it is always possible to disagree with him/her (I have to remember that). Keep in mind that the editor still has the power to reject papers if he/she thinks it is in the best interest of the journal.
1. If reviews conflict, a good editor should provide you with some guidance. You can also weigh the conflicting views against each other. Sometimes one or the other are based on misconceptions which may result from unclear writing so always explore that avenue when you disagree with a comment.
2. Expand the scope. Again, I would expect an editor to provide some final direction. If none is given I think it is fair to approach the editor and state your opinion and ask for clarification.
3. Extending the process. This sounds quite unacceptable to me. I can possibly see this happening when getting new reviewers in after each round but again, the editor should put an end to the process at some point (sooner rather than later). I wonder what your expected turnover time would be for the journal you describe. Several years is completely unacceptable to me and within my field.
4. Requests to quote. If not necessary then they are not necessary. I would make my case to the editor and hope that it is clear why no additions will or should be made.
So if your journal is run well, you should be able to get some direction out of your editor by asking short direct questions about whatever issues you have (suggest how you would like to solve them as well). If you have severe problems like what you describe, I think you need to re-evaluate where to publish in the future. As with all of us include some self-evaluation as well to see if you can improve from any of the problems you have encountered. I certainly have learned and hopefully improved my writing and publishing skills from publishing experiences.
# Answer
> 25 votes
> You perhaps know that journals often have this policy that you either should implement all the changes suggested by referees or withdraw the paper.
Which journals have such a policy? I don't think this is the case for any AMS, MAA, or SIAM journal, for example, and I'm not aware of any journal with such a policy (although of course I have direct experience with only a small fraction of the journals in mathematics). Here's how it works in the cases I'm familiar with:
Any changes suggested by the referees are merely suggestions, which do not need to be followed if the author and editor are in agreement. If the change involves fixing a mistake or correctly attributing work, then no responsible editor will accept the paper until the situation is resolved (either by making the change or establishing that it is not needed). Matters of clarity are also taken seriously. However, some referee suggestions are just opinions that the author may reasonably disagree with.
It's perfectly reasonable to write to the editor and say "Here's a new draft of my paper. I've made changes A, B, and C proposed by the referees, and I'm grateful to them for identifying these issues, but I have not implemented D and E. I think those changes are not truly needed, because ..."
> what is the best strategy to negotiate with referees?
I'd think of it instead as negotiating/discussing with the editor. The editor is the one who makes the decision, with the referees providing advice and expert opinions. Ideally, you'll be able to convince the referees that not all of their proposed changes are necessary, but the editor is the only person you need to convince if the referees are stubborn.
Editors are used to this. As an editor, I've occasionally written an acceptance letter (conditional on revisions) that says explicitly that only some of the changes are really needed, and even when I don't say so authors certainly don't always make all the changes.
# Answer
> 10 votes
Though they make valid points, I feel that the existing answers (esp. by @Peter Jansson and @Anonymous Mathematician and the comment by @JeffE) put too much weight in the role of editors. I think this might be misleading for some folks, and (coming along quite a bit later) I want to try balance those answers out with another perspective informed by own experiences.
Not only **can** you negotiate with reviewers, but any time you submit a revision with a response letter, **you must** negotiate with them.
In my experience, editors are largely hands-off. Typically they won't read the paper in detail, but instead they try to provide a meta-review: a consensus verdict from the reviews given to them and a summary of the main points to address. The editors make the final decision about rejection/acceptance based on the information they have.
But crucially, when you submit a revision and an accompanying response letter, it is the **reviewers** that will look again at the paper and the treatment of their comments and decide how to proceed with their next review (and it is those reviews that are, in turn, considered by the editor). When you submit a response letter, you are implicitly **negotiating with the reviewers**: you are telling them which comments you addressed and how; more importantly you are telling them which comments you only partially addressed or didn't address at all and why; and you are effectively negotiating with them as to why your paper should now be considered ready for acceptance.
To be clear (and this is mentioned in other answers) it is not a good idea to only address the comments given by the editor. Your response letter should be aimed primarily at the reviewers. If the reviewers are happy, the editor is typically happy, not the other way around.
And yep, sure, reviewers will frequently give you comments you disagree with, but you must respond to everything and I highly recommend at least compromising by partially addressing every comment. Sometimes it is even sufficient to treat the spirit of the comment, not the literal content. For example, a reviewer might push you to do additional work that you feel is very clearly out-of-scope; but then you should ask yourself why the reviewer brings this up? Maybe it wasn't made clear in the paper that it was out-of-scope? In the response letter you can state that you did not present the additional work, but instead that you better clarified why it is considered out of scope in the introduction. This way you acknowledge that there was a flaw in the paper and that the reviewer has a point, but as an author, you chose a different solution to fix it.
(From the other side of the fence, I know that as a reviewer, I get p\*ssed off when the comments I volunteered are not even responded to or are dismissed without good reason. Yes probably some of the comments I give are not useful to the authors but I want to at least see that they considered the suggestions.)
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In summary, though the editors co-ordinate the revisions and the verdicts, it is the reviewers that provide the feedback and, in my experience, it is the reviewers you should aim to negotiate with towards getting your paper ready for acceptance.
Sometimes you may have genuine disagreement with a reviewer or will encounter the infamous adversarial reviewer. Making your case to the editor is then the best course of action. (If reviews are going around in circles for three years, as in this case for example, then it is the responsibility of the editor to step in. In fact, in the terminology of the adversarial reviewer, this is known as the "Iterated Goldilocks Method".)
# Answer
> 5 votes
Read the editorial practices and author guidelines of your chosen journal carefully. The details will depend on the field, but I suspect most journals do **not** require authors to implement all changes suggested by referees. However, you *are* required to address all the points raised by the referees. (For example, Physical Review Letters does this; see their editorial practices and author guidelines.)
Referees are human and are not immune from making errors. If you believe a criticism of your paper is incorrect or a proposed change is superfluous or erroneous, you should state this (politely!) in your response. You alone are responsible for the quality and integrity of your publications, and you should not implement changes you disagree with. If you present a solid argument for why the changes should be rejected, a reasonable editor can and should let your version stand.
(Regarding multiple proposed corrections on material a referee has already seen, I feel that a polite request to the editor, after the first occurrence, that they expedite the review process by preventing such multiple corrections, is well within your rights.)
Most importantly, **know the rules of the game**. Read your chosen journal's editorial practices and all the author guidance at least once during the preparation and submission process of your paper, ideally *before* you submit, and certainly before you reply to a referee report. If a journal states that you must incorporate all referee proposed changes, and you are uncomfortable with this, choose another journal!
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Tags: publications, paper-submission, peer-review
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