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thread-19260 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19260 | École Normale Supérieure's students' class rankings and ranking on the national concours exam for agregation? | 2014-04-12T17:38:20.880 | # Question
Title: École Normale Supérieure's students' class rankings and ranking on the national concours exam for agregation?
Are the *École Normale Supérieure*'s academic records publicly available anywhere?
Specifically, I would like to know what class rankings were historically there, as well as its students' rankings on the national *concours* exam for *agrégation*.
thanks
# Answer
I found half the answer:
Here's the link to records for rankings in the *concours* exams for *aggrégation*:
**Les agrégés de l'enseignement secondaire Répertoire 1809-1950**
> 1 votes
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Tags: ranking, academic-history
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thread-19264 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19264 | Are many new math results first published in monographs? | 2014-04-12T19:29:45.163 | # Question
Title: Are many new math results first published in monographs?
Are many new math results first published in monographs (not in articles)?
# Answer
> 15 votes
Research monographs in mathematics certainly exist, but they aren't the standard form of publication. They are generally not as prestigious as papers in strong mainstream journals, they may be less widely read, and they may be viewed as being less carefully refereed. Some important work in mathematics has first been published in monograph form, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a very good reason (for example, extremely long proofs, or lots of valuable material that would be harder to understand or appreciate out of context).
There are some journals that publish extremely long papers in monograph form, such as Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society. If you want to publish a research monograph in mathematics, a series like this is a reasonable place for it, while a stand-alone book is riskier.
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Tags: publications, mathematics, monograph
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thread-19266 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19266 | Where can I learn more about the differences between areas of chemistry at graduate level? | 2014-04-12T20:26:15.193 | # Question
Title: Where can I learn more about the differences between areas of chemistry at graduate level?
I'm a 3rd year undergraduate student studying chemistry, and I'm starting to think about grad school. I've enjoyed the different chem courses I've taken, so it's hard for me to pick a subcategory of chemistry to study.
Are there books or other resources available which describe in depth how the rubber meets the road for the different fields of chemistry? I've spoken with my professors somewhat and I plan to continue doing so, but I would like a text-based resource which I could refer to and look up or research the words and concepts contained in it.
A related, but different question is this: What are the most important factors when considering graduate school in chemistry?
# Answer
If you are in the EU, most graduate schools typically prefer you to have a Masters degree before applying for a PhD, it is apparently not so necessary in the US. The Masters is however, important for several reasons:
* You can see if chemical research is what you really want to do, as most undergraduate programmes have no or very limited opportunity for original research, largely being focussed on equipping you with a set of techniques and skills to enable you to carry out chemical research. I have many friends who were 'all chemistry'd out' after their Masters, and left the field completely (Of my cohort over half are no longer in a chemical field).
* You can try out a field of chemistry in a research environment, either one you have come across during your undergraduate e.g. spectroscopy of small molecules, and enjoyed, or one that only really gets introduced at undergraduate level, if at all e.g. supramolecular chemistry.
* You can try out a supervisor you are considering working under for a PhD, without the commitment of 3+ years on the line.
* It demonstrates to a potential supervisor that you are capable of conducting original research to a good standard. Agreeing to take someone on with no prior demonstration of research aptitude is not something many supervisors would do!
PhD programmes can also vary a lot: Some are longer and have a first 'introduction' year, where they train you in the specific skills you need to complete the programme. This first, often taught year is very similar to the 4th year of an integrated Bachelor + Masters course. Some are just straight research from the start, with an evaluation at the end of the first year, the failure of which prevents you from continuing, and you leave with an M.res or similar. I could go on...
To more directly answer your question, the best way to find out about the differences in day-to-day activity between the different areas of chemistry at PhD level is to try and talk to some current PhD students.
If you have completely free reign and no particular interest, I would suggest you aim to talk to students in most of these categories:
* **Physical** lots of maths, often boils down to applied physics, in my opinion the least 'chemical' of these options. Can also overlap with analytical in areas like atmospheric chemistry or kinetics.
* **Analytical** (physical chemistry typically focussing on spectroscopic exploration)
* often overlaps with **computational** (modelling the behaviour of chemicals on surfaces e.g. catalysts, or the behaviour of proteins and their binding sites, or small molecules as entirely simulated objects, to name a few)
* **Chemical informatics** e.g. developing tools to help statistically analyse chemical behaviours for drug discovery, or to communicate chemical information electronically. Can be a good way into programming with a chemical slant.
* **Synthetic chemistry** this comes in many flavours, organic and inorganic, but most are similar on a day to day basis (see below for exceptions)
* **Medicinal/natural product synthesis** synthetic chemistry but typically much longer hours, often the most internally competitive/'macho' culture in the department
* **Materials chemistry** this can cover a very wide range of specialisations and include engineering and physics too; very dependent on the particular programme. Nanoscience is sometimes lumped in here, sometimes in organic and sometimes in inorganic!
In broad strokes, more physical PhDs can require greater discipline, because you don't have the obvious 'put this reaction on/analyse this intermediate' type workflow and can spend weeks waiting for computations to run/repairs to a piece of analytical equipment etc. It is easier to remain emotionally uninvested in the outcome of an experiment, because you are typically trying to find an answer to a question, rather than produce a specific result. By contrast, synthetic PhDs can have moments of soul-crushing defeat when reactions repeatedly fail, frequently requiring a lot of mental fortitude to keep trying things to get a reaction to work/work out a way round it.
To summarise, doing a Masters first is a good idea, to ensure you want to go the PhD route and improve the strength of a PhD application. For picking a PhD (and to a lesser extent, a Masters) you really need to be able to narrow down your options by some/all of topic, supervisor, location and type of programme.
addition from comments: Here is a link to information provided by ACS for students looking to find out about graduate courses, should be a good starting point.
> 3 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, chemistry
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thread-19249 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19249 | Should final exams be comprehensive? | 2014-04-12T14:12:31.533 | # Question
Title: Should final exams be comprehensive?
I teach in the school of sciences and engineering in the university where I work. I have asked professors several times if the final exams have to be comprehensive, and I usually get mixed answers.
So I want to ask, for a course with two midterms and a final:
1. If there is some criteria or organizations that require the final exams to be comprehensive (for instance, does ABET accreditation or legal statute require it?), or does it depend on the school or the professor?
2. What are the pros and cons of having a comprehensive final?
3. Will your answers to the above questions be different if the course components were 2 best out of 3 midterms plus a final, or if the course was a graduate course instead of undergrad?
# Answer
> 12 votes
All of my final exams are cumulative, for a couple reasons:
1) I've always felt odd about non-cumulative exams. It seems to send a message I'd rather not send: *“It's okay to forget about what you learned earlier in the course – you won't need that any more.”*
2) Often, what gets taught later in the course builds on earlier concepts. If A lays the foundation for B, and B lays the foundation for C, it can be rather challenging to test on C without testing on A and B also.
That said, I try very hard to test on higher-level concepts rather than on minutia, so a cumulative final fits my teaching style. I expect my students to be able to speak intelligently to the main themes of the course. I've told students many times: “Come to class ready to learn, and be ready to engage with the material via the in-class discussions. That's the best way to prep for the exams.”
My goal is to structure my exams so that students who have paid attention in class and learned the material through other assignments should do quite well on the test – without the need to cram or commit the material to short-term memory. “By the last week of the term, you either know this stuff, or you don't,” I tell them. Many of my exam questions are essay questions that require students to analyze a scenario, and synthesize material from different parts of the course.
That might not always work, depending on the nature of the material; some material doesn't lend itself well to such questions. This approach may not be scalable, either. (It's not uncommon for me to have six or seven pages of essay questions per exam. Most of the time, I have between 15 and 30 students per course, which keeps grading manageable. If I had 50 or 60 students, however, I might have to rethink this approach.)
As a footnote, most of my courses are 400/600-level courses. I don't know if the style I've outlined would be a good fit for freshmen and 100-level material.
# Answer
> 9 votes
To address 1, I've never heard of any such policy on cumulative exams. In my experience, such pedagogical decisions are made solely by the course instructor. They make the decision as to what material appears on the final exam, or even whether to have a final exam at all.
In the case of large multi-section coordinated courses, this decision might be made by the course coordinator (especially if all sections give a common final exam) or by agreement of the various instructors. There might be some expectation that they will respect precedent unless they feel strongly that it should change, in which case they might be expected to discuss it at the department level.
Otherwise, I think any explicit rule about the content or format of exams would be seen as a serious infringement on the instructor's autonomy, which is a central aspect of university teaching.
# Answer
> 6 votes
At my large public research university (in the US):
In physics, exams are nearly always non-cumulative. The finals are treated essentially as a third midterm, none of which are cumulative.
In math, the it depends on the professor and the course. If it is one of the "common"/high-enrollment courses that students in e.g. biology, chemistry, also have to take, then the final is usually cumulative. In courses designed for upper-level math majors only (e.g. topology, graph theory) it is up to the professor, but usually cumulative (usually the courses are very linear; it would be impossible to pass a test over the final material without knowing the material from the midterms).
In humanities, usually not cumulative. Or if cumulative, trivially so (e.g., one or two basic questions about the early material).
edit: I should clarity, it's always up to the professor, I'm just outlining general departmental tendencies
# Answer
> 6 votes
I'm responding to #2 and 3, as there are no rules regarding #1 that I'm aware of.
Pedagogically, there is evidence that **repeated testing improves learning**. Most of the literature is via authors Karpicke and Roediger. Here's a list of resources from a research project at Washington University, and a rather overwhelming overview of student learning and good teaching by John Kihlstrom at Berkeley.
I don't see why the benefits of a comprehensive final would be lessened by a "two out of three" midterm organization or different for undergrad vs grad level students.
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Tags: teaching, exams, assessment
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thread-19268 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19268 | Should definition of terms section be included in the introduction or the literature review chapter? | 2014-04-12T21:00:40.523 | # Question
Title: Should definition of terms section be included in the introduction or the literature review chapter?
I 'm writing a Master thesis. I have some terms that should be defined. Where should I put this section? In the introduction or literature review chapter? Thank you
Additional Information
I think there are always exceptions to the general rule of writing theses. That's, some may not have a supervisor, guidelines, etc. This is another story. Concerning definitions of terms, they can be presented as a glossary or discussed in a separate section. Where this section should be put is my question. I have seen theses having it in the introduction while others in literature review chapter discussing each term in detail.
1. Example of a thesis discussing definitions in the literature review chapter: Contesting the Culture of the Doctoral Degree: Candidates’ Experiences of Three Doctoral Degrees in the School of Education, RMIT University. Link.
2. A handbook for writing Master thesis recommends discussing definitions in the introduction: Bui, Yvonne N. How to write a master's thesis. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, c2009. You can have access to a summary of the book here.
So, what is the difference between discussing definition of terms in the introduction and doing it in the literature review chapter? If the literature review chapter is about reviewing previous research on the topic, why should one allocate a whole section for example to defining a term or concept?
# Answer
I've often encountered this type of problem in my own academic writing (and not only in theses). The problem is that it's often difficult to talk about something before you've defined what it is. But at the same time, it's awkward to write so much expository material before being able to talk about your own stuff. It's up to you to work out, for your document in particular, the best way to present these necessary definitions.
Given that you want to say what your work is about as soon as possible, you can't avoid mentioning at least a few of these technical terms before introducing them formally. For one thing, you may well have to put them in the title! Often, you can present *just enough* in the abstract and introduction to allow readers to get an idea of the technicalities, but not overwhelm them with detail. The trick is to make sure your presentation is accurate and useful. If you make it too vague ("the Riemann Hypothesis is a very hard problem") then nobody is helped.
A literature review chapter is often a natural place to put definitions. It's hard to say anything meaningful about the literature if you haven't introduced the terms that the literature talks about. Also, exploring the past contributions to your subject certainly includes identifying who came up with particular definitions, who disagreed, how they adapted the definitions, and so on. This is the case for the dissertation in your first link, which defines "research" in the literature review, in the context of conflicting definitions of what research actually is (p19). The author still talks about research in the preceding pages - but that is the point where she sets the scene for her own work, using that definition in particular.
Material which is more basic or less contested could be introduced earlier, if you like. If it is general background, which readers need to know in order to understand anything you've done, but which the thesis is not particularly "about", then the introduction is a fine place for it.
Equally, definitions could be in their own section - either towards the beginning, or as an appendix. I often see this in documents where the definitions are basic reference material. Some readers will know them already, and skip the chapter; others can read in more detail. Again, this option separates the definitions from the literature review, on the basis that the definitions are simply fundamental to the field.
Ultimately, the choice is yours, unless your institution tells you what to do. I hope these thoughts will be helpful as you consider which option is best for presenting your work.
> 2 votes
# Answer
In the guidelines for my Masters thesis we were told to put our glossary after the contents page and before the abstract section, with its own entry in the contents page. Does your course/institution not have any such guidelines?
> 0 votes
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Tags: research-process, thesis, literature-review
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thread-19282 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19282 | Decision making paradigm for career planning | 2014-04-13T14:22:13.400 | # Question
Title: Decision making paradigm for career planning
Despite receiving a job (post-doc) offer in January I have kept applying to other positions (post-doc and teaching track jobs). This was not a bad idea in retrospect, I suppose
This post doc job offer I received is in Europe (**France**) and required me to apply for a "long stay visa". I am currently a visiting faculty in a well known mid-western university in the USA. My citizenship is "Indian".
I did apply for a long stay visa and have not received it yet. In the mean time I have received a job offer for one teaching track (non-tenure but "long term" contract) job at my current university.
I have not been offered tenure track jobs anywhere since I have a backlog of publications right now.
## Here is the problem:
* My post doc job starts in 3 weeks time and I haven't received my visa yet. I have to make other arrangements too (air tickets, housing in Europe, other stuff for a trans-continental move).
* I have been given 3 weeks to decide and confirm my availability for the teaching track job.
* I prefer the post doc since it is a more appealing challenge. The downside is I have to exit the USA if I get my visa and go to Europe.
* The teaching track job offers me stability, a full time employment and a salary that is difficult to beat in the post doc job and in my home country of India. The downside is that teaching track lecturers are treated as "mules" in the USA and are burdened with courses that "tenure track" do not want. This would mean that any research aspirations I have go down the drain since I won't be afforded time to do research.
* For me as a foreigner, it is not just working on my "passion" but also getting a lucrative position with which to support my family. I have to strike a balance between working on my passion and living in a developed country with a good salary.
I am confused as to what to do.
## Here are options that occur to me (deferment of either position is not a possibility):
* Wait for 3 weeks and irrespective of the visa decision, take a risk and say "no" to the teaching track job and take my chances with the European visa and miss an opportunity to have a full time job in the USA.
* Wait for the next 3 weeks, if EU visa is not delivered to my house, just tell the lab that I cannot wait any longer since I have to make a career decision and take the teaching track job and miss a fantastic research opportunity for a great salary but a job that could very easily become flavorless.
## Some more detail that I need to factor in:
* I love to teach and have received some teaching awards for graduate and undergraduate courses I have taught as a visiting faculty.
* However, I love research as well and understand that teaching and research are symbiotic activities and that the EU postdoc (which is a research position) allows me to do research and develop as a better teacher.
## My question:
I am **not** asking this forum to make my decision for me; I just want to know how to weight this situation rationally and try and cut my losses if things go to pot. What are some of the decision making paradigms that one would use in such a situation?
If there are other details that may not have occured to me, would prove useful, do let me know via a comment below and I will try to include them.
## Amendments to question:
*"what is the likelihood that the visa will appear in the next three weeks, and what methods do you have to estimate this likelihood?"*
The consulate tells me that it takes between 2 weeks and 2 months for a decision on "long stay visa" to be made. It is week 3 of my wait.
There would appear to be no way of estimating the likelihood other than tracking the status on a status page. All it says right now is: "Your application is under consideration". Contacting the consulate yielded the same answer.
# Answer
Since the purpose of this question is to ask for general decision-making strategies that might apply more generally, here are some (that also impinge on this case):
* **Acquire information:** Get as much information as you can that would affect the decision: in your case, estimates of time for the visa process, and so on.
* **Determine the "real" timeline for decision making**: in this case, do you really have to decide in three weeks ? can it be delayed slightly ? and so on.
* **Determine how "permanent" the decisions are**: can you negotiate a 1 year contract ? Can you defer the postdoc ?
* **Separate out facts that affect the decision from feelings/opinions**: Is it true that "if the visa comes through I'm going without a doubt" ? If so, then everything depends on facts regarding the visa. Is it instead true that "if the visa comes through I have a preference, but I do enjoy teaching and like staying in the US" ? In that case, there's a personal preference coming into play that isn't usually resolved by "facts", and so timelines and data collection don't matter as much as (or are influenced by) some soul searching.
> 8 votes
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Tags: career-path, postdocs, non-tenure
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thread-19248 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19248 | Does rigor/thoroughness of undergraduate program matter (for graduate/PhD applications)? | 2014-04-12T14:09:10.123 | # Question
Title: Does rigor/thoroughness of undergraduate program matter (for graduate/PhD applications)?
I am an undergraduate at a large public research university in the US, finishing my second year. I have done some theorycrafting around my graduation course requirements, and I have realized that it is possible, with some work (and generous CLEP testing), to graduate with a double major, Math BS + Physics BA, by next May. I would be meeting the bare-minimum requirements for both majors (in particular, for math, I will have only taken the 4-semester calculus series, lin. algebra, and the 2-semester abstract algebra series; plus some extraneous ones e.g. game theory).
If I were to stay the extra year, I would comfortably qualify for a double Math BS + Physics BS, and I would have 3-4 more math classes under my belt (perhaps the 2-semester topology series, graph theory, advanced abstract algebra, real analysis, etc). (edit: this option, Physics BS rather than BA, stresses a more thorough physics courseload; 15 hours of upper level physics classes are required for BS over BA)
edit after several answers: Another 4-year option is to get Physics BA + Math BS, leaving my course load open to taking 3-4 math classes per semester. This, hypothetically, could put my post-lin-algebra courses at 2 sem. abstract algebra, 2 sem. topology, 2 sem. intro analysis, graduate level courses of the above, intro complex analysis, intro graph theory, etc
My intent, if I were to graduate next year, is probably to take a year off from academics, and then apply for graduate/PhD programs in math.
Will it be an issue in being considered for these programs, that I have only taken a meager selection of the course offerings in my undergraduate studies? And might it be offset by the fact that I graduated in three years with a double major?
# Answer
Your question makes me a little sad. You are obviously a bright and ambitious student, and you have spent almost two years at a US public research university. You are trying to "theorycraft" your future career, which is good. But somehow no one has managed to communicate to you the basic goals of an undergraduate math major and the requirements for graduate study: how did that happen?
To once again answer the title question (the other two answers are completely on point): "Does rigor/thoroughness of undergraduate program matter (for graduate/Phd applications)?" The answer is **yes, of course**. Not only does it matter, but together with indications of your success in these courses -- course grades together with recommendation letters from your instructors -- **it is what matters the most**. Your question first proposed graduating early with a double major in physics and math, with coursework that to any math PhD admissions committee member looks *extremely minimal*. This is a terrible plan for getting into a PhD program in mathematics (not just a top one, but any one that I know).
Let me be clear: I am not scolding you. I am lamenting the total lack of advice you have somehow been subjected to. You are not the first bright, ambitious undergraduate who has asked a question on this site which evinces the misconception that the best students get through undergraduate degrees in as few years as possible. This is quite the opposite of the truth: does anyone know where these misconceptions are coming from?!?
Here is my opinion (as someone who served on the graduate committee of a top 50 PhD program in mathematics for four years): unless you want to work cross-disciplinarily in math and physics, the second undergraduate major in physics is not directly helping you get into a PhD program in mathematics. On the other hand, it seems to be stopping you from taking the deeper and more advanced course offerings that are essential for you to even get consideration at a good (or even decent) PhD program in mathematics. If your postgraduate plans include a career in which knowing a little bit about several different things will be beneficial -- and I can imagine that many careers in business and industry are like this -- then a double major could be desirable. However, for a future PhD student, all else being equal a double major is time taken away from the one thing you're supposed to be devoting much more time and energy to learning.
In your case, you absolutely need the fourth year of your undergraduate program in order to be considered for a top program. Unless you absolutely load yourself up with challenging and graduate-level math courses in that last year (which may not be the best idea for other reasons, e.g. it works against the level of your success in these courses), I would in fact be thinking about what to do *after you graduate in four years* in order to make your grad school application more competitive. You say that you want to take a year off before going back to grad school. If you still want to do that after a four year degree, then thinking about how to get some additional mathematical training in during that year off might be a good idea.
> 19 votes
# Answer
This would be a great question to discuss with your advisor, or another faculty member at your school whose opinion you respect.
My opinion, for what it's worth, is that the "bare-minimum" 3-year program you describe would be woefully inadequate to prepare you for graduate study in mathematics, and I think most admissions committees would agree. The fact that you did it in 3 years with a double major won't mitigate that. A year of analysis is pretty essential, some topology would be very helpful, and taking a significant number of upper-division math electives will be a great way to build what people call "mathematical maturity".
Your 4-year program sounds better, but honestly still a little on the light side. Keep in mind that many applicants to top grad programs will have taken practically every undergraduate course their department offers, and maybe a couple of graduate courses besides, in addition to often having undergraduate research experience. You also want to make sure you get to know (and impress) your mathematics professors well enough that they can write you strong letters of recommendation, and taking more math courses is the biggest part of that.
The physics degree on your diploma will be nice, especially if you are looking to do a PhD in mathematical physics, but it may not go a long way to making up for weakness on the math side.
> 25 votes
# Answer
While Nate's answer mostly covers it, let me be a little more concrete: I just went into the files for graduate admissions at my own institution (the University of Virginia), and looked at the double majors we had admitted or wait listed. I can't give details obviously, but I can say they are all way ahead (curricularly) of where you propose being at the end of your 3 year degree, and probably of the 4 year degree you suggest (6 classes beyond linear algebra is actually not very many). I don't think there's any way that the 3 year degree you suggest could get you admitted into a top 50ish school (in USNW or NRC rankings) without some sort of exceptional factor, and if you have 6 post-linear-algebra classes, your background will still be a big disadvantage, unless you are looking specifically at applied math programs where your physics background will actually be taken into account.
To answer your general question: yes, rigor/thoroughness of undergraduate program makes an enormous difference. Graduate programs are under pressure from university administrations to graduate students in a timely manner, and generally don't want to have students with weak backgrounds who will hang around in the program for a long time (or flunk out). Most schools have a set of exams you need to pass before moving on to your thesis, and (just as an example), at UVA, you must pass a topology or analysis exam within 2.5 years of starting the program. Thus, admitting someone with no topology or analysis background would just be setting them up to fail those exams.
While obviously, there's some sort of nebulous notion of talent that schools put a higher premium on (so you also want strong grades, and strong recommendations), background is relatively easy to measure, and is a very important factor in admissions decisions.
> 17 votes
# Answer
Seconding the other good answers, I would reiterate that, unless you are doing massive amounts of documentable self-study (which is entirely possible modulo the documentability), the senior-level undergrad or beginning grad-level courses you take substantially affect the appearance of your grad school application in at least two ways. First, your documented exposure to something approaching real mathematics. Second, the letters of recommendation from the faculty who taught those courses, testifying to your (presumably...) excellence in beginning-serious mathematics. Letters of recommendation are a very serious component of grad school applications, and if people can only refer to things scarcely beyond linear algebra, it won't help you.
Indeed, as @Pete L. Clark observed, you are being dis-served by lack of advising about the goals of your undergrad program, and about preparation for grad school. I realize that there are many ways for young people to disconnect from useful-but-official information, and many ways for institutions to fail to communicate effectively, but, either way, you're missing a bunch of critical info, which a site such as this can only nudge you toward.
One more time: the "minimalist" version of a math undergrad degree will doom your grad school applications. Finishing in three years versus four doesn't matter at all.
> 6 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions
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thread-19307 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19307 | Computer Science, MEng or BSci + MSc in the UK? | 2014-04-14T10:26:59.813 | # Question
Title: Computer Science, MEng or BSci + MSc in the UK?
In Spain, it is fundamental to do the first 3 years of bachelor and the last two years of master to get a job, so I find very difficult to understand the UK system. I am currently enrolled in Computer Science and I have to find out whether I want to do MEng or BSci.
For what I understand:
* with BSci I can later do a master MSci for a total of 4 years
* with MEng I can in the fourth year choose master courses but MEng is considered undergrad course
The **M** in front of Eng is really confusing. I don't want to go into research but I would like to get a greater insight of Artificial intelligence and Big Data, thing that I could do either way choosing MEng or BSc+MSc.
What is the difference between MEng and MSc in the industry? Given that I will spend 4 years any way, should I invest my time in MEng or Msc?
# Answer
> 3 votes
This report from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the UK gives a breakdown of what it considered a masters degree to be (See pages 20-23).
In the UK a MSci (Master in Science) is generally a taught postgraduate degree, involving lectures, examination, and a short project. Sometimes you can complete a research MSci, where a longer project is required. According to the UK National Qualifications Framework, masters degrees are classed as level 7 qualifications.
A MEng (Master of Engineering) is usually taken to become a chartered engineer, who is an engineer registered with the Engineering Council in the UK. The follow from the wikipedia page explains that other ways can be used to demonstrate entry standards such as a MSc
> The MEng degree represents the minimum educational standard required to become a chartered engineer, but there are other equally satisfactory ways to demonstrate this standard such as the completion of a BEng Honours and a subsequent postgraduate diploma or MSc, or by completion of the Engineering Council Postgraduate Diploma. The UK MEng (undergraduate degree) is not recognized in Canada, USA, India or Europe as a true masters degree since a masters degree in these countries takes a further 1–2 years after a 4 year Bachelors degree.
An MEng is also a level 7 degree under the UK National Qualifications Framework. It is considered a Integrated masters which is explained in the report (link above) as the following (pages10-11)
> Integrated master's degree programmes typically include study equivalent to at least four full-time academic years, of which study equivalent to at least one full-time academic year is at level 7. Thus study at bachelor's level is integrated with study at master's level and the programmes are designed to meet the level 6 and level 7 qualification descriptors in full.
The UK national qualifications framework can be compared with ones from other EU countries here
# Answer
> 3 votes
Short answer: They are viewed as both roughly equivalent. MEng (or MSci for other sciences) is a 4 year course. BSc + MSc is 2 course (3 + 1 years).
Longer answer/other useful info: I studied an MSci in Physics not CompSci so there might be some minor differences between the subjects, I don't think they are significant.
Although not directly asked I also feel its import to point out that MSc and MSci in the UK are different (MSc is one year, MSci 4years).
Generally in the UK a single 4 year course is becoming more popular. Of my physics course ~60% did the 4 year MSci, ~10% did the BSc and then an MSc somewhere else and the rest only did the BSc. Now these numbers are only an example and details will depend on course and institution (many lower ranked uni do not offer a combined course).
In terms of content both options are likely to be similar. Possibly the BSc and MSc tends to be slightly more research/project based. Although this is very course dependent. I recommend you research the course syllabus for each option.
The main factor to recommend the MEng is funding. For UK students student loans are generally only available for your first degree. This means subsequent 1 year masters must be funded independently/by a bank loan, which is often prohibitive for many people. As you are a Spanish student I am not sure what the situation is for you. Obviously this is something you may want to consider.
In favour of the BSc + MSc it offers more flexibility. You can chose a different institution or a more specialized course after your BSc. The flip side is you are not guaranteed a place anywhere. Additionally many jobs do not require a masters so it gives you the option to only complete the BSc (someone else might comment on how true this is in CompSci).
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Tags: university, computer-science
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thread-19310 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19310 | Given only one possible appointment for masters application interview with no possibility to renegotiate date: Is this a red flag or normal? | 2014-04-14T11:18:26.943 | # Question
Title: Given only one possible appointment for masters application interview with no possibility to renegotiate date: Is this a red flag or normal?
Background:
I applied for several masters programs this season (taking into account the advice given on this site) and have received a request for a telephone/Skype interview with one of the German universities I applied for. The response came much more quickly than I expected and I still have no replies from other universities.
The mail contained suggested date and time (ten or so days from the date the mail was sent) and asked me to confirm it. Unfortunately, at the specified time, I'll be on a highway, in a different country, traveling between two cities. In my response, I explained that I'll be on a trip and that I'm coming back two days after the suggested date and that I'll be available pretty much at any time after I return from my trip. The reply I got is that the time suggested is the only available time for the interview.
Question: My unfortunate situation aside, I wanted to ask is it normal for universities to be this inflexible when scheduling admissions interviews? Did I go out if line by attempting to negotiate the interview date? This is the first time I'm having any sort of interview, so I really have no idea what are the cultural norms in such case.
# Answer
I think it was perfectly reasonable of you to ask to reschedule. Of course, it's unfortunate that they weren't able or willing to accommodate you, but that's up to them.
You'll now have to decide what you want to do: interview while traveling, or alter your travel plans, or skip the interview altogether. It might be worth considering whether an institution that seems so unwilling to accommodate prospective students is an institution that you'd want to attend at all!
> 6 votes
# Answer
It's fairly normal if course admission is competitive, and if one's application really hasn't stood out so far as exceptionally good. The interviewers might have many dozens of interviews to wade through, and the only way to do that is on a very tightly planned schedule.
Given it's a Skype interview, and given the prevalence of laptops, wifi and high-speed mobile data, I don't think it's that extraordinary to expect that for such a significant interview, an applicant would schedule a stop during a trip, at a place with a decent data connection to do the interview.
> 3 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, masters, interview
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thread-19323 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19323 | Does grading based on a curve make cheating unfair? | 2014-04-14T23:54:06.877 | # Question
Title: Does grading based on a curve make cheating unfair?
I went through this and still can't fathom why cheating *isn't* black-and-white. Nevertheless, https://www.csusm.edu/dos/studres/wwwc.html says,
> "A cheater receives through deception what honest students work hard for; and in classes graded on a curve, he lowers their grades to boot."
Ok, I get why people don't cheat(moral fortitude) and why people don't rat(social fortitude); and that's just me saying I'm on the "I'll force all you cheaters to pay for your injustices" side; but is it the grading system that makes it bad for honest students? If honest students honestly receive high marks, but are "curved down" in rank because cheaters get near perfect marks, then grading based on a curve must be one of the only things that makes it unfair.
--- clarification: Grading on a Curve: means to statistically conform grades of all those measured to a curve that measures performance based on a norm-referenced assessment.
Would cheating still be considered unfair if we drop the concept of grading according to a curve? (which we should)
# Answer
> Would cheating still be considered unfair if we drop the concept of grading according to a curve? (which we should)
Of course!
Let's assume that without cheating 10% of students get As. Therefore, students who earned As are a small group. Having an A might help getting funding, or finding an internship or a job. Now let's say that with cheating, 50% (no normalizing) of students get As, now an A is no longer that valuable because a lot of people have them. Therefore, the value of As that honest students earned has diminished.
> 10 votes
# Answer
Cheating is unfair regardless of how you handle grading, but *how* unfair it is depends on the grading scheme. Let's assume that the cheater's efforts earn him among the highest raw scores in the class.
No matter how you adjust the grades (unless you flip high and low grades!) the cheater will have a higher grade that they deserve, and anything which is grade dependent and competitive (e.g. getting a job, getting into grad school, etc.) will be unfairly easier for the cheater and unfairly harder for everyone else. So there's a baseline unfairness to cheating.
If, additionally, you keep the percentage of A's fixed (grading on a curve), the cheater will bump someone out of an A, which will likely impact them negatively (career, grad school, etc.). Someone else may be bumped out of a B, etc, down to where the cheater would have been if they hadn't cheated. So there is direct and noticeable harm to the cheater's fellow classmates. It's a pretty rotten thing to do. (This is also related to why students fight so ardently for every grade or grade step.)
If you keep the requirements fixed, then everyone will get the same grades they would have, save the cheater, but the average fraction of A's will go up. The net impact is the same--a 3.2 average now looks worse than it did before because the averages have gone up--but the negative effects are not felt by individual classmates but rather averaged over everyone from the university with cheaters. By spreading the harm among more people, in some ways the effects are less acute; aside from the cheater, everyone else is still going to have the same relative standing.
So, especially if cheating is rare, it's even more unfair if you're grading on a curve\* since those people who have the bad luck to be stuck with a cheater will be unfairly punished in addition to the cheater being unfairly rewarded.
<sup>* There is an argument for grading on a curve, however: there is also unfairness due to differences in grading schemes between universities. Grading on a curve helps to combat this, as instead of measuring various different expectations of mastery (e.g. if Harvard expects you to do more to get an A than does Yale, then your GPA will be lower if you go to Harvard than Yale), it just measures students against each other, and there are enough of those for statistical sampling help even out the other differences (e.g. if the incoming classes to Harvard and Yale are of similar quality, and both grade on similar curves, regardless of which one you'll know who was in the top 10%, and those top 10% will be similar regardless of where they went).</sup>
> 2 votes
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Tags: ethics, grading
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thread-19329 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19329 | Model for the number of citations an article receives over time | 2014-04-15T03:40:46.277 | # Question
Title: Model for the number of citations an article receives over time
Is there a standard model for the number of citations an article will receive over time? If not, is there a good source for data on citation counts for articles divided up over time? Furthermore, does this vary by field
It seems plausible to me that the number of citations decays approximately exponentially, with the rate of decay depending on the article, but I have empirical evidence for this conjecture.
Such a model would be useful because a few years after an article was published, one could use the MLE method to estimate the number of citations the article would receive over any time period. This would allow us to count citations in a way that does not bias older articles, one of the chief problems with straight citation counts. Additionally, it would give us a better idea of the inaccuracies of metrics like impact factor.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I imagine you'd have an initial publication lag where citations might be lower for example in year 1 than in year 2 and that then aggregate citation counts over time would have to be monotonically decelerating. You'd also have substantial variability in terms of individual articles. For example, I've heard of articles which accelerate in their citation count over time as they become the standard citation for a particular topic.
Independent of overall number of citations received, journals and fields differ dramatically in the rate at which citations accumulate. A good starting point is to look at "citation half life" (i.e., the median time it takes a journal or field to acquire half of its total citations). If you can access ISI you can examine how different fields and journals differ in citation half life.
For example, I just had a quick look at a few fields from ISI 2012 which yielded the following data:
```
Field Citation Half-Life (in years)
PSYCHIATRY 7.6
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS 6.9
MATHEMATICS >10.0
PSYCHOLOGY >10.0
```
So clearly psychiatry and astronomy tend to cite more recent articles, whereas mathematics and psychology often cite older articles.
The implication is that impact factors (which are based on the last 2 or possibly 5 years post publication) should be higher in psychiatry/astronomy than in mathematics/psychology. It also means that early career researchers in psychiatry/astronomy should accumulate a better h-index more quickly than researchers in mathematics/psychology, all else being equal.
# Answer
> 3 votes
I think **the** model for all kinds of papers is very unlikely to exist. Certainly, the trajectory will be different for very strong and fundamental contributions vs. small incremental improvements, that often become more or less irrelevant in a few years. Further, looking through Google Scholar data (already mentioned by Anonymous Mathematician), I would hypothesize that there is also a difference between fields. In my rather hype-driven research field (services / software engineering), citations often seem to roughly follow a bell curve:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
These papers, if they are timely, generally need one or two years to pick up steam, then there are a few years with lots of citations, after which interest in the presented ideas dies down again.
More fundamental work often seems to have a less clear trajectory:
Example 4
And then of course you have publications which are just "weird":
Example 5
Note that all examples I have provide have a not-too-small number of citations on them. I would say for publications \< 50 citations on Google Scholar (i.e., most of them), all bets go out through the window anyway. Fluctuations are too large for any sort of statement over the shape of their trajectory.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Google Scholar will plot the number of citations over time for papers. I don't know whether it will do so for arbitrary papers, but it will for any paper listed on an author's page (e.g., Terry Tao).
I haven't studied the data systematically, but some things are clear from browsing:
1. Citation statistics for individual papers can be incredibly noisy. For example, a paper may have 5 citations one year, 15 the next, then 7, 2, 12, etc., with no obvious pattern or explanation. Furthermore, different papers written by the same person on similar topics and with similar citation rates sometimes show visibly different levels of noise, and I don't know why. For papers with particularly high citation counts (e.g., 50+ citations per year), noise is not as big a factor, but such papers are uncommon.
2. Different papers can take radically different trajectories. For example, some of my papers have a consistent growth in their yearly citation counts over ten or more years. Others seem relatively stable, probably decreasing a little over time but with yearly fluctuations that are substantially larger than the decrease. Some have fallen completely off the map and only get cited occasionally (perhaps a Poisson process). These different scenarios are correlated with how good I consider the paper, but only loosely, and I think the trajectory would be tough to predict from the first few years of citation counts.
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Tags: citations
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thread-19339 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19339 | Forum for discussing research paper | 2014-04-15T07:22:39.137 | # Question
Title: Forum for discussing research paper
I am trying to implement an algorithm given in a paper. I have some questions which I would like to clear out since implementation requires complete clarity on all the concepts/algorithms/arguments introduced the paper. I have contacted the authors of the paper multiple times(5-6 times) through mail but I do not receive any response and it's been close to a month now.
I would like to know if there is any forum/website in which a reader of a research paper can submit questions that he/she faces while reading it, which is also subscribed by the authors of the paper and authors of papers citing that in their reference section.
P.S.: This question may seem to be duplicate of: Whom to discuss research papers with?
But in my case, I am not from academia and do not have any advisor/mentor sort of person to discuss paper with.
# Answer
No, such a forum does not exist (even though it actually sounds like a reasonable idea in theory). The closest I can think of is the Questions & Answers section at ResearchGate, though to be honest I have stopped checking in there because most questions in my fields are simply not very interesting. Depending on your topic, you may also be well served posting in a topically appropriate Stack Exchange site.
> 5 votes
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Tags: online-resource, reading, literature, independent-researcher, reproducible-research
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thread-19230 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19230 | Is it a negative that my PhD research has been in several unrelated areas? | 2014-04-11T16:51:28.640 | # Question
Title: Is it a negative that my PhD research has been in several unrelated areas?
I'm a PhD student in Computer Science. Long story short: I do not have a good relationship with my advisor. I don't trust his guidance or his ethical integrity. Therefore, I am seeking external advice for my situation.
During my PhD I got one paper accepted in a first tier conference, two papers accepted in a second tier conferences, and other papers published in workshops and minor conferences. I have one journal paper accepted.
However, not all the work is on the same topic but it is scattered among three, mostly unrelated, subjects. Now my PhD is ending.
**Is it negative that my work has been on three unrelated subjects?**
(I cannot find a topic that allows me to merge all my results in my PhD thesis, I have to leave out at least half of my work.)
# Answer
To the degree that you do have a PhD thesis *and* some other work (that, more over, has been published), I would say it is a positive thing, not a negative one. It is a good combination of "breadth and depth" as one comment has put it. The general advice I have heard many times for long-term planning, is "the ideal is to try to distinguish yourself in two fields inside a discipline. One -everybody tries that. Three -and your image starts getting blurry". Or something like that (and with the caveat that "fields inside a discipline" may not mean the same thing for different disciplines).
> 6 votes
# Answer
Assuming we are talking about the U.S., at this point you just need to defend your thesis. This should be your main concern. Then publish your results in various journals/conference proceedings, as appropriate, including those results already included in the thesis.
It is irrelevant if you will merge all of your work or not, as chances are, almost nobody is going to read your thesis anyway. You will need a journal/conference publication of the same results.
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, research-process, thesis
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thread-19341 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19341 | Is it more ethical to hire a tutor to prepare or to cheat on a test? | 2014-04-15T08:25:40.393 | # Question
Title: Is it more ethical to hire a tutor to prepare or to cheat on a test?
This question was inspired by this fascinating discussion about cheating.
If grades, degrees, test scores are important for getting a job/internship/assistantship, even more so than the actual knowledge that they measure, I can see how cheating on a test can be considered unethical. Is it ethically better to hire an expensive tutor to prepare, say, for the SAT or for the GMAT, or for some test at school, than to attempt to cheat on the exam?
Here is some context: New York Times: Tutors Hold Key to Higher Test Scores, for a High Fee.
**Assume that the tutor has no secret/insider knowledge about the test**. Assume that the tutor is essentially teaching you only some tricks for beating this particular test, no real knowledge. Assume also that many people in class do not have the money to hire a tutor of the same qualification.
Conversely, is it okay to cheat for those less financially fortunate, if they cannot afford a tutor?
As further context, Princeton Review explicitly states that their SAT prep program does only one thing: raises scores. Princeton Review argues that test prep is right and ethical, because (paraphrasing) SAT is a stupid, almost meaningless thing, and those without quality test preparation are put at a disadvantage.
# Answer
> 12 votes
Measuring the ability to learn tricks (including financial ability) is actually of use to most employers etc., while measuring the ability to cheat is if anything a measure of what employers etc. want to avoid (since typically the risk/reward scheme for them is very different from individuals).
Thus, while having a tutor is not completely fair to those who cannot afford it, it is still a reasonable proxy for desirability. Cheating is (usually) not. So it's ethically better than cheating inasmuch as the right people for the positions will tend to be selected for them.
# Answer
> 9 votes
Very theoretical, but let’s think this:
* If you cheat, you are doing sth. very unethical, as you are not following the rules that every one must obey, thus, you're obtaining an unfair advantage. Rules are for everyone and you’re breaking them – that’s bad.
* If you pay someone (who doesn’t have any real knowledge about the questions in the exam) to help you with the exam, you’re following the rules. So, you aren’t doing anything bad.
Some people may complain saying: “But it’s unfair for those poor little guys who have no money to afford a tutor. They’re in disadvantage; it’s not ethical; it’s unfair.” And I respond: “Yes, it’s unbalanced. People with money will have advantage. **But** people who don’t have to spend X hours in work will have more time to study, having an advantage too over the workers. And people who can study in silence will have advantage over those who live in noisy places, …”
So, we must put some rules to try to give the same starting position to everyone. But there will be always disadvantages. The better the rules, the less the disadvantages. So, the student can’t do anything unethical if he/she follows the rules.
The question should be: Is it fair/ethical that exams are made in a way that someone with knowledge of tricks not related with the subject can obtain a huge advantage enough to overtake those who don’t know the tricks? Why are those “tricks” not published by the “teachers” or the exam providers? The problem is in the way the exams are, not wether people can pay a tutor.
In any case, cheating is explainable, but **never** justifiable.
Edited to include my own comment: Are you doing something that breaks the rules? No. You are pursuing a finish line, with all your effort and possibilities. If you have the money and the will, pay for it. If you have the time and the will, study more than others. If you have skills, use them to learn better than others. If there are rules and you follow them, nobody can say you’re doing something incorrect. You’re just doing as best as possible – through effort, money, skills … If you stick to the rules, you’re ok.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Both are dubious. But cheating is a problem with your personal ethics, and you risk being caught. If the exams are based on some secret knowledge, which is not available to wider public, the whole system is corrupt. If you adapt, you support that system, but you don't risk getting 'caught', since you know something that is accepted by the system.
The problem is quite abstract since you won't have either-or situation in real life. If the system enforces bribing the examinators or buying secret knowledge, the system would enforce no-cheating policy on the exam very well (because it's in the financial interest of the examinator).
For me, it's like the pickpocketing vs. corruption dilemma. **Both are bad**. But cheating is easier to fix (more control on exams etc.). In case of paid tutoring the whole system needs fixing, which is hard to fix because the system will oppose and you need some external force to change that (like revolution etc.).
# Answer
> 2 votes
Thing One: The exams are generally *intended* to measure how good you are at performing certain tasks (working out or knowing the correct answers to questions). On a given day, etc.
Thing Two: the exams are *actually used* to estimate how good you might be at other tasks (studying for a degree, doing a job, being "smart"). Of course SATs and the like are not great at estimating those things. For that matter intelligence doesn't easily admit being measured at all. But it's one piece of evidence and people seem to care about them.
So, get one consideration out of the way. Is it unethical to train for the test at all? Maybe, because that makes it a less good proxy for general ability. But you can train for the test with or without a tutor (perhaps more effectively with). Just practicing questions makes a significant difference. A good (but not off the charts) SAT score from someone who has never seen a SAT-style test before is impressive. A good (but not off the charts) SAT score from someone who has seen them before just means they're capable of studying. I think in this question we're not interested in whether receiving tuition is unethical. We'll assume it isn't and then we're interested in whether *paying* for it is unethical, right?
Cheating on the test subverts both Things. The first because what ends up getting measured is not anything you can work out for yourself (aside from avoiding getting caught), but something someone else can do for you and pass you the answers to fill in. The second because you won't always be able to cheat at your job and you won't be able to cheat at being "smart".
Paying for a tutor doesn't subvert the first thing at all. You really can work out the questions on the day. The *reason* you have that ability is in part because you have money to spend on the problem of learning it, but the test doesn't set out to measure how the ability was acquired, only that you have it. So *from the point of view of standard testing*, cheating is unethical and tutoring is not.
Paid tutoring may well subvert the second Thing, since you won't always be able to hire a tutor to teach you how to do any task you need to complete in life. SATs are quite predictable (intentionally so), challenging tasks in real life aren't. You can reasonably argue that if someone uses SATs (or GMAT, or IQ, whatever) as a proxy for some other activity then it's *their* problem to figure out what correlation there is (if any) between what ability you need to pass the test and what ability they really want.
Personally I hold to some socialist principles, so I think it's regrettable that opportunity and power in the country I live in is distributed primarily according to wealth. Which in turn is primarily inherited, at least when talking about people's early education, where any benefits like this coaching are typically paid for by parents. It's possible that this question is inspired by similar principles, in which case I sympathise, but the only way to apply those principles is to consider what it is and is not ethical to acquire through wealth. Different people will have different answers. Education? The ability to pass silly standard tests? A house to live in while you're educated? You can acquire free time through wealth, does that make it unethical after all to practice for SATs? If you think it's unethical to acquire advantage through wealth, sure it does.
In a perfect free market, people for whom a SATs tutor is a worthwhile investment would be able to borrow money to do so regardless of their economic background, and get the same benefit. In a perfect socialist state, access to education and jobs would not be based on wealth at all (indeed, 'wealth' could be meaningless or at least would not significantly vary across the population). Each system has its own idea of what equal opportunity means.
The actual world is neither of those things: some people can get an educational advantage by paying for a better education and others cannot, purely by the wealth of their parents. Society is not fair. Tutors are part of that privilege. As such I think they are part of the broader question of whether it is ethical to be rich, but there's nothing special about tuition in particular that makes it less ethical than spending money on anything that gives you an advantage of those who can't afford it.
It's probably *less reputable* to pay for coaching to a syllabus like the SATs that (for the purpose of this question) we assume to contain no real knowledge, than it is to pay for tutors to teach you something more educationally worthwhile. The more people train directly to a test, the less valuable the test becomes under Thing Two. But I don't think either is held to be actually unethical except by those who want the student's wealth taken out of education more generally.
# Answer
> 1 votes
This is not so much a self-contained answer, as a longer comment in response to a number of the answers here.
Cheating seems to be categorized here into a single huge category, but it seems relevant to split it up:
* Cheating by *copying information* from other students: Absolutely unethical **and** requires no useful skills from the student.
* Cheating by *using cheatsheets*: Absolutely unethical (as the playing field isn't equal), however it still requires the student to comprehend the material and even more so requires the student to behave more similarly to real life where, unlike in exams, forced memorization isn't all that relevant.
Now, getting to your question, is it more ethical to hire a tutor? Definitely, as there are academic rules and expectations a student has to play by. Which one will teach a student more:
1. Learning self made cheat sheets by hard
2. Learning by hard
3. Cheating by using self made cheat sheets
4. Using a tutor learning only tricks as defined in OP
5. Cheating by copying
Is what follows from the presented argument.
Lastly I would like to point out that in real life cheating by copying isn't called cheating but called collaboration (in the context of colleagues working for the same institution as is the case with students). In a lot of positions it's more important to know when to 'cheat' then having all the knowledge at hand by hard. This does not however in any way justify cheating, nor is the current system designed in a way that would allow correct measurements in spite of such cheating, but it is worth noting in the context of this question, especially as there is a slow paradigm shift from individual examinations to more heavily graded group work.
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Tags: ethics, grades, tutoring
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thread-19363 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19363 | Culture clashes in authorship norms | 2014-04-15T15:05:30.737 | # Question
Title: Culture clashes in authorship norms
I'm an American professor in a branch of theoretical science at a US institution. There is a Japanese postdoc in our group who has nearly finished writing a paper with one of the American postdocs. We're having a bit of a conflict over authorship: the Japanese postdoc wants my name to be on the publication, and I don't think it's appropriate. I chatted about the project with them while it was in progress and made a few suggestions, but fundamentally all the ideas and computations originated with the two postdocs. I think that they should take full credit for the work and I that I should take none, and this seems consistent with US authorship norms to me. However, the postdoc from Japan seems very unhappy that I don't want to sign my name on the paper. He said that if I don't, then he won't feel like he can discuss his future work-in-progress with me because he will think I am disavowing the work or that I have no time for him. I've insisted that I'm happy to discuss his work, I just think that he deserves his share of credit for it and that if my name is attached it might be perceived by others as more my work than his.
I've never encountered this situation before. At times I've been in the opposite situation, when I was a postdoc, feeling that professors were claiming undue credit for my work, so actively wanting a professor who did none of the actual work to claim authorship is difficult for me to understand. But I assume this is a difference in cultural norms; I know professors from certain countries in our field who have such a large number of publications that it's clear they're claiming authorship over this sort of project that they had very little involvement in. (I don't necessarily mean that as a criticism of them; I think that within their local academic culture, this is expected and ethical behavior.)
How should I negotiate this cultural clash?
(Also, to forestall one possible set of comments, I'm in a field where alphabetical author order is conventional, so that isn't an issue here.)
# Answer
I feel like the right answer must be to continue the conversation with the Japanese postdoc and ultimately give him the responsibility to understand and accept your position.
I understand that *at first* he interpreted your lack of desire for coauthorship in a certain way. And then you explained your position, as you have written here. How did he react to that? If someone insists on interpreting your behavior in a way different from how you are explicitly identifying it as being meant to be interpreted, what can you really do other than ensure that your future actions are consistent with the interpretation of your present behavior that you have conveyed?
I don't see any insurmountable "cultural differences" here. In my field (mathematics, which sounds like it is equal or close to yours) there are plenty of singly authored papers by Japanese people, so obviously the practice of supervisory coauthorship is not a fundamental tenet of Japanese culture or anything like that. Even if it were: if the postdoc is in the US working in your group, then he has volunteered in a very strong sense to participate in your local brand of Western academic culture. If he cannot understand that actions can have different meanings in your neck of the woods than what he was used to earlier in his career (whether by virtue of his being Japanese or for some other reason), then he's headed for big trouble.
I would say: clearly explain the situation as best you can, in several sittings if necessary. Don't put your name on a paper that you don't feel you contributed to just because that makes the postdoc uncomfortable. In the near future, try to go a little out of your way to show that you still want to do business with the postdoc (assuming you still do, which sounds reasonable).
> 22 votes
# Answer
Your view is in line with international norms as expressed by guidelines for authorship (see for example Council of Science Editors, \[BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal)\] and ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors has written up guidelines for authorship and contributorship based on the Vancouver Protocol.).
Since there is international agreements in place you can simply point at these and say that it is what your adhere to. I can see that the student wants to be affiliated with your name and having a recognized name on a paper may be of use both for personal and review reasons. Nevertheless, it seems clear that with the ethical rules in place, the student should realize that the request is not correct. You could of course also suggest that your name appear in the acknowledgements. that seems appropriate to me and could be a golden middle way.
> 16 votes
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Tags: authorship, international
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thread-19235 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19235 | I am having difficult first year in my part-time PhD program; How can I figure out whether I should leave it or not? | 2014-04-11T17:38:32.240 | # Question
Title: I am having difficult first year in my part-time PhD program; How can I figure out whether I should leave it or not?
I have a full-time job, and am a part-time PhD student who is experiencing tremendous struggles throughout the first year, compared to my previous schooling which was extremely easy. I want to know if I'm psyching myself out / over-thinking things, or if I'm being rational or not, given all the circumstances.
My academic career began with a degree in Computer Science, but I took as many side courses in Mathematics as I could. I did very well, loved it, and thought to do graduate studies. A couple of my professors thought it was a great idea, considering how well I did in their classes, and suggested going for a Ph.D., part-time as I have a full-time job, in the same school. They wrote me stellar recommendation letters and I got in without any issues, whatsoever (unfunded, but that was not a concern to me).
I am nearing the end of my first year in the program, and it has been an unbelievable struggle. A family/personal emergency caused me to have to withdraw from my classes for the first semester; despite how embarrassed I was, my professors told me it was okay and that things happen, and that they still had complete faith in me. Now it's the second semester, and I am struggling to keep up in my classes. I have always approached math via my intuition, but now I feel I am able to follow my professors in lectures and participate, but when it comes to studying or applying it that's when I struggle. Self-study takes so long and is very arduous and as I'm not used to it; I get extremely distracted.
Compounded with this, is that I want to discuss this with others, but I find it almost impossible to face my professors that recommended me, anymore. I haven't spoken to them since the winter due to shame. They had so much faith and confidence in me (and probably still do), but I feel that as a PhD I should do better, but I'm not. My performance is shocking and appalling to me, considering what I was used to doing. Talking to my adviser is out of the question as well, as when I discussed my last-semester withdrawal situation with him, he made a loose implication that "he wasn't necessarily sure he would've admitted me, in hindsight," and he wondered aloud who was the one that did admit me.
I am still in a position where I feel that I would not be happy unless pursuing graduate study in mathematics, as I want to learn this subject inside and out, be surrounded by a community that I find interesting and exciting, and researching and publishing new ideas. I just have no idea if my struggle is either completely normal, if I'm horribly under-qualified, or if I am just psyching myself out. How can I figure out whether I should stick with my program or not?
# Answer
I'll keep this answer fairly general, because what you describe sounds like a fairly general situation.
The transition from undergraduate to Ph.D work is difficult because you're going from a very structured environment (take classes; get grades) to a very unstructured one (take classes, but focus on learning rather than grades; deal with material that's more cutting-edge and therefore open-ended; start getting into research, which is really open-ended).
This is hard, and it's normal to expect a period of transition where things seem out of whack.
Coupled with that is the shame: people going to grad school are usually the ones who do well in undergraduate and have done well all their life in school. You've received praise from your teachers throughout, and have received constant encouragement.
Now you're in grad school. Everyone there is like you, so the competition is more fierce. There are no pseudo-objective measures like grades so there's no way to compare yourself to others (which for high achievers often means that you compare yourself negatively). And above all, all those nice professors who used to encourage you have turned into scowly curmudgeons who expect more and more and more...
It's a wonder everyone isn't depressed. And on top of that you have a full-time job !!
The recommendation that I will give, and that everyone here is giving you, is to ease up on yourself and try separate out your feelings of shame and inadequacy from the reality. You should find a support network of friends, hang out in study groups, do extracurricular stuff. The friends you make in grad school will be friends for life - such is the nature of this crucible. Since you're working full time this is going to be even harder, but maybe you can find others who also work full time and are in a similar position. Also see if you can find senior grad students who are part-time: their experience will be very valuable.
And then in a year you'll be back year asking about how to avoid discouragement in research, and how to avoid procrastinating, without realizing that this is a sign you've made it through the first year successfully :)
> 19 votes
# Answer
A PhD is an apprenticeship - you need to be on the same page as your advisor always. If he was making comments like that you need to know if it was his poor attempt at motivating, or if you don't get along. If you don't get along you need to find someone whom you can get along with. This is a long process. You should have no "shame" with your former professors either. And you should definitely go back and talk to them, as well as current students, especially the more senior ones.
As Suresh points out, everything is about to change. Classes in a PhD program are more to complete any breadth you are missing at the foundation from your earlier program. Then they are to start filling in a stronger foundation for your specialty. And then they are supposed to give you a taste of the depth in even more specific subfields. Also to help you understand what professors are available, what they study, and how they work, so that you can find an advisor and a committee.
After that you start doing research - and it becomes a much more self-motivated and often self-directed endeavor that builds on these foundations. A PhD is about vetting you as a researcher from start-to-finish. And putting you on an initial research trajectory. No one will ever ask your GPA from graduate school once you have your degree. Although it's expected you get good grades by your program (many require A/B's - C's are often failing in grad school - but you're only taking "in major" classes now so C's weren't really great for "in major" classes in your earlier degree programs). Again though the grade isn't what's important. But how hard you have to work for them is a potential indication of how hare you'll have to push yourself later in the less directed portions of the program. But you'll have much more freedom as to what to research.
I have found your problem is not unique. Many (/Most?/All?) students struggle with what exactly is grad school, and why are they there, and time management. It sounds like time management is something you will have to work on too. Not necessarily because you are bad at it, but because you have a lot of constraints on your time. Holding a job at the same time means you will be a little more removed from your fellow students. You will want to talk to them and get to know them if you can. It will help to know that you aren't in it alone.
In addition to your peers, a good book to help you know that this isn't your own personal hell is: *Getting What You Came For*. Very affordable survey of grad school. Honestly most school "handbooks" should be thrown away and replaced with this. Another good book is *A PhD is Not Enough* it's a shorter version of the first, but also talks about how your goals and "the systems" goals are not 100% in line with each other and you need to be aware of that and how to navigate that.
> 3 votes
# Answer
PhD can be extremely tough, for many reasons. I finished the comprehensive exam prep (1st year), at 6 am in the morning, to start my presentation at 9:00. Needless to say it was less than stellar. So, most, if not all PhD candidates went through what you are going through right now. To put salt on the wound, your first article is a pregnancy that seems to last forever. And I'm not even talking about writing the thesis. There will be a point, in this journey, where you're not sure of why you started all this in the first place, where you are on the map, and most painfully where the hell this boat is going. Don't worry, that's normal.
There are a few important points from what I see in your narrative. You're feeling bad because you think your performances are suboptimal, and because you don't want to look bad in front of your advisor, you won't bring up the topic with him/them. He's not really helping either. You're then left with little advice as to how to improve. Then you feel worse, and the situation worsens.
Congratulations, you are now in tail spin. How do you get out of it ?
The beast AKA the PhD topic: It is very much up to you, that's the point of the first year, you can actually decide and then explain why it would benefit from a re-focus. It is the hardest part of the whole stuff. There's no magic recipe, you need to understand, and to accept that what you managed to explore during the first year, is the only material you have to start digging on the right spot. Discussions with your advisor, and with your peers are very important.
The first Year: It's the toughest one. You have graduate courses AND the comprehensive exam. Basically, the only bright spot are the two weeks vacations coming after that. Keep it in mind.
Health (mental and body) It's draining. So you have to take care of yourself. Eat well, sleep well, practice sports, and above all you MUST hang out at least once a week. A patient girl/boy friend is a great asset to have.
Kill the father: A much unexplored aspect of the PhD is the relationship student/advisor. The sooner he doesn't act as a father any more, the better.
Finally, you: PhD is by nature unstructured. That's what it is, that's what it is for. It's your job to keep the bearings aligned, and to foster great discussions with your peers. If you made it here, it's because your brain functions are what it takes to get through it. So, if you are in trouble at the moment, it's not because you have become dumb overnight.
brain candy, in case you didn't see it : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FnXgprKgSE A. Wiles journey through Fermat's last theorem. 7 years.
A great advice from a peer at the time. "Always start the day with something you can achieve". So it comes down to your ability to set yourself meaningful targets, which results will accumulate over time. Good Luck !
> 1 votes
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Tags: phd, mathematics, coursework, part-time
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thread-19354 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19354 | Are open-book exams generally a superior way to test understanding on practical courses? | 2014-04-15T13:34:34.780 | # Question
Title: Are open-book exams generally a superior way to test understanding on practical courses?
I understand why it would be a bad idea to allow math students access to paper materials as it is necessary for students to know the basic math formulas by heart.
But what about advanced practical courses where it is important to "understand" rather than "know"? For example, knowing statistical formulas won't help if you haven't understood how to apply them. Knowing STL commands by heart is also useless for programming, unless you're actually good at programming. Intel's x86 developer manual won't help a complete newbie in Assembly programming.
Therefore the question is whether it is reasonable to believe that good courses should be focused on "understanding" the subject rather than "memorizing" it, meaning that the instructor should have no problems with his students using paper materials on the exam?
# Answer
You might find this article on a computer science class valuable (1). The tl;dr is that sections allowed student-prep notes showed no overall improvement, but mostly because many students didn't bother to create good student-prep notes. Good notes = good grades.
A quick browse of a review/ meta-analysis article on the topic (2), indicates that open-note exams can decrease student anxiety, and that student-prepared notes tend to produce larger improvements than open-book exams.
As an instructor, I've found students often spend energy only where they feel it is needed. I would recommend providing sample exam questions (as a group activity in class?) that gives students a good idea of what will be required and what sorts of notes would be helpful. This will help them expend the energy in preparation instead of frantic in-exam page-flipping.
Thanks for wanting to trigger deep learning in students!
1. Duncan, D.G. (2007). Student performance shows slight improvement when open notes are used during information system exams. Journal of Information Technology Education, 6, 361–370.
2. Larwin, Karen H., Jennifer Gorman, and David A. Larwin. "Assessing the Impact of Testing Aids on Post-Secondary Student Performance: A Meta-Analytic Investigation." Educational Psychology Review 25.3 (2013): 429-443.
> 6 votes
# Answer
I believe there are two main counterarguments to this line of thinking:
* Examinations in which students are given unlimited access to material tends to lead to more challenging exams, since everyone in principle has access to all of the available material they can get their hands on.
* If unlimited resources are allowed, this potentially gives students who can access more materials an advantage over those who don't.
The second problem is the more serious, in my opinion, but both are major challenges that must be overcome.
Personally, I "split the difference": I allow students to bring in a limited amount of notes to help them. They can decide what they need to include or not, but it's their choice. Also, by placing the restriction, no one is inherently advantaged
> 4 votes
# Answer
When I don't want students spending a lot of time memorizing things, I simply provide supplemental information on the exam itself.
For example, imagine a course textbook lists 12 reasons why something might happen. Rather than expecting them to memorize all 12, I might list all 12 on the exam, with an application question such as:
> The book lists these 12 causes; which of the 12 is most likely to lead to a catastrophic failure? Explain.
In the case of a statistics class where "it is important to understand rather than know," and, "knowing statistical formulas won't help if you haven't understood how to apply them," you could simply compile a list of formulae from the course textbook and put them on the last page of the exam.
By the way, I agree with Moriarty's comment: "The act of carefully constructing this summary sheet is usually much more useful than the notes on it." My approach doesn't have this benefit, but it does have a few advantages of its own. For one, a student is less likely to get a better score simply because of a better-prepared cheat sheet. For another, the student might focus on understanding the material at a higher level instead of transcribing lower-level details.
My general rule is: If something is hard for me to remember without looking it up, then I don't expect students to memorize it for an exam. I will supply it instead.
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Here's another idea to consider. (I haven't used this one, but I had a professor who did, and I admit I liked his reasoning.)
One professor of mine had a custom of administering open book, closed notes exams. (In other words, you could use your book, but **not** a cheat sheet.) Why this way, instead of the other way around? Because, he said, "Most students won't keep their cheat sheets, but a lot of them will keep their textbooks." There were no restrictions on writing inside the margins or the back cover (in fact, that practice was encouraged). Sure enough, I still have a book from his course, and I just opened the front cover, and found my cheat sheet still intact, with plenty of complex equations and hyroglyphics in my own handwriting.
As more and more campus bookstores offer e-readers, this approach might become outdated. But I still think it's worth sharing; I always appreciated how this particlar professor was always looking years down the road, as opposed to just the end of the term.
> 3 votes
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Tags: computer-science, exams
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thread-19295 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19295 | Should I answer students' questions immediately or teach them to ask better questions? | 2014-04-14T00:07:38.187 | # Question
Title: Should I answer students' questions immediately or teach them to ask better questions?
I'm teaching an online lab (to accompany an in-person course) to undergrads in their 3rd or 4th year of an engineering curriculum this semester. The aim of the lab is *not* to teach them any particular technical skills. It's only meant to supplement the *content* of the course by exposing them to some more advanced concepts in a hands-on way. The lab itself is the means, not the goal.
So beyond a single "orientation" lab, they don't get a whole lot of training in debugging things that go wrong in the lab, and I don't expect them to become advanced users of the lab infrastructure. They're encouraged to post questions on a course forum if they have trouble running a lab exercise, and I answer their questions there.
Having said that, some students post questions that would be closed immediately on a Stack Exchange site for lack of detail, and for good reason. Questions like:
> I can't log in to the website, please help.
or
> When I run the experiment, it gives me an error. Can somebody help me???
or
> I can't see the results of the experiment.
with no further details. These are perfectly reasonable things to ask about, but the student hasn't even attempted to give me any details as to what went wrong. In the "real world," people that ask questions like this won't usually get help.
Since I operate the computing infrastructure for the lab, I can actually find out the specifics of what happened by checking the student's username against the server logs. So I can give them an answer even if they ask a really incomplete question (e.g., I can check the server logs and see that their experiment failed because they mistyped a command).
But I'm not sure if I should answer their questions (because I can, and I want to encourage them to ask questions if they have trouble), or if I should try to train them to ask better questions.
* On the one hand: it seems like I am doing them a disservice by not teaching them how to ask for help properly.
* On the other hand: students are (legitimately) frustrated when they're using infrastructure they haven't been extensively trained in, and they can't get it to work. If I try to get them to ask better questions, they'll feel like I'm being deliberately unhelpful and making them jump through hoops to get an answer to their question. (I know this because that's been their reaction the few times I tried this.) They may stop asking questions and just give up on the lab exercises.
**Should I risk the actual course goal (delivering content to the students) in favor of a general educational goal (teaching them how to ask questions)?**
**Is there a way to train students to ask better questions without making them feel like I'm not helping them?**
Just to clarify: I already provide answers to commonly asked questions, and a lot of material to help students formulate better questions *before* they ask. Some students ignore that material and ask very non-specific questions anyways. My question is how to address this once they've asked the question: should I walk them through the process of reformulating it before I answer? Is there a way to do so without frustrating them further?
# Answer
Being a student myself I know how frustrating it can be to work with technics or facilities you don't know enough about. Sometimes this means asking fully detailed questions can be tricky.
But there is a difference between a student that tries to ask a question to get help with their problem, and one that just declares that they have a problem and thinks it is another persons business to deal with it. What you posted above is the latter. They have encountered a problem and instead of trying to get help to solve it they try to make you solve it. That might even be clever, because as long as you DO solve the problem, they get maximum effect with a minimum of effort. And as soon as students realise that, even the good students won't bother to read your FAQs anymore, because it is a waste of time, when you obviously can identify and solve a problem as soon as they write "Help, I have a problem."
Additionally you have to keep in mind, that as a student you often take from the experience that people don't respond to your question of, "can anyone help me" as indicating that this person is just checking, whether someone responds. It is not meant to be a question, but a phrase to start a communication about the problem. That is something adapted from face to face communication. In the real world you don't go to people and start with a 5 minute monologue to your problem, you ask "Hey would you help me?" Wait for a "Sure what is it." And than give your monologue.
So what I read above is not a question it is the reflex of a student to a problem. Before even thinking they are posting (in my generation a common reflex in every situation - we are the tldr - too long didn't read generation). If I were you I would respond with a reflex. Just answer with a standard answer that explains, that you need more detail to help. Students who get frustrated by this are already frustrated and beyond your reach. If on the other hand a student tried to ask a proper question and just failed, you should provide the answer and give a hint on how his question could have been better.
How frustrated your student will be is less a question of what you respond, than of how you respond. "I could solve your problem, but I wont because of your stupid question" is of course frustrating. But even in a standard answer you can demonstrate that you care, that you take the other person and his time serious, that you would like to help and that you need more information in order to do so. I would try to phrase it, but as you undoubtedly realised I'm not a native English speaker, so I leave that to you. Just don't advertise the fact that you are trying to teach them something.
> 49 votes
# Answer
To me it seems pretty simple. Stop beating around the bush and tell them to not waste your time. If they want a specific answer then they have to give you a specific question. Or as an alternative you can ask equally bad questions until they ask you more in detail.
In your examples above:
> Q - I can't log in to the website, please help.
>
> A - How did you try to log in? Please help.
>
> Q - When I run the experiment, it gives me an error. Can somebody help me???
>
> A - Help me first? What experiment and what error?
>
> Q - I can't see the results of the experiment.
>
> A - What experiment? What steps did you take?
After going back and forth a few times even "slow" students will catch on to that to loose less time emailing back and forth, they have to ask more specific questions from the start.
Keep your answers equally short, and use "their" language. When they give you more information, ask more detailed questions. They will find out the answer in time.
> 18 votes
# Answer
Nobody replies with RTFM and STFW anymore, we are losing the traditions of the Internet and that is only bad.
Students should learn to make better questions, but they should also learn something much more important *how to answer their own questions*, because at some point they will not be students anymore and they may not have anyone to ask their questions (specially in research, where people are meant to find knowledge beyond the state of the art).
There are some related readings (I can think of now) in this context:
Also, don't give a man a fish, teach him to fish. In general I agree with this: Rubber duck problem solving
But... (there is always a but, nothing is ever so simple not to have it), additionally to giving students the tools for them to answer their own questions it's important to give them the information so that they can do that. There are a number of things that work quite well in that sense.
* Clear definitions, terms, pointers, references and maybe even a glossary. It's much easier to search on the Internet for additional information when you can write a few words on a search box.
* Detailed step-by-step instructions of the set-up and all the things they should do to get their work done. (RTFM is quite pointless if there is no manual in the first place).
* A FAQ. If you are getting the same question repeatedly, then it's likely that something is not clear (which we could say it's your fault...) and it may be good to have a FAQ. If the FAQ deals not only with singular and particular questions but groups of questions then that's even better. E.g.(@cs): "I have an error in the code, how can I solve it?" There are many possible errors and the way to solve most of them is debugging, some instructions about how to debug would be very useful to solve *many* questions.
About your final questions:
> should I walk them through the process of reformulating it before I answer? Is there a way to do so without frustrating them further?
Yes, definitively. I would consider forcing them to reformulate the question is good for them and helping them to do so is very kind. Frustration may be good as well, as long as it is not desperation. Desperation could be good, but it's not for everyone (sorry, I've to link this). I'd personally suggest to help them to improve their questions by asking your own, which very likely you can copy and paste from a template, because there should be a pattern in those questions. Allegedly, Socrates didn't make many friends by asking questions, so try not to ask more than necessary.
In any case, this "template" or process is something they should be able to learn and do by themselves, to make better questions and (if possible) to answer their own questions by themselves. Answering in this way would be teaching by example. You can also make the template explicit and part of the FAQ or a sticky post, teaching by example is not incompatible with other forms of teaching.
> 6 votes
# Answer
You should recommend your students that before posting a question they should REALLY try for themselves to solve it out; and at the end if they send you the question, ask them to submit all the details to you. So questions like "my program does not run" are not acceptable. You will see a change in their attitudes.
Also remember that in the way you can get some questions that maybe will seem silly to you, but they are learning; and that is a process. I bet if you ask some question to another professor or a renewed researcher maybe your question will seem also silly to them.
Bottom line, try to give the advice that I told you in the first part of this post, and remember that your task is teaching for now; and that requires patience and skills (which you will get in the long run)
Good luck!
> 4 votes
# Answer
It sounds like what you need is a couple of generalised forms/web forms and/or a student driven wiki/knowledge base specific to this lab. The latter is obviously more strenuous to implement, but might pay off in the longer term if you are going to be teaching this course for several more years.
As for the forms approach, a stickied post on your forum with clustering like below might be a good starting point:
* general interface issues: can't log on, can't work out how to find x/y/z command
* execution issues: errors and their likely resolutions
* other: can't find results, stylistic questions about approaches etc
Within each section you can indicate steps for them to proceed through on their own, both in resolution of specific issues outlined as well as in general, while also providing a format for a question if that doesn't solve their problem. This approach can address your goals simultaneously: showing them how to formulate technical questions properly, requiring a modicum of thought and problem solving to proceed and transferring knowledge with less burden on the teacher for the generic queries, freeing you up to spend more time on the specific or advanced ones!
To answer you more specifically: I think it is reasonable to require that the effort put into the question at least equals the effort required to answer it. Asking if they have tried the solutions in the FAQ or other questions should be a standard first response to such a vague question, then using logs/user to steer a dialogue to reach a solution. I think a good benchmark for focus/specificity would be 'could I help them without omniscient access?'
> 4 votes
# Answer
In teaching martial arts, what we expect from a new student, and what we expect from an experienced student are completely different. Even a student experienced in one style, is not expected to be of the same skill as a student of equal belt or rank, when they change style.
The methodology here, as applied to your situation would be as follows... Ask the correct question, along with providing the answer. Over time, the expectation is that there will be fewer times when the correct question will need to be explained and more times when it will be asked in the first place.
Something along the lines of:
The question you asked: "blah blah blah" The place where the question is answered: document, memo, FAQ, whatever The question you should have asked: "how do I do Xxxx?" The answer: "insert tab a into slot b"
The first couple of times each person gets the whole answer. After that, you start removing lines of the answer.
Telling them where the answer is, and make them go look it up, is the first step. Over time, you get to the point where you just parrot back bad questions, with no additional response. In the case of "good" questions, you provide both the answer, and some sort of recognition of the form "this was a good question".
The hard part of this sort of approach, is remembering to reset your expectations with each new batch of students. Remembering that each of them will arrive at the level of competence at different times.
Hope that helps.
> 2 votes
# Answer
> Should I risk the actual course goal (delivering content to the students) in favor of a general educational goal (teaching them how to ask questions)?
No, and you don't really have to. (Though the goal definitely is lofty.)
It is certainly frustrating when people offer no context or *appear* to make no effort in the question, because that makes it more difficult and costly for you to help them. You also seem to be in a position where it is expected of you to help them to the best of your ability, so ignoring people may not be an option.
When helping people in general, I find two strategies especially helpful:
* Assume ignorance over malice/laziness. For all we know, the students are computer-illiterate. It takes experience and knowledge to know what context is relevant and what isn't. Computers are magic!
* Frame any questions as you asking them for help, rather than telling them that they failed to provide information you need. Avoid sarcasm or jokes at their expense. ("Sure, I'll just scroll through a couple of days of network traffic to look for failed login attempts. Not too many of those, right?")
> Is there a way to train students to ask better questions without making them feel like I'm not helping them?
To prevent it from feeling like a brush-off, show that you care about solving their problem by leaving the door open and offering an inviting hand. **Do** refer them to standard texts that you or your institution have provided, perhaps even quote a relevant part if possible, but do not end the reply there, because it will appear as final.
Give it your best guess, even if your best guess is a sort of standard response, and solicit extra information from them if it doesn't resolve their issue. Ask specific questions that you may need, like user name, estimated time of the problem, and let them know that this sort of information helps you find and diagnose the issue for them.
Some (most?) people won't write back to you. That's okay. Perhaps the problem was temporary and resolved itself. Perhaps they solved it. Perhaps a fellow student helped them. Or perhaps they really have given up, and you've done what can be reasonably expected.
Examples:
> I can't log in to the website, please help.
You'll need your XYZ user name and password to log in to the website. If it's been a while and you've forgotten your password, our FAQ (link) gives instructions on how to get a new one.
Do you have an idea about when you tried logging in? Did you get an error message? This will help me find anything in the logs.
> When I run the experiment, it gives me an error. Can somebody help me???
If I can find out what experiment and what error! :) Some of the more common issues are listed at our FAQ (link); did you take a look there?
If the FAQ doesn't address your issue, could you let me know what experiment you are having issues with, and what the error message is? That will help me narrow down the search.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Here is a bit of real world, non academia experience.
We sell a software package to school districts - funny that. When a problem occurs, I'd say maybe half of new clients tell us about it in an actionable way. We get emails with nothing more than "it doesn't work" all the time.
Now, this is a hosted service and we maintain some fairly detailed logs. So we can usually reconstruct exactly what was going on at the time of the "problem". However, that takes time and we typically don't go that route unless we are talking about either an irate client or an issue in which the client couldn't possibly give us the details.
Instead our support people reply with a message such as "What were you doing? What was your expectation? Approximately when did it occur? Here's how to send a screen shot..." It takes maybe a couple times of that before that client sends us the needed info the first time.
The thing is, they are busy so their first instinct is to fire off a general query hoping someone will just take care of it for them. However once they realize that we aren't going to do anything without details then they learn that the fastest way to a resolution is to gather those details to begin with.
The key is to simply be polite. I'd think the same thing applies to students. They are busy with several classes. As soon as a roadblock occurs in one they are going to raise a flag for help and move onto the next thing. If you consistently require them to provide details up front then they will learn that the fastest way to resolution is to get those to begin with.
**tldr;** It's not a problem specific to academia. Rather, it's a more generalized problem based on how much work everyone has to do combined with the hope that someone else will just take care of it.
That said, some people just won't learn. For those, especially in academia, I wouldn't put forth any more effort than they are willing to as they need to be responsible for their own education.
> 1 votes
# Answer
I think you'll teach them a valuable lesson if they learn that *when you start writing, nobody knows what you're asking about. You have to communicate that*. As you've observed on StackExchange and we've probably all seen at work from time to time, a lot of people struggle when it comes to asking detailed questions or just describing what they see vs. what they wanted. They can get better at *everything* by improving this skill.
They'll only think you're being deliberately unhelpful if they realise that you can solve the problem without any further information. And if they know that, then you can't conclude from what they write that they're bad at asking questions. If I know that you know which experiment I'm working on and what I typed, then it's pretty reasonable for me to write, "why didn't my experiment work?", and I don't think you can really "teach me a lesson" by "making me do it properly" and not seem obstructive. If I don't know that you know that, then I should know better than to ask such a vague question. If I know you can find it out but it's time-consuming for you to do so, then there's a lesson in there somewhere about being respectful of other people's time, but I can't say whether this is the place to fight that battle.
Aside from this, the process of asking a good question often solves the problem because you spot your own mistake. They might benefit from learning that too, and solving their own problems might reduce their frustration with the system since it turns it from "something that never works and ff524 has to sort out" into "something that's difficult to use but I can make work".
> 1 votes
# Answer
In class there are always good students and not so good students (I know you are teaching an online lab, but still). Do you feel that even goods students are having problems formulating questions?
If only not so good students have that problem, then it is probably a case of laziness or not care attitude. There is no much you can do about that. If you try they'll probably just get frustrated. And they probably can ask very good questions about something care about. \[I think this is the case\].
If even goods students have that problem, you should explain that their future co-workers or people in online-communities would not be able to help them, if they don't provide more details, and therefore they should provide more details in questions. Good students should pick it up quickly.
> 0 votes
# Answer
All this is a life style preference.
What do you have the attention span for? There is no "right way". How do you want things to happen.
Answering inconsiderate questions leads to only one thing, more inconsiderate questions.
The only way to significantly reduce the number of inconsiderate questions being asked is to get a reputation for low tolerance to them. Many people fail to consider what information is useful or required to supply an answer when asking. Why bother thinking when you can use someone else's brain at the price of only moving your mouth a little?
Most people take the rude approach when they get bored of this, which is just as useless. I use the sarcastic. Last time someone walked to me and asked me what I was doing when I was making a salad in front of their eyes I said, "Building a vegetable based space ship, what did you think I was doing?"
For the persistently annoying people you can add a sour note: "Here's the salad, want some extra cyanide to go with your lazy question?" (and you put a bit of salt when you say it).
When I have the attention span for it, I say "try to answer your own question from my perspective..." They then ask it again and realise that they need extra information to go with it. When they've made this extra effort you can then choose to answer their question.
The shortest way of doing this is using one word "Define?", "How?" , "Why?" ... mostly people understand they need to rephrase or add detail.
In any case there is no polite way of doing it. You will always find people unhappy about YOU not going out of YOUR way to solve THEIR problems. Makes no difference if they could solve them by applying a brain cell to the task for 30 seconds...
You no doubt have co workers who get asked way less broken questions. Observe their behavior and emulate or integrate.
Regards Helen.
> 0 votes
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Tags: teaching, undergraduate, answering-questions
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thread-19347 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19347 | Where to include contact details in math paper | 2014-04-15T11:56:19.880 | # Question
Title: Where to include contact details in math paper
I recently submitted a paper to a math journal with standard latex formatting, but they sent an email back saying that the contact details for the corresponding author should be in the document itself. Where exactly does this mean? On the title page next to my name?
Right now it looks like this:
Title
First name Last name
April 14, 2014
Abstract
The rest of the paper then follows ...
References
\[1\] reference...
Where exactly should I include my email address? I am the only author of this paper.
# Answer
This depends entirely on the journal's style. They should provide a LaTeX class or template that explicitly identifies how to include the corresponding author's contact info, or if not that, a web page with instructions on how to include contact information. Without knowing which journal you're talking about, I don't think I can say anything more than that.
> 8 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, formatting
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thread-19380 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19380 | Independent publishing of paper resulting from a project | 2014-04-15T18:16:01.503 | # Question
Title: Independent publishing of paper resulting from a project
\[To clarify I am in an European university, have **never** published anything\]
As part of my Masters curriculum in Electrical Engineering I had to do a research project during the semester along with the lectures. This is intended as a hands on methodology in investigation and research in general. The project turned out to be pretty great (got the highest grade possible), and my supervisor (a PostDoc student at my university) and I were very happy with the results.
I did not consider it at the moment (or get it proposed by my supervisor), but with some formatting I think it should be at least good enough to be sent to some journals/publications.
Here are were my questions, considering I am **not** considering to get for a PhD after my Masters is done:
1) Since the project finished my supervisor ended his PostDoc and left the university. I don't have any contact info from him, and haven't found any from a quick Google search.
**Question:** should I contact my supervisor to publish along with him?
The ideas and theoretical proposal came from him. He did assist and help me during the project, but I did all the implementation and writing of the projects paper.
2) Not knowing what I am doing after graduation, I think there is little chance I pursue a PhD.
**Question:** should I be trying to get it published altogether or ditch the idea?
I think that even if I do not continue in academia, it is helpful for later on applying to certain industry jobs. I also would like to share the ideas and findings, since I think the work was well-structured and investigated interesting ideas.
3) As mentioned, I never published before, so I don't know the procedure, the jounals where I should aim, etc. The field was **Systems Biology**, which is not technically my area, but the project dealt mostly with modelling, simulation (MATLAB), etc. (I followed a Control / Robotics heavy program)
**Question:** if 2) applies, where should I try to send my work?
Any help, ideas or similar experiencies would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
# Answer
> 4 votes
You should **definitely** contact your former supervisor. If you do not have his contact information yourself, then you could try asking colleagues at your institution - such as a professor in the same research group.
While authorship norms do vary by field, the supervisor's contribution (having the original idea, defining the project, helping you in general) is surely enough that he should at least be *asked*. My impression is that even in those fields where supervisors might not be authors, it would still be very bad to try to publish a paper without talking to the supervisor about it. For all you know, he is planning to publish, and would be justifiably angry if you pre-emptively submitted your own version - and even had it accepted. Even if did not expect to be a co-author, he may still be upset if he does not have the chance to help make the paper the best it could be.<sup>1</sup>
If the supervisor would like to be a co-author, then he should certainly be able to help with venue selection, and adapting the document from a thesis to a paper. Generally, it's not just a matter of changing the formatting - each kind of document has its own requirements, which aren't exactly the same. For example, in a dissertation you will probably spend more time on general background material than in a paper. The work you have done might not be substantive or original enough for all journals. Receiving advice at an early stage may well make a huge difference in the quality of the submitted paper. (You can still seek advice from others, if the original supervisor can't help.)
As far as whether you should submit a paper at all: I think you are thinking along the correct lines. It may help your career - it certainly shouldn't harm it - and you will be contributing to the general advancement of human knowledge. On the other hand, it will take some amount of work. Again, someone who is more familiar with your research area can take a look at your thesis and give advice about just how much work that might be.
<sup>1. Example: A colleague of mine is a mathematician. His student submitted a paper, based on the student's own work. The professor did not expect to be an author, especially since he didn't contribute to the mathematical content. But he was upset that the student hadn't asked him for advice about preparing and submitting the paper. He was also embarrassed that he found out about the paper's existence from a third party.</sup>
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Tags: publications, publishers
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thread-19390 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19390 | Can I use someone else's research commercially? | 2014-04-15T20:04:54.590 | # Question
Title: Can I use someone else's research commercially?
I found a published research paper from the research arm of a company. I would like to use what is presented in the research paper commercially. The materials presented in the research paper do not seem to be patented.
Is this legal? Does the originating company own the intellectual property, or is it now "public domain" due to the research paper being published without a patent? Does this happen quite often? What is the proper etiquette in this situation, should I just leave an attribution to the researcher?
# Answer
**If** the subject material in the research paper is a patentable invention, it **might** also be the subject material of a patent.
The inventors of an invention may be the first applicants of a patent application. However, if they were employees, employed to invent as part of their normal duties for their employer, the employer is usually considered the first applicant for a patent application.
The rights in a patent or a patent application may be assigned to another person.
So: if there is a patent for an invention relating to the subject material of the research paper, it might be owned by someone other than the company from where the research paper originated. How did you check whether a patent or patent application exists for this subject matter?
Bear in mind that patent applications are made publicly accessible a certain time after the application for a patent is made. So, an applicant may have filed a patent application for the subject material of the research paper, and then published the research paper. The patent application - if extant - **may not be publicly available yet**. What this means is, if you put into practice the subject material of an unpublished patent application, you may in future receive notification of the patent application, and be advised to cease your operations. If the patent is granted, and you haven't ceased your working of the subject material, you might be liable for damages.
Bear in mind again, that there might be other patents - or patent applications - which relate to the subject material of the research paper. For some degree of certainty, you will need to do a patent search. You can do this yourself, but you have to bear in mind the warnings I gave above in relation to unpublished applications.
There are patent search firms who will do this service for you for a fee.
For a professional legal opinion, ask a patent attorney.
EDIT: If there are intellectual property rights to the subject material of the research paper, you can ask the proprietor of the rights for a licence.
> 6 votes
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Tags: publications, research-process, intellectual-property, legal-issues
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thread-19404 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19404 | Computer Science (Database/ Data Mining) Conference Evaluation | 2014-04-16T02:55:46.973 | # Question
Title: Computer Science (Database/ Data Mining) Conference Evaluation
Can you tell me whether COSN (http://cosn.acm.org/2014/index.html) is a good conference? Its a new conference introduced by ACM with a strong PC committee. Last year, the acceptance rate was around 16%. I have recently finished a manuscript that I would like to try in either COSN, or WISE (http://delab.csd.auth.gr/wise2014/) which is an established rank A conference. Can you tell me which one will be a better venue in terms of exposure/visibility? My manuscript is on social network mining which is within the scope of both conferences.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Based on the names I recognize on the program committee, yes, it's probably a good conference.
As for which conference will given you better visiblity: Neither! The two conferences attract slightly different audiences. Which audience do you want to impress more? Which audience (extrapolating from PC members and last year's accetd authors) are you more likely to draw recommendation letters and future colleagues from? Which conference looks like more like your "tribe"? Send it there.
And then put a copy on your web page.
Also: Ask your advisor.
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Tags: publications
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thread-19407 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19407 | Illness affected performance - but not that much? | 2014-04-16T05:49:13.997 | # Question
Title: Illness affected performance - but not that much?
In my second semester of sophomore year, I was moderately sick for most of the semester. It was not life-threatening, but I often could not attend class because I didn't feel well. As a result, I was behind and had to work a lot to keep up. My research output was significantly lowered during this period also, for the same reasons.
However, it's not like my semester was *bad* \- my GPA was lower than usual, but from a 4.0 to a 3.9. My research was lessened, but I still did some productive work. It's just that it turned a perhaps stellar semester (at least, a semester in line with the rest) to a perhaps good one. One slightly less great semester might not matter much for some grad schools, but I'm aiming for top ones as well. Is this something I could ask my advisors to note in their letters?
# Answer
I'd leave it out. This certainly doesn't sound like a bad semester that needs to be explained away. Being able to do well under adverse health conditions isn't really something you want to use as a selling point. Stick to what you did, not what you think you could have done.
If you mention it, there's a risk that someone on the admission committee will wonder if your illness is going to come back, maybe worse this time, and affect your work in grad school. They should not consider that, but people are human, so they might.
Congratulations, and glad you're feeling better.
> 2 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, graduate-school
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thread-19319 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19319 | Is it better to submit a paper to an important journal without the supervisor name or to a less important journal with the supervisor name? | 2014-04-14T22:59:17.843 | # Question
Title: Is it better to submit a paper to an important journal without the supervisor name or to a less important journal with the supervisor name?
I am PhD student in computer engineering and visiting a foreign university. My project is near to the end and, since my colleague and I got excellent results, we are writing a scientific paper about it. I would like to submit the paper to the top best journal in our field.
I sent the draft to my supervisor here, that replied that he does not think that the paper is going to be accepted by the top best journal. He suggested to submit it to another journal, that we can consider the 5th best journal in the field. He said that we can still submit it to the top journal if we want it, but, in that case, we have to remove his name from the author list.
So what should we do?
**Should we remove his name from the author list and submit it to the top journal? Or should we satisfy him and submit the paper to the 5th most prestigious journal?**
# Answer
In my view, using authorship as a bargaining chip like this is ethically inappropriate.
Either the supervisor's contributions to the paper warrant including him as an author, or they don't.
If they do, then he needs to be listed as a co-author no matter where you publish, and you need his agreement on where the paper is to be submitted.
If they don't, then he should not be listed as a co-author, no matter where you publish, and you and the remaining authors can make your own decision about where to submit (though you still might value his input).
> 33 votes
# Answer
Well, my interpretation of the situation is (yet again) somewhat different. So I'll try to put in my two cents.
<sub><sup>(I am not a supervisor, but I did often discuss the different quality journals/conferences with my supervisor, as well as what he considers are good reasons to submit to a top-quality track and what are good reasons to submit to a good-quality track).</sup></sub>
The description, to me, does not sound like anybody is trying to do anything unethical, or use the authorship as a bargaining chip.
I would propose that the *supervisors own interpretation of the results* (i.e. the draft) is such that **he does not deem it quality enough** to publish in a **top-quality track**, but **does believe it is good work**. (An average paper in a top-journal is probably expected to have a stronger contribution when compared to the fifth-top journal, even though works published in both will be valid and strong contributions in the field.)
While not exactly unethical, it is a wide-spread opinion that *vastly over-reaching*, and submitting *when you strongly believe the contribution is too weak for the conference/journal where you submit* is disrespectful towards the reviewers' time and bad form (several excellent explanations on this question). I, for one, agree with my supervisor on the fact that **is it wrong to submit something even *we* deem to low-quality for a certain track**, with the sole purpose of e.g. getting useful reviews, because:
* That way we would only spend the reviewers time, which should be respected especially since they are giving it for free.
* Also, probably more valid for small communities but possibly also in bigger ones, if the review process is not double-blind, just the reviewers seeing your name on the paper with valid but too small contribution might damage your reputation slightly.
So, I think the **"two options" offered by your supervisor are both valid**, and these are the **possible reasons**:
* In case you decide to go against his advice, and submit to a top-journal, he can not stop you since the *work is rightfully yours* and you can do what you deem fit with it.
He will thus *not give you any input on your writing*, or help you prepare the paper or present the results, and of course *does not expect an authorship*. You are, however, free to submit your work wherever you see fit.
* On the other hand, he would help you with *supervisor-y, author-y* stuff if you decided to *submit somewhere he deems more appropriate for the quality of the work* (as he perceives it).
He would then (hopefully) help you writing the paper, polishing the presentation, and offer other suggestions and advice he can offer as a senior scientist. Since he would be *investing his time and expertise*, he would naturally want to be *included in the author list*.
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<sub><sup> I do not want to get in to the discussion of what deserves authorship in this question... but I'll just shortly state my opinion on which my answer is based: In Computer Science, the supervisor contributes mostly by leading your research, and then by advising you on how to write well, present the results, put them in the right context. The supervisor does not need to substantially contribute to methods presented in the paper, but his contribution can still be very valuable and substantial in other ways. </sup></sub>
> 13 votes
# Answer
**Edit:** people are talking a lot about the requirements for being an author in this thread. That's not the question, the question is what should the student do. And giving the advisor some benefit of the doubt - since he is included for authorship in one condition - I'm assuming he meets the standard requirements for the field. Making this a choice about which journal and the relationship with the advisor, and not authorship. *It's a weird choice, but the one the student has none the less.*
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I agree with what Nate Eldredge said. It is bizarre. Does the "top journal" in question use blind review? If it's not blind the absence of his name could hurt you if he is well known. If it's blind, it won't affect the review process.
If time is an issue - definitely do it his way.
If time is not an issue - Call his bluff and try at the top tier journal and hopefully get lucky, or at least get good reviews that you can roll into the next submission.
What is your relationship with your advisor? Sadly this is an apprenticeship not a democracy. The biggest mistake you can make as a PhD student is to not be on the same page as your advisor. If you are on rocky footing with him already don't start problems do it his way. number 5 vs. number 1, eh? what are their different impact factors? It might not matter that much and save you pain. If you are on great standing, and this wasn't an ultimatum from him and you think you have the time and want to try... Just remember you are there to learn from him and he is the more experienced one / possibly better judge.
Have you compared your work to other things that have been published in either of these journals? Is it more like one than the other? Is it "big enough" for the top one? Have you seen similar papers there in terms of scope and number and size of experiments etc.?
This is a highly political thing. Get advice from your peers. Especially about dealing with your advisor. As we don't know the specifics this is tricky.
summary: top is better, but #5 is good - I'd honestly probably lean the safer route (and assume his experience is guiding his decision)
> 1 votes
# Answer
I disagree slightly with @DrLivingston (so I provide a different answer).
> I agree with what Nate Eldredge said. It is bizarre. Does the "top journal" in question use blind review? If it's not blind the absence of his name could hurt you if he is well known. If it's blind, it won't affect the review process.
Matter-of-fact, that's certainly true to some extent, but it's not something you should exploit. For instance, adding some important coauthor to the paper often helps your chances even if he contributes nothing, but doing that is unethical, because it advances careers without merit. Furthermore, all authors are individually responsible for the accuracy of the content.
(Actually collaborating with an important scientist is an entirely different thing, but you should do it to improve the content).
Therefore, I'd be more careful: reviewers should not judge the paper merit based on who authors it, especially not consciously (with a few exceptions, say if the author intentionally defrauded the system in the past); unfortunately, this does happens even to people who try to avoid it, and that happens more in some communities than in others, so papers by famous scientists have sometimes unfair advantages in acceptance.
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In any case, your supervisor should only be in the author list if he contributes something to the paper. Since you already have a draft, I can imagine his contribution would be help in revising this draft before submission — which can certainly be useful and deserve coauthorship (though I think there could be some debate about this, which hinges on how much creativity is left in writing the paper after doing the work. Some computer scientists argue that writing the paper is 50% of the job, because most of our papers are mostly not reports on experiments, but argumentative texts which use experiments to support some of their claims).
In this case, I think the correct question would be the following. Is your supervisor potential contribution to the paper useful enough to involve him in the project?
If the supervisor will not provide any contribution except his name, then he should not be there. If he forces you to have his name, that's clearly unethical behavior, and you should think about calling him on it; unfortunately that's typically hard as long as he is your supervisor.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, paper-submission
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thread-19412 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19412 | Is there any mechanism to prevent an author from cross-sending a manuscript? | 2014-04-16T11:09:38.993 | # Question
Title: Is there any mechanism to prevent an author from cross-sending a manuscript?
Is there any mechanism to prevent authors from sending a manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously ? Is there any internal private mechanism between journals? Is it totally an ethical obligation?
# Answer
The only mechanism is that being found out is typically both rather embarrassing and, in case of pre-tenure researchers, can also be very detrimental to career development of the researchers in question.
Further, note that being found out is in many fields not as unlikely as you might think. For many more narrow topics, there are only so many researchers out there that are "natural candidates" for reviewing a given paper. Despite not being very senior yet, it has already happened to me that I received basically the same paper twice for review from different (in that case) conferences.
> 8 votes
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Tags: publications, journals
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thread-19411 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19411 | Is it a good idea for a part-time post-grad to start an Academic CV? | 2014-04-16T10:50:00.370 | # Question
Title: Is it a good idea for a part-time post-grad to start an Academic CV?
As someone who returned (part-time) to academic pursuit in a different area a number of years ago, in which time I have completed my BA and now am in my first year of a MLitt, I am wondering is it a good idea to start to compile an academic CV? I am unsure as to if their would be any benefit of it for me, as a part time student, and at what point I should start to compile it.
At the moment in my own head the advantages are;
* It may be of use in applying for funding.
* I may need it if I wish to go on to future study
* It would be good for myself to keep track of what I have achieved.
I have read a number of question on the site about what to put in a CV and realise that at the moment mine would be pretty sparse, as I have no publications, but my advisor has mentioned about me presenting at a conference and I have just applied for my first funding.
In general is it a case of everyone should keep an academic CV or do you just compile and tailor one when and if it is needed?
# Answer
> 12 votes
> I am wondering is it a good idea to start to compile an academic CV?
Start as you mean to continue: it is certainly a good time to start keeping track of all of your academic achievements in a structured way. Later down the line, this will prove invaluable as you will have a record of all your presentations (with dates, slides, venue, etc.), all your publications (with venue, full-text pre-prints, maybe a .bib item), all your reviewing activity, all your visits, and so forth.
Otherwise the cost of trying to recall all these details later might be prohibitive and you might forget things. At the moment, you may be able to remember everything you've done, but trust me when I say that what you were doing four years ago can become hazy.
You could keep your record as a CV in LaTeX format or a database or an Excel file or a HTML homepage. Even a journal notebook would be preferable to nothing. Keep one format canonical so that you don't have to synchronise multiple versions. And keep back-ups!
Of these options, I would recommend a homepage. It helps your impact to have a public personal homepage where you list all the pertinent details of your research (and to link to it where you can, short of spamming). Also consider getting a personal domain: hosting homepages on work spaces is convenient, but there's a chance you might lose that space (and the associated links/ranking) if/when you move institute. If you get a personal domain, some soft advice is to get a `.org` ... they're more trendy in academia (otherwise `.edu`, etc.).
In any case, whatever version you keep canonical, get in the habit of keeping it up-to-date in a consistent style. Mapping the records to a CV format for specific purposes further down the line then becomes trivial enough.
# Answer
> 5 votes
Of course!
You are doing some great work now, right? You already have experiences, degree(s), awards, presentations, perhaps even publications. Create an academic CV now, and update at least every six months (I've been told I should update every quarter, but that usually doesn't happen.) As time goes on and you add new and better content, you will want to drop some of the items you now have.
I encourage students to create an academic CV as undergrads, because having an updated CV or resume is often necessary (or at least very handy) when applying for scholarships, conferences, or transfer institutions. Certainly it is not too early for you to begin your academic CV. Although you may not use it right now, you will find it a great advantage to have the framework in place when you need one, instead of having to begin from scratch. Also, you will be able to craft a stronger portrait of yourself as a scholar if the work is created over time. You will be able to refine and strengthen the original draft.
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Tags: cv, part-time
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thread-19424 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19424 | Is getting a second masters frowned upon? | 2014-04-16T20:00:39.547 | # Question
Title: Is getting a second masters frowned upon?
I recently read on stack overflow that getting two PhDs just shows that you're unfocused and you don't know what you want to do. However, I'm at a small school with a 5 year Computer Engineering bachelors/masters program I feel like I should take advantage of, but I'd also like to go on to do another part time grad degree in the same field or Computer Science at a larger, better established school, while I work.
If I went to a larger school like University of Illnois or MIT or similar, will having a masters and going back for another be frowned upon, or is this a non-issue?
# Answer
> 10 votes
I don't think it is going to help your career much, so I would only recommend to do it if you enjoy the classes.
* I have never seen a job asking for two Masters. If any employer would be impressed by two Masters, it would be because they are in different disciplines. (e.g., a Masters in CS and a Masters in Finance might look good if you are trying to get a particular position at a financial company)
* Two CS Masters is redundant. The only time I have seen this is when a PhD program gives a MS *en route* to a PhD and the student already had a MS.
* Industry is going to value experience over multiple Masters
If you do just enjoy the classes, you might think about a different field that still interests you and is relevant to your day job (e.g., HCI or math).
Or you may just want to look into a PhD program :)
**EDIT:** According to the responses to this very similar qeustion, Can a masters student apply for a second masters in the same field at another university?, it appears that a lot of schools may not even accept a Masters student that already has a Masters in the same field.
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Tags: masters, second-degree
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thread-19427 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19427 | How does accepting a full time lectureship position at a top 15 University affect one's chances of future employment? | 2014-04-16T21:59:11.613 | # Question
Title: How does accepting a full time lectureship position at a top 15 University affect one's chances of future employment?
I have recently seen several positions titled something like "Senior Lecturer in \[insert field\]" at top notch universities such as MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, etc. The job description usually includes curriculum development for the department and advising undergraduates and early career adjuncts. The position is always full time with full benefits and usually has a fixed multi year contract with a high course load. Are such positions looked highly upon when seeking future employment? Ideally please answer the question for people with the following potential career goals (as I believe the answer would be different for each one, as I want this question to be valuable for as wide an audience as possible)
If the career goal is:
* Tenured Professor at tier one research university
* Tenured Professor at school that highly values research (but not a T1 research University)
* Tenured Professor at a Liberal Arts college or state university (Wants some research but main focus is on teaching)
* Tenured Professor at a purely teaching focussed Liberal Arts College or community college
I suspect that the position would be looked highly upon for career (4) and lowly upon (assuming you don't publish much) if career (1) is the ultimate goal. It is, however, unclear to me how these positions would be seen in an application corresponding to the middle two careers.
# Answer
Lecturer positions tend to overwork you in courses such that research time is little to none. If you really want a tenure track position at a university with a research focus or semi-focus, you need to continue publishing in quality journals. If such is the case (in your scenarios 1-2), you may consider a postdoc research position instead.
If scenario 3 or 4 is your ultimate goal, get good teaching marks and recommendations is paramount and a lecturer position is ideal.
> 9 votes
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Tags: teaching, job
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thread-19434 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19434 | Consolation position after tenure is denied | 2014-04-17T05:06:07.167 | # Question
Title: Consolation position after tenure is denied
In my department, an assistant professor was denied tenure. However, he remains in the faculty as a lecturer.
Is this the typical protocol of departments. If a professor is denied tenure, do their departments typically offer them some sort of position of lower stature?
# Answer
No, this is not common. Someone denied tenure is generally allowed to stay in their current position for another year, to give some time to find a new job. However, it's not standard to offer them a non-tenure-track job as a replacement. Theoretically there's no reason they couldn't apply for such a job, but it sounds really awkward. I imagine most people wouldn't want to stay in the same department in a lower status position, and the department wouldn't want them to either; I've never seen it actually happen. When it does happen, I'd bet there's some compelling reason behind the scenes. (For example, perhaps the lecturer in your department has a strong personal reason to want to stay in the area, and there are no other suitable jobs available.)
> 13 votes
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Tags: tenure-track
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thread-19433 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19433 | Worthwhile to put subreviewing on CV as a grad student? | 2014-04-17T01:50:48.833 | # Question
Title: Worthwhile to put subreviewing on CV as a grad student?
It is common for PhD students in Computer Science to assist their advisors with reviewing conference papers, known as subreviewing. The students' reviews may or may not get turned in with the actual reviews but it is a great form of practice for the students.
I have seen some students list the conferences they have subreviewed for in the Service section of their CV. I thought this was a little strange since it isn't *official*.
Should a grad student list this on their CV? It would help add some content to a short CV and show that they have at least some experience reviewing. It may also help a student associate with a conference that they haven't had the opportunity to publish at, yet.
# Answer
The status of subreviewers, and even the designation as reviewer or subreviewer, varies a lot from venue to venue. In some places, reviewers are official and are listed in the proceedings. In others, it's as you say: informal assistance provided to the actual reviewer.
A student should definitely list instances of official reviews (i.e where there's documentation of their effort) in their CV. But if the subreview is less formal (or there's no record of it maintained by the conference), then I'd be inclined to leave it off the CV, mainly because it's difficult to verify. I understand the desire to indicate some degree of competence with research critiques, but the danger is that without documentation the process is ripe for abuse or at least inflated claims.
> 4 votes
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Tags: cv, peer-review
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thread-19395 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19395 | Can reviewing papers help increase your credibility as a researcher? | 2014-04-15T22:24:50.763 | # Question
Title: Can reviewing papers help increase your credibility as a researcher?
I was wondering if reviewing papers for established journals was a way to increase ones credibility as a researcher?
My question is related to the fact that the journal editors, that are (frequently) known scientists in your domain, will read the review you made.
I was wondering if we can therefore assume that they will, to some degree, evaluate your reviewing work, and therefore yourself as a scientist, based on your review? Lets imagine I know the editor, and I might want to have a position in his/her lab, then my reviewing work might weight in my evaluation?
# Answer
Just to add to the other answers with some other points to think about in terms of profile:
* Reviewers for conferences are often made explicit as Programme Committee members. People who do good work in the PC eventually become Senior Programme Committee members, then Track Chairs, then Programme Chairs, then General Chairs, etc. Even PC membership for good conferences helps your academic profile, where higher-up positions help even more.
* Journals work a little differently since reviews are solicited directly and are typically not noted anywhere public (with the exception of some journals employing a transparent peer-review model). But in my case, I was invited to the Editorial Board of a new journal in my area on the basis of my reviewing work for them. If you do *good* reviews, editors *will* notice. (Of course, this might not always result in an EB membership, but ...)
* Conferences and journals (at least in CS) sometimes award "Best Reviewer" awards. I've picked up a couple of these and they look good in CVs.
Of course, reviewing in a community is an excellent way of keeping your finger on the pulse of not only what are the hot topics, but how papers in the area are evaluated (this is esp. true for serving in committees of conferences where seeing how the sausages are made is an enlightening experience).
(And on a more philosophical note: I always saw reviewing a bit like seeding in Bittorrent. Submitting lots of papers for review but never doing reviews is plain greedy. Complaining about the quality of the reviews you get and then doing crappy reviews is hypocritical. ... not so related to the question, but it's good to vent now and again.)
> 21 votes
# Answer
Yes, it helps in more than one way. *Community service* is a relevant part on an academic CV. Although reviewers for individual papers are normally secret, it does *not* need to be secret that you have reviewed articles for journal *X*. You can write that you have done so on your CV, and if needed (but I don't think it should be), a journal editor can confirm.
It works the other way around too: being asked to review a paper is an independent confirmation of your credibility as a researcher. The first times it happened to me, it was really an ego boost. Wow, someone else than my supervisor thinks I know something about something! Great!
> 28 votes
# Answer
Possibly, although many peer-reviewed journals use a double-blind review system, so identities of reviewers can get buried -- and your "reputation" as such won't get enhanced.
However, I think reviewing papers -- and books, and other items of scholarship -- is a really valuable activity for a number of reasons. First, it gives you exposure to what active scholarship looks like and to other people's research and writing styles. Second, it's a way of contributing to the community of researchers in your field, a way of giving back to the system we all want to work well. Third, if you're in a tenure-track position this is an example of service to the profession that most TT profs are expected to contribute.
> 10 votes
# Answer
I was once asked to referee a paper for a well-known journal and accepted because I was flattered that someone took a chance on me. I must have done a pretty good job because I ended up doing more than a dozen for this particular editor. I don't think my service, which I did willingly and took seriously, increased my reputation as a researcher. I do think it enhanced my reputation as far as knowledge of the field and professional judgement in it. It was a good feeling to have someone value my opinion, and it felt good to give something back to the discipline.
> 8 votes
# Answer
I suspect that it indeed **has** an impact. Although reviewers are often anonymous, they are not for the editor and the editorial boards. There are important, influential and well connected people on editorial boards and if you provide useful reviews they will notice you. First, this news may spread by gossip and this will for sure be helpful. Second, people on editorial boards are often the same people that will be asked for reports and evaluation (e.g. in Germany, one collects expert opinions to fill positions) and if they know you through your referee reports this may be of great help.
I have no data how large of an effect these two points really make but there is some anecdotal evidence: I remember that I once heard a conference chair introducing the next speaker by saying that he always asks her with the toughest papers he gets submitted as an editor. At least to me that made some impression…
> 2 votes
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Tags: peer-review, evaluation
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thread-19418 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19418 | Is it permissible to use somebody else's words (without quotations) to describe a concept once their work is cited? | 2014-04-16T14:55:18.253 | # Question
Title: Is it permissible to use somebody else's words (without quotations) to describe a concept once their work is cited?
Quite often one comes across a really succinct and precise explanation of a concept. I'm wondering if it is permissible to use this explanation verbatim, if the source work is cited in your paper (next to the explanation)? What's in question here is at most 3 sentences.
# Answer
> 30 votes
No, it's not permissible. Some minor overlap in wording can occur naturally (e.g., you couldn't possibly avoid all two-word phrases anyone has ever used before), but deliberately copying text is different. If the copied text is special or remarkable and says something better than you could have said it, then you should attribute it to its source and not seem to be presenting it as your own words. Citing the source nearby is not considered enough to indicate a verbatim quote. On the other hand, if there's nothing special about the copied text, then there's no reason to copy it. (I suppose it could save you a few minutes of work in writing your own explanation to replace these sentences, but that's not considered a good excuse.)
# Answer
> 9 votes
This looks like a textbook example of when you should use a block quote, e.g.:
The research of Bart and Homer \[1\] determined the root cause of the phenomenon:
> Bart and Homer's explanation, indented one to the right and left of the main text.
# Answer
> 2 votes
No. It is never acceptable to use another person's exact words without quotes and a citation that includes the page number. What you are suggesting is plagiarism. If extensive quoting is not common in your field, and most people paraphrase, then I suggest you paraphrase, even if it seems that you cannot write this in any way better or even equal to what was already written.
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Tags: citations, ethics
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thread-18696 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18696 | Expectation of students in Graduate vs. Undergraduate STEM classes | 2014-03-30T00:39:30.617 | # Question
Title: Expectation of students in Graduate vs. Undergraduate STEM classes
I'm not sure if this question is okay to post here (I am only an undergrad), so please feel free to close/migrate if necessary. I won't be offended.
I am an undergraduate taking an undergraduate CS class right now. I feel the class is being taught like a graduate-level course, but we are being tested like undergraduates. I say this because I have taken graduate-level STEM classes in the past, and I think my professor is teaching the material as if we were graduate students.
The homework in this class emphasizes theoretical understanding and proof writing. When the midterm was upon us, we were given no practice problems to prepare for the test. There were no practice midterms either. Going into the midterm, I figured, well, the professor will probably test us on our understanding of the material. However, the midterm tested for speed and accuracy. There were several short answer questions that had little to do with the kind of understanding of the material we developed from the homework. In fact, there were questions for which we haven't yet had homework. I think he tried to make the test "easy," which totally threw me off.
I did very poorly on my midterm, and now I am trying to figure out whether I can judge what to expect in a graduate-level class vs. an undergraduate-level class so I may avoid such poor exam performance in the future. I have come up with the following qualities to expect from a graduate-level STEM class vs. an undergraduate-level STEM class.
**Graduate-level STEM Class**
1. Emphasis on depth of understanding.
2. Abstract material can sometimes be presented ad hoc: Less emphasis on linear presentation of material.
3. Theoretical presentation of material. Typically, we look at axioms/rules whenever we are presented new notation. We then derive everything from these axioms/rules.
4. Often the material covered has so much depth that we are expected to have minimal breadth of understanding; We are expected to take what we've learned and focus on a particular are in great depth.
5. Exams, projects, and papers test understanding of the material, not the speed in which we can solve arbitrary problems.
**Undergraduate-level STEM Class**
1. Emphasis on breadth of knowledge.
2. Material is presented in a linear fashion, often starting with some concrete examples and building from there.
3. There is often so much ground to cover that we are taught through rote memorization. We solve problems excessively.
4. Exams test for speed and accuracy of exact solutions to several problems. One often succeeds in such a class by performing many practice problems.
My questions are as follows:
* Is this accurate? If not, why, and what kinds of differences can I expect between graduate vs. undergraduate-level courses?
* Are there other/better ways to find correlations between teaching and testing styles? How can I know I am prepared for an exam given a professor's teaching style (rote memorization vs. emphasis on derivations, etc.)?
# Answer
> 4 votes
There is some truth in the differences you observe, but the distinctions are not very sharp. It's more of a continuum - as witnessed, for example, by the many textbooks that describe themselves as suitable for advanced undergraduate and early graduate levels.
From the point of view of the instructor, the differences in teaching style are explained by two things:
1. **Graduate students are more experienced.** It's not only a question of them knowing more about the subject, but also of their (presumed) greater ability to be responsible for their own learning. Related to that, people who've opted for graduate study are assumed to be motivated to work independently. So the instructor can be a bit more free to skip over material that's routine, or doesn't present much of a conceptual challenge. In computer science, say, beginning courses will teach you a programming language; advanced ones will assume that if you haven't used the language before, you can pick it up without much explicit guidance.
2. **The topic is less well understood.** At a more advanced level, we have less to rely on in how to teach the subject. For early undergraduate courses, there's probably a choice of textbooks and related resources, and a body of expertise about how to present the material. A course that's closer to current research may not have been taught many times before; the instructor won't have much of a pool of local experts to consult; and there may not be any existing textbooks at all. So the teaching might have some rough edges, in the choice and order of topics to present, how much time is spent on them, and so on.
I think this is what lies behind your observations, at least regarding the teaching. For assessment, I'd say there are other factors which dominate. Assessment is very sensitive to the precise nature of the course, the instructor, and the institution. I'm sure you can imagine being examined on your understanding of some algorithm by any of: answering multiple choice questions about it, proving something about it, writing an explanatory essay about it, implementing it on a computer, or doing any of these for some *variant* of the algorithm that you hadn't seen before. And any of these could happen in a course at any level.
It sounds like you're somewhat aggrieved that the questions on your midterm were in a different style from your homework, and were less conceptual than the material presented in lectures. Now, it may be that your professor was (as you suggest) skewing the teaching towards the graduate end of the scale, and assuming that you would independently put the work in to make sure you could apply the theory correctly. In that case, the issue isn't that the exam was in "undergraduate" style, but that "graduate" teaching puts more of a burden on the students.
However, there are other factors in play that govern the style of examination. For example:
* I want to know if you understand the theory, and I decide that asking you to apply it is a good way to find out.
* I would be ashamed if somebody got an A in my course, but couldn't actually solve these applied problems.
* I decide that routine problems will be quicker or easier to grade.
* The homework already tested the students' broad understanding, and I decide the midterm should test something different.
I'm not saying that any of these are what happened, or that they are necessarily "good" ideas. But there *are* reasons why the midterm could focus on less conceptual material, that don't relate to an undergraduate-vs-graduate distinction.
Your final question is about how to know what to expect from a particular examination before you've taken it. Having thought about it at some length, I can't come up with any better suggestion than **ask your professor**. There are so many possibilities, even for the same course taught by the same person, for what the exam might be like.
# Answer
> 1 votes
Addressing this question:
> Are there other/better ways to find correlations between teaching and testing styles? How can I know I am prepared for an exam given a professor's teaching style (rote memorization vs. emphasis on derivations, etc.)?
If you have additional exams to come in this course, then I would recommend you meet with the professor and ask *specific* questions, not "how should I study?" or "what will the test be like?"
Bring in your notes, homework sets and your first midterm, and demonstrate that you are thinking about how to organize your learning by asking questions like these:
1. "This question (point to specific question) surprised me because it asks me to quickly solve X, but my homework here (pointing to specific question) asked me about the theory of X. Should I track down some sample problems for the topic covered in this *new* homework (point to new example) so I can both discuss theory AND quickly answer simple questions on the next test?"
2. "This question (point to specific question) surprised me because I didn't recognize the material. Can you show me how to better apply what we've learned to new situations so I can answer these questions better?"
I've often thought students got a question wrong because they didn't understand a concept, but when someone comes and talks to me I realize that they did understand it well but my question confused them, or I didn't make it clear enough that this kind of question would be asked. Instructors can improve their exams if they get helpful feedback. Brave instructors ask for feedback. Wise students try to offer it in the guise of going over the old exam.
# Answer
> 0 votes
I have had courses like this (undergrad courses taught like grad classes but with undergrad-style exams). The best advice I can really give you is - talk to the professor! If no practice exams are posted, you can still ask the professor "What will be the focus of the exam?" / "What will be the style of the exam?" / "How best to prepare for the exam?" Sometimes they will have a skewed view of their own exam, but generally this will still be helpful.
If you know people who have taken the course, you can also ask them the type of exam the professor tends to write.
Finally, in this situation, it's a good idea to just study more, since you have no clue what will be on the exam. Study the "easy" stuff as well as the "hard" stuff - since clearly it was not really "easy."
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Tags: exams, stem, preparation
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thread-19432 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19432 | First time opportunity to give a seminar | 2014-04-17T01:39:09.537 | # Question
Title: First time opportunity to give a seminar
Recently I had a talk about the topic of my master thesis with the professor I currently work for (he wasn't involved in the thesis). I mentioned that there are interesting results and that I would like to present them, if he'd agree. He proposed to not only give a presentation but a seminar.
I've just graduated from my Master's and never given any lecture, course or seminar before. I would be happy to take this opportunity as I enjoy teaching and I expect a good experience.
If I'm willing to do it the professor expects a scheme of the seminar and that's the point where I am stuck. For how long of a seminar time should I aim for? Introductory or deep into the matter? What exactly is the difference between a seminar and merely presenting my thesis again? In my understanding seminars include practical approaches. Should I focus more on practical issues or my own work?
The subject is quite technical in detail but this is not very obvious from the topic alone. I expect students to may have heard of the methodology but never employed it themselves.
I'm quite lost on how to tackle this task though excited to have this opportunity. I realise that my question isn't really well fleshed out but I'm happy to hear opinions nevertheless.
# Answer
If you have presented your thesis before, the seminar could be something similar to it. However, a seminar is usually given to a wider range of audience, and thus you need to make it more accessible for someone in the audience who may not be familiar with the subject. Aim for an accessible introduction, and save the technical details to the second half of the talk.
As for how long the seminar should be, you need to ask the professor how much time you have to talk, and how much time you have for questions and answers.
> 2 votes
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Tags: seminars
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thread-19126 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19126 | When is the best time to get permission for putting others figures in the paper? (Conference vs. Journal) | 2014-04-09T16:56:38.693 | # Question
Title: When is the best time to get permission for putting others figures in the paper? (Conference vs. Journal)
My basic question is, should I get copyright permission for a figure before submitting a paper?
However I realize there may be two different situations, and I'm not sure if they are different.
1. Should I get permission from original authors/journals before sending a paper for review or;
2. should I wait to get accepted and then ask for permission.
It seems to me that I should not waste peoples time for permission without being accepted first, but maybe the paper is stronger with figures. For example, an image of a machine that the paper points out aesthetic features.
On the other hand, it seems to me bad to submit a manuscript or paper and after submission finding out there is no permission to use the figure or image, and taking it out of the paper after being accepted.
# Answer
> 2 votes
It is good to ask permission from the publisher before submitting, even if the figure is from your own paper that was published in the past.
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Tags: journals, conference, paper-submission, graphics
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thread-19444 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19444 | Collective PhD by a research group | 2014-04-17T14:00:08.933 | # Question
Title: Collective PhD by a research group
When being accepted individually in a PhD program, one needs a certain amount of publication work to come up with along with their dissertaition. Are there any rules regarding the number of publications, papers or books created collectively by a research group? If some want-to-be researchers team up, how can they pursue their PhDs together?
# Answer
> 24 votes
> If some want-to-be researchers team up, how can they pursue their PhDs together?
This is not generally how it works. One does not "team up" and work on a PhD together in that sense. By definition, a PhD is a proof of an individual's capability to do research. Of course, many PhD students can collaborate a lot, and work on a joint project - but even in that case, each student **needs** his own research questions, his own papers, and, ultimately, his own thesis.
**EDIT:** just to clarify a bit more. Collaboration is entirely ok, but when PhD students work together, every research contribution (not necessarily each piece of e.g., code or data) needs to be mappable to **exactly one** student, and each student needs to have a few of those contributions that clearly were his part in the project. I have seen very bad collaborations, where, essentially, person A was churning out ideas and papers, and person B was writing all the code (because he liked programming). In a company, this model is perfectly fine, in a research context this is highly abusive towards person B.
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Tags: phd, research-process
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thread-18832 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18832 | Should postdocs work only on the projects they are hired for, or can they work with other people in the same research group on other projects? | 2014-04-02T11:15:13.687 | # Question
Title: Should postdocs work only on the projects they are hired for, or can they work with other people in the same research group on other projects?
Would the latter be an issue with the funding body, when the project proposal and budget only covers the expenses for hiring one postdoc? Note: it is the supervisors who got the grants, not the postdocs themselves.
# Answer
Since the supervisor got the grant, he is ultimately responsible to the funding agency for the research that was funded and for any results. So the postdoc should definitely talk to the supervisor.
Actually, this would be a great opportunity for the supervisor to help the postdoc grow academically, since postdocs are of course expected to take on more responsibilities than Ph.D. students, and start making their own reputation in a field, not stay in the supervisor's shadow. So the supervisor should certainly understand that the postdoc will start flexing his wings and be interested in other topics - it just needs to be commensurate with the goals that the supervisor got the money for.
If, conversely, the postdoc got his own grant, he should first of all look through the paperwork he presumably got, signed and returned before the money started rolling in. It is quite possible that an expectation of the funding agency as to the amount of work the postdoc should be spending on this particular project is already somewhere in the paperwork. Of course, even in this case, it makes a lot of sense to discuss this with the supervisor, who presumably has a lot of experience in this field, and possibly with this particular funding agency.
> 2 votes
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thread-19462 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19462 | Adding additional member to a funded project | 2014-04-17T20:19:53.473 | # Question
Title: Adding additional member to a funded project
This is not what happens to me, just something I think about and wonder if it ever happens in academia.
Suppose that there is a funded project which is planned to have 3 people working in it for a certain amount of time. At one point of time, a new member, who can be a PhD student or a post-doc, is added into a project. I can think of few reasons to add a new member to a project: to help her gain some experience, or just because there is some additional work to be done but is not initially planned.
However, as it is initially planned that there are only 3 people working in it, which means the funding only covers salary paid to 3, does it mean a new member has to work without being paid?
# Answer
> 7 votes
> However, as it is initially planned that there are only 3 people working in it, which means the funding only covers salary paid to 3, does it mean a new member has to work without being paid?
In good labs, PhD students are not supposed to work for free (although it may happen on occasion). Usually, people added to such a project fall into three categories:
* They are funded by the faculty. For instance, the added person could be another professor, for which the faculty pays the salary. Additionally, and maybe more commonly, there are also PhD students which are not paid by external grants. For instance, in Austria / Germany, professors generally have a limited number of "assistants" (not to be confused with Assistant Professors), which are basically PhD students paid y the faculty to assist the professor in teaching, administration and research. Those can be assigned to projects freely. Another possibility of PhD students independent of grants are PhD student positions that a professor has negotiated as part of her/his startup package.
* They are funded by another grant, but simply have free resources (time). Clearly, while there are projects that need more resources, there are also projects that are actually overstaffed. In such cases, students will often help out with troubled projects.
* They are funded by "soft" money that is not bound to a concrete project. For instance, in my country, many large labs have significant funds saved up from the overheads of previous projects. Occasionally, a strong candidate wants to start a PhD, but no suitable grant is currently open. In that case, the professor will (at least temporarily) pay the student from this saved-up funds. Clearly, this candidate is then not bound to a specific project, and can join whatever project needs her/him most, or whatever project suits her/his interests most.
*(I use the term "assigned" very freely above - in reality, students and postdocs are in most labs not so much assigned as asked whether they would be interested to help out in project XY and get a paper or two out of it)*
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thread-19466 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19466 | Unsolicited request for a scientific collaboration | 2014-04-17T22:51:59.740 | # Question
Title: Unsolicited request for a scientific collaboration
I have a research problem in an area of Mathematics. There is mathematician whose domain of expertise is very near to the subject of my problem.
I read frequently his works, he probably doesn't know me. But it is possible that he has seen some of my works. He is a senior mathematician. I am junior.
Anyway we don't know each other and because of geographical and other considerations, I don't think we have the occasion to meet each other in a conference or workshop in new future. I am scientifically isolated in my country as nobody works in my area, finding funds for participating in conferences and workshops is also very difficult. So the only possibility of a collaboration that I envisage is doing by email.
I am very optimistic that my problem interests him and if we collaborate, the result would be very fruitful. I have had some experiences to do scientific collaboration with some people that I knew by email. But the story with this mathematician is different because we don't know each other personally.
I feel that sending an email saying that my name is X and I am interested in the question Y, I would be glad if you are interested to work on this problem is not perhaps the best approach.
What is the best strategy to maximize the chance of starting a scientific collaboration with him? How I can formulate my request of doing a scientific collaboration with him? Is it wise to 'reveal' my problem while I don't know if there is a chance of collaboration?
# Answer
> 58 votes
**Be specific and brief, with a clear action item.**
* bad:
> My name is X and I'm interested in Y, and I'm hoping you'd be interested in working with me.
* slightly better:
> My name is X, and I'm interested in Y. I read your recent papers on Foo1, foo2, and foo3, and I was wondering whether you thought Theorem eleventy-seven in your paper on foo2 could apply to the problem of Y''.
* much better:
> My name is X, and I'm interested in Y. I read your recent papers on Foo1, foo2, and foo3. I had an idea about how to apply theorem eleventy-seven in your foo2 paper to Y'', by inserting the well known lemma Bar1, and Bar2. I was wondering if you were aware of approaches that have tried this? I looked at refs 1–157 and didn't see anything relevant.
>
> I'd love to chat more about this if you're interested.
Again, your mileage may vary. There are cultural variations, personal variations and so on. But I’ve had success with emails of this kind.
# Answer
> 5 votes
Could I suggest:
> My name is *X* and I am a\the junior mathematician at the *University of Somewhere*. My credentials available at *www.some-academic-site.ac.xz*. I am researching *numbers* and have some of your papers, *foo*, *bar* and *baz*.
>
> I think that your work on *special numbers* would greatly helpful and hoped you would be willing to correspond with my on how this relates to my own work on *some different numbers*. I have enclosed a brief summary of my work, and how it relates to your own.
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Yours Faithfully
>
> *my name*
Unsolicited mail needs to be interesting to the participant, and it's integrity verifiable, hence the inclusion of your academic credentials, work you have done and proof that it does indeed correlate\support etc your own work. (You also show that you have actually done work, and this isn't some attempt to get someone else to do work for you)
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Tags: research-process, mathematics, etiquette, collaboration
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thread-19385 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19385 | Do you know if Science/Nature/PNAS accept review articles that are not invited and do not contain original research? | 2014-04-15T19:12:22.817 | # Question
Title: Do you know if Science/Nature/PNAS accept review articles that are not invited and do not contain original research?
I cannot find any policy on the matter through their websites.
# Answer
> 4 votes
Nature Review articles do not need to be invited. And review articles are often not "original research". Nature Reviews http://www.nature.com/reviews/index.html accepts these. So the answers to your questions are "yes" and "yes"
# Answer
> 1 votes
In addition to @mankoff's answer, be aware that it is possible, and indeed common in some fields, to email an editor with an idea, or draft, of a review paper and ask if they'd like to "invite".
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Tags: research-process, publications
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thread-19500 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19500 | How much leeway will i have in suggesting a co-adviser or committee member when i am funded by a professor? | 2014-04-18T19:38:37.167 | # Question
Title: How much leeway will i have in suggesting a co-adviser or committee member when i am funded by a professor?
I have completed master's thesis with an advisor in Industrial Engineering and I am pursuing PhD with another professor in same department. My PhD involves statistics heavily and I am not at all good with statistics. In fact I have C in two mandatory statistics courses I took in the masters program.
Usually this lab works with a Chinese statistics professor. I find it very difficult to understand her. I find her to be very knowledgeable but are just not good at explaining things. Would it be acceptable if I asked my advisor to bring my master's advisor on board the PhD committee so that she can help me with the statistics material? He taught entry level statistics courses in masters program and helped me substantially with the statistics material of my master's thesis.
Will I have any leeway to do something like this especially when he is funding me for PhD, and what will be the best way to bring this up?
# Answer
> Would it be acceptable if I asked my advisor to bring my master's advisor on board the PhD committee so that she can help me with the statistics material?
You can definitely ask your advisor. Describe why you think this professor would be helpful on your committee, then see what your advisor has to say.
> Will I have any leeway to do something like this especially when he is funding me for PhD
Getting funding from someone doesn't mean they get to dictate everything about your PhD career without any input from you. It's your PhD and ultimately your responsibility to make sure you succeed.
In fact, depending on your department rules, the decision as to who goes on your committee may very well be yours, not your advisor's. Of course, you should consult with your advisor on something like this, because part of his job is to help you make these decisions.
But you should understand that this is *your research career* regardless of who funds it. And even if your advisor is a great scientist and advisor and you respect his advice, you should *always* feel that you have "leeway" to make **suggestions**.
> and what will be the best way to bring this up?
Just set up a meeting with your advisor and say "I wanted to talk about my PhD committee. Here is why I think Professor X would be a valuable person to have on my committee..."
Note: I'm not commenting on whether or not your MS advisor is *actually* a valuable person to have on your committee - just that it's always OK to make a suggestion like this.
> 10 votes
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Tags: phd, research-process, advisor
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thread-19244 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19244 | What is the highest post-doctoral salary one should ask for (immunology) | 2014-04-12T06:56:42.300 | # Question
Title: What is the highest post-doctoral salary one should ask for (immunology)
I know the average salary is generally 45K USD for science post-docs. However, I received an email from a team of researchers who I had an excellent interview with and basically asked, "How much do you want?"
I have no idea what is the maximum amount of money I should ask for without being insulting. I'll be honest, although I don't do science for the money, this would definitely help make a decision for this particular posting.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Postdoc salaries as high as 60K are not unheard of, especially if the cost of living is high and/or you have children. I believe some very competitive "independent postdoc" positions can even reach as high as 70K. However, these salaries may not increase annually, while typically lower salaries do increase annually.
BTW I believe the average 1st year postdoc salary is under 40K (and so is the NIH postdoc salary guideline).
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Tags: job-search, postdocs, united-states, salary
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thread-19503 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19503 | What's the difference in responsibilities between a committee member, a co-advisor and an advisor in an PhD committee? | 2014-04-18T20:45:25.963 | # Question
Title: What's the difference in responsibilities between a committee member, a co-advisor and an advisor in an PhD committee?
What are the differences in responsibilities among them? Can anybody give me an example to elucidate that. Also why are non-tenured faculty more interested in a co-adviser role than a committee member role?
# Answer
The advisor is the person who is formally recognized as the person most responsible for supervising the student's thesis research. A co-advisor is a person who also works with the doctoral candidate, but often in a secondary role (perhaps providing scientific but not financial support, for instance).
In my own case, for instance, I had two advisors who were fully equal in both supervising the research and supporting it financially. However, formally one of them had to be in charge of the thesis research—I believe they decided it by a coin flip.
The thesis committee is a body that convenes only sporadically (although sometimes on a regular schedule) to ensure that a doctoral candidate is progressing according to expectations. The committee—which usually includes the advisor and several other faculty members (or other advisors)—is also usually responsible for deciding when a candidate is ready to schedule a defense of the thesis and graduate.
As you can see, this is a very different role than a co-advisor, who takes on a much more active role in supervising and guiding the doctoral candidate's work. While a thesis committee member rarely is a co-author on a paper with the candidate, a co-advisor often will be. Consequently, it's much more useful for a faculty member to be a co-advisor than simply a committee member. (The latter role will not carry anywhere near as much "credit" toward a tenure case as being an advisor or a co-advisor.)
> 8 votes
# Answer
This breakdown of the different roles comes from the University of Melbourne:
* **Principal supervisor** (i.e. advisor)
An appropriately qualified person who takes primary responsibility for the academic supervision of a candidate’s research and candidature
* **Co-supervisor** (co-advisor)
An appropriately qualified person designated to assist in the academic supervision of a candidate's research and candidature
* **Advisory committee chair** (committee member)
A registered principal supervisor in the administrative department of the candidate who is neither a supervisor of the candidate nor associated with the research project and who is appointed to oversee the advisory committee
In committee meetings (12 month confirmation, 2 year review, etc.) the chair organises the paperwork, basically. They are also there if the candidate needs to confide about their supervisors and potentially make a complaint if one of the supervisors' actions is unethical, or if there is some kind of professional or personal issue between them and the candidate.
As to your second question, I would suggest that non-tenured staff/faculty would push to be a co-adviser rather than committee member, because it raises their supervisory profile whereas being a committee member is really just a bureaucratic position. When applying for tenure-track positions, employers will look at the theses that the person has supervised or co-supervised, in addition to a range of other things, obviously.
> 4 votes
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Tags: phd, research-process, advisor
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thread-19526 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19526 | Using relative numbering for tables and figures | 2014-04-19T11:11:42.040 | # Question
Title: Using relative numbering for tables and figures
I'm producing documentation for an A-Level Computing project. Throughout my project I've been numbering my tables and figures relative to the chapter and section they're contained in. So for example, instead of doing:
> # 2. Design
>
> ...
>
> ## 2.3. Object analysis
>
> **Figure 4 - diagram of objects**
I've done:
> # 2. Design
>
> ...
>
> ## 2.3. Object analysis
>
> **Figure 2.3.1. - diagram of objects**
I'd like to know if the latter style of numbering is considered bad practice. Should my figures instead always be absolutely numbered? Or should I use absolute numbering and restart the number for each section? I'm not required to conform to an academic style, so this is more for myself.
# Answer
> 5 votes
If your school does not have a specific scheme in place for such reports, then you are free to use whatever scheme you feel most logically identifies things. Personally, I prefer the longer style of numbering, because it helps me to orient myself through a large document. It's certainly not bad practice, although it's somewhat unusual to "drill down" all the way to the subsection level.
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Tags: writing, graphics, writing-style
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thread-19520 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19520 | What is the difference of a BA/BS in Computer Science for obtaining a Ph.D? | 2014-04-19T06:07:34.533 | # Question
Title: What is the difference of a BA/BS in Computer Science for obtaining a Ph.D?
I have looked around on Google, only to find zero answers. So, I hope someone could help me out with this.
So, for someone aiming to get a PhD in Computer Science (AI), would it be possible to obtain one with a BA in Computer Science? If the degree type doesn't matter, what are the positives/negatives of getting a PhD with an BA/BS.
Thank you, Ash
# Answer
**There is no difference.** There is no global standard for what qualifies as a BS and what qualifies as a BA; it's entirely up to the university. There is no way to tell from the letters on your diploma how broad or rigorous your degree program is.
Computer science programs in the US, at least in engineering colleges, are accredited by ABET. Those accredited programs tend to give Bachelor of Science degrees. But CS accreditation is relatively new, and neither graduate scihools nor employers really care whether your degree is accredited (except for some government jobs which require accredited degrees by law).
What *does* matter is which classes you took, and how rigorous those classes are (or appear to be, based on publicly available course descriptions/materials).
> If the degree type doesn't matter, what are the positives/negatives of getting a PhD with an BA/BS.
The only advantage of getting a PhD with a BS instead of a BA is that you have one more S in your CV and one less A. This is also the only disadvantqge.
> 8 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, graduate-school, computer-science, degree
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thread-19510 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19510 | Why do people organize summer schools? | 2014-04-19T00:35:21.793 | # Question
Title: Why do people organize summer schools?
I have been in the computer science academic community for at least five years, and I noticed that there are several so called *summer schools* organized every year everywhere. I have been knowing just few people attend them.
These summer schools are addressed mainy to MS and PhD students, last around 3-7 days, and may include a final exam. They often include important international speakers coming from overseas. I have been thinking about them, and there are two issues that concerns them, in my opinion.
The first problem I notice is that is very very hard to make students learn something important in just 3-7 days. They should have more time to re-process all the things that they learned, do some practice, and think about. They include a hipe of subjects that is sometimes very large.
The second issue is that, since the students are studying their own courses, why should they spend their time and money to go to a summer school instead of attending a course at their own university? It's not clear to me.
So, in the end, **why do some people organize summer school? Is it just teaching passion? Or is it a way to advertise the organizers and their university? Or is an occasion for networking?**
**Or, is it something that I am missing?**
# Answer
A summer school is usually a way to have a focused series of lectures on a specific topic. The best analogy I can think of is that of a master class for musicians. The audience are students who are usually sufficiently adept that they can handle the intensity and focus of a short program taught at a high level. For example, if you're just starting out in grad school in computer science, a summer school in specialized aspects of (say) deep learning might not be very useful. This at least partially answers your first question.
Summer schools are useful because they can bring a set of experts on a topic together in one location, at a venue where this expertise might not otherwise exist. In computer science, this might also be part of the explanation of why there are so many summer schools in Europe: since many topics in the field are dominated by the US, it makes sense to have summer schools in Europe for the reason above.
The speakers of course get the opportunity to travel and teach a focused group. It's a prestigious thing to be invited to such an event. The organizers make their mark (and benefit their institution) by organizing such an event. The students learn about a topic that they might not otherwise get exposure to, from the experts in the field. And that is an answer to your second question.
> 26 votes
# Answer
There are similar summer schools in mathematics, though there are some differences from what you describe. I've helped organize a summer school so I'll try to answer some of these questions.
The math summer schools I know about are somewhat longer, usually 2-4 weeks. They don't provide formal academic credit and there are no exams. They are aimed at PhD students who are at least a couple of years in, though often postdocs and junior faculty are also welcome. Usually there are several lecturers, each of whom is a well-known expert on a particular topic, and their lectures are tightly focused on that topic. The lecturers may come from all over the world; they are not just faculty at the institution hosting the summer school. Sometimes there is also time set aside for students to give short talks on their own research.
As to your first question, it is true that this is a short amount of time; it's an intensive learning experience. (I'd agree that 3-7 days would seem too short; that's more like what mathematicians call a "short course", which is usually organized in conjunction with a conference rather than as a standalone event.)
I don't think it's expected that the students will absorb all the material right away. Rather, they will gain exposure to the topic and its main ideas. For an in-depth understanding, they'd be expected to study related books and papers on their own over months or years, but the summer school will give them a place to start and some preparation for the task. There would certainly be advantages to a longer program, but the logistics would become prohibitive.
For your second question, you must realize that a summer school course fulfills a very different purpose than a regular graduate course. Regular courses typically give you a broad view of a subject (e.g. probability theory) and focus mainly on its basic techniques and classical results. They provide a foundation for research on any topic in the subject. A summer school course covers only a specific topic (say, random walk in random environment), which is usually the focus of active research, and tries to acquaint the student with the state of the art. Very few universities would offer a regular course like that. (At best, if they happened to have an expert on that topic on their faculty, they might occasionally give a one-time "topics course".) At the summer schools I knew, students were expected to *already* have taken 2-3 semesters of standard graduate probability theory, which is all that most universities would offer.
As to money, summer schools often have their own funding. Students do not pay tuition and usually receive free housing, and may also have some of their travel expenses reimbursed by the summer school (and hopefully their home institution provides some travel funding as well). So students usually pay little or nothing out of their own pockets. And regarding "time", these are *summer* schools. At least in the US, most graduate programs don't offer regular courses in the summer, so the student isn't sacrificing regular coursework to attend. They may be sacrificing research time, but the hope is that the summer school provides new ideas that will ultimately make them more productive.
Networking is a consideration as well. A summer school gives students the opportunity to meet renowned experts who they might otherwise never come in contact with. Just as importantly, they get to make connections with other students with similar interests from around the world, with whom they may someday form collaborations.
Finally, they are fun! You get to travel to a new part of the world and meet interesting people. There are usually social events, outings, hikes, etc.
I think the main motivation for summer school organizers is to create a program that will ultimately benefit and build the research community in a discipline. Exposure for the institution, networking opportunities for the organizers, funding, etc, are also nice, but secondary.
> 14 votes
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Tags: summer-school
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thread-19481 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19481 | "This is very interesting as a project" What is the next step to obtain PhD position? | 2014-04-18T08:07:07.180 | # Question
Title: "This is very interesting as a project" What is the next step to obtain PhD position?
I am submitting to several schools for PhD position in CS. I am following the advices about how to contact professors.
One professor I sent to suggesting some idea about her previous research and asking that I want to indicate my desire to work under her supervision. She replied "This is very interesting as a project. Please apply for the next deadline". It is very encouraging response. However, the admission decision is at the department level. So I will have to apply and there are several other requirements which I am not completely sure if I entirely meet.
I feel like I must focus on this positive side in order to increase my chances, but I do not know how. Should I keep in touch with the professor although she can do nothing now until the decision is made? Should I send more details about the suggested idea in order to show how motivated I am (I am not sure if she's part of the admission committee). What is the second step to increase my chances to get admission?
**Do you think sending more emails to the professor is annoying or does show my enthusiasm? Any thing I can do to support more application at this time?**
**Update for who may concern**
The application has not been accepted.
# Answer
> 7 votes
The second step is to submit a strong application: Good grades from a good department, a compelling statement of purpose (which reiterates your interest in your target advisor), and strong letters of recommendation that address your research potential in personal, specific, technical, and credible detail. And then write the professor to tell her you've applied and reiterate your interest.
As long as you're building a strong application, you should send it to several other schools as well (minus your interest in that particular advisor, of course). There is absolutely nothing you can do to *guarantee* admission to your first-choice program, so you need to cultivate other options as well.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, graduate-school, application
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thread-19450 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19450 | Should one apply for tenure track positions below current rank? | 2014-04-17T15:03:11.850 | # Question
Title: Should one apply for tenure track positions below current rank?
Should a full professor apply for an associate professor position if it's the only way s/he might be able to continue his or her career?
The situation in question involves a person recently promoted to full professor (after 5 years as associate prof. and 5 years as assistant before that, all at the same institution). At the time of application for the assistant/associate level position, the person will have held the rank of full professor for 1 year. The person's current position entails living 2500 miles apart from spouse and elderly parents for 8-9 months each year.
# Answer
Contact the department/institution. If a department is hiring an "Assistant Professor", they have been granted a tenure-track slot (by the Dean or Provost depending on institution). In some cases they may be willing to hire at a higher rank than advertised if the applicant already has tenure elsewhere. Some advertisements are explicit in this offer, but the possibility may be there even if it is not explicitly mentioned.
Otherwise, the person needs to do what makes them happier. If moving closer to family is more important, then the person should apply. If the option to be hired at higher rank is not possible, then the person should probably indicate that he or she is willing to be hired at a lower rank/salary for personal reasons (however, it is unethical for the potential employer to ask what these might be).
> 15 votes
# Answer
Of course the answer to whether you should do this depends on what "should" means, and only you can judge whether it makes sense in your own circumstances. I see two potential difficulties with getting hired into a lower rank:
1. The department may not believe you'll be OK with the demotion. For example, you might try to negotiate for a full professorship after they make a lower offer, which could slow things down and cause them to lose other candidates, or you might accept the associate professorship but feel bitter about it and keep fussing until they promote you. So you've got a tricky balancing act: you need to make it clear that a demotion is acceptable to you, without seeming desperate or inferior.
2. Nobody wants to feel like they're exploiting someone by giving them less than they deserve. In practice, the way people rationalize exploitation is by convincing themselves that it's actually justified (for example, that all people in low-paid adjunct positions are inferior scholars who don't deserve tenure-track jobs), and this rationalization doesn't necessarily have anything to do with actual facts. If you are hired from a full professorship into an associate professorship, some of your new colleagues will probably tell themselves that your promotion at your previous school was premature or based on low standards, and that now you're at the rank you should have had all along. It can be painful to go down in rank and be told it's what you deserve rather than a sacrifice you are making for personal reasons. You may decide you're OK with this reaction, but you should be prepared for it.
> 12 votes
# Answer
In Europe I have seen this multiple times. For instance, I know one assistant professor at my old university who was already a full professor at a different (granted, much lower ranked) university. I can only speculate over the reasons for this career move, but it certainly happens at least on occasion.
As for one "should" apply to a lower-ranked position - likely not for career reasons alone. However, oftentimes private reasons are at least as important as career development, and most people understand that. So if a person thinks that moving "down" one or two ranks for private reasons is the right move, he should do it.
> 9 votes
# Answer
Since the title of the question is general, I will mention some other cases in which people apply to academic positions below their current rank:
1. In some countries, universities hire individuals with only a Masters degree as lecturers (they may even be called professors). Those individuals may later apply to be doctoral students at a research university (often in another country with a stronger scientific background).
2. At some universities, assistant professors (who hold a Ph.D.) are given essentially no time to research, due to heavy teaching loads. It is not unusual for them to apply for postdoctoral positions at research universities, in order to have the opportunity to do more research.
In the second case, I think there is usually some prejudice against the candidate (if you're a good researcher, why didn't you get a research position already?) But I have hired one extremely good postdoc this way. In the first case, there is sometimes some prejudice, especially if it has been a long time since you got your MS degree. But I've seen many excellent students who went this route.
> 3 votes
# Answer
I think, this just does not work in Europe, while I am not sure if they have unwritten rules or maybe even written rules. I know several people who tried to stay in science as post docs because they time-limited position of the "senior researcher" has expired, and I know post docs that were desperate enough to apply for a PhD second time - would be kind of a "dream PhD student", but such applications seem never accepted, same as applications for laboratory technicians where no degree is required.
The European scientific system is one way only. Student, PhD student, post doc, researcher, professor (head of laboratory/department). Each level is progressively more difficult to achieve with many people dropping out to industry rather than making the second step up. It may be exceptions, but I have never seen anybody making a successful step down.
> 3 votes
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Tags: job-search, professorship, job, tenure-track
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thread-19454 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19454 | If an author declines authorship, may her co-authors publish without her? | 2014-04-17T16:12:30.477 | # Question
Title: If an author declines authorship, may her co-authors publish without her?
This question was raised in discussion of answers on Is it better to submit a paper to an important journal without the supervisor name or to a less important journal with the supervisor name? There seemed to be a significant difference of opinion, so I'm asking it here as its own question. I'll phrase it as a hypothetical.
Suppose that researchers X, Y and Z have collaborated on a project. Each has made major contributions which were essential to its success, and would ordinarily be entitled to co-authorship on the resulting paper. However, X decides, for some reason, that she does not wish her name to appear on the paper, but she is willing for Y and Z to publish it under their names alone.
May Y and Z ethically do so?
Of course it seems clear that X must consent to have a paper published with her name on it, and she has the right to withhold that consent. It's less clear whether Y and Z may publish anyway, effectively claiming credit for X's work, even though she consents to them doing so. It could be argued in this case that Y and Z may not publish the paper at all.
Another possible concern is that, if X has the right to decline credit for her work, she could be pressured or coerced or bribed into doing so, effectively reducing her to a ghost writer.
# Answer
It seems to me that if authors B and C write in the acknowledgment section that the contribution of person A was sufficiently important that they think A should be listed as an author but that A declined and especially if authors B and C provide a description of the reasons leading to A's refusal which is satisfying to A, in other words if B and C report accurately what has been happening, then no one is behaving unethically.
For a real life example, one can look at the acknowledgment section of S.Bloch and K.Kato's work on p-adic étale cohomology, the third author being in that case O.Gabber and the reason invoked (if I recall correctly) being that Gabber did not think the work was ready for publication (I'm unable to track the precise reference at the moment, it is not Bloch and Kato's article at the IHES in 1986).
UPDATE: Because I haven't been able to track the reference of Bloch-Kato, let me point out Beilinson-Bernstein-Deligne which starts with
> Il avait d'abord été prévu que O.Gabber soit coauteur du présent article. Il a préféré s'en abstenir, pour ne pas être coresponsable des erreurs ou imprécisions qui s'y trouvent. Il n'en est pas moins responsable de bien des idées que nous exploitons et le lecteur lui est redevable de nombreuses critiques qui, nous l'espérons, ont permis d'améliorer le manuscrit.
which roughly translates as
> It was first planned that O.Gabber would be coauthor of the present article. He chose to abstain, so as not to share the responsibility of the mistakes or imprecisions to be found in it. He is nonetheless responsible of many an idea we exploit here and the reader owes him numerous criticisms which, we hope, allowed for improvements of the manuscript.
> 44 votes
# Answer
Declining coauthorship is actually quite common behavior in my field (mathematics). It is so common that not lightly do I question its ethics. In most instances I have seen it appears rather borderline, or the ethical questions that it raises are accounted for in other ways by the profession. However, *taken to the extreme* I think it would certainly result in unethical behavior. Thus my comment questioning another comment made on Nate Eldredge's answer:
> An author **always** retains the right not to receive credit for his or her work.
I think this statement is clearly too strong. If you systematically pass off your work to others, you are participating in a form of plagiarism and giving (assuming that your work is good, which I will since this is the version of the practice I am familiar with) an unfair advantage to your should-be coauthors in what is now an extremely competitive academic environment.
**Stage 1**: Let's start at the extreme point: if you do all the work on a paper (or project, or thesis) and then pass it off to someone else who puts their name on the paper, I hope we can all agree that not just they but also *you* have done something deeply unethical. As I have before, I will point to this excellent short story which describes an especially interesting case of this. The story describes realistically how the discovery that the main character has written the PhD thesis of his ex-girlfriend would get not just her but also him in trouble.
In this extreme case there is another ethical violation occurring: someone's name is being put on something which they did not have intellectual involvement with.
**Stage 2**: Let's imagine that a more senior author really did the work of the paper and explained it to someone more junior: possibly their own student, but it happens in another cases as well. And let's say the junior person writes up the work in the formal sense but not without a lot of help from the senior person, to the extent to which that without substantial guidance from the senior person the junior person probably would not have been able to write up the work in an acceptable way. The junior person has in some superficial sense "contributed to the work", but I would argue that really he has not. And to focus ideas let's imagine that this in a field like mathematics (or TCS, theoretical physics...) in which the idea of "valuable routine work" is largely or completely absent: e.g. the junior person did not do any interesting or independent calculations, coding and so forth.
*I* still feel that this is a serious ethical violation. If it results in the junior person getting a PhD thesis, then I feel bad about that. If this is a larger pattern of behavior and results in the junior person getting several publications which advance his career, then I feel terrible about this: I think the senior person is doing something really reprehensible.
**Stage 3**: Now imagine that the senior person had the idea for the project, had some of it worked out in advance (but not shown to the junior person), had ideas about how the implementation was to take place, but left at least some substantial part of the implementation to the junior person. Let's say the junior person did at least a substantial part of the work independently, and let's say that he did some things in a way different from what the senior person would have thought to do which is not obviously worse.
This stage is an accurate description of the relation between many thesis advisors and their students in mathematics. In mathematics this type of interaction probably most commonly results in a solo paper by the student, and the likelihood that this will occur is positively correlated with the research strength of the advisor and the department. I grew up watching this practice and therefore got used to it. Once I saw how differently other fields operate I started to wonder whether this was really ethical behavior. I think in practice it is not such a serious problem because in mathematics **who your advisor is** is known to everyone who knows you: when you meet someone new or talk about them with a colleague, "Who was his advisor?" is one of the first questions that gets asked. It is quite common for someone who got their PhD at a top mathematics department to have their first publication in a truly excellent journal on the topic of their thesis -- deep, cutting edge stuff in their advisor's field -- then a short gap, followed by other papers which are minor variants of previous work or are interesting and valuable but in a different, lower-to-the-ground field. When potential employers see this type of CV, we largely tend to think "I get it: the advisor really did much of their thesis work, and without her the candidate cannot continue doing work of the same quality." Unfortunately this might be unfair in the other direction: for instance some advisors *really don't give much direct help* to their students. That was the case for me, and luckily various people told me that my advisor has a reputation in the community for *not* doing his students' theses for them, with the result that some of his students have written much better theses than others (mine was somewhere in the middle). So it's not clear how to arrive at a "standard advisor discount". Taken the other way, sometimes you do see an eminent advisor writing a paper jointly with their student on the topic of their thesis work, and all of a sudden it becomes less clear what this means: there needs to be an explanation of this in the letter of recommendation (but the explanation is not always absolutely clear or convincing either: every student everywhere always did "at least half of the work" according to recommendation letters).
Most eminent thesis advisors regard the help that they give their student to write an excellent thesis as a one time gift, at which point they leave their former student largely alone to sink or swim. However in a small number of cases there are eminent advisors who just have that many good ideas and that generous a nature. Maybe they feel that the way to function as a leader in their field is to feed their former students the ideas they need to do first-rate work. I cannot imagine trying to tell these eminent people not to do this, but nevertheless the practice seems unfair in a competitive job market. It contributes to feelings that the top departments form a kind of elite club that, if admission is not granted by the age of 24 or so, will be almost impossible to join later in life. This is not good for the profession.
There are further stages. To be clear, starting with Stage 4 I would myself be a participant in the process (and sometimes I think I would be a better advisor if I were more onboard with Stage 3). If you're a senior person and you feel like you made what was really only an offhand remark to someone, then even if that offhand remark was crucial in the writing of their paper you are relatively unlikely to want to be a coauthor. I respect that very well and I have to: that kind of expertise and generosity is part of being a senior academic (in my field at least; I assume it's not so different elsewhere). At my relatively middling career stage I have already made plenty of remarks to others that have resulted in acknowledgments in their paper, and I have already turned down at least one offer of coauthorship. And there was one relatively recent case where I offered coauthorship to a very senior person: he declined, roughly because he had almost forgotten the remarks he had made to me about five years (!!) before. I hadn't, and they were crucial to writing what for me is a very good paper. So there is a continuum here and many judgment calls to make; I want to be clear about that. But I also think that we should draw the line somewhere before "An author **always** retains the right not to receive credit for his or her work."
> 28 votes
# Answer
I think that you need to distinguish between the case when everyone agrees that X's work requires acknowledgement as a co-author, but X is being difficult, and the case where X is uncertain or dismissive of the level of their contribution.
I was recently added, at the invitation of the primary authors, to the author list of an article in preparation based on my very last-minute contributions. I felt obliged to have a discussion with the primary authors as to whether I really should be added or should simply be acknowledged. In the end, I deferred to their judgment about the importance of my contribution and accepted their invitation. This is a perfectly natural and appropriate conversation to have.
However, if X thinks that the paper is bad as written and *refuses* to have their name associated with the work, then the remaining authors have some harder choices. They should first consider the objections or criticisms of X and see if the article can be improved. If it cannot for time or space reasons, then they should consider either offering X an acknowledgement credit at the end of the paper or whether or not they can remove X's contribution and their name from the work entirely. It's entirely possible that this may scuttle the paper submission.
I don't think that the remaining authors should submit X's work as their own if X refuses to be associated with the article in any way.
> 13 votes
# Answer
The purpose of publishing a paper should be the dissemination of knowledge and not merely the attribution of credit to the right persons for its discovery. If the authors Y and Z believe that the work is of any importance whatsoever to the scientific community, it would be unethical for them to NOT find a way to publish it. Such considerations could override some of the considerations of fairness of attribution that many here seem to be concerned about.
> 3 votes
# Answer
This is exactly the reason why care must be taken when inviting some other researcher into team for collaboration. If he has once been written as a co-author, he has a certain right to block the publication of the shared work. This may or may not be fair.
As a result, it is better to invite additional researchers only if they can contribute some substantial new results or perhaps some type of analysis that is difficult to do without they help (writing and evaluating some complex mathematical model about results, for instance). In such cases, the contributed part can be identified and removed, publishing without it.
Differently, if the invited researcher contributed in general discussions and planning over all project, there is no clear way to get rid of such contribution easily. Then all that remains is to negotiate, if all sides agree to publish with the fewer authors, maybe that is ok.
> 1 votes
# Answer
In a comment on the earlier thread, I claimed that a co-author always has the right not to receive credit for work done with respect to a particular paper. I believe this is because there are certain rights and responsibilities that researchers have with respect to publications. Particularly relevant here is the right to receive appropriate credit for their work.
However, associated with any right is also the option **not to exercise** said right. For instance, author X may believe that co-worker Y has contributed enough to merit co-authorship. If Y chooses to decline co-authorship, this does not prevent author X from publishing the paper.
At the same time, by exercising the right to co-authorship comes additional responsibilities. Among those is the responsibility to participate actively and constructively in the preparation of the manuscript. It is unethical to insist on co-authorship for the purposes of scuttling a manuscript through inaction.
In general, though, none of the above places the restriction on authors *voluntarily* relinquishing intellectual property rights to the paper (that is, not have their names appear as co-authors, but still allowing the manuscript to proceed). They also have the right to "take their marbles and go home"—essentially withdraw from the complete process, which can of course be much more difficult in collaborative projects involving multiple groups.
In short: authors have the right to accept credit, and the right **not** to accept credit, but must accept the consequences of that decision.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, ethics, authorship
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thread-19533 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19533 | Do postdoctoral studies have official certificate? | 2014-04-19T15:49:12.170 | # Question
Title: Do postdoctoral studies have official certificate?
I have seen that some universities give postdoctoral fellows an official certificate (similar to the PhD diploma) after finishing their postdoctoral job. On the other hand, some of postdoctoral positions are just simple research (or even academic) jobs. I have even seen that some professors pay the postdoctoral fellows without contract (from their grants).
My question is: How common is a **certificate of postdoctoral studies**? Do future employers expect applicants to give them certificate of postdoctoral studies as well as PhD diploma?
# Answer
Certainly not in the US. I never got any kind of certificate for the postdoc I did, and in fact I'd never heard of such a thing until your question.
My current employer never asked for any formal verification of my postdoc. They received letters of recommendation from my postdoc supervisor and other colleagues at that institution, and I think most US academic employers would consider that sufficient.
Then again, they never asked for my PhD diploma either. In the US, we don't use the diploma for official purposes; it's just a decorative piece of paper. The official document of choice is a transcript sent directly from the university (and my employer did ask for one of those).
> 25 votes
# Answer
I'm in the UK. I've never heard of a "certificate of postdoctoral studies", not least because postdocs aren't studying towards a qualification: they're working. I've also never heard of a postdoc not having a formal contract of employment. In fact, I suspect it would be illegal to do so in the UK (and probably most western countries).
> 9 votes
# Answer
You are expected to have publications while working as a post doc. These publications document your institution, topic and success while working as a post doc.
You can also ask for recommendation. I do not think it is a separate "diploma" because unlike PhD, post doc is already more work than studies.
> 6 votes
# Answer
In general, the only "certificates" of post-doctoral research that I am familiar with would better be classified as *certifications*: that is, they indicate the dates for which the postdoctoral associate worked at the given university, and the kinds of duties performed. I know that some universities also give certifications for particular courses taken, but otherwise, I am not actively familiar with "certificates" in the style of a diploma.
> 3 votes
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Tags: postdocs, certification
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thread-19506 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19506 | Order of taking courses | 2014-04-18T21:09:00.137 | # Question
Title: Order of taking courses
I take my courses in a very specific sequence which I believe maximizes my learning potential and enjoyment. Unfortunately, that means that some key 'checkbox' courses I am to take might be put off until senior year. Will grad schools assume that I'm just not taking them at all? Or will it be OK to take them even as I'm applying?
# Answer
> 2 votes
If you are applying to graduate schools while you are still enrolled as a student, you will normally be asked to provide the most up-to-date transcript you have at the time of the admissions process—and may have to provide a mid-year report if a quarter or semester has elapsed between the time of submission and the decision date. So, the only courses the school may not see may be the ones in which you enroll after such a mid-year report.
Now, in general, if you're not leaving too many classes until the very end (in other words, the "standard" load for someone in the field), there won't really be any questions asked—people know that different departments have different ordering and sequences for classes. However, if you are leaving "standard" courses normally taken earlier in the program for the end, you may need to explain why. However, your *local* academic advisor should be able to guide you on whether this will actually be necessary for *your* particular case.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, undergraduate
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thread-19489 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19489 | Can a Ph.D. candidate at a US-style Ph.D.-only graduate school be admitted to a European doctoral course? | 2014-04-18T13:09:44.223 | # Question
Title: Can a Ph.D. candidate at a US-style Ph.D.-only graduate school be admitted to a European doctoral course?
While most European doctoral courses require its applicants to hold master's degree, many doctoral courses in US often do not. In these graduate schools, by satisfying conditions set by the schools, students advance to candidacy, when the school may or may not grant them master's degree.
Suppose the school does not. Then, can a Ph.D. candidate at the school be admitted to a European doctoral course, which usually require its applicants to have master's degree?
# Answer
> 2 votes
Although the term "PhD candidate" is used in both continents, a Ph.D program in the USA comprises of: Master (2 years) + Doctorate (3 years), meaning it takes at least 5 years, whereas in Europe comprises of just the latter: Doctorate (3 years). This means that yes, a Master's degree *or something deemed equivalent or superior* is required to enter the doctoral course in Europe. The fact that it's "not required" in the US is an illusion, it's just because the Master's is (sort of) included IN the Ph. D program. In the end you will get your Ph. D degree at around the same age than students in Europe.
If your University in the USA does not deliver a Master's degree per se, you will have to check with the prospective university in Europe to see whether they will count your research experience (preferably 1-2 years of lab research after your 4-year Bachelor's, which you could sum up in something that looks like a Master's thesis) as being *equivalent or superior* to a Master's degree. I believe it is case by case.
Also, please keep in mind that some countries like France require you to have a scholarship or to secure some kind of funding prior to admission to cover your living expenses for the entirety of the Doctorate (3 years) since Ph.D candidates have a status similar to paid staff.
The UK is probably one of the only countries in the world where it's OK to do just a Doctorate (3 years) right after your Bachelor's (=if you compare to other countries, you could say it means skipping the 2 years of Master's), however, I don't think this is highly valued on the international market, unless you managed to end up with the same amount of work and publications than the people who did Master (2 years) + Doctorate (3 years).
//Speaking for science majors//
# Answer
> 1 votes
One should note that the reason why there's such a big difference between the US and the European systems is the way master's degrees are handled. In the US, the master's degree is viewed as a "graduate" degree, to be completed after the bachelor's study, which is effectively independent. In Europe, however, the bachelor's degree is largely considered a precursor to the master's degree, which is normally done in succession after the bachelor's degree is complete. Doctoral candidates (post-master's) in Europe do not normally have significant coursework requirements associated with the degree.
Consequently, for most PhD positions in Europe, a master's degree is considered a prerequisite. The exception to this are programs that are more or less patterned after the US model, in which a master's degree is acquired as part of a larger PhD program. However, even in these programs, the acquisition of the master's degree is not merely "an option," as it is in many US programs. Instead, it is a necessary component of what amounts to a dual-degree program.
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Tags: phd, masters, united-states, europe
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thread-19513 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19513 | Does taking courses of various subjects matter in PhD admission? | 2014-04-19T02:38:23.933 | # Question
Title: Does taking courses of various subjects matter in PhD admission?
I'm going to apply for PhD programs of biology or biomedical science. I understand that I need certain semesters of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and mathematics. Because I'm going to graduate in four years while double-majoring in math and biology, I can't afford to take courses of various subjects, as I can take, except for subjects belonging to math and science, only one semester of social study and humanities, two semesters of foreign language, and four semesters of PE. Since my college has quasi-open curriculum, there's no problem with the credit requirement of my school.
But should I take courses of various subjects for my PhD admission? Does variety of courses taken in undergrad matter in PhD admission?
# Answer
If you are attending universities outside of the US, you normally wouldn't have much in the way of diversity—almost all of your courses are directed toward the general area of your major. So it's not that big a deal not to have too many outside courses.
In general, though, I also think that admissions committees do not place as much weight on courses outside the major as courses in the major. If you are a physics major, for instance, a C in a US History course is not going to be as problematic as a C in electricity and magnetism.
> 4 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, coursework
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thread-19511 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19511 | "Post-Postdoc" Independent Researcher with Office in University? | 2014-04-19T01:07:49.293 | # Question
Title: "Post-Postdoc" Independent Researcher with Office in University?
I knew a foreigner in the astronomy department at the university here who was a "post-postdoc" independent researcher. How could she have her own office in the astronomy department as an independent researcher?
# Answer
Many universities offer positions with titles such as "research professor" or "staff scientist" or other similar titles. These all indicate the same basic phenomenon: a researcher who is generally supported by "soft money" (In other words, a position subject to sufficient funding), but who is otherwise more or less "permanent" staff. Such scientists may or may not have their own dedicated office space, depending upon overall space constraints within the department and within their boss's research group.
> 5 votes
# Answer
Such possibilities depend a lot on recommendations and past achievements of such a researcher.
If one is a real scientist with good publications and good, interesting project, not only office space, but also laboratory access and resources like access to the supercomputing facility may be provided.
Most obvious, a researcher may be supported by his home institution (industrial or educational) and would not require also salary for the project.
The similar situation may also result from various funding schemes that allow to obtain the initial grant for a position easily, but make progressively difficult to *extend* it over time, regardless of achievements like publications. In such cases some researchers actually work for free for a limited time in institutions that are no longer able to employ them, to finish everything properly.
> 1 votes
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Tags: independent-researcher
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thread-19559 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19559 | Are Master's becoming required for USA PhD programs? | 2014-04-19T23:37:42.360 | # Question
Title: Are Master's becoming required for USA PhD programs?
In the USA, many universities enroll PhD students with BSc degree. I think this is the classical scheme, which remained in the US universities. In many countries, it is almost impossible to enroll in a PhD program without MSc degree.
I am curious how is the trend for MSc programs?
At least in the USA, do more universities allow PhD enrollment with BSc degree or those allowing are shifting to MSc requirement?
# Answer
At least in my field (mathematics), every US PhD program I know of accepts students with a bachelor's degree. I see no sign of this changing.
> 17 votes
# Answer
In physics, doctoral programs typically admit students with bachelor's degrees. Some programs will award a master's degree partway through, usually upon completion of coursework and successful defense of a research proposal. A master's degree is also a graceful way for a student who wants to leave a PhD program early to do so.
> 7 votes
# Answer
In the field of biology they don't require a Master's. When I interviewed with top Universities, it was pretty uncommon for the candidates to have a Master's degree. Everyone did have a Bachelor's though.
> 4 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, graduate-school, masters
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thread-19544 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19544 | Interview for a PhD position at a German university | 2014-04-19T19:14:20.910 | # Question
Title: Interview for a PhD position at a German university
I am interviewing over Skype, for a research position at German university. So far my interviewer and I communicated via email, and he sounded formal but pleasant.
I have no clue how interviews are conducted at German universities. Is it subject-based or do they just want to know the student's skills and motivations?
Also, since i am interviewing for a position in machine learning, should i expect questions about the current trends and research?
# Answer
> 11 votes
I currently work in Germany, and have exactly the situation xLeitix mentions in his comments: I have positions which I am able to choose directly who I want to hire, independent of any admissions committee.
In such interviews, I want to have a sense of the student's technical prowess, as well as a sense of their motivation and interest in the position itself. Since such positions are usually directly associated with particular projects, I want to make sure that the candidate is reasonably qualified to tackle the specific project (rather than just being generally competent in the field).
# Answer
> 3 votes
I would say there is no general rule. You should ask the interviewer if you can prepare something - so you will get more information in which direction the interview will go. You can also directly ask about the length of the talk.
Typically I would except a talk about your past projects, i.e. your Master's thesis. Since this is a research PhD position in Germany it is very likely that it is part of a externally funded project. So questions about the project can be expected.
The main reason for the interview is that the interviewer wants to get a picture of you - on a scientific but also on a personal level. Typically there wont be a hiring committee, but you have to convince the professor that you are the right person for this position.
# Answer
> 1 votes
To add to other ansers, an interview in Germany is often only a opptortunity for the applicant for becoming asked to finally visit the group a half/full day and for the employer to filter out interesting students, when too much good ones apply. In my field, physics, \>100 applicants for good PhD positions will be normal. Maybe 3-4 will be invited to visit the group actually and then the professor or a committee makes the decision. If you're living in Germany, they will often simply invite you to make a presentation at the face.
It's a fast and important opportunity to check if you can fluently speak the language (at least English) or rule out eventual contradictions/gaps in your CV or ask some informal questions (scientific/engineering family, hobbies,...). But, from my experience phone interviews are not very common in Germany for STEM PhD positions, also not in non-academia job world.
I don't have so much experience how overseas applicants are treated here as we don't have many and master degree is often necessary (you didn't say how far away you're from this group), if interesting candidates are even invited to visit groups and traveling costs are paid (at least partly). But traveling within Europe via train to visit the group is common and costs paid. Mostly after 1-2 mails without a pre-phone-interview, because a well written CV is often enough to invite then 3-4 good applicants and fill the position. If you are applying for a very specialized topic from overseas where it's unlikely that there are many good candidates, then I would take this much more seriously and prepare really some text to present your master work in a short and pregnant way. Some interviewer will expect this or tell you explicitly, **but in any case it is your fault to be not prepared** :)
So I would check and was checked myself language proficiency, short descprition of master's work, relation/motivation to/for this PhD work and country, other applications I filed and what I plan to do after finishing PhD. You will maybe also face some hidden questions. There was one position I was interested in where it became known to me after interview and visiting the group (but finally not offered) that the professor searched somebody spending also some post-doc years at this group (a small young group that was just build up) and not ruling this out completely. Such questions some professors will ask you explicitly, some indirect, as it is hard nowadays to forecast your life 5-10 years. But showing the professor that I just wanted to do PhD in his group and city and then move on finally cost me this position.
Formally it's an interview of you, nonetheless you should also ask some questions at the end of the interview that are not mentioned in the job description (salary, teaching duties (language demands, master students), advisor, overall time frame, attending conferences, vacation...). It's not a good strategy to bombard employer in mails with such questions before it is not clear that they are really interested in you. Show that you're are thinking determined self-confident curious guy, a bit like a good flirt ;)
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Tags: phd, interview
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thread-11696 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11696 | Does putting poor performing students on academic probation improve student performance? | 2013-08-06T04:27:16.513 | # Question
Title: Does putting poor performing students on academic probation improve student performance?
As we enter a new school year, I'm wondering if the is any evidence to support or contradict the idea that putting a poor-performing students on academic probation improves their performance. Does anyone know of any such evidence?
I can imagine that schools are naturally concerned about eliminating students whose tuition keeps the doors open and my school does not have any formal rules on academic probation. I'm thinking of proposing some, but only if there is evidence that it will actually improve performance. If it demotivates students (for example creating a stigma which is a very serious issue here in Asia) and bounces students who might otherwise just pass then it does not seem so appealing.
# Answer
This is only a part answer
University of California Berkeley applies a probation when the cumulative GPA goes below 2.0 and are within grounds for dismissal. But, they give a semester and advise the student to:
> The College of Letters and Science encourages students who have been placed on term probation to seek advising at the Office of Undergraduate Advising for help with schedule planning and to discuss any issues that may have caused poor results in the first place. Although this web site may be helpful to you, it is primarily designed to assist probationary students whose cumulative grade point average has fallen below a 2.0.
An example from Australia, Brisbane's Griffith University, it seems that a similar constraint may be applied:
> The minimum standard for academic performance is a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.0 for undergraduate students and at least 3.5 for postgraduate students. Students who meet this GPA standard are said to be in ‘good academic standing’. If a student’s GPA is below this level their performance is ‘unsatisfactory’. The first time a student’s performance is below the required standard, the student is placed on probation for the next semester. The second time a student’s performance is below the required standard, the student will normally be excluded.
In the Princeton article "The Effects of Academic Probation on College Success: Lending Students a Hand or Kicking Them While They Are Down?" (Fletcher and Tokmouline, 2010), found that often there is an improvement, but then their
> findings also suggest that this short term boost in performance fades out over time and students who are on academic probation following their first semesters of college do not have higher rates of persistence or graduation.
They also found that an overall model (indeed a definitive answer) is hard to come by due to inconsistency of heterogeneous effects, particularly
> pre-determined student characteristics as well as high school of origin.
> 10 votes
# Answer
> I'm wondering if the is any evidence to support or contradict the idea that putting a poor-performing students on academic probation improves their performance
Whose idea is this? I quick look at what US universities think academic probation means does not suggest that its purpose is to improve performance.
At University of Tennessee Knoxville
> Probation serves as a serious warning that your academic performance needs improvement, alerting you that you are in jeopardy of Academic Dismissal.
At Harvard Academic Probation is defined as
> a serious warning to a student whose academic performance for the term is unsatisfactory. Academic probation is a formal action of the Administrative Board and becomes part of the student’s official record.
It seems that in general "academic probation" is an administrative state between "good standing" and "academic dismissal". The purpose is to warn the student if they do not improve that they will be dismissed.
A potentially relevant question might be are things like the Success Plan of University of Tennessee Knoxville successful. This, however, is a really broad question. Each University is going to have a different "success plan" and implement it differently. You might also wish to consider how to build and implement a successful success plan.
> 8 votes
# Answer
I saw it more as "a notification that we're working on kicking you out". In my first term of college, I failed a calculus 1 class (passed 3 others, but that F pulled my gpa down to a 1.6). and was therefore placed on academic probation. My advisor then forced me to register in the second semester into 2 classes for which my failed calculus 1 class was a prereq (calculus 2 and physics), virtually ensuring that I would fail. I signed an agreement to enroll in the class, added the class, dropped it 15 minutes, and then enrolled in several easy classes in order to boost my gpa. I actually got over a 3.0 my second semester because the classes were so much easier, but I no doubt would have received F's in both the calc 2 class and the physics class had I taken them. After my second semester, I transferred out in good standing, went to the local community college for a year, and transferred to another university. Had I followed my advisor's advice, I almost certainly would have experienced academic dismissal. My take is that they were trying to get people to flunk out.
> 8 votes
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thread-19536 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19536 | Do I cite introductory material in a subject that helped me indirectly? | 2014-04-19T16:46:41.823 | # Question
Title: Do I cite introductory material in a subject that helped me indirectly?
I am writing my undergrad Bachelor's thesis in computational physics where I do C++ programming. In some C++ books, I read some things that were quite useful during programming, but they do not have a direct connection to the physics.
Since I was proficient with LaTeX before I started the thesis, I do not see a point in adding anything about that in the references. That is rather a skill than specific facts, and I did not really read about it during my research.
Another thing are resources that I consult for an introduction into a topic when I do not understand something in a paper. After reading that introduction material, I often understand the paper to a sufficient extent. When I then write the text, I think I could get by by only referencing the paper since it contains virtually everything needed. But it also seems wrong to omit that I read introduction material.
* Should I cite sources like the C++ book?
* Should I cite introduction material like Wikipedia, websites or easy books?
# Answer
> 29 votes
You don't typically cite material that helps you understand a topic. You cite material that you explicitly use in a paper. So source books like a C++ book don't need to be cited unless you're using an unusual and explicit construction mentioned in one of those books. For example, there's a technique to draw a geometric object using GPUs that was first mentioned in an graphics programming textbook: people using the technique will cite that textbook.
Wikipedia is not supposed to be a repository of original material, so if you found something on wikipedia then there's likely to be an original source that Wikipedia should cite and that you should as well (once you verify it).
For a website it's a similar principle. If the website contains code that you're using, then cite it (or better yet, cite the associated material that the code authors might suggest you cite instead). But if the website merely contains expository material that helps understanding, then you don't cite it.
# Answer
> 25 votes
To add to Suresh's answer, I agree that it is not *necessary* to cite books, etc, that gave you background information but weren't directly used in your work. There's no general rule that "you must cite everything you read". However, if you found a source particularly helpful, it might be nice to give a citation to share it with the reader. This is often phrased like "A useful introduction to this topic can be found in \[3\]."
# Answer
> 7 votes
My university gives students a document of guidelines for planning, organising and formatting their dissertation. It addresses this question, and I think their answer is pretty good. This is basically what it says:
Your **references and citations** should contain anything you've quoted directly, anything you've used a figure or diagram from, and anything you've referred in the text to for a fact, assertion, statistic, etc. Any time you state something that's not blindingly obvious from first principles or the product of your own work, cite where you got it from. (I had a lecturer tell us to imagine we're being followed around by one of those Wikipedia users who goes around sticking \[citation needed\] on everything.)
If there are other sources that you haven't used *directly* but still feel would be valuable to anyone attempting to understand or replicate your work, anything you made significant use of while doing the work that didn't make it into your citations for some reason, or anything you read to help your understanding of the topic in order to carry out the work, you can add a separate **bibliography** section, which lists those works.
As far as I'm aware, the distinction between "references" and "bibliography" is well-understood in the academic community, but you could always drop in a line or two at the top of each to explain if you feel it would help your audience.
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thread-19576 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19576 | Decision about getting a job while completing MSc Studies | 2014-04-20T20:34:38.513 | # Question
Title: Decision about getting a job while completing MSc Studies
Last year I got accepted in a full time informatics MSc. During that period I also had a fulltime job as a software developer in a startup and I was trying to make some publications with my thesis supervisor from my BSc. However all these simultaneous activities had a very negative impact on me, since I had no free time and I slept very little time every day for an extended period of time. Things became worse when a close relative of mine died.
As a result I decided to quit my job and although we managed to publish some papers with my supervisor I decided to end my collaboration with him as well **(although it was very fruitful) .**
The aforementioned situations also had a great negative impact in my studies and as a result I passed only 2 out of 5 courses in the first semester.
My studies are really important to me as I want to pursue a PhD. Therefore i decided to fully focus on the MSc and improve my grades. So, during last summer I managed to pass almost every course I had failed before, with high grades.
Recently my BSc thesis supervisor called me offering a job in a research program. This job interests me a lot since:
* I would really like to work with him again since we had a great collaboration...
* there is a high chance of publishing again...
* I would also earn some money...
However: I am afraid that this may impact negatively once again:
* my studies (**despite being close to the completion of the MSc**)
* my grades (and as a result this could possibly affect getting accepted in a PhD)
I am afraid that if I refuse the offer, he may deny future collaboration.
What is your advice about this ? Should I accept the job or would that possibly be a bad idea ?
# Answer
> 2 votes
It's clear that you are reluctant to take on full-time employment after your recent experiences, and understandably so. However, this does not mean that you can't take on part-time work to help pay the bills. This is a fairly common phenomenon for master's students, particularly in countries where the master's degree is considered an "undergraduate" degree (such as in Europe). Exactly how much is up to you—you probably know how much time you could spend on external work without compromising your desired work-life balance.
If your bachelor's advisor is understanding and supportive of you, then he would likely be willing to let you work part-time on his project while you finish your studies. If he isn't willing to do so, then that might be a sign that he's not someone you should have as a long-term advisor. (A good research advisor and mentor will want what is best for *both* of you, not just what is best for the advisor!)
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thread-19582 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19582 | Should I choose an tenured advisor good at research but bad at teaching or an untenured professor good at teaching? | 2014-04-21T00:54:02.520 | # Question
Title: Should I choose an tenured advisor good at research but bad at teaching or an untenured professor good at teaching?
I have a Phd option with two professors.
Professor A is tenured and is doing very good in research .But many people have complained against him that they cannot understand his class. He has 2 Phd Students -one has been working on Phd for 5 years but still hasn't given his candidature. The other student joined his lab in 2012 as Masters Student and is planning to graduate from Phd in 2016. He closely works with corporate and is very well funded and pays his students very high stipends (like 3k+).These students regularly go for internships in these companies. But i see these students working very long hours on weekdays and weekends to complete their class and research projects.He was recently made an distinguished professor of research in my university.
Professor B has been in university for 3 years and has just graduated a PhD student(after 3 years). He is looking for tenure and is very prolific publisher. However he also published to some questionable open access journals (one's included in Beall's List) to achieve his tenure requirements. There are 3 students in his lab -2 Master's and one 20 hr working CS student to help them out with programming. He has few projects to work on but not as big as tenured professor's. But people have high hopes on this professor as he worked in industry for 6 years prior to becoming an assistant professor.He is also very a good teacher .His Phd student could not get a job in his research field and is now working as a full time research software developer.
Which professor should i choose for an Phd and what should i look out for in each of them like pitfalls and advantages .
# Answer
I'm not sure why a professor's capabilities as a lecturer should have anything to do when considering her competencies as a mentor and research advisor. The two skill sets are almost completely separate from one another. Moreover, if part of your concern is that you want to become a teaching faculty member some day, then there's probably a chance to be a teaching assistant for another faculty member who is more qualified as a teacher (such as your Professor B).
> 13 votes
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Tags: phd, research-process, advisor
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thread-19586 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19586 | Dropping out of grad school with F's: how will this affect job prospects? | 2014-04-21T03:53:22.093 | # Question
Title: Dropping out of grad school with F's: how will this affect job prospects?
I am currently getting ready to finish my first semester of a graduate program (was on track for Ph.D but that does not matter anymore). I made the decision to quit half way through the semester due to some family issues that came up. Anyway, ever since that, I pretty much lost all motivation to study with the persistence that I had before - up to the point where on a subconscious level my brain refuses to absorb any more information. I will likely be receiving at least 1 F for the semester. My question is this - after I leave the program I will be looking for job in industry - I am a Civil Engineer as an undergraduate. How will having an F on a 1 semester transcript in graduate school affect my job prospects?
# Answer
> 8 votes
Did you try seeing if you could formally withdraw, rather than do so "de facto"? A withdrawal means that you normally don't receive grades for courses (although some schools note a withdrawal while having a failing grade in a course).
The likelihood that a future employer will overlook this depends largely on who's doing the applicant screening. If your "direct boss" is handling the process, you have a chance of convincing them that the grades aren't reflective of your true abilities. On the other hand, if a human resources "specialist" is handling the screening process, a grade of F will unfortunately mean your application will probably end up in the "circular file."
# Answer
> 2 votes
You will be looking for a job in industry. I don't think your job prospects are completely determined by the F's on the transcript of your first semester of the graduate program. Of course, those F's hurt your chances. Your resume could be filtered out by the human resources when they see the F's on your graduate school transcript if they ask to see that transcript. But, they usually pay attention to your undergraduate transcript and your skills set. If your undergrad transcript is fine and you have the skills/experience they are looking for, you still have reasonably good job prospects.
On the other hand, if it is not too late to withdraw from the class, do it to avoid the permanent bad record. If it's too late, try your best to not to fail the class. I know it's hard after you have gone through the personal issues. But, you don't want to ask yourself the question "What if I tried?" years later.
Wish you good luck!
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Tags: graduate-school
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thread-19472 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19472 | Tattoos in the Workplace | 2014-04-18T02:26:12.043 | # Question
Title: Tattoos in the Workplace
I'm an undergraduate mathematics student finishing my degree. I plan to go to grad school, and ultimately aspire to become a professor. I really like tattoos, but I'm hesitant to get one because it could affect my future job.
Of course, if I did get one, it would be discrete and innocent. What I really want is the axioms from ZFC wrapped around my upper arm.
I'm very interested in hearing people's thoughts on tattoos in the workplace, particularly from people who work in mathematics. Do you think it is acceptable? How would you judge someone based on their tattoos? Do any of you have tattoos? What are your experiences?
# Answer
Tattoos that can be easily concealed in sensitive times (during interviewing, etc.) should never be a problem. Further, academia is in general a pretty tolerant place when it comes to looks. As Suresh says, we are used to much weirder things in terms of look than a small tattoo. You'll be fine.
> 24 votes
# Answer
I don't have any tattoos, and I work in CS, which may be a little more relaxed than mathematics. I would have no negative reaction to seeing someone with a tattoo, and would merely be somewhat envious :).
I've had colleagues who wandered barefoot in the hallways, and others who rarely showed up in anything other t-shirts and shorts.
> 14 votes
# Answer
The answer is, unfortunately: It Depends. There are indeed people who will judge you on a tat or piercing or other body mod, just as there are people who will judge you if you come to work in ripped jeans and a T-shirt with three different colors of housepaint and a layer of cat fur. This tends to be less of an issue in places where you either aren't dealing with customers who might react badly, or are expected to be a bit eccentric; academia and "research" types can get away with more than folks in the main line of business can, and sales personnel are generally expected to be well-turned-out but otherwise non-distracting so the customer can concentrate on the transaction.
If it isn't something that's displayed during the interview or at work, it's unlikely to ever be an issue. If you want it more visible, you are gambling. It's not a major risk, but don't assume it's 100% harmless.
And of course a tat which implies you're involved with anything resembling a violent or hateful group is likely to get you invited to interview elsewhere.
Basically: Don't be stupid. If you do it, get something tasteful, don't shove it in people's faces and force them to react when they'd really rather not deal with it, and for gods' sake don't get a tat until you've wanted the same design for at least a full year. (If in any doubt, friends who do skin art tell me, consider a temporary and see if you keep buying and re-applying it.)
> 8 votes
# Answer
Like this one (not mine)? I guess it won't make you any problems.
In most places in academia people do not care that much how you look (~~as long as you dress decently~~). But it may depend on the culture of a particular place.
However, the aesthetics, size and content of the tattoo may matter. You referred to a geeky tattoo, but if the tattoo associates you with a group that is (even subconsciously) looked down in academia (e.g. that is which is, or is perceived as, expressing unpopular views, being less or anti-intellectual, etc) - it might be a different story.
> 6 votes
# Answer
In this day and age in America, I think most people are so accustomed to seeing tattoos in different settings - including academia and the workplace - that it's not an issue at all. In your case, especially something that shows your passion for math, I don't see it being a problem. I got my undergrad in Math. My career is a Unix sysadmin. I work in Silicon Valley at a large internet company, and quite a number of engineers and programmers here have tattoos. I personally have tattoos but they are mostly on my upper arms and get hidden by my shirts.
> 5 votes
# Answer
I think that many here have made great points, but having worked in academia (administrative) for many years, currently it would be ill advised for you to get a tattoo (small or big, classy or otherwise, provocative or mundane) that is visible or has the potential to be visible. Most search committee are still old fashioned today; I hope that once you are on one, you'll work to change this bias, but in my opinion, as for now, it still stands.
> 2 votes
# Answer
You cannot live your life according to other people's illogical rules, as to what you are going to do with your body, hair, clothes, skin. Standing out from the rest of the crowd, either being prettier, cooler, having long-hair, tattoos, working-out is always a double edged sword for all work environments. Some people will like you more and respond to you positively, other will hate your guts. As other answers have stated, Academia is one of the most tolerant workspace you may encounter. So, you probably will not have a problem either way.
"Raising a flag" by showing hints of your real personality (besides your academic achievements) may also make other (academic or not) people approach you easier. In this way, it might also help in some cases. As for the others who respond negatively, who would really want to collaborate with someone, who judges people strictly by their looks?
> 1 votes
# Answer
I believe Tattoos are a great way for self expression and shouldn't be restricted,having said a person with visible tattoos are frowned upon in the academia/ business circles. I am a PhD Student in the US and my professor has a small tattoo on his hand. I guess small tattoos are ok, but bigger graphic ones maynot be a good idea.
> 0 votes
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Tags: interview, outward-appearance
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thread-19581 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19581 | Does using complex mathematical notation detract the reader from a paper? | 2014-04-20T23:36:23.513 | # Question
Title: Does using complex mathematical notation detract the reader from a paper?
I'm currently writing a paper on analysing miRNA targeting in animals. It's principally a statistical analysis involving many graphs.
However, to explain the creation of one of the graphs, I've resorted to using set theory notation, as this, to me, seemed the most efficient way of explaining how the graph was produced.
However, this may potentially have some issues:
1) Will the use of terminology that is outside the theme of papers in this field detract from the description? Such that few people who read this paper will understand set theory and therefore many will not understand the mathematical notation? The description, I hasten to add, will be a tenth of the length when using set theory notation.
2) Evidently, concepts should always be written as clearly as possible, but where is the line formed between explaining concepts in words, as opposed to mathematical notation? Why would one choose one way over another?
3) Should you make assumption of the mathematical understanding of a person reading the paper?
# Answer
> 16 votes
An author should always be careful when using mathematical notation that is "outside the theme of papers in this field," especially if the papers typically have little math notation. I have personally found that running into a cryptic (at first glance) equation makes me put the brakes on and engage some deeper thought to decipher what's trying to be said. Oftentimes, the notation is required, or at least useful, but when I end up thinking, "Couldn't they have just said 'such-and-such' in plain English'", I get a bit cranky.
Sometimes, though, you do need the space savings to stay within page limits, so if you really will shave off 90% of the space, and you need that space to fit in something else that is key to the paper, AND in your best judgement that the audience won't be derailed by the notation, you might be OK. Otherwise, because you have stated that you can describe it clearly in words, you should consider perhaps rewriting that description to be more concise and precise, rather than potentially obfuscating the details of your graph production.
# Answer
> 8 votes
So far, I'm missing the option of giving the 110% version of set notation plus explanation in plain English. That way, readers familiar with the set notation can skip the written explanation, and others can either skip the formula or learn what it means from your explanation.
(As you think whether you should give the long explanation, I assume that there are no particular length restrictions.)
I may add that I (chemist/chemometrician) was actually taught that a formula should preferrably be accompanied by a plain text explanation of the idea behind this formula.
# Answer
> 7 votes
By and large, I would say **avoid using non-standard presentation techniques in your paper**. This includes using non-trivial mathematical notation in a field that generally does not use maths.
Consider that simply by choosing your way of presenting your techniques / results you (a) already lose most *casual* readers of your paper (i.e., those that don't *have* to study your paper for some reason, but were just interested in its content), and (b) presumably significantly increase the chance of your paper being falsely rejected by a reviewer who was inexperienced in the used notation, and hence misunderstood some details. Of course, this is not supposed to happen in an ideal world, but we don't necessarily live in such a world.
That being said, I should add that (especially for lower-ranked venues), the opposite of (b) may also happen - you may get a reviewer who does not fully understand your notation, but decides that it looks "sciency" enough and hence accepts the paper (even though, maybe, the content was actually weak). I have certainly seen paper submissions that tried to ride the train of camouflaging weak content with complex notation.
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Tags: publications, paper-submission
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thread-12706 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12706 | Can a paper be presented by two presenters in a conference | 2013-09-15T11:47:01.413 | # Question
Title: Can a paper be presented by two presenters in a conference
I am a beginner in research papers and doesn't know much about registration and presenting.
Can two authors register for the same conference and present the paper (together)?
# Answer
> 10 votes
Registration and presentation of a paper are two somewhat separate issues. Normally, presenters at a conference must register, but there is no rule that says only one author of a paper can register for a given conference.
In general, however, papers normally have only one presenter, as the logistics of a conference normally work against having multiple speakers for a single presentation. (The presentation time is not that long, transferring a microphone between speakers, ensuring proper "flow" of the talk across the change in presenters, and so on, all tend to work against the idea of multiple presenters for a given paper.)
# Answer
> 8 votes
As @aeismail said, registration and presentation are two separate things. I don't have a *vast* conference experience, but from what I've observed/done until now:
**Registration**
Registration is more about attending the conference.
Most conferences require at least *one author* of a paper to *register for a "full" fee/participation*.
To explain, I've seen reduced fees for students or options to win a free/reduced stay sponsored by the conference (this usually requires a motivation letter or things like that). So, the conference usually requires one registration at full price, and then other authors can register and attend at a reduced fee if they're eligible. Reduced fees (about 10-20%) for members of various organizations (e.g. IEEE members) still count as full fees.
**Presentations**
It's very uncommon to see two people presenting. And it's substantially harder for them -- for the reasons @aeismail said; it's hard to get the dynamic right and you will potentially loose a lot of time on the switches.
However, *it can be done*: I did it. Just as in @ChrisGregg comment, I had a truly collaborative paper with a colleague: we joined our substantially different work in a single application, and knew only the basics about the other ones contribution, so we decided to present our own contributions each.
It required more work and preparation than any other oral presentation (conference or otherwise) I ever did. We had to really know what we were doing, we both needed to know each others slides and their contents well. We had to practice being *really good at presenting our own parts*, and then *practice presenting together*, especially the switches. The switches had to be fast and natural. We actually switched two times I think (person A - person B - person A) (or even three times, not sure?). But *every presenter's part had to be a whole "chapter" all in it self.* There's much less room for improvisation (even the tiny ones within one slide can confuse the other person). The flow of the presentation is also more constricted -- what is the most natural way to present a work might require way to many switches. So, you have to ensure a minimal number of switches while still keeping the presentation flow natural and concise. And, I did feel kind of out-of-place just hovering around waiting for the switch while my colleague was presenting.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I and Misha Sodin did exactly that on the last IMC meeting (though it wasn't a single paper but a survey of a series of related papers) and nobody had any problem with that. We just felt that 50 minutes is a bit too little to tell everything we wanted in an understandable way and split the presentation into two parts. Of course, nobody wants to listen to the same talk twice, but if your paper can be split into two more or less independent parts (making some cross-references is OK as long as you avoid vicious circles and state clearly what you refer to), then I see no problem whatsoever with you presenting one part and your co-author another one. Just make sure that people who go to only one of these talks still have a chance to understand something.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I've occasionally seen a situation where, in a conference session divided into short talks (say 20 minutes), two co-authors will speak back-to-back on the same paper (though each focuses on different aspects). This obviously needs the consent and cooperation of the organizers to get consecutive time slots. The talks normally have titles like:
* Integrability in quantum category theory I: Applications to the derivation of isometries
* Integrability in quantum category theory II: Connections to an example of Banach
to make it clear that they are closely related.
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Tags: conference, presentation
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thread-19590 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19590 | Will taking the math GRE subject test be a plus point for admission in MS/PhD in computer science? | 2014-04-21T05:09:43.820 | # Question
Title: Will taking the math GRE subject test be a plus point for admission in MS/PhD in computer science?
i am undergraduate in computer science looking for admission to MS/Phd in computer science at U.S universities. I know there is no subject test for computer science anymore. In that case, will taking the math GRE subject test be a plus point to my profile?
# Answer
It would be easy enough to ask any department to which you are considering applying whether they would give consideration to math subject exam GRE scores. They shouldn't penalize you for asking (and at any rate it would be worse to send the scores without asking first).
However, I am inclined to agree with @aeismail: the fact that they formerly had GRE subject exams in CS and no longer do must say something about what at least many of the departments are looking for.
Perhaps I should mention that I was involved in making the math subject GRE exam a required part of the application to the PhD program in my department...but my department is a mathematics department. Still, after four years of doing graduate admissions I have some experience that seems relevant: in doing admissions one really wants to "compare apples to apples" whenever possible. For instance this meant getting everyone's understanding that after making the math subject exam a requirement we really would seriously downgrade any application that didn't include it. The reason for this is that when the exam is optional, a lot of students take it but don't send the scores if they are not strong enough. This is obviously unfair to the student who turns in a lower percentile score: they are being penalized for their honesty and for following the rules. I think similar considerations apply in the other direction: presumably very few or no other applicants to CS PhD programs are submitting this score. So if you turn in a pretty good math subject exam score, what is the committee supposed to make of it? How do they compare it with everyone else's application?
Considerations like the above make me think it is unlikely that you will be told that your scores will be considered as part of the application. But there is no need to take my word for it: ask them, see what they say, and if you can, come back and tell us about it.
> 8 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, computer-science, mathematics, gre
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thread-19468 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19468 | How to approach potential advisor who's going on sabbatical? | 2014-04-17T23:06:22.393 | # Question
Title: How to approach potential advisor who's going on sabbatical?
I am a Math PhD student at a US university. I have made a decision on who I want to work with for my PhD, but I was made aware that the professor in question is going on a sabbatical next year, to be spent in a different university (not in close proximity). What is the best way to approach a potential advisor in such a situation? I have not yet asked the "question", but have met with the professor in question multiple times on research related issues.
# Answer
I think the situation is volatile, depending on the communication skills/inclinations of the faculty person. I.e., do they do email often-and-effectively? If so, there's scant obstacle. But, on the opposite hand, if the only way they communicate effectively is face-to-face, then this would be a bad situation.
And it depends of course equally on your own capacity to communicate effectively by a medium where there're no facial expressions, no body language, and... many people seem to be slow to see this... committing questions or comments to email disallows remarks like "Oh, I don' get it" that seem ok in conversation. Thus, one must exert more effort to compose an email than to make a vague verbal remark in person. This is not at all a bad thing... unless the net effect is significant inhibition of communication, in which case one should re-consider one's mode of operation.
On the whole, some risk here, but, if both parties' communications chops are good, it could be as productive as any.
> 11 votes
# Answer
It's not uncommon for professors on sabbatical leave to bring their graduate advisees who are at the thesis writing stage with them for the sabbatical leave. I've seen this particularly at some of the NSF funded research centers that I've visited. However, if you haven't yet started working with this professor, and especially if you have significant course work left to complete, then it probably makes more sense for you to stay where you are, take course work and perhaps get started working with your advisor via email, internet teleconferences, etc.
I think you should meet with your prospective advisor and ask him/her whether they would like to take you on as an advisee or not. If they're willing to take you as an advisee, then they'll probably have some plan for you.
You haven't discussed your funding situation. If you're currently working as a TA, then you obviously couldn't expect this funding to continue at another university. If your advisor will fund you as an RA, then it may well be possible to take this funding with you to the other university. Another possibility is that your advisor might be able to arrange for you to get funding from the other institution.
> 7 votes
# Answer
Adding to what has already been said about communication and funding, from experience, it will strongly depend on at what stage your PhD project is. In my case, my advisor was away during the last 12 months preceding my graduation and it made the collaboration a lot harder resulting in some frustration and delays.
If this situation happens at the beginning of your work, it might be less of an issue. Unless your work includes laboratory experiments for which it's usually critical to have close supervision.
Some of the points you could discuss when you bring up the subject:
* is the supervisor willing and capable of using a videoconference software, securing a decent connection and decent hardware to run the thing (don't laugh, you'd be surprised how many highly educated people are clueless when it comes to this)?
* is she/he ready to schedule regular calls (eg. once every two weeks)?
* Are plans to visit an option? if yes, can funding be secured for that?
One thing I did was to send updates in the form of screencasts, or videos with slides and audio describing the work, or videos of me in front of a white board. That seemed to be appreciated by my supervisor and triggered the most fruitful feedbacks.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Here is a possibility to consider: ask for a coadvisor, or ask for someone on your thesis committee to take a slightly more active role in mentoring your research while your advisor is on sabbatical. Even if the coadvisor is not strong in your area, they should be able to read the signs of what progress you are making and advise you generally on what to change, even if they cannot make technical comments. Further, it will prepare them for giving a better critical evaluation of your thesis as you will have spent some time talking to them about it. (If you do follow this route, it is incumbent on you to make things transparent and as easy as possible for all involved. In particular let both advisors know what meetings you had, what you discussed, etc. Having a semi-private blog to record this may be useful.)
Of course, this is very situation dependent, and may not be the best answer for you. The point is that the doctorate is your responsibility, and if you can't or don't follow your advisor physically, you need to do what you need to do to finish the degree, which can involve a lot of creative thinking and work on your part (and hopefully not much extra on the part of the system: you can't expect the world to change for you as much as you should expect to change the world).
> 1 votes
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Tags: phd, advisor, sabbatical
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thread-19608 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19608 | Are religious invocations in academic presentations appropriate? | 2014-04-21T16:35:16.490 | # Question
Title: Are religious invocations in academic presentations appropriate?
One thing that I have noted come up a few times in presentations in the US in the last few years has been that some speakers—usually graduate students and postdocs, rather than more established career professionals—have included religious invocations at the end of presentations in entirely secular venues. One presenter went so far as to have an entire slide devoted to it, complete with quotations to spiritual texts and illustration.
Is there any sort of protocol about when such sorts of invocations are considered appropriate? (For instance, at a student's doctoral defense, but not at a public seminar?)
# Answer
I think this is a good question.
Let me propose some guidelines:
1) A religious invocation should occur at the beginning of the talk or the end of the talk, but not in the middle of the talk.
People often begin talks with material that is unrelated to the topic of the talk itself, e.g. thanks to various organizers; comments about the weather, the venue or the town; jokes; and so forth. It seems to be clearly asking too much for someone to speak only about their scientific field during the entirety of their talk. However, at a certain point you get down to business and the "talk itself" in the narrower sense begins. One should not (of course this is an opinion, but a strongly held and easily defensible one) mix religion with the material of the talk itself.
2) A scientific talk is not an occasion for proselytization.
To me whether religious material is appropriate depends a lot on the purpose one has in bringing it up. If you include religious material as an attempt to convert audience members to your religion, I think that is really problematic and unethical. If you include religious material for other promotional reasons, then I still have a problem with it, just as I would be with someone promoting their not wholly scientific company or product. (Even wholly scientific promotion might not be so great, but that's a different answer.)
On the other hand, it is a totally standard thing to have the last slide of a talk give thanks to various people and institutions. If you feel deeply grateful or thankful in the religious sense, then it seems natural to want to express those feelings, given that other speakers are thanking people and things (e.g. the US government) that, in your sincere opinion, have not helped you out as deeply or fundamentally. At any rate, it does not bother me if someone ends a talk by thanking some theological entity.
3) One should not express religious sentiments in a scientific talk in a way that encroaches on anyone else's religious sentiments or lack thereof, nor which implicitly or explicitly invites or requires participation or complicity from the audience.
Thus "Alhamdulillah" is probably okay; "Now Thank We All Our God" is probably not.
In general, in (e.g.!) an academic context, one should be respectful of others' beliefs and views, and one should not be controversial or exclusionary in anything without a specific intellectual purpose for doing so. One should also be respectful of others' time and realize that speaking in front of a group is a privilege. On the other hand, academics are human beings and can choose to say things which are not strictly necessary. In my calculus class last week, I had students identify a quote about mathematics being someone's worst subject followed by a careful and insightful consideration of the reasons for this. The quote turned out to be from Malcolm X. What *calculus reason* could I possibly have to quote Malcolm X? None. But I thought it was interesting and perhaps important in its own way. I enjoy my freedom to do that, so it is not a hard sell for me to give leeway to those who want to make some kinds of religious statements, so long as they are in line with the above guidelines.
> 15 votes
# Answer
As evidence that it's not appropriate, note the comment by xLeitix stating that s/he has never seen such a thing, and several upvotes agreeing. The reason we don't see it happen is because it's inappropriate.
However, it's not inappropriate behavior of the greatest magnitude. It's probably comparable to wearing shorts and sandals, or to lighting up an e-cigarette during the talk. Most people are going to care more about the content of the talk than about about such minor issues, but some people will choose to be annoyed.
> 9 votes
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Tags: presentation
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thread-19616 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19616 | Is there an implied requirement to include citations? | 2014-04-21T19:40:05.030 | # Question
Title: Is there an implied requirement to include citations?
As part of a freshman Computer Science course, I've been assigned the task of writing an MLA-format essay on a relatively fundamental subject within the field. The instructor stated that "This essay may require additional research outside of the text." However, I'm able to completely describe the topic entirely from my own knowledge and experience.
In this sort of situation, is it implied that I *must* cite at least a few external sources, or is it acceptable to write an essay entirely from my own personal knowledge?
And, if so, do I omit the Works Cited page entirely or just put "None" under the Works Cited heading?
# Answer
*(this might strictly speaking be out of scope of this site, but I'll answer anyway as I think the question in general comes up quite often)*
Generally, when one is asked to write a scientific paper of some sort in university, there is an explicit or implicit expectation that you will use references. Often, students think this is unnecessary because they feel they know already "everything", or at least enough, about the subject without searching through the literature.
This is usually a fallacy for a number of reasons:
* Oftentimes, students check web pages like this one and learn that in a published research paper, a certain level of common ground can be expected and does usually not need to be referenced. However, what "can be expected" is clearly dependent on the type of paper you are writing, and a published research paper works differently than a term paper in a freshman course.
* Further, there is an underlying misunderstanding of what one needs to reference. References are not only required for what you are learning from literature "right now", i.e., in the current class. The things you already know you probably did not research on your own, entirely independently. You learned them in a previous course, and (maybe long before that), there was a paper or textbook that introduced these concepts.
* Keep in mind that any paper writing assignment in a course is foremost a learning experience. One of the goals is that you should learn to research additional material (hence the "This essay may require additional research outside of the text."), and to cite it correctly. Circumventing this learning goal by basically just writing down what you feel does not require citation usually does not make instructors happy.
* Generally, writing (only) about your "own experience" is a bit of a fallacy in itself. You should understand that you are in that case basically generalizing from a sample size of **1** (you / your experience). Let's look at an example. Maybe you have, for instance, worked a bit as software engineer, and hence believe that you do not need to read the literature in order to write a paper about software engineering processes (I am making examples up here). However, in that case, you know exactly your own company processes, and know little about how everybody else is building software. This is where you would look over published papers for more rigorous studies.
All that being said, in the end Dave Clarke's comment is accurate: It would be worth asking your instructor.
> 9 votes
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Tags: publications, citations, writing
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thread-19615 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19615 | Should one disclose his/her family information in an academic job interview? | 2014-04-21T19:37:21.697 | # Question
Title: Should one disclose his/her family information in an academic job interview?
Should one disclose his/her family information (i.e. whether he/she is married and have children) in an academic job interview, including postdoc interviews and interviews for PhD, if any? In what situations would disclosing family information in such interviews be considered advantageous or necessary for the candidate? If not appropriate during interviews, then when would be the best time for one to disclose his/her family information?
# Answer
> 2 votes
I have been part of several hiring committees in a New Zealand university and:
1. We are instructed to never ask about a candidate's family situation, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
2. Personally, I do not want to know about your family situation to avoid any perceived bias in the hiring process.
3. Any mention of the situation on your part (like 'we are a bundle') could be perceived as making the hiring more complicated. Unless your application is miles ahead of the rest (unlikely) why would a committee want the extra complication?
The only situation where I could see an advantage is when you family situation would suggest higher chances of success. For example, you are applying to a job in the middle of nowhere (and potentially candidates would feel isolated) and your family happens to be from there.
I would wait to say 'we are a bundle' (if that's what you have in mind) to when you are offered the position. Ideally, you would never have to disclose your family situation until the university is willing to pay for your moving costs.
# Answer
> 8 votes
It's probably best not to bring up family information at all during an interview. The committee wants to focus on your professional qualifications. They've probably been given strict instructions from HR *not* to take into account things like the applicant's sex or age, which are not professional qualifications. Different people may have different expectations about how formal a job interview should be, but in general it's not a casual get-together where we get to know each other.
Often a committee will want to understand why you are leaving your current position. Basically they want to make sure you didn't leave your current position because you did a bad job there and got fired. This becomes particularly relevant if the job you're applying for is at a professional level less than or equal to the level of the job you're leaving. In this context, it may be OK to mention your family if they're the reason you wanted to change jobs. E.g., you needed to move from Indiana back home to California in order to care for your father, who is old and unable to live independently anymore.
Another common situation would be the "two-body problem," where you and your partner are trying to find jobs in the same city. I would not bring this up at the interview stage. It's not relevant at that stage, because they haven't even offered you the job yet.
If you have young children, I wouldn't mention that at all. Many people in academia have very old-fashioned expectations about the academic lifestyle, e.g., that a high-powered academic must not be distracted by child-rearing, or must have a "faculty wife."
# Answer
> 7 votes
I heard the following advice from several people; I have not been involved enough in hiring to know if it is right, but it sounded right to me:
> If you would not accept a job offer unless the university can find a position for your spouse, then you might as well disclose that information early. The universities who do not make offers to you because of your disclosure would not have made offers to your spouse had you kept it silent and revealed later.
If you do want to follow this advice, you will have to bring it up, since HR should have told interviewers not to raise the matter.
# Answer
> 4 votes
One situation in which I have seen this work to a candidate's advantage is where the candidate has an extraordinarily strong record. Schools knew going in that solving the two-body problem was important for this candidate, and the university that was fortunate enough to make the hire did precisely that.
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Tags: postdocs, interview
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thread-19642 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19642 | How to translate foreign-language theses into English? | 2014-04-22T07:43:04.433 | # Question
Title: How to translate foreign-language theses into English?
i found many papers and thesis written in different languages than English, mainly Portuguese and Chinese. is there an efficient way to benefit from these papers and thesis instead of translating them using Google translate.
# Answer
If you have access to the digital copies, then dump the entire thing into Google translate so you can skim read it. Having done that, it would be a good idea to find a native speaker and get them to check the translation of specific sections that seem relevant on the basis of the automated translations. I wouldn't suggest asking a native speaker to translate the whole thing, or even read the automatically generated translation of the entire thing.
Another thing you could do is see if you can find other papers that cite the papers that you're looking at. One of them may contain a summary that'll tell you if you need to bother pursuing that particular paper. This will be pot luck though, and it will be a lot easier to just use Google translate.
Of course, don't use Google's translations in your work; get a native speaker to help you when it comes to that.
> 4 votes
# Answer
If you have some knowledge of the source language, you can use Linguee.com to find the best translation of a word out of documents which have been translated (EU commission's texts for instance). Thus, you'll have the word in all its possible contexts. This is very useful for legal or technical vocabulary.
> 0 votes
# Answer
A good working knowledge of languages is important for many fields of research. Google translate is good, but no substitute for actually being able to just read the article in the original. You don't need to know that many languages for most fields. I recommend that you pick up at least one research language other than English. Which one will be most useful will depend on your field and perhaps your specific topic. (My topic requires Latin, for instance.)
> 0 votes
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Tags: publications, thesis, translations
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thread-19650 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19650 | Realised afterwards that I committed mild plagiarism in a paper I wrote as an undergraduate, what should I do? | 2014-04-22T11:21:22.513 | # Question
Title: Realised afterwards that I committed mild plagiarism in a paper I wrote as an undergraduate, what should I do?
A few years back, while still an undergraduate student, I wrote and submitted a paper to a (low-tier) journal. It was accepted and published. None of the professors in my college were familiar with the subfield in question, so I did it all on my own, without their supervision or assistance.
It was only later on that I realised that I was guilty of plagiarism. I did write the paper all on my own, and always provide appropriate citations, but sometimes I would quote single sentences or parts of them directly from my sources without indicating that they were direct quotes (even if these unmarked quotes were always followed by a citation to the original source).
It has now been several years but I keep feeling guilty about it, and worry that one day someone will notice it and call me out on it. Or at least notice it while reading the paper and think worse of me. But since it has been several years since the paper was published, I also don’t know what I could do about it. I have thought of putting something like a public admission and apology on my website (from which the paper can also be downloaded), but maybe I’m overthinking it and nobody would actually care. In that case it would feel like a bad idea to needlessly draw attention to something that nobody would have noticed otherwise. But the paper has been cited some times, and I have reason to expect that there will be people reading it in the future.
Should I do something about it or just let it be?
# Answer
> 62 votes
> but sometimes I would quote single sentences or parts of them directly from my sources without indicating that they were direct quotes (even if these unmarked quotes were always followed by a citation to the original source).
"*You didn't use quotation marks where you should have in a paper you wrote as an undergrad? My god, you are despicable human being.*"
Nobody reading your question here will think this.
Rather they will think something like:
"*Wow, you wrote a journal paper on your own as an undergrad and it's still being cited?*"
I would imagine that the vast majority of readers of your paper, even if they notice, would think likewise.
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Though it's technically plagarism, I think it would be quite obvious to a reasonable reader that if your *intent* was to plagarise, you would not immediately cite the plagarised document you stole the quote from. Omitting quotation marks sounds like a minor transgression to me, particularly if your area is STEM where the (natural) language of the text is a means not an end. (If you did not have the citation(s) at all, I think it would be a different matter.)
Mistakes happen and this was clearly just a mistake.
(I would also add that I think it's pretty common for researchers to be somewhat embarrassed by earlier papers that they wrote when they were more junior. At least I am. But that's just a sign of improving.)
> I also don’t know what I could do about it. I have thought of putting something like a public admission and apology on my website (from which the paper can also be downloaded)
I would suggest two things:
* Update the preprint on your homepage.
* Keep a list of errata on your homepage.
In my area (CS) people mostly read the preprints (found through Google or Google Scholar).
> public admission and apology
I don't think there's a need to *apologise*. I think you just need to admit your mistake and move on. Again, mistakes happen!
# Answer
> 18 votes
I think that you already included in your question the most reasonable answer: upload a corrected copy of the paper to your webpage, and indicate on your webpage what the nature of the corrections was. I don't think you need to be specifically apologetic about it: rather **honesty** and **fixing the paper** seem to be called for.
I would only consider doing more than this if:
**(i)** The standards for quoting text without attribution in your field are more stringent than the academic norm.
and/or
**(ii)** You have some reason to believe that the unattributed quotes played a role in the acceptance of your paper.
In the academic circles that I run in (mathematics, and more generally STEM) neither of these apply and the second one is especially dubious: math papers are -- *alas!* -- not accepted for their dexterous phrase-turning.
If (i) and (ii) do apply, then I would next consider whether this paper is playing any significant role in your current academic profile. (You say it was published in a low-tier journal; on the other hand you say it is still being cited.) If all these conditions are met -- i.e., you have reason to believe that the paper might not have been accepted if the quotes were attributed properly *and* you feel that you have profited in some non-negligible way from publishing the paper, then I think you are ethically obligated to contact an editor of the journal. I would begin by sending them a copy of your "corrected" paper and take it from there.
I think it is very unlikely that this *almost harmless* kind of plagiarism (and I think we should agree that it is plagiarism: there are just more and less egregious versions of that bad practice; this is very unegregious, if I can make up a word) will get you in any kind of academic difficulties in your current job or even your future career. However, I think that academics should hold themselves to a higher standard than avoiding what could get them in trouble. From your post it is clear that you have high ethical standards and this has been bothering you for a while. If you do what I advised, I hope that you will sleep a little more soundly.
# Answer
> 4 votes
I honestly don't think this counts as plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work as your own. All you did was use the same phrasing as the article you cite. Since you're giving credit where credit is due by citing the papers, I don't think anyone would object.
If you had done this with one of my papers, if anything I would be flattered. Had you failed to cite me, I would be very annoyed but if you cite my work and then use one of my phrases, I would simply be pleased with myself since you clearly thought that my turn of phrase was so good that you couldn't say it better. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery and all that.
So, personally, I would do absolutely nothing. I really doubt anyone will be bothered by what is at worst "bad form". Of course it's better to place direct quotes within quotation marks but as long as the relevant paper is cited, you are very unlikely to anger anyone.
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Tags: plagiarism
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thread-19630 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19630 | In a research group, is it better to have few post-docs and many PhD students, or viceversa? | 2014-04-22T01:31:02.097 | # Question
Title: In a research group, is it better to have few post-docs and many PhD students, or viceversa?
I work in computer science, and am wondering what is the right balance between PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in a lab.
In the previous research group I was, there were one principal investigator professor, one researcher (~ assistant professor), **zero post-doctoral fellows**, and **nine PhD students**. In my current research group, there is one principal investigator professor, **one post-doctoral fellow, twelve PhD students**, and no researchers.
I recently visited a research group in a university where, surprisingly, there are one principal investigator professor, **ten post-doctoral fellows** and **two PhD students**.
What do you think is the **best ratio** between the **number of PhD students** and the **number of post-docs** in a research group? **Why?**
Would you prefer to **spend your funding** for having **more PhD students** or **more post-docs? Why?**
# Answer
That's an interesting question. In all of the following, I am assuming computer science here, other fields may have completely different dynamics:
> What do you think is the best ratio between the number of PhD students and the number of post-docs in a research group? Why?
PhD students and postdocs fill fundamentally different roles in an university. PhD students are the heart and most important part of a research group. They are where the actual science happens (everybody else is just too busy most of the time). The role of postdocs can vary between "more senior PhD student" to "assistant professor with bad job title", though in most larger research groups it tends to be more the latter than the former. As such, the most common task of postdocs seems to be to take over the day-to-day advising of PhD students from a busy professor. I would say the optimal "formula" for such postdocs is roughly **(number of PhD students / 3) - number of professors**. The idea being that, as long as the research group is still small, no postdocs are actually needed. In a larger group, you need roughly one postdoc to help about 3 PhD students, minus the few people that the faculty can / wants to actually supervise themselves. In reality, though, the real ratio fluctuates widely based on available funding, people finishing, postdocs moving on, etc.
Let's go over your examples:
> one principal investigator professor, one researcher (~ assistant professor), zero post-doctoral fellows, and nine PhD students.
That seems a bit borderline in terms of PhD students per advisor / senior person, but probably still ok.
> one principal investigator professor, one post-doctoral fellow, twelve PhD students, and no researchers.
6 PhD students per senior person seems already tough to provide good guidance, especially as the professor certainly will have lots of other things to do as well.
> I recently visited a research group in a university where, surprisingly, there are one principal investigator professor, ten post-doctoral fellows and two PhD students.
I guess this is a group where the postdocs are more in the "glorified PhD student" mode. I am not a fan of this model. If the responsible person thinks that 10 postdocs are more productive than 10 PhD students, I think they are sadly mistaken. Or paraphrased from Jorge Cham "as a postdoc you can finally spend all your time on what your PhD training has prepared you to do - applying for faculty positions" (source).
> 2 votes
# Answer
Some financial considerations that may have a strong influence on the composition of the research group:
1. The costs for post-docs and PhD students are different; it is not uncommon to get 2 PhD students for the cost of a post-doc.
2. Different funding sources may pay for one or the other. For example, I recently got funding that was restricted to PhD students only.
On terms of productivity, I would expect a postdoc to start producing something after 6 months, while PhD students can easily take a couple of years to get something publishable. I would trust a post-doc to co-supervise 1-2 PhD students, but never to be a senior supervisor. You may get a postdoc to be involved in more projects, but then they would not have enough time to progress in their own research.
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, postdocs, career-path, lab-management, research-group
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thread-19670 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19670 | Do editors choose reviewers based on the quality of manuscripts? | 2014-04-22T17:19:59.417 | # Question
Title: Do editors choose reviewers based on the quality of manuscripts?
When the editor receives a manuscript, he/she has to find a couple of suitable reviewers. I was wondering if the they were choosing the reviewers in order to match the expected manuscript quality?
What I mean is the following: if the editor receives a manuscript that seems to describe a major breakthrough, will he/she choose preferentially well known scientists to review it? On the other hand, if the manuscript does not seems good, will he/she prefer younger, less experienced researchers?
# Answer
Editors try to maintain a good status of papers published in "their" journal. There is no obvious point in using different standards for different papers and I am sure that such differences are not concious decisions if they appear. If an editor receives a paper that is outside of their comfort zone, it is of course possible they are not aware of possible good reviewers and may make seemingly odd choices. How common this is will be difficult to assess but that it occurs is certain.
In the specific of receiving something of breakthrough character, the procedure should normally be the same. However, an editor always has the choice of adding as many reviewers as they see fit. If a controversial paper appears, it will likely receive quite varying reviews and adding additional reviewers may be useful to get a sense of the quality of the work. This does not necessarily mean an editor will go for specific names but I can see that it may be the case that one would go for prominent names for such a paper.
In my experience as editor and author (and reviewer) I often get the sense that good science receives far harsher reviews than poorer. I do not think this is because the good stuff are assigned to "better" scientists, I actually think it is because a good paper is easier to fault be cause it is more transparent than poor papers which are muddled.
So, in short, there are many aspects to how papers are run through a review process. Choice of reviewers is not generally done after quality of the paper although it can happen. In the end a journal, through its editors, want to retain its status and letting poor papers through, does not serve such a purpose.
> 5 votes
# Answer
There is an element of logical necessity in the question you ask.
Let us start with the case of a really major breakthrough, think epoch-making result. In that case, editors will of course try to select someone who is able to understand and verify the work, so someone who presumably has notoriously an outstanding command of the topic, who is known for extreme precision and for the ability to easily incorporate new insights. Such a person has highly desirable qualities in order to produce outstanding research and is *known* for having them. The odds are that that person has produced top-quality research.
Now consider the fact that such persons are by definition rare, so as they are busy reviewing outstanding submissions, other people have to review less outstanding submissions. So in general, yes, submission credibly claiming a breakthrough are much more likely to be reviewed by well-known scientists or (logically equivalently) submissions claiming much more modest progress or claiming breakthroughs but rather dubiously are more likely to be reviewed by less well-known scientists.
But, as always, there are exceptions. I know at least one relatively junior, relatively unknown scientist who has displayed such excellence and thoroughness in reviewing top manuscripts in his field that he is regularly asked to evaluate submissions whose quality and importance are way beyond his own published work; a statement which should not be considered a slight on the quality of his research: one of the submission earned its author a Fields medal.
> 4 votes
# Answer
My impression from working with one is that good editors seek reviews and reviewers necessary and sufficient to justify their decisions. If the paper is obviously good and obviously right, the reviews may only need to be light. If it's a major breakthrough that requires careful checking, then reviewers of the highest quality will be sought. On the other hand, if the paper has major flaws but comes from a well-known, well-regarded author, the editor will seek out someone known to produce the high-quality review but negative review they need.
More speculatively, borderline papers probably require a lot of work from the editor. If they are unsure whether they want to accept a paper or not, they need high quality reviews to make the decisions on whether to offer revisions or not. They also need reviewers willing to do the work of multiple review rounds in a timely fashion. This latter thought is entirely speculative, but it is commensurate with my experience from conference program committees and the borderline papers we reviewed there.
> 3 votes
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Tags: peer-review, editors
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thread-19676 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19676 | Is there an alternative to traditional exams? | 2014-04-22T19:36:10.080 | # Question
Title: Is there an alternative to traditional exams?
It seems like the traditional exam model (two midterms at 30% and one final at 40% of the grade, closed book) is flawed. For instance:
1. Students are not allowed to access resources, whereas in reality they would
2. Students get only a few minutes per questions, whereas in reality they would get days
3. Students are not allowed to collaborate, whereas in reality they would
4. Students cram for the exam the day before, and forget what they learned after the course is over
5. Students focus on the exam to the detriment of learning the material and understanding real-world applications
6. It is difficult to claim that the exam score demonstrates mastery of the course material in contexts other than an exam
But in practice, is it possible to improve on these flaws, without introducing major increases in workload for the instructor? Is there any system of evaluating student performance in an undergraduate course which is an improvement over a traditional exam approach?
# Answer
One alternative that's been gaining momentum in actual classroom use is standards-based grading (SBG): http://www.fwps.org/teaching/sbe/grading-system/
In SBG, the instructor establishes a list of milestones that students are expected to attain throughout the course. The students then can provide evidence of any sort -- within parameters set by the instructor -- that prove they have met the standard. Student evidence of attainment of a standard is marked on a scale usually from 0 to 4 (unacceptable, novice, progressing, acceptable, and mastery -- or something like this) and grades are assigned at the end of the semester based on how many of the milestones have been met at "Acceptable" level or above.
For example, in calculus, one standard might be "Take the derivative of a second-degree polynomial using the limit definition". A student might show that they know this by doing a problem on a standard timed test. But maybe they don't have it down as well as they should, and on the test their work is marked as a 2 out of 4 (progressing; maybe they got the definition right but did some of the resulting algebra wrong). This isn't the end of the story. Later in the course, the student can show evidence again that they've learned what they need to learn -- for example, they can schedule time in office hours to come work a problem or two to show you they've met the standard. Or maybe take a short quiz in class, or work a problem during unstructured group work time in class meetings, or whatever avenue the instructor allows.
The point of SBG is that we want to assess students based on what they know, and give them multiple ways to show that they know it. SBG can therefore be a superset of traditional timed testing -- students that do well in timed situations will do fine in SBG, but students who struggle with timed testing can have multiple chances to get their act together, and as long as they can prove they've mastered the material by the end of the course, that is what matters.
I don't personally practice SBG but I would like to. I'd suggest this blog post by my colleague Jon Hasenbank who is a big SBG proponent: http://profjonh.blogspot.com/2014/02/sbg-mia14.html
> 23 votes
# Answer
Although exams have the flaws you described, there are also many positive aspects you have not discussed:
* Exams are actually an objective way to test performance, in a "hard to copy" environment. Although one may disagree with what is actually being tested, objectivity is usually not questioned
* They are fast. It takes 3-4 hours to test hundreds of students
* They are universally used and most of the students are accustomed to them.
* It is an excellent way to prepare students to perform under stress, a skill which is extremely useful in any work environment. All works / skills have some sort-of-testing (e.g. presentations, interviews). Even getting your driver's license requires testing. So, learning to do well in exams is a crucial real-life skill.
The only complementary (but not good enough for actually completely replacing exams) tool I can think of, is project assignments. Especially in CS, projects are a very effective tool to prepare students for real-work assignments. But they are not a good enough method on their own without some sort of personal written examination. They allow too much collaboration, copying and usually when done in teams, the good students do most of the work while others slack. While a professor might take measures to minimize this, it is impossible to avoid it 100%.
So, I do not think there is a universally better way to test students' performance than written exams. One may complement it with projects, assignments, oral examinations but in most of the cases, completely abandoning it is probably a mistake.
> 15 votes
# Answer
> Students are not allowed to access resources, whereas in reality they would
* Not necessarily so. Instructors can allow "cheat sheets," or allow open book exams.
> Students get only a few minutes per question, whereas in reality they would get days
* Not necessarily true. My boss often asks me questions and expects me to give prompt answers. I don't always have the luxury of asking for a few days to research something. If we are in a high-stakes meeting with customers from out of town, my organization's effectiveness might well hinge on my ability to ask or answer intelligent questions on the fly.
> Students are not allowed to collaborate, whereas in reality they would
* True, but exams are designed to measure individual ability and performance, not someone's ability to contribute within a group, or accomplish some objective as a group.
> Students cram for the exam the day before, and forget what they learned after the course is over; students also focus on the exam to the detriment of learning the material and understanding real-world applications
* Perhaps so, but that's what we get when we test on the minutiae and the trivial, as opposed to testing on the synthesis of high-level concepts (more on that later).
> It is difficult to claim that the exam score demonstrates mastery of the course material in contexts other than an exam
* Maybe so, but it's not difficult to claim that, as a general rule, if students are given identical exams, students who score above the median probably understand course concepts better than those who scored below the median (with some possible exceptions, due to factors such as test anxiety, and perhaps even a little luck).
In short, you bring up some possible shortcomings with what you call "the traditional exam model," but you can address some of these simply by redefining your parameters. Instead of two closed-book exams that count toward 70% of the student's grade, give three open-book exams that count toward 50% of the student's grade. Make one of them a take-home exam, and you at least put a dent in the "few minutes per question" problem. By reducing the exam percentage from 70% to 50%, you have an extra 20% to play with, so assign a group project worth 20% of the grade, thereby addressing the collaboration problem you mention.
As for cramming and concentrating on the wrong things, that's what students will do if you structure an exam that requires them to commit a lot of petty knowledge to short-term memory. I try very hard to make my exam questions address higher-level concepts, rather than nitnoid facts. I ask them to explain these concepts, often by weighing in on hypothetical debates. (Sometimes these debates aren't even hypothetical; I'll find a online discussion thread where a debate is raging, then paste it into my exam and ask them to chime in). In other words, insofar as I can, I test on what I want them to remember five years from now. If I want them to solve a problem, but don't care if they've memorized a requisite formula (because they'll be able to look it up anyway), then I'll just include the formula in the exam. I often tell my students, "Anythihg you would need to memorize will be put in the exam itself. If it's something I have trouble remembering off the top of my head, I don't expect you to memorize it for the exam."
> But in practice, is it possible to improve on these flaws, without introducing major increases in workload for the instructor?
Ah, now, there's the rub. If you followed my suggestions here, look what I've done! There are three exams to grade, not two. These exams don't have a lot of multiple choice questions, and then there's that new group project I mentioned (which needs to be drafted up, assigned, and graded).
It's hard to get something for nothing; most meaningful improvements are going to come with some cost.
> 13 votes
# Answer
In courses that focus more on real world practical ability, assignments (like creating a project, software, etc) are a suitable alternative. It can be done during more time, using literature and, if preferred, in a small group.
A student still needs to defend an assignment (demonstrate it working and answer enough questions to be sure the work has not been copied from somewhere).
> 2 votes
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Tags: undergraduate, exams
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thread-19698 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19698 | Is listing non-academic interests on academic CVs important? | 2014-04-23T13:19:27.953 | # Question
Title: Is listing non-academic interests on academic CVs important?
Since the first time I had to write an (academic) CV, I seem to be getting two conflicting opinions on the subject of *including non-academic* interests on an academic CV.
(Some examples of such interests would be sports, cooking, etc.)
The "sources" of my advice include professional people in and outside of academia, (not that many) PhD students, a lot of internet searches and observing the CVs of other academics/researchers.
* One one hand, I heard that **including a section about such interests is important**, as it is supposed to demonstrate that you are a "diverse, complete person" and not a solitary scientist/workaholic. This is also one of the more common *"don't forget"* advice I found on not-academia-specific guides to writing a CV.
* On the other hand, a lot of examples of CVs of senior scientist **didn't include anything of the sort**, which mostly makes sense to me: since I am writing a CV to apply for a position / grant in an academic concept, I should be judged based on my academia-related activities.
So, I would like to know **what is actually the convention** in academia? I can imagine the answer might depend on several factors such as:
* culture of the country
* culture of the field
* seniority of the scientist (e.g. PhD student vs permanent Professor)
But, then, I am really not sure. Is it a matter of convention depending on some or all of the above, or, if not, what is the global convention for including non-academia related interests in an academic CV?
# Answer
The *convention* in an academic CV is *not* to include information on non-academic hobbies or interests that are not relevant to your professional skills and qualifications.
You will find this view confirmed on sites that give specific advice on the **academic** CV. (e.g.: this one).
That's not to say there's never a good reason to include this information; there may be, in some cases. (For example, you might mention your time abroad doing unrelated humanitarian work to explain a chronological gap.) But in academic CVs it's not standard.
> 30 votes
# Answer
When considering applicants for an academic job, should employers be taking interests in things like sports or cooking into account? In all academic circles I am aware of, the answer is a clear **no**. If I were a candidate for an academic job and somehow found out that another candidate got additional consideration for these kind of interests, I would be quite upset, and if there were (this seems unlikely) some kind of written record of it, I might have a real grievance.
So the answer is that, about as certainly as any one academic can be about the entire world of academia, I believe that putting such things on an academic CV will not get you additional formal consideration. Some people do put them on their CVs anyway: I have looked at thousands of CVs over (not-even-that-)many years, and I would say that maybe 5% include information like this. I don't take it into account in my deliberations. I might happen to be personally interested, but I might also semi-consciously think "Boy do I not care that Mr. X enjoys cooking and running. Let me take another look as Ms. Y, who listed only impressive, relevant things on her CV." When there are several hundred applications, you do want to err in the direction of not annoying your readers, however mildly. Now you might well argue that your application could just as well find someone who semi-consciously admires you for cooking and running. That's your decision. But my feeling (which of course is very much based on *me*) is that you will in the aggregate lose rather than gain a small number of points with this practice....and in the current academic job market, losing a small number of points is liable to have the same effect as losing a large number of points!
Here are two followup remarks:
1) There *is* a place for you to put benign personal information: your webpage. Nowadays I think that every academic job candidate should have a webpage (I didn't until after I started a tenure track job, despite the fact that one of the key people who eventually hired me hinted several times to my postdoctoral supervisor that that would be a good idea. On the one hand: oh, well; do what I say, not what I do. On the other hand: that was almost ten years ago, and since then my webpage has become a major part of my professional profile. I really think that a young academic without a webpage in 2014 looks like a Luddite.)
2) You write "academic CV". I wonder whether this hints at your geography. In the US, the term CV is *only used* in academia (and also in the medical industry, according to wikipedia: these are overlapping circles). To my American ear, the term "academic CV" sounds almost redundant. But the same wikipedia article helpfully informed me:
> In some countries, a CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment.
You should know that in the US we call that a "resume", not a CV. I think this is a helpful distinction to keep in mind when trying to decide whether information about CVs is applicable: a "business resume" is very different from an "academic CV". Anyone who tells you that a CV should be 1-2 pages is talking about a resume instead: although you sometimes see "brief CVs" which are that length, an academic CV is rather supposed to be a *comprehensive document* detailing your academic record, so it grows roughly linearly with the length of your academic career.
> 14 votes
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Tags: cv, career-path
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thread-19692 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19692 | Numbering Introduction and Conclusion? | 2014-04-23T09:05:21.723 | # Question
Title: Numbering Introduction and Conclusion?
In research papers, should Introduction and Conclusion sections be numbered or non-numbered? What does the scientific paper etiquette suggest? Furthermore, in either case, should they appear in the Table of Contents?
If the answer depends on the research field, please elaborate. I'm in electrical engineering, but do occasionally write mathematical papers as well, so those two fields are personally of highest interest.
On a side note, in case someone confuses it with the Introduction section, I am quite sure that the Abstract section should be non-numbered either way.
# Answer
> 17 votes
It's not field-dependent, it's a journal-dependent issue. Some use a format where everything is numbered, some use a format where nothing is numbered, and still others leave it up to the authors to decide.
However, when sections are numbered, everything in the main text should be numbered, including the introduction and conclusions. You don't skip numbering those sections but add numbers for the rest. That doesn't make any sense. (End matter such as acknowledgments and supporting information may be handled separately.)
The best advice is **check the style guide for your journal.**
# Answer
> 0 votes
Certainly, they *are* numbered in mathematics and related fields. Why? Because often you state theorems and formulas in Introduction or Conclusions: How would you label these to allow citing them, if their parent (=section) is not numbered?
*(With my Copy Editor hat on)* I allow only three unnumbered sections: List of notation, Acknowledgements, References. They come in this order (if present) and they are at the very end of the paper.
Nonetheless, as **aeismail** pointed out, it's field- and journal-dependent.
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Tags: writing
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thread-19667 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19667 | How do you know the project you are working on is worthy of a PhD dissertation. How does it differ from MS dissertation | 2014-04-22T15:48:01.337 | # Question
Title: How do you know the project you are working on is worthy of a PhD dissertation. How does it differ from MS dissertation
I am speaking of project scope here.
So suppose my advisor is working with an industry .And you are asked to build a prediction model for small section of that industry? Does that qualify as a Phd Project or a Master's thesis project.
Or does a Phd project has to be generic model , in the sense all companies in that niche can use that model as basis for their analytics?
I am trying to understand the differences in scope for a PhD and MS Thesis project.
# Answer
I've had this discussion recently—the major differences are in the scope and independence of the work.
There is no easy, absolute method to say "X is a master's thesis" and "Y is a PhD project" without knowing the amount of work involved in each approach, and how independent the student needs to be.
Ultimately, a master's thesis represents a body of effort designed to show that you have successfully completed the project to the satisfaction of your supervisor. A PhD thesis indicates that you have produced a sufficient intellectual contribution to your field, and that you have the capability to be an independent scientist.
> 11 votes
# Answer
Standards vary a lot: for example, I've seen MS theses in theoretical computer science from Israel that are mini-Ph.D dissertations.
But more typically as aeismail says an MS thesis is a demonstration of mastery of a particular topic, and may or may not include original research as a part of this demonstration. In this respect, an MS thesis is closer in form to a bachelor's thesis, but the material will be more complex, and less structured.
> 5 votes
# Answer
The standards will vary quite a bit from field to field, committee to committee, etc. But having gone through this fairly recently, and having been in the position to advise some others:
* Masters projects: Good Masters projects can be tied up in a single paper - and should be amenable to being published. But they are generally a single, coherent research question. Secondary analysis of existing data, a theoretical paper to support an empirical study, a meta-analysis, etc. are all good examples. There may be lingering questions (there are always lingering questions...) but by and large the student should be able to "walk away" at the end.
* PhD projects, on the other hand, should lend themselves to *multiple* papers, at least the number of papers required for graduation, and preferably several more to accommodate changes in funding, research interests, dead ends, or the paper that seems to draw the ire of reviewers everywhere. It should be new, asking fundamentally unknown questions, or at least trying to get at known questions in a different way, and should be substantial enough that, at the end, the student should be able to consider that area to be their area of expertise.
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, research-process
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thread-19627 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19627 | How ambitious should one be in picking a journal to submit to? | 2014-04-22T01:01:41.777 | # Question
Title: How ambitious should one be in picking a journal to submit to?
I've finished a mathematics paper with two co-authors, and I need to decide on a journal to submit it to.
More so than my other papers, I don't have much of a sense for how "good" it is. It is a substantial generalization of one of the main results proved in a very top journal, although not the most significant of these results, and not the one that got the most attention.
To my mind, (and after discussing the results with a few colleagues), the paper does not pass the "gut test" to be published in this same top journal. But it is not out of the question that it would be accepted. I would (very roughly) guess a 15% chance of acceptance, a 50% chance of positive reviews that are not quite positive enough, and a 35% chance of vaguely negative reviews that say "This is a nice paper, but it certainly isn't good enough to be published here."
Would it be advisable to submit to this top journal? Or would a little bit more modesty be wise? (And of course I will ask my co-authors, but I wouldn't be surprised if they defer to my judgment.) Thanks.
# Answer
The answer should certainly depend on many different elements, each of which should be judged with respect to your particular situation.
First, the time issue. You should have a look at the AMS survey on journal backlogs, which also indicates the median time to get an answer (for accepted papers only, but we can assume it gives an idea of what happens to all not-rejected-upfront papers). This survey is published regularly in the Notices, and you should be able to find it on line. Then, ask yourself if waiting that time is worth a likely negative answer. Some journals have a pre-refereeing procedure, and reject a fair amount of papers very quickly. This mitigates the risk (either you get rejected quickly, or you have a much-higher-than-average probability to get your paper accepted).
Second, the impression you give to editors. I guess that an editor could remember slightly abusive submissions, and that they would not help you future cases with her; however I have no data or evidence to back up this guess.
Third, your own feelings. Receiving bad reviews is not something to underestimate: it could diminish your enthusiasm toward your own work, alter your willingness to pursue in this direction. This is probably only a small parameter, but if you have had a few difficult cases recently, you might want to take a break from rejections. **Added in edit after a few more years of experience:** you should also think your possible chain of resubmission. What could happen is that after waiting two years and getting rejected by a top journal, you are a bit down and then submit much lower. Aiming at an intermediate level first might give you a better outcome. This applies even more at resubmission: how much do you try high? How high? This of course depends on the feedback from referees and editors, but some long-term planning might help.
Fourth, you should ask yourself if the journal you consider to submit to is an appropriate venue if your paper do get published there. I would not fear too much people telling that your paper is clearly below the journal's level, as we often judge papers by journal's name anyway. But it might happen that a more specialized and less prestigious journal could reach the intended audience better than the most prestigious, general journal. This is not a very common situation, though.
Last, but far from least, what you expect to get from getting published in the top journal? Is it so much of a career boost compared to very-good-but-not-top journals?
Note also that some editors have the habit of suggesting another venue to papers that have good but not good enough reviews in a very selective journal. It is not easy to know this beforehand, though.
> 15 votes
# Answer
I want to add three small points that haven't been mentioned in the other responses so far. It is possible that this advice is localized to my specific discipline (Philosophy), so take it with a grain of salt. (I'd be interested if commentators think it works the same way or differently in their fields.)
1. Many hiring committees for junior tenure-track researchers in philosophy care much more about the *quality* of one's publications rather than the *quantity*. Having more good papers is better than fewer good papers, but 1 good paper is worth much much more than 4 bad ones.
2. The primary metric by which a committee judges the quality of one's work is the prestige of the journals one's work is published in. The committee might have several hundred applications to read through and they realistically won't actually read everyone's writing sample. Therefore, the prestige of being published in a famous, peer-reviewed journal acts as a proxy for quality that signals that you have already been vetted by a 3rd party and found competent. If you make the shortlist, they'll actually read your work and come to their own assessment of it. But if you make it to the shortlist you're probably one of 15-25 candidates, rather than 1 out of 500.
3. These committees assume that the first work published right after the PhD is complete is probably the best work the candidate is going to do as a junior researcher. The idea here is that this is the work you've been working on the longest, and at the most depth, and you've had your advisor's help, etc.
Given 1-3, I think it's much better advice for graduate students in philosophy to spend a lot of time and get one thing published somewhere really really good rather than simply trying to dash something off to get "points on the board".
How good is "really, really good"? I'd say a top 20 general journal in your field. The difficulty of placing an article in such a journal gives hiring committees an immediate yardstick to know how good your work must be. Everyone in philosophy has had a paper rejected from *Philosophical Quarterly*, so people know how impressed to be when they see that you have something forthcoming there on your cv. *The Croatian Journal of Formal Logic*, might be great, but if nobody knows about it, then publishing there doesn't have the immediate cash-value of showing that you have been vetted by an independent third party.
> 6 votes
# Answer
My thoughts, admittedly from a non-mathematician giving a general answer. Below are some things I consider when deciding where a paper goes:
* Do you coauthors have suggestions? Especially senior colleagues, they may have a good feeling for where a paper belongs, or where it absolutely doesn't belong.
* Do you have a timeline. As mentioned, journals have backlogs, and some journals are notoriously slow. If you need something *in press* soon, it might be best to pass on those, even if they are prestigious.
* Do those journals publish papers that "feel" like yours? If they've never published something like your paper, what are the odds yours will be the first? If its extremely rare that one is published, does the journal actually have the readership you want and again, you might want to adjust your probability of success down a bit.
I will say, despite all of this, I once submitted a paper to a journal thinking "Why not, worst thing that happens is they reject it." It got into one of the best journals in my field, and is still, 6 years later, arguably my most visible publication.
> 4 votes
# Answer
Well, why don't you give it a try? Sometimes your luck might favor you. Last year, I submitted a research paper in a Journal called APEX(Applied Physics Express)- Impact factor 2.71. After considering for nearly 2 months they said me that the paper needs modification and be published elsewhere. I thought for a while and worked on my paper modifying it. I decided to apply for APL(Applied Physics Letters), impact factor 3.79 and guess what the paper got accepted. However, people at APL took nearly 6 months and also made me hire a native English speaker to make some structural changes to the paper.
I think you should directly go for the top level paper. If they deny you, you can always find a replacement.
> 3 votes
# Answer
If time is not so much of a consideration then picking the top journal is the natural choice. Sometimes it requires some luck to land in a prestigious journals. As they say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Different referees may have different assessments of your paper.
So, why not try your luck? Nothing to be ashamed of since your paper has value to begin with.
> 3 votes
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Tags: journals, peer-review
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thread-19716 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19716 | Abandoning vs. further pursuing a rejected paper? | 2014-04-23T19:16:03.037 | # Question
Title: Abandoning vs. further pursuing a rejected paper?
My situation is as follows: I spent my undergraduate time at one university and recently entered grad school at another university (both of them in Germany, my field is theoretical computer science).
For my Bachelor's thesis, I worked (for about two months or so) on a topic that had not been considered at the time.
My former supervisor, although he proposed the topic, is not (at least not for the last 30 years) actively doing research in that specific area, which resulted in me ending up quite on my own. However, I could get some new results. They were, of course, not groundbreaking, but sufficient for the undergraduate level and the amount of time spent working on the thesis.
So we submitted the results to a (medium-to-low-ranked) conference in the subfield. The reviews were quite mixed. Two were rather superficial: One positively and recommending acceptance, one negatively and recommending rejection (actually, the latter one was quite rude).
The third one, however, although recommending for rejection, was quite encouraging. The reviewer liked the idea of the paper, while the results we obtained did not suffice for publication at conference level but (his words) were rather suited for venues for work in progress, e.g. workshops in the area.
I actually agree with the third reviewer, for it would have been quite a surprise for me if a second-year undergraduate would have been able to produce publishable work on his own just like that, so I am not that disappointed.
My problem is that I do not plan on pursuing that specific subarea of research in the future and neither does my former supervisor. However, given that I ultimately aim for an academic career, I think it might be worth some efforts to get something published. Additionally, at my new university, nobody really cares about the area of the thesis, so chances to get some expert here to work with in order to improve the results are rather bad. This means that if I want something to happen, I would have to invest a vast amount of time and thoughts into a topic I don't want to pursue in the future, instead of entering new areas of research as quickly as possible.
So: Should I improve the results and finally get them published or should I invest the time for acquiring knowledge in a different area (and start publishing later) and abandon the work that has been done (giving away a possible publication) (w.r.t. the impact of the outcome on my academic career)?
# Answer
> However, given that I ultimately aim for an academic career, I think it might be worth some efforts to get something published.
This alone makes me thing that it may be worth the effort - attempting to enter an academic career becomes *vastly* easier with some publications under your belt. Don't be discouraged by negative reviews - more than one of my papers has gotten reviews back that are essentially "This paper is bad, and the authors should feel bad" that end up seeing publication.
I would continue to pursue your paper for at least another round or two of submissions, but given it's not strictly speaking what you're interested in, if it becomes a burden either in your classwork or in publishing something you *are* interested in doing (I had a paper become just such a problem) return it to the shelf.
> 16 votes
# Answer
There is no clear answer to this question because it depends on several factors. First, it has to be said that it is a shame if good research is not published. If you get encouraging comments and know what to do to meet certain criteria you can probably assess how much work will be involved and then if you are willing to put in that effort. having something published is never wrong, even if it is not in the field you want to pursue. If you are not interested or do not want to spend the time then it will be harder to generate the necessary improvements.
So, if you want to pursue a career in research, having something tangible published is always a plus. It is a question if you want to take a chance to "waste" your time; if you think it is worth it.
> 7 votes
# Answer
> So we submitted the results to a (medium-to-low-ranked) conference in the subfield. The reviews were quite mixed. Two were rather superficial: One positively and recommending acceptance, one negatively and recommending rejection (actually, the latter one was quite rude).
I think having a positive review suggests it might be worth factoring in the comments and trying another submission elsewhere, assuming you're confident that the paper is technically sound.
Just to build on the other answers, I can see three options (with decreasing awards):
1. Work hard on the paper (if possible) and submit it to **a conference with a similar level of competition** (or perhaps even greater).
2. Work a little on the paper and submit it to **a good/relevant workshop** or as **a short paper to a conference**.
3. Submit the paper "as is" to **the arXiV e-print server** (which won't be peer-reviewed, but it will be publicised and the ideas will be marked as yours).
At your stage of career, taking any of these options would help open doors for you later on. Higher options open more doors.
Which strategy is best really depends on the depth of contribution in the paper (ideally you could discuss this in person with a more senior academic in roughly the same area). Note also that the options are not mutually exclusive.
The most generic advice would be to take option 3 now and submit the preprint (since it doesn't preclude submitting to a workshop/conference), work as hard as you can and try submit to another conference; if the reviews are similar, submit to a workshop or as a short paper. This strategy might involve more work but tries to maximise your profit.
A fourth option (which may or may not be feasible) is to take option 3 and then try find somebody else to collaborate with: someone to advise/guide you and share some of the workload in extending the paper towards an improved conference submission.
> 7 votes
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Tags: publications, research-undergraduate, rejection
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thread-19737 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19737 | What do the middle digits of course codes represent? | 2014-04-24T02:49:36.047 | # Question
Title: What do the middle digits of course codes represent?
Take the course code PHYS 3054 or PHYS 354. The physics department doesn't offer 54 courses at the 300 or 3000 level.
I imagine some universities subscribe to a set of common best practices for course numbering. So I suspect that there might be an answer that applies to the numbering systems of a number of institutions.
# Answer
I suspect it really depends on the university. But in my university, it represents the subfield in the department within which the course is offered.
For example (I'm in electrical engineering), EE X1X might be courses on power systems engineering, EE X2X on communication networks, EE X3X on signal processing, EE X4X on electronics...
But in my department at least, there are enough misnumbered courses (for "historical reasons") to confound anyone who doesn't know it and is looking for a pattern.
> 8 votes
# Answer
ff524 mentions two of the major factors---subfield identification and historical reasons. Even without a rigorous system of subfield identification, there's typically a lot of spacing in course numbers so that unrelated courses don't typically have adjacent numbers (and indeed, there's plenty of space between unrelated courses).
This goes along with numbering sequences sequentially---520 and 521 might form a two course sequence, in which case you don't use 522 or 523 because someone might get confused and think they're part of the sequence. And then later, when you retire 520 and 521 and combine them into a single one semester course, you might call it 522, to remind people it's similar, but you don't use the same number so people can easily tell which course someone took. This leaves a lot of historical detritus (you want to wait a long time before ever using 520 for something new), which leads to lots of widely spaced numbers.
> 7 votes
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Tags: university, administration
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thread-19732 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19732 | Where to find curriculum for a specific program? | 2014-04-24T01:42:51.640 | # Question
Title: Where to find curriculum for a specific program?
I have an assignment for preparing the first draft of curriculum for a new program in my university. To include international experiences, I tried to get the curriculum of other universities, but I was unable to find a university website sharing the full curriculum. Department websites just put the title of courses, and professors post syllabus for their courses.
Each department should have its curriculum (description of the program, courses and credit details, course descriptions, etc), and this should be a public document.
When I searched general or visited top university websites, I expected to find such documents.
Do you have any idea where I can find documented curriculum?
# Answer
At many US institutions I believe what you are looking for is often called a "course catalog". This generally lists degree programs, what courses are required for each major/minor, as well as a description of each course and their associated credit load.
With this phrase in mind a quick Googling returned a variety of listings for top Universities:
Carnegie Mellon Undergraduate Catalog MIT Course catalog Undergraduate and Graduate catalogs for University of Wisconsin-Madison
If that's what you were looking for, just the magic phrase "course catalog" will help in the US. But in other countries? Well, a search for a course catalog for University of Cape Town in South Africa produced a link to the student "handbooks", which appear to be the same thing as the US course catalog.
It appears each country has their own preferred term for what to call this, so finding the magic words for each country might be a bit of a trick.
> 3 votes
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Tags: university
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thread-19705 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19705 | Access to Community Colleges in US | 2014-04-23T15:03:08.110 | # Question
Title: Access to Community Colleges in US
I'm a teacher in a Vocational Education school in Spain. In our Vocational Education system, we have two different levels:
1. Vocational High School (post compulsory secondary school)
2. Community College (this is considered Higher Education)
It's hard for me to establish equivalence with the US System, but I guess you might have similar levels.
In Spain, students with a Vocational High School diploma can't enroll directly in Community College, they need to sit a test first (a sort of SAT test, but not so hard as SAT).
I would like to know how it goes in the US. Is there also some kind of test for entering a Community College if you come from Vocational High School? In that case, could you tell me how this test is called, please?
# Answer
In the US there is first a federal (country-wide) rule: there are high-school diplomas, roughly equivalent almost-like-a-high-school-diplomas called a GED or a variety of other names, and then there are accredited higher education institutions providing certificates, 2-year degrees (called an associate's degree), 4-year degrees (called a bachelor's degree), 5-7 yearish degrees (master's degree), and of course the PhD...in addition to a slew of other special professional degrees for high ed.
Where it gets particularly hard to generalize is we have 50 states that determine all the details of the rest, especially the high-schools. I'll try to provide a broad overview. While this is true across states for the most part, the exact mix, nature of funding, and multi-track availability varies tremendously across the country.
Traditional high schools are the most common, which simply teach a variety of subjects and offer some sports, music, and arts programs (where possible), and don't especially differentiate between students who are planning to go to college from students who don't. Some special programming exists tailored to certain professions or college prep, but this is usually minimal. Graduation gives you a plain high school diploma.
Magnet schools exist at the elementary through high school level, and are focused on a specific area of excellence that permeates their whole school design; some schools specialize in science and technology, math, media/broadcasting, dance and/or fine arts, etc. This isn't necessarily about college or professional prep, but there is often a particular bent to some schools and they generally encourage higher education. Graduation gives you a plain high school diploma.
Vocational schools are high schools that are much like magnet schools, only their focus is on certain professional preparation. There are schools that offer programs in all sorts of vocations from culinary arts, electrician, building/construction jobs, auto repair, and many others. Graduation gives you a plain high school diploma.
College preparatory schools (prep schools for short) are, at least in theory, designed with college seeking students in mind. Everything is geared towards being ready for college and getting into a good college. Graduation gives you a plain high school diploma.
There are also some "alternative" institutions that seek to provide a high school education to people who didn't fit in well with other institutions for various reasons (ranging from disability, family situation, pregnancy, legal problems, different learning style, etc), as well as religious institutions. All offer plain high school diplomas, generally.
Now, anyone with a high school diploma and usually even a GED (basically a special program or test that allows one to get a diploma - or something like it - without having to go back to high school or through high school at all) can apply to any higher education institution they like.
Most higher ed sets it's own standards for admittance, though, which is usually based upon grades while in high school (GPA), ACT/SAT test scores, essay, etc. Some places have preferences or relationships with certain high schools (the high schools often being referred to as "feeder schools"), but that's about it.
Now, higher ed is yet another ball of wax, and varies tremendously by state - even more than high schools!
Most states have community, technical, or junior colleges, which generally offer the 2 and 4 year degrees. As these places are often smaller in size, they offer limited and differing selections of degree programs (some may have no fine arts programs, others might have no engineering...etc). Florida calls these smaller places junior colleges, Wisconsin has state technical colleges, Arizona has community colleges...etc. They are similar, but funding and "prestige" varies heavily.
The terms differ, but the general rule is the same: smaller, less degree programs, often focused on certificates and 2-year degrees and very limited 4-year offerings (if any at all). It is not uncommon for the smaller schools to focus on providing a lower-cost, student-centered program with the expectation of transferring to another institution to complete their bachelor's degree.
Then there are the bigger universities, which are sometimes called "4-year institutions", and focus on a larger campus, more degree programs, and are centered on the bachelor's degree. Some offer limited master's programs, and even fewer have select PhD options in specific areas.
We also have "polytechnic" colleges, which vary in size but are often focused on certain aspects of the sciences such as engineering. It is not uncommon for other institutions to omit engineering and related programs entirely, and thus specialized colleges fill in the gaps.
Then there are just big "universities", which offer a wide selection of everything, really. Most states have at least one, and sometimes 2 or more, of these. They often cost more, have more options, are located in big cities, and are just massive.
However, no matter what institution, the same rule generally applies: some are "selective", which means you take tests, and some have open access and anyone who can pay the fee can enroll. The tests are most commonly the ACT/SAT if you are coming from high school, but some schools - especially junior/technical/community colleges - will instead offer their own "placement test" mainly in math and reading to determine if you need to take any remedial classes first.
Selective schools limit enrollment, and usually use a multiple factor process: personal essay, maybe reference letters from educators, transcript of grades from wherever you went to high school, ACT/SAT scores, etc. Each school sets their own rules, and this ranges from your MIT schools who are proud of their tiny admittance rates, to most schools who just don't want to admit students they think will not thrive in their programs.
Students who can't get into selective schools but want to are often encouraged to attend the junior/technical/community colleges for a year or two, and then re-apply. When applying then the high school grades and tests are at times ignored completely or at least heavily discounted, and strong preference is given to those with good grades at whatever college they have been attending. This process is very common with mid-to-large state-funded schools.
So, in summary: high school diploma is just a diploma in the US, higher education institutions set their own individual admittance standards (ranging from strict to none, varying by place and state), most selective institutions require ACT/SAT scores and high school transcripts at a minimum regardless of where you went to high school or what you did there.
I hope this provides you with more than you actually wanted to know!
> 7 votes
# Answer
The answer is apparently pretty complicated, since US education has a tradition of decentralization. Originally, community colleges were pure local-government entities, although there is now a lot more state involvement. There is not a single nationwide set of rules.
Vocational high schools are not very common in the US. For the most part we simply have high schools. Vocational education tends to be unpopular, because parents don't want it for their children for reasons of prestige.
In my area in Southern California, any student who has graduated from high school can enroll at a community college, and there is no admissions test. California's master plan for higher education states that the mission of community colleges is to admit any student who is capable of benefiting from instruction. Even students who don't have a high school diploma can attend a community college.
Some of the comments below show that the facts described above do not hold nationwide.
Due to funding cuts in 2012, students who don't have a high school diploma or a GED (a diploma based on taking a test that is supposed to be equivalent to a high school diploma) no longer qualify for federal financial aid.
> 4 votes
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Tags: teaching, united-states, exams
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thread-19747 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19747 | How relevant are (journal) papers for the valuation of one’s work and results? | 2014-04-24T06:04:44.507 | # Question
Title: How relevant are (journal) papers for the valuation of one’s work and results?
I am a PhD student at an engineering department in Europe. At my department, and at most others in my university, research papers are the main benchmark of a scientist’s productivity. It seems like this is also true in other institutions.
For instance, last year the faculty considered the number of journal papers for each department a key performance indicator, and when a PhD student is at the end of his/her studies, he/she is often judged by colleagues based on how many papers they have published.
There is no threshold of a number of papers required in order to obtain a PhD or a senior position, and conference papers are also relevant and encouraged, but counting journal papers is the key point. In the end, a PhD thesis is just the sum of published papers during the PhD studies, and itself is not that relevant.
Naturally, I feel pressured to publish and to have lots of papers to support my upcoming degree. It seems to make sense - if you have a result, why wouldn't you publish it in a journal? Why wait for the thesis, when it's not really published and nobody will read it? And after all, submitting research to journals and conferences is also beneficial for getting a review of the research from someone who is outside one's department.
However, recently I realized that a friend of mine, also an engineer in a related field, received a PhD from another university with 0 journal papers, and just 1 conference paper where she was a second author. Her university is well regarded, and on almost all world rankings in the top 100. She was accepted for a post-doc position at another top university. I have seen a few other similar cases, and other people just not caring about papers.
I cannot judge the work presented in her thesis, but I found this shocking, and it made me reconsider. How can one be well regarded with hardly any publications? Why would anyone choose not to publish (not counting the thesis as the bare minimum)?
***Hence my questions:*** How relevant are (journal) papers in terms of valuation of a fresh PhD, and for their future career?
**EDIT**
I would like to thank everyone for their reply, especially @Superbest for the edit (sorry, I am not a native English speaker), I didn't expect that my question would generate such a discussion. I'd like to clarify some things:
* In my field conference papers are less relevant than journal papers, and are used to present research in progress in order to get comments and advices.
* The graduate didn't publish a revolutionary paper which is worth like 10 other average papers. We are talking about a zero. I see no reason why would anyone choose NOT to publish at least one paper about a PhD.
* Even if the graduate had very good recommendations, why would anyone in academia, which depends on publications, hire someone without any publication record? Why would a professor think that the graduate would suddenly start to be productive?
# Answer
1. **How much people rely on your publication record to judge you depends on how much they understand your research**. The further they are removed from your area of study, the more they will depend on "the numbers". People who work in your subfield will base their opinion on the actual quality of your work and on your reputation in the community. Fortunately, the most important evaluations (i.e., reference letters) usually come from people in your subfield.
2. **Not all publications are created equal**. Let's say I'm hiring a postdoc. Candidate A has 10 publications with almost identical titles all in low-quality journals. Candidate B has one publication that describes a significant breakthrough and is published in a good journal (I don't mean Nature or Science, just a journal that is widely read by people in the field; e.g. (in my field) SINUM or SISC). Who would I hire? Almost certainly candidate B. Indeed, Candidate A's publication record may actually be a negative factor.
3. **Publications matter most in academia.** A mathematician friend of mine took a job at Google after graduation. They didn't really care about his publication record; they hired him because he had created the Cython language, which was purely incidental to his research. If you go the academic route, your publications will be a critical factor in your evaluation for getting a post-doc, a tenure-track job, and tenure. If you go to industry, they may not matter so much.
4. **Publishing norms vary by field.** In mathematics, for instance, people may sit on a result for years while they refine it or try to develop it further. Senior people may just put their papers on the arXiv. In other fields, it seems like new developments *must* be published within a week, and you're expected to write vast numbers of papers each year.
> 29 votes
# Answer
Published papers (either as journal or conference papers, depending on your field) are an important metric in measuring a candidate's output. However, one important thing to note is that many graduate students publish a substantial fraction of their papers close to the end of their degree programs, so that their publication record may look quite sparse. More importantly, the publications may not be published in time for them to actually graduate, but may be finished up in the period immediately afterward. For instance, I wrote six papers as a graduate student, but only two were published while I was a student—the other four appeared the year after my degree was awarded. This is an entirely normal state of affairs.
Another thing worth noting is that, at least in engineering (and particularly engineering in Europe), a substantial fraction of projects are financed by industrial contracts. In such cases, the primary "fruits" of the project represent proprietary information which cannot easily be published. Under such circumstances, publications become quite difficult, and the quality of the work becomes much more significant.
Finally, while publications are important, at the level of a postdoctoral position, they are equally as important as the interview and letters of recommendations from colleagues. Somebody who comes to me highly recommended from people I know well and trust are much more likely to get the position than someone with the same credentials and quality of recommendations from people I don't know as well.
> 17 votes
# Answer
I generally agree with the other answers so far. I will just add that as a PhD student myself my supervisor put it like this:
Its not strictly necessary to publish many papers as a student but it makes writing and defending your thesis much easier. Your thesis must show some novel work. If you have some peer reviewed papers then this work has clearly already been accepted as novel, which basically ticks that box. Secondly you base your thesis on your papers.
Indeed I know some people whose thesis is basically 3-5 papers stapled together with an introduction and conclusion and maybe a bit of editing to make it flow better.
> 9 votes
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Tags: publications, thesis, career-path
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thread-19708 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19708 | How to start an official email to a professor | 2014-04-23T15:46:47.590 | # Question
Title: How to start an official email to a professor
I want to send an email to a professor to inform him that I want to accept the offer of PhD admission and Research assistantship. But I do not know how to start email. Is the following good? if not, would you please recommend better phrase.
> Dear Professor,
>
> I hope you are keeping well ....
# Answer
Congratulations on finding a PhD position :) When sending an acceptance e-mail to a professor, I would say the "general" rules of communicating with professors via e-mail apply.
* Be polite, and extend thanks when appropriate, but don't overdo the social pleasantries.
<sub><sup>The polite part basically holds for any e-mail and live correspondence.</sup></sub>
I would say that "I hope you are keeping well" would be a bit unnecessary.
* Be short and to the point. Respect the professors time.
Professors receive many e-mails a day, and are usually very busy. Saying what you want to say clearly not only shows respect for their time, but also makes it more likely that everything written will be carefully read.
* Do at least a basic **spellcheck**.
Especially in the beginning of a communication. It doesn't cost much time and effort, but could leave a bad impression.
* Do not attach big files unless explicitly asked for.
Anything larger than a few MB should not be sent unless asked for (e.g. sending all your credentials / application papers when first contacting somebody is bad), and especially not to somebody who you are not collaborating with at the moment.
Beyond this, there is not much else. I already feel like it's hard to call any of these *rules*, they're just guides based on common sense. Just say what you need to say. I put and extended the comment by @user11259 here as an example:
> Hello Dr./Prof. Brain,
>
> I gratefully accept your offer of admission and research assistantship, and I look forward to working with you.
>
> (Please let me know about the next steps in the admission process I need to take.)
>
> Sincerely,
>
> user11259
> 20 votes
# Answer
This is very culture and person specific. My acceptance email was (translated from Dutch):
> Harry:
>
> Sure. When?
>
> -- Maarten
I do **not** reccommend that as a general style, but it was the right response in my specific case, as in the Netherlands (academic) titles are less important than in other countries and I knew that Harry (my advisor) was even more extreme in his insistence on informal and brief/terse communication.
> 1 votes
# Answer
Almost everyone who interviews attempts to present themselves, their accomplishments, and their personal objectives politely and submissively to the interviewer.
Dear Professor, I hope you are keeping well ....
Hello Dr./Prof. Brain, I gratefully accept your offer of admission and research assistantship, and I look forward to working with you.
When you write "I hope you are keeping well" or "I gratefully accept," you are subordinating yourself to your "superior."
This attitude is not "academic," it is playing power politics or submitting to colonialism.
The first thing you must do is read everything you can get your hands on your professor has published. Then select any aspect of the professor's writing that jumps up at you. Find something Professor Brain has written, and ask her one or more questions about her assertions. SHE MUST RESPOND--SHE CANNOT HELP BUT RESPOND BECAUSE YOU ARE ACTIVATING THE KEYS TO HER PSYCHE.
When Professor Brain responds, find a term or concept she mentions; and ask Professor Brain to elaborate.
After you have had a continuing conversation with Professor Brain for several e-mail messages back and forth, you can discuss any procedural issues you like. But at that point in the discussion, you will have established where you stand, who you are, and how much you care. Do it properly, and YOU WILL BECOME THE SUPERIOR.
> -10 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, etiquette
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thread-19771 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19771 | What copyright issues could arise if I write a book based on one of my articles? | 2014-04-24T16:57:18.900 | # Question
Title: What copyright issues could arise if I write a book based on one of my articles?
If I publish a 187 pages article extracted from a 244 (yet unpublished) page book, do I have the future right to publish this book without consent from the article copyright holder?
What if the book would become much longer than the 244 pages mentioned above?
# Answer
**You always need consent from the copyright holder.** If you have published in an libre open access journal (e.g., CC BY licensed), you probably have it. Very often, copyright agreements people sign with journals (at least in the social sciences) allow authors to republish article content in books and dissertations. If this is what your agreements say, you already have that consent. Sometimes, you will need to ask for consent but, in my field at least, it is usually given.
Generally speaking, book publisher are also OK publishing books that contain work previously published in articles. That said, I think your example of trying to turn a 187 page article into a 244 page book is unlikely to fly.
For one, acquisition editors at scholarly publishers are fundamentally interested in selling books. One thing they think about is whether or not there is a market for the book. If a book proposal describes work that is already published in journals, editors will want to see what the book adds on top of the existing published work. It's going to be hard to show that in the example above where 77% of the book is available verbatim elsewhere.
Book editors (like judges in copyright cases) are not robots. Intention and acting in good faith matters. If it looks like you are trying to game the system to score extra publications or extra book income without much extra work, people will notice and do what they can to stop you. Since, editors have a lot of power, that will often be quite a lot.
> 3 votes
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Tags: publications, copyright
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thread-19783 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19783 | Funding of research by commercial companies, what is the sentiment in the USA? | 2014-04-24T18:36:18.527 | # Question
Title: Funding of research by commercial companies, what is the sentiment in the USA?
I attended graduate school in Switzerland, where for engineering, it is not uncommon to have research projects that are funded, in part, by commercial companies. I'm not talking about consulting, but scientific research projects, more on the translational side, for which there is full academic freedom and that have scientific publications as primary output. I also received a conference travel grant from a company during my PhD (although my paper was critical of the performance of one of that company's products).
I am now a post-doc fellow in a reputable american\* university and realized my mentioning of funding from companies stirs unease and awkwardness among my colleagues (I should mention that my field is somewhat related to medicine).
How would private funding look like on my CV when applying to an american academic position? Is it considered more prestigious to have received government/foundation funding? I'm looking for answers that are general or specific to health-related research.
\*I use this term to describe the USA.
# Answer
> 9 votes
Speaking from epidemiology as a field, with some dabbling in clinical and translational research:
Commercially funded research should absolutely show up on your CV (it does on mine), and it probably won't hurt you, especially in the early stages of your career. There is however definitely more prestige behind having NIH/NSF etc. funding, or foundation funding - several departments I've talked to have all said they prefer to see that. NIH funding especially is something of the "brass ring". Commercial funding isn't *bad* per se, but a notably dependence on it might have people wondering what is it about your work that isn't passing muster in the traditionally peer-reviewed federal funding system.
There's also some uncomfortableness around conflict of interest - industry-funded science doesn't have the best track record in terms of creating unbiased medical research, but they're also the only people who fund some research, so it will depend very heavily on what specific area you're in. I've worked in some areas where it gives people an uncomfortableness, and in others where nearly everyone has industry funding of some sort.
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Tags: cv, funding, united-states
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thread-19777 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19777 | Can one have two different sources for postdoc fundings together in Europe? | 2014-04-24T17:48:55.630 | # Question
Title: Can one have two different sources for postdoc fundings together in Europe?
Let's consider the hypothetical situation of a postdoctoral candidate C, who get funded simultaneously as follows, starting at the same or different times, with overlap:
1. Funding agencies F\_1, F\_2 (for example, Marie Curie, FWO, Danish Research Council...), where for each F\_i, he wrote a proposal with a research team or host H\_i, who did not have any funding on their own, but agreed to supervise C.
2. Department D (for example, University of Pennsylvania), who offered candidate C a postdoc from their own funding directly.
Can C earn from both the fundings in case of 1. and 2.? or; it depends on the funding agencies rules?
I went though the rules of some Marie Curie postdoc fellowships, I don't think I noticed any rules that states anything against having two fundings together?
# Answer
The main issue I can think of would be time allotment. Most grants require you to specify how what percentage of your time you will spend on the grant. As you cannot overcommit yourself (i.e., total time allotment cannot exceed 100%), you'll have to specify that in the proposal. Many professors have funding from multiple grants at any given time, so this situation is not too unusual.
Do note, though, that it is highly likely that once "Department D" catches on that you have an external source of funding, they may decide to withdraw their offer and provide the funding to someone who has none. Not sure how that would work.
> 4 votes
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Tags: job, postdocs, europe, science
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thread-19798 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19798 | Qualifications for textbook authorship | 2014-04-25T01:40:34.923 | # Question
Title: Qualifications for textbook authorship
**Are there any requirements for writing a textbook that is accepted by (reputable) colleges?**
Today, I got the odd idea in my head that it would be fun to write a compilation of the techniques and theorems I had learned relating to discrete mathematics. As I find it fun to let my imagination run wild with these sorts of ideas, this compilation transformed into a tutorial, and from there transformed into a textbook. I quickly decided I wasn't anywhere near qualified to write a textbook.
Fun daydreams aside, that made me wonder: What are the qualifications typically found in textbook authors? Is a Ph.D. in the field a "must," or do some people write textbooks who hold Masters degrees (yet not a Ph.D.)?
# Answer
> 10 votes
> What are the qualifications typically found in textbook authors? Is a Ph.D. in the field a "must," or do some people write textbooks who hold Masters degrees (yet not a Ph.D.)?
There are no rules for this in terms of minimal qualification. Why would there be? Readers want good books. Publishers want to sell books. Who cares if the author has a PhD or not?
In fact, trying to get deeper, it's often difficult to define precisely even what is *meant* by a "textbook" in the intuitive sense you probably mean.
For example, would books in the O'Reilly Media series be considered textbooks? Would instructional e-books? Etc.
As such the answer depends widely on the publisher or the book series (if any) you wish to contribute to.
For book series, there is typically an editor in charge who will make a judgement call on whether or not you are qualified and whether or not you can contribute something good to the series.
If dealing directly with a traditional academic publisher (I'm thinking of the likes of Springer), you (and your book proposal) will again be evaluated by their editorial staff before they agree to a contract. Likewise, they will only publish the book pending review by a number of experts that you propose.
But again, it varies widely.
In summary: I think if you have enough genuine material for a textbook -- material that people want to read -- you could find a reasonable publisher even without a Masters/PhD.
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Tags: publications, credentials
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thread-19750 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19750 | Should academics allow student to submit a possibly flawed paper? | 2014-04-24T09:05:33.497 | # Question
Title: Should academics allow student to submit a possibly flawed paper?
I let a student associated with me (but who is not really my PhD student) submit a paper to a fairly-local meeting (some people do come from abroad). Because I'd been tasked with supporting the student, I let him put my name on the paper and also helped with the presentation, but I found the content unconvincing. However, he was exploring an area that I knew little about and had little interest in, so I'd hoped he'd get reviews & (if accepted) discussion that would give him more guidance than I have been able to.
In fact, no one seemed as sceptical as I was of the work, and it got into the meeting and was presented both in our department and at the meeting with if anything positive comments.
However, yesterday I got an email from a postdoc who was cited in the paper (the student compared himself to the postdoc's work, the meeting's papers are on a website, Google Scholar alerted the postdoc) and was incensed at **the paper's low quality and inaccuracies**. I think the postdoc is being a bit paranoid, but is broadly right on the technical issues. I have also previously noticed that one of my more-successful colleagues I've been collaborating with recently had a less tolerant attitude towards student publication than I do.
I'm wondering if I should put more effort on quality control. The cost would be possibly stifling a student unnecessarily if I'm wrong, and allowing fewer students to have fewer presentation experiences since I'm already working flat out keeping up with giving feedback on their journal articles & dissertations.
# Answer
> 47 votes
In my opinion, since you aren't the supervisor, it's not your role to stop the student from publishing. If you are an expert in the subject of the publication and you don't think it's strong, you should advise them not to publish and explain why, but that's as far as you should go.
However, you "let him put \[your\] name on the paper" -- a paper which, by your own admission, you don't know much about! Regardless of whether the co-author is a student, and regardless of the quality of the paper, the behavior you're describing is **wrong**. In my field, it's actually **forbidden by at least one of our professional societies**:
> All the authors listed for a paper . . . must have made a significant contribution to its content.
This is generally construed as meaning you should have done a significant part of the research **and** a significant part of the writing.
Now, violating this rule for a paper that you don't even have a high opinion of seems not only unethical but foolish.
I realize this is a harsh-sounding answer, but you have posted the question anonymously so I hope you don't mind me being frank.
# Answer
> 22 votes
I think we can distinguish two situations here:
1. The work is not convincing because it is still **preliminary**. In this situation, even if the results might prove wrong latter, I would see no objection to send the student to present a talk or a poster about it, as long as the preliminary nature of the work is clearly stated. I might give him the opportunity to meet other researchers, find new ideas or even build collaboration based on these first results.
2. The work is not convincing because the **results are flawed**, the protocol is not robust or the techniques might not be adequate. In such situation, as @ff524 said, I would advise not to let the student present the work in public meetings. It will be unproductive both for the student and the advisor (as you experienced).
# Answer
> 6 votes
As a mathematician, I had the same first reaction to this question as several other answerers and commenters: It's wrong to be a co-author of a paper that is just someone else's work. But I need to temper that reaction with the fact that other fields have rather different standards. In particular, in some (maybe even all?) of the experimental sciences, it is standard practice for the head of the lab to be a co-author of everything that comes out of that lab, whether or not the head actually did any of the research or even understood the research. As far as I can tell, the rationale for this is that the head of the lab gets the grants that make everybody else's work possible. The question here suggests that this sort of thing might be involved here ("I'd been tasked with supporting the student"), so co-authorship might not be quite as crazy or as unethical as it looks to a mathematician. Even in the experimental sciences, though, the head of the lab is (as far as I know) expected to make sure the work is good (and is held responsible if it is not).
# Answer
> 5 votes
Sorry to break the "don't answer your own question" norm here, but I want to float an answer. First, I *did* contribute to the paper (suggested direction of research) and the system presented *does* work. My issue was whether this new system was a real academic contribution, which I left up to the academic process to determine.
Overnight, the postdoc who initially complained a) admitted that the idea was great if not entirely well executed and b) told me he's found a new prestigious collaboration writing a better paper. In my mind, this is how academia is supposed to work. So my proposed answer is "yes". I leave it to you folks to vote up or down.
# Answer
> 3 votes
My answer is, to what end? What purpose are you serving by allowing such work to be published? The community does not benefit, as the work is subpar and (apparently) flawed. The student does not benefit, as (a) the experience is different from actual publishing with more rigorous review processes and (b) their reputation is tarnished. You receive no benefit for the same reasons.
The only possible benefit I see is that the student gains experience in informal writing and presenting, which they can already gain through group lab meetings without the possible repercussions relating to their reputation. In short, this appears on all fronts to be a pretty bad practice.
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Tags: phd, publications, reputation, supervision
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thread-19756 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19756 | How can we promote better writing skills in academic education? | 2014-04-24T13:16:00.410 | # Question
Title: How can we promote better writing skills in academic education?
This question may be too wide or in some perspective perceived as unclear but covers a key issue (for me) in academia, namely, *academic writing*.
Students start their academic career with varying skills in writing. Often, and this the case in my department, there is no thought through progression to go from beginner through novice and proficient to expert level (the latter perhaps in graduate school) or some such scale.
My question is therefore how to get students to progress in appropriate steps through an education. In other words what is a reasonable progression of writing skills through an education. I am looking for suggestions of appropriate expectations for, say, an annual or semester wise increase in difficulty or complexity of exercises with the aim of learning academic writing skills through an education including graduate school.
# Answer
> 32 votes
In my lab, we were required to produce three-to-four page white papers, including figures, every time we presented at a lab meeting (approx. every 6 weeks).
This had two significant effects. Firstly, it forced the student to write down their progress, which was invariably ridiculously useful when the student actually started writing their thesis. Staple together a few of these sections and the methods, and often a good part of the background, was written for you.
Secondly, it gave everyone a chance to practice their professional writing in a casual lab setting. No one felt threatened and everyone improved. We would even review the articles being written by the lab professor, as there were always improvements we could suggest to him as well.
I strongly recommend this practice.
# Answer
> 17 votes
1. HAVE them write. A lot of times students don't write because they simply aren't asked to. (Keep in mind the corollary to this is you're going to have to do some reading!)
2. Have them research! Many times students don't make the leap on their own between reading, writing, and then (hopefully) thinking that's incredibly obvious to those of us who have devoted our lives to teaching. I've seen a lot of lightbulbs go on when I've been able to help a student make the connection between research, writing, and work output.
3. As gman started to say above, if your school has an academic writing center go there and ask lots and lots of questions. Usually people who work in these departments have thought far more deeply about your question than you might ever be able to. They might even be able to give you exercises or assign a tutor to monitor your class. At the very least, make sure the students know the writing center is there and that you expect them to use it!
# Answer
> 10 votes
As a grad-student I really appreciate this question. As a Humanities student most of our writing is text. I found even at under-graduate level a substantial amount of time could be taken up going over the same writing issues (usually after assignment hand-backs) over a number of course modules. It amazed me that there was not a module to at least give the basics in academic writing.
I have noticed though in Ireland(my home country) that there is a number of Academic Writing Centres starting to set up in Universities. At the moment they are voluntarily drop in centres where you can get advice on your writing.
In the case of the university I attend
> The AWC offers free one-on-one tutorials on essay writing for NUIG students. Last year, AWC tutors helped over 500 students to overcome recurrent problems with grammar, punctuation, spelling, and essay structure.
They also run group workshops at certain times of the year for different levels within the University, so some are aimed at under-graduate and some at post-graduate. Normally at these workshops you bring some of your writing and as a group you give each other advice on improving our writing style.
Finally they run an online course which works in the following way.
> Online students are assigned weekly writing tasks and editing tasks. Editing tasks consist of specific questions which assist students in providing constructive feedback rather than criticism. Guided editing tasks help students to re-evaluate and improve their own writing. Students then rate the usefulness of the critique they received. In this way, points are awarded for effort rather than existing ability or experience. The entire process is strictly anonymous. The AWC takes on a supportive role for the duration of the course. Students receive weekly readings and emails.
A number of other universities also have a academic writing centre in place. See here and here
While this is by no means a perfect model because it requires the student to want to participate it is a step in the right direction for improving a persons writing skills.
# Answer
> 8 votes
To build on eykanal's answer, if you run a lab then have a **lab blog** and encourage or require your students to contribute to it. It is a great way to **structure writing** and **improves research**, learn how to **communiate** research, encourage **active learning**, and even **improve technical writing**. The public nature of a blog, puts a bit of pressure on the student, and you (or a senior student) should help them edit their first couple of posts, but afterwards give them freedom to roam. This is especially useful during thesis writing, since a student can package partial progress into posts. Finally, by requiring students to blog, you let them **build a web presence** and let them make connections in the field that don't depend exclusively on your klout or their papers (which usually are few and concentrated toward the end of the PhD for many students).
As a graduate student, I chose to blog on my own and it has been an incredibly rewarding experience. It has allowed me (along with other parts of my online activity like G+ and SE Q&As) to develop papers faster, feel part of a bigger community, and make new contacts that lead to new independent collaborations. I can't recommend it enough.
# Answer
> 0 votes
We start by getting all students evaluated by our Teaching & Learning Centre. TLC staff will recommend an action plan for students that are struggling with their writing skills. Additionally, in most courses we ask students to write essays and summaries of any lab work, which is returned with specific comments on the quality of writing. After all this, most students will *somewhat* improve their writing; however, many will never be great at it.
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Tags: teaching, writing
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thread-19801 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19801 | What should I do if an admissions office asks me for a bachelor's thesis, when my program didn't require it? | 2014-04-25T05:39:48.827 | # Question
Title: What should I do if an admissions office asks me for a bachelor's thesis, when my program didn't require it?
I recently applied to a university for a PhD program.They asked me to submit all of my documents.When I submitted my documents they asked for my Bachelors thesis. There is no Bachelors thesis or undergraduate research in our university.You can do it but its not a requirement and nobody does it given the time constraint of 6 months for Bachelors Final project. I have my Masters thesis but there was no bachelors thesis. There was a final project in bachelors but it was not research based. The hr said that "in case the thesis is not available,you can send an extended abstract". How do I properly address this situation ?
# Answer
> 2 votes
As suggested in the comments above, I would send both the final project writeup and your masters thesis with a letter explaining the situation (no bachelors thesis required at your university), and contact the department and ask them how they wish you to proceed. At the end of the day, it's their requirement, so it's their call.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions
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thread-19761 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19761 | Why are there no standards for awarding PhD degrees? | 2014-04-24T15:03:42.303 | # Question
Title: Why are there no standards for awarding PhD degrees?
I am considering doing a PhD however I was surprised to find out that there are no set standards for a PhD in research.
For example, one study could test 500 patients, while another, tests only 10, yet both students are awarded their PhDs. Then there are retrospective studies, which are easier than starting a new study. Finally, there are some PhDs that are purely research and then there are some that are based on essay writing.
However, at the end of the day, the degree is the same, Doctorate of Philosophy, it does not mention anything special for those endless sleepless nights of analysing data and being able to pull off amazing statistics, as compared to a student of any other field.
So my question is, why bother going the tough route when it makes no difference at the end of the day, unless there are careers out there *outside of academia*, that specifically asks you, what type of PhD do you have?
# Answer
> Why are there no standards for awarding PhD degrees?
There are certainly standards for awarding PhD degrees. I think you mean to ask why are there no grades? It's a subtle distinction perhaps but an essential one.
If somone holds a PhD, what does that tell you? It tells you that the university awarding that PhD feels that that person is capable of pursuing independent research in the area of the thesis. Different universities may have different ideas on how to measure that, but typically a PhD will have to have published at least one peer-reviewed contribution (often more, sometimes many more).
> However, at the end of the day, the degree is the same, Doctorate of Philosophy, it does not mention anything special for those endless sleepless nights of analysing data and being able to pull off amazing statistics, as compared to a student of any other field.
Your degree does not mention anything special (e.g., a grade). If you work harder than your peers, you may end up with the same degree on paper, but your head will contain lots of special information useful for lots of jobs, and your publication record will show lots of papers with lots of citations useful for lots of jobs
In other words, **your grade is your demonstrable research output**.
How else would you propose to grade or differentiate or categorise different PhDs? How could those grades be compared across different supervisors, different examination boards, different universities or different areas?
> So my question is, why bother going the tough route when it makes no difference at the end of the day, unless there are careers out there outside of academia, that specifically asks you, what type of PhD do you have?
A PhD is a requirement of many jobs in academia, and some research positions in industry. Typically PhDs are competing with other PhDs for positions, hence holding a PhD in-and-of-itself, is just the entry point. After that, candidates will be judged on what they did during their PhD and afterwards. If you spent "*endless sleepless nights of analysing data and* \[pulled\] *off amazing statistics*", you'll have lots to talk to the hiring committee about.
> 20 votes
# Answer
Focusing on just a small part of this question, my answer is this: Because 'academia' is a wide and diverse place, with many different skill sets, questions and challenges.
You're also focusing too much on the "letters" in a PhD. You don't get a PhD - you get a PhD *in something*. You'd no more expect a PhD in Epidemiology and a PhD in Theoretical Physics to have done the same work than you would expect a BA in Math and a BA in German to have done the same coursework.
> For example, one study could test 500 patients, while another, tests only 10, yet both students are awarded their PhDs. Then there are retrospective studies, which are easier than starting a new study.
Consider the following studies:
* A study of the biomarkers associated with an extremely rare neurodegenerative illness that effects mostly children, doing full genome sequencing on the small number of prevalent cases of the disease (10), extensive personal histories and environmental sampling, etc. to identify potential drug targets.
* A study of the risk factors, survival times, etc. for ventilator-associated pneumonias in a large group of community and academic hospitals, pulling all incident cases within the hospital for the past year (500), sorting through the medical records for each, and applying some cutting edge statistical techniques to deal with some of the messiness of the data - interval censoring, competing risks, and non-independence of patients.
* A study of exactly 227 animals to understand the pharmacokinetics of a new tetravalent vaccine, specifically looking for markers of immune response and nephrotoxicity.
* The development of a complex, agent-based model of the human gut, applied to both inflammatory disease, and the post-antibiotic exposure proliferation of certain bacterial species that impact the lining of the intestinal wall.
Which of these doesn't deserve a PhD based on their sample size, or whether or not they were a retrospective or prospective study (also, a largish 'Citatation Needed' around retrospective studies being easier - they're *faster* but not necessarily easier)? And these are just examples I can think of off the top of my head that fit in the somewhat wide field of "Biomedicine". Heaven forbid we throw in Mathematics or Physics or Religious Studies. One of them doesn't even have patients, and is entirely separate from the "Prospective/Retrospective" distinction.
"Why are there no standards for awarding PhD degrees?" (which is, incidentally, not true. There may be no *universal* standards, but universities often have them on the school or departmental level) has the same answer as "Why don't we publish everything in the same journal?"
Because academia is wide and diverse, and only describes a certain aspect of the pursuit of knowledge, not a specific set of methods, study populations, or even study questions.
> 15 votes
# Answer
Whenever someone acts impressed by a PhD, I tell them tongue-in-cheek that a PhD is nothing more than a testament to that persons patience... they were willing to remain a graduate student long enough to earn the degree.
More accurately, though, a PhD is simply an indicator that someone is able to *think*. You're completely right; research topics will vary tremendously from field to field, and one person's degree and/or experience in grad school is likely completely different from the next's. However, both of them demonstrated their ability to reason through a problem, their willingness to put their nose to the grindstone and get the research done, and their ability to communicate their results to a third party (their thesis committee).
Regarding fields asking about your PhD, I joke with people that (the following is all true) my undergrad is in psyschology, my undergrad specialization pre-med, my graduate lab electrical engineering, my research topic neuroscience, my actual PhD degree biomedical engineering, my postdoc in biology, the stuff I actually enjoy statistics, and with all that my two industry jobs have been in banking and health insurance operations. How you sell yourself is a function of your salesmanship more than your actual credentials.
> 12 votes
# Answer
> Why bother going the tough route when it makes no difference at the end of the day?
It does make a difference. It's very unlikely that there will be a job where they ask you if you have a PhD, and when you say yes, tick that checkbox, move on and never mention it again.
A PhD is the single biggest unit of research experience for most young researchers (for older ones, usually their recent publications are much more relevant than their PhD). Therefore, if you apply to any job (academic or industry) where the PhD is a relevant qualification, you will be expected to discuss your thesis work at length. The employer will then judge the quality of your work, and based on that they will decide whether they will hire you over all the other PhDs. Of course, some employers are incompetent, and are influenced by the "brand" (whether you got your PhD from a famous place/advisor), but that's another matter.
So, no, if you slack off and get an "easy" PhD, it will not impress anyone who matters.
> I was surprised to find out that there are no set standards for a PhD in research.
This is because such standards are unnecessary. Advisors are senior scientists who know well that if they let a student they supervise graduate with a garbage PhD, it will hurt their reputation when one day someone says "*Wow, what a horrible thesis! Who supervised this?*". So advisors will naturally try to make theses as good as possible.
> unless there are careers out there outside of academia, that specifically asks you, what type of PhD do you have
Indeed, there are many careers where they would ask all sorts of details about your PhD (as I've also remarked above), both in the industry and academia, assuming it's relevant - Wall Street, for instance, has a habit of sometimes hiring people based on the fact that they have a PhD (in a quantitative field) alone without caring much about what the thesis is about.
Consider that usually, hiring a PhD is pretty expensive - even postdocs make about $50k annual, and in the industry it goes to $60k-120k. Why would anyone pay that much money for a PhD holder, and not even bother to ask the details of their PhD?
> 5 votes
# Answer
Enjoy your studies! don't worry about paper certificates or PhD. The endless sleepless nights will be amazing, because you have spent them without sleeping, as you were more involved in it (research) than in your relaxed sleep.
If you are more concentrated towards what those certificates mean, that implies you are studying for marks not for joy that you get by studying. I hope you will not be the one who studies for marks, but indeed who studies to enjoy, to know the world better. What more do you want? Go ahead, enjoy your studies.
> 3 votes
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Tags: research-process, thesis, career-path
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thread-19785 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19785 | Why did my professor criticize my performance indirectly? | 2014-04-24T19:14:00.520 | # Question
Title: Why did my professor criticize my performance indirectly?
I'm an international graduate student studying theoretical physics in a US university, and I'm in my 4th year of PhD study and plan to graduate at the end of the 5th year. Yesterday, I heard something from my advisor really hurts me.
Yesterday afternoon, I was working in my office while my professor was having a meeting with a prostdoc in our group in the small meeting room just outside my office. We are in a suit-like office so that there is a very small common meeting room outside our offices. The meeting room is very small and very close to my office, so that I can hear what they said rather clearly. Usually I will close my office door when there is a meeting outside, but yesterday I left my door opened because my professor planed to have a meeting with me after they finished the meeting with the postdoc, and there was only a short period of time between they started the meeting with the postdoc till the time we scheduled to meet.
And then in the middle of their talk, I heard my professor talking about she was very happy about a new graduate student is about to join the group, so that the new student can help the postdoc to run part of the numerical calculations, because "XX is not productive as before", where "XX" is my name.
As a background, before the new postdoc joined our group about 3 months ago, I had a great time working together with our former postdoc, who is also international with the same nationality as I'm. We worked very closely together with many of the projects, and published several papers together in about two years. Just before the end of last year, my professor assigned me to work independently onto a new project which is in a new area that no one in our group has any experience before. It went smoothly until early this year when I plan to take my general exam. I originally plan to take my general exam at late February, but until the very end of approaching the exam data, the exam was rescheduled one month later and moved into March, due to misunderstanding of emails between our department and the graduate school. So in that two months period, I almost stopped updating the new project and totally devoted into the preparation of my general exam. After I passed my general exam at the end of March, I thought I could pick up my research, then I was caught by another unfinished project we started last summer. This project is a collaboration between our group and an experimental group, and we did have some disagreement of the results between the experimental data and the theoretical simulations from the beginning. Then this project get stop-and-go until just after my general exam, we get pushes from the experimental side that they want to finish the project and submit a paper soon. Since the former postdoc is already left, I was placed to in charge of it. I have to deal with all the conflicts between the experiment and theory results and exchange drafts of the paper with the experimental side, and almost have no time to deal with the new project I was doing. The last important update of my project is about 7 weeks ago.
I think I'm a hard working student, at least in the standards of my friends in my department. I work almost 10 hours a day and almost 7 days a week. After I hear about her criticism yesterday, I almost started to rethink whether it still worth my devotion into this.
So, what should I take from my professor's criticism of my performance, in her talking with others, under the obvious condition that I can hear it? She never criticized me before as far as I know. And what suggestions do you have to deal with this situation?
# Answer
> 27 votes
Your advisor said, in the context of a conversation on a new student picking up some of the workload in the lab,
> xslittlegrass is not productive as before
and you seem to have interpreted this as a personal criticism, i.e.,
> xslittlegrass is not working hard enough. I'm disappointed with xslittlegrass's performance
I question this interpretation. Your advisor is eager for the new student to arrive because she recognizes that there is a lot of work to be done on the current projects in the lab, and that your attention is on other things right now - hence your low productivity. That's not necessarily a bad thing. You simply can't "produce" a lot on "your" project right now. You have been splitting your time and efforts between multiple things: your exam, the collaborative project, and "your" project.
Next year you'll be even less "productive" - you'll be writing your thesis, devoting time and effort to your job search, making sure ongoing projects transition smoothly when you graduate. That's a good thing :)
I also question your characterization of the situation as "under the obvious condition that I can hear it" - your advisor probably did *not* expect you to hear this conversation. As you said "usually I will close my office door when there is a meeting outside" - so usually you do *not* hear meetings going on outside. I don't think your advisor noticed your door was open, thought "xslittlegrass can hear this meeting," and decided to use it as an opportunity to give you some indirect criticism in middle of an unrelated conversation.
If you are really concerned about this comment, it's often helpful to have a "checkup" with your advisor. You can ask her directly: "Are you satisfied with my current work? Do you think I am allocating my time and efforts in a useful way?"
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Tags: phd, advisor, interpersonal-issues
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thread-13457 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13457 | I have nothing to show for the last five years but graduate school and I can't finish/want to leave this field | 2013-10-17T03:21:31.580 | # Question
Title: I have nothing to show for the last five years but graduate school and I can't finish/want to leave this field
I have no formal work experience. I have a BA in sociology and went into graduate school for education. Instead of following my instincts or really thinking about whether I could teach childhood as a job, I told myself it would feel more natural. It has not.
I will fail this program if I have to teach full-time, which is required to graduate (as is an exam that's so new there are no prep books, and it is required to stay in this program). I am in my mid twenties and have zero formal work experience. Foolishly, I'm one of those people that could barely juggle a full courseload and work. I've always chosen school and realized too late that graduate school was a horrible choice for me.
In terms of anything resembling work, I've assisted as a volunteer in classrooms, written papers and portfolios, and have put two years into this program but am incredibly unhappy and cannot finish, nor do I want to be in this profession anymore. I thought it was the one way to put my useless liberal arts degree into a professional path.
Before that, I went through a year and a half after graduation looking for entry level office job, bookstores, retail...no callbacks. Maybe three interviews in the whole time. Temp agencies stopped responding and when I called one to ask why they weren't calling me in to offer advisement, they said they'd have to call me. I graduated with a 3.0 but my resume was too weak, I guess. I had friends look at it to see that it was passable, but as I said I have no experience and I'm now in my mid-20s. (And for what it's worth, am incredibly ashamed of myself.) No experience, no work. My family says I am "unemployable" and I fear they're right--I was in this program two years and should have pulled out sooner. It looks suspicious. If nothing else, it is damaging because I went to school full-time instead of working.
The time, money, and effort I spent on this makes me feel bad, but the lack of a degree/ANY work experience in all that time makes me feel worse.
So there it is, I have no work experience AND no degree to explain the time gap. Can I salvage this? I feel embarrassed even to put the school on my resume b/c of the lack of a degree, but it's the only thing I have to show for the last few years.
(This is in teaching/early childhood. I don't know how to spin graduate school into first experience in even a basic clerical job.)
# Answer
> 14 votes
The skills acquired as a graduate student are often very employable outside academia. I was doing a PhD in Linguistics with a focus on corpus linguistics. As part of my education, I learned statistics, Python scripting, Mandarin Chinese and technical writing. Those skills ended up getting me a job offer from a major computer software company, which I accepted and left grad school to take.
You probably have more employable skills than you think. Spend some time thinking about what skills you possess and what professions need those skills. a PhD to your name is not the first thing employers look for - they look for whether you have the skills that they need.
Stop thinking about your degree and start thinking about your skillset.
# Answer
> 4 votes
I don't know if I have much of value to add, but here is my two cents for what it is worth.
First it sounds like you have (in your opinion) gone down the wrong path, and are panicking a little bit. This is understandable. The first thing I should say, is, join the club. We've all been there. Everyone makes mistakes. The thing to do it to learn from them, and try not to repeat them. Though this is easier said to done. Also, try not to panic. It really doesn't help. If you are panicking, try to calm down. You could also try things like yoga. It can have a calming effect, apart from the health benefits.
You said you are in your mid-twenties. This is not really old at all (by any definition). Many people at this time in their lives are still trying to figure things out. So, again, don't panic. Spend a little time making a calm assessment of where you want to go, and what you want to do.
@user9042 made some useful suggestions. You said in response that all you wanted is a "basic entry level office job". Well, I don't think you do, really. If you have a functioning brain, you would hate it. I think if you are feeling that you want a job, any job, it is because you are feeling demoralized, and like a drowning person, you want a lifebelt to cling to. I think you can aim a little higher than that. Are you actually interested in (for example) statistics and computers/software/programming (per @user9042 posting)? If you are not sure, then I suggest learning a little about them, and seeing what you think. You could start by taking some basic college classes. If you aren't interested in these fields I *do not* recommend going into them. The world is already too full of programmers who aren't interested in programming and just want to make a fast buck. If you are, then you could consider a graduate degree in these areas and see where it takes you. More generally, you should consider seeing what area of specialization you think you would like. If you are an intelligent person, you probably won't be happy just dropping out of school. Most good jobs these days require some degree of specialization. You say you are "fed up with school", but this may just be a reflection of your experience in your particular program.
Specific suggestions - if you want to learn basic computer programming, try learning Python. It is about as accesible as any language out there, and very popular. It is also not a toy language; many people use it for real work, including in research contexts. Are you familiar with the world of free software? If not, try installing Debian and see what you think of it. Debian is a fairly obscure operating system, but also has some claim to be the worlds best. Other similar Linux based operating systems would probably also work. Check out unix.stackexchange.com for example.
Learning on your own about a more academic discipline like statistics is more difficult, but you could take a look at R.
You can at least respond intelligently to questions people have put here, which is more than many people seem to be able to manage.
Admittedly, none of this really has much to do with academia.
Also, again, I suggest revising your question to include the information that you have given in the comments, so people don't have to look all over the place for it.
# Answer
> 4 votes
Short answer is yes, it is so easy to salvage the situation that over half my friends can say ‘been there, done that’. A book I found helpful at the time is ‘What Color Is Your Parachute’, by Richard Bolles, which is about and figuring out what you want to do, and finding work you like.
Things that I or friends have done while straight out of school and clueless: SAT/GRE tutoring, boring clerical work, low paying internships, living with parents while looking for work, or networking with friends, family, and random strangers and finding good paying jobs within a month or two. I’d strongly recommend the last one, although you can get by on the others.
You just need to find a starting point. Ask around your family and friends to shadow people at the office and get an idea of what goes on in different departments and industries. Once you have a clue what you want beyond ‘earn money’, it will be easier to focus your job search efforts. It sounds like so far you’ve just thrown your resume into the air, and gotten a copy to recruiters who have a few hundred more just like it. Instead, figure out something you’d like to try doing, and make an effort to meet people in that field, and ask them for work.
You mention that you have no skills, and then you mention you’ve taught, so you can do public speaking. You’re a graduate student, so you’re an above average writer, and probably know how to think. If you’ve worked with kids, you’ve probably done customer service type work with their parents. You say you’ll have an inexplicable time gap. Just say ‘I was in graduate school studying X, but decided that field wasn’t for me, so I left.’ I used to explain a one year gap as ‘A bunch of unrelated short term jobs that wouldn’t fit on a resume.’
Think about things you enjoy. Do you like writing? Solving puzzles? Thinking about problems, and coming up with solutions? Helping people solve their problems? Organizing and carrying through on your commitments? People skills? Marketing involves a lot of writing and strategizing, computer programming is all about solving puzzles (why I love it), or customer service lets you help people while puzzling out what their problems really are. People skills will help you out in any field you choose.
You haven’t ruined your life, or even your entire 20’s. Quit beating yourself up, and start actively looking for something different.
# Answer
> 2 votes
You are frustrated because you feel that you are stuck. You want to leave academia and don't know how to find a job outside.
I'll answer a practical issue first. When you write your resume, you can say
> Education
>
> BA in sociology, University A
>
> Graduate study in early childhood teaching, University B
Prepare to explain why you did not have graduate degree from University B. Your explanation can be that you are not interested in early childhood teaching anymore. This is not uncommon. Many people change their career in their twenties, thirties or even much later.
As your employable skills, I believe you already have some. You may not know you have them. For example, writing is a very important skill. You may be surprised to find out many workers don't know how to write when you enter the job market. If you don't have the skills current in use, then acquire them. Go to job training. There are plenty available. Find what you like to do and acquire the skills needed.
Now, back to academia. I don't know what you don't like about your current graduate school. Early childhood? Teaching? Or graduate school in general? I cannot tell from your question. It seems to me that you are worried about the upcoming full time teaching program. I guess you need to be with kindergarten kids for a while. If this is the problem, I think you entered a wrong area. If one wants to study early childhood teaching, of course he/she needs to go through such a real program. Otherwise, everything you have studied is just on the paper, no real value.
If you don't like graduate school, then I would advise you to leave as early as possible. If it's the program you don't like, I would say you should consider changing your field of study. Only you know the answer. Good luck!
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Tags: graduate-school, teaching, cv, motivation
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thread-19832 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19832 | Pedagogy for biology (genetics) | 2014-04-25T19:22:47.927 | # Question
Title: Pedagogy for biology (genetics)
Someone at the biology stack exchange website referred me to this site.
In studying for biology courses I feel as though I have to take things at face value. Is there a way to get around this and study from a more logical standpoint? I can memorize things but don't want to because I know from experience that I will forget about them later.
I am interested in studying disorders that are genetic in origin. However, I am having difficulty in understanding molecular and cellular mechanisms regarding processes such as meiosis, mitosis, and recombination. I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to study these processes from a physical standpoint. When I took a class that discussed these principles, I felt that it was more memorization rather than a deep understanding of concepts such as these. Again to ask my question, does anyone know about a physical (i.e., classical mechanical/electrodynamical(magnetic) or quantum mechanical/statistical mechanical/quantum electrodynamical and thermodynamic/kinetic) way of viewing these interactions and the logic behind why certain things happen in the manner that they do. I know that this is vague. I wish that I had taken cell biology first, then molecular biology and then genetics and developmental biology rather than the way that I was advised to. It makes a lot more sense that way.
Thank you.
# Answer
> 4 votes
First, let me say that I share your feelings about the way biology is typically taught (i.e. as a collection of facts). I believe this will change in the not-so-far future.
Now, some historical perspective:
Biology was, for a long time, a field of science which was mostly concerned with making observations and collecting data. Even though people were interested in the underlying mechanisms, they were often very difficult to understand in a principled way. This is mostly because biological systems are complex systems, in the sense that very complicated system-level behavior (often referred to as *phenotype*, e.g. mitosis) emerges from interactions between many (e.g. tens of thousands) different types of elements. This makes these systems very difficult to understand by only looking at a handful of elements.
As our ability to collect and analyze data has improved due to technological advances (computing power and high-throughput biological experiments), along with a better ability to perform genetic perturbations (e.g. genetic engineering), biology is becoming more and more quantitative. This has given rise to new fields such as *computational biology* and *systems biology*. Still, this approach to biology is very new, and so most biology courses (and books) are taught in the "classic" way. In many cases, we simply do not understand yet the logic or mechanisms underlying certain phenomena in a quantitative way.
Since courses that teach biology from the systems biology / physics / mathematical perspective at an introductory level are still quite rare, I suggest starting with a book (for example, "Physical Biology of the Cell" by Phillips et al. is one such example of teaching biology from a physics perspective; SPOILER: statistical thermodynamics are very useful).
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Tags: teaching, biology
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thread-19836 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19836 | Can I use informal sources (particularly online sources)? | 2014-04-25T20:32:20.303 | # Question
Title: Can I use informal sources (particularly online sources)?
I know that typically, unpublished references (i.e. references not published in some journal, especially online resources) are highly discouraged. I'm working on a paper regarding Bluetooth LE implementations, and most of the materials relevant to my paper are either online (i.e. on mailing lists discussing implementation of Bluetooth LE on Linux, or manufacturers documenting limitations of their Bluetooth LE chips) or in the Bluetooth 4.0 standard itself.
Is it appropriate to use these online references? They're pretty much my only source of information, as my paper is mostly on real-world implementations of Bluetooth LE.
# Answer
If your paper is on "real-world implementations of Bluetooth LE" then mailing lists on implementations of Bluetooth LE and manufacturers' documentation of Bluetooth LE products are your primary sources. This is akin to e.g., a historian using Napoleon's informal personal correspondence as a source for information on *his* world.
Of course, you should consider where these sources come from in *how* you use them. If you read on a mailing list or forum,
> Bluetooth LE is the worst thing ever. Mine never works!
you would not use it as a factual source to conclude that Bluetooth LE is terrible. You certainly *could* use it as a source to indicate that some users have experienced frustration with early implementations of Bluetooth LE. (I cite bug tickets often in my own papers.)
**Bad use of informal source:**
> Bluetooth LE is not a good technology \[1\].
\[1\] "Let's all complain about Bluetooth LE here," Bluetooth User Forum, posted April 1 2104, http:/bluetoothforum/lets-complain, retrieved April 25 2014.
**Good use of informal source as a primary source:**
> Bluetooth LE users have expressed frustration with the technology \[1\].
\[1\] "Let's all complain about Bluetooth LE here," Bluetooth User Forum, posted April 1 2104, http:/bluetoothforum/lets-complain, retrieved April 25 2014.
> 6 votes
# Answer
> Is it appropriate to refer to these online references? They're pretty much my only source of information, as my paper is mostly on real-world implementations of Bluetooth LE.
Referencing web-pages whose content can change (and that are not explicitly versioned) is far from ideal. What you are citing the web-page for may disappear today, tomorrow, the next day: you don't know. Furthermore, you may not know who authored the content, or how reliable the claims made in the content are.
However, particularly in applied areas of Computer Science, it can often be necessary to reference online material.
My personal rules for this are as follows:
* If the web-page refers to a versioned standard of some sort (e.g., a W3C or ISO standard), with a clear author and/or editor list, use a bibliographic citation. (You can always use Google Scholar to check for precedent of the page in question having been previously cited; Bluetooth 4.0 has been cited 20 times)
* For other web-pages (whose authorship is not clear or that may not be versioned), reference it with a footnote and the date you accessed it.
I have seen papers use the bibliography for URLs without explicit authors, but for me, it's poor style (as well as being incompatible with a lot of citation systems).
The second option should be used sparingly in my opinion.
> 3 votes
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Tags: publications, citations
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thread-19803 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19803 | MS in Pure Maths to PhD in Statistics | 2014-04-25T06:50:35.997 | # Question
Title: MS in Pure Maths to PhD in Statistics
I currently am working on a MS in pure maths, but am interested in options for pursuing a PhD in a more applied field. Specifically I am interested in going on to graduate work in something like statistics. How hard would it be for me to go straight from an MS in pure math with only a very few courses in statistics to a PhD program in statistics?
I have some experience in probability with my research (random walks on finite groups). But outside of that, I am pretty inexperienced with applied math.
# Answer
I think the main hurdle will not be the knowledge about statistics you'll bring. (As a trained mathematician you should be able to pick up new math quick enough.) The main hurdle could be to embrace a new kind of doing science and research.
In more applied math people sometimes think differently about problems than in pure math. Roughly speaking, one is much more open to adapt assumptions and requirements for some problems such that they become more simple theoretically, more suited computationally or otherwise more convenient. Since one usually works with things that are related to the real world and hence, somehow uncertain and noisy, it is often not useful to stick to every assumption but use some freedom in modeling. I heard the saying "All models are wrong." Well, true but this should not make you hesitate to work with models.
I've seen people changing from pure math to applied math who never could adopt to these principles (but also cases where there were no problems). If you think that you won't have problems with issues like I described, then things will turn out fine, I think.
> 5 votes
# Answer
Perhaps another big difference is that being able to interact with other disciplines is very important to be good at statistics. If you are open minded and curious about learning other topics (e.g. genetics, computation, etc), together with a solid mathematical background you can be a very good asset in statistics.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Math graduates is what most of the body of grad students in statistics is made up of (I've been both a stat student and a stat faculty, so have seen a fair number of these folks). In terms of getting into a program based on your credentials, you wouldn't have any issues (unless, of course, your US-style GPA is like 2.2, in which case you would have some explaining to do in any application to any program, no matter what the discipline is). If anything, you'd be better prepared to tackle the theoretical courses. For instance, the Central Limit Theorem should be proven using characteristic functions rather than moment generating functions, since the latter are not defined for all the distributions to which CLT applies; as a good math major, you probably have had a course in complex analysis. What's more, it might be easier for you to get to a top program, as lower ranked ones may consider you to be overqualified. On the other hand, as other answers strongly suggest, you need to have a more practical mindset than what is typically found among pure mathematicians to get through the applied courses. (The most difficult ones for me were the courses on psychological aspects of response in survey data collection: there was about 5 papers ~ 100 pages worth of reading every week, and the concepts were entirely foreign to me.)
Check out CrossValidated site in the SE system to see what this could be about. (Note that it is heavily biased towards computational/machine learning side of statistics.)
> 2 votes
# Answer
Modern statistics is pretty computational, which you might not have been exposed to in pure math. I switched from CS to stats and had to play catch up on theory; you might be the opposite, and need to learn how to code.
> 1 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, mathematics, statistics
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thread-11744 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11744 | Why is there such variation in PhD length internationally? | 2013-08-08T09:32:47.977 | # Question
Title: Why is there such variation in PhD length internationally?
I'm an undergrad in Australia, and at this stage I want to go on to do further study in maths (or maybe physics/CS, still have a few years till then).
Should I do so, I imagine that I will want to complete a PhD overseas. Possibly at a university in the US or maybe Oxbridge in the UK.
In Australia, PhDs typically take 3 or 4 years, and I would be eligible to go straight into a PhD upon completion of my undergraduate degree (it is research focused and includes an honours year, see here).
But, much of what I have found for overseas institutions has been in the range of 5-7 years, or maybe a 3-4 year PhD with a few years doing a master's degree beforehand.
Does this indicate that the level of rigour and amount of work produced is significantly different for various PhD programs, or is it the case that some programs are more relaxed and simply spread the same amount of work over a longer period of time?
# Answer
In addition to @aeismail's points, in the U.S. the undergrad degree (B.S. or B.A.) in math is typically rather thin, due to "breadth" requirements, so a year or two of a PhD program is spent catching up, in comparison to most other educational systems in which specialization occurs earlier (and perhaps high school math education is more intense).
Some decades ago, it was the style in elite places in the U.S. to have people finish a PhD degree as quickly as possible, often in three years, as proof of ... something. This was plausible under the hypothesis that students at such places had an unusually good background.
In fact, given the way professional mathematics has evolved, spending more time learning things and maturing before hitting the job market may be wise. In any case, no one is creating artificial obstacles to any student's quick graduation! In my current institution, there really are no "required courses", in the sense that there are some modest proficiency exams in standard material that need to be passed, and courses help prepare for those, or can substitute for proficiency exams to some extent. Thus, a well-prepared student can "test out" of requirements.
One underlying problem seems to be that people take as much time as is allowed, so if it is understood that one may take six years "if necessary", then most people plan to use up that time. Not that they're "forced to" or "kept from graduating earlier". And then there's the reasonable fear of facing the job market that leads to "avoidance".
I would claim that "having to teach" is not a serious impediment to quick graduation. However, its relatively immediate gratification can seduce people away from the far-less-immediate gratification of research and study.
> 10 votes
# Answer
In the UK system (or similar systems, like Australia) students enter their Ph.D. program with a stronger background due to earlier specialization, and they typically leave their Ph.D. program at a less advanced level than a Ph.D. from a comparable American school. The difference is not in how fast people learn, but rather differences in what a bachelor's degree means and what a Ph.D. degree means.
Note that on specialization for undergraduates the US is the outlier, but in terms of Ph.D. outcome it's the UK that is unusual. For example, Chris Parks writes, "Across Europe the view prevails that the three-year UK doctorate is too short and thus of inadequate quality compared with the more common four-year doctorate."
> 17 votes
# Answer
The length of the PhD program depends on how the bachelor's and Master's programs are structured, and what additional demands are placed on students in terms of teaching and other assignments.
For instance, in the US, you can gain admission to a PhD directly after a bachelor's degree, but you will also be expected to take courses for one to two years. In mathematics especially, you will likely have significant teaching duties as well. in Europe, PhD programs in math will still likely require significant teaching, but no coursework, since it is presumed you took the requisite courses as a Master's student.
> 6 votes
# Answer
Another aspect that's worth mentioning is that there's PhD and there's PhD. Even though the name of the title is essentially the same when translated to common English, the "content" of the dissertation and diploma could differ significantly. If you have more time to do your research you're more likely to produce more publications (although this is not a given). I would even argue that the potential increase in your publications is not linear to the number of years in grad school, considering the rather steep learning curve.
Similarly the expectations during post-grad applications could also vary based on the degree. You might, and probably will, be expected to do more years of post-doc research before getting a faculty position, in comparison to if you had a longer PhD period (for instance 5 years instead of 3).
Yet another aspect is the funding; most PhD programs are limited in years, because the funding is usually limited in years. In other words, if you have means of sustaining yourself without grant money, or if your supervisor/group leader has the possibility to fix some other source of funding, I am pretty sure actual dissertation time would not be a huge issue (again it depends on the supervisor).
Lastly, none of this is written in stone, and there will always be exceptions to the rule. I would advocate that there is really no shortcuts to success, and instead of worrying about number of years to a particular title, one should focus on getting "really good/competent" at the field of research.
> 4 votes
# Answer
Having moved from the US to Europe (Denmark specifically), I was surprised that doctoral degrees here are standardized. Whereas in the US degree times vary considerably for all the reasons stated in the other answers, in Europe the length of PhD degrees is increasingly zeroing in on three years. Indeed, in Denmark no one is permitted to take longer than three years.
This is due to an international European standard known as the Bologna process, which aims to standardize academic qualifications across Europe. In order to enter a PhD in Bologna process countries, students must have a sufficient number of ECTS points (equal to a master-level degree), thus reducing the variance in times (common in the United States) due to differences in additional courses (minimal), teaching obligations (minimal), etc. between students, departments, and universities.
> 2 votes
# Answer
For those interested in why the U.S. is an outlier compared to Europe in terms of PhD length, it's important to keep in mind that European countries used to have not only widely varying standards for doctorates but also widely varying degrees (i.e., many countries had degrees that did not even map onto the BA-MA-PhD system). European countries are now increasingly standardized around a 3-4 year doctorate because all degree programs in (most) European countries are expected to follow the standards set by the Bologna Process, which fix the ECTS credit hours for particular degree programs. As a result 47 European countries (as of 2014) now have relatively standardized and transferable degree requirements, which differ quite dramatically from those in the U.S. higher education system.
> 1 votes
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Tags: phd, international
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thread-19726 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19726 | Paper rejected. Should I appeal against biased reviews? | 2014-04-23T22:19:53.310 | # Question
Title: Paper rejected. Should I appeal against biased reviews?
I received a rejection letter from a relatively high-impact journal based on the feedback from three reviewers. After I reviewed their comments, I feared that their comments were biased and am not sure if I should appeal. The comments from all three reviewers are all negative, but one is more bias than the other.
The first reviewer said that I need to carry out a lot more experiments that will involve a lot of cost, which is not practical. However, in the comment, they only suggested one additional experiment that needed to be done. The second reviewer complained about the quality of the figures, but I think they are fixable. The third reviewer complained about the novelty of the paper but I think they did not carefully read and understand the paper.
Is it still possible to write an appeal if all three reviewers were negative about the paper since their reason to support rejection wasn't strong?
# Answer
> 81 votes
@Fomite's answer is spot on. I would like to expand further on the differences between a **biased** review, a **lazy** review, a **significantly erroneous** review, and a **negative** review, and which do/don't warrant an appeal.
The examples given in this post come from a contest held by the always-excellent FemaleScienceProfessor. Quite a few are real reviews, or based on real reviews.
### Biased Review
*Does* warrant an appeal, if it's the reason your paper was rejected. Often editors are smart enough to identify a biased review on their own, and will simply discount its advice.
Example #1 (here, the reviewer clearly lets his personal goals get in the way of a fair review):
> I am afraid I cannot support the publication of this paper. The authors present an idea that I myself have had for some time and just haven’t gotten around to writing it up yet. I think that when I write my paper, it will be better than this one. These authors would be well advised to wait until my paper is published, and then they can cite it.
Example #2:
> Since the author is a woman, I had lowered my expectations accordingly, but the author did not even meet those. Even though I have never done experiments in my life and have never used any of these techniques, the experimental results presented were completely misinterpreted in my distinguished opinion.
### Lazy Review
Does *not* warrant an appeal. If all of your reviewers give you a lazy review, you need to do a better job exciting the reader (thereby motivating the reviewer to carefully read the whole paper in detail because it's such compelling reading.) (*Very* rarely, this can be an indication of a bad journal/conference and you should find a better place to submit your work).
Example #1:
> The topic of this paper is not of critical importance to furthering knowledge.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
Example #2:
> Paper Title: Linear and Nonlinear Methods to solve XXX
>
> Review: "Why is the approach limited to linear methods, and the author does not propose nonlinear methods?"
### Significantly Erroneous Review
(per JeffE's suggestion)
This is a distinct case from the Lazy Review. It does *not* include the case where the reviewer "erroneously" concludes that your work is not interesting or useful, just because you disagree with this conclusion. It does *not* include the case where the reviewer says "I am concerned about X" and you believe you've adequately addressed X.
It *does* include cases where a review is affected by a significant factual, logical, or mathematical error. This *is* grounds for appeal.
Example (the reviewer is mistaken as to the meaning of "graph" here):
> Paper title: Graph analysis of System ABC shows differences in A-B connections during Condition X vs. Y
>
> Review: This paper uses a novel method to study ABC system dynamics. However, I don't know anything about graph analysis so I'm going to interpret the paper through the lens of a different analysis method I do know something about. Thus the only constructive feedback I can give is that this paper is a poorly written explanation of a structural equation model of XYZ - the conclusions drawn make little sense given the data, i.e. they frequently refer to "graphs" but all I see are these pictures of circles and arrows.
(A minor error is highly unlikely to be the reason for a rejection. Therefore, for a minor error, an appeal is not likely to be successful - an appeal will be useful only if the point of appeal was the reason for the rejection. In the case of a minor error, I would advise to use the reviewer's mistake as an opportunity: to clarify in the text points that might lead people to mistakenly discount your results, or even to decide to ignore the criticism because it's not a common enough misconception to be worth addressing in the paper.)
### Negative Review
A review that does not fit into the above categories, but still criticizes your paper, is just a negative review. It is *not* grounds for an appeal. It should be taken as constructive criticism, and you can use it to make your paper better.
# Answer
> 76 votes
You seem to be conflating "Bias" and "Negativity". Bias would imply that your paper was being reviewed unfairly, either because of its content, or its authors - if they were known or divined by the reviewer.
It's entirely possible, and fairly standard, to get negative reviews you disagree with. When it comes down to it, your paper was rejected, and the only time I've ever seen appeals to the editor work is for things that are flagrantly egregious and wrong, rather than just "This is weak and I disagree with it". And even then, it's usually a long shot "What's the worst that could happen, they say no again?" play.
I suspect your time would be much better spent addressing the comments of the reviewers within the paper and revising it, rather than appealing to the editors.
# Answer
> 20 votes
> The second reviewer complains about the quality of the figures, but I think they are fixable.
You fix the figures and then re-submit. Not a problem.
> The third reviewer complains about the novelty of the paper but I think s/he did not carefully read and understand the paper.
You write to explain why you think your paper is novel. You might still have a chance.
Now,
> The first reviewer say that I need to carry out a lot more experiments that will involve a lot of cost, which is not practical. However, in the comment, s/he only suggests one additional experiment that need to be done.
In my opinion, this is a **strong reason for rejection**. I think the reviewer has doubts about the results you have in the paper. You truly need to do more experiments to convince the reviewer and **other readers** the results in your paper are correct.
My suggestion is to **do more experiments before you consider the appeal**. Not only you want to convince the reviewer but also yourself that your paper is good. You don't want to publish a bad paper, do you?
# Answer
> 17 votes
Short version. **Do not do it**.
Long version: You have to understand there is something wrong with the paper. One negative review might be unlucky / unjust. But three negative reviews? That means that the paper needs some serious fixing before re-submitting again.
The other possible problem with your paper might be that you are aiming too high. Maybe your paper is actually good but not good enough for a high impact journal. That would also explain why the third reviewer just "brushed off" your paper without really reading it. Your paper simply might not be interesting enough for such a journal. This is a phase that many researchers have in the beginning of their research. Living in our research "bubble", we believe our research and results are amazing, when simply they are not. It takes some research maturity to actually understand the real "size" of our results.
Also based on your previous questions on this forum and your problems with your advisor it is obvious that you lack guidance. You are simply not objective enough to judge the merits of your research and you need someone "wiser" to judge your work hard but in a fair way. But please humble down. Do not start a war with the world. Your advisor was "bad" and you had to fight back. Now the reviewers are bad? This is really not happening. Just improve your work, your presentation of the work and if your work is good enough it will be published accordingly. If it is not published, it is nobody's fault but yours. You should at least start considering the possibility that you might actually be wrong and the reviewers are right. After all, they are more experienced than you.
# Answer
> 8 votes
I suspect that the reviewers are responding to an unconvincing paper. A paper that does not convince them. While you have not reported evidence of their bias (or explained the reason that you suspect that they are biased), I find myself somewhat biased by the quality of the English used in your posts. If the language in your paper, matches that in the posts, then it is unlikely to convey a convincing presentation of your research - however good the research might be. If you think this is a contributing factor to the rejection (or is responsible for the bias), then the best approach may be to enlist the assitance of a Technical Author or Technical Translator, to help you turn your paper into a convincing one for an English Language publication. Alternatively you might find it easier to publish your research in a different langauge journal. Please understand that I'm observing, not criticising. Your English is much better than my own efforts in any language other than English.
# Answer
> 3 votes
One thing I haven't seen commented on in the other answers or comments is that if you appeal claiming that their review was biased, you're poisoning the well -- you'll have accused three known and (presumably) respected reviewers of unprofessional conduct. If they didn't dislike you before this, they'll certainly have cause now.
From what you're saying, this seems to be your first submission and you yourself admit that at least some of the objections they have to your paper are fixable. Try fixing those and resubmitting. **Don't start throwing around accusations of bias until you have a clear pattern, or you'll quickly develop an unwelcome reputation of your own.**
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Tags: publications, rejection
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thread-19794 | https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/19794 | Are itemized lists discouraged in scientific papers? | 2014-04-24T22:04:39.133 | # Question
Title: Are itemized lists discouraged in scientific papers?
From my experience in biology (by experience I mean reading other papers), it seems that there is an unspoken rule that itemized lists do not belong in the body text of a paper.
I have almost never seen a paper have a bullet point list or a numbered list which is formatted as a separate entity in the body text (although I have seen them in eg. the sidebar, or figures which essentially are a numbered list). The closest I've seen is an "in-line" numbered list:
> Our paper raises three points: (1) yada yada, (2) blah blah and (3) bip bap boop. Point (2) is particularly important, because yakkity yakkity...
Are bullet point or numbered lists, formatted similar to how StackOverflow formats them for example, discouraged in scientific publication? If so is there a reason why?
# Answer
> 15 votes
I agree that itemized list are not very common in the biology literature. However, I do not think it is a requirement of the publisher (I check in PLoS Biology, Cell and Plant Physiology), but more a choice of the authors. I personally tend to include itemized list when it is necessary and I never had any comment from the publishers.
One possible reason to choose inline list over an itemized one is that is take less space. Since some journal have a pay-per-page policy, it might be an incentive. The same goes for grant application in which the number of pages is usually limited.
An other reason, but I am speculating here, is that itemized list might be seen as an *ugly* (the term is not mine, but from a reviewer of one of my paper) or cheap writing style. I personally disagree with this view, since the importance is the *message*, not the *writing style*, but I think it is out there anyway.
# Answer
> 22 votes
It is **extremely** common in my areas of computer science (TCS and machine learning) to see a paper itemize a list of contributions as a bulleted or numbered list. I use it regularly as a technique to highlight and emphasize contributions and key ideas in a way that stands out.
So while any such answer is area specific, I'd say that in the areas of CS that I'm familiar with it is definitely not discouraged.
# Answer
> 3 votes
There are no rules for or against lists, and as has been indicated by other answers, their use may vary between disciplines. That said, there are some points you need to consider. Lists can be useful if used correctly and detrimental if used too often. Lists disrupt the reading or flow of the text. One should thus consider if a list is useful or really necessary before making one. Does it help the reader to understand the text? Lists have a tendency to express issues in brief statements. This can be good but can also mean the text loses important logical steps. Having too many lists may actually make things confusing, because you lose track of them all.
So, use lists as a tool in your writing toolbox but be aware of overusing them in a text.
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Tags: publications, formatting
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