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thread-25781
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25781
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What does it indicate if a professor from other departments is included in applied math department?
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2014-07-12T10:41:25.790
|
# Question
Title: What does it indicate if a professor from other departments is included in applied math department?
Currently I am preparing for postgraduate application. My research interest is fluid mechanics. There are several professors whose research interests are similar to mine and all of them are included in both applied math department and some non-math departments, such as geophysics department. Most of their papers are published in Journal of Fluid Mechanics, which is one of the leading journals in that field. However, it seems that those papers do not involve advanced math knowledge, such as abstract algebra or analysis. Even epsilon-delta terminology seldom appears in those papers.
This slightly contradicts to my previous understanding. In the math department where I finished my undergraduate study, real analysis is a basic requirement for every postgraduate student. Does this mean the field of applied fluid mechanism does not require students with solid math background? What does it imply if a professor is included in applied math department? Does this indicate he/she will supervise a student with only math background? Or does this mean he/she has an intention to publish papers in math journals?
# Answer
Affiliate faculty are common in many university departments. This indicates faculty who have a departmental home (faculty line, voting rights, tenure and promotion line, office space) but for a variety of reasons are given courtesy appointments (sometimes called in the USA as 0 FTE appointments) in another department. This may be because they teach a crosslisted course or occasionally sit on doctoral committees of the other department, or occasionally just for the academic lulz (ie, they requested an affiliation and there was no reason to deny it).
Affiliate faculty rarely occasionally (depending on discipline and university) serve as chairs of doctoral committees and similarly are rarely/occasionally (depending on discipline) given students in that department to supervise. Their ability though to sit as members on committees is useful if you were to want to do a project in geophysics (in this case) but otherwise you can ignore them.
Note that this is different from faculty with dual appointments where their faculty line is split (0.5 FTE in one department, 0.5 in another). They have voting and advisory rights in both departments.
```
FTE = Full-Time Equivalent, the essential counting unit of faculty lines.
A department with two full-time faculty and two joint-appointments would
have 2*1 FTE + 2 * 0.5 FTE = 3 FTE
```
**TL;DR**: Don't worry about affiliate faculty. Focus on the core faculty and their strengths when making decisions.
> 3 votes
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Tags: research-process, graduate-school, professorship, mathematics
---
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thread-25758
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25758
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Is it acceptable for me (an undergrad) to call professors and other research professionals by their first names?
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2014-07-11T19:41:51.170
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# Question
Title: Is it acceptable for me (an undergrad) to call professors and other research professionals by their first names?
I'm a second-year undergrad, and I've always been on a first-name basis with anyone in academia or in a research setting. I first worked in a laboratory in high school, and since everyone was on a first-name basis with everyone else there, I sort of just applied that logic to other labs and to my college professors.
But when I was talking to a researcher (my "supervisor", if that's relevant) at the lab I'm currently interning at this summer, one of my fellow interns told me afterwards she thought it was "odd" and "unprofessional" to call him by his first name. I understand where she's coming from, but if this were any other type of environment (say a business office), I think it would be awkward to call my boss anything but his first name (Mr. X seems a bit too formal for the boss-employee relationship).
For what it's worth, my boss doesn't seem put off by the way I address him, and I don't think my professors are, either. Maybe my perspective's a bit skewed because of how I was introduced to the scientific/academic culture. Am I out of line here? What did you call your professors/advisors/bosses as an undergrad?
# Answer
In all the years at the university, I only called the professors and lecturers by their last name and a doctor prefix. I also used to call them **`Professor + Last Name`**.
But never by their first names as far as they were older than me, they were professors and more important, it was not a custom in the universities I studied to call professors by their first names only (it was somehow impolite to call a professor by his first name only, even by other professors or colleagues).
It usually goes back to the custom. Sometimes the professors themselves prefer to be called by their first names. See how others call professors and see if it is polite or not. But my prefer is always **`Doctor + Last Name`**.
> 9 votes
# Answer
It depends on the institution and departmental/lab culture. At my current university, most undergraduates refer to faculty as Prof. Lastname.
I dislike formalities, but it had been very difficult to break the students of this habit. Furthermore, I wonder if I am doing them a disservice as most faculty are VERY adamant that undergrads use their titles, even the point of telling TAs to use title and last name when talking to or about them in front of students.
Doctoral students are generally on a first name basis with faculty. Master students seem to be split.
> 8 votes
# Answer
This question is very hard to answer in a general way because it heavily depends on the country, culture and specific persons involved. For example:
* During my PhD and postdoc I was on the first name basis with my professor and supervisor.
* A postdoc from Austria I worked with could use his professors first name, but only when no other staff members of their institute where present.
It is important to get a feel for the general atmosphere of your institute, do other people use first names for example. And you can simply ask your supervisor/professor.
> 4 votes
# Answer
It is the intersection of the professor's preference and what you are comfortable with. My dissertation advisor asked me to call him by his first name long before **I** was comfortable with that. But he asked me to call him George, so I did. On the other hand, when one of my former students joined our faculty a couple of years ago, she kept referring to me as "Dr Clason". I told her, "I'm Dennis."
I'm comfortable with whatever my students are comfortable with. Like RoboKaren, I don't like to stand on formalities, and just like everyone else, I have preferences. I'm old enough now that my undergrad students (especially) are not my peers and are not usually trying to become a peer. I prefer that they use my surname, but I don't require it. One thing that does grate (on me, and I am not sure why) is students referring to me as "Mr Clason". I earned that doctorate, and in academia the title is relevant. In academia, if you are using the surname, please use the title. Truthfully, though, I cherish the title "Professor" more than "Doctor".
> 4 votes
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Tags: etiquette, professorship, united-states, research-undergraduate, personal-name
---
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thread-25608
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25608
|
Is it a bad idea to express my personal feelings about the subject when writing email to a professor for PhD application?
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2014-07-10T09:08:45.257
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# Question
Title: Is it a bad idea to express my personal feelings about the subject when writing email to a professor for PhD application?
I'm looking for PhD positions and I just recently came across an option in Germany. This team is working on a subject that is very really truly interesting for me. I want to write to the head of the team to express my interest and ask if there is a chance for me to do my PhD in their team.
Now here is the issue: Should I mention the fact that what they are doing is my dream? In all honesty, I like my current field and what they are doing is where my field and my dream intersect. But should I express this fact?
I'm afraid if I mention that this program is my *dream PhD* it will be interpreted as a gesture of hypocrisy, while at the same time I think it is important to emphasis on my passion for the subject.
If adding my feelings regarding the field of research is *not* a bad practice, how far should go with it? It would be great if you support your answers with some examples.
---
P.S. To add to the dilemma, they have just won a very big grant and this increases the fear of wrong interpretation of my statements.
# Answer
To express that you are motivated is a good thing. The difficulty is getting the "tone" right. This is in part a cultural problem. If you are not German and you happen to know someone who is, then you could ask her or him to read your letter and see if you get the right message across. It would be even better if that person is also from the same discipline, as cultures also tend to differ between disciplines.
In general I would keep this part short and to the point. If you have a specific reason why this is your dream (and it is not too personal) than it might help to mention that.
> 23 votes
# Answer
Just having strong interest in a specific topic wouldn't justify your application in Germany. It is a norm in Germany that one's interest in a specific field is judged by his/her previous achievements in that particular field.
My sincere suggestion is that don't waste your precious space in the application letter/email, by boasting about the interest. Rather, try to sell your previous achievements.
> 5 votes
# Answer
Keep it short and to the point (following advice in similar questions on this site). In particular, since you want to move into a different (sub-)field, state the work you did in your current field (especially published work, if any), and point toward key courses you have taken that would be advantageous.
Say you did computer vision with a published paper, state that, but also state that you have taken courses in biology if you want to do a PhD in bioinformatics.
I wouldn't care that it is your 'dream', I suppose that every potential student is strongly motivated to do their PhD. So don't 'waste' precious space stating it.
(The last line is my personal opinion, obviously, but at least I'm german ;-) )
> 3 votes
# Answer
It may be good to express positive personal feelings, just keep it short and do not make the main argument why would they need you in their team.
It is better to avoid negative feelings of any kind in applications (about your current position, etc).
> 3 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, application, email
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thread-20674
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/20674
|
Handling unsolicited proofs of famous mathematical problems
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2014-05-12T07:02:51.023
|
# Question
Title: Handling unsolicited proofs of famous mathematical problems
I have been receiving mails from (most probably amateurs), who claims to have proved famous mathematical problems, like the ABC Conjecture or Goldbach Conjecture. But invariably, they all contained mistakes. I decided not to waste my time on such unsolicited documents. But recently something interesting happened.
About 14 days earlier, I have received a mail from an Indian undergraduate student who claimed to have proved the Sylvester-Gallai Theorem in an elementary way. What is more amusing is that he claimed to have proved it using Mathematical Induction and a basic Euclidean Axiom. I decided to ignore it as usual. But yesterday I got his mail, telling me that-
> I suppose you haven't considered my document worthy of your time and so you haven't gone through it at all, or it may be that you are so busy that you haven't found time to check your email account. If that's the case then just ignore this mail. But if it's the first case then I would like to tell you something.
>
> Perhaps you have heard about the Indian Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. He also sent his mathematical works to renowned mathematicians like Baker and Hobson but they didn't reply. Later he sent his manuscript to Hardy and his genius was recognized. But just suppose that Hardy also considered his work to be the work of a crank, without even going through it. Consider this be the case even if he would sent it to other mathematicians. How long could he continue sending his unsolicited formulas and theorems (which were without proof!) to other mathematicians and be rejected? Of course, finitely many times. After that, he perhaps wouldn't write to any mathematician even if he had, suppose for example proved the Riemann Hypothesis. Why would he? He was likely to be rejected.
>
> So I suggest you at least to go through my document thoroughly and tell me precisely about it.
>
> Please don't behave like Baker or Hobson.
What should I do now? Should I remain silent or go through the document? Any suggestion will be welcomed.
# Answer
> 64 votes
Unfortunately, I think there's little or nothing you can realistically do for most amateurs sending unsolicited manuscripts. What they don't seem to realize is how common this is and what a bad state most of the manuscripts are in:
1. I average several amateur e-mails per week (and I shudder to think of how many Andrew Wiles or Terry Tao must get). If I carefully read each paper and sent comments, that alone would occupy a substantial fraction of my professional activities, so I have to prioritize.
2. I at least flip through the papers, and most of them are obviously crackpot work. Occasionally I see one that doesn't look ridiculous, and I try to be encouraging when appropriate, but I have yet to receive a publishable paper from an amateur. The best I can do is generally to offer encouraging advice, and even that's uncommon.
3. Some people seem beyond hope (for example, the ones who send word salad), but some could presumably become solid researchers given the right education and mentoring. However, this is not something I have a lot of time to provide. I've got plenty of in-person students, some of whom would probably like more interaction, and I wouldn't feel comfortable telling them "Sorry, I'm busy trying to explain to some guy on the internet why his fuzzy understanding of quantum mechanics doesn't actually yield a short proof of Fermat's Last Theorem." Even if the amateur seems promising, they aren't likely to be dramatically more promising than my students, and mentoring over the internet is less effective, so it's still an awkward trade-off.
4. Some amateurs react very poorly to feedback. If you suggest their results are known (while complimenting them on their rediscovery), they angrily suggest that you must not have understood what they meant or are trying to deny them credit for their work. If you don't believe their results, they accuse you of incompetence or laziness. If you encourage them to apply to graduate school, they scoff at what academia would have to teach them. This is of course only a minority of amateurs, but it's just common enough to discourage giving honest feedback: there's too much of a risk of feeling like you wasted time offering feedback to someone who only wanted validation and responded with insults.
5. Part of the problem is grandiose visions. When people spend too much time daydreaming about being the next Ramanujan or finding the proof that didn't fit in Fermat's margin, it's really unsatisfying to learn that their story isn't actually as remarkable as they hoped. It's much easier psychologically to move to the parallel story of the genius oppressed by academia, rather than starting an academic career from scratch. (And even people who show no sign of grandiosity in their original e-mail sometimes have it hiding below the surface: I imagine that anyone who sends unsolicited accounts of their discoveries to experts is hoping for some degree of acclaim.)
So what to do about this? In an ideal world, I'd give lots of time and attention to everyone who wrote, but these are scarce resources. In practice, I handle it this way:
1. If the paper genuinely engages with my work and shows no signs of craziness (e.g., drawing religious conclusions from mathematics), I give at least a brief reply. Same thing if I have some other good reason to believe it was sent specifically to me, and not just as one of many recipients.
2. If the paper looks relatively promising but has nothing specific to do with me, I'll reply if I have time and feel that the reply would be well received.
3. If the paper is on a topic I particularly know and care about but doesn't involve my work and doesn't seem especially promising, I might reply.
4. Otherwise, I probably won't reply, and almost certainly not if the paper deals with famous unsolved problems.
# Answer
> 34 votes
Continue to treat it as spam, and ignore it.
For every Ramanujan, there are many many thousands of time-wasters.
The reward:cost ratio, weighted by the ratio of misunderstood geniuses to time-wasters, is very very low.
If someone has any ability, they should be able to demonstrate it quickly. And if they've got any sense, they'll realise they need to demonstrate it up front to get taken seriously.
So if someone hasn't put a pre-print up somewhere (much easier to do now than in Ramanujan's day), and has no pre-published material, ignoring them is now an even safer bet than it ever was before.
In this particular case, your correspondant may have already tried posting on Math Overflow, although it may be someone else with the same name. Either way, if you're feeling generous with your time, you could prepare a canned response which went to all such neglected geniuses / timewasters that pointed them to Math Overflow, as a good place to engage with the Maths Research community and demonstrate that they are actually able.
# Answer
> 28 votes
The fact that he compares himself to Ramanujan just gives you all the more reason to ignore his mails.
If his work had any merit, his follow-up email would have been focused on that merit and how it might have been hard to see at first glance.
# Answer
> 24 votes
Many years ago, my university used to send letters that explained they received so many proof they didn't have the time to check them all, so each sender received a copy of the previous proof the university had received and asked them to check that one to help the university with their workload. That worked very well.
I think it was my professor in analysis, who received one letter where someone had worked out an excellent approximation of pi as a fraction of rational numbers (I think it was the next approximation better than 355/113). And he found that the result this man found was actually absolutely correct, not quite as mind-blowing as the sender probably hoped, but nevertheless correct, and he replied with a long letter acknowledging the correct results and a list of sources that would help an interested amateur.
That man was a single and outstanding exception. And the OP starter complaining about mistakes: Most of the time things are so bad, there are not even things that could be called "mistakes".
# Answer
> 15 votes
Have you considered offering your professional services for a nominal fee? I would think $250-500 that a starting price for detailed analysis, and potential support of a mathematical proof would be a fair price. Of course for one that will require considerably more effort, that fee could be increased.
If you are loathe to take the money you could always either donate the fees, or return them to the author. The primary purpose of the fee is to filter out the random amatuer submissions that have not been well thought or checked out. I assume that you would not mind doing a few serious reviews a year, if you could avoid the spam.
# Answer
> 8 votes
In a reply, suggest a journal to send it to. Then if it gets accepted for review, the reviewer may have an easy task in front of them. (Either that or genius will be recognised.) Everyone will be happy either way.
# Answer
> 4 votes
I guess I don't see the big moral quandary. You're a talented person who has worked a long time to develop his skills, and you are under absolutely no obligation to give those skills and your time away for free to every Tom, Dick, and Harriet. If you *want to* that's fine, but the fact that you feel pressured to do this is not good.
This person's case is really not that compelling to me: he has proved a result which has already been proved and by elementary methods also (according to a previous poster). Maybe it could be published but for this person to suggest his ability is comparable to Ramanujan's in some way based on *this* result seems absolutely ludicrous. To me, his appeal to Ramanujan, which is based solely on their circumstances and nationality, seems manipulative, and his comparison of himself to Ramanujan, shows a sort of hubris I find appalling. If Ramanujan had sent a proof of a result which had already been proved by elementary means to Hardy, do you *really* think Hardy would have given it a second thought? I seriously doubt it. Based on the information given, maybe he has some talent, but I don't see evidence of a world-class genius being lost here.
# Answer
> 3 votes
The reasoning developed in the second e-mail ("please do not ignore the hidden genius") was true when you first started receiving this type of e-mail, which is why you read these first theorems.
However, after a few try, you figured that the genius/spam ratio (as @EnergyNumbers pointed out) was not worth considering all these e-mail (maybe unconsciously...). In short, I think nothing changed with this e-mail.
If you really want to consider all these emails without spending toot much time, as @bingung said, and if you are giving lectures, you can assign them to students. It would be indeed a great exercice to try to demonstrate the theorems are not valid.
A third option, to give you a good conscience, and since the genius/spam ratio is probably really low, you can review 1/10th of the theorems you receive. It will not dramatically decrease the change to discover a math genius...
# Answer
> 3 votes
After getting rid of spam in your email box by the spam filter, pass every unrequested mail through the crackpot index:
It will give points for, for example:
* mentioning Einstein, Feynman or Hawkins. (I suppose mentioning Ramanujan would be the same but in the mathematical field instead of physical field).
* complaining about the establishment
* vacuous statements
Read everything about it in: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html
I don't believe you'll need more then 2-3 minutes for that.
However, also don't forget to take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_amateur\_mathematicians, since there is mathematics outside academical mathematics too.
# Answer
> 2 votes
This question has been asked more in the mathematical sciences than anywhere else. An interesting text on the topic (with advice) is **A Budget of Trisections** by Underwood Dudley. It is probably available somewhere cheaper than on amazon dudley *(I found some related work on scribd.com.)* If you are dealing with an intelligent and younger person, it might be useful to point out that your time is limited and that they might benefit from reading that text. The lesson I learned there is that practically no older amateur will take your advice when it is pointed out that they tried to prove something extremely hard or know-to-be-unprovable. Today this all happens online, and you should also look at John Baez's crackpot index at http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html , I assume there must be a mathematical version. (translate Einstein to Ramanujan, etc.)
# Answer
> 1 votes
Ramanujan is actually a difficult case because he was in fact an amateur crackpot, and his contribution to real math is not clear to me. But yes, he was a genius. He did not reveal the methods by which he derived his magic formula, even though I am convinced he could explain it if he wanted to. He did not want to reveal his secret craft, he only wanted the fame. I say dunk it in the wastebasket in this case, and if you ever come across work which sounds scientific tell the author to submit it to arxiv.
# Answer
> -2 votes
I think a good policy would be to redirect those people to Math Overflow. Let them open a new topic to ask what's wrong with their proof.
If it's trivial to find errors then someone one Math Overflow will point out those errors. If their proof actually works I would expect someone at Math Overflow to recognise working proof.
You only need to write a email to redirect people to MathOverflow once and afterwards you can send everyone who sends you unsolicited proofs the same canned email.
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Tags: etiquette, peer-review
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thread-25799
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25799
|
Will sitting for the IELTS Academic module void the validity of my previous General Training module score?
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2014-07-12T16:42:36.813
|
# Question
Title: Will sitting for the IELTS Academic module void the validity of my previous General Training module score?
I have already taken the IELTS GT examination and my score has not yet expired. If I take the IELTS academic exam, will my previous score be voided? I need to take both format of exams for different purposes.
# Answer
For the best information you could Contact IELTS
That said, from reading the information booklet (pages 3-5) on their website the two tests have some sections that apply to the both GT and Academic tests which are speaking and listening. They then have 2 modules that are different for each test, which are reading and writing.
They are also used for two different purposes
> IELTS Academic is for test takers wishing to study at undergraduate or postgraduate levels, and for those seeking professional registration.
>
> IELTS General Training is for test takers wishing to migrate to an English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK), and for those wishing to train or study at below degree level
From this it would seem unusual that the results from one test would void the other when they are both different tests.
**Edit based on OP comment:** After the OP contacted IELTS thay said that 'they are both separate results and it will be your choice entirely which one you wish to present when applying to institution's.' which confirms that one test would not void the other.
> 3 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, language-exams, ielts
---
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thread-25812
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25812
|
Entering academia as a high school dropout
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2014-07-13T07:31:56.203
|
# Question
Title: Entering academia as a high school dropout
I have a strong desire and determination to contribute to society by expanding the knowledge in my field of interest, but I feel that I am failing to get into a position to fulfill this dream. This is mainly due to being a high school dropout who now gets his bachelors through distance studies. How can I improve my chances to go along the path to become an academic?
My background: I failed high school mainly due to my learning disability, dyslexia, but depression and social anxiety also played a role. Two years after dropping out I secured a placement for a mathematical and technical software development apprenticeship which included a vocational school with mathematics at an undergraduate level. I finished the apprenticeship as the best regional apprentice. My teachers also recognized my ability, but in the end I was unable to attend a normal university because I did not have the required high school degree.
I decided to start a part time distance BSc (Honours) degree with The Open University which does not have formal requirements. When I had enough money to fund my degree I quit my job as software engineer, to study full time and do some independent research in a mix of deep learning, high performance computing and mathematical optimization applied to natural language processing.
I could graduate July/August next year and probably score an upper second-class degree (first-class and lower second-class are possible). My research so far did not yield any significant results. I was able to improve on algorithms that are in the literature, but the improvement was only very marginal. I gained a lot of experience through my failures though, and I might be able to publish a paper about the some new but mediocre result and also give an overview over the small niche I worked on to help researchers to not tap into the same mistakes as I did.
My Problems:
* My degree does not have a bachelor thesis where I could show off my ability of doing research
* I do not have contacts with other academics that work in my area (The Open University does not do any research in my area of interest, and it is difficult to get people interested to work with someone who has a background like I do)
* I will have good to great letters of recommendation in industry, but not in academia (a letter of recommendation from a professor/tutor at the distance university will be rather weak)
* My field of interest is rather narrow; Master placements or PhD programs at the universities that do work in this area are very competitive, and it is unlikely that I will succeed with my current work/background/connections to secure any such placement. I do not know if I can work on other topics in mathematics or computer science with the same motivation and determination as I do now in my current area of interest.
One advantage of doing distance studies is that I can work and do internships at the same time as studying. I could spend an additional year on my bachelors and do some research in the meantime to graduate with some papers. But I am 27 already and I feel that I cannot spend much more time on my bachelor’s degree.
There is already some good general information on academia.stackexchange concerning how to improve an unfavorable background. But I feel that my situation is rather different as a distance student. I mainly feel that I failed to create a social network within academia because there is so little opportunity for me, and more specific information how to overcome this isolation from other academics would be appreciated. For example should I try to publish a paper first and then reach out for interships in research, or should I should try now without anything research related results in my hands?
To put the question in more general terms, what can a socially isolated student with weak background do to extend his or her chances to enter academia?
If I continue to finish my degree next year, rather than doing an additional year, I will need to apply for a masters quite soon. What kind of masters should somebody with potential but weak background chose? How can I polish up my application for such masters? One simple thing which comes to my mind is to blog about my attempts of doing research – does this make sense to invest time into?
# Answer
First of all, before you even think of anything, you need to change your attitude towards yourself. I have a feeling that you underestimate yourself and use yourself as an excuse for not doing something.
It doesn't matters if you have a substantial research background to apply to grad school. Usually Masters programs do not even put too much weightage on that. Plus, you have great recommendations from industry professionals. May be that was what you always liked, and that is what the admission would be based on. The department would see your interests and how you have put them to good use. They pay much attention to your personal statement and letters of recommendations, along with your undergraduate transcripts.
To successfully get admitted, do not day dream! Research on the institutes. Decide on them based on your profile and the kind of profile those universities look for. Keep practical expectations. Show them the interest in grad school. Show them that you would be able to get something out of your grad studies and that they are not wasting their resources.
Do not get disheartened if you don't get your dream university, there are always future chances.
Oh and did I mention, have atleast 4-5 universities in mind, when you plan to start applying to grad school.
Without a research experience, PhD might be tough to get in to, but not impossible. But masters is the safest bet.
Good luck!! :)
> 6 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions, masters, application, distance-learning, disability
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thread-25808
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25808
|
Conventions regarding listing grant applications/funded grants on a scientific CV
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2014-07-13T01:11:55.783
|
# Question
Title: Conventions regarding listing grant applications/funded grants on a scientific CV
I am a young academic in a scientific field and, in the process of updating my CV, I've realized I'm unsure exactly what is appropriate to list with regard to grant applications/funded grants. Specifically, a few types of ambiguities have arisen:
1) If you receive funding from a grant but were not part of the project until after the application was funded (say your role is "Consultant" or "Statistician"), can you list this on your CV?
2) If you are listing non-funded grants that you had at least some hand in writing (say, an NIH grant that received an impact score but was not funded), but you were not the PI (say you're a co-Investigator), can you list it? Is the answer different if you had a non-investigator role such as "Statistician"?
3) Closely related to #2-- if you help with a grant that ultimately does get funded but you are not the PI or a co-I (again, suppose you're a consultant or statistician), can this be listed on your CV? Does it depend on how great of a hand you had in writing the grant?
Thanks for any input.
# Answer
My philosophy about such issues is that you *can* list everything on a CV, as long as you make clear what your actual role was, i.e., you may list any project or grant that officially recognizes you in some function, but of course you cannot imply that you were the PI in all of these projects if this was not the case.
Further, make sure that you list only "official" responsibilities on the CV - it may be true that you are doing *all* the work for a project, but that does not make you the official PI. Saying or implying otherwise is not good.
Finally, note that different roles in a project can be used to illustrate different things for you as a researcher. Personally, I have two different sections for projetcs on my CV:
* **Projects**, which lists all funded projects I was ever involved with, plus my official role. This shows that I am experienced in working in different roles in different national and international research teams.
* **Successful grant proposals**, which lists all successful project proposals that I was officially recognized as an author, i.e., either coordinator, PI, or co-investigator. This shows that I am able to get funding for my research.
> 10 votes
# Answer
I like your approach, more or less.
As someone who looks at lots of CVs in a non-academic research unit at a university, I don't really care to see grants listed on which you only worked. I want to see grants that you were a PI or co-PI on, mostly, and perhaps any that you were a significant part of the writing team on. The purpose of listing these grants is to show that you can be part of the writing and winning team for funded work.
In another section, I might be interested in short summaries of your participation in projects (funded or otherwise). What I don't want to have to do is spend a lot of time figuring out whether you were instrumental in thew writing of a proposal or just did the work after the money was won.
The key here is whether your qualifications and background were considered by the funding agency when approving the proposal. If not, then it's not worth implying that you had any role in winning the money.
> 5 votes
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Tags: cv, funding
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thread-20631
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/20631
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Should I put my supervisor as coauthor of a paper?
|
2014-05-11T00:09:28.610
|
# Question
Title: Should I put my supervisor as coauthor of a paper?
I was working on a problem in the field engineering. I have used one approach and it turned out that it does not work well. After that I got into conflict with my supervisor, and realized that it will be hard to publish the original paper with him. So, I have redone everything with another approach, wrote a paper, submitted it and at as soon as my paper have been almost accepted, my supervisor wrote to the editor claiming that he also should be an author of the paper. He haven't even seen the new paper nor haven't analysed or interpreted the new results. What should I do in this situation?
# Answer
> 26 votes
This entire situation is an ethical quagmire that **both you and your advisor are responsible for.**
The reason why I say that you share in the creation of this situation is the following. Let's replace your advisor with an external collaborator. The sequence of events, as you have outlined here, runs as follows:
* The two of you collaborated on an initial version of the paper.
* You had a conflict on some issue (seemingly related to this paper)
* You then proceeded to go behind the collaborator's back, redo the analysis, rewrite the paper, and submit it without informing her.
Under such circumstances, it is clear that you would bear a large percentage of the blame for the situation. The fact that it's your advisor instead of an external collaborator doesn't change the ethical considerations here.
Your advisor probably feels that because you were previously working on the problem together, you have cut him out of the loop without his consent. You should have showed him the preliminary results of your new analysis and let him decide if he wanted to collaborate further. If he was to be an author on the original paper, he was entitled to at least that much.
Of course, at this stage, it's hard to say what to do—your advisor has also complicated the situation by asserting his author rights on a paper he allegedly has never seen, which is also wrong. I would follow JeffE's advice here and take the path of least resistance. Getting out of this mess of a relationship is the critical step right now.
# Answer
> 3 votes
Maybe you should review the supervisor agreement that you signed at the beginning of your studies. In some institutions it is stated that you MUST put your supervisor as a coauthor of any research paper; which is the result of your working at that research group. In this cases it does not matter even if your supervisor has only told you to adjust the font size (being sarcastic by the way).
Bottomline, all depends on the supervisor-supervised agreement signed.
Good luck! and try to settle differences with your supervisor.
# Answer
> 3 votes
1. The advisor is being reckless in asking to put his name on a paper he hasn't read. The paper could be wrong, of poor quality, or even have academic misconduct issues (I'm talking in general ... I'm sure this is not the case for your work, but serious problems have occured in the past).
2. Do *not* publish with your advisor if he has not contributed *anything* to the work. Of course, the fact that you've collaborated on this problem before makes it very hard to think that this is the case.
3. This is a real mess ... I can think of two reasonable solutions: *a.* Tell the editor the current situation and rely on his/her opinion to sort out the issue. *b.* Add an acknowledgment to your advisor saying that this work is a rework of a previous unpublished work written with him.
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Tags: postdocs, authorship
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thread-24413
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24413
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Does age matter to get a job/postdoc?
|
2014-07-05T04:55:56.337
|
# Question
Title: Does age matter to get a job/postdoc?
I stayed at home after I got married, but at 25 years old I decided to study History. Now I've finished my BA, MA, PhD and postdoc. I've got several publications and I can say I have a very accomplished career, but I'm wondering if my age (now 40 years old) will affect me eventually. I'm Mexican and my husband is American-Belgian, and he asked me to decide where we should live, right now I'm looking for a job/postdoc and I do not know what is the best option. What do you think?
# Answer
> 3 votes
In *principle*, age discrimination is illegal in the US and various other countries in the world.
In *practice*, there are a lot of apparently legal ways to get around age discrimination (e.g. discriminating based on experience, work history) and I have heard of first-hand accounts of supposedly illegal discrimination at various institutions throughout the world. There are a number of employment lawyers who go around arguing these kinds of cases.
*However*, at least in the US, being good and well-known is an inoculation against much of this discrimination. Ultimately, if you are successful and active, at *any* age, you will be hirable.
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Tags: postdocs, age
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thread-21778
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/21778
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Stay put or enter the US application process
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2014-06-01T11:56:30.670
|
# Question
Title: Stay put or enter the US application process
I am an American who came to Europe last fall to do an MS which would complement my BA, since the field of study for my BA was different than my current one. My original plan was to apply to PhD programs in the US this fall, but recently I was offered a PhD position by my current adviser. I have until this summer to decide, which means I can either stay where I am now or decline the offer and cast the dice in the US application process.
In itself, my current department is not particularly well known in the US, where I would ultimately like to work. However, my field is small and my adviser is somewhat influential. Moreover, the advising is high quality. My adviser and I generally meet for one to three hours a week to discuss my work. I genuinely like my adviser, her insight, and the work I am doing. If I stay here I would also have connections to a lab in the US which is among the best in the world for my field. I would spend some time there as needed/desired, and the other members of my dissertation committee would likely be from this lab.
There are several US departments where I originally planned to apply. They have good faculty, have a large number of students in the same subfield, are close to other institutions doing related research, etc. In short, if I were accepted to one of these schools, I might sleep sounder knowing that others have tread my path, and at least some have had a good outcome (solid reputation, decent job, etc.).
My situation can be problematized as follows. The offer from my adviser is obviously an opportunistic move on her part. As a friend of mine put it, “she sees a talented young scientist and wants to snatch him up before someone else does.” Regardless of whether the characterization is accurate, that's a way of looking at the situation. My task is to decide whether the move is the right one.
Has anyone had a similar experience or just care to share some insight?
# Answer
> 10 votes
While shane's argument has some merit, there is another important factor to take into consideration: time to degree, which is *very* much inequal here.
If you accept your professor's offer of a PhD position, you would in principle be able to start your PhD research as soon as this fall. If you were to decline the offer, you'd definitely have to wait a full year to start the PhD program, and then at least an extra semester or two, depending on the course requirements in your field. So there could be up to a two-year delay before you do substantial work in your PhD field, depending on whether or not the department will waive your master's coursework. This may or may not be enough to sway your decision.
Additionally, you should look at all of the "peripherals," including things like:
* how much teaching duty would be combined as part of the PhD position (this can be substantial, depending on your advisor's or department's teaching load!);
* what the benefits and support associated with the position are relative to the US programs you're considering; and
* what are the chances someone with your record will have to get into a comparable US program.
# Answer
> 2 votes
In this venue you will see how important good advisors are. Indeed, having a PhD position in Caltech/MIT/Harvard is mostly useless if you don't get proper advising. If she is good researcher, you have a good working relationship, and you get the advising time you need; you have a good reason to stay.
When getting a position, committees will look at your PhD more than where it was awarded. The more resources you have, and the better the faculty, the better your thesis can be; but it is definitely not the sole factor. If your professor is reputable in the field with good connections, she may be able to help you get a good postdoc.
Also, nothing guarantees you that you will get in the US. No matter how good you are, there are people out there that may look better in an application form. Furthermore, if you have to take the GRE, you are conditioned to what happens to you on that day. And, as others have mentioned, you would have to wait a full year before being able to start. Applying in the US is not free, but I don't know how much a US citizen would have to actually pay; can you afford it?
Consider the working conditions. In many countries in Europe they are much better than in the US: right to vacations, higher salary, sick days... Weight here the requirements to get the degree in your current university (coursework needed, teaching and administrative duties...).
Your main concern is that you want to work in the US after your PhD. It is probably the best place for research, but maybe in three or four years you will decide that you don't want to go there so much, or maybe you will be counting the days to go back.
All this are pretty general comments that may or may not fully apply in your case, that you will have to weight according to your situation. But if *I* was in your case, as you have presented it, *I* would say **"don't walk. Don't run either."**
# Answer
> 2 votes
I am an American living and studying in Belgium, and I've also recently been applying to PhD programs around the world. Based on what you've described in your question, I have to honestly ask: why are you even considering going to the USA for a PhD? It looks like you have it made in your current situation: a great and influential adviser, excellent resources, and the ability to get into your research immediately. You didn't mention, but I suppose funding plays some role--and if your adviser offered you a position, I'm guessing funding is included. :)
You mention you're in the sciences, but you don't indicate what kind of career you want...so I don't know if you're looking for corporate or for academia. But my speculation (and it is entirely just that) is that the academic market in the US will be turning more and more international as the years go on: professors from other parts of the world, as well as Americans with international degrees. But, I might add, that perhaps you'll find yourself as an expat for longer than you initially thought... Perhaps your career would be better if you took a job somewhere else in the world, and/or getting your foot in the door with an international corporation may do well to help get you into a state-side company as well.
So, from a fellow expat living and studying abroad (and from a fellow applicant to PhD programs who would love to have a funded position just offered to him, but who knows that won't happen)-- I say you should take the offer!
# Answer
> 1 votes
I've argued a whole bunch of times that if you want to get an academic job in the USA, you should do the Ph.D. in the USA as well.
For instance, I give an analysis in this thread of the thought process behind a hiring committee's decision of whom to interview and show ways that holding a foreign degree might hurt your chances.
I also had a more extended interchange with some folks here in this thread who seemed initially resistant to my claim. However, see JeffE's comment towards the end of that comment chain in which he says "All else being equal, US PhDs have an advantage in the US academic market."
Best of luck to you in your search.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Stay put for your good. You are happy there, so be content!
Why would you want to quit something for something which does not even exist, and ruin your content merry life?
May be that's just me, but if I were you I'd take the PhD offer from my current advisor.
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, application, united-states, europe
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thread-25831
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25831
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In what countries is it possible to enter a life science PhD program directly after a Bachelor's?
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2014-07-13T18:00:27.823
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# Question
Title: In what countries is it possible to enter a life science PhD program directly after a Bachelor's?
I would like to know which countries allow admission to a PhD program directly after finishing a Bachelor's (Life Science), without requiring an intervening Master's degree?
And if you go directly into a PhD after the B.S., which countries support it? In India(my country), it is nearly impossible other than you join a integrated course.
Is it same everywhere?
# Answer
In general, applying for a Ph.D. program in life sciences with just a bachelor's degree is possible in at least some of the US universities (I do not know, however, to which extent this affects your chances at acceptance).
E.g. the Harvard medical school web site says "Minimal requirements include a bachelor’s degree and undergraduate preparation in the sciences."
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, graduate-admissions, masters
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thread-25841
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25841
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No response to formal Chair application. Is this normal?
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2014-07-13T21:15:54.557
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# Question
Title: No response to formal Chair application. Is this normal?
I have applied to a Chair position, in response to a public advertisement from a US University (not one of the top ones, of course). This included investing some good time, sending several documents, and a formal application (the first, and probably last one).
In 2 years, I never heard 1 word in response (apart the application reception acknowledgment). I was wondering if this kind of rudeness is the standard in the USA, and it is to be normally expected.
# Answer
This is the typical situation normal but all fouled up (SNAFU) of job searches in the United States. Often you are lucky to get a two line e-mail or a postcard at the negative conclusion of a search.
In the case of Chair searches, though, the fouled-up nature is usually much worse. I'm assuming this is Chair-as-in-Head-of-a-Department rather than a Named-Chair-as-in-Benefactor-Sponsored senior position.
Usually universities search for external Chairs when there are problems with the existing senior faculty that make it impossible for a Chair to arise from within the department. This means that search will be similarly confused, with possible internal conflicts in the department as well as external interventions from the Provost's office.
Because of these competing interests, external Chair searches can take even longer than the usual search.
I would write to the Search Chair and ask what the status of the search is.
Postscript: The OP has clarified that this is a search for a named chair. These tend to go smoothly as the institution already has the money vested by the benefactor, who usually wants to see the position filled quickly (and is likely to give again if pleased by the results) and often puts enough parameters on the position (theoretical field, area of study) that political factions within the department can't mess it up too much. So whatever is going on in the OP's situation seems strange and rather unique.
> 3 votes
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Tags: united-states, faculty-application
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thread-25817
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25817
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What might the editor do if my supervisor contacts a journal to claim authorship of a paper?
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2014-07-13T09:21:19.187
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# Question
Title: What might the editor do if my supervisor contacts a journal to claim authorship of a paper?
When I was doing my PhD project, I got an idea to solve a different but related problem. However, my supervisor said neither the motivation nor the initial result were interesting, and so he refused to offer me help on this topic. Then, I did a paper on my own with a lot of work afterwards, and submitted it to a high standard journal, and it was accepted.
My supervisor knew this, and he commanded me to add his name to the paper, otherwise he would write to the editor. I asked him what his contribution was. He had nothing to say, but insisted he had spent time to discuss the result with me.
So, if he writes to the editor, what would happen? Or if the paper has been published, then he has nothing to do with it? I am pretty much sure he can almost show nothing about the evidence of the contribution.
# Answer
The short answer is that the editor will likely ask for more information from you and the adviser in response to a letter such as your adviser apparently plan to write. I doubt any action will be taken immediately and without some research if the editor is taking the task seriously.
As an editor, I would find this sort of case very difficult since I would (most likely) receive two conflicting pictures of the story. Editors have the power to take whatever action they find appropriate. Their decisions may of course be disputed and the story could go on. In a case that is relatively similar in parts (case link), an editor has turned to the Committee on Publication ethics to get support in a decision. Their case portfolio can also be of help to editors.
Obviously, following the linked case, an editor will try to have you and your adviser fix the problem yourself, it is after all primarily your problem. Hopefully the editor will come up with a plan for further actions, perhaps, as in the case, bring in a mediator and finally, if all fails, make a decision based on the existing facts that will be final. Some similar line of action seems appropriate and was also deemed appropriate by COPE. What route an editor will take may of course differ depending on the case but the aim will be to try to resolve what is right or wrong will be the aim and if all fails a suggestion on how the journal will proceed will follow.
> 16 votes
# Answer
Further to Ben's comment: I'd say that your advisor has burned bridges with you, which is unfortunate. There is a lesson in this for doctoral students. Choosing an advisor is a life-altering decision. Personal compatibility and reputation are as important as professional reputation.
The filial obligations run in both directions: whatever you do in your field will reflect in some degree on your advisor. It's in your advisor's interest to help you along professionally. It is unfortunate that your advisor has chosen to take this sort of action. He (She?) apparently wants the hit in an "A" journal.
What can the editor do? Anything she wants to do, actually. You don't say if the paper is in print yet. The best case for you is that it is not in print yet. Adding your advisor as co-author is still possible, and this whole mess can remain relatively closely held to you, your advisor and the editor. If the paper has appeared already, the editor could do anything from withdrawing the paper (very bad, as that action reeks of plagiarism or other academic dishonesty) to issuing a corrigendum note (not as bad as withdrawing the paper, but bad). In the short run, the best case for you would be for the editor to do nothing. I'm not sure that is in your long-run best interest, however.
What should you do? Someone has to be the bigger, better person. Your advisor has already (to the extent that your version of the story reflects the actual history) revealed him(her?)self to be a rather petty person. I'd say to add your advisor as co-author. The power dynamics are pretty asymmetric here and you are on the weak side. Unless you care to go to your University's research ethics system with a complaint (and you'd better have irrefutable proof the situation is precisely as you say if you choose this route) and ruin your advisor's career, there isn't much you can do. Whistleblowers often do not fare well.
> 4 votes
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Tags: phd, publications, ethics, authorship, editors
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thread-24297
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24297
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Advisor's/University's rights in the PhD/MSc alumni's research projects and publications
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2014-07-02T21:40:21.757
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# Question
Title: Advisor's/University's rights in the PhD/MSc alumni's research projects and publications
After a series of discussions about the level of dependency of a research student on his advisor in this link and this link, a question comes to mind that when the person is graduated and leaves the university; even he is now working independently in a company or he is a faculty member of a university; as far as most of the researches he is going to do may be based on his PhD dissertation;
* Until when should this person contact his supervisor about the researches he is doing?
* Should he ethically acknowledge that his researches is roots of his PhD project under his advisor's supervision?
* If, based on his dissertation, he works on a research project; should he talk about it to his supervisor and he should be aware on every single after-PhD project? Just because the base of the publication and research is the PhD dissertation which is done under his supervision?
* To put in a nutshell, as a matter of academic ethics, what are exact rights of a supervisor in projects done based on his student's supervision (after graduation of the person)? What are the rights of the university from which the student is graduated?
# Answer
(I think... as a mathematician...) such situations are very field-dependent, and context-dependent. If, on one hand, one's advisor is an eminent master in the field, and one has inherited/acquired/learned some amazing riffs from them, then it would be fair to acknowledge this, although co-authorship is essentially ridiculously not called-for. If, on another hand, one's thesis advisor has been no more than a funded drivers'-training instructor, then, no, do not acknowledge them every time you drive to work and do something worthwhile.
:)
And, yes, there are (at least) two things to be distinguished: formal/practical dependency, and genuine scientific dependency. Money and knowledge are often confused in academe, unfortunately. Yet, yes, money and staying alive by being able to buy groceries at the end of the work-day are real things.
An example resolution of the question: if one's advisor did no more than provide a stipend, and sign papers, then that should be appreciated, and acknowledged, but don't over-interpret it.
If, on the opposite hand, one's advisor has shaped one's outlook on the whole enterprise, this, too, should be admitted whenever relevant. But that does not entail co-authorship. And one should hope that one's advisor will not be in the state of needing to pump their stats... (Not good to have an advisor who's still in that state, in the first place.)
General guideline: be real.
> 4 votes
# Answer
I am currently returning now to a thread of work that I started as a PhD student many years ago, but have not had opportunity to work on since then. I will not be including my advisors as authors on the new papers that result, because the work goes beyond anything that we worked on or discussed during that project. So there's no direct overlap there, and thus they have no intellectual investment in the project.
I would argue that you would continue to include the advisors if they are actively collaborating with you on the current work that you're publishing—or if the original work that you're publishing was done while you were under their supervision.
Of course, you do need to cite the previous work that you've done on the topic as part of placing the work in its appropriate context within the larger experience. You should also be notifying your advisors of your recent work because it's the smart thing to do—you should always keep mentors apprised of your ongoing research activities!
> 9 votes
# Answer
> Until when should this person contact his supervisor about the researches he is doing?
Until this person chooses not to collaborate with their former supervisor. (Which, if the student wants to develop an independent reputation, should be about five minutes after the thesis is signed.)
> Should he ethically acknowledge that his researches is roots of his PhD project under his advisor's supervision?
Of course. You should cite all prior work that your research is based on. Whether that prior work is part of your thesis is immaterial; if you build on it, cite it.
> To put in a nutshell, as a matter of academic ethics, what are exact rights of a supervisor in projects done based on his student's supervision (after graduation of the person)?
Exactly the same rights as they have to work done in collaboration with any other colleague; no more and no less. They have the right to authorship on any future paper to which they have contributed (or are contributing) significant intellectual content, and other rights and responsibilities that go with authorship such as approval of the final manuscript,
However, these rights have nothing to do with their former position as an advisor/supervisor. In particular, funding, signatures on theses, and recommendation letters are **not** intellectual contributions.
> What are the rights of the university from which the student is graduated?
Exactly the same rights that the university would have to the work of the former supervisor with any other colleague; no more and no less. If you are neither employed nor enrolled, the university has no special rights to your work.
> 6 votes
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Tags: publications, ethics, university, advisor
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thread-10244
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10244
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Should I add references to conference presentations?
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2013-05-27T03:54:24.227
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# Question
Title: Should I add references to conference presentations?
I am preparing a CS conference presentation and wondering how can I handle the references. I am thinking about three different possibilities:
1. Ignore them!
2. Just list them at the end of the presentation
3. List them *and* cite them within the presentation.
I chose the first option since anyone interested can go and check the whole set of references in the actual paper.
Does this mean not crediting the others for their work? How this is usually handled in CS conferences?
# Answer
If the slides you're using are going to have "independent life,"—in other words, if you're going to make them available separately from the conference paper (on your website, for instance), then the citations should be included as part of the presentation. I would follow posdef's example and place the citations on the same slide as where it's needed; this will save the reader from having to flip back and forth between different parts of the presentation or between the presentation and the paper.
Not including the citations is a bad idea, because it means you are potentially failing to give people the credit they deserve for ideas that were originally theirs. Even though it's "just" a conference presentation doesn't mean that the rules of crediting people for their work should be ignored. (Citing the work of others is also the right thing to do from the perspective of "playing nice with others." Taking credit for other people's work can make them leerier of working with you.)
> 28 votes
# Answer
I don't know if there is a specific way within the CS community but the way most established seniors seem to do in my field is to note down the reference at the bottom of the slide where they refer to someone's results/figures.
I think this is a better approach than to list them all in the end, because the audience gets the reference together with the content, that way you don't have to puzzle the references and the content 6 months after you attended the presentation.
If the people you are referring to are people you have had collaborations or communication with, it would not hurt to have them listed in a "thanks to" or more formally "acknowledgements" slide.
Hope it helps
> 15 votes
# Answer
Applied mathematician here; my solution is putting them on the same slide as the material. I use formats such as \[Someone '99\], \[Lin WW, '00\] (initials are almost mandatory for some common surnames), \[Doe *et al*, book '04\], \[P and SomeoneElse, preprint '12\] (my name is always abbreviated to an initial, which is a common convention). I find it a good compromise between clarity and shortness: I don't need to include a full sentence, but only the names in brackets.
You can use a different color or font to differentiate them visually from the text --- preferably something light but readable, a color that does not attract much attention.
I use them sparingly nevertheless --- overall I have typically less than 10 such citations in a 15-20 slide talk.
This makes immediately clear whether I think that a theorem is new/mine or not. Its original authors could be in the audience, so I think it's important to acknowledge them properly.
If your slides are already so cramped that these citations won't fit, then you have a much bigger problem. :)
> 8 votes
# Answer
As a policy, it is a far better idea to always add a relevant citation, in small font, below every figure, formula, quotation, etc, that is not yours and which you are building upon. I do this even in lectures, which students always get after. The cost of adding a citation in small font is really small, but by not doing it you *risk* exposing yourself to unnecessary troubles because you *might*:
* give the impression of being careless or oblivious about the work of others
* enrage the occasional professor attending your lecture, when s/he sees her/his work is not acknowledge
* create unnecessary tensions with colleagues
* be accused of plagiarism
Do yourself a favor: cite even in presentations.
> 8 votes
# Answer
I'll first discuss the advantages and disadvantages for each of your options on how to handle citations:
1. Ignore them!
* pro
+ This technique saves time and space.
+ Most often, the citations go unnoticed during talks (and I have been criticized once or twice for showing any citations on the slides in the first place).
* contra
+ You make way for the criticism that you neglect to give credit to other authors.
+ If your slides are ever accessible outside of your talk, having the citations somewhere comes in handy.
2. Just list them at the end of the presentation
* pro
+ The slide needs not be shown during your normal talk, but can be considered a part of your "backup slides" that you show only upon request. Thus, both people who do not like to see citations during a talk, as well as people who expect a certain citation information, will be happy.
+ Citations that are referred to several times during the talk have to be listed just once (hence the reader does not get confused and wonder whether they have already seen that citation).
+ The citations can be written using a readable (in a projection!) font size rather cramped into another slide with a tiny unreadable font.
+ It does not matter how many extra slides you fill with citations, so you can even include rather elaborate info (a full list of authors rather than just the first one and *et al.*, the DOI, direct links, ...).
* contra
+ Readers have to switch back and forth between pages/slides while reading slides with citations (though the same is valid for a paper and it doesn't seem to bother anyone there).
3. List them and cite them within the presentation.
* pro
+ Citations are immediately available while reading the slide that refers to them.
* contra
+ Space is scarce on slides, which means that the citations have to be written with a tiny font, probably too tiny to be legible during the talk.
+ As you need to save space, you will tend to using the shortest possible citation format, such as *1st author et al.* rather than *1st author, 2nd author, 3rd author, 4th author*, thereby arguably *reducing* the credit you give.
+ The citation clutters the slide (which should in general only contain the most important keywords/key statements rather than all details the presenter talks about) and thereby draws attention away from the contents of your slide (e.g. how a concept presented in related work works, understanding of which is required for the next slides).
+ The citations either disrupt the reading flow on the slide (when in between slide contents), or they gather at the very bottom as footnotes (where, depending on the room the talk is given in, they can only be seen by the first few rows of the audience, anyway).
**To conclude, I vastly prefer technique 2, *Just list them at the end of the presentation* over all others.**
That leaves the question whether or not to include citation references (*\[1\]*, *\[2\]*, ...) within your slides. This depends mainly on the purpose of your references:
* If whatever information you are presenting is **self-contained**, such as a concept fully explained with a single concise graphic, the reference needs to be there mainly for the sake of giving credit. In that case, you can go the way of some books by not including a citation reference on the slide (thereby reducing unnecessary clutter) and instead only relying on a backreference on the citation slide (*bottom-left image on slide 16*).
* If the information you are presenting is a **summary** of someone else's work (for example when presenting only a conclusion or statement without presenting the proof it is based upon), or even an explicit **pointer to more information**, *do* include a citation reference right next to the information, both to signify *that* there is more to be found about your statement and making finding the additional information convenient.
> 5 votes
# Answer
Not including citations would be a very bad idea, asides from the reasons given above, there is a risk that someone would claim that you are plagiarising their work - even though you aren't. I have seen this happen before.
Perhaps place an in-slide (akin to in-text) reference on each slide and a slide at the end with the references, or if possible, make a clear citation to the main reference used on the slides where necessary.
> 4 votes
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Tags: conference, presentation, citations
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thread-17876
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17876
|
Can a Computer Science Post Baccalaureate Student get Graduate Assistantships?
|
2014-03-07T06:29:02.833
|
# Question
Title: Can a Computer Science Post Baccalaureate Student get Graduate Assistantships?
Recently, I have been going around university websites to find a good post baccalaureate computer science programs. Most of them cost around $45k for living and tuition. Well, I was wondering is there any chance that post baccalaureate Students get Graduate Assistantships? Or Are they eligible to do any other on-campus Jobs?
# Answer
> 1 votes
Depends on your profile. If you are expert in a specific track and the faculty realizes that you might actually be able to assist the students, you would easily get a GA/TA/RA. An alternative to that can be tutoring, I've tutored all through my grad school. It actually pays almost all of your living expenses.
Of course any and all students are eligible to work on-campus for 20 hours per week during the school session and 40 hours when the school is not in session. This applies to international students too, if they are on F1 visa.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, computer-science
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thread-23628
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23628
|
Got Ph.D Degree from India on the basis of Ph.D Comprehensive Exam + Ph.D Thesis now thinking of doing Course Work in another university
|
2014-06-18T17:04:00.507
|
# Question
Title: Got Ph.D Degree from India on the basis of Ph.D Comprehensive Exam + Ph.D Thesis now thinking of doing Course Work in another university
I applied for a teaching job. I was told by the selection committee that I didn't do coursework in my Ph.D program. I replied that the university Ph.D program requires two years of Independent Study on the courses specified by the course Advisor and then a comprehensive Exam and then Thesis Adjuducation.
What can I do if the university has no provision for registration of formal courses ?
I have asked them to consider the Credits of Courses that I have in two Masters Degrees ( 42 Credit Hours from Master of Engineering + 41 Credit Hours from MS )
When I had checked the qualifications of one of the Selection Committee members, he did one MS (with 24 Credits Course Work + 30 Credits Course work in Ph.D with thesis in both the programs)
I am thinking of Joining again Ph.D PROGRAM in a university where there is coursework, and complete 30 Credit Hours of Course Work.
Please advise how can I do this ?
# Answer
> 2 votes
If you are planning to take a big step of re-doing a PhD just based on this one interview you had, then I'd recommend reconsidering the thought. Have you received similar responses in the past? If yes, then may be the university that awarded you a PhD, doesn't has a good reputation. In that case too, a second PhD is not the best option. You can think of some Post doctoral certification or Post-doc research work. That would enhance your profile and would not count as a repetition.
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Tags: coursework
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thread-25853
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25853
|
Where to draw the line when giving feedback?
|
2014-07-14T08:52:28.193
|
# Question
Title: Where to draw the line when giving feedback?
When teaching undergraduates, I find myself trying to balance making them stretch to produce good work and giving them guidance. I must admit in my own undergraduate and graduate studies I rarely if ever asked for feedback (plenty of missed opportunities for me). That might color my judgment on this question.
This question is somewhat related to this other one Drawing Lines when Giving Ideas to Undergraduate Students; however, this question is more focused on when to give feedback and when not to.
I generally do quite a few in-class activities (and am considering automated online no-penalty testing) and I consider those ample chances for students to gain feedback which does not affect their final grade (formative feedback). Most modules in my department are assessed by one written report. While I do have the ability to change how my modules are assessed the question still remains:
**Does reviewing drafts and giving advice on how to improve their graded submission (prior to actual submission) maximize student learning?**
I am interested in any research in this field as well as expert opinions.
**Arguments for giving feedback before submission**
1. Students may genuinely not understand what is expected of them (although I do feel I cover it quite well in dedicated review sessions)
2. Students may work harder when things are made crystal clear
**Arguments against giving feedback before submission**
1. Students may end up looking to the teacher for too much assistance and will, therefore, become more dependent where we want to foster independence
2. Students may be lazy and simply wait for the teacher to tell them exactly what to write seek excessive hand-holding when deciding what to write.
In student surveys asking for what students would most like to see more of, students primarily choose to have more feedback of their drafts prior to submission. This is unsurprising since (almost) everyone wants a better grade. However, I'm thinking that reviewing of drafts is actually hindering student learning.
# Answer
> 6 votes
A first point is to ask what is the purpose of the activity to be graded? Is it to test student's knowledge, or is it to provide a learning activity? If it is the former, then feedback before grading seems counter-productive. If it is the latter then the feedback is necessary to provide the sought effect.
I am experiencing this problem with student theses. In the system where I work, the thesis is considered an individual work and grading it should take into consideration qualities such as originality and independence and yet the student has a supervisor who should provide input. The task is caught in the middle between examination of a task and a learning experience; and each supervisor has their own take on where the limits are. So why is this such a mess?
The key lies in failing to define what is a learning experience and what is a test of knowledge or understanding. Hence it is necessary to try to define these points so that the division becomes clear to all concerned. The key lies in deciding the balance between the two. Feedback provided after grading is, in my opinion a lost cause since students have moved on to other activities and very few probably run through the comments. Better is then to, for example, build in the feedback into the grading. This can be done by setting a preliminary grade and stating that successfully working through (not just any work-through) comments to improve the task will provide additional points or step up to a higher grade. This may be incentive enough for most to do the extra work and for those who do not want to, well that will be their decision.
So a key ingredient will be to build in the feedback--improvement into the grading of the task. exactly how to do this will of course vary depending on the task at hand.
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Tags: teaching, undergraduate, assessment, feedback
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thread-25782
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25782
|
To which department code should I send my TOEFL score?
|
2014-07-12T10:58:14.400
|
# Question
Title: To which department code should I send my TOEFL score?
I'm thinking about applying for some US physics graduate programs. In the graduate admission procedure about where to send the TOEFL scores, I've often read the sentence "use the institution code \****, department code is not needed." However, the ETS website forces me to choose a department code. Now there seem to be two possible choices: there's the department code 76(physics), and there's the code 99 for "other subjects not in the list". The latter might at first seem ridiculous, but I found some schools explicitly demand department code to be chosen as 99. So for the schools that do not make such explicit statement, which code should I choose? Does it matter at all?
# Answer
> 2 votes
As far as each department or university has it's own code for English tests such as IELTS or TOEFL; it is better to visit the admissions web pages of the universities or schools you are going to apply. If you do not find the code you are looking for, directly contact the admissions department to ask for their reference code for the tests. Besides, some codes of the institutes may be published on the website of each test (but the contacting the school is more sure in my opinion).
As a general rule in my academic life, the only sure source for such information is the website, help desk or contact person of the institute you are applying to. Asking these questions here or from your friends generally do not help you because they may not be sure about the piece of information they are giving and you may face difficulties for the wrong directions. So, always stick to the source of information you need to boost your progress up and avoid difficulties.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, toefl, language-exams
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thread-25856
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25856
|
How can I publish a lot of papers quickly and easily, so that I can qualify for a researcher visa?
|
2014-07-14T09:17:17.680
|
# Question
Title: How can I publish a lot of papers quickly and easily, so that I can qualify for a researcher visa?
Can you give me advice, how can I publish easily and quickly in a number of papers? I'm not really a scientist, I'm a web developer, but I really need to build a publication list. I need to publish at least 10 papers or maybe 20.
I want to build a publication list because if you publish (and you meet some other criteria - which I do meet) you can get an uncapped visa to the USA. I'm currently being interviewed by top firms in the Silicon Valley, but even they are not able to guarantee the visa. The researcher visa seems to be the most flexible one and the only thing I miss is the publication list. The number 10 is because I consulted with an immigration lawyer and they have a 98% success chance with researcher visas.
I wrote a thesis for my Masters last year in an interesting and not really researched topic related to Web Usability and Search Engines and I think I can put together some articles in this topic. I'm also working on a second Masters in another university to investigate the problem's business/user behaviour aspects. Both are in the top 200 according to the Times ranking and Sanghai ranking, too. I'm planning a PhD, too, hopefully on Stanford, where I work with a professor.
I don't need to publish in Nature or Science, I just have to build a publication list.
# Answer
> 9 votes
Ten or twenty papers in reputable journals is hard, and will take years. So how do you get started?
Something that may appeal to you as a software developer is creating or contributing to open source software and writing a paper about the software. An example from my field is the Journal of Statistical Software. It's very reputable, and the many of the articles are essentially introductory guides to software that the author has created. I'm sure there must be a web development equivalent.
You could also consider making friends with scientists and contributing to their research. For example, if you can help scrape some data from the internet, or help social scientists run a questionnaire (and then write what you did in the methods section of the resulting paper) then you can get your name on a paper without too much work. You won't be first author, but that may not matter. (As a statistician, I'm resigned to permanently being second or third author on papers.)
# Answer
> 11 votes
If you want to publish your Master's results, have a chat to your supervisor about writing a paper. You should not try to publish them without involving your supervisor(s)!
It's certainly feasible that a Master's thesis will produce publishable results, but more than one or two papers? No way, no how. It could easily take well over a decade of research to publish 10 or 20 first-authored papers in a respected conference or a reputable peer-reviewed journal.
In the eyes of a scrupulous employer, writing a large volume of low-quality papers simply to bulk up your CV will reflect very poorly on you. Having one good paper published from the results of a Master's thesis is a good achievement. Having 10 or 20 poor quality papers will just raise suspicious eyebrows.
# Answer
> 4 votes
The rules for publishing articles vary by discipline. Many of the people on here are in scientific fields, and the rules for scientific publication is much more strict. What you find in many of the IT fields might be considered a 'white paper' than a 'scientific article'.
As you're in web development, I'd recommend looking at web development blogs that accept external contributions and cover the specific sub-topic you want to write about. (eg, A List Apart got slammed after their first article on JavaScript, because they didn't have the expertise to peer review it properly, so they accepted some less than ideal code).
If your work involves building websites for a specific community, you might look to see if there are journals or newsletters in that community that accept short papers describing new tools & software. (there's a growing push for software citation) You might also consider if your topics cover other aspects outside of software development, such as psychology or design, and look for journals in that field.
I'd also consider who it is that has decided that you 'need' to publish; if it's a professor or boss telling you this, then can likely tell you where you should be publishing. If you're just trying to bulk up for CV because of a percieved need, then try to find CVs of people with a similar background and see where they're publishing. I've heard of people getting consideration when hiring for running blogs in their field (scientific field, even ... the blog handles outreach to the general public), or even for writing good answers on stack exchange sites.
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Tags: publications, visa
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thread-25875
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25875
|
Personal project vs. blind peer review
|
2014-07-14T14:57:35.093
|
# Question
Title: Personal project vs. blind peer review
As a researcher in industry, I am interested in pursuing personal projects in my field (computer science) in order to improve my potential employability. With that objective in mind, I'd like to publish updates about the state of these personal projects (including partial results, and maybe code) on several social networks.
Now, lets assume that this work could eventually lead to publishable results in my field.
My question is: is keeping a portfolio of personal projects compatible with publishing papers about these projects? Which steps should I follow in order to avoid others to take advantage of my ideas, and in order to avoid problems during the eventual blind peer review process?
# Answer
> 1 votes
> is keeping a portfolio of personal projects compatible with publishing papers about these projects?
Yes, it's certainly compatible with publishing. It would roughly fall under the concept of Open Science.
> Which steps should I follow in order to avoid others to take advantage of my ideas, and in order to avoid problems during the eventual blind peer review process?
1. Use websites with some amount of academic reputation in your field to make your material accessible. Examples are preprint servers such as arxiv.org for scientific reports of (preliminary) results, or common code hosting sites such as Sourceforge or github for code, if available together with appropriate documentation on the project websites.
2. Publish anything under your real name to avoid being accused of plagiarism later on. Publishing such things on potential multi-author sites such as Wikipedia or StackExchange is not a good idea at all in this case.
3. When making something you intend for later scholarly publication online available, make sure that it get's a credible date stamp. The sites mentioned in point 1 would work fine with that.
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Tags: publications, peer-review, anonymity
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thread-24499
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24499
|
What is the difference between a research paper and a student paper?
|
2014-07-08T03:48:19.167
|
# Question
Title: What is the difference between a research paper and a student paper?
The i-Society conference calls for Research Papers, Student Papers, and Case Studies.
What is the difference between a "research paper" and a "student paper"?
# Answer
> 1 votes
A research paper is original work and could be written by anyone with the background. A student paper is a research paper written exclusively by student(s). The reality is that faculty will be involved in some way, even if it is only running the research program which made the work possible. In reality, the faculty will be more involved than that: discussing, reading and suggesting. But that's part of the job, in my opinion.
# Answer
> 0 votes
I believe that the difference would be in the scope, length and research significance of the paper, basically significant pieces of research compared to smaller pieces of research. Also research in progress could be submitted as a student paper in some circumstances.
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Tags: conference
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thread-25861
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25861
|
Is it okay to ask a professor if he is going to attend a certain conference
|
2014-07-14T11:11:10.177
|
# Question
Title: Is it okay to ask a professor if he is going to attend a certain conference
I am planning to attend a prestigious conference in the near future, and I was wondering if a certain professor who I wish to meet and I would love to do my phd degree and research under his supervision will be attending this conference. So is it appropriate to ask him (by email) if he plans to attend or participate in this specific conference? Or are there other ways to know this information?
P.S. My research interests are an exact match to his research interests.
# Answer
My two favourite techniques for stalking potential business contacts (including professors):
1. Email them asking questions about their work. Once you've built up a bit of rapport, then you can move on to asking about meeting in person.
2. Check conference programmes to see if they are giving a talk/seminar/poster, and visit them in person then.
> 20 votes
# Answer
Absolutely! Go for it. Just send an email briefly introducing yourself and your research interests. Say that you're interested in doing a Ph.D. with him. If possible, ask a question or two about his work to show that you've done your homework and aren't just emailing people blindly. (How feasible this is depends on your field; in mine, ecology, it was pretty easy.) Then, mention that you're going to be at the conference and would like to meet in person if he also plans to be there.
I know this is nervewracking, but really, professors don't bite. The worst that can happen is he might say that he doesn't have funding or time for more grad students now. That's disappointing but not the end of the world (and there may be an opening next year). I used this approach, minus the conference part, when emailing prospective graduate advisors and it always went over well.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Of course it is OK if you ask him politely; but, if I were you, I would add a little about what I am going to talk to him when I see him at the conference. I do not think it is a good idea to say that you want to talk about your PhD supervision; write to him that you are a researcher, like his research background and want to discuss mutual research interests and ask your questions.
> 0 votes
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Tags: research-process, conference, professorship, communication
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thread-25830
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25830
|
How to find size of academic literature in a given discipline?
|
2014-07-13T17:44:11.677
|
# Question
Title: How to find size of academic literature in a given discipline?
The question is related to the trend of research and focus on different disciplines.
Is there some trend assesment which shows the number of articles or conferences on a specific disciplines?
If someone would like to see the trend of research on let's say Nano Technology or Semantic Technology is there some source of information which shows the number of conferences related to the discipline and the number of articles tagged for these disciplines?
# Answer
> 1 votes
It is not that easy to determine the current trend. Many search engines for publications give the number of the search query.
It is important to continuously dealing with your area of expertise. The best way to identify the current trend is to go to conferences and read professional journals. In addition, one also needs a lot of expertise to be able to assess as something.
# Answer
> 1 votes
The typical way to do this would be to enter your topic as search keyword into a bibliographic database such as Web of Science or Scopus, and have the number of published articles using the keyword charted over the years. That's what I often see when someone wants to advertive a "hot new topic" in conferences or seminars.
Unfortunately, I never saw a chart where someone corrected for even simple statistical artifacts like total number of publications in the database for a given year, or a time-varying coverage of the literature by the database. Thus I am typically not valuing these pictures highly.
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Tags: literature, literature-search
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thread-25850
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25850
|
When does the co-authorship line end for a PI's data
|
2014-07-14T06:43:34.133
|
# Question
Title: When does the co-authorship line end for a PI's data
As I understand it, in the engineering field, the person who has research money and/or a project that leads to the collection of data, is put on research papers that directly use that data. I guess the most common of this is for PHD students whose advisors funding or project is the reason they have data.
I am curious about when this ends in regards to collaboration. If one person gets a project and funding and collaborates with a different lab/department/professor/researcher and through this, gives a portion of the funding to that person or place, what is the convention for authorship? Does the PI of the project go on all papers that use the data, or only papers they directly do with their own staff/students?
# Answer
The German research foundation (DFG) has some guidelines on authorship for research publications (including an English translation towards the end) which put specific criteria for being named as an author. Among others, it says that those "who have made significant contributions to the conception of studies or experiments" should be listed as authors.
In my understanding, getting funding for a project requires describing the conception of the data collection in quite some detail, so anybody who contributed to that part of the proposal should be included as an author of the resulting publication. Importantly, the criterium is not having brought in the money, but having contributed (significantly) to the conception of the study.
The only exception to that rule would be if the paper under discussion does not "publish" the data, but "uses" it in some other way and can include a citation to the original publication of the data.
> 2 votes
# Answer
> If one person gets a project and funding and collaborates with a different lab/department/professor/researcher and through this, gives a portion of the funding to that person or place, what is the convention for authorship?
If you collaborate with someone, they usually get co-authorship on papers resulting from the collaboration. **Not** because money changed hands, but because they were involved in the work that the paper describes.
If two PIs on a funded proposal work independently on research described in the proposal, such that they are **not** collaborators, then they won't be author on one another's papers. Again, the reason they won't merit co-authorship is because they did not collaborate on the work.
For example, suppose I write a proposal together with a colleague to explore some problem domain both from a theoretical standpoint (his area of expertise) and through practical experimentation (mine). He develops the conception of the theoretical part, while I develop the experimental part. The proposal is funded. My colleague proceeds to develop a very nice theoretical framework, while I independently go ahead and do some experimental work. I didn't participate in his work and he didn't participate in mine. We are **not** going to be co-authors on one another's papers.
It's irrelevant whether money changed hands. It's also not relevant whether we are in the same lab/department/university or different ones.
> 1 votes
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Tags: authorship, funding, projects
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thread-25894
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25894
|
What is facultyawards.org?
|
2014-07-14T18:28:06.623
|
# Question
Title: What is facultyawards.org?
I recently received an unsolicited email from https://facultyawards.org. I tried Google to get a better sense of just what this group intends, but I couldn't find much insight. My question is simply this:
> What is the origin of this group and do their awards carry any merit towards a typical promotion for faculty tenure, etc?
# Answer
> 19 votes
> What is the origin of this group
Nobody knows.
> and do their awards carry any merit towards a typical promotion for faculty tenure or promotion?
## No.
At least, I certainly hope not. Nobody in their right mind would trust an award of completely unknown provenance.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if *everyone* who signs up is selected for an award and then immediately offered a high-quality leather-bound archival book listing your achievements and those of other winners, all for the absurdly low price of $500, but only if you reply in the next fifteen seconds with your credit card information. See also "Who's Who".
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Tags: tenure-track, awards
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thread-24487
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24487
|
Must I reference resources for definitions I express with my own words?
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2014-07-07T15:04:15.043
|
# Question
Title: Must I reference resources for definitions I express with my own words?
I am writing a master thesis. When must I cite a resource I used ? Most of the time, I read a definition in a given book and express it in my own words: must I mention the book in question for this particular case ?
# Answer
> 13 votes
If you recall a definition which may be unknown to your users, it is always a good idea to refer to a book/article from which the notion originates. Do this even (actually, especially) if you choose to rephrase the definition in your own words. Remember, references are important to navigate your readers and put your work in a context. Definitions are no exception.
# Answer
> 3 votes
This requires judgment. You do not generally need to cite things which are considered common or general knowledge.
Example 1: If you are mentioning Brownian motion that you observed in particles on a petri dish, you might not have to cite Brown's original 1828 paper, but if you are discussing the motion of black holes due to macro scale Brownian forces you might want to cite the relevant recent literature.
Example 2: In the social sciences, there are various lineages of even basic concepts such as "resistance." In these cases, it's good to note which intellectual thread you're following.
TL;DR: If you are writing your thesis, you generally want to err on the side of having too many citations rather than too few. It prevents faculty from scribbling "where the hell did you get this from" in the margins.
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Tags: citations
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thread-25912
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25912
|
Is it necessary to wear a white shirt inside the graduation gown for Masters degree graduation ceremony?
|
2014-07-15T04:30:12.937
|
# Question
Title: Is it necessary to wear a white shirt inside the graduation gown for Masters degree graduation ceremony?
I have my graduation ceremony coming soon. The graduation dress usually consists of the gown, the hood and the mortar board. however the hand sleeves of the gown are a bit short and hence a full shirt is to be worn inside the gown (gown is black in color). In most pictures I see a white shirt within. Is it necessary to have white shirt or I can go for a blue or black one too?
# Answer
Faculty do not ask and students do not tell what they wearing under the robes.
Actually, I find that since graduations are in May, the robes are often swelteringly hot (especially PhD robes) in many parts of North America, so the lighter the clothes and the more sweat-resistant and breathable the better. Women can get away with wearing summer dresses. From what I can ascertain (remembering the Don't Ask/Don't Tell rule above), male students tend to wear khakis and comfortable dress shirts underneath. No need to wear long-sleeves if it's going to be hot.
Many students often change into other clothes for the receptions after graduation -- men into longer pants and a sport jacket, women don a light jacket or change into more formal attire. They often keep a change of clothes in their parent's car or in their advisor's office if the dorms are shut.
**tl;dr:** It's your graduation. No need to be uncomfortable.
> 15 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, etiquette, outward-appearance, academic-dress
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thread-25916
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25916
|
What to do after accidentally submitting to a "fake" conference?
|
2014-07-15T06:38:26.640
|
# Question
Title: What to do after accidentally submitting to a "fake" conference?
I have always done my best to not publish in scam journals or fake conferences (even though I was working as a lecturer and was penalised for not having enough publications, the institution didn't care where the work is published as long as it was).
At one point I have submitted a paper to the internal conference of the institute, at that time I was told that there was going to be a new section at this conference which my work was suitable for. The abstract was accepted, the paper for the post conference publication submitted; but on the day of the conference I was told that my presence was not needed, and that the protocol of the conference was already being written, and my presentation was "discussed" and that I have answered all the questions.
I must admit, I did not raise the fuss. I was swamped with other work, so I thought that I would just build on that work and at least the publication would appear, I'd link to it, but no longer publish something in this institute internally.
I no longer work there. But, lo and behold, on their site, where the publication must have appeared, in that conference there's not even a section to which I have submitted. My questions about the situation are unanswered.
I do not want to abandon the attempt to publish (in the true sense of the word, i.e. making it public).
Now the questions.
* Do I consider that particular paper published as a part of this conference? Can I reference it as published, since I was clearly told that it would be?
* If I consider it to be unpublished, can I resubmit it somewhere else? Do I explain the whole situation during the submission?
P.S. Yes, I do feel quite stupid about the situation. I will be more careful in the future.
# Answer
First of all, it seems like a good thing you moved on. That does sound like a rather toxic research environment. Especially that:
> The abstract was accepted, the paper for the post conference publication submitted; but on the day of the conference I was told that my presense was not needed, and that the protocol of the conference was already being written, and my presentation was "discussed" and that I have answered all the questions. (...) I no longer work there. But, low and behold, on their site, where the publication must have appeared, in that conference there's not even a section to which I have submitted. My questions about the situation are unanswered.
That *does* sound quite shady. However, I am not even sure why they would do this. You do not mention having to pay something (and, honestly, *if* they asked for a registration payment or somesuch when submitting to an **internal** conference, you really should have turned and fled immediately), and I am not sure what other gains they would have from accepting and then silently discarding a paper. *Maybe* this was after all an ill-handled organisational issue - for instance, maybe they indeed planned to have this "special section" but did not receive enough submissions to hold it, so they decided to just never speak about the "special section" again. I am in no way saying that this is the proper way to handle such an issue, but I *could* see this happening in some places.
> Do I consider that particular paper published as a part of this conference? Can I reference it as published, since I was clearly told that it would be?
As I understand it, your paper did not appear anywhere. It is quite officially **unpublished**. You can not reference it (at least without putting it up on a preprint server or something like that), and I would definitely not list it on my CV.
> If I consider it to be unpublished, can I resubmit it somewhere else? Do I explain the whole situation during the submission?
Yes, you can (and should) certainly submit somewhere else. I see no reason to explain the situation during submission.
Let me re-iterate my main point. Your ethical concerns seem to stem from your understanding that this paper is "kind of" already published, and that submitting it again would be a double submission / self-plagiarism. In my understanding, this is absolutely not the case. Your paper was under consideration at another venue, but for one reason or another (does not even really matter why) it never appeared there. Hence, the paper is unpublished and you are completely free to do whatever you see fit with it. Essentially, the situation is the same as if your paper was rejected at the earlier conference. That they sent you an acceptance is not the important part, the important part is that your paper is nowhere published.
> 19 votes
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Tags: publications, disreputable-publishers
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thread-25922
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25922
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How to deal with co-authors' tardiness?
|
2014-07-15T09:38:04.393
|
# Question
Title: How to deal with co-authors' tardiness?
I have a paper due tonight, and I have done my part. I have also volunteered to compile the texts from the other authors and hand it all in (there's four of us). I have all texts except one and frankly don't expect to get it on time (our internal deadline was two days ago.)
How should I handle this situation? Leave the whole section empty, with an explanatory editor's note? Just take it out? Send an explanatory email to my lecturer?
# Answer
> 4 votes
The correct answer is not to wait until two days before the deadline to check in on your co-author's progress. Presumably this is no longer an option.
If the section is not necessary, take it out. If it is necessary, you and your non-tardy co-authors can try to get together and do it together before the final deadline.
You should certainly tell the tardy co-author what you plan to do (I mean the collective "you," as in you and your other co-authors).
If the tardy co-author's contribution doesn't make it in before the final deadline, then his name won't go on it either.
Note that if this was a paper being submitted for publication, e.g. a conference submission, and not for school, you would likely just miss this deadline entirely and have to wait to submit to another conference.
---
Tags: writing, collaboration, deadlines
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thread-25906
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25906
|
Combined degree in the UK for a US Student
|
2014-07-14T22:37:31.860
|
# Question
Title: Combined degree in the UK for a US Student
In a recent conversation with a person born in the UK, he mentioned his son had attended a US college for a year before deciding to move back to the UK to finish school. He told me that apparently if a student completes one year of school at an accredited US university, they can do a combined bachelor's/master's degree in the UK in, as I recall, only an additional three years. Apparently that was what his son was doing.
I unfortunately neglected to ask him for more information regarding the process or where I could find more information online, and have no way of contacting him. A friend of mine and I have been looking into moving to the UK after college anyway, and I recently remembered this conversation and wanted to look into it. We're about to be entering our first year of college in the US, and are considering doing precisely what the man said, completing this coming year and then attempting to apply there for the remaining three years. Not only would it get us to the UK sooner, but it would also be good for costs considering how much cheaper college is in Europe.
Is anyone else familiar with such a system and at least where we could go to begin researching it? I've tried looking online but have, as of yet, found little real information. Or is it just that the information I got was faulty and there is no such system?
# Answer
Apparently this is possible but it is at the universities discretion whether your credits are sufficient for entry into the 2nd year. Kingston Uni has some vaguely useful information on their website. In particular applications should be done via UCAS.
I would research some places you would be interested in applying for and contact them directly to see what their policies are. I suspect higher ranked institutions are less likely to accept your credits as sufficient (although I may be wrong).
As pointed out in the comments other things to consider if you are not a EU citizen is visas and tuition fee's. Tuition fees for non-EU students can be significantly higher than for home students (£9000 per year). A quick look at 3 unis gives international fees of:
Kingston Uni: £10750-12350
Brunel Uni: £13000-16000
Imperial College: £22900-25500
Notice the more prestigious institutions are more expensive. When you consider the reduced amount of financial aid (loans, etc.) for foreign students the UK may not be cheaper than US.
> 0 votes
# Answer
In the UK, a bachelor's degree lasts three years, and the there are some undergraduate masters degrees available that last four years.
If you complete a year of study at a US university, some UK universities may accept this as enough experience to let you transfer into the second year of a UK degree. This depends upon how closely aligned the two courses are, and how well you performed in the first year.
The other option to consider is that many US degrees include a year of study in another country.
> 2 votes
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Tags: undergraduate, united-states, united-kingdom
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thread-25832
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25832
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Journal employees offering free publication in return for co-authorship and citations: is it a scam?
|
2014-07-13T18:09:25.943
|
# Question
Title: Journal employees offering free publication in return for co-authorship and citations: is it a scam?
Some of my colleagues and I got offers from employees of some reputed journal (not from journal itself), to publish our research paper for free, if:
* We include their name as co-author
* We use 60%+ citation of their journal (Doesn't it add up to IF??)
In return:
* It will be published completely free
* They will give us discount of some sort for next publication
Is it may be some kind of scam?
# Answer
## This is a scam.
You are not the ones being scammed, however. The editors are proposing to scam your readers, with your assistance, making you scammers as well. Walk away before you damage your reputation.
> 68 votes
# Answer
Whether or not this is a scam, it is **completely unethical**.
Under no circumstances is someone entitled to a publication credit in exchange for "free" publication of a paper. Don't forget that many reputable journals do **not** charge publication fees. It may be entirely possible for you to get your paper published without such an arrangement, which will be better for you, largely because any journal whose employees operate in such a manner isn't worth publishing in.
> 48 votes
# Answer
Although this question has fully answered, just hear my point of view.
Have you ever asked yourself:
* What obligations those people have to fulfill their promises? After all they have not committed to the basic ethic matters.
* How are you going to claim the discount for your next publication?
* What kind of publication this journal hase made, that you want to cite 60%+ of them in your work?
If *you* claim anything after this, they easily ignore the whole deal. The only thing that they have in their mind is to rise up their reputation, by any means. Charging people for publishing and then offering them discounts with this method, is just a **scam**. It's more like paper-cooking.
Don't let yourself to be used.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, publishers, disreputable-publishers
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thread-25935
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25935
|
Acknowledging a single funding source: do I say "partially supported"?
|
2014-07-15T14:34:03.003
|
# Question
Title: Acknowledging a single funding source: do I say "partially supported"?
I wrote my first academic paper recently (it is in math). I need to put a footnote crediting the NSF for funding. I have noticed that papers almost always say "Partially supported by \[grant\]". I got all of my funding from one grant. Should I still say partially supported? If so, what is the reason for this?
# Answer
The NSF requires the following text (or its equivalent) in publications from work funded by their grants:
> "This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (grantee must enter NSF grant number)."
No need to quantify the level of support.
> 28 votes
# Answer
Some grants come with more strict requirements than others. I am aware of at least one funding body, that requests to specifically explain which part of the work was supported by this grant (and you can not just say "a part"). Others are satisfied if you just mention them. Read the funding agreement and follow their guidelines.
> 6 votes
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Tags: publications, funding, acknowledgement, nsf
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thread-25910
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25910
|
What does overhead rate mean?
|
2014-07-15T03:23:05.210
|
# Question
Title: What does overhead rate mean?
In US, universities often have a fixed overhead rate around 50%, or at least that's what I heard. But I don't know what it exactly means. How does this affect how much grant money goes where?
# Answer
> 18 votes
The 'overhead' generally refers to the funding that doesn't go directly to research expenses (salaries of researchers, cost of experiments/consumables, etc) but to the supporting expenses (salaries of administrative/support staff; cost of facilities and utilities, equipment depreciation) of services that are neccessary but not directly related to research.
It often is set by university administration to some fixed rate (50% sounds high to me, but it depends on country and research domain) that is taken from all grants and used to fund those 'common' expenses.
# Answer
> 10 votes
In the US, the overheads proposed to federal funding agencies (NSF, NIH, etc) are in my experience always calculated as an additional percentage on top of the total direct costs (salaries plus fringe benefits, travel, etc). So if your total budget for salaries, fringe benefits, and travel is $500k, and your overhead rate is 50%, then your total proposed budget is $750k.
Now, at my US university, the overhead rate is 54.5%, the majority of the budget is salary, and the fringe rate is calculated at 25% of the salaries, so a good rule of thumb for us is that the total budget should be twice the salaries. Now, that also means that you can work backwards from a total allowed budget by dividing by two.
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Tags: funding, terminology
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thread-25942
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25942
|
Teaching two different subjects?
|
2014-07-15T15:32:58.200
|
# Question
Title: Teaching two different subjects?
I am a 2nd year Math Major, and I am aiming to recieve a PhD in Mathematics. I love mathematics, but I also have a longing for African American studies. I want to be a college professor, so I was wondering is there any feasible way I would be able to teach both subjects? If so, would it involve me double majoring now or am I allowed to start two PhD tracks in different fields. Thank you.
# Answer
> 5 votes
Joint appointments across different departments at a university are not that unusual, and at many schools are in fact quite common. However, such cross-appointments tend to be within "branches": a scientist might be cross-appointed in multiple science and engineering departments, but not likely in both a science department and a humanities department.
So it's unlikely that you'd get an appointment in both mathematics and African-American studies.
However, that doesn't mean that you wouldn't be able to teach both those subjects. You might be able to convince a university to let you offer an elective seminar course in addition to your "primary" teaching in mathematics. However, this is by no means guaranteed.
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Tags: phd, mathematics
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thread-25936
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25936
|
Mendeley - add notes to research
|
2014-07-15T14:54:14.813
|
# Question
Title: Mendeley - add notes to research
I am using mendeley to save papers etc. which have come up during my research. However, I am often having some ideas about problems which are interesting or some links which are worth reading later. I would like to add this to mendeley easily, sth like a workable document.
Is sth like that possible? What are you using for a problem like that?
I appreciate your answer!
**Update**
I am looking for a way to add general notes, which are not paper related?
# Answer
Mendeley does let you add notes to your papers: On the right where the bibliography data is normally displayed there is a tab label notes.
Additionally you can add annotations when to a document you open in Mendeley using the buttons at the top.
> 3 votes
# Answer
Mendeley is a great tool, but my personal preference while taking general notes is Evernote. The best feature being that it'll sync automatically to all your devices.
Mendeley is something that I use when I have to compile from a huge collection of papers.
> 3 votes
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Tags: research-process, academic-life, literature-search, reference-managers
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thread-25939
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25939
|
Is GitHub adequate for purposes of giving a manuscript a timestamp to protect against plagiarism?
|
2014-07-15T15:20:11.590
|
# Question
Title: Is GitHub adequate for purposes of giving a manuscript a timestamp to protect against plagiarism?
I wrote a paper that I want to put on my webpage, but that I don't want to publish anywhere. I think that I need a timestamp on it, in case someone decides to plagiarize it. Is GitHub adequate for this?
# Answer
Let's be scientists (It was fun to try out): below is a small repository, where I first tried 'lol' to have a timestamp in the future ... doesn't work; but at least in 'history' I could backdate (bit unlikely that I authored s.th. in git 1980 ;-).
But at least the day that I pushed is set by github.com. In total, though, I wouldn't trust this scheme. \`\`I forgot to push but look at the authored date, I totally solved it years ago''.
Jul 15, 2014
history 2b5d4208aa Browse code choener authored on Jan 1, 1980
lol fc2a68a571 Browse code choener authored just now
https://github.com/choener/lol/commits/master
> 5 votes
# Answer
Poor man's copyright protection can be done by sending a copy of the work to yourself by registered mail. The timestamp is provided by the federal government and as long as the envelope remains sealed, it is proof of creation on or before that date. Of course, I would also get a notarized or authenticated document as well.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, plagiarism
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thread-25798
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25798
|
University metalshop / makerlab - metric or imperial?
|
2014-07-12T16:05:37.033
|
# Question
Title: University metalshop / makerlab - metric or imperial?
I'm applying for some funds to set up a small makerlab-type metalshop in my department (American research university, although I should note that I'm in the social sciences). My plan is to get a CNC mill and lathe along with some 3D printers for rapid prototyping of equipment.
My question is whether to get metric or imperial CNCs. Yes, it's easy to flip the display controllers between metric and imperial, but the gearing of the mill itself is usually based on a metric or imperial leadscrew, so that 1 turn of the handwheel turns a certain metric/imperial based distance.
I checked the other metalshops at my university and they are use imperial-unit Bridgeport mills and lathes. I myself grew up in a metric country (i.e., somewhere other than the US, Liberia, and Burma) and so find this incredibly backwards.
Is there any good reason to go with imperial-based lathes and mills -- except for the cost of finding a good metric one?
Note 1: For lathes, it is relatively easy to change the gearing for metric, so this is not as much of an issue as it is for mills where the X, Y, and Z leadscrews and indicators would need to be swapped out. Not to mention the difficulty in sourcing metric borers and bits...
# Answer
> 4 votes
The decision will be decided based on where, or in what, you think the resulting parts will be used. Since you are in the US, going for the imperial would make most sense.If you start machining metric based parts you will soon find that you may have problems adding off the shelf parts. I think the sound way forward is to figure out if you will depend on parts from elsewhere and to what extent these will likely be metric or imperial. Being able to switch will solve some issues but as you state, if there are mechanical differences in the machinery, you may end up with less accurate parts when switching to whatever system the machinery was not made for.
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Tags: engineering, facilities-services
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thread-25822
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25822
|
Is there added value in having your own presentation layout and using it consistently?
|
2014-07-13T13:20:58.687
|
# Question
Title: Is there added value in having your own presentation layout and using it consistently?
From the perspective of a Ph.D. student, how much of an added value is it to have your own presentation slides layout, that is used consistently throughout your Ph.D. conference presentations and other talks (and possibly throughout your academic career afterwards)?
Here is one such example from the Computer Science community.
This as as opposed to using existing Beamer templates with LaTeX, or built-in PowerPoint templates, or simply preparing each presentation on its own (without a specific layout).
A couple of axes I can think along:
1. Creating a signature layout that distinguishes one in their community
2. Ease of preparation of presentations (especially over time), maybe overcoming constraints with existing templates.
Note that I am not concerned with the question of **content**, but just **design** and layout.
# Answer
> 22 votes
I don't think there's any inherent value in having your own "signature" presentation layout.
Generally, you want to keep the focus on the content of your talk. If people are noticing your layout, they are paying less attention to your science. Would you rather stick in their minds as "the speaker with the cool result" or "the speaker with all those weird colors on their slides"?
If you really dislike the usual templates, or you can make your own workflow more efficient by creating your own, then go ahead and do it. But I would suggest keeping your (visible) changes conservative; if your layout is radically different from what people are used to seeing, it may become distracting.
# Answer
> 11 votes
`If you are presenting in a classroom` it is an advantage to have same templates because students do not prefer to see a new template each session. `But in the conferences` the audience is not aware you are always using the same template. The only thing he sees is the `content` you are presenting. Moreover, some conferences have their own template and all the speakers have to use the conference template not their own.
P.S. If you have the best designed slides and you have nothing to talk about, your audience will get bored soon.
# Answer
> 10 votes
First of all, I do not think that having a signature layout is any good for its own sake. In most fields, few people (apart from your workgroup) will attend more than one of your talks and even those who will, will likely not notice the consistency of your layout¹ – unless it’s particularly memorable, which is almost certainly not a good thing². And even if somebody notices, they will likely (and hopefully) value the quality of your design more, let alone the quality of your content.
Considering the required work, there are two aspects: (1) Creating (or choosing) a layout and (2) Using the layout throughout your presentations.
Aspect 1 takes a few hours, if you are sufficiently apt with your presentation program (and it does not suck) and know some basics of graphic design (which I suppose you do, if you are asking such a question). Mostly it’s selecting a colour scheme, one or two fonts and a default arrangement of your slides as well as realising them in your presentation program and in the programs you use to generate your figures. Regarding the constraints of existing templates, remember that (unless your problems are very individual) if no templates are the way you want them, it is very likely that you should be careful what you are wishing for. Also beware that the fact that you have to rely on (usually unknown) projectors imposes some constraints on your font and colour selections.
Aspect 2 will usually save you some time, whether you are using a prebuilt design or your own: For example, you are very likely to reuse some material – in particular figures. And if you care about your slides being consistent (which I suppose you do), you avoid spending some time in adapting colour schemes, for example. In particular, there is usually no benefit in switching designs.
From personal experience, I have spent some time in working out a design and have not regretted it yet.
<sup>¹ Just think about, how few people give horribly designed presentations and thus can be assumed not even to notice the flaws in their own presentations, let alone the qualities of yours.
² As you should not notice good design that much.</sup>
# Answer
> 8 votes
I see pros and cons; which ends up winning out depends on your skill mix.
First - designing a good layout takes effort and expertise. Graphics designers study many years to get good at it. Just because tools are provided to make it easy doesn't mean everyone is suddenly a graphical designer. The right blend of colors, fonts, space etc is not an easy thing to achieve. 99% of "I can do better" layouts look horrid.
Having said that, I have at times come across layouts that made me go "wow". This is where the layout really supported the flow of the presentation, and while I was not getting distracted by the details, I came away more impressed. This was mostly because the presentation itself was very good - the contents were impressive, the speaker was very clear, and the layout of the presentation supported the spoken words.
In those cases, the personal layout was the icing on the cake - not a substitute for good work. There is a lot you can do to improve your presentation without spending any time on the layout. Fiddling with layouts (like fiddling with LaTex) can become an easy distraction from the real issues with your presentation. I urge you to consider whether your interest in the "look" is coming at the right time: in other words, is every other aspect of your presentation skills (content, pacing, connecting with the audience) so good that layout is the only thing left to play with?
If the answer is "yes", then my answer to your question is "yes". Otherwise, I think it's a bit early to work on creating your brand through a custom layout. Many people in the scientific community - especially at the PhD level - could do with honing their presentation skills. They could learn not to confuse slides with notes. They could learn to connect with their audience. They could learn to speak at an appropriate pace, and project their voice. They could learn to focus on the essentials and not bombard the audience with details. They could learn to use slides as visual aids - not "the main course" of the presentation.
While I don't know you or your skills, I would say that I have statistics (based on 25+ years of empirical evidence) on my side when I answer "probably not" to your original title question.
# Answer
> 7 votes
Yes. If you're like me you'll never like everything about a standard layout, and you want your tools to disappear as quickly as possible when creating content. Noticing something in your slides that you want to change (bullet type, or title colour, or whatever) is the easiest way to get distracted from doing so.
Having a standard layout for your own work means you have to spend the least amount of time worrying about the formatting.
# Answer
> 6 votes
Standardising layouts have three advantages:
1. You can reuse slides across presentation without changing the styling.
2. When you create presentations, you don't need to think about styling; the templates are already set up for you.
3. Creating templates and styling can be delegated to someone with design skills, and everyone else gets to use them.
The first two points are applicable whether you have your own signature style, or you follow a team or corporate style.
The last point is different. In theory, having a corporate style is a really good idea because everyone gets the benefit of using templates created by the design genius in the marketing department. In practice, corporate templates are almost universally awful.
So, if a corporate template exists, and you are lucky enough to like it, then use that. There's no point in reinventing the wheel.
If there is no template, or it is dreadful, then create one for yourself and stick to that.
Either way, you don't want to have to keep deciding on new fonts to use for every presentation that you make.
# Answer
> 3 votes
I always appreciate when someone cares about their presentation. There are some things that are just inexcusable (e.g., tables that are left aligned on one slide and centered on another), and make you look lazy, so to the extent a consistent template would mitigate those then it can't hurt.
My presentations tend to look the same and stand out against my peers. I do all of my writing in Markdown, analyses in R, and create dynamic presentations with some available R packages. Therefore, all of my graphs tend to have a style (ggplot2), tables look the same in HTML, fonts (and related consistencies between headings and body text) work together nicely. It's not just about the style of the presentation, as I know a few people who give presentations and have a very distinctive voice in their text, and a welcomed minimalism in slide content.
I never thought too much about it, but I do have a "style" or "brand" in my presentations that most people who have met me and seen me present a few times recognize as clearly a presentation I crafted. However, this "brand" is really just me using a specific set of tools that most people don't use. What's the standard for most fields? Unfortunately Powerpoint, and some use the Mac Office Suite, while a few others use Prezi (and most use that tool poorly).
There's a range of tools out there that you can utilize that might help develop a consistent "style" for you, but also will help to vastly improve your workflow, and also make your scholarship better (i.e., tools with an emphasis on reproducibility).
Whatever you do just do it well and make sure it works for you and our audiences.
# Answer
> 1 votes
What you're describing in your question is called good branding.
Branding is a major part of marketing, as it allows companies to craft a particular image for consumers. It's important for brands to be distinguished from one another, and focus on a target audience, which is why you've probably heard of brands such as "Arm & Hammer" and "Oxi Clean", but probably don't know "Church & Dwight" which owns both of those brands.
Establishing a brand takes a lot of time and effort, and is difficult to measure. How can you objectively tell whether a sponsor chose to give you money because they liked your science or because they trusted your brand? It's always a mix, but it's important to remember that good branding will help open doors that otherwise would have been closed to you.
If you approach your presentations as part of your brand (which they are) then any marketer will tell you how important it is to have a clear consistent message. Simply using a consistent theme for presentation material, business cards, and any and all academic communication is one way to develop your brand. That way, when someone watches your presentation it might remind them of the friendly email that you sent.
The contents of your presentations is certainly important, and I think the other answers speak to that a great deal, so I'm going to **explicitly ignore** the contents of your presentation beyond a reminder that if your presentation is good, it will help your brand, and if your presentation is bad, it will harm your brand.
I highly recommend discussing your brand with a marketer or designer and investing in yourself.
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Tags: conference, computer-science, design, presentation
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thread-25837
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25837
|
How to test (admitted) grad students before hiring them in your lab
|
2014-07-13T18:35:11.033
|
# Question
Title: How to test (admitted) grad students before hiring them in your lab
Recruiting "bad" PhD students who only become emotional, temporal, and financial drag is not good for anybody. I was listening to the recent freakonomics podcast episode, and thought it would be great to use tricks for testing the candidates before hiring them. Interviewing only can tell you so much, but unlike industry, PI's have more time to test the students before committing to seriously bring them into their research program.
In a related question, some qualities of successful students were discussed. Specifically, I want to test for
* persistence/focus
* creativity
* logical/systematic thinking
* communication
* teamwork
* "smartness"
* some basic skills (programming, computer skills, writing, etc.)
At the same time I do not want to punish for lack of knowledge or experience. Also, I'm okay with eccentric personalities to a certain degree.
I've seen PIs testing their candidates by giving them **mini research problems** before hiring them (or while they are rotating in the lab). Some students will quickly finish the task and further explore the science on their own write fantastic reports/papers, while some students never finish the simplest first step. This seems to work fine (but some students might think it is not fair). I would like to learn if there are some quick tests that would reveal the quality of the candidate.
What tricks/procedures do you use?
P.S. I am in a computation/theory heavy science in US.
**EDIT**: I am especially looking forward to King Solomon's cutting the baby in half type of creative solutions. Perhaps PI can ask the student to do an impossible task and see how long it takes before the student says he/she thinks it is impossible.
# Answer
> What tricks/procedures do you use?
>
> I am especially looking forward to King Solomon's cutting the baby in half type of creative solutions. Perhaps PI can ask the student to do an impossible task and see how long it takes before the student says he/she thinks it is impossible.
You're contemplating starting out a long-term, intense professional relationship with this person. "Tricks" like this are dishonest. Dishonesty is not a good way to begin such a relationship.
The situation is similar to an ordinary job interview. In a job interview, it's not just the employer who is judging the candidate. The candidate is also judging whether the employer is someone they'd want to work for. Manipulative interview techniques are a flashing red light telling the candidate that this is not an employer who respects his employees.
Another thing that a job candidate is looking for is an employer who will support him in his long-term professional growth, rather than treating him as a labor commodity who needs to be productive from day one. This holds even more for a student getting started in a PhD program; the reason universities claim that grad students are not employees is that they're supposed to be focused on learning, not on acting as cheap labor.
In the usual case where the student does a rotation in your group, that's the opportunity for each of you to see if you're a good fit for the other. It's meant to be an experience that helps the student to learn and grow, not one that produces a lot of research. Part of what the university is paying you to do is to provide these opportunities for these students to learn and grow. If, by the end of the rotation, the student has shown a lack of aptitude, then you've provided the service you're being paid to provide.
> 17 votes
# Answer
> What tricks/procedures do you use?
I work with each student as a potential colleague. I meet with them regularly, monitor their progress, offer what feedback and advice I can on what classes to take, papers to read, problems to work on, techniques to apply, people to work with, conferences to submit to, writing, presentations, and so on.
If they show sufficient promise/progress after a semester or two, I offer to continue working with them in an official capacity as their advisor. If they don't show sufficient promise/progress, I offer to help them find another advisor who better matches their interests, background, and working style. If necessary, I help the student navigate a change in degree programs, departments, or universities.
Finally, if I don't have enough time to effectively evaluate and/or advise a student, I just say no at the beginning.
In other words, I don't have any tricks. I just do my job.
> 14 votes
# Answer
I don't think it is fair to judge a person by tests. People have ups and downs. Look on their overall profile. Have they done something creative even once, in their career? Some students are exam-phobic and do not get A grades all the time, but if you look at their research and thesis in the past, those are very creative and novel. Those kind of people are the ones, that succeed, not always the ones who run after a 4.0 gpa(on a 4.0 scale).
If the person doesn't has any novelty to show in their past projects, ask them the reason. What was the idea behind the work they have done, what did they learn from it, and what do they intend to learn from their PhD. Why are they pursuing a PhD? Why do they want to join your lab? Tell them what are you looking for, in the candidate and ask them to do a self-evaluation. Tell them to be frank, if they do not know something that you want them to know, and that you'll be willing to work with them if you really see them as the right candidate.
Keep your expectations real. You might never find a student with 100% qualities matching your requirement, but if you find that right candidate who is willing to give his 100%, you can make their 70% match better than anything else you'd ever get.
At the end of the day, a good student is the reflection of a good teacher.
Oh and by the way I'm also a Bioinformatics major and it is not always possible to know everything on the computer skills side. They might be excellent in one programming language but know nothing in others or they might be average good in a number of languages being the master of none. At the end, the thing that matters is, if they can get the job done, using whatever technique, whatever approach!
Correct me if I'm wrong. :)
> 4 votes
# Answer
Not to sound facetious, but have you ever considered your role as the mentor in understanding why these collaborations don't work out? Relationships are bidirectional. As such, I am struck that in your initial post the issue is the deficit of the student.
I'm a grad student. I've worked with many professors on different projects. In every instance you get what you give. Most normal people will do their job (i.e., the grad student meeting expectations) if you do your job, at least in the context of a collaboration across time.
> 2 votes
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Tags: graduate-school, recruiting
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thread-25968
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25968
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For a master-degree student, how influential a role do publications play in his phd applications?
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2014-07-16T02:04:18.677
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# Question
Title: For a master-degree student, how influential a role do publications play in his phd applications?
I am a prospective student for phd programs in STEM. In my field *F* of study I have published a paper (unique author) in a journal included in the international *F* society, a paper (with a classmate of mine) in an annual conference of the representative local *F* society, and a paper (unique author) in a centenary conference about *F*. Besides, I have several manuscripts that are either under review or nearly done.
I am wondering:
1) How would an admission committee weigh these records? More specifically, would them weigh publications higher than other records?
2) How would an admission committee value manuscripts?
Though there are ''similar'' questions here in this SE, I still feel the need to ask this question. For these questions are subtly different in nature.
# Answer
> 10 votes
**Disclaimer:** I am a current doctoral candidate with 2 years of experience as the graduate student representative on the admissions committee of my department (in STEM) at a major R1 university in the USA and so, write this answer from that context.
Simply put, a strong research record matters. However, this comes with several caveats. For a successful doctoral application in our department, we look at
**1. Standardized Test Scores:** These (GRE/TOEFL) will not get you in but can keep you out. Mostly, they serve as preliminary filters and to fulfill certain graduate school minimum requirements.
**2. GPA/Academic Record:** This matters significantly. Relevant grades in relevant courses matter more. A 4.3 GPA from MIT in Mathematics and Computer Science is great for a Mathematics or Computer Science application. We tend to look at overall GPA's and then at relevant courses to catch red flags. For instance, you want to develop novel machine learning algorithms but have a C+ on ***"Introduction to Discrete Structures"*** and B- on ***"Statistical Data Mining"***. Red flag !
**3. Research Experience:** Research experience is important but more so in different sub-fields. This is the same as publications but there are important variations. For instance, in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), having a first author paper in CHI or TOCHI matters more than a first author paper in a conference the admissions committee most probably haven't heard about. If you want your research to speak up, then get published in the best conferences in your field. This is ***not*** a requirement but is a very good sign of your nascent research potential. Over the past few years, I have seen increasing numbers of applications to our department come from well qualified undergraduate and masters students with such records. Its a competitive world !
**4. Letters of Recommendations:** This should be correlated positively with research experience. If your letters talk about your wonderful performance in coursework, admissions committees are generally not very interested (they can already see that from your transcripts). If, on the other hand, you have detailed letters of recommendation from researchers that the admissions committee might know and which attest to your research performance with them, then that is a very good sign indeed !
In other words, its all about signals, signs and red flags. Specifically, in response to your questions:
1. It varies.
2. Unpublished manuscripts are not worth much but can serve as a good writing sample in case you do not have any other publications.
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Tags: phd, publications, graduate-admissions
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thread-25969
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25969
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Is it possible to get an assistant professor position that does not require doing research?
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2014-07-16T02:31:18.610
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# Question
Title: Is it possible to get an assistant professor position that does not require doing research?
I know the Lecturer position is a purely teaching role (and can even be obtained with just a Master's degree). However, is the Assistant Professor role necessarily tied with research (or can it also be exclusively teaching as well)?
The reason I ask is because I have just finished a Master's degree and want to teach at the university or community college level. I believe obtaining a PhD will open up more doors at various universities and community colleges, and was wondering if that would enable me to land higher up academic positions that are exclusively teaching roles.
Any insight is highly appreciated!
# Answer
The US, at least, is chock full of smaller colleges and a few universities that are devoted almost entirely to teaching. The phrase you are looking for is "teaching college" (or occasionally "teaching university"). The expectations for "scholarly activity" from the faculty at these institutions are much lower than at major research universities.
The downsides include:
* Generally a higher teaching load. Count on at least twelve credit-hours per term.
* A lack of money, space, time, equipment and assistance if you do want to do a little research.
* No graduate students---these places generally only offer bachelor's degrees---and perhaps a less prepared or motivated undergraduate population from which to draw perspective research students.
* Generally lower pay. Sometimes quite a bit lower.
Departments are sometimes smaller in size which means a good opportunity to develop a relationship with the major students and to mentor more than a few of them. To the degree that incoming students are less prepared but just as able you'll have a chance to really help them grow.
---
There have been some comments about the preparation of the student body: my "perhaps" above is a bit of a weasel word. Teaching colleges span a wide range of prestige and competitiveness, and their intake varies accordingly.
Some that are highly competitive and prestigious and are able to select a very able student body. I'll offer the opinion that the expectations at the most competitive teaching schools looks more like those of research universities than like those of a generic "teaching college", though you should pay close attention to these questions on a case by case basis. The breadths of expectations described by the people I met at a recent teaching workshop was staggering.
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The incoming student body at *my* school are an interesting bunch. The range of preparation and ability is very broad, and we do have some students with real potential but in most cases there is a reason they didn't get into a more competitive school nearby.
Some breezed through secondary school never learning how to work at their schooling. Many are non-traditional students with heavy family commitments. Some have never been in an environment where learning was valued and have never found out what they are capable of in that realm. A few are determined slackers. Some are just not academically gifted and won't be going on to further schooling after they get the credential they are here for.
As I indicated above, I'm finding this a very rewarding environment but choices in students with the ability and motivation to engage in research are limited and the institutional support is limited.
> 14 votes
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Tags: phd, teaching, lecturer, assistant-professor
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thread-25973
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25973
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I wrote a thesis for my undergraduate degree - it was published but not in a journal. Is it still relevant to cite?
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2014-07-16T03:53:49.707
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# Question
Title: I wrote a thesis for my undergraduate degree - it was published but not in a journal. Is it still relevant to cite?
I wrote a thesis involving not-quite-graduate-level research prior to graduating with my undergraduate degree. It was presented at a conference \[by another researcher from our lab\], and not published in a journal or peer-reviewed publication. I have cited it for several years as part of my resume - at what point is it no longer relevant to include?
Note for clarification: I have had only one other publication in the \[approximately ten\] years since completion of my undergrad work.
# Answer
> 7 votes
If the research was *original* and *academic*, then I would say keep it in there if it's relevant to the role that you see yourself working in. If it was a team effort, make sure you cite it as such. Since it wasn't officially published, I'd suggest linking to it online (and hosting it somewhere if it isn't already hosted by your academic institution).
Of course, I'm not really authoritative on this type of thing, but if I were evaluating prospective employees, I'd love to be able to see relevant examples of their work even if they weren't formally published.
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Tags: thesis, undergraduate, research-undergraduate
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thread-25977
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25977
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Are reviewers chosen from among the editorial board of a journal?
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2014-07-16T08:35:17.683
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# Question
Title: Are reviewers chosen from among the editorial board of a journal?
If, in a certain international journal where I have submitted, the journal webpage lists the editorial board, should I expect that the possible reviewers of my paper are selected from among the members of this board?
Or is it possible that the Editor in Chief may choose an "outsider" to review my submission?
I didn't indicate any preferred reviewers in submission.
# Answer
Generally, when a paper is submitted to a journal it is first assigned an editor. The editor then identifies a qualified *outside* reviewer for that particular manuscript, and invites him/her to review the paper.
So the answer is: No, you should not expect that the possible reviewers of a paper are selected from among the members of the editorial board.
> 29 votes
# Answer
The purpose of peer review is to obtain constructive evaluation of the submitted manuscript from peers who are experts in the field free from conflicts of interest relative to the manuscript and author(s). Hence it is essentially irrelevant if the reviewer is one of the editors. That said, it is very unlikely that an editor ends up reviewing a paper for two reasons. If the editor is an expert, it is far more likely he will be the editor for the manuscript. An editor, with, probably, much work to to do with other manuscripts, is also less inclined to take n review work unless the manuscript is of particular interest. So chances are quite small.
In the journal I edit, I know editors have accepted reviewing the topic. In these cases, the topic has been such that it has been given to another editor who have identified the other editor as a potentially valuable reviewer. Commenting on your comment: I would expect editors to be more punctual with reviews than "normal" reviewers but there is no rule without the occasional exception.
A final comment. I do of course not know how the journal you have submitted to works. But, a normal case is for a Chief Editor to pass on the task of assigning and evaluating reviews to an Editorial Board or Associate Editors (as is the name for them in "my" journal). I think the case of a Chief Editor doing all that work is very unlikely because of all the work involved so it seems far more likely that it is one of the editorial board who is handling the review process. The Chief Editor may be involved in screening submissions and putting a final stamp of approval to the final manuscript as well as handling all the work *visavi* the publisher.
> 11 votes
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Tags: publications, journals, peer-review, editors
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thread-25976
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25976
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Asking for data as a student - ease the pain
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2014-07-16T08:34:35.610
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# Question
Title: Asking for data as a student - ease the pain
I'm a bioinformatics bachelor graduate. The group I'm currently working for does not produce its own data. So I often have to search the literature for available data sets. Luckily, tons of interesting data is now freely accessible over the web - which is really great. However, sometimes data is mentioned in the paper, but not published or the download links do not work anymore.
I noticed that asking other groups for data can be really painful. I usually do not get a reply on my first email to the corresponding author. It does not seem to matter how many details I provide in that email about whom I am working for, what I am intending to do with their data, etc. Putting my supervisor in CC does not seem to help either.
The solution is very simple: After a week or so I ask my supervisor to forward my mail to the authors. The next day I usually have a very polite email with the data attached in my mailbox.
This is annoying in many ways: Firstly, I am waiting quite some time for the data. Moreover, I have to ask my supervisor to write emails for me, which is wasting both his and my time.
I'm quite surprised that some (many?) researchers apparently tend to ignore requests from students.
I'm wondering if this is a common problem and I'm looking for advice about how I can improve my emails to increase the chances of getting a reply.
# Answer
> 2 votes
There are similar questions on this site for students requiring source code, such as What action to take when questions regarding a published paper are ignored by its author?. In your case you need data but as you have already seen yourself, sharing data is hardly a volunteer action.
Sharing data is a form of collaboration and collaboration needs equal (or almost equal parties). You benefit from taking the data but how does the other party benefit? You will probably say that the other side will increase his citations but how you guarantee that you will actually get something published if you are just a graduate student at his beginning? When your professor contacts them, two things are guaranteed: a) The confidentiality of the data b) The fair use of the data, including citation. When you contact them, none of these two conditions apply.
Second, many times graduate students just collect data without a clear understanding of what to do with it. It is easier to send a dozen emails to request all sorts of data than actually getting job done on the ones you have. You said it yourself:
> ...tons of interesting data is now freely accessible over the web
So, why do you need extra data, when there are already many available datasets for you to use? Have you already published something with the freely available data? Have you even compiled a similar dataset? Would you actually share your dataset if you had one? If the answer to most of these questions is NO, then these are the things you must focus on and not waiting to get another dataset for the sake of it.
Also since collaboration requires equal partnership, you will see that these things get easier when you have established yourself, even as a junior researcher. If you have some good publications (using the freely available datasets or the ones that your professor got for you), then when you request additional data (on a polite email introducing yourself and leading to your homepage and google scholar profile), you will not get ignored, because the dataset holder will know two things: a) That you know your craft and his dataset will be used in a fair way (citation included) b) That you may collaborate in the future, so saying NO to you is not beneficial to him. Until then, I do not think there is anything much you can do than using your professor. But since this has already happened more than once (and there are many freely available datasets), I doubt you really need all these datasets you are collecting.
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Tags: data, correspondence
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thread-25979
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25979
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My advisor wants to publish my final year project; what will this involve?
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2014-07-16T09:26:35.683
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# Question
Title: My advisor wants to publish my final year project; what will this involve?
I recently finished my final year of a Bachelor of Science degree in Web Development at university in the UK. As 3/8ths of the final year credit, I was required to create a Final Year Project, including ~40k word report and a software artefact, guided by a university tutor. At my graduation ceremony my tutor approached me to say he (and another advisor) are looking at getting it published.
This obviously sounds like great news, but as someone with no experience of advanced academia stuff I have no idea what this actually entails. Will this look good on my CV? Is it a frequent occurrence? When they say publish, who exactly will want to read 40k words about my final year project?
While I am proud of what I produced, I'm not entirely sure it is something I will want to brag about in the future as my skills develop.
# Answer
> 12 votes
I will talk about publishing as an undergraduate in a general sense. This may change depending on your field of study, where and how the work is published(journal, conference, workshop, etc) and what your level of contribution to the end product will be.
Let's start with the easy question. "Is this good for my career?" I don't know of many fields where having published work, perhaps especially as an undergraduate, is a detriment. As an undergraduate with two publications as first name (in my field the student/person who contributed the most / drove the ground level work is first name, the professor is last name and the names in the middle can range from "was vital to the success of the paper" to "they pushed a button a couple of times") and several acknowledgements having those papers gave me a definite leg up against my peers when it came time to search for jobs. Having publications under your name can be invaluable if you choose to apply to grad school but companies are often very interested to see what high-level, field-acknowledged work you have completed. It definitely makes you stand out in a crowd.
It may seem like nothing but puppies and rainbows but there's a darker side as well. Academic publishing is a lot of work. Depending on your level of contribution this can mean weeks of brutal work rerunning experiments, tweaking inputs/outputs, editing and documenting. Most of the people I know, their first paper was a brutal experience because Academic writing is unlike any other writing you have done and there can be a steep learning curve in both the technique and the tools. So, unless you have a burning desire for a publication for publication's sake, the deciding factors for you should be:
1. What is my expected contribution?
2. How and where will I be credited?
3. What are my obligations if the publication is accepted?
Let's break these down.
**What is my expected contribution?**
In my field a couple of professors coming up to you after the fact and saying "We are looking to get this published" is a bit weird. I'm assuming that these professors were in some way involved in the work as mentors or that this an extension of their work. It is unlikely that this work is fit to be published in its current state. That's not meant as a slam towards your work, rather it's a response to the specifics of publication. Academic publication is often fairly stringent in style and method. It is likely that parts of your work will need to be tweaked or polished for publication(this really depends on your field to be honest) and, in some cases, completely redone. It is **very** important for you to demand, in a nice way of course, a roadmap for what needs to be done to get this work published and what you will be expected to do. At that time you should also try to find out how much of the final publication will be your work vs work from others/the group at large. If you have graduated and are starting a new job or heading off to grad school you may have other demands on your time. Writing an academic publication, especially your first academic publication, can be a serious time sink. This will play into the next part...
**How and where will I be credited?**
Is your work going to be placed, whole cloth, into a template and submitted? Then you should expect to be first author(or your field's equivalent) and be given an appropriately large share of the credit. Is your work going to be used as a subsubsection, comprising all of 2 lines in the final publication? Then the credit to you should be, appropriately, smaller. But that's simplifying things a bit - author order and credit/acknowledgements should be explicitly discussed early in the process. Get it out on the table and nail it down because differences in expectations can definitely damage professional relationships which, to be honest, is probably the most valuable thing you will get out of this. Things like original contribution level, publication writing/editing contribution level, and time/effort commitment to the project should be taken into consideration. Additionally consider your future plans - are you planning on publishing again? Are you looking at going to grad school? Depending on the answers to these questions you may find that the most valuable things you get out of publishing are the experience of publishing and the strong network connections you forge with your coauthors.
**What are my obligations if the publication is accepted?**
This is the final piece of the puzzle. If your publication is a conference or workshop piece then someone will have to present at the conference/workshop. It should, ideally, be one of the primary contributors. If that person is you, will you be able to attend? Who will pay for travel and fees? Even beyond traveling for conferences/workshops - Who will pay for submission fees? Recently one of my papers was 3 pages over the limit (the conference accepted longer papers at a fee for each additional page up to 5 additional pages). This cost almost $400 (on top of the original submission fees). If this occurs who will pay? If the publication is accepted what does that mean about your ownership of the results of your work? If additional work is done on the project how will it be funded? It is likely that your professor(s) or your institutions has grants for all of this. But you need to find out before you agree to anything. Finally, the question a lot more people should ask, what happens if the publication isn't accepted? Will you be involved in making changes and attempting a different venue? How will the group handle revisions (which, with finished work, can be brutal as you're coming back to the submitted work several months after it was submitted and making changes)?
All of this might seem like a bunch more questions to ask than answers but, really, that's the point. There are plenty who will disagree with me but, in my experience, the research was the easy part. Publishing is the hard, nasty, and occasionally obnoxious part(though it is pretty awesome too). In order to make the publishing part easier you need to have a clear plan for how you will turn this work into a publication and what everyone's expectations are.
I both love and hate my publications. As an undergraduate they gave me a definite edge over my peers in both grad school applications and the job market. I ended up with some very strong connections in my academic community that I can still leverage today. I am still involved as a researcher in my lab. On the flip side my first paper was a special kind of hell. It was two straight weeks of 20 hour days as we pushed to turn finished work into a publication before the deadline. I didn't sleep at all for the last 3 days of the push. My second paper was still brutal, but overall much better as I had passed the worst of the learning curve. I actually got some sleep leading up to that one. I'm incredibly proud of my work but, to be honest, doing those publications pushed me away from graduate school. They were a valuable experience in the world of academic publishing which, it turns out, is not something I enjoy enough to make it my career.
**TL;DR:** Make a list of questions, email/meet with your advisors/mentors, and flesh out the answers to those questions. If they're largely satisfactory - go for it!
**EDIT** Given your additional information. Unless they mean publish it on webspace they(or the university) controls OR as a book there is almost no way I can see a 40k word transcript being published as is. My rough estimates put that to be about 100 - 120 pages. I've not seen more than a handful of published papers (etc) over 20 pages long and most are under 10. This may mean they want to publish a portion of it or an heavily edited version of it. This adds a new question for you to ask, what do they mean by 'publishing'?
# Answer
> 3 votes
Publishing your work means sharing your contribution or discovery with the larger community; if your advisor or tutor thinks that your work is publishable, they must have seen something in your work that they think is worth sharing. This could be a new algorithm you've discovered, a new technique you've described particularly well, or a collection of lessons learned that might be valuable to another person. It could also be customary for your program to publish final projects in a school journal or archive; in this case, it's less about the contribution and more the fact that you completed the program of study.
Typically, the journal or conference (or other publication) you wish to submit to has guidelines that you must follow: page limits, formatting, required sections, etc. As a result, you may be required to reformat your paper in order for it to be accepted. The flip side is it certainly doesn't look bad on a CV or resume, and can make a positive difference depending on your career goals. It shows you can document your thoughts, processes, and results effectively, which is what employers and grad school admission officials want to see.
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Tags: publications, university, research-undergraduate
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thread-25955
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25955
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I have noticed GPA calculation "bug" in our University, what should I do?
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2014-07-15T20:46:21.687
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# Question
Title: I have noticed GPA calculation "bug" in our University, what should I do?
University X offers course Y with Z credits. The course is mandatory, and very important. It lasts for more than one semester with heavy workload. The University awards Z credits for the course Y, but it only includes Z/2 credits in the GPA calculation.
This is where the story gets a bit personal. I assume the University includes only Z/2 credits in GPA calculation because the majority of the students do very bad in this course. But, that is not the case for me. If I have the Z amount of credits calculated for my GPA, it is increased for 0,3, which I believe can make the difference at some point.
I asked the officials at the examination regulation department about this situation, they said: "that was the case from the day when the program you study was established". Not convinced at all.
What should I do? Should I complain somewhere, should I ask for a specific GPA calculation for myself. In the end of the day it should be in the interest of the University to have students with good GPAs, hence I believe they do all this calculation "trick". And I believe I would not be asking for something "illegal".
What is the clever thing to do when one finds such regulations in own University which can be used on one's own good?!?
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In case of need GPA calculation is done as follows:
(sum over all (number of credits for the given course `x` grade)) / number of credits used in calculation
example:
((course with 4 credits `x` grade) + (course with 6 credits `x` grade) + (course with 12 credits `x` grade)) / 22 (4 + 6 + 12 this case)
**Note:** From the comments it seems as my intention is to get in a battle of changing regulations at my University. That is not the case at all. I am just trying to find a nice way of using this situation on my benefit, by having some convincing discussions with the officials.
**Additional Note:** After digging through some documentation, I found an *examinations regulations document* which states clearly how the GPA is calculated, but does not give a reason for this type of calculation. I am also surprised to learn that minor subjects are not included in the GPA calculation. I also learned that the Final Thesis awards M credits, but in GPA calculations is weights ~2M credits. What bugs me at the moment is, why the University officials hide this information in all the other publicly available presentations. And their answers are not convincing to me.
# Answer
> 36 votes
I'd hold off on your conspiracy theories as to why the GPA is computed the way it is. You are entitled to a grade computed in an accurate and transparent manner, but if you go into this process assuming the university is out to get you, you're going to have a bad time.
(Note that from your terminology, I think that your university system may be different from the US ones I know, so take with a grain of salt.)
Credit for classes isn't assigned at someone's personal whim. If the university does have a policy of computing the GPA based on Z/2 credits for this class, that's a decision that must have been made by some committee and approved by some administrators, and there will be a record of it. Most likely, it would be published in the university's course catalog or official regulations, so my first suggestion would be to read through those carefully. If it's mentioned there, then you are expected to have understood and agreed to it, and that's the end of it. (If the policy was put in place after you entered the university, you may have the right to have the previous policy applied, but it doesn't sound like that is the case here.)
If you don't find it, it's reasonable to ask someone if they can show you where the policy is documented. (If you have an advisor or someone else assigned to advise you about which courses to take and your progress in the program, they may be helpful too.)
If you still don't get a good answer (probably unlikely), you could talk to more people (e.g. a department chair). Note that if you were told about it in advance, even informally, you'll probably be considered to have understood and agreed, and the best you can hope for is to get it more clearly documented for future students.
Throughout the process, I recommend keeping the tone of "I'm confused by the system and am trying to understand it better" rather than "you've cheated me out of my rightful grade". And always keep track of what you actually hope to gain and whether your efforts are worth it - if you lock yourself in an epic battle with the university just over "the principle of the thing", it's not going to have good results for your academic career, your relationship with your professors and peers, or your own sanity.
# Answer
> 48 votes
> What is the clever thing to do when one finds such regulations in own University which can be used on one's own good?!?
I'm so glad you asked. The *clever* thing would be to realize that the best way to raise your GPA is to do excellent work in all your courses. Aside from being the optimal strategy GPA-wise, this has the fringe benefit that it is the only strategy with inherent rewards beyond the GPA game.
Look, I don't know where you're enrolled, but your university has taken a step down a dark road by playing with weighting GPA's differently than the number of credits or course hours (which is the weighting which corresponds to the actual instructional time and, ideally, to the workload of the course). You're contemplating a further step down this dark road by trying to play games with their game. It is up to them how they compute the GPA. I disapprove of their strange weighting system, but do you know what's even worse than a globally enforced strange weighting system? A student who asks for "a specific GPA calculation for myself".
Just rise above. See if you can recapture the quaint idea that your goal is to learn the course material rather than attain a certain number at the end. Or, if you feel that the world has moved on and that number that you get at the end is too important to your future to so naively dismiss, then respond by GETTING *BETTER* **GRADES**. Merciful Minerva, we live in strange days.
# Answer
> 7 votes
If your university uses a method to calculate GPA that is transparent, publicly documented, and reproducible; you will have to live with it (or transfer to another school). If GPA calculations are opaque and at the whim of some school official, that's cause for legal action (being patently unfair). Your first task is to find out which camp your GPA calculation falls into. It may seem to be a stupid formula, but if it's evenly and fairly applied (and anyone can accurately calculate their own GPA), what's your recourse?
As for "that is the case, but we don't know why", that is an unacceptable answer from the **school**. *Someone* should be able to officially tell you the reasoning behind it. It's possible that it dates back to a cheating scandal 200 years ago, or that they don't want to change it so that they can compare GPAs from year to year, but somewhere there must be a clear reason behind it. Go through the proper channels before raising a public stink about it, and don't be confrontational about it. There may be a perfectly good reason (in their minds, anyway), for calculating your GPA that way, but it should be publicly known.
The school *does* owe you an explanation for exactly how (and why) your GPA is calculated. They *don't* owe you a change in the calculations to match your expectations, or even to match "industry standards".
# Answer
> 3 votes
You say:
> After digging through some documentation, I found an examinations regulations document which states clearly how the GPA is calculated
Since the GPA calculation is defined in regulation, the only way to have your GPA calculated differently from regulation is to have the regulation changed, and then applied retroactively.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I think the answer to this depends if you are an undergraduate or graduate student. If you are a PhD student (and possible a Master's student) your reputation with your future colleagues is much more important than you final GPA and I would suggest you just go with the flow. As an undergraduate student (and possible a Master's student) your GPA is really important and assuming the recalculated GPA is noticeably better, it is worth the fight.
For example, my UK department calculates an unofficial GPA that is then used to determine the degree classification (first, upper second, lower second, ...). The formula we use gives zero weight to first year marks, single weight to second year marks, and double weight to final year marks (it is a 3 year program). If the resulting degree classification were to improve by using a uniform weighting (either of all 3 years or just the final 2 years) and the student filed a formal complaint with the University, it would not surprise me if the University would not cave and change the degree classification. In fact, this year the University demanded that we change our policy and look at students who are one percentage point below the degree classification cutoff boundary and see if they would have done better with a uniform weighting.
# Answer
> 2 votes
If the University understands the issue and does not want to change, one solution might involve listing both GPAs (e.g., on a CV). I think this might be OK as long as this is completely transparent and you (a) include your official GPA (b) make it clear that your recomputed GPA is not your official GPA and (c) that you explain how both are computed and why you have two. This might be hard to do concisely but you might say:
> 3.9 \[Official GPA\] / 3.95 \[Self-computed GPA: Sum(Grade * Credits)/Credits\]
That said, doing this seems likely to be a distraction and pointing out two different GPAs is likely raise some red flags. If you're doing good work, how we choose to count really shouldn't matter. And if how we count *does matter*, you can't be doing *that* well. The other answers make this point very well and I won't try to reiterate it here.
You mention that this class is mandatory and most mandatory classes are taken early on. Is that the case here? Some graduate schools do not consider grades in the first year or two and most give much more weight to later years. StrongBad's comment makes it clear that some schools even try to incorporate this into the official GPA calculation itself!
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Tags: university, coursework, gpa
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thread-25993
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25993
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How to Cite With Inconsistent Use of Initials
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2014-07-16T18:12:26.773
|
# Question
Title: How to Cite With Inconsistent Use of Initials
There is a paper I want to cite where, on the title page of the article, the authors names appear without any middle initials (i.e., one of the authors is Mark Smith). However, this one author frequently publishes using his middle initials (i.e., Mark E. Smith). What is the appropriate way to cite this-with the name as it appears in the article, or the name as the author typically uses it? For what it's worth, the source article appear in a mathematical journal, and I want to cite it in a paper that will eventually appear in a mathematical journal.
# Answer
> 5 votes
You should use the exact information which is provided on the published paper, not the real or current information of the author; even if his name or affiliation<sup>1</sup> is change at the present time.
Moreover, the correct way of citation of each paper is provided in the webpage of its publisher and you can check how they have mentioned the author's name in the citation example (you may also download the bibtex or other outputs to be used in citation manager softwares). At least, by checking the publisher website, you will be sure how they prefer their published paper to be cited (even if other possibilities/doubts for correct citation exists).
<sub><sup>1</sup>I know that affiliation is not mentioned in citation, but if somebody wants the affiliation of the author at the time of publishing the paper, the best source is the information written on the paper and is provided in its publisher's website.</sub>
# Answer
> 4 votes
You need to cite articles the way the name is expressed in each article. The purpose of the reference if for others to be able to locate the source you have used and so making the reference accurate is essential. It may seem like nit-picking since most of the reference will be correct except for one initial but it is better to simply follow the the generic rule to follow the article in all details than to modify it. One instance where this may matter is when article references are listed in, for example, Web of Science. There an article may end up as two entries if there is a difference in the way it is referenced. I have seen and personally have articles that have multiple entries because of this and because people wrote the wrong year, volume etc. Still, the importance lies in being able to trace your sources and being correct makes that easier.
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Tags: publications, citations
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thread-25960
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25960
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Is it more difficult to publish a paper that demands reviewers with knowledge from many different areas of mathematics?
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2014-07-15T22:42:45.030
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# Question
Title: Is it more difficult to publish a paper that demands reviewers with knowledge from many different areas of mathematics?
I have got an article the making, and presented it to my PhD advisor one month ago. The article emerged from my master thesis at a different university.
A week ago, he told me the draft is good, albeit difficult to understand, but he remarked that it contained too many new ideas to be published at once. The problem is that no journal will be able to find a reviewer. Furthermore, I am just some unknown PhD student to them, so there won't be a "rubber-stamp" for me.
The draft contributes to an active mathematical research area which leads previously unrelated topics together - in particular, very different mathematical communities. My draft contributes by another bridge between communities. I am convinced that people will find the result noteworthy and interesting, but I also agree that the combination demands (basic) knowledge from many different mathematical areas.
It is a disturbing but possibly realistic perspective that researchers keep the same old soup at low temperature on the cooker. But isn't that too pessimistic? There are so many mini results published, why should I cut down on at least trying?
**Are the concerns of my advisor well-founded in practices of the mathematical community?**
# Answer
No, in my opinion as a (midcareer verging on senior) mathematician, there is no such thing as "too many new ideas to be published at once". This is a curious reaction.
Whenever a student asks a "My advisor said....\[something strange\]" question here (or elsewhere), I have to wonder how deeply to engage in the possibility that the student somehow misunderstood the advisor. Unfortunately misunderstandings between students and advisors are amazingly common...even when both parties are "good people" in every sense of the word. More than a decade after graduating, I still remember spending several weeks of hard work on certain things my advisor asked me to do. When at last I would go back explaining how hopeless it seemed, it most often turned out that there was some miscommunication: I didn't work on the problem that he had intended, or I hadn't read the right paper. \[I remember wading through Katz's *Rigid Local Systems* because of a suggestion made by my postdoctoral supervisor. Being a postdoc I was more savvy than a PhD student, so I probably spent at most a week before I went back to say "Really? This is relevant to what I'm doing??" only to learn that, no, that was not the book of Katz he was talking about. Still, I'd like to have that week back...\]
I would encourage you to consider the comment "the draft is good, albeit difficult to understand". I'm guessing that is meant to be independent information from the remark that your paper contains "too many new ideas". Some key questions:
* Was the draft *prohibitively* difficult for your advisor to understand? People \[students, advisors, referees...\] say that writing is hard to understand in two very different circumstances: they may literally be criticizing the writing style. But it is also quite likely that they are trying to say -- in a way which saves face for them and for you, but is in fact rather unhelpful because of that -- that they gave up before they could tell whether your arguments were correct, and they would only be willing to put more time into a better-written draft. You deserve to know whether your advisor vouches for your work.
Related:
* Does your advisor have the expertise in the disparate areas you are pulling together? If not, he is really not the right person to be asking about this. People sometimes seem to think (or more likely, to hope) that if they have a paper on "number theory" then I will understand it, and that if the paper references some work or lecture notes of mine then I will *really* understand it. No way. I often receive papers to referee which are about several things at once, one of which is part of my expertise but one or more isn't. I like to learn new things, so I'll stretch to a certain point, but beyond that I just decline to referee the paper on the grounds that I'm not qualified. If I can, I direct the editor to someone who is qualified; if I can't, I apologize for not doing that, but in no case do I intimate that *no one is qualified* to referee the paper. How could I know that?!?
The idea that your paper is simply too ambitious is really a poor one. At most it means it is too ambitious for your *local* mathematical community, and if you hear that as a reaction to your work which is otherwise said to be "good", it's a sign that you need to find a larger pond.
> I am convinced that people will find the result noteworthy and interesting, but I also agree that the combination demands (basic) knowledge from many different mathematical areas.
Then you should find people who feel that the result is noteworthy and interesting, ideally those who understand all of it, but even those who understand some of it and can be supportive could be helpful. If you think your paper is correct and reasonably (even if not perfectly) well-written, why not submit it to the arxiv? If your paper draws together several different things, then try showing it -- via emails, for instance -- to people wom you know to be experts in at least one of those things. They can tell you whether they are qualified to understand the entire paper, and if not they can (perhaps) tell you who is.
> It is a disturbing but possibly realistic perspective that researchers keep the same old soup at low temperature on the cooker. But isn't that too pessimistic? There are so many mini results published, why should I cut down on at least trying?
Yes, that is too pessimistic. If you've done something valuable and technically difficult, it will be publishable. The level of technical difficulty may make the reviewing process more lengthy (it should; you are aware that *you don't want rubber stamp reviews of your math papers*, right?). On the other hand, in mathematics "technical difficulty" can be a selling point: if you have done something that is broadly valuable but that few people (or no one but you) would have had the acumen to pull off, then you have done something very impressive and valuable indeed.
Good luck.
> 17 votes
# Answer
As a mathematician who works squarely in between fields, there are some challenges which can make getting such papers accepted more difficult. However, all that means is that you have to work a little harder at writing clearly and accessibly. Think hard about who is going to read the paper and give them what they need to understand the paper.
> 11 votes
# Answer
As an editor, I once got a submission that combined two very distant areas of mathematics. That was no problem; I just sent it to two referees, one in each area, asked each one to referee the part in his area, and assured each one that I had another referee checking the rest of the paper. Of course, once both referees reported that their part of the paper is good, I still had to make sure that the parts fit together properly, but that was easy enough for me to do by myself.
> 10 votes
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Tags: publications, peer-review, mathematics
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thread-26002
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26002
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Appropriate process for following up on university job posting
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2014-07-17T03:46:48.223
|
# Question
Title: Appropriate process for following up on university job posting
I figure someone on here is involved in hiring in academia, so here we go.
A few years ago I left university work for private industry, and have since decided I hate it. I'm looking at moving back into a university. To that end, I found a job at a local school and applied 1.5 weeks ago. The job is now off the website.
I just found the managing director of the program on LinkedIn, and it's very tempting to follow up with him. In private industry this would be fine, but I'm not sure how this would work for a university. Would it be acceptable, or should I just keep refreshing my application on the university website? **What is the appropriate process for following up on a job application *in academia* ?**
# Answer
> 3 votes
Note: I'm assuming this is for a regular staff or research staff (lab tech/manager but not post-doc) position. I'm also going to assume you're in the USA.
We just ran a search for a staff position in my program at my large research university. The union rules for my university specify that we can must first open the search for internal candidates before allowing externals to apply. If there is an internal candidate, they get priority before any externals can be considered.
* Internal candidate: Someone already with a position in the university staffing pools looking to transfer jobs or someone in the university layoff pool
* External candidate: Someone who does not have a job with the university and was not laid off from the university in the last 180 (or so, union rules are byzantine) days
Although we had some good external candidates, we essentially could not consider them as we also had good internal candidates. Contacting the lab manager or program head (in my case) about the search via non-HR approved means would not have been productive.
You might as well try (what are they going to do, fire you?) but be prepared to be turned down or have your e-mail ignored as university hiring tends to be done strictly by the books in most American universities.
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Tags: job-search
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thread-25870
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25870
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Is Facebook a necessary tool for a student?
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2014-07-14T12:22:06.093
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# Question
Title: Is Facebook a necessary tool for a student?
I'm starting a master's degree in the autumn, and I recently received an email from the university inviting me to join the Facebook page for the course.
However, I don't currently have an active Facebook account -- I deleted my account several years ago due to concerns about privacy as well as its overall usefulness. (Mostly a case of "so why am I spending time on this site?")
Is there any explicit advantage I would get by joining the course's Facebook page, or equivalently, is there any disadvantage of not joining?
EDIT: I understand there is not likely to be an explicit requirement to join the group as official communication will be via email and university websites. I'm asking more from the point of view of networking, socializing, etc. Would the lack of Facebook be a handicap?
EDIT: Clarification: By "course" I mean the UK definition: The course is the entire year-long degree program. In this instance, the department has created a Facebook page for everybody who is doing the same degree program starting this year, and that's what they invited me to. However, my question applies to other possible applications of Facebook as well.
# Answer
> Is there any explicit advantage I would get by joining the course's Facebook page
If you want to interact with your classmates on Facebook before starting the course, then joining the page would enable this.
> or equivalently, is there any disadvantage of not joining?
If you don't feel a need to do the above, then no. There is no reason to expect this to be any kind of handicap. You will have plenty of chances to interact with your classmates face to face, when the course starts.
Facebook is a useful marketing tool for universities, which is why they invited you to join the page. If you personally don't want to interact with others on Facebook (for very understandable reasons), then there is no need to join the page.
> 41 votes
# Answer
Without knowing how Facebook will be used by the instructor and fellow students in *this* course it is impossible to predict if you will be at a disadvantage for not signing up.
My school had some basic communication tools built into its course management software that were clunky and difficult to use, not to mention completely unavailable on mobile devices. This lead to many students turning to other more accessible, more widely used means (like Facebook groups) to manage communications within their study groups.
You should contact the instructor directly before the class starts and ask how or if they intend the class to use the group. If they plan to rely on the group, that will be your answer. If they do not, keep hold of the reply. It may be useful to produce it at a later date if you do miss some important Facebook related communication from her.
Even if the group is not used in an official capacity, if a significant portion of your classmates use Facebook, you may miss out on a lot without the others even realizing they are excluding you. Or it may be that like yourself most of your classmates are disengaged from Facebook, and there will be no loss.
In either case, unless as ff524 suggests, you want to engage in networking with your classmates before the course starts, you can put off making the decision on joining until you know more.
> 14 votes
# Answer
Yes, there is an advantage besides the normal socializing one.
There will probably be a group for your year or the years before.
In this group people will share experiences with courses, questions&answers, solutions to homework and various other stuff.
Also, it could be that there might even be some teachings assistants in these groups which can help during homework and/or before the exam preparations.
> 9 votes
# Answer
I actually find this requirement a bit odd. Kids are leaving Facebook *en masse* for other, more private forms of communication (namely, tools their parents can't join and subsequently see what they've been posting). So assuming the whole class will actively use Facebook for extracurricular communication is almost old fashioned.
**Edit:** The moment your kids hear you say "I've set up a Facebook group for this class..." they will silently groan and think "This is why I quit using Facebook." To them, we are the uncool crowd. Just use your school's Moodle/Blackboard/whatever forum for that. It's kludgy and they hate it, but they have to use it for all their other classes anyway. That solution is already in place for just this purpose.
> 5 votes
# Answer
I think there are some terms which should be defined in order to understand the question:
* By *course* do you mean a semester-long sequence of lectures and exams in one subject? This is the US usage, while in other places *module* is used. In those places *course* means what in the US is called a *degree program*: the set of courses/modules taken to complete the degree.
* Are you asked to "like" a Facebook *page* or "join" a Facebook *group*? Both have been used interchangeably in this discussion but they are not the same. A Facebook page is used by an organization for self-promotion and broadcasting information. It's mainly a one-way tool, though likers can comment and (sometimes, depending on settings) post. A Facebook group can be official or unofficial but is used for multi-way communication among its members.
If a course-as-in-degree-program is asking you to like their Facebook page, it's probably just to open up another line of communication to you. For instance, they might use it to broadcast that the university is closed for bad weather, and you can get that information before checking your email. You can do this without using Facebook for anything else; you don't have to interact with the other fans of the page. I believe fans aren't privy to who is and isn't a fellow fan.
If a course-as-in-degree-program is asking you to join a Facebook group, it might be more for discussion as for a group, but would still be non-academic. Perhaps they want to collect opinions about services. Group members are able to see the list of group members, so you would be known. But you don't have to be (Facebook) friends with the fellow group members, so you can interact with the group and keep the other members at arm's length.
If a course-as-in-module is asking you to like their Facebook page, it's going to be academic but still mainly broadcast. I've done this in my large lecture courses to announce when slides are posted or reminders about due dates. These are useful to get extra communication to the students, but they should not be used to publish anything that's not also on a university website. If you find that there is original course material published on Facebook, you might want to raise concern.
If a course-as-in-module is asking you to join a Facebook group, it's likely that it's for academic discussion. This can be beneficial as others have pointed out. And the interface is familiar to most students so the content can be quite rich. But if the Facebook discussion is to be graded that's the most problematic combination. Joining Facebook requires individuals to sacrifice a considerable amount of privacy, and I think it's not fair for university officials to explicitly require that consent to participate in instruction. If you have a problem with joining Facebook and the instructor wants you do so for a grade, you should definitely be concerned.
> 5 votes
# Answer
I see there are plenty of answers already, let me provide my experience with a similar situation.
I used to have a Facebook account which used to be useful at the time for interaction with friends & distant family. I moved abroad for studies and the Facebook became even more important in terms of interaction.
However, the priority of the studies was much higher than the interaction; It took me about 3-4 months to notice that Facebook in fact was doing more damage than help. Everyone wants to check if you are doing fine in the new environment etc but to them it is just a msg, to you that is multiple of msgs to multiple people (quadratic or exponential work?!?)
Basically, I deactivated the original account, created a new one with different name/surname which I use for the course. If they are not strictly checking for the credentials do the same.
In the more general view; keep in mind that students create groups in Facebook where they share exam, housing, event etc info. That might be handy.
Long story short, account with similarities in name and details, without display picture, and `NO ADDED FRIENDS`
> 5 votes
# Answer
As Matthew's answer says, you need to better define the terms. That is an important research skill, anyway.
Obviously, there cannot be any official FB pages for courses-as-modules/classes. Instructors who use FB as their main communication vehicle can be easily found in violation of the university's IT security practices via exposing the educational material that the university collects the money for on a platform that is not protected well enough. Even if an instructor only runs a FB page for their convenience, they still cut you out, and you have all the grounds to file a formal complaint with them to their department chairs saying that they discriminate in access to the course information against FB non-users (although the remainder of the class will probably oust you out, and you will be considered a weirdo for the rest of your time in the program).
So having ruled a course-as-in-module/class page out, I can imagine a course-as-in-degree/program may have an FB page for intermittent announcements: news about a graduate being mentioned in NY Times, a faculty member receiving a good chunk of NSF money, a formal visit of the program by the Chancellor, may be more technical stuff like colloquia announcements. Probably nothing you cannot leave without. (Avoiding triple negations is another important practical skill that will definitely make your writing much clearer :) ). So they will give you a little nudge to join, but if FB does not fit your lifestyle, not having access to it will not be the end of the world.
> 2 votes
# Answer
Facebook pages for Courses offered by Universities are a advantageous for the University since
1. This a indirect mass media publicity.
2. This helps build a connected medium of students.
3. Opinions can come in a velocity not achievable by normal methods.
It is also advantageous for you
1. You get to meet your crowd.
2. There will be enough people to collaborate that you don't need another medium
About the privacy fear that we all have, it should be taken care if you only add people you know. Also there are options to share things only to people you specifically mention. Privacy is a great option which lesser amount of people use, but my personal advice is that since its a University just let it flow.
> 0 votes
# Answer
I don't see a big advantage to joining facebook. Not joining facebook is probably better on the longer term. Employers are looking at facebook pages of the people applying for work. So, unless you use your facebook account in a way that makes you look like a nerd who no one wants to socialize with, there are no points to be earned here.
> -2 votes
# Answer
Lots students use facebook to communicate with classmates, academic and social groups. Some instructors create facebook groups to have central place for students to communicate.
> -2 votes
# Answer
I would rather say there is nothing in the world which do not have disadvantages or advantages.Its up to you how are using it. Take an example of a Computer , you can use it for programming,studies and hell lot of advantageous activities \at the same time u can it to waste your time by playing games and watching movies etc(Look playing game or watching movies etc are not bad at all but if this kind activities will not appreciated if you are doing them by ignoring the priority work).If You see it in a positive way Facebook is one the best way to stay connected with society but if we don't know value of time or have self control then I thinks its our fault. "Use the advantages and ignore the disadvantages."
> -3 votes
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Tags: academic-life, social-skills, social-media
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thread-26025
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26025
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Will my accepted paper appear in conference proceeding without presentation?
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2014-07-17T14:47:30.490
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# Question
Title: Will my accepted paper appear in conference proceeding without presentation?
Will generally accepted papers appear in conferences proceeding without presentation? In particular my paper is accepted for **this** conference. In the conference web site they pointed out: "Accepted and presented papers will be included in the IEEE CPS Proceedings." In its registration page they have told:
> Please register your papers before 20 July 2014. It is strictly enforced. If we do not receive your registration by that date, your papers will be moved from the proceedings. Thank you very much.
Does this mean the registered papers definitively will be appeared in the proceeding? Unfortunately there is no contact info on the web site and they do not response emails. I could not attend the conference and I wonder should I pay regitration fee or not?
# Answer
The IEEE policy on non-presented papers is as follows:
> Authors are expected to attend the conference in person to present their papers and share their ideas.
>
> To encourage attendance, IEEE recommends that conferences exclude or limit the distribution of any paper that was not presented at the conference. This policy is not mandatory and only applies to conference proceedings where IEEE is the copyright holder.
>
> If authors are unable to attend the conference and present their papers, they should contact the program chair as soon as possible so that substitute arrangements can be made.
That is, it is at the conference organizer's discretion. Some IEEE conferences *do* pull a paper from the published proceedings if it isn't presented at the conference: for example, the IEEE Signal Processing Society has the policy that papers not presented will not be distributed on IEEEXplore.
The only way to be sure your paper will appear in the conference proceedings is to confirm with the conference organizer.
> 9 votes
# Answer
In general, at least for the better conferences in the computing and information science research area that I find myself working in, if your paper is **accepted** and at least one author has **registered** for the conference, then your paper will be included in the conference proceedings and available in the usual archives (ACMDL/IEEEXplore/DBLP etc.)
I have done this multiple times when I lived in different countries and could not afford to travel to a conference in a far flung location. Sometime ago, I wrote another (very related) answer which might be of further help to you.
However, this may vary for the particular conference that you have a paper in.
**Added:** (to incorporate Jeff's comment)
In some conferences, an author may not even register. A colleague or otherwise could present your paper for you. Of course, this needs the permission of the organizers.
> 2 votes
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Tags: conference, presentation
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thread-26030
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26030
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when sharing source code to more than one party, should I notify them that others also were interested
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2014-07-17T15:02:01.167
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# Question
Title: when sharing source code to more than one party, should I notify them that others also were interested
A few weeks after my work was published in a conference, I received an email from a research group from another university asking me to provide my source code. The email was very polite and explained the reasons for the request, i.e. the direction of their research. There was really no reason to deny them. However, yesterday (ca. 6 weeks after the first request), I received a similar request from another group asking for the same code to conduct research in the same field as the first group. (To clarify, I'm in CS, but both groups work in statistics) I see no reason to deny them either.
But should I explicitly state that the code was already asked for and provided to another research group? If so, should I also notify the first group?
I found myself in uncharted territory since I haven't expected anyone to be interested in that code, let alone to receive two requests. Also, this situation has potential to escalate into misunderstanding(s), if information is withheld or provided, but misinterpreted.
PS: I haven't talked yet to my adviser, as he is on vacation and I really don't intend to bother him with this matter.
# Answer
One possible course of action could be to make the code publicly available on your website, or some public repository system, e.g. github. That gives you no control over the distribution, but provides other important things like public appreciation and (in case of github) widely recognised timestamp.
Since this is your code, you have the right to promote yourself by mentioning that it is widely used. However, it may be not a good idea to share the information about someone else's current research interests, without asking them first. Some areas can be very competitive, and it is better to be safe than sorry. You could ask your "users" if they agree to be mentioned as such.
> 22 votes
# Answer
There is no reason to inform anyone of anything. Any (non-collaborating) researcher contacting you should reasonably expect that other researchers could ask you the same question, including requests to share code. (This is not true of collaborating researchers, from whom you may want to request permission before sharing code.)
Do note that in some research settings you may not want to share code. I would definitely consult with your advisor.
> 15 votes
# Answer
If one choose to share code, generally one should do it with relative unselectively (ie. sharing on GitHub as others proposed, or just on your own site) or in form of collaboration.
In the first case everyone who is looking for your code and agree with some basic rules, Terms of Use, etc essentially granted to use it, and it is not your business beyond that what they use it for. It is possible to tell groups that others using this, too, but telling about others project without their explicit consent is very unethical. In my field, I know only one professor who actively introduce groups to each other who are intent to do similar research to encourage them to collaborate, but this is a very shaky field and the default is the no see, no hear, no tell. In the second case you are collaborating with one or the other group. If they are overlapping in research, you shouldn't collaborate with both, and I think hinting that you are already working on a similar topic with someone is the ethical way. Off course, you still can give the code both of them, but without collaborating and sharing data with one side.
Disclaimer: I am not in computational science, but in computational chemistry, so there can be differences in local habits.
> 4 votes
# Answer
Going off of what Dmitry Savostyanov said. You could publish it to github or on your website and then send an email BBCing all the parties who have expressed interest. This way you can inform everyone of the new code location and hint that multiple people have asked for it without explicitly telling anyone anything.
> 1 votes
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Tags: research-process, ethics, code
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thread-26033
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26033
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Are there forum-like collaborative Q&A/Annotation tools out there?
|
2014-07-17T15:18:02.463
|
# Question
Title: Are there forum-like collaborative Q&A/Annotation tools out there?
I’m teaching an introductory programming course using the Moodle platform and I find that the forums are not used as extensively as they could be. Especially, students ask duplicated questions, have a hard time formatting their code correctly, and don't organise their questions and answers in a very structured way (e.g., they ask a new, unrelated question using the “Reply” button while reading another question).
I would be greatly interested in a web-based tool that would allow me to do this: divide my window vertically into two large columns. In the left column, I could post code snippets, my slides as PDFs, my exercises as PDF or HTML online, etc. In the right column, student could ask contextualised questions related to a particular line in the exercices or in the slides. The advantages would be:
* All previously asked questions related to this same point would already be shown on the left. This would considerably lower the the probability of duplicated questions.
* While asking a question, no need to copy and paste a code snippet to inform the reader about the context — the context is shown right there in the left column.
* A voting system similar to the StackExchange system would be great.
Are there any such tools out there?
# Answer
> 3 votes
This is likely my shortest answer ever. Check out NB (formerly "nota bene") via MIT http://nb.mit.edu/welcome
Instructors upload pdfs and students can highlight particular sections of it and ask questions.
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Tags: teaching, collaboration, online-learning, distance-learning, website
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thread-26053
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26053
|
Is it normal for a journal submission to show "awaiting assignment" for more than a month?
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2014-07-18T00:56:05.020
|
# Question
Title: Is it normal for a journal submission to show "awaiting assignment" for more than a month?
I submitted a paper more than one month ago. The status of my submission is still "awaiting assignment". May I ask if this is normal? How long have I to wait before formally asking the editor about the status of my submission? My field is mathematics.
# Answer
> 3 votes
It really depends on the journal. Have you been contacted by the editor upon receipt of your paper? If not, I would contact them immediately just to check up. A month is a long time to go with no word. My paper submissions (all to the Astrophysical Journal) have all been followed up by the editor within a week of initial submission.
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Tags: publications
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thread-26065
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26065
|
Publishing in the lower quartile journals: better than nothing?
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2014-07-18T09:23:33.593
|
# Question
Title: Publishing in the lower quartile journals: better than nothing?
Having a realistic option of publishing a minor study in a 4th quartile journal, is this better than nothing? The articles of many, but not all, authors are kind of pretentious and unremarkable (not being cited nowhere), but not plagiarized, or computer generated.
# Answer
In the UK the value of a publication is often based on the REF and the QR model. For the REF, only your top 4 publications in the 5 or so year return window matter. If you have less than 4 publications, low quality publications are definitely better than nothing. For the QR model, only research which is considered
> Quality that is recognised internationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
is worth any weight to the university. No one really is willing to define what "internationally recognized" means. This means that for hiring and promotion purposes, assuming you have 4 high quality publications, multiple low quality publications are not worth anything.
While the REF and QR model influences hiring and promotion decisions, as well as funding body decisions, I believe there is still a place for low quality publications. They can be helpful in allowing you, and other, to refer to them in later higher quality publications. It is also a way of archiving and sharing your research.
> 13 votes
# Answer
You're going to have to give us a little more information to get a useful answer I think. What stage of your career are you in, where are you located, what are your career ambitions? Do you have a lot of prior publications in better places, etc.?
Here's a general hint: try to think of what you want to communicate with your CV.
I'm going to answer as if you are a grad student in the US who wants to get a tenure track job who has no prior publications. Here what you're trying to communicate with your publications is *scholarly quality*. You're trying to show that you deserve a seat at the grown up table. A low prestige publication doesn't do that.
I'd say don't publish rather than publish somewhere bad. The reason for this is psychological: search committees viewing your cv are going to fixate on the data points they have and extrapolate from there. If the only data point they see is a low-profile publication, they are going to judge that this is likely the best work you are capable of doing and extrapolate that you will be unlikely to earn tenure, and therefore don't deserve further consideration. (For lots of junior researchers their first couple papers are assumed to be the strongest work they are going to do pre-tenure b/c these are papers arising from the dissertation, that have presumably been written under the guidance of a distinguished mentor. That assumption is actually true in a lot of cases.)
If this is your situation, then don't waste your work publishing somewhere mediocre. Take the paper, make it as good as you possibly can and then start sending it to conferences. With some conference feedback, the paper might get good enough to make it into a more prestigious journal that actually helps you build your reputation as a scholar.
Now, if you already have a couple of strong publications, things are slightly different. People are going to fixate on the good publications and interpret the rest of the CV in light of them. That frees you up a bit. If this paper is good enough to get published somewhere, and you're not really interested in it as a research project, and you don't need the reputational capital, then maybe you can just let this go at a lower-tier journal. What you'd be trying to communicate in this case is that you're active.
If you are in a country with governmental rules about what publications "count" towards tenure or promotion, like the UK's REF system, then what you need to communicate is that you're capable of jumping through that system's hoops effectively.
> 5 votes
# Answer
Academics obsess about publishing in recognized journals and while this is "proper" form, the arena is far from its ideal landscape, which few, if any, academics have actually analyzed or questioned.
Consider, for example, Hesse's idea in Magister Ludi: a uniform platform for all human knowledge, interlinked together, stewarded in perpetuity by those with highest credibility for their respective domains -- not by publishers with profit motivations or university presses with their own interests in mind.
If your work has merit, publish it to the web, on a blog, for example, where it can get many eyes, receive comment, and your work can progress. Ultimately, it is the ability to *defend* the work's value, not receive a blessing from some higher authority, which is important.
> -4 votes
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Tags: journals
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thread-26055
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26055
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Is there an academia-specific convention for possessive nouns?
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2014-07-18T02:20:07.260
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# Question
Title: Is there an academia-specific convention for possessive nouns?
I am fairly certain academic papers do not use apostrophe " ' " for contraction, like "won't", but what is the academic way (in engineering) to do this. For example, " A humans walk cycle " , it is the walk cycle belonging to the human, so " A humans' walk cycle " seems appropriate. However, I rarely see apostrophes used in academia, so should it be " The walk cycle of a human " instead?
I realize this is a bit of an english stack exchange, however, my question is the academic convention, not what is right or wrong in grammar.
# Answer
I agree with ff524 answer of there are *'no academia-specific convention to avoid the use of apostrophes to form possessive nouns.'*
However some universities now have developed guides in relation to grammar that can be referred to. It may also be worth while checking if your college has an academic writing centre(AWC) that runs workshops on writing skills. I know in my own university there is an AWC but also when at undergraduate a number of lecturers referred us to a general guide, *The Penguin Dictionary of English Grammar*.
For example on the University of Canberra website they deal with a number of grammar points including the use of the apostrophe (see point 6). Here is a second example of a guide
> 4 votes
# Answer
There is no academia-specific convention to avoid the use of apostrophes to form possessive nouns. Follow the usual rules of correct grammar and good style.
> 15 votes
# Answer
I am not aware of any style guide or convention that advises against using constructions that need apostrophes as a general rule, or says anything other than "Use correct English grammar and spelling to the best of your ability."
Style guides may advise against using contractions such as "won't" or "isn't" but that is because they are seen as being less formal, not because they need an apostrophe.
"A humans walk cycle" is nothing more than an error that wasn't picked up by the author or proofreader.
> 4 votes
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Tags: publications, writing, grammar
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thread-11187
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11187
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Applying to Ph.D. with 5 years in Bachelors
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2013-07-17T14:31:00.003
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# Question
Title: Applying to Ph.D. with 5 years in Bachelors
I will finish my 4 year bachelors program next year, in a total of 5 years.
I had failed many many courses in 2nd year and my cgpa was around 2.4
Then I had that enlightenment and decided to become an academic. Since then, I have increased my cgpa to over 3.5 and turned all F's to A's. For last 3 semesters I get averagely 3.9 gpa each semester
I still have some C's in few courses from 2nd year and instead of graduating this year, I will graduate next year.
I have managed to boost my cgpa amazingly after such things but I want to know if this extra year will cause me any trouble during Ph.D. applications.
# Answer
This sort of thing should be explained in the cover letter. This trend is pretty common; freshmen enter college ready to party, realize halfway through that their grades are actually important, and then buckle down and do good work for the rest. You simply need to state that, despite your initial behavior, you are fully committed to your education. Given a 3.5 GPA at the end, I don't imagine you would have too much trouble.
Do note that this will vary as a function of the universities to which you apply; some may take a harsher view than others. Still, you have a good explanation for the one bad year, so it shouldn't post too much of a problem for you.
> 7 votes
# Answer
PhD programs do not just look at your GPA(well they do look at it, though!). They want to know that you will be a successful candidate. They put more weightage on your research experience and its novelty. They would look at your research interests that you have mentioned. They want to know that you can bear the stress of the PhD life. They want to see what is your career orientation, what do you intend to do with a PhD degree in hand. They want to see how you and your research would help in the progress of their program and institute as whole. They want to make sure they aren't wasting their resources in a bad investment(you) which is avoidable.
Show them that you are worth it. If you can prove that you will be successful in your PhD, you will get it. People have good and bad times. Good times are good, no one questions them. The question is how did you and how well did you handle the bad times.
You brought your your GPA up again, which is a good sign. Make sure it doesn't gets neglected. Mention the bad times and its challenges that you overcame, in your cover letter/personal statement/essay.
If you really want it, you will get it. Good Luck! :)
> 2 votes
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Tags: phd, application
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thread-26083
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26083
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What to do if I can't find references about a listed project of my potential supervisor
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2014-07-18T17:11:40.690
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# Question
Title: What to do if I can't find references about a listed project of my potential supervisor
I am currently preparing for my graduate school application. There is one professor whose research interest in general matches mine. He has listed several potential research projects for prospective postgraduate students and I am particularly very interested in one of them, say Project A. Since Project A's scale is very broad, I planned to read some of his related publications to get familiar with the topic before I contact him via email.
The problem is I can't find any article written by him about Project A on his website or through Google. He did list some selected publications but they all seem to relate to other projects, which are different from Project A. In my view, those projects are more theoretical and related with asymptotic analysis while Project A is related with probability and stochastic modeling. I have not opened all articles to confirm my statement.
Do I overlook anything? Is it possible that a professor lists a project that he has published any related works in the past 3 years? Do it mean the professor don't want to intake students with Project A recently?
I don't want to send a email to the professor and ask for references because I think it's not polite. Currently I am searching the title of Project A and reading related publications by other professors. I have also browsed one of his papers , which is related to another project. What shall I do next? Is it proper to send an email to his current student and ask for reference?
# Answer
> 8 votes
With the current amount of information in your question it's going to be hard to state anything with certainty. But I think your issue may come in a difference between your understanding of the statement 'potential research projects for prospective postgraduate students' and the professor's intention behind that statement.
This is given with the caveat that I can only speak for my experiences and the experiences of those I know in similar fields. Nothing said here should be construed as fact or as the only option.
Many professors have a lot of research interests. Typically when you read something like 'potential research projects for prospective postgraduate students' that means that this is a research field the professor is interested in pursuing. Obvious right? What's not obvious is that this does not mean that the professor/lab/researcher has begun research in this area.
To take a directly related personal anecdote (with some details changed to protect the wicked)...
One of the professors in a lab I know has done a lot of research in the field of markov random fields and motion planning. This includes medical research using markov random fields, computer vision work using random forests, motion planning comparisons... etc. Hopefully you get the point; this professor has tons of work in the field of Artificial Intelligence with a pretty heavy bent towards robotics.
This professor also has a grant to explore human robotic interaction specifically with regards to direct or hybrid human control over robots. This is not directly related to any of the professor's previous work(though other work may have brushed up against this area). Additionally none of the professor's current students are interested in this area of research(already being involved in their own projects in other research areas.) The professor is now looking for students to do research in this area.
In this way you can have a professor/PI/researcher/lab that is looking for a researcher for a project that that particular individual or group has not yet published in.
So to be a bit more specific about your question. Is this particular research area a deal breaker for you? What I mean is - all other things being awesome, if you cannot do this research in this lab would you turn down a spot in the program? The reason this is important is that it could change how you interact with this professor.
I think the thing you should be most aware of coming into this situation is that sometimes research doesn't work out. This is especially true when a lab is entering completely new territory(an area of research it has never been involved with before). If this particular area of research is a dealbreaker for you(it is the only research in that particular lab that you are willing to work on) then you should be cautious jumping in. If somethings comes up and that research is, for whatever reason, not continued you need to ensure that you have other options or you will find it very difficult to finish your postgraduate degree.
Finally, it is not rude or inappropriate to contact a professor asking for more information about one of their projects or interests. What is rude is not doing your homework before hand. It's the difference between "I think cats are neat, tell me all about cats" and "I've done reading into cat psychology and I think your project on why cats put their butts in your face is very interesting. I've read but I was hoping to get more information from you about it." Professors(most professionals and experts) are busy people and no one wants to feel like you haven't done your homework. If you approach such communication with professionalism and courtesy then asking questions is almost never a problem.
# Answer
> 10 votes
It is *completely* reasonable and polite to send an email to the professor, saying that you are planning to apply to his department, you were interested by the discussion of Project A on his web page, and asking if he can tell you more about it and/or suggest further reading.
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Tags: research-process, graduate-school, professorship, mathematics
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thread-26094
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26094
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What are my obligations towards my adviser after the defense, revisions, and all forms signing is done?
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2014-07-18T21:11:37.957
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# Question
Title: What are my obligations towards my adviser after the defense, revisions, and all forms signing is done?
Just few days ago, I completed all requirements for the degree, all is set and done. I am organizing a workshop with my adviser to be held in few months. Right now, we are reviewing the submissions. My adviser insists that I am not qualified to review the papers because he designated me as a student organizer and my degree completion does not change that. But he expects me to write the reviews that were assigned to him! On top of that, he cannot cover my travel expenses for the workshop, because of the University policy not to pay expenses for the former students. So, I'm on my own to find the travel funding - I will need to ask my employer for funding.
What bothers me is that when convenient, I'm treated as a student (to write the reviews), but when not convenient, I am treated as a former student (funding the travel expenses). What should I do? I talked to him twice now, and I still getting emails asking when the reviews will done.
Is this a common practice? Am I out of the line to question it? And what does this say for our future relationship working independently in the same field.
I should say that I have a job and funding lined up (funding starts after the workshop). So, I don't need a letter of recommendation from my adviser, but staying on good terms would be beneficial. On the other hand, my adviser was hoping that I could fund some of his students over the next year with the funding I received.
Thank you!
# Answer
> 16 votes
Other cultures may have different approaches to the ethics of this, but I think it's pretty out of line for the US.
I would recommend standing by your commitment to help organize the workshop, but I would not do your former advisor's reviewing for him. You've graduated, you're a fully-fledged member of the doctoral community.
Pete's comment is pretty spot on. Be as nice and cordial as possible, but be firm in your refusal to do his work for him.
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Tags: phd, advisor
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thread-23667
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23667
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Unfinished math PhD
|
2014-06-19T13:34:16.817
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# Question
Title: Unfinished math PhD
I had worked on my math PhD for 4 years before dropping out almost 2 years ago to lecture at a small college. I basically finished almost all of my research but am having trouble finishing my dissertation. This is in part due to the fact that my advisor turned out to be a terrible match for me and not very helpful at all. I want to move up in my career but almost all teaching jobs require at the very least recommendation letters and unfortunately, I have not done a good job at keeping in touch with my advisor. Does anyone have any advice for how I can try to re-establish a relationship with my advisor or maybe choose someone else to work with in order to finish?
# Answer
> 5 votes
To move on in your career you need to (1) finish the dissertation; (2) publish lots of papers in prestigious places; (3) cultivate connections with senior people in the field by going to conferences, refereeing journal articles if asked, etc.
Finish your dissertation, and get a couple good papers published, and probably your old advisor will be happy to write you a good letter.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Re-establishing a relationship with an adviser that you left is sort like asking your former boss for your old job. There is certainly nothing wrong with doing that. Just think about how you left things with the adviser, perhaps recognizing and owning where you got off track and offering a plan to move forward. Even if you believe that the problems were that of your adviser, it is best to avoid those issues. Show that you are interested in completing your dissertation and self-motivated -- that is, that you are really prepared to move forward and will be independent to the extent possible.
If this doesn't work, then looking for a new adviser is certainly warranted. However, I think the path of least resistance is probably to patch the relationship with the adviser with whom you had worked. I guess you just want to communicate that you have the time and motivation to get it done, and that you will not be a burden on her or his time. Because you are in a teaching position with a presumably heavy teaching load, it would be good to really take stock of the amount of time and energy you have for completing the dissertation. You don't want to re-establish the relationship only to discover that it is way too much for you to complete.
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Tags: phd
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thread-26121
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26121
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Professor reviews proposal as a favor, should I send a reminder
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2014-07-19T19:27:44.207
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# Question
Title: Professor reviews proposal as a favor, should I send a reminder
I am applying for PhD, and in the application I am required to write a research proposal.
I asked my thesis supervisor to write a recommendation for me, and he agreed,but he told me that I need to work more on my writing and carefully write my research proposal. He told me to have people read for me before submitting it and suggested that I send it to him so he can review it for me as a favor.
I got his email with feedback on the proposal. In the email he wrote "Here is my first feedback." We discussed the review he made and I made changes and he asked me to send him the new proposal. After I sent the email, he told me that he will read it and give me another feedback that same night. That was about five days ago and now he is on a vacation.
Would it be appropriate to remind him ? I need his feedback because I am trying to submit the application. Should I just submit the application and just assume that he is too busy for me ? I don't want to be naggy and annoying. After all, he is doing me a favor.
# Answer
> 15 votes
Send an email suggesting you don't assume he will offer any more help, but leaving the door open in case he offers some:
> Thanks so much for your help with my proposal. I believe your suggestions have really improved it. Attached is my current version; I will submit it tomorrow evening. Let me know if you have any last-minute suggestions before then.
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Tags: etiquette, email
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thread-26102
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26102
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Where do research labs get their funding?
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2014-07-19T09:46:17.560
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# Question
Title: Where do research labs get their funding?
I'm just starting out in research and about to finish my BSc. If I stay in research I'm wondering about the economics of it: where does the money come from? I am passionate about a specific field and I want to be able to do research in that area - but I imagine to support that research I'd have to find a lab that has been specifically funded and has projects related to that field, right? And how does the funding for these labs work? Is it mostly project based with 1-2 year length after which the lab has the pressure to submit another proposal to find another project, or does it have less pressure because the lab is also funded by the university?
In essence I'm just wondering about the money flow that is keeping a research lab alive: if I want to do research in X, I'd have to find a lab that has the money to support X right?
# Answer
Most labs get funding from granting agencies, governments, industry agreements, or private foundations. Some universities also provide funding in other forms.
Now, what they can do with the money depends on the conditions of the grant. Some, are attached to a specific project. They may also include a breakdown of the expenses: this much to hire two PhD students, this block to hire a posdoc, publications, experiments, computers... Some other grants are more open, and may give the PI more freedom to allocate the resources, or to work on sub-projects.
Some areas of research have economical interest, and may lead to patents and industrial agreements, that could help the lab to be less dependent on grants.
Lastly, some students may get their own funding, that may be attached or not to a specific project.
Universities do support labs, mostly by paying salaries of the staff and infrastructures.
Regarding the times, most labs apply to any grant in reach: you can never know if the grant you are hoping for will be renewed; and there is never too much money.
> 6 votes
# Answer
The ideal book for you would be *How Economics Shapes Science*. It answers your questions and many more. It provides a broad and deep analysis of a wide variety of empirical data about research funding. It will help you make smart career choices. Sadly, I don't think most graduate students in sciences and bio-medical fields understand the economics of research and academic careers before they enter their field.
> 5 votes
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Tags: research-process, funding
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thread-14189
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/14189
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Creating a community around my research book
|
2013-11-17T21:35:41.043
|
# Question
Title: Creating a community around my research book
I have written a research book on the topic of abstract pure mathematics. Now the book is in review with a scientific publisher.
In the book there are some conjectures formulated by myself. There are also some conjectures and problems at my site, which are not in the book.
I want to create a community of mathematicians around my book to solve questions I formulated and related issues.
Any advice to help build the community? Maybe should I ask the publisher to place a prominent URL of my site on the topic of the book on the book cover. (The URL is already present in the text of my book, but it may probably be more prominent if placed on the cover.)
I also think that it may be worth to redesign my Web page on the topic of the book to make it "problem oriented" (to place unsolved problems at the top of my page instead of the bottom as it is now). Well, on the other side serious researchers should anyway read my entire page and all links on it. What do you think?
Any other advice?
And a note: I am not a math professional, I am an amateur. (This means that I earn money in some other way than from my knowledge of mathematics.)
# Answer
Instead of getting the community to approach you, I suggest that you be the one to approach the community. As an amateur (one who is outside the academic mathematical community), you are at a big disadvantage.
I recommend that you attend conferences and interact with others who are doing work similar to yours. In my opinion, the best way to get attention is to present papers in good conferences and to publish papers in respectable journals. By doing this, your reputation will improve and your work will be better known.
> 12 votes
# Answer
I very much doubt that this idea will work. Research mathematics already has its communities: conferences and workshops. New conferences and workshops pop up all the time but they do it because a group of mathematicians say, "Hey, we keep meeting and talking about Topic X and there are lots of other people who'd be interested. Why don't we run a workshop on that?" The communities form because a group of mathematicians has a common interest, not because somebody stands up and says, "Hey! I have this really interesting problem! Everybody come work on it with me!"
The venue for announcing "Hey! I have this really interesting problem!" is a pre-existing conference, as Joel explains in his answer. If people find it interesting, they'll start to work on it. If enough people start to work on it, they might start to organize workshops.
> 9 votes
# Answer
This really depends on what your ultimate goals are. If, as the tag of 'self-promotion' would suggest, you are after increased publicity of your book and self promotion of your website, I think you are likely to have a tough job creating your own community of interested parties from scratch. Certainly, making your website links highly prominent in your book would be a key start. Making links throughout the book relating to problems you have posed in the book would also be useful (but perhaps not so practical now if the book is in review). If you intend your community to be focused around your website, then yes, you should redesign it and separate it from your other web interests (minor links are ok).
If you would like to be involved with a mathematical community in order to help solve worthwhile, interesting and stimulating mathematical problems posed by you, you might want to consider presenting your questions at Mathematics Stack Exchange, just as you have already done.
> 5 votes
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Tags: books, community, website, self-promotion
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thread-26104
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26104
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How to complain about a Ph.D student to a professor
|
2014-07-19T11:58:00.137
|
# Question
Title: How to complain about a Ph.D student to a professor
I am a undergraduate student who also work as the systems administrator in the school. I also do research work under a professor. Recently, I had to work on this professor's lab to upgrade the older machines to newer machines. I literally got no help from any of the fellow lab mates. Though, I did it as part of my systems administrator work, the professor had instructed his Ph.D students to help me. However, I do not complain of this.
I have a very nagging girl who always wants to get her things done and couldn't even figure out some basic stuff from the Internet. She simply blames the installation and this pretty much annoys me. She is not thankful for what I am doing, and so I do not even feel like helping this girl. I want to report it to my professor in such a way that I do not offend him in any way. I never bothered him much so far. But I want to escalate this issue. How should I go about it?
**P.S**: I am not sure if this question belongs here or on *The Workplace*.
# Answer
> 13 votes
The answer really comes down to whether or not your position as "Systems Administrator" is paid or not. If it is a paid position, then welcome to the professional world, where users will often complain about the resources and facilities that are provided for them. Dealing with their complaints in a professional manner is part of the job that you are being paid for, and it is not appropriate to complain to your manager about that aspect of the job, unless a user is being abusive. You should make it clear to the user concerned that you have installed the software that you were told to install, as you were told to do, and that if the software is inappropriate or does not suit her requirements then she needs to talk to her supervisor, as he/she is the one responsible for ensuring she has the equipment she needs for her research. Do not get angry, be polite and professional; *"I would like to help you, but as system administrator I just install the software I am told to install. I have no powers to choose or change what you have been given, so if you need something different you will have to talk to the boss."*
If a particular user takes up far more time than than the rest, then you need to ask your manager how to proceed - your employment contract will state how many hours you are to work, and if your manager wants you to cater to the whims of one particular user during those hours, then that is their decision. You should also realise that, since you are the paid "System Administrator", it is not the job of the PhD students to help you carry out this task. They aren't system administrators, they aren't being paid to do the job - you are.
If, on the other hand, your position as "System administrator" is voluntary and unpaid, and the PhD students are part of a "sysadmin" team, then you need to ask them to take a more active role than they are, and to consider whether hours spent on tasks are being allocated in the most efficient fashion.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I would take smaller steps first.
1) If you are doing something that is not part of your job, stop (selectively) doing it. Politely reply that X is not on your responsibility.
Following these two advice alone could change her behaviour. If the problem persists
2) Talk with her first. Say that you are using much of your time to help her, and tell her that you expect a more professional relationship.
If there is still problems, then talk to the professor.
I would also require the lab members to help you if instructed to do so. If you don't, they will see you as someone they can use.
# Answer
> 4 votes
Be careful about escalation. Remember that Fort Sumter started the civil war even though there was no loss of life on either side during the battle. The graduate students outrank you. They also outnumber you and will fiercely counterattack. Leave them alone as you have to date. If you need help then make friends with one of them.
Apparently you do not work for the girl. That puts you on more equal footing with her, which means that you can speak frankly with her. Tell her how much time you have to work with her, what you can do for her, and what you cannot do for her. Set up a time to meet with her and tell her that you cannot accept walk-up requests. You and she will have to develop some personal relationship of mutual respect.
The professor may not want to hear about your problems. If he has a problem then he will tell you. Your primary responsibility is to him. You fix his problems; he does not fix your problems.
# Answer
> 2 votes
There are a couple of trajectories, depending on how you want to define yourself.
1. You can get the student to understand that her problems are due to her ignorance of computers. But try to direct her to resources where she can remedy that rather than blame her.
2. Talk to your supervisor and ask how they suggest you proceed with it. This tactic puts the responsibility for failure (or success, \<-note) on their shoulders and keeps you from receiving damage.
Hope that helps.
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Tags: phd, ethics, workplace
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thread-23178
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/23178
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How to decide what writing sample to include in a phd application?
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2014-06-10T10:54:18.173
|
# Question
Title: How to decide what writing sample to include in a phd application?
I'm finishing my MA in about a month and I'm thinking of applying to a Phd program in the US (political science). My GPA is as high as it gets and my recommendation letters will be great but I'm worried about my SOP and my writing sample.
I don't know how to choose a good research topic...I feel like my interests are too broad and I don't know what topics could actually work...My MA thesis was closely linked to sociology and my preferred Phd field is International Relations...should I change the direction completely and go with something more orthodox for this field?
Regarding the required writing sample...I wrote a 200-pages-long research paper on collocation of recent social movements and included an original case-study. It's written in English so theoretically it should work but my professor never corrected a single word...which is disconcerting...how do I know it's actually good? Part of the problem is that I'm studying in Italy so I can't find a professor who understands the American Phd application process or anything of the sort.
Any suggestion would be highly appreciated since I'm navigating this application process on my own and I'm afraid I'm running in circles...
# Answer
> 4 votes
I think most of the other advice given above is sound. Let me add two things that I've noticed in reading work by first and second year european grad students who are transitioning into the US system.
The paper you send for a writing sample needs to have a clearly identified thesis *in the first or second paragraph* of the paper. If you can't think of something better write, "In this paper I am arguing that . . . " Many of my european colleagues want the thesis to emerge slowly, reflectively, at the very end of the paper after all the scholarly qualifications and so on have been properly put forward. Don't do that for an American audience. Tell us up front what you are trying to say.
Second, hire a native english speaker to proofread your paper for you and really work on grammar, spelling, idiom, and style. Writing well is really hard and it's the primary job you'll have as an academic. (Your writing in the question is excellent. I'm just saying having somebody who really knows English double-check it.) Coming from Italy, I don't think most admissions committees are going to hold language against you constantly. It is easy to create a subconscious impression of carelessness with casual mistakes in the language. For something as important as getting into a good grad school it's worth spending some money to get this part right.
Good luck.
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Tags: graduate-admissions, statement-of-purpose
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thread-26125
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26125
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How much would I have to publish to get an entry-level job?
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2014-07-19T21:03:45.010
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# Question
Title: How much would I have to publish to get an entry-level job?
\*Edit in response to comments: I'm not asking "What is the number of publications n of quality q1 such that anybody who has n many publications is guaranteed to get a job at a school like Y?" There is no such value of n. What I'm asking is, "Is there a number of publications n, of some quality q such that without n many publications of quality q, one will likely not get a job at a school like Y?" I realize the title is misleading.
This is in response to a conversation that developed in this thread.
I would like to hear from academia.SE members who have been search committee members on a junior search. How many publications, and of what quality would be required to get a job at different kinds of universities?
Let's say for the purpose of this exercise that we are in the U.S. and that there are five kind of universities.
1. 2 year community colleges with incredibly heavy teaching expectations (4/4+)
2. 4 year public or private colleges with heavy teaching expectations (3/4)
3. Elite small liberal arts colleges with moderate to light teaching expectations (2/2 - 3/3).
4. Non-elite state universities with graduate programs and light teaching loads (2/2).
5. Elite universities with little to no teaching (1/- or 1/1).
It would also be helpful if respondents would identify which discipline they are in.
# Answer
I'm the faculty search chair for a top-5 American computer science department.
> How many publications, and of what quality would be required to get a job...?
**This is simply the wrong question.** To be considered for a position, you must have an independent research record among the very best in the world in your age cohort and subfield. The *number* of publications really doesn't matter, for the same reason grades don't matter for admission to a top PhD program; there are enough applicants with enough publications that we can afford to focus on more important features.
What matters more is the quality, visibility, impact, and reputation of your research. You must have a coherent and compelling research vision and agenda. You must have letters from the very best people in your field—people that the search committee already know by reputation, preferably *not* at your home institution. Those letters must say things like "major impact on the field" and "strongest student on the market this year", with specific, technical, and credible details to back up their opinions.
Moreover, the search committee must agree with the assessment in the reference letters. Without a champion on the search committee, you will not get an interview; there are simply too many strong applicants. Yes, we *do* read your statements, your papers, and other papers that cite your papers ourselves. We also call up colleagues in your field who didn't write you letters and ask them who the best people are in your field; they'd better mention you.
That gets you to the short list of people we are willing to interview. Unless it's a dry year, there are more people on this list than interview slots, so the recruiting committee has long discussions comparing the merits of various candidates and arguing about departmental needs/strategy. Sometimes enough clear winners emerge; more often, we just have to vote.
Once you are invited to an interview, your performance at the interview often becomes more important than your past record. Your talk must be compelling and polished. You must impress the faculty and students you meet with your breadth of expertise, your research agenda/vision, your likely success as an advisor, as a collaborator, as an instructor, and as an intellectual leader.
In short, it must be clear that you will get tenure.
Inevitably, more people will "pass" the interview than we have positions to offer. So there is another long and wide-ranging discussion among the faculty, comparing the merits of the various top candidates and arguing about departmental needs. Sometimes clear winners emerge; other times the faculty deadlock and the department head has to make the call.
I have seen candidates with 2 or 3 groundbreaking papers get hired (and later get tenure). I have also seen fresh PhDs with 20+ papers in top venues that were not even considered for an interview, because their work was judged incremental or narrow. The number of papers is simply not the right metric to care about.
> 15 votes
# Answer
Here's an answer for philosophy, based on anecdotal experience seeing my friends CVs and how they fared on the job market.
1. No expectations of research. Tenure, if it exists, is going to be on the basis of teaching and service.
2. Here you need to have published something, but it isn't terribly important that it be in a very high-profile journal. To get tenure you'll probably have to get two to four things published, but quality won't matter very much.
3. Here you'll need to have at least one very good publication under your belt in order to get considered and realistically probably more like 3-4 publications in top 20 journals for your field. these are desirable jobs and quality will definitely count.
4. To get a job that involves grad teaching you are going to have to have a number of very high profile publications that speak to your ability to become a recognized leader in your field. I'd think you'd need 3-5 publications, some of which are in top 10ish places.
5. To get the brass ring, you don't seem to need more than one or two papers, but they need to be in the very best places there are, plus you need to have a couple other papers in the works that your SC can imagine will land there too.
> 6 votes
# Answer
The answer we give at our R1 is "N+1" both in regards to hiring and promotion/tenure. That is, there's no safe bright line. Even if you had N publications, you would have needed "N+1" to get hired, promoted, or tenured. It makes for a lot of anxiety in the junior faculty.
Note: Been a search committee member on both searches within my department in the social sciences as well as interdisciplinary programs in the humanities.
> 1 votes
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Tags: publications, job-search, united-states
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thread-26139
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26139
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Asking to see a manuscript in preparation
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2014-07-20T03:40:24.190
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# Question
Title: Asking to see a manuscript in preparation
Is it considered bad etiquette to ask to read a manuscript in preparation that appears in the citations of a paper? (It was cited in a paper from 2001 - I am not sure it has been published; I cannot find it - although the title may have changed...?)
# Answer
No, it's not bad etiquette. Most people will be happy to know that someone wants to read their work. Of course, you should take the time to try to find it yourself first. It may have been published under another title or in a hard-to-find place (like some conference proceedings).
From the comments, it seems that you're worried about hurting the author's feelings by reminding them of a paper rejection. I don't think you should feel that way. Rejected papers are part of a normal academic career, and in any case you don't know whether that paper was rejected.
If you ask me for a copy of a paper that happens to have been rejected, I'll send it to you.
> 10 votes
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Tags: etiquette
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thread-26017
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26017
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How to address a person in a letter?
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2014-07-17T13:08:20.083
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# Question
Title: How to address a person in a letter?
For example, if a person holds not just "Dr." but "Priv.-Doz. Dr." or "Prof. Dr." should we include the full title after "*Dear ...*"?
Thank you.
P.S.
July 20, 2014 UPDATE: as some repliers correctly guessed I faced the question when I was writing an email to a German person.
# Answer
> 4 votes
As your question is referring to a "Priv.-Doz. Dr." I guess you want to address a German person. Hence, I would like to add to the already existing answers. In general, I agree that when in doubt, simply be more formal and use the full title.
However, at least in Germany you usually just use the highest title. Strictly speaking, only "Dr." is a proper academic title in Germany (i.e. Professor or Privatdozent are job titles). However, Professor is also seens as a title if addressing someone, due to the outstanding position coming with the title.
So, if someone is a "Prof. Dr. Dr. X", you just refer to him or her as "Prof. X". Titles like "Priv.-Doz." are usually not used, as these people normally also hold a doctoral degree, so you would address them as "Dr. X". Basically it boils down to:
* If someone is a professor, you use "Prof. X"
* If someone is not a professor, but holds a doctoral degree, you use "Dr. X"
* If neither of the above applies, you use "Mr/Mrs X"
# Answer
> 8 votes
When in doubt, use the full title. Err on the side of formality, and let them correct you if they wish.
# Answer
> 8 votes
I would address a Privatdozent simply as "Dear Dr. ..."; when (s)he becomes a professor, I'll write "Dear Prof. ..." Even in German, I wouldn't write "Lieber Priv.-Doz. Dr. ..."
# Answer
> 5 votes
It is very, very country dependent, so if you are not familiar with the local language, you should err on the side of politeness.
That being said, I am generally using full title in the address and other pompous places, but "Dear Professor Smith, " or other short form when addressing in the text. This is a place where you can safely err toward giving higher titles, no one ever refused to be called a professor. I would use "Dear Dr. " with people I am sure that they are post-docs or people with no academic affiliation (lawyers, industrial people), and use "Professor" to anyone with habilitation, formal teaching assignment etc.
# Answer
> 0 votes
It is important indeed to address people correctly, more important that initials, one may pay much more attention to the correctness of the name and family name which that person has written in his web pages, letters and papers. Even, if you know some people who know him (e.g. colleague, students, etc.) simply ask them how it is better to call that person.
In my opinion, the best way to address a person and write his name in letters is to `copy and paste the exact thing he has written in his web page`.
If the person has included his initials in his web page such as "Dr.", "Priv.-Doz. Dr." or "Prof. Dr." then it seems that those initials are important for him and should be included; if there is no sign of those initials; then it is better just to use Dr. or Professor.
If you use something and he feels it should be corrected, then he will use the correct form of his name in his reply email. After that, use his preferred way to write his name.
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Tags: etiquette, titles, correspondence
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thread-26120
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26120
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Leave out the last chapter as it anyway should be addressed in second edition?
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2014-07-19T19:25:49.940
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# Question
Title: Leave out the last chapter as it anyway should be addressed in second edition?
I am an amateur (not affiliated with an academy) mathematician.
I have written a research monograph (see my site).
The current status of the book is that it is well written and is reasonably checked for errors. However there are serious errors in the last chapter. I may remove the last chapter and try to publish the rest of the book without it.
I sent my book (not yet including the last chapter) to several publishers. They all say either that my book is too original and rough for book form and should be published as articles first, or that my research is unmotivated. (I disagree and consider my work fully motivated.)
And now my book is in consideration of a publisher. After I sent my book to the aforementioned (last) publisher, I realized that before writing second volume of my book I need first create second edition of the first volume (which is in consideration now). I had two ideas how to rewrite it when it was already in publisher's review.
I doubt what to do with the last chapter (which as I've said above is currently erroneous). The simplest thing is just to remove it now, because it anyway should be rewritten in the second edition (and the rewrite is rather massive).
Should I for now remove the last chapter and leave this work to the stage when I will write the second edition of the first volume?
Or maybe should I stop any publishing attempts until I finish writing the second edition? (I'm afraid that if I happen to die, my work may be lost unpublished.)
# Answer
> I disagree and consider my work fully motivated.
This is a key point. The issue isn't whether there exists compelling motivation, and you may be right that there is. Rather, the issue is whether you have successfully communicated this motivation to readers who have spent far less time thinking about the topic than you have and who lack the perspective that comes from developing a subject from scratch. You'll have to work extra hard to articulate the motivation and communicate it successfully. If the readers still don't understand why are you doing something, then that itself amounts to a communication failure (regardless of whether you feel they ought to have understood). You don't need to communicate successfully with everyone, but you need to do so with a large enough audience.
I'd strongly recommend trying harder to address this before publishing the book. You can consider the editors who have looked over your submissions as a random sample of readers. Many of them fail to understand the motivation behind your work, which suggests that many readers would find it unmotivated even if someone agreed to publish it. Ultimately, the goal should be not just to get the book published, but to get it read and understood. The feedback from publishers is helping you identify what you need to work on to attract readers.
> Or maybe should I stop any publishing attempts until I finish writing the second edition?
Are you proposing to publish the first edition while you are already working on a second edition, or to submit the first edition as a draft while telling the publisher that you are working on serious revisions? The latter could make sense, while publishers are unlikely to agree to the former. (Publishing a book takes time, effort and money, and nobody wants to commit these resources to a mathematics book that will quickly be out of date.)
But the fact that you already have large-scale changes in mind suggests that the book might not be ready to submit for publication. You don't need to have completed all possible revisions before approaching publishers, but your chances of acceptance go down if you aren't presenting approximately your best work.
> Should I for now remove the last chapter and leave this work to the stage when I will write the second edition of the first volume?
What's the alternative to removing it? If you have in mind fixing the mistakes now, then I can't advise you on which approach is better (since I haven't read the book). If you mean keeping the incorrect chapter in the manuscript and not dealing with the mistakes until later, then that sounds like a bad idea.
> I'm afraid that if I happen to die, my work may be lost unpublished.
I can understand that this is a depressing possibility, but I wouldn't worry about it now (assuming you are no likelier to die soon than other people your age). If it makes you feel safer, you could always ask a friend or family member to try to get your work archived somewhere if you died unexpectedly. I can't say they would necessarily succeed, but it couldn't hurt to try.
By the way, the publishers who suggest publishing research papers first have an important point. The mathematics publishing system is set up to work that way, and it is not particularly well adapted to publishing large chunks of unfamiliar research in book form. It's certainly possible to publish research monographs, but you may be making things unnecessarily hard for yourself. Unless you have a very strong reason to prefer a book, I'd recommend trying articles instead.
> 13 votes
# Answer
Yes, you should absolutely stop trying to get the book published until it is ready. Talk to the publisher who is considering your book, explain the situation to them and ask for their advice about what to do. In my opinion, a second edition is unlikely ever to be published because, as I understand it, mathematics research monographs don't sell well enough to justify a second edition.
Even if a second edition were to be published, what is the purpose of the first edition if it is rapidly superseded by the second? From the way you write your question, it seems that that the purpose, for you, is publication. Publication is not a goal: it is a means to an end. The goal is to make other mathematicians aware of your work and that is most likely to happen if you present the work in the best way you can.
Listen to what publishers say. You know more about your field than they do; but they know more about their field than you do and their field is books. It *is* unusual for advances in mathematics to be published as a book, rather than in papers. That doesn't mean it's impossible to publish as a book but it does mean that you should have a good reason for rejecting the conventional method of publication.
If the book you're talking about is the preprint "Algebraic General Topology" on your website, then I'm sorry but it *is* rough and unmotivated. You have a five-page introduction, of which less than two pages (the sections "Our topic and rationale" and "Earlier works") could be considered as motivation. That is followed by what is, literally, a 250-page list of definitions, lemmas, theorems and proofs. To write that much mathematics is without doubt impressive but, to get there, you must have read at least one or two maths books: this is not what a maths book looks like. If the technical content is good (I know nothing about topology) then you have a sound basis for a book but not yet a book.
Finally, make sure your family knows about your work so that, in the unfortunate event of something happening to you, they can try to get it published so it isn't lost forever. (And take your vitamins and look both ways before crossing the street! :-) )
> 1 votes
# Answer
I would say you must keep trying and get it published, even if you end up paying for that because this is your hard work and should not be wasted or lost.
the best way is to go and talk to publishers and ask them what can be added or subtracted to meet their requirements and standards.
You can also convert the book into an e-book and upload it on paid libraries
> -2 votes
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Tags: publications, mathematics, books
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thread-26106
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26106
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Is being a volunteer useful for academic prospective
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2014-07-19T12:08:29.803
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# Question
Title: Is being a volunteer useful for academic prospective
Is being a maths "tutor" volunteer at sites like MATHNERDS useful in terms of "good impression" for future academic prospectives?
# Answer
> 7 votes
If you apply for grants where "Broader Impact" (or something like it) is a criteria, then a demonstrable history of volunteer and outreach activities related to your academic field of study can be helpful. Same goes for awards that consider "service" as a criteria.
(The reviewers of my NSF graduate research fellowship application commented favorably on my volunteer experience, which I mentioned towards "Broader Impact".)
# Answer
> 4 votes
This will likely depend on your discipline and the type of volunteer work that you engage in. It can't hurt, as at the very least it shows your're interested enough in the field that your're engaging in it informally. As for how much it will benefit your prospects, that will depend on the type and extent of volunteer work and how it fits with your prospective discipline. Establishing a consistent history of volunteering with a particular site will demonstrate more commitment than volunteering at many different sites for briefer periods of time. Assisting with moderating or engaging with the management of the site's services (if an option) also demonstrates a higher level of engagement and responsibility, beyond a casual hobby or side interest.
As for whether potential academic programs or jobs will look favorably on your volunteer work will depend in part on their interests and areas of emphasis. A program which emphasizes the application of mathematics in industry may not give volunteer tutoring much weight in the applications process when compared to a student who has had "volunteer" internships in industry. In contrast, a graduate program or professor that emphasizes the use of web technology to enhance math education would probably view your experience more favorably because it aligns with their mission.
In my own experience in behavioral sciences I completed several lab-based internships in biology and psychology, which emphasized scientific method and theory, including proper record keeping, sterile technique, and data collection. This was viewed favorably by the more research-oriented graduate programs I applied to; other applicants had mostly volunteer experience with clinical mental health populations, which those programs did not give as much weight. However, at one of the program's where I was wait-listed, a faculty member informed me that they were concerned I had no experience (even volunteer experience) working with individuals with serious mental illness, and it counted as a strike against me. My research experience wasn't seen as negative, but it didn't carry as much weight in the eyes of that particular program.
In sum, demonstrating a consistent track record with a volunteer organization will demonstrate commitment, interest in the field, and maturity. However, the amount of benefit you will get in terms of future academic prospects will likely depend on how well that particular volunteer experience matches with a given program's academic interests.
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Tags: application
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thread-26153
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26153
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Benefit of Putnam exam
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2014-07-20T13:43:00.067
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# Question
Title: Benefit of Putnam exam
I am generally interested what are the benefits of Putnam (from both students and Professors' point of view), apart from the fact it is fun (for some) to solve difficult maths problem. I recently read a post on here that a good Putnam score would aid PhD application. If someone would elaborate on this a little, it'd be great.
# Answer
> 7 votes
The genuine benefits I think all fall in the category of "distinguishing oneself" ... from other applicants to grad school, for example... much as with the IMO (Int'l Math Olympiad).
That is, an otherwise merely-very-good record (out of 100s?!?) can distinguish itself from others by a pretty-darn-good Putnam score. What does it "really" mean? Well, maybe not so much about higher-level mathematics, but the "exclusivity" of "having pretty darn good Putnam score" is undeniable. It's a thing that can be capsulized and "explained" to the public in PR, whereas it's harder to popularly explain progress or work in genuine mathematics (without severe distortions...)
Even at beginning-undergrad levels, kids who do at-all-well on the Putnam get substantial recognition *within* their math dept, often are treated more forgivingly of other quirks or inconsistent performances in routine coursework. (Given the stodginess of much of the routine undergrad curriculum, this is a good thing, since it is completely reasonable to not quite be able to consistently comply with the apparent requirements...)
The flip side is that there's a hazard here, as in all contest-math, that the quick gratification (if one receives it...) may make long-term study and research look less rewarding in comparison. In happy cases, one can "warm" to more prolonged projects, and more-delayed gratification. But quick contest-things like Putnam can be encouraging, and are noticeable pluses on a CV or grad school application. Just should not be over-interpreted.
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Tags: mathematics, united-states
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thread-26160
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26160
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What are the most important questions to your phd professor after the proposal stage
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2014-07-20T18:01:11.737
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# Question
Title: What are the most important questions to your phd professor after the proposal stage
I am a newbie in the PhD world (just started out). I have just finished my proposal and therefore committed to a problem I want to research and solve. However, my professor does not advise me much. However, when asking him he always tries to help me as good as possible, but that\`s only the case if I am directly asking him about something. We have irregular meetings and I would like to use these meetings as good as possible, because I am fearing that organisatorial issues may come up later if I do not ask him now.
I was wondering what are the most important questions to ask him after the proposal stage? Any organisatorial stuff that will later be important for me?
# Answer
> 3 votes
First of all: If you are not happy with the way your professor advises you: tell him. It is possible that he wants to help but does not know how or that he wants you to have as much freedom as you want. However, it is also possible that you are expecting more guidance but you should (in his opinion) be able to figure it out yourself.
So, now to your questions:
> What are the most important questions to ask him after the proposal stage?
*(in no particular order)*
* Do you think that the problem I want to solve is possible to solve?
* Do you think it is interesting?
* Do you know related literature I should read?
* \[Explain what you are planning to do - as short as possible\] Is it clear what I am planning to do or have I left out important steps? Do you think this is the best way to approach it?
> Any organisatorial stuff that will be later important for me?
That depends too much on your situation, but that is another question you could ask (However, it may be possible that he does not know anything about that, some postgrad coordinator/secretary or whoever is responsible might be more helpful there. And, most importantly: ask the other PhD students).
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Tags: phd, research-process, university
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thread-26163
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26163
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Is it okay to discuss multiple interests when writing statement of purpose for attending a conference?
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2014-07-20T18:24:25.777
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# Question
Title: Is it okay to discuss multiple interests when writing statement of purpose for attending a conference?
**Question:** I am interested in two fields, mathematical biology and cryptography. Is it okay to discuss both of these interests in my statement of purpose?
I'm currently a junior majoring in mathematics. I have to write a statement of purpose so that I can be able to attend a mathematics conference. During the conference there will be a time where we can submit applications to graduate schools there. I'm not sure if it is for seniors only, but I am writing one just in case. I don't know which schools are going to be there. If I did I would just choose one depending on the degrees offered by each school, but I don't know who is going to be there.
# Answer
> 3 votes
Keep it short and succinct, I would say a paragraph is good, unless otherwise stated in the application. If this means that you only have enough space to talk about one of those areas, then pick one.
If the conference is more geared towards pure mathematics, I would suggest expanding on your interest in cryptography. Otherwise, if it is an applied mathematics conference, then talk about your studies in biological math. Chances are schools which specialize in pure mathematics will attend a pure mathematics conference, and likewise for applied math. If you want to find out the universities who are attending, just ask an event coordinator. I'm sure there isn't any secrecy surrounding who is attending.
# Answer
> 1 votes
I would try to emphasize (as far as possible) the commonality of math between the two disciplines. For instance, biology may use a lot of differential equations, or even graph theory, and perhaps cryptography can too.
It would be awesome if you came up with an application combining the two disciplines, e.g. using fingerprinting for crytography. Your job in writing a statement of purpose is to convince people that you're a viable candidate for such role.
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Tags: statement-of-purpose
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thread-26132
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26132
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Should I include a DOI/website URL for a publication in dissertation bibliography?
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2014-07-19T23:59:39.587
|
# Question
Title: Should I include a DOI/website URL for a publication in dissertation bibliography?
**Context:** I'm writing a dissertation in Computational Social Science using the Kluwer bibliographic style. My question isn't specific to this style and applies generally to dissertations in computer science, sociology, economics, and management.
**Q: Should I include URL (DOI or other) in bibliographic entries for all journal or conference articles, in addition to normal full citation information?**
There is no such requirement or guidelines from my University or Department. I've done numerous web searches, but I've never found any general guidelines on this.
**Pro:** All of my committee members and most of my readers now read articles on-line rather than through printed journals or proceedings. All the URLs will have hyperlinks, so when they are reading the PDF of my dissertation, they can click on the hyperlink that will open a browser window to the article. In addition, my dissertation will have internal hyperlinks from citations to bibliography entries and from key terms to glossary entries. Finally, I use the Zotero reference manager, and I can usually acquire the URL as part of the "one click" import process.
**Con:** Adding URLs for every journal/conference article adds visual clutter to the bibliography. When the URLs are not DOI, they may not be valid for a long time. It will add some work to test and correct URLs that don't meet the basic criteria of usability, consistency, and stability.
# Answer
Adding links is extremely useful for people who actually want to lookup the references.
DOI serve both as a link and as an identifier, so adding it is a good idea in general. (A similar thing holds for arXivID.)
Both for DOI and arXivID it should be visible as `doi:1234/56781` and `arXiv:1401.9999`, with an underlying link so it is clickable.
With other links, I consider them only if both DOI and arXivID are absent. It may be less stable, but still it is better than nothing.
If you are really concerned with the visual appeal, you can make the title (or journal reference) clickable without spelling out the complete link. But personally I think that for references usability is more important than visuals (at least, it is what I do for my PhD thesis).
To get you some taste, it looks more or less as (the citation style is temporary, just look at the style of links):
Another approach (from a paper) would be to hide link addresses as in:
See also:
> 6 votes
# Answer
Adding DOIs and URLs to your bib references is really a good idea!
If you are really concerned on the visual clutter, you can "hide" hrefs under the author/title/journal line. In this case, the references are not visible in print version (which is probably not terribly bad, since only a few people will bother to type DOIs from paper back to a browser search line). In the pdf version, however, one can click on the bib reference line to access the online document (which is really something people appreciate). If you hide hrefs under the titles, make sure your PDF readers do understand this (give them a clue with a footnote or so).
It is really a good idea to use DOIs as much as possible and avoid using potentially unstable URLs. However, if the document is not easy to find (e.g. not among first 3 references in the Google scholar), I would probably go with the URL to help navigate the reader.
> 11 votes
# Answer
With my *copy editor* hat on, I'm certainly for including useful things in the biblio, especially DOI and online repo (arXiv and stuff) links are very useful, since more information in bibliography prevents typos and mistakes from being significant.
With my *thesis oponent/reader* hat on, I have the very same opinion, since I'm very likely interested in checking some of the references, mostly because they're unknown to me and I'm curious what they are about.
With my *article author* hat on, I'm for as well, since it's more likely that people actually read my paper when you cite it.
Conclusion: The more information the better.
> 8 votes
# Answer
Your college should have people responsible for determining if a dissertation has been formatted correctly. Even if you are completely unconcerned about running afoul of this by adding links, check with them first and save a potential headache. They can be very demanding and unyielding.
And depending on what you're typesetting the bibliography with, changing formats can be as simple as changing a single word/setting. This would allow you to create one version with convenient links, and another without, and so on, as desired, with essentially no extra work.
> 1 votes
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Tags: citations, thesis, doi
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thread-26076
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26076
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Colleague erroneously got a grade that is too high
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2014-07-18T15:17:41.543
|
# Question
Title: Colleague erroneously got a grade that is too high
I know that for a certain project a colleague with whom I have worked on the project erroneously got a grade that is higher than he should have gotten (the administration made a mistake is my guess). He told me about this himself, but also told me that he is not planning on changing it. The course is a 12 ects course, so has quite an impact on someone's gpa.
Now I have two thoughts:
1. It is not fair to 'betray' a colleague who trusted me with this story
2. I also worked on this project and I got the correct grade, it feels unfair. And I also simply feel that it is simply not just in a way.
What do you think? And should I take action or not?
# Answer
> 19 votes
Answering from an ethical perspective. The grade was entered in error, if the other student was unaware of a mistake they would have been morally fine, it is not their job to double check the grader's work.
But since they are aware of the mistake it is their obligation to inform the grader. By intentionally keeping that information from the grader they are deliberately breaking ethical rules. In addition, by telling you about it they are compounding the original wrong by making you a party to their original transgression.
Unfortunately your classmate has made you responsible for their behavior because now you have to choose between doing the right thing (reporting them since they will not step forward) or being silent.
I can't tell you the consequences of that choice, but possible consequences of turning them in are social rejection and possible consequences of staying silent include academic sanctions against you if it comes out that you knew and did nothing. Just remember, they chose to put you in this mess, and for that you *owe* them nothing.
# Answer
> 17 votes
Most of the time life is *not* fair, and it look like your friend just got a break. Good for him. Now, I suggest you ask yourself the question: is this likely to have a real negative impact on you? If so, then you may want to talk to your friend about the situation, hoping he will ask for the correction himself (if he refuses, you have a more solid ground for reporting it yourself). But if your friend's lucky mark is unlikely to affect you in a negative way, I'd say good for him, maybe next time it will be your turn. Be happy for your friend, live and let live.
# Answer
> 8 votes
If you really want to became successful in your field you should erase the word 'fair' from your vocabulary.
Nothing seems fair from all perspectives and the sooner you realize this the better.
From the way you describe it, there are 2 possible scenarios:
a) the professor made a mistake
b) the professor personally knows your friend and helped him
By lowering your friends grade you won't improve your grade. If for example you go and get his grade lowered this guy will hate you and you will honest seem like a pretty jealous person.
**To sum up**: Let your friend do what he wants to do, it's not your grade and you should **not** try to convenience him *you are not worthy of that grade.* Even professor mistakes are part of life, be realistic and don't seek fairness.
You should try to improve yourself and not lower you friends grades.
# Answer
> 6 votes
I see three levels of possible 'formalisation' of your question:
1. purely personal ethics
2. academic ethics
3. code of conduct of your University
The first is really for you to decide; you may go for advice to someone you know well and trust their opinion. The last one is straightforward: simply read the code and see whether or not it has something related to your question. Regarding the second one: from my point of view, the situation is similar to spotting an error in a published work — academic ethics assumes that you should take reasonable actions to share your concerns with the world (starting with the author and the editor). This is not an easy or popular route, however, and in some countries it contradicts "normal" morale of people outside academia, as you acknowledge in your question.
# Answer
> 4 votes
*"It is not fair to 'betray' a colleague who trusted me with this story"*
It's also not fair that he got given a higher grade by mistake in the first place. The sooner it is fixed, the less chance there is of ugly flow-on problems popping up.
What if the grade affects the class of honours granted to his degree, and the degree is later revoked and downgraded upon discovery of the error? That could look a little dubious on a university transcript.
The "right" thing to do is for your colleague to report the error himself. But as he has made it clear that he will not, your situation is a little more ambiguous. But sometimes you have to do the right thing on behalf of others. A discreet email to the professor or lecturer who ran the course would likely lead to the grade being corrected. If you did this, you could disclose your intentions to your colleague beforehand, to give him the chance to correct the error himself.
# Answer
> 4 votes
Your friend trusted you with the truth. I think it is only fair that you trust your friend and tell him beforehand what you plan to do. It is better that he comes out with it than you, and you don't lose a friend. If he doesn't want to be honest and "fair" at least ask him not to involve you if he gets in trouble for it.
This means that he will not trust you anymore but most likely he will still be friends with you. Friendship has more value to me than some moral that no one really cares about (except you because you know the truth).
# Answer
> 3 votes
Sometimes a professor will bump up a student's grade because of things like creativity, improvement, or demonstrated hard work. So neither you nor your classmate actually know that a mistake was made.
In addition, there's a trust issue. Your classmate trusted you with their doubts about their grade. Now, sometimes violating such trust is the right thing to do (as in the case of outright cheating), but you need to have a very good reason.
Finally, there's the question of impact. If grading in this class was not competitive, your classmate's grade has very little effect on anybody else. The only effect it could have is in competition for internships or jobs, but in many fields, GPA is not particularly important for such things. (I don't know about engineering.) Even if the class was graded competitively (some percent A's, some percent B's, and so on), it's rather unlikely that the professor will recompute everybody's grades after changing one.
*Edit:* Also, what will the instructor think of you? I guarantee they will not think, "Wow, this person is really honest and conscientious". More likely, they'll think you're grade-obsessed and willing to hurt somebody else to get ahead, even if that's not your motivation. At best, they'll shake their head and go, "Kids and grades these days...". If you have this instructor again, or if they tell their colleagues, this could come back to bite you.
Putting these considerations together, it seems to me that you should not report the suspected error. (If your classmate is feeling courageous, they may want to ask.) Focus on your own grades (and, more importantly, learning), not other people's.
# Answer
> 3 votes
I don't know that this is a popular opinion but if I was in this position I would feel cheated. Would I try to change that? NO!
How is your life going to change if you report this? Will you see any benefit? I don't think that you will. Will your colleague see any benefit? I don't think so.
To recap: if you do something your life won't improve, the life of your colleague will most likely be worse than it was prior to your action. Essentially any action can only cause harm. Nobody will benefit from you speaking up.
TL;DR nothing good can come from you speaking up, at best nothing will happen, most likely something negative will happen to your colleague.
# Answer
> 2 votes
You say he got a grade that is too high because you saw a "mass" email with the grade and then the student showed, presumably, the grade on the piece of work or on his transcript. You came to the conclusion that the email with the lower mark was correct and that the transcript is incorrect. There doesn't seem to be an obvious reason, apart from personal bias, that the transcript should be assumed to be wrong instead of the email. Given you do not really know what grade he should have gotten, there is no reason to say anything, especially if you do not want to. If you want to alert the Professor that you think someone else's mark is wrong you can do that, but remember you really do not have any proof.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Does your university have a procedure for appealing a grade? If so, look at what it says. I would be surprised if it allowed for appealing *someone else's* grade.
# Answer
> 0 votes
I would consider your situation from two perspectives:
* From an ethical/moral standpoint: grades are by nature unfair, and mistakes in grading are common. Welcome to real life and live with it. Do you think Student X who got an A just because he was going to every TA office hour deserves it better? Do you think Student Y who got an A just because he used homework solutions from last year to optimize his homework grades deserves it better? What percentage of college students do you think cheat?.
* From a personal gain maximization standpoint, you need to consider two points: 1) Will denouncing your colleague improve your GPA, change your rank or bring your some award? 2) Will denouncing your colleague negatively impact your network and/or perturb your learning experience?
In school, there are several goals:
* focus on GPA/ranking/award/etc.
* focus on learning.
* focus on networking.
* focus on partying.
Take action according to what your focus(es) is/are.
# Answer
> 0 votes
Besides the social and ethical issues raised by others, I might take a different, more diplomatic approach.
Personally, I'd tell the instructors about this mistake, and how I felt about it, but not give them specifics about who received the incorrect grade. There may also be a neutral party to help navigate this, such as an *ombudsman*, if that feels more comfortable
They may not care enough to find and fix the mistake, or if they do, you won't have directly betrayed your friend, and perhaps other mistakes will be corrected, to your credit. If you can earn the instructors appreciation, you may argue for some bonus points, or form a valuable relationship for the future.
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Tags: coursework
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thread-890
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/890
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Rules for affiliation for student doing unpaid research in their free time?
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2012-03-26T11:54:00.143
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# Question
Title: Rules for affiliation for student doing unpaid research in their free time?
Lets say an undergraduate student does some research in their free time and wants to write a paper about the findings. What are the rules regarding affiliation when the student tries to publish?
* The student is **required** to include the university as affiliation, because they are enrolled in a program at the university
* The student is **not allowed** to include the university as affiliation, because they are not officially hired/approved to do research under the name of the university
* There are **no rules**, the student can choose
* ...?
I guess for graduate students / postdocs / professors it is mandatory to include the university as affiliation, as they get paid by the university to do the research they are doing!?
# Answer
> 37 votes
I don't think there are any "official rules". (I can't even find a clause in my employment contract that officially requires me to list my university on my papers.)
But as long as you are a student, it's a good idea to list your university as an affiliation. Even if the university isn't paying you, you do benefit indirectly from the intellectual environment and resources that the university provides: professors, fellow students, library, internet, health insurance, nearby coffee shops, and so on. It costs you nothing to be generous. Also, for better or worse, readers will take your paper more seriously.
# Answer
> 2 votes
The student should talk with their department and let a professor advise, acting on behalf of their Institution. This would be to help the Department find interesting work by students as well as helping the student with professional advice.
In any case, they can list the university they are enrolled in without suggesting that it was *sponsored* by the university. -- unless the University has explicitly set policies otherwise (for some boneheaded reason).
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Tags: publications, affiliation
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thread-24053
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24053
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Framework Analysis: Can framework analysis (Ritchie, Spencer & O'Connor) be applied to open-ended survey question responses?
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2014-06-27T18:35:20.243
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# Question
Title: Framework Analysis: Can framework analysis (Ritchie, Spencer & O'Connor) be applied to open-ended survey question responses?
**Details:**
I am building a web application for teachers and educators. The web application takes a new approach to looking at educational apps. I want to know if this approach is worthwhile, so I am going to survey some of the teachers who use it. In this survey there will be some open-ended questions regarding the benefits and drawbacks of the application. I would like to use these responses as data in my research project and I was wondering about the best way to use them. After doing a bit of looking around, it seems framework analysis might fit, though it is used primarily for interviews.
**Questions:**
1. Can framework analysis be used in this way?
2. Is there a better way of using survey responses as data?
# Answer
Yes it can. If you need to provide justification on the method that you used it would be helpful I'm sure. However like you say this method is used for interview data.
I'd guess (but obviously don't know for sure) that your survey data might be quite minimal/basic if it features at the end of a more structured questionnaire and although there are similarities with many qualitative data analysis techniques, I'd imagine you'd be looking to organise your open-ended responses into something more manageable, perhaps grouping together responses reflecting a particular view.
The following article may be of help:
Hsieh, H.F., Shannon, S. E.; **Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis**, Qual Health Res November 2005 vol. 15 no. 9 1277-1288. doi: 10.1177/1049732305276687
> 1 votes
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Tags: research-process, data, survey-research
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thread-26195
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26195
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Malfunctioning social media buttons on a conference website
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2014-07-21T13:18:05.123
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# Question
Title: Malfunctioning social media buttons on a conference website
The website of a conference that will take place soon (next month), offers social media buttons that should redirect the website visitor to the corresponding social media page or account, but when I click the Facebook button I get redirected to "Sorry, this page isn't available" and when I click the twitter button I get redirected to "Sorry, that page doesn't exist!" messages.
Is this normal?
# Answer
I wouldn't say this is *normal*. That said, it need not raise a red flag or suggest that this would be a predatory conference or something you must stay away from. It doesn't inspire confidence, but it doesn't need to hurt confidence much either.
This sounds like a relatively minor issue and the kind of thing that is easy for the person setting up the conference website to miss in testing. Keep in mind that many prestigious conference have websites set up by academics volunteering to do so as part of service to their academic community, who are very busy, and for whom building robust websites is not their full time job.
There *are* predatory and sham conferences. If the conference is archival, check out Beall's List of potential, possible, or probable predatory scholarly open-access publishers and search around the web for information on the conference.
Email the organizers to tell them about the issue. You might even learn something about the credibility of the conference by who responds, and how.
> 10 votes
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Tags: conference, website, social-skills, social-media
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thread-26198
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26198
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How to come up with research questions that are well-defined and suitable in scope and relatedness for a thesis?
|
2014-07-21T14:42:58.030
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# Question
Title: How to come up with research questions that are well-defined and suitable in scope and relatedness for a thesis?
I have decided on the area I want to contribute to, and have found a basic but huge problem for my research. Now my professor told me to redefine the area, so to break the, at the moment, huge area down into subquestions to create an interesting closed problem, which is addressed by my thesis.
At the moment I have come up with several different questions I have found. However, I do not see any pattern where these questions are related to each other. My questions also seem quite loose and do not define the *closed problem* I am aiming for.
A related question on this site is how to come up with research ideas. My question is not about how to come up with ideas in the first place, but how to define these ideas so that they can practically become a thesis.
Hence, any suggestions how to come up with several subproblems, which define a closed corpus for my thesis?
# Answer
> 14 votes
This sort of thing only evolves as the product of your exhaustive reading, and discussions with your supervisors and peers.
After that, at some point, your supervisor will say something like: "before you can really get into your research, just resolve this little thing - it should be fairly trivial."
That's your thesis, right there.
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Tags: phd, research-process, thesis, research-topic
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thread-26130
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26130
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Should I host my academic website under my institution domain or under a domain of my own ?
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2014-07-19T23:18:55.753
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# Question
Title: Should I host my academic website under my institution domain or under a domain of my own ?
My institution provides a dedicated storage space to host our academic websites, which is reachable via the institution domain (something like `http://people.institution.org/John.Doe/`).
I try to have a tidy website of a few pages listing my publications, research area, contact, etc. It is currently reachable through my institution domain. I try to also put some efforts in SEO when people look up for my name or particular research area on search engines.
I'm in my last year of Ph.D. and I will undoubtedly move to other institutions in the next few years, so I am wondering if it wouldn't be preferable to host my academic webpage on a dedicated domain `http://www.johndoe.com`, which would prevent the need to do the SEO all over again each time I will switch to a new institution.
The only advantage to use my institution domain is the affiliation, but this information is present on my website anyway.
I'm a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering in France, if it matters.
# Answer
> 55 votes
Why don't you just do both? By both, I mean use both URLs. I "do both", so when I graduate, I'll still have my site for others to see. You can do this in many ways, but I had my university student page auto-redirect to my personal home page. The code for that is like a one-liner.
This grants me the opportunity to refer people to different sites depending on the situation. I think myname.com is undoubtedly easier to remember than the nuances in my university student site URL: people.school.org/first.last ... On the other hand, if the situation is more institution-based, perhaps it's better to stick with my college's name. You've got options this way.
# Answer
> 39 votes
I find it really strange that no one has mentioned the possible reputational benefits of using the university's website. I don't think there's any way to write this without sounding like a snob, but I'll say it anyways; people are snobbier than they like to admit, and academia is probably worse than many other fields. If you're at an at all prestigious institution (even actually, if you're at a not so prestigious one), you want to emphasize that affiliation. Of course, your work has to stand on its own two feet ultimately, but people will be more open to it if they see you're connected to a serious institution, rather than some dude in his basement (remember, there's always something they could be doing rather than reading your paper). Most academics keep a mental rolodex of where people are located for different purposes, like knowing where to send students or where they might like to visit. Why make it harder for them to figure this out?
A couple of other commenters have mentioned that you should be building your own brand, not the universities, but I don't see how you separate those. Usually, the university has a much stronger brand than you do, so you want to steal a bit of it for yourself. If you're in a situation where this isn't the case, it's still a virtuous cycle where improving the department's reputation should ultimately pay you back, and shouldn't stop you from moving.
That said, I've certainly experienced the trouble of moving my website (many times), so I see the appeal of having a stable website that doesn't have to be moved, but why not both?
# Answer
> 18 votes
Reasons to use your own host/tld:
1. You don't expect to be at your current (or future) institution for very long.
2. Your institution uses a painful CMS system, requires you to use ugly templates, or has content or size restrictions.
3. You don't want to ask your department head or IT manager/webmistress for permission every time you want to update your page.
4. Your personal brand is more important than the university brand (see #1).
5. You are part of a multi-university project.
6. You created your own domain website when you were a graduate student and never found a good reason to switch to your employers' sites, even a dozen plus years after graduation (my case).
7. etc.
Reasons to only use your university website:
1. It's the default position.
2. It doesn't cost you any additional hosting or domain registration fees.
3. In many cases, the department or IT admin will help you set it up using one of their templates, meaning you do not have to learn web design
4. In some cases, the database that populates your research publications will be pulled from your Faculty Annual Report (or vice versa). This means that keeping the university CMS happy results in less paperwork overall in terms of reporting your research activities to the university.
5. The google-juice (SEO) of the university will likely be higher than your own.
6. Some may argue it looks more professional to have an .edu/~name site rather than a private.com website.
7. Loyalty
8. etc.
And of course, one can always do both. The cons of doing both are:
1. Requires updating both.
2. Visitors may be confused about which site to go to (or you have the same info mirrored, which leads to #1)
# Answer
> 6 votes
I think you should do both, but in a different way that has been suggested by Raphael and by rch. Both of these other suggestions involve doing some sort of invisible "redirect" from one page (almost always the temporary institutional page) to the permanent page on your domain. RoboKaren suggested having two pages which is the closest to my answer. I suggest you should create a page on your institution but have it be a small "soft" redirect that asks people to click through.
Keep an institutional page but keep it very simple. Have the page give the following information (at most):
* A short narrative biography of you and your research or teaching interests.
* A nice recent picture of you. \[Nice, but optional.\]
* A link to your CV on your website. \[Optional\]
* A list of 2-3 recent selected papers. \[Optional\]
* **A very prominent link to your actual homepage on your domain**. I do this with text like, "For more detail on my research and teaching, visit full academic homepage.
Ben Webster is correct in citing the importance of association with your institution for status reasons In order to get the benefit, put the name and the logo and/or seal for your institution prominently on your personal page in a way that makes it clear that you are associated with the institution but also clear that it is your personal page.
This is what I have been doing for years. One benefit is that many institutions make updating institutional pages tricky (e.g., you need to go through a webmaster). This is a nice compromise in this situation because you only need to update the biography, picture, etc. infrequently.
# Answer
> 3 votes
You are trying to find a design solution for a technical problem that does not exist.
You mention SEO as your primary concern (for whatever reason¹). So when you move your professional website to another institution, (have your admin) put a 301 (Moved Permanently) in your old website's `.htaccess` and search engines will automatically update their databases accordingly.
This assumes that you can keep your old (sub)domain/page at least for a few months; as far as I can tell, this is common. Many groups/departments maintain lists to alumni at their current position, anyway; it is as much advertisement for them as it is for you (if you're good).
Note that you can still use one domain as an alias for the other. Which direction you choose is probably irrelevant in most cases. I'd argue that it *is* important to have *something* at an institution URL so that you have a representative address that looks official and leaves no doubt that you are, indeed, *the* John Doe from the University of Illustriousness and not some dude who happend to be the first to register john-doe.com.
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1. As a researcher, I figure that your publications are your business cards. These are indexed in other places and your moving does not change how they can be found (and thank the powers that be for that!). Search engines pick up on your new website in a matter of days (for some you can even trigger indexing yourself) which should be enough, assuming that there is little more value but contact data besides the publications there. But ymmv.
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Tags: website
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thread-26210
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26210
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Disappointed about workshop, are all like that?
|
2014-07-21T21:21:15.083
|
# Question
Title: Disappointed about workshop, are all like that?
I submitted an article for an IEEE congress in the field of Software Engineering, the congress was categorized as a type B congress according to the Australian ranking (I do not remember the exact name). I went to the workshop sessions because my article was accepted for one of those, but not the main conference, and it was pretty lame. The reasons were the following:
* some people were given a presentation of topics not already finished it up, with a lot of holes in their respective research
* some people were introducing their doctoral research proposals, which were in a a very initial developing point; I have been also a conference review and I would rejected those works straight ahead
* people attending were no caring of what has being said there, also some of the people in charge were almost sleeping during some points of the presentations
I suppose that a workshop was for sharing ideas between the academic community, and not just for the sake of accepting some bad made papers to get money while other researchers want to do the things right.
Also I forget to mention that in one session, the chair of the workshop was the lecturer in charge of one of the lame papers; I do not want to think bad, but it seems like he influence the acceptance of that paper.
In any case I am really disappointed about this type of congresses, I cannot imagine how lame it could be a type C conference.
It is always like that?
# Answer
> 22 votes
I understand your frustration, but workshops are not for seminal research. It is usually for hosting / presenting papers that cannot make it to major conferences or provide a venue for very small and specialized areas of research. This is not a bad thing. Especially in CS, papers that are technically correct and well-written sometimes get rejected in major conferences, due to the high rejection rates. In this cases, workshops provide a alternative venue to patent those results and lower the authors' sense of rejection.
Also, many research projects (in EU but maybe this applies to USA as well) have the obligation to organize workshops during the duration of the project. In those cases, it is normal that most of the submissions are from project partners. This explains the little "inbreeding" you encountered. Also, since each workshop has a minimal number of papers that should be presented, in cases of low number of submissions, it is inevitable that some less-good papers get accepted. Also, although peer review is still formal (and not blind to bad papers depending on their authors, as you imply) on those workshops, the requirements for presentation are less strict than major conferences and marginal papers might actually make it.
Are all workshops bad? No they are not. It is actually easy to tell them apart (most of the cases).
* Are they co-hosted with major conferences
* Do they take place for many years
* Who are the PC chairs (this year and previous years)
* How good are the papers that got accepted in the previous years?
All these four criteria are a strong indication of the quality of the workshop.
A general advice. Many researchers (not excluding myself) tend to overvalue their research in comparison to others. Since your paper also got rejected for the major conference, that also implies that it was not that seminal or exceptional (which is of course OK). To someone else's eyes the comments you make about the "other" papers might also apply to yours as well. So, talking about lame papers and workshops (especially if you express those ideas publicly) will not make you a lot of friends and academia is really a very small world.
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Tags: workshop
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thread-26199
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26199
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How to find credible sources for a general reference?
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2014-07-21T15:47:16.550
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# Question
Title: How to find credible sources for a general reference?
I am currently writing a paper in which I have many topics to describe. It would not be productive to read and cite papers or even books on the topics because I just have to describe them very briefly as an introduction to some follow up topics.
For "private" use I would just use the corresponding Wikipedia articles but that is considered bad practice in academic papers.
So do you have any tips how to get credible definitions of and/or short introductions into (in my case computer science) topics without searching through dozens of papers/books for some useful/credible parts?
# Answer
> 21 votes
I tend to use books for this sort of thing. For example, if I need a definition of "data mining", I do a Google Books search for that term. A book about "data mining" is going to define the term in the introduction or first chapter, so it will usually be in the pages that are part of the free preview.
Another option is to look at the citations used in the Wikipedia article itself, and then look up those articles. Wikipedia tends to be pretty good at citing the key article(s) for a particular subject.
Also, it's helpful to know a few online cite-worthy dictionaries that you can search for common definitions. For example, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is useful for philosophical terms.
There's also Scholarpedia, which is a peer-reviewed online encyclopedia. It's not as extensive as Wikipedia. However, in my field at least, the articles tend to be written by well-known names.
# Answer
> 13 votes
Consider:
* textbooks on a given subject,
* review (rather than research) articles on a given subject,
* key papers (e.g. the one where a given subject was introduced for the first time).
Good places to start:
* http://scholar.google.com/ and look for general and (typically) highly cited books or papers,
* the *references* sections on Wikipedia.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I agree with the idea of referencing books. You may not want to buy a book for each topic.
I suggest using libraries. Most people writing papers have access to a university or other reference library. Many will let you go in and read books there, even if you are not affiliated with the university.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I read abstracts of journal articles I can find on JSTOR. Abstracts generally serve as concise summaries of entire papers. They're also written by the author(s) of the article, so you know the emphasis will be on the core of the topic, not on side-note information.
# Answer
> 0 votes
You need not discard a Wikipedia definition if it is one that you like. Print sources can be equally sketchy as anyone can print books (cf. "Fart Proudly", by Ben Franklin). It sounds like you merely want correctness, not *sources* of definitions anyway.
As long as the definition is fairly accurate, just cite it as you would a print source, but (like with all internet resources) give the date and time along with your citation, since the Internet can change out from under you.
In any case, it's not really academics who have a problem with Wikipedia, it's the publishers and ever since the printing press, they've spent a good while curating influence on the minds of the Establishment. But obviously, with the Internet, it all needs re-addressed.
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Tags: research-process, publications, online-resource, citations
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thread-26215
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26215
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How to correct a fundamental error in a series of papers made by a colleague of your adviser?
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2014-07-22T00:07:48.927
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# Question
Title: How to correct a fundamental error in a series of papers made by a colleague of your adviser?
I am a PhD student in mathematics. I recently found a fundamental error in a method used in a series of papers. My adviser confirmed that. One of those wrong papers was authored by a researcher who had several works with my adviser. I found that this error can be fixed using an approach which I found in some old works. So I started to write an article about this. I am just asking if I should tell my adviser to contact him and inform him about this error. Or contact all the authors of those papers. Or just continue writing my paper and cite their works explaining how their approach is wrong.
# Answer
**Talk to your adviser as soon as possible.** I'm a bit surprised that in your previous interactions your adviser did not already tell you whether and how he planned to contact the author(s) of the fallacious papers -- especially given that at least one was your adviser's collaborator.
Here is my advice (it comes from a pure mathematician, if that is relevant to you):
* Spend up to one work day writing up a careful description of the error. If a result is false, give a counterexample. If you can give one specific, easy to verify counterexample, start with that. Then if you have a further sense of the "terrain of counterexamples" -- e.g. if you know the result is never true, or you know that it is true precisely under some additional hypothesis, then include that.
The point of this is that in many cases what we perceive to be errors in mathematical work stem from misunderstandings between the reader and the author, including different use of the same terminology. I would say that approximately half of all the errors I think I see in my colleagues' work turn out to have such innocent explanations. Another big percentage of suspected errors stem from misunderstandings of the part of the reader: it is one thing if you come across a result that contradicts another result you have already written up. However, if you are just reading then the odds are fair that the cognitive dissonance in your mind is not actually caused by a mistake in the paper: for instance when I read other people's work, I try to do so with an eye towards its relationships to my own work and my own problems. As a proud student of the "Richard P. Feynman school of situational genius" I heartily endorse this approach, but sometimes it turns out that what I think is an error is due to an entanglement of "my situation" and the author's. Finally, when an error has actually been made, there is usually (very understandable) psychological resistance on the part of the author. This is why it helps to arrive with individual, crisp counterexamples.
* If the theorem is correct but the proof is faulty, the situation may be more nebulous.
Everyone has different standards of what constitutes an acceptable proof. Moreover, mathematicians are still human beings, and the percentage of inessential slipups we make in the course of our written work is non-negligible. Most people do not appreciate their expository flaws and bone-headed but unimportant mistakes being taken as evidence that their proofs are incorrect. In fact, where possible, when you claim that someone's proof is faulty it is an honorable thing to give them a chance to correct it.
In this case you speak of a "fundamental error", which I guess means that it is worse than the relatively innocuous mistakes described above. Do you mean though that the theorems are still true, and you know this because you know how to prove them? If so:
* Spend up to two or three work days writing up as much as possible of what you feel is a correct proof. If you can only give a sketch, so be it, but try to include all the ideas which convince you that your argument is correct. Your target audience includes people who are deeply committed to and knowledgeable in this particular area: you can write accordingly.
I would meet with your advisor as soon as you have written each document. (If you can write both in one day, great.) Then the question becomes obvious and unavoidable: what should you do with these documents? If he can vouch for their accuracy, I think you will certainly want to contact the author of the flawed paper, but whether to do this yourself or through your adviser is something you should ask him about.
Why do I place time limitations on these tasks? It is because of the following important observation, which in my understanding is somewhat peculiar to mathematics:
* Even if the author's proof is wrong and yours is right, your corrected proof may or may not be publishable.
There are too many nuances here for me to go over them all, but just one quick thing: you say that you fixed the result using material from *old works*. Because of this, it is possible (perhaps; I don't know the situation) that the authors and/or the editors in question will still regard the mistake as a "slip up" (even if you do not). A math paper which does not contain "new results", "new ideas" or "new techniques" may be very hard to publish...let me readily admit that this practice is not entirely fair or wise, but it most certainly is extant. So you don't want to spend substantial work time on what may end up being a corrigendum written by the author but identifying you as the provider of both the problem and the solution.
Good luck.
> 36 votes
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Tags: phd, publications, ethics, advisor, mathematics
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thread-26222
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26222
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Is it ethical for a graduate student to provide juniors with paid graduate school application guidance?
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2014-07-22T03:33:29.550
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# Question
Title: Is it ethical for a graduate student to provide juniors with paid graduate school application guidance?
I have several friends, all graduate students at decent universities, who are providing **paid** graduate school application guidance services, where they help the future graduate applicants stand better chances to get admitted.
Originally, I regarded this as a 100% OK behavior, until I realize that they are very sneaky about their services, as if the services are something underhand. Some of them even provide the services anonymously.
My guess is that they may leak some information obtained from the admission committee to their clients. However, I feel that they can neither obtain any critical admission information nor make admission decisions, since after all, they are just graduate students. But why are they hiding?
Are such services unethical? If so, how will the school deal with such cases?
# Answer
I think you have largely hit the nail on the head in your own post. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with charging for valuable experiential information. In fact, this really could be an extension to charging for 'edits' or tutoring. Really if they are providing non-sensitive information regarding the procedures and what the admissions panel look for - then I don't see any major ethical quandaries.
**However**, you highlight a key point. They could be leaking information explicitly obtained from the panel (that I assume they would have delivered in confidence). If this is the case, then I imagine it should be intuitive what the schools reaction would be. The reason this is unethical (from my POV) is that they are no longer sharing experiential information, but providing them with explicitly 'leaked' outcomes that would give a disproportionate advantage.
By analogy with the edit example. It would be fine for a tutor to edit and provide feedback on a students work. To the majority of people, I think they are aware this occurs and there are no ethical problems. In fact, a tutor might go so far as to show them example assignments. In fact, my department actively encourages students and postgrads to seek and help out students, respectively. However, if the tutor provided the marking key (obtained from another postgrad running the unit) and gave this to the student - that is blatantly unethical.
> 4 votes
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Tags: graduate-admissions
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thread-25770
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/25770
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Leaving PhD program to apply for industry job - better to apply while still officially enrolled?
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2014-07-11T22:30:59.773
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# Question
Title: Leaving PhD program to apply for industry job - better to apply while still officially enrolled?
I am going into the fourth year of a PhD program and my research, which is in a STEM field, has clear applications in the tech industry.
I have my Master's degree, but have decided not to finish the PhD.
**Is it important to be enrolled while applying for jobs rather than be unemployed?** Will the people hiring view me differently?
Note: being enrolled brings some significant demands on my time.
# Answer
> 20 votes
Being unemployed can **significantly** decrease your likelihood of successfully landing a job. The preceeding link is one of many stories covering that angle. The best graph describing how bad it is comes from this Atlantic article:
The upshot of most of these is that employers have a psychological bias towards employed people. Whether this is "fair" or "appropriate" or even "smart" not is really not the question, the finding is pretty difficult to refute: you are far more likely to land a job if you are currently gainfully employed.
To bring this back to your original question, I would strongly recommend you begin your job search before you leave the program.
# Answer
> 9 votes
> Is it important to be enrolled while applying for jobs rather than be unemployed?
I'll answer this question from different point of views: your potential employers and yourself.
From your potential employers’ point of view, it does not matter. What matters is your **immediate availability**. Most companies prefer their new hires to start to work immediately. Once they make a job offer, they would like to see you in the office like today so that they can start to train you. They don't like to hear excuses like: I have some unfinished project, I am in the middle of writing a paper, I need to go to a conference next month, etc.
So, you need to indicate on somewhere such as your resume, cover letter or during the interview that you'll be immediately available. This will increase your chances to be hired. If you cannot be immediately available for some reason, you need to provide a definite time frame when you'll be able to start.
From your own point of view, you'd better keep enrolled. Job hunting can be a long shot. It can be only a few weeks if you are lucky. It can be a year or even longer if you are not lucky. Waiting for job interview and job offer can drive you crazy. You'll have things to do while you are waiting. You also can change your mind on finishing PhD if you still have some uncertainty about going to industry.
If you are **absolutely** sure you want to go to industry, then you should take bfoste01's idea, do internship. You can get into industry faster this way.
Good luck on job hunting. Academia will miss you!
# Answer
> 7 votes
I would apply for jobs now, while you are enrolled in the PhD program. Talk to your professors and develop a network. Ask for contact information of any of the individuals they know in industry. Send an cover letter with your CV and application, and be sure to mention your research's specific application to the job in the cover letter. Through this, companies sense that you are very meticulous and detail-oriented, and see how your skill in research could carry over to its products.
# Answer
> 5 votes
I think Scaahu has given a very nice overview of the situation, but to easy your mind: job search takes time, but you have to eat every day. Thus, no company can expect you to be unemployed to be eligible for hiring.
The only reason I can think of why not having a job would make you more desirable is your full availability; but if you have decided to leave, you can just do it (please, talk with your advisor well in advance, so they are ready, though).
And lastly, if you have a job, you have a leverage point. For a starter, you can ask for a salary that is, at least, as much as you are getting now. Another disadvantage of quitting is that you will have to live on your savings or benefits, and they are limited; thus you will have pressure to accept whatever job you can find in that time. If you keep your present job, you can wait longer until you find something you really want to work with.
# Answer
> 3 votes
@Zephyrus: This answer will be too long to comment. A lot will depend on your history.
Some context for you to make sure I'm not just blowing wind: My fiancés company: Biotech, fast growing, successful rounds of funding have brought a product to market, turned down offers to sell. My fiancé: Decade of experience in STEM industry.
Here's what I've seen matter in all my conversations with he Senior Scientist there, as well as my fiancé:
* It's about the match of your skills with the needs of the company. I've seen them let 4 people go in the last year who were super competent, but had very specific skill-sets that were no longer needed by the company. If there is a clear match between your skills and the company's needs then +1. However, if you have very specific skills that can be a detriment in your marketability.
* Advanced degrees aren't always an asset. In startups a really smart person with a B.S. and years of industry experience can become a staff scientist. It's better for the company. Same can be said for and M.S. In fact, most of the senior scientist have advised junior staff who are looking at grad school to just get their M.S. and get back into industry. If you're the highest paid person at a startup you better be value added on all fronts. So, depending on your degree this could all matter.
* Length of unemployment matters. If you are living in an area where there is a vibrant STE community and you've been unemployed a long time people will wonder. It's always a necessity to make sure people can vouch for you within the community, and this might help. Hopefully you aren't jumping ship from grad school without contacts in industry.
* If you were competent but not a rock-star, skills that fit, unemployed for a short period, had some people that could vouch for you then they'd contract you for 6 months. Show your worth and you'll get a salaried position and options (but stock options aren't alway what they are cracked up to be). You'd be in a good position to negotiate that offer if you have shown value added. However, point also depends on the phase of the startup. Now that this startup has grown and has a product shipping they contract everyone first. My fiancé came in after series B and had the perfect experience that fit with the job requirements, some heavies that vouched for her, and passed the interview with flying colors. She was contracted shorter than 6 months, and I think offered a full-time position after a month. So, get ready for the potential that you are working a contract, which obviously lacks security.
* Now if you took the same situation outlined above, were still a student but had demonstrated that you would be a real rockstar with the perfect match of skills to the job then they might make you a better offer to try and lure you out, but the offer would never be as good as what a scientist with proven industry would receive.
This might all be different for a massive industry conglomerate.
I hope that helps.
# Answer
> 2 votes
It probably will depend on where you interview in terms of how your status will be received, and what that would mean for a job offer. My fiancé works in a STEM startup that has been taking off, and I've had the luxury of chatting with many of the senior scientists about hiring whenever they are looking for people (it's a fun work culture where everyone and their SOs go out for drinks after work and chat). Anyways, in two instances a Ph.D. student working at the company on their internship was so talented that they tried to make each a job offer before they left. In one instance the conversation turned to what it would take to get that individual to leave their program and come work. In the other instance, and before the internship started, the University made the student and company sign a legal document that essentially said, "whatever said student works on in the lab during internship period becomes is owned by the University" (this was one of the top 5 schools in the US, you can imagine what one). Therefore, the company backed off because of patents.
In other instances students have applied for open positions at the company and if their resume garnered a look they then got an interview. However, if they weren't rock stars the company was not willing to lure them away from being a grad student by giving them a higher salary. Therefore, there was the perception by the company that they needed someone who could work now, and a student didn't seem to cut it.
Do you have an internship period at all? That's when I plan to explore offers to see what my skills are worth.
# Answer
> 2 votes
Well, to address the part where you want a comparison on enrolled vs. unemployed. It is always better to not to have to answer the questions about being unemployed. You don't want to look like you were doing nothing for quite some time. Interviewers usually aren't impressed enough by candidates that have a few years that weren't mentioned on the resume anywhere, be prepared to reason that effectively. And you don't know how soon you are going to find a job. If you continue your PhD and look for a job in the meantime, you have an excuse "I got a good job and hence left the PhD", which brings us to yet another point to ponder upon...
Let's say you quit your PhD(which you could actually officially finish in a year or two), apply for some jobs, interview and finally land into one. You work there for some time, but your progress starts plateauing. Now you realize that for a higher position they require a PhD(which you quit, remember?). At that stage, you might wish that you hadn't quit but you did, and now it might be the bane of your professional progress.
Think of these things in the long run... no one knows what the future holds...
# Answer
> 2 votes
Here's what you do. You request a "leave of absence" from the University for personal reasons. That way you can say you're still a student, but not obligated to take classes during that period.
# Answer
> 2 votes
I was in a similar situation. In my case, I wanted to have some/full break from academia. My ph.d is almost done, only public defence is pending. I had to decide whether to stay in the academia or move to the industry?
Here is my approach; I personally like building stuff and therefore biased towards the industry. I have enjoyed the time in academia but might not be able to keep myself motivated for long. Thus, I thought, either I move now or otherwise it will be too late. I am already 31 and its now or never kind of situation for me. So, I decided to move out as I found a job. The search still in progress for like 4 months now, had few interviews and perhaps land on a job in a month.
First rule, be honest to your university and supervisor. I informed my supervisor right away that I am looking for opportunities outside the university and will leave as I get one. He was very supportive and also offered to help me in making CV etc. It is quite normal to take this path, academia to industry, for a ph.d student.
You should ask yourself, "Do I like industry?" if Yes then go for it, in a reasonable fashion. Stay at the university, find a job and then move out :)
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Tags: job-search, industry, stem
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thread-26219
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26219
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What to do in recitation?
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2014-07-22T02:50:25.620
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# Question
Title: What to do in recitation?
Forgive me if this is not the right place to ask pedagogical questions, but it seemed the most appropriate.
I am a TA for a programming/CS course. This is my first time teaching recitation and I'm not really sure what the best approach is. What I've been doing is covering what the professor asked me to, with a mix of lecturing (which I don't really like as I feel the students get enough of that) and me solving problems on the board with their help (which is OK but it's usually the same students answering the questions).
I can think of several different methods of recitation:
* Lecturing (elucidating ideas or going over proofs)
* Solving problems with the students
* Having a class discussion, which sounds great, but coming up with discussion topics for this type of course is difficult, I feel
* Having the students solve worksheets (which seems unnecessary considering they already have enough homework)
* Or having them work together in groups to solve more difficult problems
Can anyone provide insight for which of these ideas are most effective?
Further information: It's a summer course, so the pace is pretty fast. Furthermore there are three recitations a week, each an hour and a half. It's the second CS course, so it's mostly programming (data structures and safe code) with a bit of theory thrown in.
# Answer
I train graduate students to lead biology discussion sections, but the philosophy should transfer...
I think your instincts are excellent - students do not need more lectures. What they often need help with is figuring out what they do not understand, and learning how to overcome being "stuck." That, and practice with feedback. Some suggestions, particularly since summer courses are so fast. I'm going to assume they have homework, and that the homework can be worked on in a discussion environment (you will not be "doing their homework for them").
1. Instruct students to bring their homework problem set. Look over the problems yourself the night before, and determine the easy ones from the hard ones, and make notes to yourself where students are likely to get stuck.
2. When students arrive, tell them to start work on a difficult problem. Plan on giving them 5-10 minutes -- whatever they need until many of them slow down. Walk around as they work and just see how they choose to work.
3. After several are stuck (it may take you practice to figure out what question to use to get this level of difficulty), have them get into groups of three and compare their techniques and what they found difficult. Walk around again and ask questions like, "Tell me how far you are. Can you show me a part that is difficult? Can you get out your lecture notes and find the section relevant to this problem?"
4. Usually at this point you will see a sticky point that more than one student is wrestling with. Now is a great time to pull everyone's attention back to the front of the room and you can work through that problem (or one similar) and answer questions for 5-10 minutes.
5. Have students return to the problem and complete it. Have them go back and do a simpler problem on their own to reinforce.
6. Rinse and repeat.
Using discussion time like this makes students happy because they are getting their homework done. Smarter students help slower students, which keeps them engaged. You as an instructor learn a lot about what students don't understand, which is often a complete surprise. Plus, it's active and not boring and doesn't require a huge amount of prep.
If this gets really dull, you can have small-group competitions where students have a single sheet of scratch paper and have to respond to a prompt you flash on the screen. I like to split the room into the right half (five groups of 3 students) and left half (five groups of 3 students) and have competitions like this for "basics" material. The half of the room with the groups with the most right answers gets a point for each round of competition. Everyone participates, but the answer is the group's and so shame for wrong answers is reduced.
> 4 votes
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Tags: teaching, teaching-assistant
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thread-26241
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26241
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How to decide whether a mistake is sufficiently relevant to publish about it?
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2014-07-22T14:05:23.030
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# Question
Title: How to decide whether a mistake is sufficiently relevant to publish about it?
How do I know my results are significant enough to be published?
I am a physicist and I have found a very common mistake that appears in every paper in my area of interest. I thought it would be nice to let the people know it should be corrected. However, it is a very simple mistake, very basic math. I thought at first I could publish that as a short letter, but then I realized that I am unsure what actions the significance of the error(s) warrant.
*How do I know whether an error is important enough to write a letter to the publication's journal?*
# Answer
> 15 votes
You should talk to colleagues from that area of interest to check whether it actually is a mistake or maybe a common generalization that, although not perfectly correct, is still 'good' in the systems that were discussed in the papers. Also writing a mail to the authors of said papers is a better idea before writing to the journals without any cross-check.
# Answer
> 9 votes
Many journals have special formats for such remarks, usually called *comments.* Though these are usually directed at single papers, there might be journals out there which do not impose such a requirement. Also, as such requirements are not carved in stone, you might just contact the journals which published most of the papers making the mistake whether they would consider such a comment for publication.
That being said, you should ensure that the presumed mistake is really a mistake and not just notational sloppiness or a standard approximation (see BPND’s anwer), which nobody wastes words about anymore.
Finally, you might consider to not only mention the mistake but perform and report about some research and demonstrate or estimate the negative effect of that mistake and thus increase the impact of your publication. Also, to address one of your questions: The existence of such negative effects is a good criterion for the relevance of a mistake.
# Answer
> -4 votes
This is where you define yourself. There isn't a right and wrong answer to be suggested. You're helping improve the wisdom contained within the Academic Establishment itself.
Otherwise, I'd say you don't have to know. That's what the peer review process is for. But it might save you some time to use this radical tool of the Internet, whereby you can be in informal dialog with peers across the world.
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Tags: publications, paper-submission
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thread-26250
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https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26250
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How can/should I indicate that it's okay to use open access content in a paper?
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2014-07-22T16:59:39.547
|
# Question
Title: How can/should I indicate that it's okay to use open access content in a paper?
Suppose I want to reuse some substantial piece of content - say, a figure<sup>1</sup> \- from someone else's paper in my own scholarly work. If the other paper is under a traditional license, I'll have to obtain explicit permission from the copyright holder (usually the publisher), and then when I include the figure in my own work, I can say "Figure from reference \[x\], *used with permission*."
However, if the other paper is under an open access license or is in the public domain, and my own work will be released under a compatible license, I don't need to explicitly contact the copyright holder to ask for permission to use their content. When I attribute the figure in my work, can I still say "used with permission"? Legally speaking, I do have permission to use it by virtue of the license under which it is released (or lack thereof, if public domain), but including that phrase makes it sound like I've received an explicit statement of permission from the copyright holder, and I wouldn't want to give a misleading impression about that.
If I shouldn't say "used with permission," what would be a suitable replacement? If it's under a Creative Commons license, for example, I could say something like
> Figure from reference \[x\], used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license
but that seems a little verbose. Is there a better alternative?
I'm also interested in how to handle this when the content is in the public domain, or is under a much more permissive open access license (perhaps one whose attribution requirement is merely "you must credit the author"). I understand that I'm not *legally* required to include any notice saying that I'm allowed to use content under such a license. But for this question I'm more interested in the ethical obligations that a reader might perceive.
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<sup>1</sup>Even though a single figure would often be considered fair use. But let's pretend for this question that whatever I want to reuse is enough that fair use doesn't apply.
This question concerns a similar situation, but is asking about *whether* it is legal to reuse content at all, whereas I'm asking about how to properly *show* that it is legal to do so, after it's been established that no explicit permission is necessary.
# Answer
Almost all CC licenses include an attribution clause. As of the 4.0 version, this means:
> Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Clicking the "appropriate credit" shows some more information:
> If supplied, you must provide the name of the creator and attribution parties, a copyright notice, a license notice, a disclaimer notice, and a link to the material. CC licenses prior to Version 4.0 also require you to provide the title of the material if supplied, and may have other slight differences.
So the easiest way to satisfy this is, indeed, to say
> Figure from reference \[x\], used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
Where your reference should contain the rest of the information, *including a link*. If you're pressed for space, you can abbreviate the license (CC BY 4.0), or put the text in a footnote.
> 9 votes
---
Tags: open-access, acknowledgement, creative-commons
---
|
thread-26253
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26253
|
Applying for masters again, will the application be evaluated on the basis of undergraduate/Bachelors or the most recent postgraduate grades
|
2014-07-22T18:10:44.737
|
# Question
Title: Applying for masters again, will the application be evaluated on the basis of undergraduate/Bachelors or the most recent postgraduate grades
Applying for masters but have a previous uncompleted masters on my profile. Will that grades from that masters be factored in when the admission committee evaluates my application. What if i have very good GPA is Bachelors, but got bad grades in Masters due to some circumstances.
# Answer
> 2 votes
The admission committee will see your entire record. It is up to them to decide how to consider and weigh the various parts of it - different people will feel differently about this, and there is no way to know what the sense of the committee as a whole will be.
If you had special circumstances that affected your grades, you should address them in your statement of purpose or cover letter.
See also:
How do you get a bad transcript past Ph.D. admissions?
Should I mention a "math depression" I went through in my letter of motivation?
Applying for PhD after a poor master's
---
Tags: graduate-admissions, masters, application, undergraduate, grades
---
|
thread-26234
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26234
|
New author, independent research, scope of publishing
|
2014-07-22T12:08:15.853
|
# Question
Title: New author, independent research, scope of publishing
I have done my masters in Computer Science, but did not receive much support in the masters program to get the final project published. I am presently working as a software developer in the industry while also trying to perform independent research on a few topics which I have in mind when out of the office.
I have recently completed some research ad derived new method for data clustering based on a heuristic which is novel idea as far as I can tell. I have shown it to work better with respect to only one metric with a few other algorithms which is of the closest type.
I have been allowed to use my employer's organization address and email for correspondence, but my organization has told that there should be a disclaimer that my organization has nothing to do with this research. If I do not use this address, I need to give my current address. I am not sure if I can give my university address at this point, as the entire research was done after I graduated. At the university I had access to journal subscriptions for which appropriate acknowledgments are given.
Previously I have not published any peer-reviewed work anywhere and I am the only author of this manuscript. I am not sure how shall I proceed. Submitting to journal such as Elsevier will be single blind, and as I am trying to publish as a new independent author, will my submission be subject to biases based on my lack of previous publications? Or shall I go for a conference with double blind review process? Also the 7 ~ 10 page mark for conference is difficult to maintain without removing vital components.
Some information about the work. The work was not complex, but is unique and it is shown to work on several well known data-sets. The main topic is data clustering.
*How should I proceed with publication?*
---
**Edit:**
*Adding information in reply to @Nahkk's comment.*
I have no previous academic experience. I have shown this to one professor from a different research interest domain because none of the professors from the paper's domain were interested in this topic, surprisingly. I have also asked for suggestion from a person working in this field. One of them suggests to try for a journal and another suggests a conference first, then work and improve the algorithm do exhaustive tests and then go for a journal later.
# Answer
I think there are many questions here;
**Independent Publishing?** It is possible to publish your work as an independent researcher. see this question "Does one need to be affiliated with a university to publish papers?". For further confirmation, I would suggest to directly contact the responsible personnel of the conference or journal.
**Forums(Journal vs Conference)?** Journals are usually assumed to be of high standard. However, this might not be true always.Some conferences have equal or higher standard than journals; they only accept high quality works. However, you should be able to find many conferences with a track record of accepting publications with varying qualities.
**How to find the quality of a forum?** If you want to find out the quality of a forum, check their previous publications and try judging their quality. You can also look for people who have published there, if they are expert in your field then it could be a high quality journal or conference.
**What forum suits my work?** You know the quality of your work therefore aiming for forums inline with the quality of your work will save you a lot of time. Otherwise, you can discuss with an expert (a professor or researcher in academia) who knows the forums and their qualities. If they can read your work that would make it easy to find the matching forum.
These are just my suggestions, rest you know what is best for you. Good luck!
> 3 votes
# Answer
You can try any of the options, and see what result occurs.
As a thought experiment, try submitting your paper to a journal of French historical literature. It will be rejected because (I am guessing) the paper has nothing to do with French historical literature, but it may also be rejected because it doesn't have French in it, or pay enough respect to history, or be written in an appropriate style used to criticize literature in an academic fashion.
More to your case, I would be surprised if, even after reading other papers and attempting to imitate their style, you were able to get your paper accepted at first try to a creditable journal without a large amount of outside coaching, because of issues even more subtle than I mention in the thought experiment above. The advice mentioned in the comments of working on the result to make it more robust and applicable and introducing it to many other people sounds like the right tack to me. In this fashion you will encounter the people who may be interested in your result, and have the experience to share with you on how to best present it, and help you raise its chances for being accepted by a journal. Since you don't have these experiences yet, you need to depend on the experiences of others or earn it on your own.
Of course, you can try submitting it to a journal first anyway, and see what feedback you get. That is a less gentle but still valid way of gaining experience in these matters.
(If you try the longer and more laborious route of introducing it to several people, I recommend leveraging the effort by researching these people and seeing if they can help you in other ways. With the right preparation, intent, and eye toward future goals, such as recommendation letters accompanying future grant proposals, the "extra" labor in taking this route may turn out to save a lot of work in the long run.)
> 2 votes
---
Tags: publications, independent-researcher
---
|
thread-26265
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26265
|
How to handle disagreement between collaborators on licensing academic code?
|
2014-07-23T02:43:14.183
|
# Question
Title: How to handle disagreement between collaborators on licensing academic code?
A group of students including myself have developed a certain program/algorithm. I as the main coder behind this group have provided 95% of all the actual code. The other two involved parties have given 4% and 1% of the code each.
The code was created in an academic environment for a paper, but the actual algorithm has applications not limited to the scope of what was worked on during the duration of our work together.
I wish to release the code as open-source as does the other party who contributed 4%, as it has other applications, and potential uses, and we don't want to limit its use.
The problem is that the 1% is adamant about not releasing any code and keeping it. He will not listen to reason.
Can we just use a majority vote to decide this? Do I as the main coder have more say than the other two? We do not want to get any external parties(ie., lawyers) involved.
This is not a question about the benefits of various licenses; we know what each licence does. As Simon statrs: "it's about team dynamics, within academia, where collaborators disagree about whether to release the code at all." Two of us want to release. One of us does not. How do we proceed in such a situation?
# Answer
> 10 votes
If that other 1% of the code isn't anything special (which I'll assume is the case since your question would have otherwise made a point of it), tell the other coder that if he is going to be adamant about it, it will force you guys to rewrite the code, and he might not get *any* credit at all. See how he "likes them apples".
Otherwise, you might search for his reasons (is he hoping to commercialize it?) and find a license that he's amenable to. There are many licenses that support a basic idea of "open source".
I'd opine that you can't legally use his work without his consent, but you can rewrite it. But if he made new IP (that is new thoughts/techniques that no one has coded before) encoded in that 1%, you will probably have to negotiate those rights.
*Note that this opinion, is applicable within the academic community where a "shared intellectual commons" has been fairly active for centuries. It may not be appropriate policy for commercial entities.*
---
Tags: computer-science, authorship, collaboration, software, code
---
|
thread-26256
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26256
|
Writing CV's for a "summer school" course
|
2014-07-22T20:09:25.950
|
# Question
Title: Writing CV's for a "summer school" course
I would like to apply to a week-long master's course offered by a university in another country. The only thing they require for the application is a CV. Since I have no significant experience in the field of the course or any publications, I have no idea what to include in my CV.
I thought about including (outside basic details) the title of my diploma work, the name of my supervisor and the main subjects (relevant to the course) I've learnt as an undergraduate. But I am wondering if it is too detailed.
I've also taken some MOOCs, but they are not strongly related either. I could include the titles of the conference presentation I've held and my language and computer skills and scholarships I've got.
Which of these would be appropriate to include?
Thanks for the help!
# Answer
> 3 votes
Of course I don't know anything about this particular course, but often, admission to summer school courses is not at all competitive, and there are seats (and sometimes funding) for more or less every serious student who shows interest. (If it were competitive, I'd expect them to at least want a letter of recommendation.)
So basically your CV has to convince them of the following:
1. **You are an actual grad student, and not some goofball trying to use them to get a visa.** So be sure to include your academic history (degrees and dates, honors if any) and the details of the program in which you are currently enrolled. Definitely give your supervisor's name.
2. **The course will be interesting and relevant to you.** Mention your areas of scientific interest (they should be at least tangentially related to the topic of the course). List any relevant research projects, past or present, even if they are fairly minor. Definitely include any published papers or conference presentations.
3. **You have sufficient background to learn something from the course, and not get completely lost** (getting a little bit lost is normal). Briefly mention your GPAs and scholarships. If it seems appropriate, list classes you have taken or books you have read that would prepare you for this course.
---
Tags: application, cv
---
|
thread-26271
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26271
|
Who should the authors of a corrigendum be?
|
2014-07-23T07:58:17.277
|
# Question
Title: Who should the authors of a corrigendum be?
I have discovered an error in my paper published in a journal. I am a PhD student and the original paper was published with my advisor and two other researchers from different universities. The correction of the error, which was a significant amount of work, but luckily ultimately did not change any of the conclusions, was done in collaboration with my advisor, but without almost any interaction from the two external coauthors of the original paper. They know about it, though, and agreed with the changes I made.
So my question is: Should the authors of a corrigendum always be the same as the ones for the original paper? If this matters, my field is numerical mathematics/scientific computing.
# Answer
> 15 votes
I can think about a few arguments to include all original authors as authors of the corrigendum.
1. They actually work on the corrigendum by reading your manuscript and making comments;
2. The corrigendum has no "primary" value without the original paper, it can be considered as an extra chapter. It does not really matter that you worked on this chapter more than they, since they probably contributed to other parts of the paper;
3. How would it look if you publish corrigendum without them? A little bit like "These senior guys screw it up, but luckily I able to fix it", isn't it? Do you really think this is an impression you want to make considering their contribution?
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Tags: publications, authorship
---
|
thread-26205
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26205
|
Is there an optimum time to leave between writing and self-proofreading?
|
2014-07-21T19:43:56.630
|
# Question
Title: Is there an optimum time to leave between writing and self-proofreading?
Having read a number of guides on tips to do when proofreading as well as some questions on this website. They all refer to leaving some time between writing and proofreading. This time can vary from 5 minutes as per Purdue online writing lab
> Even a five-minute break is productive because it will help you get some distance from what you have written.
to
> Put the paper aside for a few hours, days, or weeks. The writing centre-UNC
My question is has there been any scientific work/papers done that gives a result on an optimum time to leave between writing and self-proofreading?
# Answer
> 15 votes
It appears a number of factors come into this, such as what point proofreading should be done, familiarity with the text and length of time away from it.
According to Jane Cogie, Kim Strain and Sharon Lorinskas
> It is important also that editing \[proofreading\] be done at the appropriate stage of the writing process, that is, as the last step, after issues of organization, coherence, and flow have been addressed.
In a study, The generation effect in reading and proofreading, the authors Meredyth Daneman and Murray Stainton conducted the following experiments in which;
> Subjects spent 30 minutes composing an essay on student life; after a 20 minute interval (Experiment 1) or a two week interval (Experiment 2) they proofread their own essay, another subject's essay after being familiarized on an error-free version of it, or another subject's essay without the benefit of a preview. Experiment 1 showed that subjects were less able to detect errors (e.g., The best part of student like is socializing.) in self-generated essays than in unfamiliar other-generated essays; on the other hand, they were better able to detect errors in familiar other-generated essays that in unfamiliar ones. Experiment 2 showed that the disadvantage for proofreading self-generated text is likely a by-product of extreme familiarity rather than any special quality of self-generated knowledge per se
Commenting on the above study, Maura Pilotti, and Martin Chodorow (doi:10.1007/s11145-007-9110-x) state that;
> The difficulty experienced by proofreaders with their own writing occurred even though the proofreaders were warned that errors had been added to their writing prior to proofreading. Interestingly, the impairment uncovered by Daneman and Stainton turned into an advantage after a delay of 2 weeks between writing and proofreading. The researchers argued that the ‘‘excessive’’ familiarity afforded by one’s own text, which is likely to decline over time, is detrimental to proofreading because it promotes a less thorough processing of written material.
It would appear from the above that 20 minutes is too short a period, and that something like two weeks is more optimum, but if possible leave it as long as possible.
---
Tags: writing, time-management, proofreading
---
|
thread-26228
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26228
|
How to "work on the essay" as a non-native speaker
|
2014-07-22T09:00:06.993
|
# Question
Title: How to "work on the essay" as a non-native speaker
We received a report on our paper (it's the 2nd version already). The referee writes:
> The proofs are correct. However, I'm not completely satisfied with the style in which the paper is written and the authors have to work more on the **essay**.
I'm not sure what we can do with that. We are not native speakers and we did our best to use as good English as we can. I'm not sure how we should respond to that, since currently it seems to be the only thing that prevents us from finishing the referee process. We implemented the minor corrections suggested by this referee and as well the remarks by the language editor.
Any ideas how to proceed in such a case, please?
# Answer
> 5 votes
The comment from the reviewer may mean;
1- Rearrange the ideas in your paper. For example, the order in which the things are explained may not make sense to the reviewer. Note that this is completely subjective thing, one order of ideas may make sense to one person but not so much to some other person. So, Just try some re-arrangement of idea and hope for the best.
2- The story may be weak. I would suggest to start the story with some ground work by highlighting the existing similar work by other researchers in your field. Then gradually move towards what you are offering in your paper. The rest of the paper will then explain the details of your ideas.
These are just my suggestion. You know the best what is good for you. Good luck!
# Answer
> 11 votes
The referee is obviously satisfied with the "scientific" part of the publication but points out the narrative itself. I don't think that your English language skills are the deciding in the factor in that matter. You could write the same paper in your native language, let it someone translate it as it is and still get the same comment. As the referee puts it, it's the style that has issues. You should try to formulate your paper in a way which not only lists the discovered facts one after the another, but attempts to guide the reader's thought process towards your idea and results. Make it more interesting and engaging. Your language should be eloquent, your narrative consistent, your thought flow constant; the paper itself serves as a way to reflect the scientist's mind and as such it does not consist only of definitions, lemmas, theorems, proofs, citations, figures, etc., because a significant part is the skill (or art) to mold them into an article that readers will enjoy reading.
If the problem is really only the lack of English skills, try to write it up in your native language and consult some professional to translate it.
If that is not the case, don't be discouraged, good writing is a skill and can be learned and trained. Unfortunately, I've encountered many students (and some experienced scientists) who struggle with this. I personally blame it on the lack of reading of non-scientific material, like novels, articles, philosophical works, etc. Of course, this doesn't mean that you should style your paper like an adventure novel, but, as I mentioned before, writing is a skill, and it is best honed by being in contact with other well written materials. This way, you'll broaden your vocabulary, improve the ability to express your thoughts through text and, if you focus on English materials, become more proficient in English.
# Answer
> 6 votes
The comment could mean two things:
1. There is a problem with the way your article is organized
2. There is a problem with your English
I would start by looking at other recent articles in that journal, and see if the organization of your article is different from those. If that is the case, I would rewrite (probably with a lot of "copy and paste") the article such that the form mimics the typical form in that journal.
If you have a collegue who is a native speaker, you can ask her or him to look at your article. It is probably too much to ask for her or him to completely edit the article, but (s)he can give you an idea whether your English needs to be improved. If that is the case, then I would probably end up hiring someone. There are usually some people who do this freelance. It pays to ask around if someone has done so recently and whether or not (s)he can recommend someone. Also look around in your institution: sometimes you are lucky and there is someone in your institution whose job it is to correct English (that is the case in my current institution).
# Answer
> -1 votes
If I may add one more thought to the discussion here. I think "the authors have to work more on the essay" proves that this referee is not able to put his thoughts in a usable, clear, scientific way. Style problem!? If he or she does not want to invest the effort in explaining himself properly, I doubt that he is a good referee. It is his/her duty to do a proper job. Ask for specific examples of what he is - vaguely - complaining about. I am certainly questioning **his/her** style. I do referee papers from time to time.
---
Tags: publications, peer-review, language
---
|
thread-26276
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26276
|
To become a professor of actuarial science, should I pursue graduate school immediately after B.S. or get some professional experience first?
|
2014-07-23T11:40:28.597
|
# Question
Title: To become a professor of actuarial science, should I pursue graduate school immediately after B.S. or get some professional experience first?
I graduated with a B.S. in statistics earlier this year and have been working as an actuary for the past two months. In all honesty, I'm not very happy with the job position in the little amount of time I've been working at it. I am very close to becoming a credentialed actuary (ASA for those of you who have heard of it) and anticipate making a decision on whether or not I should leave later this year.
*My dream is to become an actuarial science professor.* **I am really wondering whether I should pursue graduate school in statistics or just stick it out until I get a decade or so of experience (as every other actuarial professor I've seen has done)**.
I do realize that the Actuarial Outpost exists, but typically, actuaries tend to discourage people who want to pursue Ph.D. degrees.
# Answer
Definitely stay long enough to get the accreditation.
And think very carefully before leaving. In particular, look at why actuarial professors stayed a decade.
Maybe their employer paid for their PhD. (some will shun PhDs, others will welcome them. Guess which you want)
And maybe being in industry gave them access to data that they couldn't possibly have got if they'd been outside industry. Access to lots of data should mean lots of papers. Lots of papers means furthering your academic career.
But don't just stay in industry letting your skills rot and your knowledge become outdated. Be a researcher, while in industry. Maybe do some lecturing or in-house training too.
> 0 votes
# Answer
The work experience would be helpful in an academic career. But it doesn't have to be one decade. More like one to two years.
Many people stay with accounting firms for 1-2 years just to get their CPA. You could benefit from the ASA. So stick around long enough to get it, then start looking to leave when you do.
> 0 votes
---
Tags: career-path
---
|
thread-26290
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26290
|
What are the publisher's obligations when a research paper's term of copyright ends?
|
2014-07-23T15:33:34.733
|
# Question
Title: What are the publisher's obligations when a research paper's term of copyright ends?
When a research paper's term of copyright ends, say, N years after publication, does the publication house **have to** make it freely (i.e. no cost) available for use by general public? Assume that currently it's charging some money to download papers.
# Answer
> 26 votes
No, why should it? Running out of copyright explicitly means a loss of a right. It does not mean the beginning of any additional obligation.
Running out of copyright, however, means that anybody who already owns a copy may duplicate it and make it available under any conditions he chooses (including making it available free of charge). Many university libraries do this.
---
Tags: copyright, publishers
---
|
thread-26262
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26262
|
Should I inform other project's members about my work on an idea which they are not initially interested in
|
2014-07-23T00:15:08.620
|
# Question
Title: Should I inform other project's members about my work on an idea which they are not initially interested in
I'm a PhD student working on a research project consisting of 2 teams. My team (team A) is on the practical side, we provide the problems related to our research and evaluate the theoretical solutions provided by the other team (team B).
Few months ago, I had an idea related to the work of team B and thought it would help to improve the quality of our research. I raised it during our project meeting but everyone was not interested and decided not to pursue it further. So, I decided to do it by myself. As the research was not in my supervisor's research interest as well, he did not pay much attention to it but still encouraged me to do it and publish a paper if possible. I occasionally gave him a brief progress update.
My effort paid off. I manage to publish a paper (in which I am the only author) and am planning to apply it into the project. At the recent meeting, members of team B were furious and accused me of bad teamwork as I did not inform them while working on something related to the project, especially when the idea belonged to their work, not mine.
I wonder if they are right and I should inform them my research, even though they were not interested at the beginning.
# Answer
Congratulations on publishing a paper in the face of a lack of initial interest from Team B and your supervisor. That shows valuable tenacity.
I think, however, that you should have informed Team B as your work progressed, and certainly before publication. It is quite likely that you would have convinced members of Team B of the value of your work over time, and perhaps been able to involve one or more of Team B in your research.
From Team B's perspective, you have encroached on their territory, and published a paper which perhaps they feel they should have had a hand in (read: been co-authors of). Keeping all your team members informed of your work is good practice. Whether they should have been included as co-authors on your paper is a matter of your own publication policies.
Did Team A know about your work?
> 9 votes
# Answer
If they weren't interested when you brought it up initially, then they are in no place to cast judgment after you published it. This is, of course, based off of the fact that you brought it clearly to their attention from the beginning. You have no reasonable moral responsibility to keep updating them on it, especially as it starts to gain traction.
They should only be mentioned if you gained specific knowledge that you otherwise would not have had without them from the beginning, but this is ignoring the fact that they initially rejected the idea.
Congratulations on your publication.
> 5 votes
---
Tags: research-process, projects, collaboration
---
|
thread-26303
|
https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/26303
|
How to include advisor’s name onto research paper
|
2014-07-23T18:43:27.947
|
# Question
Title: How to include advisor’s name onto research paper
My advisor helped me with my year-long research project. Should I list him as an author or under ”contributor” and do you have a link to a format for how I should do this?
# Answer
There are several different opinions on this question.
1. Strict interpretation of "authorship": An "author" of a scientific publication is somebody who contributed directly to the research as well as to the writing of the publication and can be held responsible for any mistakes in the publication. Several style guides for scientific publications require this interpretation when determining the authors list. According to that interpretation, you would not add him as an author.
2. Loose interpretation of "authorship": An "author" is a major contributor at least to the research itself. According to this interpretation, you could add your advisor as an author.
3. "My chances of acceptance are better this way": some people ignore morality and simply put their advisor on their paper as an author because their advisor may be a repected scientist in this field of research, and the mere presence of his name on the publication may improve the chances of being accepted.
4. "My reputation will improve more this way": On the other hand, some people may choose to explicitly omit their advisors' names from their publications for thinking that an accepted publication with them as the only author will improve their reputation more than a shared publication where it is unclear which author did what part of the job
5. "He demands it": Some advisors are the bosses of their PhD students and simply require their student to list them as authors, in order to improve their own publication list.
Personally, I'd got with the honest way, Number 1, and optionally thank your advisor in an "Acknowledgement" section (usually the final section of the paper, right before the bibliography). A typical acknowledgement reads
`"The authors wish to express their gratitude towards [person] for [deed]"`
> 0 votes
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Tags: authorship, paper-submission
---
|
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