texts
list | tags
list |
|---|---|
[
"How much do soft skills matter for admission decision?",
"By reading the very intersting question Priority of application materials for admission decision about which material is most important to be admitted as PhD candidate, or PostDoc or researcher, in a university, I started wondering on how and how much soft skills count, for the same objective.\n\nAs you know, besides academic degrees, grades, publications, reference letters, technical skills, project proposals, and etc., there are also soft skills that are considered by talent scouts to choose who engage.\n\nFor soft skills, I mean competence like:\n\n\npublic speaking\nactive listening\nability to manage relationships\nability to show interest\n\n\nIn scientific admission procedures, e.g. for PhD or PostDoc admission, how much do soft skills count?"
] |
[
"graduate-admissions",
"application"
] |
[
"University reputation vs department reputation for industry jobs",
"There are obviously many other factors that are going into choosing a graduate school including supervisors, research interests, etc. but I'd like to leave those out for a moment and focus on just one decision parameter. \n\nI have to decide between two places A and B for my physics PhD. A is a big state school whose department is ranked very high (top 10 in the US) but the school itself is otherwise unremarkable. Most people outside my field would not have heard of it. B is a very prestigious private university with a decent but not spectacular department (top 30 ish). However, although B isn't great at physics, it consistently ranks among the top 10 schools in the US overall.\n\nIf I'm looking at industry jobs after graduation as my primary choice and academia as a secondary choice, which one should I pick?"
] |
[
"graduate-school",
"industry"
] |
[
"Electronic recommendation letter tips",
"Is it possible the recommendation letter be sent directly to the recruiter by the person who writes it? \n\nAlso, does the letter needs to be signed by hand? Maybe is enough to see that the letter comes directly from the sender, but is not signed.\n\nThanks"
] |
[
"recommendation-letter"
] |
[
"Is an Executive Doctorate different from a typical PhD with respect to the level of assistance that is permitted on the dissertation?",
"I began tutoring an Executive Doctorate student last fall in a class that he was taking. After that class ended, he was able to begin working on his dissertation and wanted my help for it as well. \n\nHere arises the problem and the question. He has been asking me for increasing \"help\" on his dissertation to the point of asking me to read articles and find citations and to rewrite sections of his dissertation to address concerns from his committee. \n\nMy initial thought is that this is something I should not do, but as he is not a typical PhD student, I am unfamiliar with the expectations. So, what exactly is the difference between an Executive Doctorate (also called an Executive PhD.) program, and a typical PhD program, and does that difference allow for him to receive this much assistance on his dissertation? \n\nMore information: Looking a little more, the program he is enrolled in is listed under the Doctoral Programs section of the page listing all of the programs offered by the department."
] |
[
"phd",
"thesis",
"tutoring"
] |
[
"Last year of my Ph.D studies",
"I am a Ph.D. student in pure mathematics and I am in my final year of graduate studies. I found that academia is not suited for me: unstable job, low salary, and a self-sacrifice culture that it is based on the motto "Publish or Perish". I want to ask you what are the odds to get a good job with a Ph.D. in pure mathematics? I am truly lost. I consider myself a big failure. I have expended three years of my life in pursuing a thing that it is useless and purely theoretical. Currently, I only want to make some good money in the industry. I want to ask you: what can a pure mathematician do in the real world? Is there any kind of investment banking or hedge funds interested in hiring mathematicians holding a Ph.D. in pure mathematics and a master´s degree in big data and business analytics?\nThank you very much for any response."
] |
[
"phd",
"career-path"
] |
[
"Getting into grad school with a bad record.",
"So I'm currently in junior year of my undergrad as an Electrical Engineering major. As of this moment my GPA's 3.25; however, throughout my college career I've had to retake courses multiple times in order to get passing grades, and I still have some B's and C's. I plan on talking to advisors for grad school but at this rate it feels pointless to even consider thinking about applying in the future. Especially because the classes I retook were classes I initially failed, and because sophomore and freshmen year I was a different major (Biology) so it's going to take more time for me to finish my undergrad."
] |
[
"graduate-admissions"
] |
[
"Searching a pdf journal paper for mathematical symbols",
"When skimming through a long mathematical paper (in pdf format), I often find a mathematical symbol (often in greek and with subscripts/superscripts) that was defined previously somewhere else within the paper. Of course, it's not always easy to find where the parameter was defined, so I resort to using the FIND tool. However, simply copy and pasting the symbol to the FIND tool doesn't seem to work well, since the symbol cannot be copied exactly.\n\nIs there a better way to perform an automated search a PDF document for a particular mathematical symbol if I don't have the original latex file? Especially ones with subscripts and superscripts?"
] |
[
"publications",
"reading"
] |
[
"Does FERPA require parental notification of disability assessment?",
"There are significant barriers asking and negotiating disability supports and accommodation at a college/higher education level. There is also a lack of awareness and education of the rules and expectations on both the learner and the educator. \n\nA recent question seemed to describe a disruptive student who did not want to accept supports due to parental disapproval. There was some confusion whether FERPA rules covered disability notification and whether parents are routinely contacted when disability accommodations are requested. \n\nThere might also be barriers if students require new assessment documentations as their childhood assessments may not be recent enough. Access to healthcare may mean that parents are notified by health providers. Students may also need to request accommodations when they are not fully aware of their limitations and available supports. \n\nI guess I am keen to clarify the rules around FERPA and parental notification: to what degree is notification required?"
] |
[
"united-states",
"university",
"disability"
] |
[
"Proving that the PhD work was done prior to someone else's patent",
"I'm in a peculiar situation, which I'll try to describe as concisely as possible. \n\nAround three years ago I worked on something and I published a preliminary conference paper, which described the idea in great detail. I'm currently working on a PhD that's about this topic I published 3 years ago. Today I found out that there exists a patent that was accepted last year and it's like 50% about the same idea I published in that conference paper. Not 100%, it has some unique stuff in it and I'm pretty sure they didn't try to steal my idea, they probably came up with it on their own, that's why it has some additional features that I don't even need. But it's similar. I still haven't finished my PhD, but I'm worried—can this patent be a problem for me? I can prove with that conference paper that I was working on this idea years before the patent was submitted and published. \n\nWhat would be the best course here? I was thinking of citing this patent in my PhD, but if nobody said anything about it until now, I'm worried I just might start opening too many questions.\n\nAny kind of ideas are greatly appreciated. I'm really, really worried that my PhD thesis can become invalid because of this patent. Is that possible?"
] |
[
"phd",
"patents"
] |
[
"Should I correct a mistake on an arXiv manuscript, that I found while refereeing it?",
"I recently received a request to referee a manuscript for a journal and, while doing so, I pointed out a crucial mistake undermining most of the calculations. After two unsuccessful answers on the part of the authors (where they addressed other concerns of mine, but basically ignored the mistake I was pointing out), I recommended the journal reject the paper and they did so. \n\nVery recently, and within a couple of weeks after this rejection, the authors have openly posted their article on arXiv, without correcting their mistake. While I understand that manuscripts from arXiv should be taken with a grain of salt, as it is not peer reviewed, making a clearly incorrect result public seems wrong to me, both from an ethical standpoint and from a practical one as it might mislead researchers.\n\nI am unsure how to proceed. Should I ignore it or take some measures such as publishing a reply/correction? If the latter, is there any way to do it for arXiv submissions? Is it possible to do it anonymously?"
] |
[
"arxiv"
] |
[
"How to deal with repeated resubmissions of a bad paper (as a reviewer)?",
"(Context: theoretical computer science.)\n\nI just received a review request; I have previously reviewed three previous versions of the same submission (twice for conferences, once for a journal), recommending rejection each time. For one of the conferences, there was discussion between reviewers and PC members; all reviewers agreed that the paper was “strong reject”.\n\nBetween each iteration, the paper has been lightly revised, but never addressing two fundamental problems: the novel content is very insubstantial, and the write-up contains substantial self-plagiarism.\n\nThe author(s) have/has extensive publication records, containing some genuinely significant work, but also a very large amount of repetition, often to the extent of self-plagiarism.\n\nMy current response is: accept to do the review (first letting the editor know that I have reviewed earlier versions and recommended rejection); then see what significant changes have been made, and if the major problems haven't been addressed, re-reject with essentially the same criticisms as before.\n\nA generous referee might reasonably judge the work substantial enough for a third-tier conference, and not notice the self-plagiarism; so I guess the paper will probably strike it lucky and get published sooner or later. Is there anything else I can or should be doing to forestall this? Or should I accept that bad papers do get published, and that the damage the authors are causing to their reputation with referees/editors along the way is enough censure?"
] |
[
"peer-review",
"self-plagiarism"
] |
[
"Why writing about experimental results is difficult?",
"When writing about experimental work, you either describe other people's work or your own. In both cases you're not inventing anything new (at the stage of writing). Then why is it so difficult?"
] |
[
"writing"
] |
[
"How to convince my supervisor that he is wrong?",
"I do not have any particular situation at hand but I am about to start in a new short-term (research assistant) position. The thing is, I will be working on a topic that is very controversial. There are papers (appearing in top journals) explaining how my supervisors and their colleagues got it all wrong. On the other hand, there are reviews (in top journals also), summarizing how many important insights have been learned, and how things are progressing very nicely. It appears to be a kind of battlefield.\n\nI have not yet started in the position, but I have been reading several articles about the research topic. I already know that I will disagree with my supervisor about many things. There will probably be difficult conversations. If we get everything right, maybe we could resolve some of the major issues, by discussing both perspectives thoroughly.\n\nI think I will need very good negotiation skills. If we have exact opposite views with my supervisor, I must do what he wants, but I also want to do what I want. I want us to succeed. How do I prepare for this? How does one convince her supervisor that he is wrong about something? Of course, I will be wrong many times as well. So I should also think how to quickly realize that I am wrong about something."
] |
[
"research-process",
"advisor",
"research-topic"
] |
[
"How to find an appropriate journal to submit to when working in a new, unfamiliar field?",
"I have developed a new method to form a single-atom chain (break junction) in physics, which so far has results from calculation and simulation but not yet experiment. \n\nHow can I find out which journal is suitable for publishing the work?\n\nMy advisor is not familiar with my research field. I am exploring a whole new field."
] |
[
"publications",
"journals",
"physics"
] |
[
"Are Honorary Degrees Awarded to Those Lacking PhDs?",
"Have honorary degrees ever been conferred on someone lacking a PhD?"
] |
[
"phd",
"degree"
] |
[
"How can I ensure that my software is correctly cited?",
"I have the following situation.\n\nI have published a paper and in order to get and analyse the results for my research I created some software. I want to make my software open-source, so that anyone can do research with it and change/improve it for their purposes.\n\nBut I would like people to cite my paper if they are going to publish anything using my software. So if someone is just using it for fun, I do not care, but if someone modified it and used his modified version to collect/analyse the results, which he publishes in any paper, I want him to cite the paper I have wrote.\n\nIs there an appropriate software license or other means for this purpose?"
] |
[
"publications",
"copyright"
] |
[
"With GRE not being accepted or being considered optional due to Covid, which other aspects of application will be given heavier weightage?",
"Due to COVID-19 many universities (at least many Physics departments) are not accepting or are considering the GRE as optional. So, which other aspects of my application might be given heavier weightage? Of course, I'll mail individual departments and check with them. However, any suggestions here will be helpful in planning my path."
] |
[
"graduate-admissions",
"gre",
"covid-19"
] |
[
"What motivates you to do research?",
"I am a research undergraduate student who is in full time research internship in university. I realized that research needs A LOT of patience to obtain validated results A LOT of exploration. A LOT of roads and initial ideas that lead to no results or can't be implemented. I don't feel the dopamine rush that i feel when working on short term projects. So how do you stay motivated ? what's your secret ?"
] |
[
"research-undergraduate",
"motivation",
"remote-work"
] |
[
"Is it bad to apply to the same PhD program two years in a row?",
"I will be entering my first year of college next Fall. Even if most of my AP classes don't count for credit, I will probably be eligible to graduate after six 15–16 credit semesters. Though my desires might change throughout the next few years, I intend to pursue a PhD in Computer Science, Neuroscience, or something else that I'm interested in.\n\nSo, if I am eligible to graduate after three years, and I apply to and am denied from desired PhD programs, can I complete a fourth year of my undergrad and reapply to the same places?\n\nI understand that each year of undergrad adds an additional valuable summer of potential REUs, internships, and other experiences. What are other reasons (besides the aforementioned and taking more credits per semester) people advise against completing undergraduate studies in three years?"
] |
[
"graduate-admissions",
"graduate-school",
"career-path",
"undergraduate",
"graduation"
] |
[
"How to set up an efficient watch on publications in planetary science?",
"The number of journal on the topics tends to be quite high and most researchers of the field have yet to take on the habit of sharing their preprints on archive repositories (ArXiv or others). \n\nDo you have any recommendation as to the best way to set up an efficient watch on what comes out ?"
] |
[
"publications",
"productivity"
] |
[
"How do I choose the right papers to write a review paper?",
"I'm writing a review paper. I'm in the field of computer science.\n\nThere are many related papers in my research area. Some are good, some are not.\n\nI'm planning to include only Q1-papers based on Journal Citation Reports \n\nBut, does this enough for the paper?\n\nShould I include other papers in Q1, Q3, Q4 and conference papers too.?\n\nIf I include all, it will make my review paper really long especially when I create a table to summarize all related papers."
] |
[
"computer-science",
"literature-search",
"review-articles"
] |
[
"About completing Ph.D degree in the US Industry",
"Fortunately I was able to continue my graduate studies at a US university, recently passing my Ph.D qualification exam, which put me one step closer to my final goal--the ultimate \"Ph.D degree\". But due to the limited resources at university, I was wondering whether I am able to complete my Ph.D research in materials science related industry instead of the laboratory of university, because eventually I am gonna work for the industry, I like their well disciplined as well as the goal-orientated working environment. I really hope anyone who has been through this can give me some information and useful suggestions, I am really appreciated...."
] |
[
"phd",
"industry"
] |
[
"Effect of late penalties on cheating and late submissions",
"Is there any research on the effect of late penalties on both late submissions and academic honesty? I imagine that having some late penalties will certainly encourage students to get their stuff in on time, but I wonder if the effect is stronger (as in, fewer students submitting late, and more students submitting with plenty of time to spare) with stronger penalties. But I have no evidence for that. I also wonder if the strength of the late penalty has anything to do with cheating. Again, I envision a stronger late penalty would encourage more cheating, since there is more to lose by not getting it done, but I have no evidence."
] |
[
"assessment"
] |
[
"A single definitive paper, or an initial manuscript and a followup?",
"Suppose that someone wants to publish his idea and his first successful experiments in a venue and then perform some extra experiments (for a more powerful proof) and publish it in another venue.\n\n\nSubmitting the first to a conference hope to be accepted soon and then submit the second one after a while to a journal, referencing the first.\nSubmitting both of them to journals and write them in different manners.\nWaiting until future experiments finish and combining them to be published as one journal paper.\n\n\nI count, here, some negative and positive points of the ideas\n\n\nIn the 1st idea, the first paper proves that your innovation has improved a method in the state of the art and the second one refers to the first and says that this innovation, even, is able to improve other more-powerful methods in state of the art. Of course both of them are contributions. But, lacking the powerful contribution of combining them in one paper.\nIn the 1st idea, you are able to present your work in an international conference and take advantage of global feedback.\nIn the 2nd idea, you should suffer side effects of deleting some parts from each paper, to avoid plagiarism.\nIn the 2nd idea, you will have two journal papers which normally are more creditable than having one conference and one journal paper.\nIn the 3rd idea, you should wait for finishing the experiments.\nIn the 3rd idea, though you have one journal paper instead of two, this paper is published in a more creditable journal than others.\n\n\nHowever, please let me know the optimal choice."
] |
[
"publications",
"citations",
"journals",
"conference",
"ethics"
] |
[
"Advice for first time mathematics TA during the COVID-19 pandemic",
"I'm set to start my first year as a TA at a large R1 institution. My teaching assignment consists of being a TA for an honors calculus I section. This includes holding a weekly problem solving session (in person) to about 20 students. The lecture, however, will be online. My general questions are:\n\nBesides taking the obvious safety precautions, (my university has mandated the use of masks on campus) what else can I do to make my classroom as safe as possible?\n\nWhat would you do differently as a TA during a global pandemic? Maybe grade more leniently? Hold online office hours?\n\nWhat would you do differently as a TA between an honors and non-honors section? For example, I was looking into old assignments and one of the differences is that honors calculus I cover epsilon-delta proofs and place more emphasis on theorems such as the mean value and intermediate value theorem. I'm guessing there will be a larger percentage of math majors than in your typical calculus I class.\n\n\nThanks for your advice."
] |
[
"mathematics",
"teaching",
"teaching-assistant",
"lecture-teaching-method",
"covid-19"
] |
[
"How to counteract poor academic instruction and demanding workload at German university?",
"I am an undergraduate student at a university in Germany. I already hold a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field from a university abroad, and I also have a solid secondary school background with above\naverage grades in my school transcript. So I consider myself as having the necessary skills for academic success, in general. However, I am extremely frustrated with the state of my current studies. \n\nI feel the teaching quality is very poor and the syllabus in any given subject is overly demanding. My biggest concerns are \n\n\npoor teaching quality that manifests itself as insufficient instruction. An example would be the use of PowerPoint slides. The slides are, as a general rule, borrowed from other academics and often contain numerous mistakes or inconsistencies. I would expect a professor to spend more time at the blackboard actually showing how a problem is being solved visually step by step (as I often see in different online lectures from some other universities which turn out to be more helpful).\nUnnecessarily demanding syllabi and mandatory homework assignments in\nmost courses. On average, according to my own observations, a 3-hour lecture covers about 30-50 pages of a textbook on technical/mathematical topics. The recommended curriculum for every semester includes 5-6 courses which sums up to 150-300 pages of scientific reading on a weekly basis to keep up with the requirements plus weekly mandatory practical homework assignments.\n\n\nI would really like to get any feedback or ideas as to how I can act to either change the situation at the university (it's quite ambitious but someone has to do something) or improve my strategies in dealing with it."
] |
[
"teaching",
"professors",
"coursework",
"germany"
] |
[
"How to deal when submitting an extender paper to a journal from another editorial?",
"My situation is pretty simple, years ago I submitted a research article to an IEEE workshop and it got accepted. Actually I have made an extended paper of it and I am considering to submit it for a non-IEEE journal. I have read the information for authors of the journal which I plan to submit, and it does not say anything about extended papers. So I was wondering if I:\n\n\nShould I ask first if they accept extended papers before submitting my article to this journal?\nShould I just submit it and also include the original article from the workshop and point to them that is an extended article? This just in case that the submission site has an Observations or Aditional Sections part where I can explain this. Or maybe should I put a small presentation letter stating that I am submitting the original article from the workshop and the extended paper?\n\n\nWhich would be the best course of action?"
] |
[
"journals",
"extended-paper"
] |
[
"How to successfully train myself in multiple \"meta\" areas of my discipline?",
"I am at the beginning of my academic career (first \"professor at uni\" job after PhD). My official obligations are pretty standard: teach, do research, and faculty-related admin stuff.\n\nNow, I have my area of research specialisation. However, on top of this, I have an ambitious goal to form myself in these meta topics (meta in the sense that they are not about changing my area of specialisation within my discipline, but rather about complementing and improving my general standing as a scientist and teacher):\n\n\nphilosophy of my science [which might imply some basic formation in wider philosophy of science and perhaps philosophy in general]\nhistory of my science\neducational/teaching literature [for improving teaching methods]\ncritical thinking methods [to improve research, debating skills, and to foster in students]\n\n\nThe list I gave is not exhaustive, but take it as a core.\n\nAs a further restriction, consider the fact that\n\n\nmy memory is fragile, and I mostly learn and retain through \"learning-by-doing\" [so just reading a book might not be enough. I need to do something with it, e.g. teach or research or form habits]\nI want to have a life outside my job [i.e. any investment must not consume all my free time]\n\n\nGiven the above, the questions are, based on your experience:\n\n\nis something like this feasible?\nif so, how best to proceed? For instance, would you study all topics in parallel, or start with one, \"finish it\", and move on? Would you go DIY or take a course?"
] |
[
"career-path",
"training"
] |
[
"Would you consider using another's analysis as a basis for your own analysis on a poem/story plagiarism?",
"I'm just wondering what people think about this. I've had several literature classes where I'm assigned to analyze symbolism/figurative speech/other devices or themes and I almost always search online several analyses of the poem or story beforehand as a way of kick-starting my thinking process. However, I'm not entirely sure if this qualifies as plagiarism since many literary devices seem to be factual with not much room for opinion. I never copy the author's exact idea word-for-word, but my arguments seem to go down the same vein as what I've read because I can't help but be influenced."
] |
[
"plagiarism"
] |
[
"Filler submission to the American Mathematical Monthly",
"I have found an interesting (and novel) result that I would like to submit to the American Mathematical Monthly. I am aware of the journal's prestige and I understand that my result likely would not warrant regular publication. I am looking to submit my finding and brief proof as \"filler\", however, their website does not elucidate much information other than a LaTex template for such submissions.\n\nMy question to anyone who is familiar with the filler submission process of the American Mathematical Monthly, what are the technical requirements of such a submission? I understand that they are shorter than typical papers but the tables of contents I see online do not seem to include any for length reference. \n\nThank you."
] |
[
"publications"
] |
[
"Found out I might have unknowingly cheated after term completion",
"One of my classes had a midterm scheduled right after we were all sent home due to Covid-19. The professor said that for this midterm, we were allowed to use notes, both his and our own, browse the internet, and talk with peers during the exam. While this seems abnormal, we, as a class, checked multiple times and he confirmed this policy every time. Thus, during the exam, about 2/3 of the class (~10 people) got in one video call and were talking during the exam.\n\nFor the final, the professor simply said that the rules would be the same as the midterm listed above. To our discredit, no one double checked what the professor meant and simply went with it. Of course, the same ~10 people got on the video call again and did the final. It was not an easy final, despite us collaborating and looking at notes, leading me to suspect nothing wrong. The professor also had not posted a note saying collaboration was allowed on the exam, although this was the same as the previous midterm, so I thought he had just overlooked this. Looking back, I see the fallacy in this, but it did not seem important at the time.\n\nHowever, recently I was talking to an acquaintance from the class, one of the 10 in the video call, and I found out that he had indeed checked with the professor about peer collaboration on the final, which the professor explicitly disallowed (this was during office hours). This acquaintance said he did not tell this to us as he needed us helping him on the final to pass the class. \n\nI'm conflicted on what to do now, as it has been over 3 weeks since the end of semester (4 weeks since the final in question) and most of the class was in on the video call. If anything, all our answers were EXTREMELY similar (most were exact copies) to the point that it would be obvious we were collaborating. On one hand given the above, it seems unnecessary to dig this up. On the other hand, I'm not sure that I'm not reasoning my way through having cheated. Please advise."
] |
[
"united-states",
"undergraduate",
"cheating"
] |
[
"Where to add acknowledgement in Article",
"I have written an article (2-column type), and would like to put an acknowledgement to acknowledge the non-substantial contribution of a colleague in the analysis of some data.\n\nThe structure of the article is\n\nIntroduction\nMain body\n-> chapter with the data\nConclusion\nReferences\n\n\nWhere and how should I put the acknowledgements?"
] |
[
"publications",
"acknowledgement"
] |
[
"How to effectively supervise grad student calculus teaching assistants (TAs)?",
"Those of you at universities where calculus is taught in small sections with graduate student instructors; \nwhat sort of structure do you have for supervising/mentoring the graduate students and overseeing the administration of the course?\n\nE.g., does this duty rotate among tenure-track faculty, do you have a dedicated instructor who does this on a long-term basis, or do you have some other structure?"
] |
[
"graduate-school",
"teaching",
"teaching-assistant"
] |
[
"Recently published paper deliberately not citing our very relevant work -- anything to do?",
"Note that the difference between this question and a related question (Recently published paper does not cite my very relevant work) is that the authors in my question are fully aware of our work, whereas, in the related question, the authors were not aware of OP's work.\n\nA recent paper did not cite our very relevant work. \n\nThere are significant overlaps among the scopes of the papers, and one of the important figures and the related conclusion are almost identical.\n\nThe leading author of the paper in question has been informed about our work even before we submitted the paper. I've asked for a reason for not mentioning it, and the answer was that our paper was noticed during the revision of the paper, and the authors do not feel obliged to mention it. \n\nIs it OK to not mention a paper because of ``seeing it too late?''\nRegarding this: does the date of submission/acceptance play a role?\n\nOur publication date is before their submission date."
] |
[
"publications",
"citations",
"ethics"
] |
[
"TA position in different discipline?",
"I was recently notified of an opportunity for a TA position.\nThe same email went to the whole department.\nThe position would be helping/teaching a class in a different \ndiscipline than mine. \nI only wanted to ask other people's thoughts about applying\nbecause the message specified the only requirements to apply were to be a \nPGR student in the department. \nI would ask the faculty in charge of hiring but don't want to look\nmore stupid than I have to.\nI would think that it wouldn't make any sense for me to apply\nsince my background is in what would appear to be an entirely different\nfield. But maybe I'm wrong??\nShouldn't they have also specified that it's open only to \nPGR students in that field? My common sense says that they would expect\ninterested applicants to be able to understand that it's implied to be\nfor applicants studying or researching in that field.\nBut maybe there's something about TA positions I'm not aware of?"
] |
[
"teaching-assistant"
] |
[
"It is plagiarism if my work is very similiar to something previously published?",
"I am a PhD student in economics and making a mathematical model of some stuff in a subject of my interest.\n\nWhile I was searching papers on Google Scholar, I found a PhD thesis written 5-6 years ago in my university, in which one of the chapters is somewhat very close to my stuff.\n\nJust for an important detail, my idea is totally different and I think it is an interesting idea but the model is just slightly different from author's thesis and the solution method is very close. \nIn particular, the model framework that author used is a very commonly used framework in the literature but accidentally my solution method is very close to the author's method.\n\nFor sure without doubt, I will give the exact reference with the chapter and state where my idea is different from author's idea.\n\nMy question is: is this a plagiarism? How can I avoid any plagiarism problems? Should I contact the author in order to invite him to be my co-author in this case?"
] |
[
"ethics",
"plagiarism"
] |
[
"When applying for a higher education job, do I need to list my bachelors?",
"If I did a bachelors a long time ago in an unrelated field and I am applying for a job that requires a PhD And a Master's should I put the bachelor's degree? Is it necessary?"
] |
[
"cv",
"job",
"degree"
] |
[
"Should I invite my idle team mates to participate in our project discussion with our professor?",
"I am about to deliver one year-long project assignment I've been working at my undergraduate school. This was a group project, but out of the three of us, I was the only one to do work on it (100% of it). There were two team mates with me, let's call them X and Y\n\n\nX was idle all the time -- he would seldom answer messages and stopped entirely after a certain point\nY was new to the field, and overwhelmed by the coursework. I recognize other courses kept him busy, but in the end he too produced zero amount of work\n\n\nThat being said, should I invite them to discuss this project with our professor/tutors, pretending we did it all together, or just declare myself as the sole worker, and why?"
] |
[
"computer-science",
"undergraduate",
"projects"
] |
[
"Is GRE scores required before contacting potential advisors?",
"I am from India and want to pursue a PhD in robotics/control systems and am not quite sure on how to start applying. I have my GRE about a month away from now. Is it okay to start contacting/emailing professors before I take the test?\nP.S- I have a bachelors degree. I have about a year of work experience, a year and a half research experience in a lab."
] |
[
"phd"
] |
[
"Professor refuses letter of recommendation request",
"The application for TA fellowship, one normally takes recommedations from previous professors one has TAed under.\nWhat he replied when I messaged him asking for a letter of recommendation:\n\n\n If you remember I had major difficulties with the group of TAs of last\n year: the group behaved as if its internships were the most important\n jobs and only if it had time and in marginal hours, it would do its\n job. I rarely got an answer from my emails, I had to send the same\n email several times. The group rarely answered students' emails and\n their assignments' questions. I asked for the group's support to\n proctor the exam, and at the beginning, nobody was willing to help.\n You were more collaborative than the rest. However, I still had to\n invest a significant amount of time to compensate for the complete\n lack of support of the TA group. So, in these conditions is very\n difficult for me to write the very positive letter that you need to\n win the scholarship. I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful at this\n time.\n\n\nAll of the things he says are not valid for me.\n\nI didn't have internships, students sent me thank you after attending office hours and I went out of the way several times to accommodate his requests. Although, I can remember I replied him a few times the next day due to other work. He also did several things like threatening TAs for complaints which very out of the line at my University and unheard of.\n\nCan I dispute his claims? I don't want a letter of recommendation anymore, I feel under-appreciated for the work I put in. I feel like I should reply to him, but I feel a bit angry for \n\n\ndealing with him with through the course for this\ntrying to go the extra mile for a future recommendation.\n\n\nBackground info:\nThe professor is not from my University and was hired to teach to a summer course.\n\nPossible reply:\nAttach a thank you email I received from one of students taking the course, and mention two times I went over the line to co-operate with him."
] |
[
"recommendation-letter",
"professors",
"interpersonal-issues",
"teaching-assistant"
] |
[
"What's a \"methodological approach\" for research (Master's thesis)?",
"I'm going to apply for a Master's program. Although I'm not going to change my general field of study, I'm going to change my 'track' (from Information Technology to Geoinformatics).\n\nIn the application form of the aforementioned Master's program, I've been asked to specify my area of interest and state a research topic for my Master's thesis and describe my methodological approach. I honestly have no idea how to fill this part, how can I choose an area of interest and more importantly a topic for my thesis when I haven't even started the studies? Besides, can someone please kindly tell me what the part about the \"methodological approach\" means? (Is it talking about choosing one approach between Qualitative, Quantitave, etc. approaches? If so, is it enough to just write down the name and add no details?)"
] |
[
"graduate-admissions",
"masters",
"application",
"methodology",
"research-topic"
] |
[
"Can a graduate school change its decision, from rejection to acceptance?",
"I have heard stories that graduate schools revoke their offers because of various reasons, such as lying in the application and some other serious misconducts. \n\nAs the title suggests, can the opposite happen? And can you recall any such events? If you have, why did they happen?"
] |
[
"graduate-admissions",
"rejection"
] |
[
"description of papers that have not been submitted to a venue?",
"I have some published papers and in my CV, I mention them under the heading of \"Publications\".\n\nHowever, I have some papers that I have not yet submitted to a venue (conference or journal). I think that I cannot mention these papers as \"Publications\". \n\nWhat is the best and more appropriate description for the papers that have not been submitted yet? e.g. \"Research Papers\"? Or \"Research Manuscripts\"? Or something else?"
] |
[
"publications",
"terminology",
"titles"
] |
[
"Organizing data and files",
"Over the last four years I did a bunch of experiments (biotechnology, protein purification). Some of them are more valuable, some of them were just poorly designed (e.g. temperature not controlled, etc.). Some of them turned out to be important one year after I collected the data.\n\nThe data is highly heterogeneous (microscopic images, ELISA, SDS-Page, HPLC of various suppliers, settling velocity, filtration tests etc.; formats are doc, tex, xls, txt, csv, tiff,py, ipynb, png,pdf and proprietary formats like leica`s lif format)\n\nUsually, I started a new folder on our network drive for each task (like afm_particles/2015_01_13_particle_1). Over time I gathered about 50 Gb of heterogenous data.\n\nUsually, I do not alter the data in place, but load it into an Ipython notebook and do the calculation and plotting with python. The calculation files are stored in the same folder as my data. I have a file called INFO.txt in every folder with a brief description of the data within the folder, experimental conditions etc.\n\nUsually, I know where I can find my data, but recently I wanted to change a plot for my thesis and spent about 15 minutes searching for the right sub-folder. In the end I searched for the name of the file and found it. A colleague of mine quit his job a year ago, and if I wanted to reproduce his experiments, I would have to invest several hours in order to find the specific file containing the raw data (hopefully with physical units stated somewhere).\n\nWe do write quarterly reports and paper-based lab journals (some more thoroughly than others). However, navigating through my own data is challenging. Not to mention someone else's data.\n\nHow do you handle heterogeneous data collected throughout a project (3 - 5 years) ?\n\nHave you found a solution satisfying for both, people who have to document it and people who might continue the project ?\n\nIt would be great if I can browse the collected data without going through all the subfolders. For example by some form of index with information for each folder like: title, short description, usefulness of experiments, worked out as expected, totally crap, totally different than expected but interesting. \n\nAre there tools capable of such a thing (Linux, Windows) ?"
] |
[
"collaboration",
"data"
] |
[
"How much time are UK PhD admittees typically given to accept/decline an offer?",
"Is there a general convention as in the US (i.e. \"until April 1\"), or is this highly institution-specific?"
] |
[
"graduate-admissions",
"united-kingdom"
] |
[
"A potential collaborator applies for a grant on his own: what should I do?",
"In response to a solicitation in an area of my expertise, I approached a known expert in a different field; I had thought of a way to apply that field to solve the problem. He liked my idea and set up a meeting with him and his postdocs; over time, we went through several rounds of written communication, proposal outlines, research plans, and revisions amongst us.\n\nMidway through, I learned more about the solicitation and concluded that it wasn't a good match; we discussed this, decided not to apply, but that the plan was good and that we should look for other sources of funding. As we did this, we continued to do some revisions together.\n\nA while later, he sent me an email that he found a good source of funding, that he has a good relationship with the source and doesn't really need a partner for it, and that he is going to apply without me. I was quite upset, but, seeing that he was telling me and not asking me, and that I had no way to stop him, said \"okay, makes sense, please send me a copy of the proposal and keep me informed.\"\n\nIn truth, his proposal was advanced far beyond what I had last worked on. But, the core idea was mine; and I have the records to attest to that, not to mention that his postdocs could verify that as well.\n\nAssuming he gets the grant, I have no desire to get a share of the funds. At this point, he can do the rest of the work without me. He really is an expert and manages a very large, very prominent research program with lots of high profile funding. And rightfully so - he produces results.\n\nWhat I would like is coauthorship. After all, the entire approach is my idea. I thought of using his area of expertise to solve a very high profile problem of growing importance in my field, and described to him in detail why all the indigenous methods to my field are failing, and why an approach drawing on his expertise could succeed.\n\nWhat is the right way to handle this? I won't be satisfied with an acknowledgement at the end; I'd like to be one of the authors. I'm happy helping with the research further though I'm not sure he feels he needs me.\n\nAnd, moreover, is this type of behavior acceptable? Do I have any leverage here? Do I need it?\n\n\n\nCLARIFICATIONS: \n\n\nTo clarify, while I certainly didn't do the research yet, it was more than just giving him an idea. I sent an outline, discussed the plan, and spent hours revising and iterating on their research plan. I'll be equally clear that the final proposal was very high quality, and went far beyond what I had worked on.\nFrom the responses, it seems this falls into a grey area. So let me revise my question: Given that he's probably going forward with this, what's the best way to approach him and ask to be a coauthor? I'd be happy being involved with the research itself, but I'm not sure he wants that. He'd probably be best off career-wise keeping it to him and his students (and, mind you, this is a researcher who puts a lot of effort on career advancement - he's an equally talented businessperson, albeit in academic research, as scholar)."
] |
[
"authorship",
"collaboration",
"colleagues"
] |
[
"Is it better to have a strong thesis, or to follow personal interests during PhD?",
"I'm a second year US PhD student in applied math. For the last year I've been working on one project with my advisor and another one of her students. We have also started a collaboration with a professor from another university on an unrelated topic. Both of these project are progressing at a fairly expected rate.\n\nRecently, I have made headway on a \"personal\" project, which I expect to publish as a single author paper. As a result of this, I've been in contact with some people I met at a conference, and am planning to work on the follow up analysis with them and my advisor. I think this paper and the subsequent analysis will be significant enough that it could serve as the bulk of my thesis. However, I'm not that interested in this topic, and definitely don't want to spend my career on this problem.\n\nI also just reached out to a new professor in our department about some projects which could be much more aligned with my personal interests. \n\nAt this point my main goal is to get a good postdoc and then a good tenure track position. I'm fine with grinding through any work for the next few years if it will help me get there, so my question is whether it will be more beneficial to continue with the personal project on which I've made the most progress, and end up with a very focused and \"citeable\" thesis, or to pursue problems I find interesting, and end up with a broader but perhaps less impactful thesis. \n\nIn either case I expect to work fairly closely with my advisor and one early career academic from outside my university, but if I pursue my personal interests, I'd probably end up working closely with at least one additional person."
] |
[
"phd",
"research-process",
"career-path",
"early-career"
] |
[
"Citing own image based on others work",
"Let's say I create an image which illustrates the ideas of others as part of a paper I write for university class work (so it's not about anything I want to publish).\n\nA simple example: Foo Bar says in their paper: We have a state machine with states A, B, and C. \n\nI want to summarize their idea in my paper, but they do not have a graphic to illustrate it, so I create a graphic for my paper looking like this:\n\nA --> B --> C\n\n\n\nDo I need to cite it? My text makes it clear that this is not my idea (and it properly cites Foo Bar), but just looking at the graphic, this isn't clear. \nIf so, how would I cite it? Would \"Graphic Title (based on [Foo Bar, 2016])\" work? Is \"based on\" strong enough to indicate that this is not a graphic created by Foo Bar or a graphic based on a graphic by Foo Bar? Would \"based on work by [Foo Bar]\" be better? Or is there some standard for this situation that I'm not aware of?\n\n\nThis question is similar to How to cite a rebuilt graphic, but not a duplicate, as I did not rebuild a graphic, but build a graphic based on a description."
] |
[
"citations",
"graphics",
"homework"
] |
[
"How do universities (particularly medium sized ones) plan their master course schedule?",
"I'm a student at a university of around 20,000 students (using the semester system, just to be clear) and it's currently summer/fall registration planning time, a time for me which is more stressful than any of my classes, with all of the various requirements that must be met, especially since I must fit in gened, major, and honors courses in my schedules.\n\nAs hard/stressful as it is for me, it must be an absolute nightmare for the university. It's not a large enough school that they can just offer 20 slots of a specific course (this happens, but only for nearly universal courses like comp I), and the majority of courses required for my major are offered once per year, in one section only.\n\nHow on Earth do schools deal with the logistical nightmare that must be planning hundreds of courses while avoiding conflicts which would make it impossible to meet requirements on time and making sure enough slots for each course are open?"
] |
[
"administration",
"course-design"
] |
[
"Do many academic institutions let students deposit their publications in the institutional repository?",
"I'm a doctoral student and I've published several academic papers. My institution maintains a digital institutional repository, but it doesn't look like I can put copies of my work in it. When I finish my dissertation, a copy of that would go in the IR. It seems strange that the institution doesn't seem to have practices in place to take in other published work of students. Are there other academic institutions that allow this? If so, it would be great to have links to their policies."
] |
[
"publications",
"graduate-school",
"repository"
] |
[
"Programming languages in computer science / applied math academic journals",
"I am working on documenting a new algorithm to solve a discrete mathematics problem, hopefully to publish academically. In this article, I will need to provide code samples and attach or link to a full code listing.\n\nIn academic articles I read from late last century, it was customary to document algorithms in C (one example here 1). Counting problems that involved large numbers used double even if the precision was insufficient.\n\nIn today's academic journals, what language is used by leading discrete mathematics papers?\n\n\n\nFor completeness, following are the journals I would try to target. I don't have access to these anymore, otherwise I would just leaf through them all.\n\n\nJournal of Combinatorial Theory\nDiscrete Mathematics\nDiscrete Applied Mathematics\nElectronic Journal of Combinatorics\nAdvances in Applied Mathematics\nJournal of the ACM\nSIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics\nMAA Monthly\nComputational Methods in Engineering\nComputational Intelligence and Complexity\nSIAM Journal on Optimization\nSIAM Journal on Computing\nComputational Intelligence and Complexity\n\n\n1 Shirish Chinchalkar in \"An Upper Bound for the Number of Reachable Positions\", ICCA Journal, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 181-183, 1996"
] |
[
"publications",
"journals",
"mathematics",
"computer-science"
] |
[
"Transferring out of Rank 1 PhD program to another PhD program",
"I'm a first-year at a top-ranked institution in a PhD program that I have not had a formal background in. My PI is really great. The only real flaw I've seen so far is that his students take a while to graduate (most seem to have taken 6-6.5 years...). But I enjoy the research, even though I've just barely started. \n\nThe problem is more with the department and classes. I'm truly uncertain if I will be able to pass (i.e. >= B) one of the required classes I'm in, and another class I'm taking I'm pretty much certain I will have to drop (before the deadline) because I just don't have the background necessary for it even though I was told I would. I've been studying for the upcoming exam for weeks, but I still feel very behind where I need to be. The fact that if I get below a B I have to wait a year to retake it is also off-putting. I don't think I could wait a year knowing my future hinges on one exam. \n\nI really want to do a PhD though, both for my personal and career-related goals. I love research and being involved in that community. I don't love this stressful environment where professors seem to have no issue kicking you out. \n\nIf things don't go well, is it possible to leave this program to start anew at another program? I know this would burn all bridges here, but I'm just trying to brainstorm my options. I'm just not really sure what to do.\n\nOf course, I will wait and see how I do on my upcoming exam, but I just frankly don't think it will go well. Does anyone have any advice? This all makes for a very stressful situation. I'll just keep studying for now."
] |
[
"phd",
"graduate-admissions"
] |
[
"Math postdoc: 'endowed' postdoc vs. ordinary postdoc",
"It seems that most of the job advertisements for postdoc positions in mathematics (in the US) on mathjobs are named positions (I.e. \"Smith visiting assistant professor\" or something like that), and each department offers a very small number of such positions (usually between 1 to 4). But when I check the webpages of the relevant departments, it seems that they usually have something like 20-30 postdoctoral researchers, and most of them are not named postdocs.\n\n\nWhat is the common way to apply for those ordinary postdoc positions? (I can't find them on mathjobs and I know that math postdocs in the US are usually not hired by a PI)\nWhen you apply for a named position on mathjobs, does it mean that the hiring committee will automatically consider you also for the ordinary postdoc position?"
] |
[
"mathematics",
"postdocs"
] |
[
"How to format code for IEEE Journals",
"I'm working on a paper for IEEE Transactions on Computers, and I can't find any guidelines on how to format code (C++) that is included in the paper.\n\nI found some other papers with short code snippets, and it looks like they just used Courier New for the font, but I'm not sure of the font size. Do I need to include line numbers? I haven't found any with long sections of code (so for something with 4 lines I wouldn't expect line numbers anyways).\n\nIf someone has published a paper with code in it in IEEE Trans, and could give me some advice, I would really really appreciate it."
] |
[
"paper-submission",
"ieee",
"code",
"formatting"
] |
[
"Should I not ask my students about their hometown?",
"Recently, I taught a class of five students. I asked for their native place and all told that their hometown is X, but I didn't tell my reason for asking.\nI asked them because of the reason that I can communicate easily with them if they are from Y, since I can speak the language of my hometown Y well.\nAlthough I can communicate in our common language, I cannot communicate as well as I can in Y's language.\nMy doubt here is whether this would constitute discrimination based on place or is it perfectly fine to ask them? Is it similar to asking about race, religion, caste, etc., which is generally not recommended?"
] |
[
"online-learning",
"india",
"developing-countries",
"discrimination"
] |
[
"Path to a good grad school in math during undergrad?",
"I'm a high school senior about to graduate in 1 month. I have a strong passion in math, and I want to be a mathematician. What is the best path to getting into a top grad school? How many REU's should I try to do? Any publications? How about graduate level courses? Do you need a 4.0 in undergrad? I'm also self studying as much math as I can, from Artin's Algebra, Munkre's topology, and baby Rudin. How much math should I know by the time I apply for grad school? I would greatly appreciate your feedback!"
] |
[
"graduate-school",
"graduate-admissions",
"mathematics"
] |
[
"Is it OK for a professor to refuse access to individual test marks?",
"I received a very low grade in one of my Master classes. This is not a failing grade but close to it. Such low scores are highly unusual in this country (Japan), 90/100 or more is the norm and even a 80/100 is frowned upon sometimes. My score is much lower. Therefore, although I will obtain the credits for the class, there may be prejudice.\n\nThe strange thing is that this class was anything but hard. It consisted in about a dozen of lectures, one every week, done by different scientists. The evaluation consisted in a very small quiz (A5 sheet) at the end of each lecture, to be answered in 10 minutes. Usually the question was: `what did you think of this lecture, and how does it relate to your research topic ?’. I would answer it normally, in a few paragraphs.\n\nBecause my final grade is so low, and because I was very surprised, I asked the responsible professor for the details of my marks. I would like to know how well I performed in each individual test. Unfortunately, he refuses categorically to provide me with this info. Is this legal or common behavior? What should I do?"
] |
[
"masters",
"grades",
"japan"
] |
[
"What is the relationship between credits and course hours?",
"Why can courses at the same department have an apparent disproportionality between credits and hours?\n\nFor example at my French university my department offers a 12 credit course with 48 hours of lectures and 72 hours of practical work, a 9 credit course with 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of practical work, a different 9 credit course with 24 hours of lectures and no practical work, a 6 credit course with 24 hours of lectures and 36 hours of practical work. There are also 0 credit courses with 1 hour of lecture, but these are not really courses and are just included in the course catalog as bonus content to make up a bit for courses not offered in the current year. All of the courses I refer to are Master's level.\n\nHow are the number of credits calculated? Intuitively, one would suppose that the number of credits should be somehow proportional to the number of hours, but it is clearly not simply: a x # of lecture hours + b x # of practical hours.\n\nQuestion: What is the relationship between credits and course hours?"
] |
[
"masters",
"coursework",
"europe"
] |
[
"When should a graduate student accept a peer-review request?",
"I have recently published my first research paper and have already received a request to review a manuscript. The journal's impact factor is low, but it is open access, and the paper's topic is relevant to my field of study. What factors should I keep in mind when deciding whether to accept or decline the request to review? What level of expertise is typically expected from a good-quality review?"
] |
[
"publications",
"phd",
"peer-review"
] |
[
"Should I include research stays in my CV?",
"During my PhD I was invited three times by two researchers to stay and do research in their lab, one week at a time. I'm now a postdoc and applying to tenured jobs in Europe (yay). Should I include these stays in my CV for these job applications?\n\nTo be fair most of the deadlines have already gone for these applications. Someone just mentioned to me that they did that so I'd like more opinions on this. To be even more fair I'm pretty sure I will still need the advice next year. (Some more research stays are coming up, also.)"
] |
[
"application",
"cv",
"europe"
] |
[
"Letter of Recommendation from English Teacher for Math Ph.D. program?",
"I am a Japanese undergraduate junior student who is thinking of applying to graduate programs in Mathematics in the U.S. and the biggest problem for me is the Letter of Recommendation. I am planning to ask a teacher of my English class for one of my LOR because my senior who went for a grad school(Engineering) in the U.S. did so.\nMy intention is that she can prove that I have sufficient English skills to study in the U.S.\n\nHowever, from what I have seen on the Internet, no one seemed to do so and all of LORs have to be from people in relevant fields. Is getting a LOR from an English teacher for Math Ph.D. program good or bad?"
] |
[
"phd",
"graduate-admissions",
"mathematics",
"recommendation-letter"
] |
[
"As a teaching assistant, how important are student evaluations?",
"I have seen a number of résumés of doctoral students, but only a few of them listed their evaluation scores when presenting their teaching experience. \n\n\nHow important are these scores in evaluating the teaching capabilities of a student? \nHow does one ensure that the students are sincere in their evaluations?\n\n\nIn case a professor does a slipshod work of a course, not teaching in depth or cramming a lot of syllabus in a short time, there is only so much a TA could do to salvage the course for the students. \n\n\nHow does the TA make the best of a bad job in such a situation? \nApart from holding weekly office hours and lenient grading(!), what is the maximum a TA can do, after all?"
] |
[
"graduate-school",
"teaching",
"teaching-assistant",
"course-evaluation"
] |
[
"Etiquette - send a copy of my new book to the department I earned my PhD within or to my advisor?",
"I need some etiquette advice. The book version of my PhD manuscript has just come out and I have a limited number of copies (8) from my publisher that I can give to family etc. My dilemma is whether it is more appropriate to send a copy to the department where I earned my PhD or to send the copy directly to my supervisor, who has retired and is no longer teaching there. The rest of my committee is still teaching in the department.\nAny thoughts? \nThanks for the help, \nWendy"
] |
[
"phd",
"advisor",
"etiquette",
"books",
"thesis-committee"
] |
[
"What is the difference between early career research positions",
"I am looking for the differences between the following positions:\n\n\nResearcher\nPostdoctoral fellow\nPostdoctoral researcher"
] |
[
"postdocs",
"early-career"
] |
[
"When writing the paper about completed experiments, should you cite work you hadn't read before?",
"I (try to) do research in Computer Science/Deep Learning. I recently did some work developing a novel idea and am writing a paper on it. I have only written one paper before, and I'm currently being paralysed by the related works section.\n\nIt seems impossible for me to have a thorough understanding of everything that is related. When I started the work, I was working from the understanding I had at the time. The vast majority of the influence on my work was only from ~4 other papers, and what I took from them as background in the area. \n\nIn doing the work, I have come to understand other work and the context much better (I find that working on a problem, and attempting to explain my work, demystifies a lot of statements in other people's papers). Now, reading other papers on other related work is more plausible for me. I'm realising that I've made some assumptions based on those core papers, and want to find citations for them.\n\nThis appears backwards to how it's supposed to work; the papers that I would cite in this manner I hadn't read or understood before I started working. So, my main question is: is it illegitimate to cite several papers you hadn't read before completing the majority of the experiments?\n\nFollow up questions are: Is it normal to only have a few main influences, and many lesser influences? (Computer-science-specific) How much of a paper's theory/background is worked out after making it work? Is it my fault if I haven't come across some important related idea, or is it generally accepted that you might miss something?"
] |
[
"citations",
"computer-science",
"writing"
] |
[
"Why are the acceptance rates for publications in subfields higher than others?",
"For example in computer science, systems conferences have low acceptance rates hovering around ~20% as listed here: https://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~almeroth/conf/stats/\n\nBut in robotics many of the conferences, even the major ones, seem to have acceptance rates of ~40% (ICRA, IROS) as seen here: http://www.adaptivebox.net/CILib/CICON_stat.html#ICRA\n\nWhy is this, and are any steps taken to equalise the playing field between subfields? Does this simply mean that those doing systems research are just going to have a harder time publishing than those in robotics?"
] |
[
"publications"
] |
[
"It may not be in my best interest to ask a professor I have done research with for recommendation letters. Can this seem suspicious in my application?",
"I am not from the US and my field is in the social sciences. A while back, I started collaborating with a foreign professor on a research project which is now under review and another one which is halfway through. however, I did not find these topics very fulfilling and I want to move to another area closer to my original interests (I already have two other published papers relevant to this new area). The complicating issue is that the professor has told me several times he would be very interested in having me as a PhD student. So, I guess, he may not appreciate the fact that I have decided to pursue another area with another supervisor. Therefore, it may not be very fair or wise to ask him for letters of recommendation. What worries me, however, is that if I list these papers in my CV (which I eventually have to when they get published), it may raise questions/suspicions about why I have not asked him to recommend me. I cannot preemptively tell my prospective supervisor or the admissions committee the real reason for my reluctance to ask this professor. So, I am concerned that if such questions arise in their minds, it may lead them to mistakenly assume that I have something to hide, motivating me to exclude this professor as a potential recommender.\nIs this a legitimate concern?"
] |
[
"graduate-admissions",
"research-process",
"advisor",
"recommendation-letter",
"collaboration"
] |
[
"Can UK PhD studentships legally effectively bar EU applicants by stating that \"all eligible applicants must also have been resident in the UK\"?",
"I am aware that many UK PhD studentships are only open to UK/EU applicants (question 1, question 2). In my understanding, they cannot (pre-Brexit) legally discriminate between EU and UK applicants, but they can bar non-EU applicants. But\nmy eyes fell upon eligibility requirements for this University of Newcastle PhD studentship, emphasis and link mine, which effectively bars EU applicants, too:\n\n\n This studentship is available to UK applicants and EU applicants with settled status in the UK, meaning they have no restrictions on how long they can stay. All eligible applicants must also have been ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the studentship, and not been residing in the UK wholly or mainly for the purpose of full-time education.\n\n\nSuch an additional requirement effectively discriminates between UK and EU applicants. The vast majority of EU applicants will not have been also resident in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the studentship, or if they have, have been so for the purposes of education. Even some UK citizens will be ineligible if they spent any time studying abroad.\n\nIs such discrimination between UK and EU applicants legal under EU law? It would appear to effectively amount to the same as stating \"Europeans need not apply\" by different means."
] |
[
"phd",
"funding",
"united-kingdom",
"international-students"
] |
[
"Waitlisted - Got Paper Accepted - Email Committee?",
"I have been waitlisted to a top program in CS. During the time I applied to the program and now, I received the rebuttal results of a paper I had submitted and worked on over the last year. I got two strong accepts, and 1 weak accept, as first author at a top conference. There is potential for this paper to be an Oral paper as well.\n\nShould I email the committee requesting to update my resume? Although having strong accepts is usually a guarantee for admission, it is still not official until mid March, but it may be too late by then. Also, are the waitlist positions already set in stone, or can this update of my resume move me up on the waitlist. Is this even worth it to do?\n\nPlease give me your advice."
] |
[
"publications",
"graduate-admissions"
] |
[
"Is it ethical to upload an automatically generated paper to a non peer-reviewed site as part of a larger research?",
"I'm doing some research on my own as a side-project. In fact, I want no one from my research center to be involved in this research as I feel that they will take credit for my idea, like in past times. Nevertheless, if their involvement is completely necessary, I would consider it.\n\nAnyways, this project requires to upload completely nonsense papers to Arxiv or similar. They are completely nonsense as they are artificially generated. The idea is to see if this is possible or how easy it is.\n\nOn the one hand, I don't want to pollute the scientific community with rubbish but in the other hand, I see that this step is necessary to continue further with this research.\n\nMy question is, how should I proceed? Should I do it and once I finish my research tell Arxiv that they can delete the files? Should I ask for permission first? Should I not do it at all?\n\nEDIT: Just to make sure that everyone understands, this is not something that I have done yet. In fact, after seeing the responses, it is more than likely that I try to avoid publishing in arXiv. The objective is not to upload a paper to arXiv, is something else, but I was considering uploading it to arXiv as a medium for reaching another goal. Nevertheless, it is not my objective to pollute arXiv or the community."
] |
[
"ethics",
"paper-submission",
"arxiv"
] |
[
"Do automatic tools to check thesis exist?",
"I am currently writing my bachelor's thesis in Computer Science with LaTeX. The thesis is written in English. I use aspell for spell checking, but I think there is more that could automatically be checked:\n\n\nWriting \"style\" (e.g. warnings for \"I\", \"me\", ...)\nGrammar checking.\nWrong citations (I use bibtex)\nMissing figures or tables\nDuplicate lables\n\n\nIs there a program that checks writing style for academic work?"
] |
[
"publications",
"writing",
"tools",
"latex"
] |
[
"Impact of parameters in experimental results of paper",
"I am writing a paper in computer science literature. I have a method that has two main parameters. It turns out that one of these parameters does not have a significant impact on the quality of the results, but it has a big impact on the efficiency of the method. I have a question:\n\n\nHow should I explain this in my experimental results section? Should I draw some plots and show that for different variation of this parameter the result is the same (this seems numb to draw some plots that all overlap) or I should write a paragraph and explain this phenomenon?"
] |
[
"computer-science",
"experiment-design"
] |
[
"Turning down an accepted tenure track for a better one?",
"Nota: This question specifically scopes the issue in an academic context.\n\n\nContext \nI am currently on the job market for a tenure track. I assert I should get a position in a bottom-of-the-first-tier institution.\nConsider I accepted such a position, and that I then get an offer for a top-3 institution. (Obviously, I won't be their first choice, so I should receive their offer after I had to answer to previous lower-range offers.)\n\nIssue\nAs far as I am aware of the job etiquette in the US, you are not liable to your future company as long as you've signed no contract. So you can eventually change your mind, even if you already shook hands. Of course, you discredit yourself with the given company... but there are plenty of fishes in the sea in the case of industry. This is not the case in the academia, where you will rub shoulders with the colleagues you dumped for a few decades.\n\nQuestions\n\n\nHow bad would it be for my reputation/career to turn down a medium-position I accepted for an all-star one, in the case I verbally (phone call or email only, no contract signed) accepted the former ?\nIdem, yet with a contract signed (as long as it is permitted in the contract to resign)?"
] |
[
"etiquette",
"job",
"tenure-track"
] |
[
"Present journal paper at conference or the same work at multiple conferences",
"Possible Duplicate:\n Under what circumstances can one republish a conference paper/presentation? \n\n\n\n\nI have recently completed a Masters of Science which I pursued to fill a personal goal and to advance our development of a regional tsunami warning system.\n\nHaving read the thread on multiple publishing and presenting I am still confused as this is a new issue for me. Coming from Government we present on special projects or findings any number of times.\n\nIf I wish to publish my findings in an academic journal am I precluded from presenting at any conferences?\n\nIf I present at a localised scientific conference without published proceedings, am I precluded from presenting at a global one?\n\nCan I focus one on localised context and the other on the global implications, then cite having presented at the local level?"
] |
[
"publications",
"research-process"
] |
[
"Can I publish if I develop a tool, but it solve non important problem only? (Mathematics)",
"My research is in mathematics.\nI have developed an interesting quantity X. Combined with other quantity Y, I can solve a certain problem.\nHowever,\n\nI don't know if the problem itself is important or not.\nIt needs to combined with other tools to work.\n\nCan I still publish my idea?"
] |
[
"publications",
"research-process",
"mathematics"
] |
[
"Where to publish research if I do not want a peer review process?",
"I have a few papers, one of which is on a topic that, after thorough checking, has not been researched from this particular angle before. \n\nMy question is where can I publish this without going through peer reviewed academic journals? I only have my undergrad, and am looking to publish the work to make myself competitive for a PhD finance program. The paper is on real estate finance. \n\nI just need a quick- one, two, you're published! Will finance programs look highly on this, or will they ignore it completely?"
] |
[
"publications",
"peer-review"
] |
[
"Why are some non-thesis MS or MA programs just called M?",
"I heard of some master's degrees that are just M instead of MS or MA like Master of Mathematics or Master of Psychology. Apparently, this is due to it being non-thesis.\n\nHowever, I met people who choose non-thesis in MS or MA programs that have a choice between thesis and non-thesis. Their IDs say MS or MA. Is this because the program has a choice for thesis?"
] |
[
"graduate-school",
"thesis",
"masters"
] |
[
"If you make a substantial contribution should you be given the opportunity to satisfy the other requirements for authorship?",
"The ICMJE has developed a set of guidelines to help determine who authors should be. They say\n\nThe following recommendations are intended to ensure that contributors who have made substantive intellectual contributions to a paper are given credit as authors\n\nThe requirements to be an author are:\n\nThe ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:\n\nSubstantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND\nDrafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND\nFinal approval of the version to be published; AND\nAgreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.\n\n\nI think that it is reasonable that authors should meet all 4 of the criteria. What seems surprising to me is that someone could use the guidelines to justify not including someone as an author that did the work, drafted the manuscript, and agreed to be accountable, by simply not allowing them the chance to provide final approval of the version to be published.\nShouldn't the guidelines include a condition that if you meet the first criteria, that you then be given the option to meet the other criteria?\nAm I missing something?\nHas this apparent shortcoming been addressed anywhere?"
] |
[
"authorship"
] |
[
"How much does a low undergraduate CGPA affect chances of getting a faculty job in a top-tier university?",
"Your undergraduate CGPA is quite low, but you were somehow accepted into a respected Masters and PhD program, and completed your postgraduate work quite successfully. Your undergraduate major was the same general field as your postgraduate research. \n\nYou are now beginning your academic job search. How would the low CGPA affect your chances of getting a job at a top-tiered academic institution in the US or UK? \n\nIf yes, then what else can you do in the meantime to counteract the negative effects of that low CGPA?\n\n(btw, I am asking this for a friend, not for me as I am not in academia)"
] |
[
"job-search",
"undergraduate",
"faculty-application",
"gpa"
] |
[
"Can I quit an already started Marie Curie Postdoctoral fellowship to start an assistant professorship?",
"I received a Marie Curie Individual Fellowship in Europe. Now, due to the institute's lack of equipment + COVID, it seems I will be able to do barely any of the things I had planned. I have been offered a position as Assistant Professor at an Asian International University of Technology.\nWould you leave a European fellowship for a tenure track assistant professorship that has a 2+2 year structure?\nWhat happens if you quit a fellowship for an assistant professorship?"
] |
[
"funding",
"quitting",
"assistant-professor",
"covid-19"
] |
[
"Shifting from a mechanical engineering major to a pure mathematics major",
"A few answers related to such queries are already present in this forum; however, my case is distinct from the others and has some specific restrictions.\n\nI am enrolled in a dual degree program in Mechanical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and this is my final semester. The course is of 5 years in duration and awards a general bachelor and, in my case, a master specialized in thermal science & engineering. Usually, the admissions to elite Indian institutions are granted on a rank-merit basis and I couldn't apply for undergraduate mathematics programs (and a world of other unique problems that exist to bar your independent decision). \n\nI had particular interests in pure mathematics since my high school: such as trying out fundamental aspects of sequence & series (in real analysis contexts) or multivariable calculus. These interests translated to my undergraduate years as a minor in mathematics & computing. \n\nThe first three semesters of my major program covered aspects upto applied partial differential equations (contain basic linear algebra, vector calculus, complex analysis, and theoretical calculus). To obtain my minor, I took additional subjects: Probability & Statistics, Design & Analysis of algorithm (Theory + Lab), Operations research (theory + lab), Theoretical statistical inference, Regression and time series analysis, Real Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Integral equations & Calculus of Variation, Galois theory (covers up to basics of transcendental extensions). Apart from these, I have also taken some courses in theoretical physics such as Statistical physics and Quantum mechanics.\n\nMy main interest, however, lies in topological manifolds, differential topology & Geometry. As it was difficult to find courses that are at least offered and then doesn't clash with my major. I self-studied - at least the fundamental aspects - of topology, measure theory, functional analysis (needed for integral equations and operator theory), topological manifolds(J.M. Lee).\n\nOn the Indian grading system, I have maintained a pretty good CGPA in both my major and minor: 9.28/10.0 (major) and 9.20/10.0 (minor).\n\nI wish to apply in three regions: USA, Canada, and Europe. And I wish to apply for a master so that I can obtain sufficient grounding in the domain of my interest(Differential topology & Geometry). \n\nI have given TOEFL and GRE General test but couldn't give GRE subject test due to some issues. However, I have decent scores in both the GRE General Test and TOEFL. \n\nAs a backup, I am also applying for a Ph.D. admission in Mechanical engineering at some U.S. Schools but this is still secondary for me. My main target is to achieve admission to a master's degree in mathematics in a self-sustainable fashion so that I can apply for a P.hD. in the future.\n\nEdit - possible sources of recommendation: One from a statistics Professors, one from my Master's thesis advisor (my current thesis is more like in the junction of applied math/modelling and supercapacitors), one from my galois theory professor who, in general, works in algebraic topology and K-theory. \nThere aren't many sources of strictly pure math recommendation in my institute as this institute is more inclined toward technical and engineering aspects. \n\n\n What are some optimal strategies for me to change my major and get a\n successful admission under these circumstances?\n\n\nPotential constraints: \n\n\nDifferent Major \nNo GRE Subject test\nLack of enough coursework\nLack of any work experiences or research internships\nTruly need Self-sustainability throughout the duration of the program.\nNeed a program where I can get enough time to develop a solid grounding - (2 Year) preferable. \n\n\nShould I try to focus on universities from a specific region or a specific section of the QS ranking? Is it possible for me to know which universities would be the best to target in my condition? What are some strategies I can adopt for the next semester to boost my chances?"
] |
[
"graduate-admissions"
] |
[
"Unsatisfactory Instructor Evaluations: balancing of expectations of engineering students",
"I teach undergraduate and graduate level courses in mechanical engineering at a research oriented university in the United States. I am a teaching track professor and my sole responsibility, on which I am judged for pay raises or promotions, is teaching efficacy.\n\nThe courses I teach have a strong mathematical component to them. Some notable examples would be: computational fluid dynamics or finite element methods. For those here familiar with these courses, you would know that calculus background is necessary to understand the nuances.\n\nHowever, I find that the students I teach this to (mostly 4th year undergraduate students) balk at the prospect of doing some analytical \"pen-on-paper\" work and would like only to know how to use relevant software skills for these, with no mathematical background.\n\nThis leads me to receiving unsatisfactory end of semester evaluations (3.90/5.00) from students with a lot of them complaining that \"the course is too math-y\"(verbatim). The department requires teaching professors to consistently receive a 4+/5.00 for courses they teach and base promotions, continuing contracts and raises on this.\n\nUnfortunately, I refuse to pander and just teach students \"software-button-clicking\" alone. Software skills can be learnt from Youtube and they don't really need me to teach them that. I continuously tell them that mathematical/fundamental analytical skills are far more important because the software landscape is quite fickle and ever-changing based on industry whims and fancies. However, fundamental mathematical skills are resolute and robust and may be applied to most engineering problems.\n\nHas this been encountered by other folks on this SE and is there some effective method you have devised to counter this? My university is significantly \"engine research\" driven and students end up getting jobs at the \"big 4\" automotive companies. Perhaps I need to ply my trade at a different department like \"applied mathematics\"?\n\nOn my part, I juxtapose software results with analytical results continuously to explain how analytical results are necessary for validating software results. However, students are under the impression that the \"software is always right\" irrespective of whether or not their problem set-up and boundary conditions are correct or not."
] |
[
"mathematics",
"teaching",
"lecture-teaching-method"
] |
[
"How should I prepare myself for a Master's degree in Computer Science from Stanford or Berkeley? If I am already working as a Software Engineer?",
"Let me begin with a little background information about myself first. I studied physics for my Bachelor's degree from a public university (within the top 20 physics program in U.S.) Now I am working for a robotics startup in Silicon Valley as a software engineer. Not very long ago, I discovered a strong interest toward AI and Machine Learning. I've been taking courses from Coursera and Udacity for convolutional neural networks and deep learning. At work I've been working on the implementation of simple computer vision. However, I feel that I am still lacking a strong theoretical foundation in the field. Thus, I wish to pursue a Master's degree in AI/ML. \n\nFinancially wise, a Master's degree has a steep opportunity cost for me. My annual salary is in the 100~150k range. If I take two years off for the program, it will cost me at least 200k including tuition (considering my taxed income.) The best way for me to save money is to stay in the Bay Area because I can live with my parents; that alone will save me the money for rent and food. \n\nHere's a little academic background, I have a 3.6 GPA in physics and 3.5 overall GPA if humanities courses are included. I only have A's and B's on my transcript. My upper division physics courses are mostly A's including the two graduate courses I took in Condensed Matter Physics. I also did research in the field but didn't make any significant publication. They only won me scholarships and poster presentations. \n\nI think I will need to retake my GRE. My verbal portion was merely average, very average. My quantitative portion was about 95th percentile. \nSo beside GRE and GPA, who should I ask for letter for recommendation for a Master's degree in Computer Science? Also how should I prepare myself before I apply? \n\nYour advice and opinion are greatly appreciated!"
] |
[
"graduate-admissions",
"masters",
"computer-science",
"early-career"
] |
[
"Asking authors for details of algorithm implementation when no explanation is provided",
"I am reading a paper where they cite \"Apply the X Algorithm on the result\" after a series of operations on \"result\" in the algorithm. The rest of the algorithm is clear in what it asks to do, but the \"X Algorithm\" and \"applying\" it are not clear in what is supposed to be done. Also, there is no other place in the paper, nor any citation to another paper, where the algorithm is cited.\n\nLooking up \"X Algorithm\" online does give an explanation to how it works, but the result does not seem close to what the expected results are. For example, the explanation online gives results that are always integers, when the result is supposed to be a real number normally distributed between 0 and 1.\n\nIs it suitable to contact the author(s) of the paper directly and get an explanation/access to implementation of the algorithm because it is not explained in the paper?"
] |
[
"publications",
"citations"
] |
[
"How long should I wait for the receipt acknowledgement?",
"I submitted my paper by e-mail one week ago. How long is it reasonable to wait for the receipt acknowledgement? What to do if they won't acknowledge receipt of the paper?"
] |
[
"journals",
"paper-submission",
"editors"
] |
[
"study phd and second master at the same time at same program",
"I am a phd student at Civil/Structural engineering program outside of Canada but now I want to study second master of Structural engineering (my research area will be difference from my first master) in Canada. I want to know if I can study both phd and master at the same time? my phd courses are finished and I am in phd research duration."
] |
[
"phd",
"masters",
"canada"
] |
[
"Is it worth the risk to apply to REUs? How likely am I to be accepted?",
"I am applying to biology REUs(Research Experience for Undergraduates) this summer. Would a white female junior from a small R2 university, 3.9 gpa, and one summer of research experience be likely enough to get into one these programs? I've heard that it's a long shot if you're not a minority, the issue is while female counts as minority for other REUs I don't know if it counts much for bio these days...\nI'm asking because there's a very very good study abroad program (a very good university to study at for bio) I want to apply to that goes until June (which overlaps with 99% of REUs and other internships). So I either pick the top study abroad program and simply do research at my university over the summer or get a job, or I pick my second choice study abroad program in order to apply to REUs (as well as other internships such as NOAA), but risk not getting into any of them anyway and going right to my backup plans for the summer."
] |
[
"application",
"undergraduate",
"research-undergraduate",
"biology",
"ecology"
] |
[
"What to do in dealing with scientific mistakes in an article?",
"Recently I've read an article in a journal and find out numerous scientific mistakes in that paper. I decide to write a note to the editorial board of the journal.\nFirst of all, I want to know is there any credit for writing a note about scientific mistakes in an article?\nThen I want to know what should be the subject of the note, errata, corrigenda, or retraction note with respect to the scientific mistakes and probably falsified, mistaken data?\nIt should be noted that I am fully confident of the paper's mistakes and have no desire to communicate with the author of the article."
] |
[
"publications",
"journals",
"errors-erratum",
"retraction"
] |
[
"Graduate Research After Retirement",
"I will be retiring in a few months with a successful research career in industry (>100 journal papers, >300 conference presentations, >50 patents). I am interested in doing research in an academic lab after retirement. My current expertise is in applied plasma physics, but I am interested in doing research in either astrophysics or biology. Any suggestions on on how to find such opportunities or how does one get involved in research in a new area when one is 60+? I won't be concerned about compensation and I am well adept at the numerical, statistical and mathematical methods employed in research."
] |
[
"research-process",
"retirement"
] |
[
"How to cite indirect sources in CSE/CBE (name–year) system?",
"I’m writing my first review paper and I don’t know much about the CSE system. I couldn’t find the indirect citation rule for CSE (but for others). So how do I cite indirectly in this style?"
] |
[
"citation-style"
] |
[
"Are there studies testing whether academia rewards researchers based on number of publications?",
"I would like to know whether any scientific study has tested a hypothesis relating number of publications to career advancement.\n\nIt is often suggested that hiring and promotion decisions at research institutions are based heavily on the number of publications produced. That is, one is more likely to get a tenure-track position and subsequently to get tenure if one has a larger number of publications (independent of quality). One could also introduce an opposing argument that large numbers of publications are negatively correlated with quality of work and therefore negatively impact career advancement. Are there any studies supporting either of these views?\n\nSome remarks: I understand well that even if there is correlation it would not imply causation. Also, I suspect that the relation between publication quantity and career advancement is very different between disciplines and between world regions. I would be interested in studies that address the question globally or among some subset of academe.\n\nI believe this question is different from Whether to publish one big paper or many smaller papers for a given research project?, since I am asking for general scientific studies rather than opinions.\n\nI am aware that, for many reasons, reaching valid conclusions may be impossible. I am interested in whether it has been attempted."
] |
[
"publications",
"reference-request",
"promotion"
] |
[
"What does a managing editor do in scientific journal editorial board?",
"I need to contact the editorial board of a journal I recently submitted an article to about an issue, and I am having some thoughts as to who would be the appropriate person to contact. \n\nI know that the Editor-in-chief is pretty much in charge of the show, and the associate editors contribute based on their personal areas of expertise. \n\nI have no idea what a managing editor does however. Intuitively I would assume that this job title would encompass more of the administrative and less scientific aspects of the publication process, but I am not certain. \n\nSo what does a managing editor do, and what type of questions should be directed to the managing editor?"
] |
[
"publications",
"journals",
"paper-submission",
"editors"
] |
[
"Do we cite results in Arxiv which are obviously wrong?",
"I am now writing up a math paper, and there is an Arxiv paper posted back in 2009 which proved a weaker version of my result. But I don’t think their paper will be published in any journal – their proof is clearly wrong. Since that is eight years ago, I suppose the author spotted the error already.\n\nMy question: Should I cite their result in my paper? Note that we are both using the same technique (introduced elsewhere), just that they overlooked a key technical issue."
] |
[
"citations",
"mathematics",
"arxiv"
] |
[
"Signature for Doctor of Information Technology prefix and suffix",
"How can I sign my name with the degree of \"Doctor of Information Technology\"? \n\nIs this all correct? \n\nDr. Full Name\n\nFull Name D.I.T\n\nDr Full Name\n(Doctor of Information Technology)\n\nDr. Last Name\n\nCan I use these kind of signatures in my emails and/or letters? Is there a standard way of doing this? \n\nNote: This question was also asked on English Language & usage"
] |
[
"writing-style",
"formatting",
"email"
] |
[
"PhD after industry. Is it reasonable?",
"I am a 31 years old software engineer at a big technology company in Silicon Valley. I have a master's degree in computer science and moved into working full time right at the time of my graduation. During those ~6 years in industry, I always tried to work a few hours during the day on my personal passion which is studying mathematics. Ultimately, every time I want to study a specific topic, I made so little progress because of my full-time job that I got frustrated. I figured just a few weeks ago that something needed to change and I should pursue my passion, which is research, and then got into my head that I must do a PhD. Now, the principal reason of doing a PhD for me is to be able to work full-time on maths. Something I am dreaming about, just thinking about it makes me very happy. On the other hand, at the same time, I know that I am taking a major pay cut (from 6 to 5 figures), and my lifestyle will dramatically change. \n\nEDIT :\nQuestion has been put on hold so I will try to narrow down my questioning to a specific concern.\n\nConsidering that I have no demonstrable research experience, no real recommendations by academia people ( 7 years out of college, my teachers will likely had forgot about me ), no good grades in my masters ( average ), and a degree in computer science vs a math one, is it really possible to get accepted in a pure math phD program ?\n\nNote : the only math experience I had is high school ( grade 18/20 ) and my personal experience ( which is not demonstrable )"
] |
[
"phd",
"industry"
] |
[
"Lost Interest in Electrical Engineering. Still have a Math degree to complete. What to do?",
"I just finished my 5th semester of a compact, dual degree (MS in mathematics and BE in electrical and electronics engineering) course from BITS Pilani, India. It's hitting me really hard now that I just don't want to be an engineer at all. I was really enthusiastic about this programme when I joined it, but with 5 more semesters to go, I'm near clueless about what to do once I'm out of here.\n\nI still like mathematics though and my grades in those courses have been fairly decent, but the university grades me for the entire course and so I'd barely make it a 2.7 or something like that on a scale of 4 at the end of it. If I keep going like I am, more or less.\n\nI like statistics, probability and operations research but even though I can tolerate the mathematics degree which is a lot of pure mathematics, that part of it isn't something I want to pursue.\n\nI have, however, recently developed interest in financial analysis. I have taken introductory courses in economics and management, to fill up the elective credits I had to and so I have a little bit of an idea about how this stuff works, and I'm really enjoying learning more of it. But I have no clue where to go, or what to do.\n\nI want to be certain that I can make it to a decent program, preferably MSF or MBA Finance, in the US, UK or Germany (or any other place where financial markets are really intense and interesting) with those sort of grades and maybe a few projects (which I intend to take up in the next few semesters) related to financial analysis, but mostly math.\n\nI would really appreciate if you could help me find a path to accomplish what I am setting out to, point me to alternative programs I can get in that can get me where I want to be or advise me on what the focus should be on right now, working on a few more projects, or improving my grade; or something else."
] |
[
"masters",
"mathematics",
"economics",
"cross-referencing"
] |
[
"Should I try to warn administration about truly unacceptable professor behavior?",
"I was kicked out of my lab late in my graduate school career, which destroyed my confidence and obviously delayed my graduation by 2+ years. What's more, my advisor tried to convince me to drop out of graduate school, saying I was just \"embarrassing myself\", that I just didn't have any ability.\n\nAfter me, there were many more awful events-- one person (non-student) was fired and rather slandered in an email to the lab; multiple postdocs had their projects pulled out from under them and were forced to start over in another lab, no papers; I know another graduate student there who has been struggling to decide whether to drop out; in all cases this advisor tries to destroy the person's confidence and convince them they are incapable of success.\n\nI tried to talk to the administration a year or so after I got kicked out... just to suggest that such things should not happen without any scrutiny from the uni. I think it was just viewed as sour grapes, and nothing happened. Recently, my (second) PhD advisor suggested in a veiled way that I should try again, and maybe if I got all the other \"survivors\" together, we would have credibility. I think it would probably be useless and risky for me. But this person should not be in such a position of power over vulnerable junior scientists. Is it morally wrong for me to do nothing? But what could I do? (I think the best action would be for my advisor to organize something but like all advisors, mine 90% only cares about his/her own career)."
] |
[
"research-process",
"advisor",
"ethics",
"administration"
] |
[
"What can I do if my academic references are not responsive?",
"I provided references of two Professors from my previous University. I talked to them before supplying the references.\n\nI believe, the universities sent some Emails asking them for some kind of confidential report. They are procrastinating responding to the Emails from the universities I applied to. \n\nThey are not even responding to my calls and mails:\n\n\nI contacted them last week of December to let them know about the reference. \nSent SMS text on 11th January after I had submitted the application. \nI also sent them personal Emails on 15th January. \nCalled them on 18th January. \n\n\nI believe the last date is 31st January.\n\nHow can I get around problems like this in future?\n\nIs there any formal way to submit applications without references?"
] |
[
"recommendation-letter",
"email",
"communication"
] |
[
"Postdoc using current university's letterhead for job application cover letter (academic/national lab jobs)?",
"I'm currently a (physics) postdoc at a university. I'm currently applying for academic jobs (tenure-track research professor and postdoc positions) as well as jobs in national labs.\n\nQuestion(s): Do I need to use my current university's letterhead for my cover letters? If it is optional, is it somehow better to use the official letterhead?\n\nNote: This is similar to the post here. That post was specifically for someone who is currently a lecturer at a university, and the answers ranged from absolutely yes to absolutely no (with no clear consensus). Therefore, I I want to know if any of the specifics in my situation make a difference for this question (e.g. field = physics; I'm currently a postdoc which is expected to only be temporary; does academic appointment vs national lab job have different expectations etc…)."
] |
[
"job-search",
"application-cover-letter"
] |
[
"Should the supervisor work in the laboratory with the student during M.Sc.?",
"I was just employed in the foreign university as assistant professor. I am going to have one M.Sc. student soon but I am not sure how much independence should he get. At my previous university we needed to work with the M.Sc. students in the lab all the time as they were unable to do anything being alone in lab. How is it at your universities? Who teaches M.Sc. students the methods, presenting the rules in the lab etc.? (Food Technology.\n\nThe field is: Food Technology, generally lab work connected with chemical and physical methods like HPLC, spectrophotometer, rheology."
] |
[
"masters",
"supervision",
"lab-management"
] |
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